The Soul Key

[neogothboy74]

I don't mind when they concentrate on the new characters either. They're DS9 characters now and should be held to the same level as the characters that appeared in the series. And because of the attention given to them, Shar & Vaughn and Prynn and the rest are just as real to me as the charcters I followed on DS9 the series.

I understand wanting DS9 involved in the big events of later books, and wanting the DS9 side of things. But DS9 can be included in those events. I thought DS9 was well represented in 'Destiny' as it was. We had Ezri Dax, Simon Tarses, Worf, Martok, Garak, and cameos by Jadzia Dax & Shar's mother - with references to Shar himself and numerous other DS9 themed stuff; I'm sure I'm even forgetting a few things. And the DS9 books will (hopefully) eventually catch up to those books and then we'll see what was going on with them in even more detail.

Let me clarify. I meant he probably should have done the rest of the 'alternate Kiras' arc. Not the entire DS9-R (although that would be cool).

Simply that that's never been the DS9-R's MO. Marco created the project to use multiple authors and points of view, and many different types of story, from multi-series crossovers like Section 31 and Gateways to four-part epics like Mission Gamma to parallel novellas like Worlds of DS9 to flip-books like Fearful Symmetry. It was never intended to be one person's project (unlike the VOY-R, which was intended to be exactly that).

Marco wanted the variety that comes with multiple authors and the unique things they can bring to the table. I like to think that Margaret will follow that intention when she takes over. And anyway, the 'alternate Kiras' story was never all David Mack's in the first place. It was set up in multiple earlier stories, from J Noah Kym's "Fragments and Omens" to DRG3's "Olympus Descending" to Sarah Shaw's "Saturn's Children." Just because you like what Mack did with it (as we all do) is no reason for him to be the only one to write from then on.

EDIT: or basically exactly what Dave just beat me to saying.

^ Exactly. I'm a big fan of the multiple authors thing. And while I enjoy David Mack's contributions (I consider Destiny to be part of the DS9 series as well), I actually preferred "Fearful Symmetry" to "Warpath". It answered the questions I'd been seeking answers too for more than a decade. And I'm sure there are just as many fans of the series who preferred David R. George III or KRAD or S.D. Perry. But all of the authors of the DS9-R have contributed great stories. I'd love to have all the authors back for other installments, but I like my ever changing, move-at-it's-own-pace DS9.

 

[flemm]

I don't mind when they concentrate on the new characters either. They're DS9 characters now and should be held to the same level as the characters that appeared in the series. And because of the attention given to them, Shar & Vaughn and Prynn and the rest are just as real to me as the charcters I followed on DS9 the series.

I agree with this. They're certainly as much a part of it now as any of the television characters. That said, it's been quite a dry season for Sisko, Kira, Odo, Quark & co. Ah well, we can only hope that torrential rain is in the forecast for sometime soon

 

[Christopher]

^I find it odd to hear talk about the DS9 novels being "neglected" or "dry" when there are two new ones coming out within the next two months. That's like complaining about a drought when you can see a rainstorm approaching. Plus the Shore Leave convention is coming up in three weeks, and Pocket's big announcements of new projects generally happen there. There may very well be new DS9 material announced there.

 

[flemm]

^I find it odd to hear talk about the DS9 novels being "neglected" or "dry" when there are two new ones coming out within the next two months. That's like complaining about a drought when you can see a rainstorm approaching. Plus the Shore Leave convention is coming up in three weeks, and Pocket's big announcements of new projects generally happen there. There may very well be new DS9 material announced there.

I knew as soon as I posted that my metaphor would be turned against me

Touché

 

[Trent Roman]

That's like complaining about a drought when you can see a rainstorm approaching.

If your crops have already failed and your cattle has died from the drought, the rain will only be of limited relief (or no help at all, depending on the severity of the rainy season in whatever part of the world one is looking at). If, and I stress 'if', the series has lost readers owing to the gap or perceived loss of momentum, it may not get all those back when the rains come.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[T'Ressa Dax]

I didn't really have a problem with it, but I didn't mind Jake too much either.

 

[JD]

That situation would leave us with the following major negatives:

1) DS9's story will have to be limited to whatever areas of the Trek universe are not dealt with in the main storyline, and events in the DS9 story won't have any impact on the wider context of the Federation. Moreover DS9 is not a starship, so it is not so easy to send these characters off to have their own adventures. More than any other series, DS9 needs to be anchored in the larger context of the Federation and the galactic situation as a whole. Thus running behind the main story will have a more detrimental impact on DS9 than it would on any other series.

That's not neccissarily true, even if they can't do huge stories like Destiny, they can still do big stories involving characters from other shows, even if the stuff doesn't have a lasting impact on the non-DS9 characters. It's not like everything that happens in the books has to be completly chronological, they can easily incorporate references to the events in later books.

2) Most of DS9's characters will be excluded from future Destiny-style crossovers when they happen, and (if Destiny is seen as a success) they will happen.

I think the same response to #1 can be applied here, only in reverse.

3) The bulk of Pocket's creative and financial resources will be devoted to the main story, especially if it is the most financially successful, which I think is extremely likely. The drop in quality and frequency of DS9 books (that we have already witnessed) would therefore be more likely to continue, rather than less likely.

I don't mind when they concentrate on the new characters either. They're DS9 characters now and should be held to the same level as the characters that appeared in the series. And because of the attention given to them, Shar & Vaughn and Prynn and the rest are just as real to me as the charcters I followed on DS9 the series.

