I've forgotten what's happened in the treklit universe due to a) bad memory and b) an ungodly amount of time passing since the last book. Hearing about this and DoTI makes me absolutely friggin giddy. As for the cover, I love it!
Sweeeet cover! DS9 fans are going to think that there are two DS9 entries next year . As for Julian with the beard...I like it . It kind of reminds me of the way he looked as the Saudi(?) prince in Syriana. And Ezri is as delicious as ever
Actually, one question I do have. In Inter Arma Enim Silen Leges it made sense to recruit Bashir since he was a doctor and they were looking to discover a medical condition. But why did SI pick him for this mission? Is it just that he's gained a reputation as being an effective agent? Cause you'd think they'd want an engineer or tech-scientist (maybe somebody from the SCoE) to destroy a copy of the slipstream drive. Or will this reveal something about what Bashir's been doing, maybe he's received heavy Starfleet Intelligence training in addition to being a Doctor?
Well, the Titan novels technically fall under the post-Nemesis TNG banner since a few of the principals are former TNG regulars, and the captain is the Enterprise's former XO, so why can't the Aventine books fall under the DS9 banner as a former officer becomes Captain...?
Booksellers actually list them under the TNG banner since Titan is actually a spin-off from TNG in terms of characters.
Which is silly, since Star Trek: Titan is its own series, and is no more based on TNG because it shares some characters than it is upon DS9 because it shares some characters or VOY because it shares some characters.
^No, it's not silly, because the very concept of the Titan as a starship commanded by Will Riker comes from Star Trek Nemesis. Therefore, legally speaking, the entire Titan series is based on Nemesis, which was based in turn on TNG. Look on the title page of a TTN novel and you'll see the lines "Based upon Star Trek® and Star Trek: The Next Generation® created by Gene Roddenberry." It doesn't list the other shows because only the odd individual character came from those (Melora from DS9, Tuvok from VGR). The overall premise of the series comes from TNG, and that's what counts legally.
Fair enough in terms of copyright law, but it remains that Titan is its own series. Seems to me that it ought to be advertised as such.
It's not like associating Zero Sum Game with DS9 will hurt its sales though. When you think about it, it can't hurt, right? I'd be there either way because it's David Mack (I'm sure many of us would be), but to a casual treklit peruser, a cover with Ezri and Julian is probably more attractive than just a cover with a new ship no one has ever seen on screen before.
Well, the goal of advertising is to attract interest and attention. TNG is a far more familiar brand than Titan, so if promoting TTN as part of TNG gets it more attention and sells more books, I don't see the problem.
^If people are buying the books and reading them, they're aware of its unique identity from that. If they're not reading them, then it doesn't matter much what they think of its identity. So anything that helps sell more books is ultimately good for the series. In short, the substance matters more than the label.
For me this is actually one of those situations were I agree with both sides. On the one hand I can see wanting to support Titan as it's own series, but at the same it did come from TNG, and it does have 3 TNG characters in the cast.
Hey, don't get me wrong. I think Titan should be classified as a separate series and it is my favourite series, representing the very epitome of what Star Trek is all about, exploring the galaxy and embracing the unknown. I am looking forward to the next one and learning about a race we really haven't seen much of on screen.
Amen...amen...and amen. Here's another thought: The operative word is "thinks". It would be a pretty dull, formulaic story if there wasn't personal conflict of a sort. And Mr. Mack is NOT one for dull formulaic stories. (I know...I seriously need a life.)