Spoilers TNG: A Singular Destiny by Keith R.A. DeCandido review thread

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by Brendan Moody, Jan 21, 2009.

  1. Count Zero

    Count Zero No nation but procrastination Moderator

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    Thanks for clearing that up. I've read Destiny but there was so much going on I must have overlooked her (and I wasn't in a Blake's 7 frenzy, yet ;)).
     
  2. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Those are actions of individual members of the Pact, and in some cases, other members were shown to disagree with those actions and intervened to stop them. Don't assume the Pact members are a single unified power just because they've formed this alliance. They still have their own individual agendas that might be at odds with the wishes of their partners. It's possible that over time, the Pact will help to mitigate the actions of the more hostile parties under pressure from their allies. Yes, it's also possible that the Pact could choose to take actions that are bad for the Federation. But it would be unwise to assume that an agenda or attitude expressed by one member nation within the Pact represents the policy of the Pact as a whole. I'm sure that the Pact members will be hashing out these issues among themselves for quite some time to come. In some cases, they may be in agreement about an action that could undermine the Federation. In other cases, the members may disagree and those wanting to undermine or harm the Federation or its allies could be outvoted by the others -- or vice-versa. And in other cases, they may find they have a common interest that the Federation shares. Or they could be unable to agree on a common interest and be so busy wrestling for advantage among themselves that they can't get anything done and leave the Federation unharassed. With six such wildly disparate, proud, willful civilizations trying to make a nascent partnership work, the situation is going to be very volatile and unpredictable.

    That's the whole point here -- to create something that isn't just a binary good guys vs. bad guys story. To explore something more challenging and nuanced. Most or all of the individual members of the Pact have clashed with the UFP at times, but what they're attempting is basically to follow the example of the UFP, to try teamwork and cooperation as an alternative to conflict, to embrace diversity in combination rather than cling to xenophobia. It's at once a potential threat to the Federation and a profound affirmation of its core values. Which is really, really interesting.
     
  3. Sci

    Sci Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Quoted for Truth.

    Also, keep in mind that of the states the Federation has invited into, or with which the Federation is already in partnership through, the expanded Khitomer Accords--the Klingon Empire, the Imperial Romulan State, the Cardassian Union, the Ferengi Alliance, and the Talarian Republic--the Federation has been at war or been involved in armed conflicts with all but one of them within the previous twenty years. Really, the only ones who haven't been overtly belligerent towards the Federation (at least in terms of official government policy, if not in terms of the actions of individual DaiMons) is the Ferengi Alliance. Yet that's not stopping the UFP from accepting them as equals who are behaving in good faith.
     
  4. Marie1

    Marie1 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    OK- thanks for this- I was under the impression the TP had united to attack the Federation and so on. But I like this angle better. I want to read ASD more than I did before, I wasn't sure I'd be interested in it before I read your post. :bolian:
     
  5. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Not to mention all the fighting between Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites before humans started to make alliances with them and bring them together. Or, for a real-life example, the nations of Europe have historically been a fractious lot, warring or at least competing with each other on a continuing basis for centuries, and yet now they're joined into the European Union.
     
  6. Ayelbourne

    Ayelbourne Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Yup, pretty sure. Don't know about Schliemann, but Engels did speak about 20 languages. At least, thats what I was taught in school. :)
     
  7. Ktrek

    Ktrek Captain Captain

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    I just wanted to throw in a side bit here. I once knew a woman who fluently spoke and read 7 major languages and understood 10 others in the 1980s. She ultimately went to work for the Federal Government. Sonek Pran's ability to speak and read several languages was not a stretch for me.

    I also knew a dear man who was close to me, now deceased, who could speak and read Greek, Hebrew, Italian, French and German as well as his native English. So, although rare there obvisouly are people that have such talents.

    Kevin
     
  8. Turtletrekker

    Turtletrekker Admiral Admiral

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    If Sonek Pran's ability with languages was over the top, where does that put Hoshi Sato and her instinctual abilities?
     
  9. ncdryden

    ncdryden Cadet Newbie

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    So maybe an unintentional remake like the Klingons. the Species sounds interesting but the whole religious structuring sounds kinda limiting.
     
  10. ncdryden

    ncdryden Cadet Newbie

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    Truth be the idea of the Typhon Pact sounds rather
    Intriguing, I'm hoping they stay around for a long time,if for no other reason than to be a thorn in the Federation's side.
     
