Spoilers TNG: Available Light by Dayton Ward Review Thread

[hbquikcomjamesl]

About 50 pages in, and I'm enjoying it. Surprisingly so, given that it involves Section 31. Probably because Section 31 operatives (and Nechayev in particular) seem to finally be getting their comeuppance (both Ross and Nechayev read very true to character, so far: the one genuinely contrite and remorseful, and the other a totally amoral bitch).

 

[thribs]

It took me longer than I liked but I just finished the book. It was pretty good. I agree with others here with the B plot being more interesting than the A. Shame they don’t have their own Tom Paris on their crew as he could have said it’s like the Matrix.

2nd EDIT: Spotted the second DSC reference.

What was the second one? I only spotted one.

 

[SolarisOne]

What was the second one? I only spotted one.

The first one I saw was Akaar musing about how Section 31 had been able to do whatever it wanted even though it was out in the open. That's a retcon. It was the exact opposite before DSC.

The second was where Captain Georgiou was mentioned.

 

[thribs]

The first one I saw was Akaar musing about how Section 31 had been able to do whatever it wanted even though it was out in the open. That's a retcon. It was the exact opposite before DSC.

Really? I’m surprised they acknowledged that in the novels, considering how terrible it was executed in Discovery.

 

[David cgc]

The first one I saw was Akaar musing about how Section 31 had been able to do whatever it wanted even though it was out in the open. That's a retcon. It was the exact opposite before DSC.

I took the "hidden in plain sight" wording to reference the whole Starfleet Charter thing.

 

[Tuskin38]

The first one I saw was Akaar musing about how Section 31 had been able to do whatever it wanted even though it was out in the open. That's a retcon. It was the exact opposite before DSC.

The second was where Captain Georgiou was mentioned.

I have to agree with David, I don't think that was a DSC reference.

Also it could refer to all the Starfleet captains and admirals they were working for S31 and no one even noticed.

 

[thribs]

In the novelVerse they can explain that the Section 31 there wasn’t the real Section 31 and that it was done as a extra layer of cover.
Control is the harder one to explain but perhaps they could say that the Control in Discovery was a second attempt in creating the AI, believing the original one was destroyed.

 

[Ronald Held]

Any idea when the next chapter is due, involving Picard's facing the music?

 

[David cgc]

Any idea when the next chapter is due, involving Picard's facing the music?

The street date for David Mack's Collateral Damage is October 8.

 

[JoeZhang]

The street date for David Mack's Collateral Damage is October 8.

Which if we can believe the rumours is when the Picard show should wrap and not long before we see it on-air - so if it's the final book the timing is good...

 

[Scout101]

Do we know the word count for this one? I thought the TPB idea was to get longer books for the (double) cost, but it didn't feel any longer, just physically bigger. Story itself was enjoyable, although felt pretty straight-forward and didn't really seem to have a lot of 'big' moments or events.

 

[SolarisOne]

I have to agree with David, I don't think that was a DSC reference.

Also it could refer to all the Starfleet captains and admirals they were working for S31 and no one even noticed.

The beauty of the situation is that since the writers are active here, we don't have to speculate. We can ask @Dayton Ward himself.

Were those comments by Akaar influenced by DSC or not?

 

[Dayton Ward]

Not intentionally. I finished the book well before the season premiered, and unlike the first season I wasn’t operating with advance knowledge of what would happen this time around.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Well worth the wait. Everybody seemed entirely in character. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[thribs]

Why didn’t the Enterprise use the hundreds of fighters we know they have against the ships?

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Probably because [Nechayev is] the only likeable one.

Who finds Nechayev the slightest bit likeable?

 

[thribs]

Who finds Nechayev the slightest bit likeable?

I liked her in the Genesis Wave books.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Who finds Nechayev the slightest bit likeable?

I did.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I found her to be a patronizing, pathologically sarcastic, Picard-hating bitch. Not to mention a martinet. Like a female Jellico who'd overdosed on mean-pills. (Which is to say that while I liked Ronny Cox in Apple's Way, I loathed Jellico.)

 

[tomswift2002]

I just finished the book. Really good. Although I noticed on page 349 that there was an editing error just after Picard finished talking to Akaar. Earlier in the scene it had been established that Picard was taking the call in his quarters, but st the top of 349, all of a sudden it has him in his ready room, and apparently Rene was also transported to the ready room, even though he’d been asleep on the couch in the Picard quarters.