Destiny: Gods of Night by David Mack Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Discussion in 'Trek Literature' started by haubrija, Sep 19, 2008.

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Grade "Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night"

  1. Excellent

    69.2%
  2. Above Average

    23.1%
  3. Average

    5.1%
  4. Below Average

    1.3%
  5. Poor

    1.3%
  1. David Mack

    David Mack Writer Rear Admiral

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    Nope.
     
  2. foravalon

    foravalon Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    Just don't send me back to Shady Pines...
     
  3. Csalem

    Csalem Commodore Commodore

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    I finished this book this morning and liked it. i gave it an Above Average but that is only because it is book one out of three. Like two-parters on tv I find it hard to review them until I've seen the entire piece of work.

    I did enjoy the book and if the other two stay at this level or even improve it will be a great trilogy.

    The one part of the book that had the strongest impact on me was the 'dark' Picard. He was so different from the Picard of the tv show, that it was he alone who for me summed up the threat the Federation faced.
     
  4. captcalhoun

    captcalhoun Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    finished this this morning before going to work. it's EXCELLENT. and ho-lee shit, Mack's bodycount has gone stratospheric.

    LOVED the call-out to New Frontier/Excalibur and the attack on Khitomer scene. and the nan bacco scene was brilliant.

    and Foyle's a big stnker.

    not having read the whole thread, excuse me if this is asked previously, but i take it the other city crashed and everone died?
     
  5. casey

    casey Commander Red Shirt

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    I don't want to answer your question. Suffice it to say, all will be revealed :).
     
  6. captcalhoun

    captcalhoun Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    oh, and i count 2 uses of stygian and one of sepulchral. not good enough, dammit, not good enough!
     
  7. Kirks_Flying_Wig

    Kirks_Flying_Wig Commander Red Shirt

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    I picked up Gods of Night yesterday and read it in a few hours. Even though I'd originally decided not to read any of Destiny until I had the opportunity to buy and read all three at once, I was not disappointed. I was wary of the Columbia storyline as, apart from the three ENT episodes Hernandez is in, I know nothing of the ship and it's crew (I don't read the ENT novels). Surprisingly, I got caught up in the plot and sympathised with many of the characters, even some of the mutineers. Though I did let out and inappropriate guffaw during chapter 17 when Foyle referred to "the war college in Credenhill", as I grew up near the, erm, probable historical site of that college. I'm looking forward to reading what happens to the survivors in Axion.

    The Titan plot was the only major drag for me as I don't read the Titan novels. I was quite surprised as the characters there are more familiar to me than those on the Columbia. My interest was grabbed once the shuttle crew landed on New Erigol and... oh, wait, the book ends there. Now I'll have to get Mere Mortals to satisfy my curiosity. ;)

    The Enterprise and Aventine strands were great. So far, Dax makes for a good captain. I can't wait to read more about how she gets there in the DS9-R... and the next two Destiny novels, of course. I'll reserve final judgement until I've read Mere Mortals and Lost Souls, however Gods of Night gets an "Excellent" rating from me; aside from the pregnancy plot on the Titan which I had no interest in, I found the rest of the book engaging and well-written.
     
  8. captcalhoun

    captcalhoun Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    i liked the pregnancy plot. i thought it was really cool that Mack went back to "The Child" and brought up that there were long-lasting implications.

    :bolian: nice one Mack.
     
  9. LutherSloan

    LutherSloan Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    Well, I finished reading this the other day, and it was a very impressive ending to a strong trilogy. By far this is the best three-book event in Trek Lit history.

    I have to say that some of the attention to detail in the book was amazing. So many references, particularly during the parts that took place on Earth with the Bacco Administration.

    I liked the ending, even if I will miss the Borg, as they were one of my favorite villainous races in the Trek universe.

    I am looking forward now to the upcoming 'post-Destiny' books that are releasing soon, as I am interested to see how the Federation and others will rebuild all of the damaged and destroyed worlds. It will also be interesting to see what new threats will come forward to exploit the UFP's current weakness.

    I was actually surprised that only 40% of Starfleet was taken out by the Borg, as I would have guessed that the number would be higher, particularly after the heavy losses to the Azure Nebula fleet.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 5, 2008
  10. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    This is actually the thread for the first book in the trilogy, so you might want to put some spoiler warnings up here.
     
  11. LightningStorm

    LightningStorm The Borg King Commodore

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    I spoiler coded it.

