Countdown to Destiny (may contain spoilers)

[Trent Roman]

Well, let's not get carried away. There's a limit to the amount of changes that can be brought to the universe at large without alienating those ever-so precious casual readers who can't handle simple things like cast lists. But, seriously, it wouldn't be good for the book line if a potential reader only familiar with the film and TV series picks up a post-Destiny book, reads the back blurb and hasn't a clue what the hell is going on. Shaking up the characters is always a good thing, but if the general setting becomes unrecognizable, readership would be expected to drop.

Still, I can't wait to see what does get messed up.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[Christopher]

LightningStorm said:
At one point someone here said that this trilogy will also help determine (or perhaps guide) the direction of the Voyager Relaunch as well. Is this still true?

What was said was simply that it would give hints about the future direction of the VGR Relaunch.

Babaganoosh said:
There may not even be separate novel lines when it's done with them. Probably one of the most major reality-shaking events we've ever seen. Even more so than the various Crises of DC Comics.

Where in the world are you getting that assumption from? You're speculating far beyond the evidence here.

Of course there will be separate novel lines after this. After all, not all the novel series take place in 2381 or after. But any novels that do take place after Destiny will of course be affected by the changes that occur in that trilogy.

 

[RonG]

I hope there's still a seperate Titan series post- Destiny ... I'm currently reading book 1, and though I had trouble getting into it, I'm slowly getting there

 

[William Leisner]

Christopher said:

Babaganoosh said:
There may not even be separate novel lines when it's done with them. Probably one of the most major reality-shaking events we've ever seen. Even more so than the various Crises of DC Comics.

Where in the world are you getting that assumption from?

David Mack... the complete and utter destruction of all that we know and hold dear... Makes sense to me.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Mack was let loose in the Vanguard series and I lost count of the dead by the end of the third book.

Mack was let loose a few times in the Corps of Engineers series and - early on - killed half the crew.

I don't really need to say much more. There's a reason we call him Mack the Knife. I'll be surprised if all the senior officers of any ship mentioned actually make it through the trilogy intact--or alive.

 

[JoeZhang]

but I guess that's a lot easier to do with the cast of nobodies they have in those books? I'd be very surprised if anything happens to Picard, Riker et al..

(having said that, we did recently have the "death" of KJ in the more recent borg book).

 

[David Mack]

JoeZhang, I know you probably didn't mean any offense, but I don't appreciate having the SCE or Vanguard characters referred to as "nobodies". To the readers of those series, those characters are every bit as important as any others. And as the co-developer of the Vanguard series, I care quite a bit about the fates of my characters.

Here endeth my rant.

 

[ryan123450]

JoeZhang said:
but I guess that's a lot easier to do with the cast of nobodies they have in those books? I'd be very surprised if anything happens to Picard, Riker et al..

(having said that, we did recently have the ... in the more recent borg book).

Thanks for the spoiler code! Way to ruin that for me!

 

[Allyn Gibson]

JoeZhang said:
having said that, we did recently have the "death" of KJ in the more recent borg book.

Why the quotes around "death," Joe? Did you read a different Before Dishonor than I did? Janeway shuffling off this mortal coil was rather clear-cut, I thought.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Allyn Gibson said:

JoeZhang said:
having said that, we did recently have the "death" of KJ in the more recent borg book.

Why the quotes around "death," Joe? Did you read a different Before Dishonor than I did? Janeway shuffling off this mortal coil was rather clear-cut, I thought.

Until the next chapter.

Ryan, no offense intended, but the thread title clearly indicates that there may be spoilers. If you didn't want to be spoiled, you shouldn't be reading the thread, at least not until you've read the books.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Christopher said:
Where in the world are you getting that assumption from? You're speculating far beyond the evidence here.

It's what I do best.

I just can't shake the memory of one of David's posts he made here awhile back. I can't remember exactly how he worded it, but something about "that roadkill back on the highway, that's the Trek novel status quo". Suggesting some kind of a major reality-bending shakeup, or lots of death, or both.

Trent Roman said: But, seriously, it wouldn't be good for the book line if a potential reader only familiar with the film and TV series picks up a post-Destiny book, reads the back blurb and hasn't a clue what the hell is going on.

That's another thing I'm good at...being confused and not knowing what's going on. Although it is nice to hear that even after the "crisis on infinite Trek" that the books will still be accessible to newbies like myself.

