Destiny Trilogy: Required Previous Readings?

[QuoVadisSF]

Hello everyone.
Long time lurker and first time poster here.

I am long-time Trekkie and have all series/movies in DVD and have seen it all at least 5+ times over the years (except ENT maybe)...so I'm certainly a big fan

I am, however, relatively new to the world of Star Trek literature. A world that I am discovering with great pleasure.

In the past few months I have read:

1. Ship of The Line
2. Tales of the Dominion War
3. The Dominion War series
4. The Needs of the Many (Star Trek Online related short stories)
5. All the TNG relaunch novels leading up to the Destiny Trilogy (Death in Winter, Resistance, Q&A, Death Before Dishonor and Greater than the Sum).

So, today I was about to start reading the first book in the Destiny Trilogy when a sudden doubt struck me: maybe I should read the a few Titan books first?

Do you guys think it's advisable to read some Titan books before delving into the Destiny series? Would it be inadvisable to read the Destiny Trilogy prior to having read any Titan novels?

Thank you in advance for any advice!

 

[Darth Porthos]

If you plan to read Titan at some point I'd read it before Destiny. Destiny gives away some plot points in Titan including some of the end of book four.

 

[Thrawn]

^ I completely disagree. I would just read Destiny. If you like the Titan parts of it, you can read the first four books then; sure, Destiny gives away some stuff, but not enough to ruin the books. The Titan series was never built around surprise plot twists anyway, they're still great if you know the endings.

 

[JD]

^Yeah, Destiny would be a great way to test the waters and see if you would like the Titan series.

 

[Darth Porthos]

^ I completely disagree. I would just read Destiny. If you like the Titan parts of it, you can read the first four books then; sure, Destiny gives away some stuff, but not enough to ruin the books. The Titan series was never built around surprise plot twists anyway, they're still great if you know the endings.

I agree that the books are still great even knowing the endings, but there are some surprises that I think do help the books. For instance

Spoiler: Sword of Damocles

stranding Jaza in the past was a big surprise for me. Jaza was a regular and not some redshirt so "killing him" was an unexpected event. The book isn't ruined if you know what'll happen, but I do think the story is helped by having Jaza's fate be a surprise.

If you read the Destiny books first and decide to go back to Titan I still feel you'll enjoy Titan, but maybe a bit less than if you read them before Destiny. I'd recommend reading the first Titan book (Taking Wing). If you like it then read the next three and then Destiny, and if you don't like the Titan cast and crew then rest assured that Destiny still uses them well.

 

[Thrawn]

Yeah, but the problem with the beginning of Titan is that it doesn't really start until Orion's Hounds. The rest is all Romulan politics and random other threads from Mangels/Martin books that they brought up again.

I think Destiny actually gives a WAY better feel for what Titan is like than Taking Wing does, oddly enough.

 

[QuoVadisSF]

Thank you very much for your opinions guys. They are much appreciated.

Allow me to expand my question: would it be OK to get to the end of all the current TNG relaunch books (Destiny + Loosing the Peace + The Typhoon Pact) without Titan or any other readings besides the preceding TNG relaunch books.
....because if you tell me that I'll need some Titan books for the Typhoon Pact, then I might as well start reading Titan now.

At the moment, I'm tempted to to get to the end of the TNG relaunch without touching Titan. I am very much into the current Borg-related plot that has been set into motion. If advisable, I would prefer to get to the end instead of interrupting it with 3 Titan books (unless this would noticeably hamper my reading experience). In this case, I would read the Titan series after.

I think I can handle the possibility of facing some Titan-related spoilers.

In any case, I have just ordered the 5 Titan books released so far from Amazon, so all options are open. Sooner or later, I will eventually read the Titan series in any case.

Thanks again for any advice!

 

[JD]

You could read the TNG books without Titan without any issues. Other than Destiny, the different series are pretty much independent entities. They do occaisionally tie into each other, but most of it is minor stuff that you probably would barely notice if you weren't familiar with the source.

Thrawn:

Yeah, but the problem with the beginning of Titan is that it doesn't really start until Orion's Hounds. The rest is all Romulan politics and random other threads from Mangels/Martin books that they brought up again.

I think Destiny actually gives a WAY better feel for what Titan is like than Taking Wing does, oddly enough.

Yeah, Taking Wing and the Red King were definite very different from the rest of the novels.

 

[Thestral]

I'd not read any Titan when I read Destiny, nor for that matter any of the TNG relaunch, so you should be just fine.

 

[Kopernikus]

In any case, I have just ordered the 5 Titan books released so far from Amazon, so all options are open. Sooner or later, I will eventually read the Titan series in any case.

5? It should be 6:

Taking Wing
The Red King
Orions Hounds
Sword of Damocles
Over a Torrent Sea
Synthesis

The last two ones are Post-Destiny already.

 

[QuoVadisSF]

My mistake. I ordered the 6 books.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I read the first Titan book prior to Destiny, to meet Riker's crew. I wouldn't say it was necessary, but I enjoyed the book and am glad I did it.

