So what are you reading now? (Part 3)
- Thread starter Count Zero
- Start date
- Status
Haven't got there yet (I've started Born for Adversity) but I'll keep a three-lobed burning eye out for it.
I finished DS9: S31: Abyss. It was enjoyable. Bashir trying to act evil works a lot better when you don’t have to hear his stupid Jolly Green Giant ‘Evil Bashir’ voice.
Now, finally, Ex Machina. So far I’m enjoying it. I like all the references to classic Trek novels (Lost Years, Uhura’s Song etc), as well as the nods to Mr Scott’s Guide to the Enterprise. The frequent explaining aways of little inconsistencies between TMP and other Treks is unnecessary, imo (especially that bit about “melders”!)
More annoyingly though: With Spock all V’tosh whatever, why no mention of Sybok? Especially bizarre was the line “I expected more of a son of Sarek”. The last one didn’t turn out too Vulcan-y, either!
Now, finally, Ex Machina. So far I’m enjoying it. I like all the references to classic Trek novels (Lost Years, Uhura’s Song etc), as well as the nods to Mr Scott’s Guide to the Enterprise. The frequent explaining aways of little inconsistencies between TMP and other Treks is unnecessary, imo (especially that bit about “melders”!)
More annoyingly though: With Spock all V’tosh whatever, why no mention of Sybok? Especially bizarre was the line “I expected more of a son of Sarek”. The last one didn’t turn out too Vulcan-y, either!
I don't recall making any references to The Lost Years. On the contrary -- since TLY was contradicted by what VGR: "Q2" established about the final mission of Kirk's 5-year tour, I disregarded TLY altogether when writing Ex Machina. Perhaps you're thinking of the Lori Ciana references, but those are based on the TMP novelization.
And though I personally consider TFF apocryphal, I think I did include a subtle allusion to Sybok or at least to the possibility of his existence. As for the line you reference, keep in mind that Sybok was disowned, so officially he wasn't considered a son of Sarek anymore. And Sarek's family probably didn't like to talk about him much; consider that Spock never even told his best friends about Sybok. Whoever said that line may not have been aware of Sybok or his relationship to Sarek.
And though I personally consider TFF apocryphal, I think I did include a subtle allusion to Sybok or at least to the possibility of his existence. As for the line you reference, keep in mind that Sybok was disowned, so officially he wasn't considered a son of Sarek anymore. And Sarek's family probably didn't like to talk about him much; consider that Spock never even told his best friends about Sybok. Whoever said that line may not have been aware of Sybok or his relationship to Sarek.
So I just finished William Leisner's "A Less Perfect Union" from Myriad Universes: Infinity's Prism...and I think it's the yardstick by which I'm going to measure every other story in the two collections. I loved it, I really did. Not only was it interesting to see all the changes to what we know to be "true" in ST, the story itself was genuinely interesting. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see what happened next, and it also gave the distinct impression that there were tons more stories to be told in that timeline. I'm almost upset that we won't be seeing any of them. 
It also gave me a nifty idea for a short story that I might write up. Not for that alternate reality, for the original one.
It also gave me a nifty idea for a short story that I might write up. Not for that alternate reality, for the original one.
So I just finished William Leisner's "A Less Perfect Union" from Myriad Universes: Infinity's Prism...and I think it's the yardstick by which I'm going to measure every other story in the two collections. I loved it, I really did. Not only was it interesting to see all the changes to what we know to be "true" in ST, the story itself was genuinely interesting. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see what happened next, and it also gave the distinct impression that there were tons more stories to be told in that timeline. I'm almost upset that we won't be seeing any of them.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
So I just finished William Leisner's "A Less Perfect Union" from Myriad Universes: Infinity's Prism...and I think it's the yardstick by which I'm going to measure every other story in the two collections. I loved it, I really did. Not only was it interesting to see all the changes to what we know to be "true" in ST, the story itself was genuinely interesting. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see what happened next, and it also gave the distinct impression that there were tons more stories to be told in that timeline. I'm almost upset that we won't be seeing any of them.
It also gave me a nifty idea for a short story that I might write up. Not for that alternate reality, for the original one.
Agreed
. I recently finished that story myself, and I think it's the best one out of the 6 published so far. The next Myriad-Universe book is coming this summer/fall I believe. We'll see if it's as good 
.
The next Myriad-Universe book is coming this summer/fall I believe. We'll see if it's as good
Shattered Light is scheduled for December
Just finished Mission: Gamma: This Gray Spirit (easy 9/10, awesome) and Fallen Angel: Reborn, a trade of my favorite Peter David comic series that for this one happens to have Angel's Illyria show up (also easy 9/10). I had a good morning
Next: Stone & Anvil, I think. I'm sort of alternating between Marco series (DS9 & Lost Era) books and New Frontier books.
Next: Stone & Anvil, I think. I'm sort of alternating between Marco series (DS9 & Lost Era) books and New Frontier books.
I haven’t read the TMP novel, so I assumed Lori was an invention of The Lost Years. I was wondering why nothing else seemed to add up, like why McCoy and Natira’s story seemed to disregard her remarriage in TLY, and that Kirk didn’t seem too bothered by the demise of his ex-wife.