 

[JoeZhang]

Allyn Gibson said:

JoeZhang said:
having said that, we did recently have the "death" of KJ in the more recent borg book.

Why the quotes around "death," Joe? Did you read a different Before Dishonor than I did? Janeway shuffling off this mortal coil was rather clear-cut, I thought.

Because it was done in such a perfunctionary manner, it just read like the set-up for another story - as someone else mentioned, I'll be very surprised if she stays dead.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ She's not dead! She's getting better!

 

[JoeZhang]

David Mack said:
JoeZhang, I know you probably didn't mean any offense, but I don't appreciate having the SCE or Vanguard characters referred to as "nobodies". To the readers of those series, those characters are every bit as important as any others. And as the co-developer of the Vanguard series, I care quite a bit about the fates of my characters.

Here endeth my rant.

My apologies if any offense was caused, I'm a causal reader of Trek (although I'm being less casual with recommendations from this place) and I come at it from that perspective.

That is to say, that while David Mack might be allowed to kill off various book only characters - I'd be surprised if he was allowed to kill off Picard, Riker and a series of other canon characters in the manner suggested upthread (actually that gives me an idea for thread...).

 

[Trent Roman]

Babaganoosh said:
That's another thing I'm good at...being confused and not knowing what's going on. Although it is nice to hear that even after the "crisis on infinite Trek" that the books will still be accessible to newbies like myself.

Well, hey, that's just me speculating. Only David, the editors and some of the other writers really know what the line's going to look like, post-Destiny. But I think it makes sense, given the record.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[LightningStorm]

Xeris said:
... the thread title clearly indicates that there may be spoilers. If you didn't want to be spoiled, you shouldn't be reading the thread, at least not until you've read the books.

The thread insinuates that the spoilers are about Destiny, not Before Dishonor. And since the authors/editors continually stress the lack of a need to read prior books I disagree that, that spoiler was "ok." Also take into consideration that while many of us know that Destiny will follow-up on Before Dishonor it's reasonable to believe that many may not, since it isn't touted specifically as a TNG trilogy.

 

[David Mack]

JoeZhang said:
That is to say, that while David Mack might be allowed to kill off various book only characters - I'd be surprised if he was allowed to kill off Picard, Riker and a series of other canon characters in the manner suggested upthread

A reasonable point. However, I might ask in reply, "Who says I want to kill off any of those characters?"

Just a rhetorical question.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

JoeZhang said:while David Mack might be allowed to kill off various book only characters - I'd be surprised if he was allowed to kill off Picard, Riker and a series of other canon characters

I don't see why he wouldn't be allowed to do that. It's not like we will ever see those characters onscreen again. So I doubt Paramount would care what he did with them.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

JoeZhang said:
Because it was done in such a perfunctionary manner,

What was perfunctory about Janeway's demise? She got turned into the Borg Queen, her cube got eaten by the Burrito of Death, Seven got through to Janeway's consciousness in her final moments, and Q (Lady version) takes Janeway's soul into some sort of heaven.

The only thing that would make this death any more definitive would be if there were a body. But I think that a Borg Cube, blasted by pure anti-proton, wouldn't leave much in the way of wreckage. Matter, anti-matter -- creates a lot of radiation, but not a lot of debris.

She's deader than Marley.

it just read like the set-up for another story - as someone else mentioned, I'll be very surprised if she stays dead.

The problem, Joe, is that at some point, someone has to stay dead if it's actually going to mean anything. Because if death is something that people "get better" from, then the sense of jeopardy is diminished.

It's the soap opera or comic book problem. Death as a short-term plot point results in lazy, consequence-free storytelling. And it guts the dramatic impact of any story in which a character dies.

I'm reminded of something Alan Moore wrote, in his introduction to DKR -- stories have an end. I cannot imagine a better, more fitting ending for Janeway than to lose her life at the hands of the nemesis that, in many ways, defined her career. To become their Queen was a cruel and ironic twist of fate, and yet it was so perfect a fate that to "undo" her death would to cheat the character of its fitting end.

 

[ATimson]

Allyn Gibson said:
The problem, Joe, is that at some point, someone has to stay dead if it's actually going to mean anything. Because if death is something that people "get better" from, then the sense of jeopardy is diminished.

Too late--Kira, Ro, and Trip already demolished that sense of jeopardy for any books under the current editorial regime.