Spoilers TNG, DS9, and VOY - Where is a Good Place to Start?

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by tomalak301, Mar 28, 2014.

  1. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I started Mission Gamma Twilight this week and while I'm not that far into it, I reached a critical moment, the moment that was the basis of DS9 to begin with. Bajor is finally going to join the federation, and it took a war and aiding 2 planets (Cardassia and Europa Nova) to do it. I do wish this would have happened on screen but to know that DS9 continued and I finally have chosen to experience that continuation makes me extremely happy.

    I started this thread looking for new Star Trek. I liked the Abrams films (Star Trek more than Into Darkness) but as a fan of 24th century trek, there was something missing and I can only see the episodes so many times. To finally get into the relaunch and really dig into it (not just say I will and then have the thread die) this last month has been really fun. With this, and then maybe getting into the Voyager stuff later his year (and I decided I was going to try to get homecoming and further shore), it's great to finally embrace he trek lit world.
     
  2. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I've always felt that Bajor not joining the Federation was one of the biggest unresolved story threads in DS9. That was supposed to be the whole point of them being there, but they never even really acknowledged it in What You Leave Behind.
     
  3. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I actually have found I like early DS9 more than the war stuff because over time I've really loved the religious aspects of Bajor and the political climate after the occupation. When the dominion came, it seemed like this part of the story was sacrificed, with a few exceptions but so far the novels seem to be getting back into those early DS9 aspects. It's probably why I liked Avatar as much as I did, because while it was a continuation of the series, it was bringing the early aspects of the series back to the forefront.
     
  4. Deranged Nasat

    Deranged Nasat Vice Admiral Admiral

    I agree that one of the great successes of the Relaunch was its return to the Bajoran politics/religion stories, and its redemption of Bajor itself as a focus, as well as balancing that with the high-stakes politics and widely inclusive sweep of the later seasons. It really is the best of DS9.
     
  5. Enterpriserules

    Enterpriserules Commodore Commodore

    Twilight is an amazing book. Epic in every sense of the word, one of my favorites in the DS9r!
     
  6. indianatrekker26

    indianatrekker26 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I've been reading the post-series stuff sporadically. I'm really interested in going back and starting with "Taking Wing" and moving forward from there. However, I'm assuming "Avatar" would be a better starting place? I ask, because I have no idea how lost I would be when I'd get to the Typhon/Fall series, as in, how much DS9-R is referenced or built from the older books of the relaunch?
     
  7. tomswift2002

    tomswift2002 Commodore Commodore

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    You have to remember that the major storyline started in "Avatar" is wrapped up in "Unity ", and those books form Season 8 of DS9, with a few plot lines carrying over to the "Worlds Of DS9" trilogy and the a new major plot line beginning in the trilogy that is still unresolved, with "The Soul Key" being the last book in the Season 9 arc to date. Then "Zero Sum Game" started the current arc (that takes place about 5 years later) that ties into the Typhon Pact.
     
  8. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Just know that the Season 8 and Season 9 names are things that a few fans use, it's not any kind official title, and it isn't really structured that way on purpose.
     
  9. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, that did seem to come out of nowhere. Kind of confused me for a second.
     
  10. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I got a little confused with the whole arc ends at unity and then a new one starts with the next book. Of course I'm at Twilight now so it doesn't really matter, but it sounded like Unity is a good break point. I am looking forward to Unity and Rising Son, but those a little bit down the line.
     
  11. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Some big stuff is resolved in Unity, but it's not as clear cut as comparing it to a season finale would make it sound.
     
  12. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Quite right. In fact, the books were deliberately structured to be books, not just pretend TV episodes. Editor Marco Palmieri tried to tell stories in a way that could only be done in books, that took full advantage of the prose medium. And I think he was upset when people tried to force them into a "fake TV season" mold, because it was missing the whole point of what he was seeking to achieve.

    Also, even if one did try to force the books into some contrived "TV season" model -- which would be a rough analogy at best -- I don't agree with the assertion that Unity would be the "season finale." If anything, it'd be more like the big February sweeps 2-parter, with Worlds of DS9 filling out the rest of the season and the end of Olympus Descending being the big cliffhanger finale. After all, everything from Avatar to Olympus Descending (or everything from The Left Hand of Destiny to OD, going in chronological order) takes place in 2376.

    So stating as a fact that Unity is the "season finale" is greatly misleading. It's nothing more than a personal opinion held by some fans, an analogy that's a crude fit at best to the facts, and it is absolutely not what the book was intended to be.
     
  13. dansigal

    dansigal Captain Captain

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    Plot wise you wouldn't be too lost. It's really just character development of the existing DS9 characters and introduction of the new lit characters to carry over from the first DS9 relaunch into the Typhon Pact series.
     
  14. indianatrekker26

    indianatrekker26 Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    That's good to hear. I finally decided to start with the "A Time to,,," series, and just go forward from there. I've really been interested in reading the Post-Nemesis stuff. But I figured from what I've read on here, the Time to,,, stuff is heavily referenced in the later books. And since I'm horribly OCD with my trek reading, I also decided to forgo the suggestions on here of starting with A Time to Kill, and just start with ,,,Be Born. I'm currently on ,,,Sow. So far not been bad, other than SuperWesley to the rescue every 5 minutes in Born/Die.
    Even though Sow has started off much slower, I've really enjoyed it for the quiet character moments at the beginning. I'm into the last few chapters and the story is really picking up now.
     