 

[Thrawn]

Destiny is a pretty amazing introduction to all the ongoing stories. After Destiny and before Typhon Pact, read all the books that take place there chronologically. So, something like this:

Destiny
TNG: Losing The Peace
A Singular Destiny
VOY: Full Circle, Unworthy, Children of the Storm (these do their own thing, you don't need them, but even if you don't like VOY, do it. They're amazing.)
TTN: Torrent Sea, Synthesis
Typhon Pact
TNG: Indistinguishable From Magic
DTI: Watching The Clock

Only the first 4 Titan books take place before Destiny; they're good, but you don't need them for any of the post-Destiny adventures.

Do be aware, though, that Typhon Pact references a lot of the DS9 relaunch, though it skips a lot of time after the last DS9 relaunch book. Again, prior reading is not required, but you will have some backstory blurts in the novels to be reading carefully.

 

[QuoVadisSF]

Destiny is a pretty amazing introduction to all the ongoing stories. After Destiny and before Typhon Pact, read all the books that take place there chronologically. So, something like this:

Destiny
TNG: Losing The Peace
A Singular Destiny
VOY: Full Circle, Unworthy, Children of the Storm (these do their own thing, you don't need them, but even if you don't like VOY, do it. They're amazing.)
TTN: Torrent Sea, Synthesis
Typhon Pact
TNG: Indistinguishable From Magic
DTI: Watching The Clock

Only the first 4 Titan books take place before Destiny; they're good, but you don't need them for any of the post-Destiny adventures.

Do be aware, though, that Typhon Pact references a lot of the DS9 relaunch, though it skips a lot of time after the last DS9 relaunch book. Again, prior reading is not required, but you will have some backstory blurts in the novels to be reading carefully.

Thrawn- thank you for your kind suggestions.

I didn't even think of the Voyager literature.
I have added the 3 Voy books to my amazon shopping basket.

Since it seems that prior to reading the Typhoon pact I should read Titan books 4&5...then I might as well get the first 4 Titan books out of the way before reading Destiny. I guess I can take a little break from the Borg content.

Based on what I've been told, I plan to read the following books in this order

1. TTN: Taking Wing
2. TTN: The Red King
3. TTN:Orions Hounds
4. TTN: Sword of Damocles
5. The Destiny Trilogy
6. TNG: Losing The Peace
7. A Singular Destiny
8. VOY: Full Circle
9. VOY: Unworthy,
10. VOY: Children of the Storm
11. TTN: Torrent Sea
12. TTN:Synthesis
13. The Typhon Pact Triology
14. TNG: Indistinguishable From Magic
15. DTI: Watching The Clock

Does the list seem OK? Is the reading order correct?
Looks like I should have my hands full for a while!

Thanks again! You have all been extremely helpful!

 

[Christopher]

Destiny is a pretty amazing introduction to all the ongoing stories. After Destiny and before Typhon Pact, read all the books that take place there chronologically. So, something like this:

Destiny
TNG: Losing The Peace
A Singular Destiny
VOY: Full Circle, Unworthy, Children of the Storm (these do their own thing, you don't need them, but even if you don't like VOY, do it. They're amazing.)
TTN: Torrent Sea, Synthesis
Typhon Pact
TNG: Indistinguishable From Magic
DTI: Watching The Clock

Watching the Clock takes place before most of Typhon Pact and well before Indistinguishable from Magic. It basically occupies the same one-year span as Typhon Pact: Rough Beasts of Empire, the year immediately following Destiny (i.e. February 2381-February 2382). The first seven books you list all take place in the six months following Destiny (in fact, during a 7-month gap in the middle of Rough Beasts). The bulk of Typhon Pact takes place in the latter half of 2382, and Indistinguishable is the one book so far to take place in 2383.

 

[Thrawn]

^ Right, which is why I said "something like this". The books overlap a lot chronologically but cover different subjects; it doesn't really matter, that just made the most sense to me personally.

QuoVadisSF - be aware that Typhon Pact (not "Typhoon") is four books, not a trilogy, and if you're reading Titan 1-4 you might also want to throw in Articles of the Federation after Titan 2. It's a look at a year in the life of the Federation president, and it's a great freaking book. Not necessary for continuity, but awesome.

 

[Christopher]

^Yeah, but I don't see why you'd put Watching the Clock after Typhon Pact and Indistinguishable from Magic.

 

[Deano2099]

if you're reading Titan 1-4 you might also want to throw in Articles of the Federation after Titan 2. It's a look at a year in the life of the Federation president, and it's a great freaking book. Not necessary for continuity, but awesome.

Seconded. And resisting making a joke about AotF and reading order.

 

[Therin of Andor]

The Typhoon Pact

It really blows.

 

[QuoVadisSF]

Thanks again for all the advice

P.S. I'll be sure to remember that it's "Typhon"