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Spoilers TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread

Rate The Poisoned Chalice.

  • Outstanding

    Votes: 55 50.0%

  • Above Average

    Votes: 49 44.5%

  • Average

    Votes: 5 4.5%

  • Below Average

    Votes: 1 0.9%

  • Poor

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    110
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

I'd like for there to be at least one more position between Above Average and outstanding, say "very good". Most books I rate as AA but I like them more than that but I reserve outstanding for books I want to read and read again.
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

ToddCam said:
Maybe this isn't the place to mention this, but I don't really care for the rating scale. What does average mean here? For all Star Trek books? For books by the author? For fiction in general? I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but as it wasn't outstanding or poor, I felt . I have found Swallow's books in general to be of high quality (making it average for him), but as I don't read all Trek books any more I don't know how it rates against all other Trek books, much less all fiction. I prefer a wider scale (1-10), and more along the lines of terrible/bad/mediocre/good/great than below average/average/above average.
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Ok, when you see "Poor", think "Terrible". When you see "Below Average", think "Bad". When you see "Average", think "Mediocre". When you see "Above Average" think "Good". When you see "Outstanding" think "Great". And click away.

It's a rating on a scale from 1 to 5. Make of it what you will.

And I think, given the ratings page that lists all the books and their polls so far, that changing the way we do polls at this point would be LESS clear (due to problems being commensurate).
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

Thrawn said:
Ok, when you see "Poor", think "Terrible". When you see "Below Average", think "Bad". When you see "Average", think "Mediocre". When you see "Above Average" think "Good". When you see "Outstanding" think "Great". And click away.

It's a rating on a scale from 1 to 5. Make of it what you will.

And I think, given the ratings page that lists all the books and their polls so far, that changing the way we do polls at this point would be LESS clear (due to problems being commensurate).
Click to expand...

Well, yes, that's what I did already. I understand about the ratings page, so it makes sense not to make waves.
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

Newspaper Taxi said:
Am I dreaming, or was there an allusion made to the dolphin-like character in "Dark Mirror"?
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zarkon said:
Yeah, I assumed that was a reference to Hwii (don't remember him loving bad jokes, but it has been a while). Riker did make the distinction between dolphin and cetaceans (Hwii was a Delphine, and I think Duane wanted him to be a dolphin but wasn't allowed due to the limitations on trek writers back then).
Click to expand...

Actually, it's a reference to the "cetacean ops" that appear on the TNG Enterprise blueprints...
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

Garrovick said:
Finished this book a few days ago, loved it! I've really enjoyed all of The Fall so far, but this one is my favorite. I'm anxious to see how the events of this book play out in the future, especially in regards to Riker, Dax, Bashir, and Vale. It was good to see Tom Riker again, too.

Mr. Swallow, congrats on making the NYT best-seller list!
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Pretty much my exact thoughts as well.
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

Where does Nydak II come from? I think it's the Spaceflight Chronology but I haven't found it there.
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

One moment...

Not seeing it in that book. Will re-read it later in the week...
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

I have finished and I want to say The Poisoned Chalice is a very good read. I am expecting the last book in The Fall to also be very good.
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

Last I checked, adding previously-unmentioned planets and systems to a fictionalized version of the Milky Way Galaxy was still an option. ;)

If ever there's a Novelverse-specific update to Star Charts - unlikely as it seems right now - there ought to be a set of disclaimers at the front mentioning "disinformation campaigns targeting threat forces", "new information can be declassified at any time", and so on. This way, when writers bring out new stuff, the previous authors are partway protected. There'll always be complaints of course...
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

James Swallow said:
rfmcdpei said:
Where does Nydak II come from? I think it's the Spaceflight Chronology but I haven't found it there.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure I made that one up.
Click to expand...

Ah, OK. If I may ask, what were the Spaceflight Chronology references to?

(One of the things I liked most about your novel was the way that it expertly--naturalistically--made references to the vast Trek novelverse continuity without hammering readers like myself over the head with them. On re-reading my copy, I amused myself by tracking them down.)
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

Stoek said:
James Swallow said:
rfmcdpei said:
Where does Nydak II come from? I think it's the Spaceflight Chronology but I haven't found it there.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure I made that one up.
Click to expand...

*blinks* Made.... up....?

Is that allowed? ;-)
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Too late to stop us now. :D Moo hoo hah haaa.

*ahem*

rfmcdpei said:
Ah, OK. If I may ask, what were the Spaceflight Chronology references to?

(One of the things I liked most about your novel was the way that it expertly--naturalistically--made references to the vast Trek novelverse continuity without hammering readers like myself over the head with them. On re-reading my copy, I amused myself by tracking them down.)
Click to expand...

Hey, thanks. I like to think I use continuity refs in the way I like to read them myself, as part of the flow of a story but not as the reason for it to be.

And in answer to your question, aside from the fact that I have a deep fanboy love for Spaceflight Chronology, the direct ref is to the painting of the Mann-Class starship on the wall of Riker's office in The Poisoned Chalice. It's the picture on p147 of SC, Rick Sternbach's evocative artwork of the USS Endurance.
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

So, I've just finished book 1 in The Fall series, and have ordered books 2, 3, and 4. [While I'm waiting for them to arrive, I'm reading Cast No Shadow, which I am enjoying immensely.]

Since I'm three books away from getting to this one, can somebody please tell me if the Ogawa/Challenger situation from IFM is fixed/referenced, and if so, in what way?
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

Freman said:
So, I've just finished book 1 in The Fall series, and have ordered books 2, 3, and 4. [While I'm waiting for them to arrive, I'm reading Cast No Shadow, which I am enjoying immensely.]

Since I'm three books away from getting to this one, can somebody please tell me if the Ogawa/Challenger situation from IFM is fixed/referenced, and if so, in what way?
Click to expand...

She isn't mentioned.
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

Dimesdan said:
Freman said:
So, I've just finished book 1 in The Fall series, and have ordered books 2, 3, and 4. [While I'm waiting for them to arrive, I'm reading Cast No Shadow, which I am enjoying immensely.]

Since I'm three books away from getting to this one, can somebody please tell me if the Ogawa/Challenger situation from IFM is fixed/referenced, and if so, in what way?
Click to expand...

She isn't mentioned.
Click to expand...

Really? I just read through this entire thread and have seen mentioned a couple of time that something from IFM is mentioned. If it doesn't have to do with Ogawa, then what is the IFM reference?
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

^ The details are fleeting, so I might be remembering this incorrectly, but I think it was actually Nog who made a reference to his time on Challenger.
 
Re: TF: The Poisoned Chalice by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!

Avro Arrow said:
^ The details are fleeting, so I might be remembering this incorrectly, but I think it was actually Nog who made a reference to his time on Challenger.
Click to expand...

Ah, okay. Too bad they didn't fix the Ogawa thing, too.
 
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