And yet, we see he has been marginalized at the beginning of "First Contact" - Starfleet didn't want him anywhere near the Borg - and he marginalizes himself in "Insurrection".
A Time To... Series
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And yet, we see he has been marginalized at the beginning of "First Contact" - Starfleet didn't want him anywhere near the Borg - and he marginalizes himself in "Insurrection".
You raise good points. Though Picard did prove Starfleet's reasoning wrong when it comes to "First Contact" and they apparently ended up accepting that as we saw no consequences.
Re "Insurrection", I never got the feeling Admiral Dougherty was more than a rogue admiral without the backing of all of Starfleet, but don't quote me on that as it's been quite a while since I've seen the movie.
With regards to the novels - I can buy Picard's fall from grace when it was unclear what happened, but after it's been proven that he was right? I did like the politics, but it felt a bit off to me. Not too big a quibble though, as I can work with it and am enjoying the rest of the series.
Dougherty started off with the full backing, because he'd given the UFP Council incorrect information. So it was Picard who had to take the risks necessary to prove it. If Picard had not been able to prove it, he'd have been in huge trouble.
And no matter which way Picard jumped, there would have been people in high places who felt that Picard acted impulsively during "First Contact" and "Insurrection", and thus they were all too ready to make him a scapegoat after the events of the first "A Time..." duology. Similarly, Data's emotion chip was raising concerns.
Thank you for clearing that up, but this is exactly my problem. Picard took the chance and may have ended up being wrong, but he wasn't, so his reputation was restored at the end of it all. Shouldn't the same be true when it comes to the phantom ship then? It's not so much the fact that Starfleet doubted him - that seemed reasonable. But tarnish the flagship based on something that has been proven to not be a mistake? Despite the need for allies, allies that seemed circumspect at best, that was a bit of a stretch for me.
Maybe, going with what you said about making Picard a scapegoat, it would have worked if there were some sort of long standing enemy of Picard in Starfleet or someone who, for one reason or another, had some misgivings about him out of jealousy, whatever.
But anyways, I don't want to turn this minor point of mine into a huge reason to say I don't enjoy the series. I do. It just took a bit to swallow that plot point to go on.
^ And listen to the soundtrack from that film while reading them -- especially A Time to Heal. 
Probably true but I have read Death in Winter, Resistance and am now almost done with Q & A. I think I am on page 200 or about to start Chapter 14. Great book. I will return to A Time to series right after I finishe Q & A which is a freekn' awesome book, minus the T'Lana junk. <-- She has to grow on me.
Sci said:
wizkid said:
I started the series last monday and am almost finished with the first book. While the setting of the first book is a bit weird for me to understand, I have enjoyed the book and can't put it down. I wish I had more time to read them. Unfortunately, I am going to take a short break to read Q & A before the next "A time to..." as soon as it hits my door step on Monday or Tuesday.
This isn't required, but I suspect that your reading experience will be superior if you finish A Time to... before moving on to the post-NEM novels.
I have been reading this series most of this summer and well since I have been able to play catch up for the 2 new TNG books, which I hope to read soon. I can't remember actually which book it was now, which I think it was A Time To Love. Well I remember Riker was talking about the family history of the Riker line and he mentioned there was a Riker on Earth during the time when the Enterprise was about to leave for the Delphic Expanse.
What's funny is, I was over at Trekcore looking at screencaps and I was looking at the ones he was in for the holodeck scenario. Well when he was in the MACO uniform, had W. Riker on it. So makes me wonder if there was a Riker on the Enterprise.
I know that TATV is not really considered by many a favorite at all or even to exist. I'm just saying since the first relaunch book has come out, well who knows maybe Riker is a MACO on the NX-01. I could not see the right side of his uniform, to see what rank he had.
What's funny is, I was over at Trekcore looking at screencaps and I was looking at the ones he was in for the holodeck scenario. Well when he was in the MACO uniform, had W. Riker on it. So makes me wonder if there was a Riker on the Enterprise.
I know that TATV is not really considered by many a favorite at all or even to exist. I'm just saying since the first relaunch book has come out, well who knows maybe Riker is a MACO on the NX-01. I could not see the right side of his uniform, to see what rank he had.