  11. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I don't know what you mean by that. Since the Kinshaya were never actually depicted in anything but a gaming supplement, and since different works of Trek tie-in fiction (particularly across different media) are under no obligation to acknowledge each other, there's no "remake" involved. As far as the books are concerned, the Kinshaya are a race that's only been mentioned and never seen, giving Keith an entirely free hand to create their appearance and culture. I'm sure there was nothing "unintentional" about his creative decisions in that regard, and I think that he did an excellent bit of species-building there.
     
  12. DEWLine

    DEWLine Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'm guessing that, for our purposes, the Kinshaya territories can be considered both "rimward" and "antispinward" of Klingon spaces, but further "antispinward" of the Gorn?
     
  13. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Well, in the Star Charts Alpha & Beta Quadrant maps, rimward is toward the page bottom and antispinward is to page right. The Gorn Hegemony is below and left of Klingon space, therefore rimward and spinward. So anything antispinward of Klingon space is going to be antispinward of Gorn space automatically.

    ASD has the Kinshaya launching attacks on Krios and H'atoria, which are both shown near the borders of Klingon and UFP territory in Star Charts. If the Kinshaya's territory is near those worlds, then it would pretty much have to be to galactic north or south -- "above" or "below" Klingon/UFP territory, and overlapping with one or both of them as shown on a 2D map. Their territory would probably be roughly in the middle of p. 63 of Star Charts, which would put them coreward of Klingon territory, not rimward, and spinward of the majority of Klingon territory, though antispinward of Qo'noS and the core population of the empire. (Klingon space seems to be structured kind of like Russia, with a densely populated "Eastern Europe" portion and then a huge, sparse "Siberia" portion.)
     
  14. DEWLine

    DEWLine Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I'd forgotten to pay attention to details re: Krios and H'atoria. I was more focused, mistakenly so now that I think about it, on the old descriptive John M. Ford gave the Kinshaya way back when: "Federation one way, Romulans another, Kinshaya a third...we're in a g'dayt box!"

    I definitely like the Russia analogy, comparing the coreward regions of Klingon space to eastern European Russian holdings and so forth. It works. It'll be interesting to see how much hidden wealth Klingon "Siberia" has...
     
  15. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Well, that actually fits my description pretty well, since it suggests being surrounded in three dimensions rather than just two. Except in three dimensions, you'd have to be surrounded on a minimum of four sides to be completely contained (in a tetrahedral enclosure).
     
  16. DEWLine

    DEWLine Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    If one of those sides is the so-called "Galactic Barrier", then no worries!
     
  17. JAG

    JAG Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I finished the book and really enjoyed it. I think the interstitials were the best part. I enjoyed Sonak Pran very much. I like the feeling of the character.

    I loved seeing the interactions with the Palais, and the fleshing out of some of the Aventine crew.
     
  18. Even_Odds

    Even_Odds Cadet Newbie

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    I really enjoyed 'A Singular Destiny!'

    I just finished 'A Singular Destiny,' and it seems like the tide is turning with the formation of the Typhon Pact. The books coming out in the next few years should be really exciting!

    And I saw an artist's rendition of the new ship, the USS Aventine... that is a really nice ship!
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2009
  19. Ktrek

    Ktrek Captain Captain

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    I enjoyed the book overall but the ending left me a little flat. Maybe I was expecting too much after reading the Destiny trilogy? I hope we will see more of Sonek Pran though as he is an interesting character.

    Kevin
     
  20. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I just finished the book earlier today, and I really liked it. IMO it did a great job of both showing us the after effects of the Borg Invasion, and setting up this new era of Trek Lit. I especially liked the stuff between the chapters, they really gave us a good look at just how huge of an impact the invasion had on the whole Alpha and Beta Quadrants. I think Sonek Pran was a great character, and I really hope that we get to see him again in the future. I know some people have said that they thought he was little to perfect, and while I can understand that, I thought that he was written and developed well enough to still be intersting. Another thing I liked about the book was getting to see some of KRAD's characters, like Stevens and Klag & Co. It was really cool getting a glimpse into these characters futures, and just hope that this is not the last we will be seeing of them.
    This was a really enojoyable KRAD book, definitely up to his usual standards, although TBH it wasn't quite as good as The Art of the Impossible, my absolute favorite KRAD book. 9/10