Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously)

[Sci]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

I was actually joking . I know that there seems to be no VP in the Federation (I wonder who is second in line?).

Not just seems; there is none. A Time for War, A Time for Peace established that when a president resigns or leaves office unexpectedly before their term is up, the Federation Council assigns one of their own to serve as President Pro Tempore for one standard month while a special election is held. When the new President takes office, it seems that they do not serve out the remainder of their predecessor's term, but rather begin an entirely new one. When Zife left office, Councill Ra'ch B'hully of Damiano served as President Pro Tempore.

Bacco mentions being unhappy with how the Federation Council handled the Borg Supercube Crisis in her absence while Paris One was disabled in interstellar space; I'd assume that some particularly asinine Councillor was serving as President Pro Tempore during that crisis.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

I was actually joking . I know that there seems to be no VP in the Federation (I wonder who is second in line?).

Not just seems; there is none. A Time for War, A Time for Peace established that when a president resigns or leaves office unexpectedly before their term is up, the Federation Council assigns one of their own to serve as President Pro Tempore for one standard month while a special election is held. When the new President takes office, it seems that they do not serve out the remainder of their predecessor's term, but rather begin an entirely new one. When Zife left office, Councill Ra'ch B'hully of Damiano served as President Pro Tempore.

Bacco mentions being unhappy with how the Federation Council handled the Borg Supercube Crisis in her absence while Paris One was disabled in interstellar space; I'd assume that some particularly asinine Councillor was serving as President Pro Tempore during that crisis.

Hmmm, not Molmaan, as he wouldn't be polite by sending a diplomatic envoy to talk to Borg cubes. Not Gleer either...Enaran? He can be a bit of an asshole at times, and as a Betazoid would promote talk and peace over war...

 

[Paris]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

I was actually joking . I know that there seems to be no VP in the Federation (I wonder who is second in line?).

Not just seems; there is none. A Time for War, A Time for Peace established that when a president resigns or leaves office unexpectedly before their term is up, the Federation Council assigns one of their own to serve as President Pro Tempore for one standard month while a special election is held...

Oops. Thanks for pointing this out. I spaced on that, but now that you mention it, I totally remember. I only read the book 6 months ago...how could I have forgotten so fast ?

 

[LaBarre]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

Okay, I know that Janeway doesn't get bumped off in this book so we lack the wonderful panopoly generated by Lynx, but guys, seriously, have any of you read this book yet?

I am ssoooohhh seriously tempted to nit-pick yet again - because I know that Bill Leisner secretly loves it - but no, here I am instead restraining myself in a very unlike-LaBarre fashion, digging fingers into palms all the while...and waiting.....

Two more days, I think, otherwise I'm just going for it.

 

[ksb]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

I would just like to thank Mr. Leisner for using Beverly more effectively. She had been little more than a foil in the previous books, and as pleased as I am that she and Picard are now in a relationship, I was worried she was going to devolve into "Picard's wife." Up to this point, we've really only seen her react to her husband; we've had no insight into her own thoughts about their situation. It's gratifying to see that that isn't the case here, and I hope it continues in future books.

Also, I really enjoyed the subject matter of this book, and thought you handled it very well. It's nice to see the Trek world handle serious issues that don't involve space battles from time to time.

 

[William Leisner]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

Thank you, ksb, and to all other recent commenters I have neglected to to recognize over the last few days.

Even the nitpickers.

 

[Steve Roby]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

Finally read it and really liked it. Quoting my blog review, which I wrote before reading this thread and discovering there are several Minnesota references...

Spoiler: Losing the Peace

William Leisner's first full length novel, the post-Destiny Next Generation novel Losing the Peace, is out now. And it's a good, satisfying read.

I found Leisner's "A Less Perfect Union" one of the highlights of the very good Myriad Universes books, and Losing the Peace has some thematic similarities to that story. "A Less Perfect Union" showed the classic Star Trek values beginning to assert themselves in a timeline much less utopian than the one we're used to. Something similar happens in Losing the Peace. The Borg invasion has caused a lot of destruction and displacement in the Federation, and the strains are beginning to show. Certain member worlds are unhappy about the numbers of displaced survivors they've had to take in; conditions aren't good, and tensions are rising. But by the end of the book there are promising signs that the Federation will once more pull together, thanks to some unconventional tactics from Jean-Luc Picard and his crew.

