Spoilers DTI: Watching the Clock by C. L. Bennett Review Thread

[Christopher]

Re: DTI: Watching the Clock Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Will Garcia and Ranjea be in the new DTI novel? They were great and memorable characters.

Most of the DTI ensemble from WTC is in Forgotten History as well, including those two.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Re: DTI: Watching the Clock Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Excellent to hear.

 

[MatthiasRussell]

Re: DTI: Watching the Clock Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Will Garcia and Ranjea be in the new DTI novel? They were great and memorable characters.

Most of the DTI ensemble from WTC is in Forgotten History as well, including those two.

Awesome. That raises my anticipation.

 

[JD]

Re: DTI: Watching the Clock Review Thread (Spoilers!)

I'm not sure Forgotten History can capture my imagination and the magic of WTC but I'm looking forward to finding out.

I don't see why not. It's the same author (Christopher), writing the same characters (the DTI team), dealing with the same subject (time travel), so I don't see why can't be just as good, if not better, than WTC.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Re: DTI: Watching the Clock Review Thread (Spoilers!)

To be honest, I'm more excited about Forgotten History and the time frame it takes place in than I was WTC!

 

[MatthiasRussell]

Re: DTI: Watching the Clock Review Thread (Spoilers!)

I'm not sure Forgotten History can capture my imagination and the magic of WTC but I'm looking forward to finding out.

I don't see why not. It's the same author (Christopher), writing the same characters (the DTI team), dealing with the same subject (time travel), so I don't see why can't be just as good, if not better, than WTC.

Because what I loved about WTC is how it made sense of so many canon time travel stories that made no sense to me. Forgotten History, as I understand, revolves around a new and original incident with Kirk and the Enterpise.

Christopher is a great writer and he has some great characters but the situation is different.

 

[Christopher]

Re: DTI: Watching the Clock Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Because what I loved about WTC is how it made sense of so many canon time travel stories that made no sense to me. Forgotten History, as I understand, revolves around a new and original incident with Kirk and the Enterpise.

That's not entirely true. The book covers both the established time-travel incidents of the 5-year mission (in much the same way that WTC covered TNG-era time-travel episodes, but also unifying those episodes into a larger narrative) as well as exploring a couple of new incidents in the post-TMP era -- incidents that are to an extent an outgrowth of the time-travel events of the 5-year mission, and that may have some surprising connections to other screen adventures as well.

 

[Yevetha]

Re: DTI: Watching the Clock Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Good to hear. No excerpt?

 

[MatthiasRussell]

Re: DTI: Watching the Clock Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Christopher, you are an excellent writer and no doubt Forgotten History will be great based upon the merits of your ability of a story teller.

I'm just saying that the way WTC unified all those time travel stories and made sense of them is what made it, in my view, essential reading for Trek fans.

 

[ronny]

Re: DTI: Watching the Clock Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Reviving an old thread since I finished this just last night. I'm almost done catching up with the 24th century, only Forgotten History to go.

Up until now my favorite Bennett books have been the 2 Titan novels, I just that that's a great match of writing style and series, but this book is now top of the list. I loved it. I liked how the flashbacks converged with the primary story, how it tied in with Destiny, hell, how it tied in with pretty much everything. A good story with fun characters.

I'm about 50 pages into Forgotten History and I'm liking that as well.

 

[Christopher]

Thanks!

 

[Procutus]

I just started reading this just two days ago, and am thus far enjoying it as much as FH. Very eager so see how the TCW ties in.

 

[Paul Weaver]

Well that was great, considering the lack of established characters. I loved the continuity tie-ins. Who'd have thought such an early episode would have auch long reaching consequences!

I realy loved the "shit - we're screwed" after picard walk out happy as larry after FC and then when they met Janeway suddenly Kirk was the boy wonder in comparrison!

The axis of time "B plot" was a bit depressing. While everyone is trying to keep the temporal accords in check, we're reminded of the fleetingly short time that not just individuals, but entire civilisations, are around. We're also reminded of the whole reason DTI do what they do, to protect today. I dont think I'd make a good DTI agent.

Glad to see the universal translator coping well with languages from millions of years away

I'm now going to have to read the two khan books. Or I would if they were available on kindle (part 2 is, not part 1!)

 

[Christopher]

^Thanks!

 

[kktwin]

Finished reading this. What a great read! Picking up the next DTI book now...

 

[thribs]

Really enjoyable book. Loved how everything was connected. Not sure I liked the idea that the Sphere Builders gave the Borg the time travel ability. I get the reasoning but I don't see the Borg agreeing to something like that. It may also conflict with Engines of Destiny slightly as its revealed there the Borg only meant to go a day or so back in time and something went wrong but I suppose that's just a alternate timeline.
I think the author might have got a bit carried away with the Deltan material. I don't know if it was just me but the climax at the end came off rather comical in my head.
I'm a bit disappointed the "Future Guy" was just some guy and not someone we know. I read somewhere it was supposed to be a future alternate Archer which may have been interesting.

First time I've seen Batman referenced. So it's confirmed he is a thing in the Star Trek universe. Now what about Star Wars?

 

[thribs]

He ducked for cover as the phaser shots flew, taking refuge behind a large, blue boxlike artifact which emitted a low trilling hum.

Did they steal the Doctor’s Tardis? He’s not going to be pleased.

 

[Mage]

I just re-read Forgotten History, because I just reread Ex Machina. It made me wanna rererere-read Watching The Clock, it simply was that good.

 

[Enterprise1701]

https://christopherlbennett.wordpre...the-clock/watching-the-clock-annotations-p-1/

In chapter 9, Revad notes that it is possible the Romulans have conquered the Federation via time travel in some nullified alternate timeline. Is this an oblique nod to the TOS novel Killing Time? The annotations do not indicate as such, but I wondered if the dialogue was more than just a generic nationalist taunt.

 

[Christopher]

In chapter 9, Revad notes that it is possible the Romulans have conquered the Federation via time travel in some nullified alternate timeline. Is this an oblique nod to the TOS novel Killing Time?

God, no. I hated that book. And what was said was that the Romulans may have tried to wipe the Federation from existence through time travel in some now-irrelevant reality. I think I was referencing Greg Cox's Assignment: Eternity there, and maybe I also had DC Comics' "Timecrime" storyline in mind. If I gave any thought to Killing Time at all, it was in the context of the larger subcategory of stories about Romulan plots to change history.

Honestly, guys, Killing Time gets enormously more attention than it deserves. If not for that silly controversy about the recall and re-edit, it would probably have been largely forgotten, because it's pretty lame.