    I've been thinking about adding book numbers to the thread titles so that people don't have to remember which book is which... if this starts to become a problem in this and the Mere Mortals thread, I'll do that.
     
  12. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    That might be a good idea, because this is already the second time this has happened .
     
  13. LightningStorm

    LightningStorm The Borg King Commodore

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    Really? I must have missed the other one. It's probably a good idea anyway, so I'll go ahead and do that.
     
  14. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night - SPOILER Thread

    Yeah, someone else did it a couple weeks ago.
     
  15. Eeveevolve

    Eeveevolve Ensign Newbie

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny Book 1: Gods of Night - (SPOILERS)

    Just finished reading this.

    (Although, one niggle.... I cannot believe the Exal'-A could be crippled. Callhoun just gets the ship moving by sheer willpower...)

    Great book. Its got me out buying a lot more of the relaunch books now... I sorta lost interest at DS9 Unity, But im investing in shares on amazon :D

    Just waiting for Amazon to ship me book 2 now.
    Its really hard to find Star Trek Books in my little town in the UK...

    Keep up the good work Mack.
     
  16. Brefugee

    Brefugee No longer living the Irish dream. Premium Member

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    Oct 12, 2007
    Re: Star Trek: Destiny Book 1: Gods of Night - (SPOILERS)

    I feel your pain I really do, my local Waterstones dosn't have Gods of Night nor Mere Mortals and the last Trek book they had in was the last novel in the Terok Nor Trilogy!!!!!!

    Saying that though, my local Independent Bookshop has been great, I ordered Greater than the Sum, the two Myrd Universe novels and Mere Mortals from there and I got Mere Mortals well ahead of when the owner said it would be in.
     
  17. XwarlokX

    XwarlokX Lieutenant Red Shirt

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny Book 1: Gods of Night - (SPOILERS)

    As you can see by diminutive post count i don't post here that often, but i do have to say this is one awesome read. I have not been this enthralled with a book since Strangers from the Sky. Very good book, awesome read, gotta get the rest of the series!! :techman::techman::techman:
     
  18. DarKush

    DarKush Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny Book 1: Gods of Night - (SPOILERS)

    I finished this book last weekend. I was very impressed. D. Mack handled all three storylines well and made the Borg threatening without really focusing on them.

    The book was pretty spot on with the TNG characters, and how he developed them felt organic. I loved how he described Troi and Riker's relationship troubles-it was very real and gripping and such internal drama was rarely seen on the TV show. The Rikers really felt like human beings, flawed and imperfect, struggling to make sense out of something that really didn't make any sense at all. I also liked the attraction shared between Riker and Vale-though he's married, Riker can still reel them in.

    The book did a good job introducing the Aventine crew. When I first heard that Dax was going to be a captain, I rolled my eyes. But I think she came off well here, though its still a little hard for me to see the character on DS9 in the captain's chair. Though I know a lot of time has passed since.

    I also enjoyed the Columbia crew and the MACOs. And the Caeliar were well developed.

    My only issue was Kadohata. Granted, I've said in previous posts that she is a boring character. That didn't change in this story though she was well written. It just bothered me that DM kept referring to her London/Shangra-La accent over and over again. Or that she that had Asian/European features. It got repetitive very quickly.
     
  19. BryanSorensen

    BryanSorensen Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny Book 1: Gods of Night - (SPOILERS)

    I have already posted for book 3, so most of my comments could be duplicated here...I loved this book. What a great way to open the series...well from a readers standpoint anyway. I was so looking forward to this series that i actually stayed away from this site so i didnt get tempted to read any threads on them until i actually read them. I am glad they wrapped up how columbia got lost and how. I did actually feel bad about the survivors thinking about how theyd never see their loved ones again. A shame about Admiral paris dying....Poor Tom. But if the back cover of Full Circle is any indication, he doesnt have a whole lot of time to mourn...well, we shall see. Anyway, BRAVO David Mack and heres to a follow up trilogy!
     
  20. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Re: Star Trek: Destiny Book 1: Gods of Night - (SPOILERS)

    We're actually getting four follow up books:
    A Singular Desting by KRAD, a non-series-specific book, focusing on a new character, and featuring the Aventine crew and the Bacco Administration.
    Titan: Over A Torrent Sea By Christopher L. Bennett
    Voyager: Full Circle by Kirsten Beyer (covers the time from the end of My Enemy, My Ally and goes all the way past Destiny) (Kristen will also write the next Voy. R book after it)
    TNG: Losing the Peace by William Leisner