Losing the Peace has a lot of good character moments. Newer characters T'Ryssa Chen, Jasminder Choudhury, and Miranda Kadohata share the spotlight with Jean-Luc Picard, Beverly Crusher, and Worf, each of them getting good scenes and development. There are good continuity touches with TV Trek and recent novels, as well, with the appearance of Pacifica and its native sentient species, the Selkies, the latter also explored in Christopher Bennett's Over a Torrent Sea by way of the character Aili Lavena, and the use of Arandis, played on Deep Space Nine by Vanessa Williams, as a viewpoint character among the displaced Risans.

The story moves quickly and is always engaging; Leisner's prose is clean and clear, and his ear for dialogue is good. There are some much needed lighter moments in what could have been an overwhelmingly dark book; that balance is appreciated.

Some minor notes: Leisner, a resident of Minnesota, names an alien after the Minnesota town of Bemidji, a place where, coincidentally, I once got drunk. And two quibbles: first, while I appreciate the thematic importance of the scenes with a beautiful and peaceful Mogadishu at the beginning of the book, the idea that Geordi is from there jarred a little at first, because LeVar Burton doesn't look Somali. But it's a few hundred years from now, so there's no reason to assume Geordi's Mogadishu isn't as cosmopolitan and diverse as some other cities in the world are now. Second, shouldn't Starfleet have done something about the restrictive DRM on its software by now, so holodocs can be copied rather than just transferred?

But those quibbles don't change the fact that this is a thoughtful, solidly entertaining novel and a strong novel-length debut for Bill Leisner.

 

[DimesDan]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

Okay, I know that Janeway doesn't get bumped off in this book so we lack the wonderful panopoly generated by Lynx, but guys, seriously, have any of you read this book yet?

I am ssoooohhh seriously tempted to nit-pick yet again - because I know that Bill Leisner secretly loves it - but no, here I am instead restraining myself in a very unlike-LaBarre fashion, digging fingers into palms all the while...and waiting.....

Two more days, I think, otherwise I'm just going for it.

It's not out here for another week or so thus I can not comment. Plus a wee thing called Real Life tm gets in the way sometimes

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

Okay, I know that Janeway doesn't get bumped off in this book so we lack the wonderful panopoly generated by Lynx, but guys, seriously, have any of you read this book yet?

I am ssoooohhh seriously tempted to nit-pick yet again - because I know that Bill Leisner secretly loves it - but no, here I am instead restraining myself in a very unlike-LaBarre fashion, digging fingers into palms all the while...and waiting.....

Two more days, I think, otherwise I'm just going for it.

It's not out here for another week or so thus I can not comment. Plus a wee thing called Real Life tm gets in the way sometimes

Real Life is often in violation of Trek continuity. I myself refuse to have anything to do with it.

 

[William Leisner]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

Finally read it and really liked it.

Yay!

Spoiler: Losing the Peace

And two quibbles: first, while I appreciate the thematic importance of the scenes with a beautiful and peaceful Mogadishu at the beginning of the book, the idea that Geordi is from there jarred a little at first, because LeVar Burton doesn't look Somali. But it's a few hundred years from now, so there's no reason to assume Geordi's Mogadishu isn't as cosmopolitan and diverse as some other cities in the world are now.

Of course, Levar Burton doesn't look German, either, even though that's where he was born. And even though pretty much everything about Geordi screamed "American," his Okudagram biography made him a native of the African Confederation.

Second, shouldn't Starfleet have done something about the restrictive DRM on its software by now, so holodocs can be copied rather than just transferred?

Chalk that up to poetic license. I'm sure a copy of the E's EMH could have been made, but rather than explaining that in story (or making up some technical excuse why it couldn't in this instance), I opted to keep with the theme of limited resources and making sacricies. Sorry that it was a stumbling block for you.

Thanks for the comments.

 

[Chi'pok]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

Just finished the book today. I also enjoyed it. I immediately saw the Minnesota reference (Bemidji); I went to college at UM Twin Cities (I'm actually from Wisconsin).

Also, a big thank you for the Ensign who was a librarian (I forgot her name); being a librarian myself, I appreciated that she had an important role to play.

Thanks!