Well I just thought about that after reading it but he also had W. Riker on the Ensign uniform too.
This is another idea I was kicking around last night in my head. Does anyone think maybe that the Enterprise was refitted to Mark 3 before Nemesis or during the A Time To series? I don't think it would of been, since she was getting her butt kicked pretty good sometimes.
This is another idea I was kicking around last night in my head. Does anyone think maybe that the Enterprise was refitted to Mark 3 before Nemesis or during the A Time To series? I don't think it would of been, since she was getting her butt kicked pretty good sometimes.
Think back to "The Big Goodbye". Holodeck characters reacted to Dixon Hill wearing weird clothing when he first entered, and then to Data's pale gold complexion. Doesn't mean Dixon Hill really wore a Starfleet uniform in the books, or that Data's character really always came from South America no matter who played him.
Are you talking about the Nemesis weapons upgrades? I figured the extra weapons and handrails on every console, and maybe the phaser-rack walls were part of an upgrade during the Dominion War. In a time of war, especially in one that you seem to be losing, if you can put a weapon on it, do it. The one behind the bridge seems to have no room for a large magazine, but firing only a few from there is better than firing none.
Yes mostly the weapons upgrades and just the extention of the saucer section as well.
I just started to read A Time To Heal and well I wish there had been a Dominion War story centered on maybe ground forces, such as Marines or any other officers. I'm saying this cause the op going after General Minza was almost like something I have always wanted to see on any of the series that were on air. I mean there was sort of that in Enterprise but we didn't get to see the MACOs that much.
I'm just saying this cause it feels like what is going on in Iraq and just reminds me of how things would be say if that was Iraq instead of Tewza.
Since I had quite some time during recent trips, I finished the series and I must say I can't remember any trek book or series that I enjoyed as much as these. Kudos to all the authors (and it was interesting to compare individual writing styles within one series as well).
Aside from thoroughly enjoying the stories themselves, I have to say those were some of the best written trek books I have read.
And overall, as I stated before, the series worked beautifully in how it mapped out the events before Nemesis and also mirrored the sense of something ending that the movie had (maybe one of the few things I enjoyed about it).
So, thanks for a great read. Am in the middle of the Titan novels now, as Riker has always been my favorite TNG character.
Aside from thoroughly enjoying the stories themselves, I have to say those were some of the best written trek books I have read.
And overall, as I stated before, the series worked beautifully in how it mapped out the events before Nemesis and also mirrored the sense of something ending that the movie had (maybe one of the few things I enjoyed about it).
So, thanks for a great read. Am in the middle of the Titan novels now, as Riker has always been my favorite TNG character.
^ Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it!
Part of the fun of the miniseries was the collaborative nature of it. All the authors were in regular touch with each other as we were writing. That made the work go much more smoothly and made it much more entertaining for us, and, we hope, for the readers as well.....
Part of the fun of the miniseries was the collaborative nature of it. All the authors were in regular touch with each other as we were writing. That made the work go much more smoothly and made it much more entertaining for us, and, we hope, for the readers as well.....
If you don't mind my asking, to what extent did you collaborate? I mean, my own (pitiful in comparison) experience of something akin to that was taking part in a Round Robin series of fanfics, so did you have a mapped out story arc or just certain key moments you had to work in and the rest was relatively up to the writer to flesh out?
And how much freedom did you have when it came to writing style - as it was really interesting to see some differences, but it overall still read like a cohesive story (in the sense that the writing wasn't TOO different from author to author, but noticeable enough).
In any case, virtual cookies to all the writers for an awesome read and for pulling me back into trek lit.
And how much freedom did you have when it came to writing style - as it was really interesting to see some differences, but it overall still read like a cohesive story (in the sense that the writing wasn't TOO different from author to author, but noticeable enough).
In any case, virtual cookies to all the writers for an awesome read and for pulling me back into trek lit.
The series had its genesis in 2002 when John J. Ordover, then the Senior Editor for Trek fiction at Pocket, had the idea of doing a twelve-book series that would chronicle the year leading up to Nemesis. The idea would be to set up the various events of the film: why Worf was back in Starfleet when we last saw him as an ambassador, what led to Riker and Troi deciding to marry, what led to Riker finally getting his own command, why Crusher decided to go back to Starfleet Medical, what Wesley was doing back in Starfleet, and why Data seemed to have lost his emotion chip.