  15. Deranged Nasat

    Deranged Nasat Vice Admiral Admiral

    ^ I very much like the first six A Time To... books (with the first pair being the weakest), so I for one don't agree with the "skip to Tezwa" approach.
     
  16. voyager1

    voyager1 Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I was about to start a thread like this, but I am going to tack on to this one if the OP doesn't mind. :) I have just started the Twist of Faith omnibus as well. I am at chapter 3 where DS9 is attacked. So far the characters are very believable.

    I am not new to Trek Lit. I have been following the Enterprise novels from TGTMD to the most recent Babel one. Love them. I have read the the Voyager Homecoming two parter (it was okay). I have read the Voyager anthology (it had a couple of good ones and a couple of yawners) and I have read Mosaic. I also read TNG: Dark Mirror when I was in junior high school, that was 20 years ago :lol:

    Anyway I am hopeful the DS9 novels are at least as good as the Enterprise trilogy. That is not to say the books Christopher has done were bad, just they have a different feel to them. The trilogy with Romulan War was just outstanding and gave some good closure to the show, Christopher is just giving us almost a new series with new adventures :)
     
  17. ryan123450

    ryan123450 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Welcome to the board! You won't regret reading the DS9 Relaunch. And it will lead you on to the other post series books that are also quite good. And check out my site in my signature!
     
  18. voyager1

    voyager1 Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    I thought I would give everyone an update. I finished book 1 of the omnibus, it was good, but a little short. It reads quick too. I liked it, on to book 2. I am glad I had the book 2 available, I imagine waiting the months for the second book would have been tough.
     
  19. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I read Avatar maybe 2 months ago and reading Mission Gamma: Twilight now, I'm realizing how easy of a book Avatar was. I'm also certain that that book should have just been a long single book instead of breaking it up because MG: Twilight is long. It's a great read though but I'm not rushing it like I did with the others.
     
  20. tomalak301

    tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I was on vacation this week but I finally finished MG: Twilight.

    Mission Gamma: Twilight - A+

    This book was long, but it was an amazing read. On the Ipad, it was 730 pages (albeit with a larger font, which is something I am a fan of in terms of e-readers) and it took 2 months to finish but the final third of the book was fantastic.

    There was so much that went on in this book but I wanted to start with Commander Vaughn and Prynn. While each character had a separate story-line, they were very much connected, and you can sense that while reading. These are new characters to the DS9 universe, but through the first few novels, their story about trying to get back together was both emotional and moving. You had Prynn who wanted nothing to do with Vaughn, and Vaughn going through the events of reliving his past of abandonment and loss through the thoughtscape to the point where he was realizing why his daughter hated him so much. In the end, Prynn went through the same experience, especially with the conversation with Shar (Another great new character) about if Vaughn's decisions was right. This book was all about self reflection and discovery, and I really liked how it ended, with the two of them finally spending time together through the Thoughtscape experience and really set to reconcile.

    Back on the Station, we meet another new character in Admiral Akaar, and his story with Kira was equally as interesting as what was going on in the Delta Quadrent. As a fan of DS9, I was disappointed that it seemed like the series ended forgetting the reason why it started, whether or not Bajor would join the federation. Well here we see that take place, and if you think back through the events of the series, and Kira making Ohalu's book public in Avatar making her an outcast and thus being attainted, this was a good victory for Bajor. We finally got the conclusion we've been waiting for, and the final discussion between Akaar and Kira made their whole story worth it. You think Akaar as this jerk, and then you get to that discussion and it really does make sense.

    On the Defiant, you had Ezri continuing her transformation from nervous councellor we first meet to really one of DS9's most interesting characters and I'm going to admit it now. Because I see these novels as a continuation of the series, Ezri is 10 times better than Jadzia Dax. We see a confidence in her, a growing sense that yeah, she is set for command, and we saw a really creative use of "Dax". I applaud the author (David R. George III) for using the Dax symbiont in a why that was really interesting and wished it had been used in the series. I loved the idea of the Dax symbiont as a conduit between our universe and the thoughtspace universe in subspace. Hell, just the fact that they used the symbiont itself instead of the host really intregued me. I think if there was a weakest part of this storyline, it is Bashir continuing to be annoying.

    I'm not going to say much about the Quark storyline other than say what a weird storyline this is. I like Quark, but Quark and Ro? Uh, ok then.

    Overall, I know this is a long post but this book was so great, and I actually read the final 120 pages in a day. When everything was coming together I actually started to get really emotional, much in the same way I did when we got the revelations at the end of Avatar. This was a great book and I've already started Book 2. Looking forward to getting deeper into it.

    I've also decided to start grading these books, so in terms of rankings from favorite to least favorite so far:

    Mission Gamma: Twilight - A+
    Avatar Books 1 and 2 (It really felt like just one novel) - A-
    Demons of Air and Darkness - B+
    Abyss - B
    Horn and Ivory - B-