Having just finished Titan: Taking Wing and The Red King I wanted to share my thoughts regading this fantastic opening to true embodiment of TNG (you can understand that this "review" is quite positive 
).
The pre- Nemesis Trek universe had all but lost its earlier optimistic exploring nature, becoming darker, edgier and more "militaristic".
While I quickly latched on to this direction (with the publishing of some of the best Trek novels ever from 2000 onwards), the original premise of 24th century Trek was sidelined... until the closing scenes of Nemesis, and the setup for Star Trek: Titan .
Reading the opening duology made me relive the wonder of early TNG (and TOS for that matter). The overall atmosphere of the series and the cast of characters is positive and optimistic - the mix of new and established characters grounds the series firmly in current Trek (literature) continuity while connected to other Trek novel series (past and current). In short, this feels like an important new chapter in 24th century Star Trek.
I also think that having the novels be more "episodic" in nature (rather than complete "arc-minded", which works perfectly for other series like Deep Space Nine and Vanguard ) is more appropriate to the series' theme.
As for the actual plot(s), I found the mix of political intrigue, action and exploration a great way to showcase the crew in various situations, dealing with both the known (the post- Nemesis setting) and the unknown (in The Red King ).
The one thing I think could have saved for a later adventure centers around the Neyel. While the story was exciting and tied in to various characters sub plots (Akaar\Tuvok, Keru, etc), and even though I loved Martin & Mangels' The Sundered , I feel that the "second part" of a series opener should not be turned into a sequel of another novel, from another "series" altogether.
It should be noted that the authors did try and provide the reader with all needed information, but IMO there were some "gaps" that could seem jarring to someone who had never read The Sundered (like the "subplot" and information provided on Burgess).
But, all things considered, this is only a minor peeve with an overall fantastic debut for the true "successor" of TNG and VGR.
).The pre- Nemesis Trek universe had all but lost its earlier optimistic exploring nature, becoming darker, edgier and more "militaristic".
While I quickly latched on to this direction (with the publishing of some of the best Trek novels ever from 2000 onwards), the original premise of 24th century Trek was sidelined... until the closing scenes of Nemesis, and the setup for Star Trek: Titan .
Reading the opening duology made me relive the wonder of early TNG (and TOS for that matter). The overall atmosphere of the series and the cast of characters is positive and optimistic - the mix of new and established characters grounds the series firmly in current Trek (literature) continuity while connected to other Trek novel series (past and current). In short, this feels like an important new chapter in 24th century Star Trek.
I also think that having the novels be more "episodic" in nature (rather than complete "arc-minded", which works perfectly for other series like Deep Space Nine and Vanguard ) is more appropriate to the series' theme.
As for the actual plot(s), I found the mix of political intrigue, action and exploration a great way to showcase the crew in various situations, dealing with both the known (the post- Nemesis setting) and the unknown (in The Red King ).
The one thing I think could have saved for a later adventure centers around the Neyel. While the story was exciting and tied in to various characters sub plots (Akaar\Tuvok, Keru, etc), and even though I loved Martin & Mangels' The Sundered , I feel that the "second part" of a series opener should not be turned into a sequel of another novel, from another "series" altogether.
It should be noted that the authors did try and provide the reader with all needed information, but IMO there were some "gaps" that could seem jarring to someone who had never read The Sundered (like the "subplot" and information provided on Burgess).
But, all things considered, this is only a minor peeve with an overall fantastic debut for the true "successor" of TNG and VGR.