We started with a brainstorming session that involved John, freelance editor Carol Greenburg, me, Bob Greenberger, and John Vornholt at a Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn. We covered a lot of the major points we wanted to deal with. John wanted to cover Wesley, Bob wanted Riker and Troi (it was at that dinner that we decided to have the particular traumatic event that occurred in Bob's duology), and I wanted Worf's return to Starfleet, which also meant I'd be closing the series out, since the script at the time had Worf saying he just returned to Starfleet from his diplomatic post.
As time went on, some changes were made, in part because Wesley's role was reduced to a no-line cameo in the film, so we decided not to set the reset button and left him as a Traveler. Both Worf's line about being a diplomat and all the references to Crusher going to Starfleet Medical were removed, but we stuck with those, as Crusher's through-line in agonizing over the decision whether or not to take the job was something we all wanted to tackle.
"Collaborate" may be a strong word. Mostly we just kept each other posted as to what we wanted to do. I also kept a master crew roster so that we could have characters appear in subsequent books -- e.g., Dr. Tropp, the Denobulan deputy chief medical officer, created by Dayton and Kevin and used by the rest of us to some degree or other; Taurik as the deputy chief engineer; and the various members of Vale's security detail.
Somewhere in there, it was decided to cut it down to nine books and make my finale a single volume.
Other things: Bob set Dave's duology up by having Koll Azernal be behind the events of his two books, and he also set up my finale by mentioning the inspection tours. Dayton & Kevin and Dave both made use of Worf in such a way that set the stage for his journey in my finale.
My favorite: Bob had a security guard named Carmona, who was defending Picard throughout Love/Hate, and who survived despite spending a goodly amount of time in those two books being shot at. Dave then blew him up while he was relaxing and having lunch.
We also checked with each other on various things relating to Crusher and Data, in particular, since their plots went through most of the miniseries.
Hope that explains things.
We started with a brainstorming session that involved John, freelance editor Carol Greenburg, me, Bob Greenberger, and John Vornholt at a Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn. We covered a lot of the major points we wanted to deal with. John wanted to cover Wesley, Bob wanted Riker and Troi (it was at that dinner that we decided to have the particular traumatic event that occurred in Bob's duology), and I wanted Worf's return to Starfleet, which also meant I'd be closing the series out, since the script at the time had Worf saying he just returned to Starfleet from his diplomatic post.
As time went on, some changes were made, in part because Wesley's role was reduced to a no-line cameo in the film, so we decided not to set the reset button and left him as a Traveler. Both Worf's line about being a diplomat and all the references to Crusher going to Starfleet Medical were removed, but we stuck with those, as Crusher's through-line in agonizing over the decision whether or not to take the job was something we all wanted to tackle.
"Collaborate" may be a strong word. Mostly we just kept each other posted as to what we wanted to do. I also kept a master crew roster so that we could have characters appear in subsequent books -- e.g., Dr. Tropp, the Denobulan deputy chief medical officer, created by Dayton and Kevin and used by the rest of us to some degree or other; Taurik as the deputy chief engineer; and the various members of Vale's security detail.
Somewhere in there, it was decided to cut it down to nine books and make my finale a single volume.
Other things: Bob set Dave's duology up by having Koll Azernal be behind the events of his two books, and he also set up my finale by mentioning the inspection tours. Dayton & Kevin and Dave both made use of Worf in such a way that set the stage for his journey in my finale.
My favorite: Bob had a security guard named Carmona, who was defending Picard throughout Love/Hate, and who survived despite spending a goodly amount of time in those two books being shot at. Dave then blew him up while he was relaxing and having lunch.
We also checked with each other on various things relating to Crusher and Data, in particular, since their plots went through most of the miniseries.
Hope that explains things.
Thank you for answering, KRAD! I just can't resist picking the authors' brains on here, since it's so awesome to see you guys post.
I did not catch that about Carmona, too funny!
But it's really interesting to get a glimpse at the "logistics" behind this, so thank you!
I did not catch that about Carmona, too funny!
But it's really interesting to get a glimpse at the "logistics" behind this, so thank you!
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