 

[LightningStorm]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

Just started this one recently am just under half way through it. Already liking it much better than all the other TNG-R books. Also I don't recall if it's been mentioned here yet or not, but the Historian's note says it takes place in 2361, shouldn't it be 2381?

 

[William Leisner]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

^ Yes, it has. Yes, it should.

 

[Sci]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

I have exactly one problem with Losing the Peace. There's a reference to the Articles of the Federation having at least 109 articles.

109!? Jesus! How is a non-lawyer supposed to read something like that?! I mean, hell, the U.S. Constitution is only a few pages long.

 

[JB2005]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

^ Does it say how long an Article is though? I don't know, but is it possible it just means 109 clauses or something?

 

[Paris]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

^How long is the Magna Carta?...or the US Bill of Rights? Don't the Ferengi have over 200 Rules of Acquisition? When drafting a document that outlines rules for a society, it can tend to get a bit long. Humanity has several different Bill's of Rights in several nations...just imagine one set of rules for 100's of billions of people across several dozen worlds

 

[adamczar]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

Another solid entry in the on-going TNG saga. I'll echo a ton of other comments in that I really enjoyed the Beverly flashbacks, the fleshing out of Miranda, Jasminder, and T'Ryssa, and a happy Picard. I love how William tied in Picard's childhood star gazing from the beginning with Picard looking out the port at the end as he went to sleep. I finished this around midnight, and went to bed jealous that I could not gaze up out of a port and look at the stars!

Anyway, it's been brought up before, but I have to say... unless I misread or skipped a part, I don't recall it ever being concrete that Kadohata was gone. I got the impression it was temporary, that she'd spend a year or so off the ship and she'd be back, presumably in time for the Typhon Pact saga. For some reason no other alternative occured to me until it was brought up on here that she may be gone for good, at which point I kind of did a double take and I have to say I hope it isn't true... it would seem like a "waste" of sorts, building up yet another character just to cast her aside and presumably introduce someone new.

I know none of the "officials" on here can comment either way, but I for one hope she comes back in full capacity. The timeline would coincide with real life, in that it'll be about a year until the next TNG book.

Anyway, well done, I really enjoyed this book. Eagerly awaiting the next one.

 

[Paris]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

... Eagerly awaiting the next one.

^And in only 18 more months

 

[William Leisner]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

I have exactly one problem with Losing the Peace. There's a reference to the Articles of the Federation having at least 109 articles.

109!? Jesus! How is a non-lawyer supposed to read something like that?! I mean, hell, the U.S. Constitution is only a few pages long.

The Charter of the United Nations has 111 Articles. That's just for one planet and one sentient species.

Anyway, it's been brought up before, but I have to say... unless I misread or skipped a part, I don't recall it ever being concrete that Kadohata was gone. I got the impression it was temporary, that she'd spend a year or so off the ship and she'd be back, presumably in time for the Typhon Pact saga. For some reason no other alternative occured to me until it was brought up on here that she may be gone for good, at which point I kind of did a double take and I have to say I hope it isn't true... it would seem like a "waste" of sorts, building up yet another character just to cast her aside and presumably introduce someone new.

The door is open. It's just up to Dayton (or the author that follows him, or whoever) to decide if there's a role for her.

^And in only 18 more months

There is no need for the fucking obnoxious little rolling eyes icon -- especially when this last book has only been out for three goddamn weeks. Books take time to write. Writers have their own lives and obligations to deal with. Publishers and editors need to work on other projects and serve an audience that goes beyond just you. It's not a grand conspiracy to deny you your next dose of instant gratification, so stow the cutesy shit, 'k?

 

[Corran Horn]

Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously

William Leisner, I wouldn't worry about being considered an author. You are an author, and I thoroughly enjoyed your book. I have to say, I somewhat enjoy TNG tales where technology can't just automatically solve whatever the problem is. The 'refugee camp' situation in this book reminded me of a pair of books in the 'A Time To...' series where even with all the 24th-century technology Starfleet still had problems quelling widespread violent attacks on that planet. (can't remember which one)

The scale of destruction from the Borg attack is still kind of hard to grasp. Billions...it's just kind of unimaginable.

It's stated at the end that the Federation has shrunken in terms of territory...why would this be? Certainly the population has shrunken due to the attacks, but is what is considered 'Federation Space' actually smaller now, because of the loss of so many planets?