ST5 apocryphal? Seriously? It’s not *that* bad. FWIW I always thought of Sybok as the weird relative nobody talks about, but while I can see him being disowned I can’t see his birth an early life going unnoticed, especially by crusty old status-obsessed types.
Still enjoying.
Quality isn't the issue. Consistency is. ST V shows the Enterprise reaching the center of the galaxy in maybe 20 minutes, something that was directly contradicted by Voyager requiring decades to cover the equivalent distance, and by TNG's "The Nth Degree" establishing that it would require exceptionally advanced space-folding technology to reach the galactic center so quickly. Canon itself has essentially ignored ST V.
And that's just one of its credibility problems. The impossibly high turboshaft is another. And then there's Kirk, Spock, and McCoy being unharmed by a photon torpedo that goes off less than 30 meters away from them, even though a photon torpedo is more powerful than a nuclear warhead and by all rights should've vaporized them in an instant.
I'm almost done reading Greg Cox's Welcome to Promise City.
Looking forward to Promises Broken.
Looking forward to Promises Broken.
I couldn't really get into Titan's Sword of Demacles, so I've put it down and I'm now reading book I of the Destiny series, Gods of Night.
I'm facing a long Trek drought until the Typhon Pact books are released this fall. Lately, I've been going back and forth between the Harry Potter and Dresden Files series. About to take a break from Dresden (after reading three books in a row) to finally start Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
I set aside Girl with the Dragon Tatto again last night. It's well written, with good characters... but it's just too slow. I got 153 pages into it, and I hadn't even gotten to the actual mystery yet. Not only that but the author would spend whole pages giving every tiny detail of what the characters were doing. It was just to much. I decided to read The Bourne Identity instead, I've had it for years and never read it.
I realise I've been absent from this thread for a while. I finished Perdido Street Station and while I enjoyed reading it I'm not quite sure what all the fuss was about. Yes, it was good but not that great and it meandered somewhat, so that I'm not sure what the point was.
I feel idiotic for saying this but there was also way too much swearing in that book for my taste. I'm not prudish and I swear often myself but here people were going overboard with it, even in normal situations. It seemed a bit pretentious to me, as if the author was trying very hard to show that this was a 'mature' book.
The world building was great, though, so I'll probably read Miéville's other books set in the same universe.
After that, I read the Doctor Who novel Autonomy by Daniel Blythe. A good read - and a fast one, especially after the long Perdido Street Station, I wish that the Who books were a bit longer and more elaborated, though I appreciate the different approach they have compared to the Trek books, i.e. they hardly ever detail the characters' thoughts. They read more like an actual episode put into writing. Sometimes, however, I'd love to gain more insight into the characters' thinking.
I've started a book by Dostoyevski and also resumed reading my way through the Enterprise books. I've started with Rosetta, but it's too early to tell whether I'll like it or not.
I feel idiotic for saying this but there was also way too much swearing in that book for my taste. I'm not prudish and I swear often myself but here people were going overboard with it, even in normal situations. It seemed a bit pretentious to me, as if the author was trying very hard to show that this was a 'mature' book.
The world building was great, though, so I'll probably read Miéville's other books set in the same universe.
After that, I read the Doctor Who novel Autonomy by Daniel Blythe. A good read - and a fast one, especially after the long Perdido Street Station, I wish that the Who books were a bit longer and more elaborated, though I appreciate the different approach they have compared to the Trek books, i.e. they hardly ever detail the characters' thoughts. They read more like an actual episode put into writing. Sometimes, however, I'd love to gain more insight into the characters' thinking.
I've started a book by Dostoyevski and also resumed reading my way through the Enterprise books. I've started with Rosetta, but it's too early to tell whether I'll like it or not.
Which one?
Had to research the English title first, it's called Notes from Underground in English. I'm reading it in German.
Also the various forms in transliteration from Kyrillic to Latin for different languages are really annoying. I now look like an idiot for spelling his name wrong (it's spelled Dostojewski in German).
^ Notes from the Underground is my favorite book by Dostoyevsky (or however it's transcribed in English) or at least tied with The Idiot...which I adore, but NFTU is a perfect little book, because, unlike some others, it doesn't get mired in his silly religious/nationalistic ideas. He was such an amazing writer, and such a great psychologist even without having ever studied it, but as a philosopher, he could ask a lot of great questions, but my god, did he end up with some idiotic conclusions. The Brothers Karamazov particularly suffers from it in those parts that deal with "positive" characters like Alyosha and particularly Father Zosima. Dostoyevski was always much better in writing characters who were flawed/dark/bad people and presenting their POV, than creating examples of Christian virtue. And since NFTU has none of the latter, it ends up being a lot more consistent and doesn't have the weaknesses of most of his big novels.
Oh, and I'm finishing The Lives Of Dax. By far the best Star Trek anthology I've read. I particularly enjoyed S.D. Perry's two stories (Audrid's and Joran's), as well as the Lela Dax story ("First Steps").
Oh, and I'm finishing The Lives Of Dax. By far the best Star Trek anthology I've read. I particularly enjoyed S.D. Perry's two stories (Audrid's and Joran's), as well as the Lela Dax story ("First Steps").
- Status
Similar threads
- Poll