I agree with this. They're certainly as much a part of it now as any of the television characters. That said, it's been quite a dry season for Sisko, Kira, Odo, Quark & co. Ah well, we can only hope that torrential rain is in the forecast for sometime soon

Not neccisarily, we had a fair amount of Kira and Sisko in Warpath, Quark was one of the main focuses of The Ferengi WODS9 story ( suprising, I know) and Kira was even one of main focuses of Fearful Symmetry. As for the new characters, I'm happy when they focus on them, after all we've already had 7 seasons worth of Kira, Sisko, Dax, Quark, ect. and only 16 books with the new
characters.

^I find it odd to hear talk about the DS9 novels being "neglected" or "dry" when there are two new ones coming out within the next two months. That's like complaining about a drought when you can see a rainstorm approaching. Plus the Shore Leave convention is coming up in three weeks, and Pocket's big announcements of new projects generally happen there. There may very well be new DS9 material announced there.

Exactly, and there are still 7 months unanounced next year, and much all of 2011, so there's plenty of room for more DS9.

 

[LutherSloan]

I'll be interested to see what happens at Shore Leave. Hopefully this year will signal the end to the drought in the DS9-R for good.

 

[JD]

Agreed. Hopefully we can get back to having at least one book for each series each year.

 

[DS9forever]

I can't wait to hear what Pocket Books has in store, especially for DS9.

 

[Technobuilder]

I don't plan to quit DS9, I was just afraid it was going to happen without me realizing it.
No new books meant I was directing my focus elsewhere, and like I said, I've forgotten much of what's transpired.

I don't blame anyone for the delays, they happen, but I do think Marco's loss has done more harm than any delays thus far.

It's funny, but I'm going to miss the Star Trek locations for the listings of Pocket's Worldwide offices. That was a nice touch. It showed a sense of care yet whimsy.

Looking forward to more...

 

[Marie1]

I think it's worth taking a moment to reflect on the magnitude of the neglect in recent years. The DS9 relaunch has been allowed to atrophy beyond all recognition.

That's not true at all.
As the FAQ question "Q. Why are there so few [insert series name] books this year? Does Pocket hate me and want to destroy my favorite series?" says, DS9 PF (out of twelve categories of ST books released) is 10% of what's published. Just because in over 9 years (and what? Over 20 books IIRC) we had to go between March 06 and June 08 without specific DS9 novels doesn't mean it atrophied. It was just an unfortunate glitch. DS9 characters appeared in 3 Destiny books, and FS... and I don't think most people stick to reading just one series. It'd be a tiny minority.

And for those who don't like the Ghemor arc, there is a great looking book from a talented author (Una McCormack (sp) - coming out about Cardassia a month later! It seems everything is righting itself and being made up for.

It would be a mistake to just leap and catch up to post-Destiny, unless someone wants to write a 3000 page novel. With Jem'Hadar on the cover, please.

 

[David Mack]

It's funny, but I'm going to miss the Star Trek locations for the listings of Pocket's Worldwide offices. That was a nice touch. It showed a sense of care yet whimsy.

Fear not; the whimsy continues...

 

[BrotherBenny]

It's funny, but I'm going to miss the Star Trek locations for the listings of Pocket's Worldwide offices. That was a nice touch. It showed a sense of care yet whimsy.

Fear not; the whimsy continues...

From which book? It's been missing on the last few. But...yay!!!

 

[David Mack]

Look for signs of whimsy in the upcoming Star Trek Vanguard: Precipice, Star Trek Mirror Universe: The Sorrows of Empire [expanded edition], and others yet to be announced.

 

[Christopher]

Wasn't the first use ever of an alien-world publishing location in a book that Margaret edited?

 

[David Mack]

I think it was, but I don't know any specific information about that.

 

[JD]

It would be a mistake to just leap and catch up to post-Destiny, unless someone wants to write a 3000 page novel. With Jem'Hadar on the cover, please.

Agreed, alot of the story arcs have been building for many books now, and I'd prefer to see them continue and end over several books, instead of just tying them up so the series can be pushed forwards to deal with events that don't seem to relate to the series.

Yes, I know the aftermath would have an impact on DS9, but Destiny itself dealt with the Borg which have always been TNG and VOY's thing.

Besides, if we want to see how it is effecting DS9 we can still get refernces to events in the Bajoran systems from Dax, and maybe even a spoiler-free cameo here and there. Just because the series doesn't jump forward doesn't mean the characters and setting cease to exits (unless of couse the station is destroyed and the characters killed in the time between the stories)

 

[Steve Roby]

Dear diary: Star Trek is dead. Star Trek Nemesis came out three years ago and it was a bomb. It was even advertised with the slogan "A generation's final journey begins," and they killed Data and split up the crew. Star Trek: Enterprise went off the air a few weeks ago and there's no new Star Trek TV series ready to replace it. And it's been 14 years since the last time we saw the whole gang from the original series onscreen.

It's time to face facts. Even if someone makes a new Star Trek movie years from now, no one will care. Everyone will have forgotten about it. Star Trek has died of neglect. It's dead, Jim.

Logged and entered on stardate June 19, 2005.

The relevance of this post will be evident to at least some readers.

 

[Marie1]

^
L.O.L.

This is why I love your posts!