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Burning Dreams

Christopher said:
blsisko said:
After all "Nyota" Uhura has had at least two "official" non-canon first names, before "Nyota" was more or less decided upon.

Define "'official' non-canon."
Easy: Non-canon = not shown on any live action Trek.
"Official" (as compared to without the quotes) = a "canon" used in the novels (and RPGs and Video Games and gum wrappers).

For example, um, say, let's take Uhura's first name. She was never given one in any of the live action Star Trek series, hence no canon name. However, most of the books (and Ms. Nichols) have given her the name of "Nyota", which is as close to a canon name as we're ever going to get (a la Hikaru Sulu, first devised "in Vonda N. McIntyre's 1981 novel The Entropy Effect.").

Hence "official" non-canon. It's what the fans and writers have decided upon and agreed upon but is non-canon until someone utters the words on the air.
 
blsisko said:
Christopher said:
blsisko said:
After all "Nyota" Uhura has had at least two "official" non-canon first names, before "Nyota" was more or less decided upon.

Define "'official' non-canon."
Easy: Non-canon = not shown on any live action Trek.
"Official" (as compared to without the quotes) = a "canon" used in the novels (and RPGs and Video Games and gum wrappers).

For example, um, say, let's take Uhura's first name. She was never given one in any of the live action Star Trek series, hence no canon name. However, most of the books (and Ms. Nichols) have given her the name of "Nyota", which is as close to a canon name as we're ever going to get...

Even if I accepted that logic, that doesn't fit because you said she had two such names before "Nyota" came along. The only other first name I recall being ascribed to her was "Penda" in some fan references, which don't constitute "official" by any definition. And Nyota was never "official," just widely used in practice.
 
He didn't say Uhura had two first names before "Nyota" was coined; he said she had two first names before "Nyota" was decided upon.

Going back on topic, I know I said Number One shouldn't have a name, but if Margaret'd given her some really absurd name, I'd've been cool with it.

Big McLargeHuge, for example.

You couldn't blame her for going by "Number One" then.
 
Or, then, there's Peter David's explanation in the Rift that the Captain (and by some extrapolation, no one else) can pronounce her name.
 
Christopher said:
blsisko said:
Not just that, we also know that Pike was the captain for 2 five year missions to explore...

No, we know he was captain of the Enterprise for over 11 years (we don't know how long he was captain before Spock joined his crew). We don't know if "five-year missions" were standard at the time, or indeed at any time. Just because the E was on a five-year tour of duty in TOS doesn't mean all Starfleet vessels are sent exclusively on tours of that duration.
Wait a minute - Do we really know that Pike commanded the Enterprise for that long? Does "The Menagerie" say that Pike commanded the Enterprise for 11 years, or just that Spock served under Pike for that long?
 
Re: My review at Amazon.com....

raleighrob said:


I'm guessing it takes a LONG time....cuz if they were in the UFP in the Dominion War, that war would've lasted only a couple of days! :lol: Just give some illusion to the Jem'Hadar and next thing you know they're flying into a star. End of problem. ;)

I've never actually read them, but according to The Star Trek Comics Checklist the characters in the Starfleet Academy series, visit Talos during the DW and fight the Jem'Hadar with the help of Chris Pike and the Talosians. But, this was released in August 1997, so it is probably a totally different version of Talos.
 
Timo said:
We don't know if "five-year missions" were standard at the time, or indeed at any time.

Certainly Kirk in TMP seems to think that his five years were a unique achievement...
Is the achievement that he had a five-year mission, or that he actually finished the mission (unlike Defiant, Constellation, Intrepid, Excalibur, or Exeter)?

IMO, he was probably part of the first wave of 5YMs, but not alone in getting one. :)
 
Re: My review at Amazon.com....

JD said:
I've never actually read them, but according to The Star Trek Comics Checklist the characters in the Starfleet Academy series, visit Talos during the DW and fight the Jem'Hadar with the help of Chris Pike and the Talosians. But, this was released in August 1997, so it is probably a totally different version of Talos.

Pike isn't actually in those issues. The Talosians utilize a telepathic illusion of Pike for the purpose of eaisier communication with the cadets. Pike himself is long dead. Nothing in "BD" directly contradicts the comics.
 
Christopher said:
Even if I accepted that logic, that doesn't fit because you said she had two such names before "Nyota" came along. The only other first name I recall being ascribed to her was "Penda" in some fan references, which don't constitute "official" by any definition. And Nyota was never "official," just widely used in practice.
Steve Mollmann said:
He didn't say Uhura had two first names before "Nyota" was coined; he said she had two first names before "Nyota" was decided upon.
"Penda" and "Nyota" were the two names that I was talking about. And I had the word official in quotes for a reason. Call it fanon instead of "official" non-canon, same difference. The idea what that there are agreed upon ideas and beliefs about the Trek universe that doesn't mean jack when one of the shows/movies says otherwise.

And I still think that garamet should've given us the definative fanon name for Number One.

But again, no one has commented on Kirk being as giddy as a school girl upon taking command of the Enterprise. :p
 
^Remember, that's told from Pike's POV. He may have been feeling a bit cynical after the adventures he'd just been through. :p
 
garamet said:
^Remember, that's told from Pike's POV. He may have been feeling a bit cynical after the adventures he'd just been through. :p
Hahahahah good answer! Good answer! :guffaw: :D
 
garamet said:
But, see, I knew Nichelle Nichols preferred "Nyota." I've never had the opportunity to ask Majel Barrett what she prefers. ;)

I bet she'd have no problem with "Commander Diva Slapp". :lol:
 
First off, great book! Very enjoyable, and I miss having TOS era books around (this is pre-TOS, obviously, but had a similar feel).

Just a random comment on a part of the book that played very little role in anything, but...

Can't explain why, but feel a little let down by Sulu' appearance in the book. Seemed like he was described as being much older there, like he'd been in that role for quite some time. Not that there's anything wrong with that, or that it contradicts anything...

Just felt that like after all this time of (seemlingly) carefully avoiding Sulu showing up in roles later in his carer, thought we might eventually get a story that ends with the loss of Captain and crew at some point. Maybe I mis-read, or have the wrong image in my head of his age as described, but just seemed like he was old in that role.

Just a passing thought...
 
^He's probably not popping up anywhere because the authors are waiting to see what Martin & Mangels do with him in the new Excelsior book that comes out next year.
 
I don't think so. Forged in Fire will feature Sulu and crew before the events of ST:TUC. Currently the latest chronological appearance of Sulu and the Excelsior is in
Burning Dreams, which has Sulu survive at least until 2320.
 
According to the Okudas, Sulu was born in 2239. That would make him 81 in 2320.

Bearing in mind that humans live much longer in that era (130+ on average), 81 would be barely middle-aged.
 
It was nice to see Sulu in the "lost era" again even if it was limited.

I'm eager for more TOS characters stories set within the "lost era".

Catalyst of Sorrows has a great mix of familiar characters from various series in an unfamiliar time setting. The older Uhura and Bones working with younger Crusher, Sisko, Tuvok and Selar is a treat especially becuase of how MWB has managed to portray their ages in 2360 which we've never seen on screen. I think the voices are bang on.

But alas I digress.
 
Having spent the last two hours or so reading through this thread, I can see that there are many things that have already been said.

I'll make my post brief. I enjoyed learning about Pike and what made him tick; I found the Crimson Tide reference amusing and Kirk's behaviour in Harbinger isn't too dissimilar to him being "giddy as a schoolgirl" because he's not long taken command of the Enterprise.

Congrats to Margaret for the reprint and I look forward to seeing more of the same. Perhaps a character bio of Number One?
 
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