Funny Thing About The Relaunch...

[myselfeneye]

Does anybody else think it would have been nice to see more TNG and Voyager stories set before Nemesis? It really bothers me that there's knowledge out there pertaining to the status of the Federation, Alpha Quadrant, Ezri Dax, etc. post-Nemesis, when the DS9 post-series work is supposed to be suspenseful! I want to believe that it's possible for something universe-shattering to happen in DS9. I want to believe that it's possible for more crossovers to happen. That's not to say that these things have to happen in order for the books to be good, of course. I'm enjoying the character arcs and cultural exploration a lot. But I just wish the books would come out faster. I don't need one big epic to catch me up. Just more books, faster!

It's funny. All the series' were on the same page when the relaunch came out. Avatar was a crossover with TNG. Diplomatic Implausibility tied together DS9, TNG and New Frontier with cameos. Maximum Warp happened while Tiris Jast was still alive. Gateways had all the "current" series' together, crossing over. "Divided We Fall" was a crossover. Then Nemesis came out, and TNG, Voyager and New Frontier leapt past it.

New Frontier is my other favorite Trek series. Too bad there are so many holes in it, because Peter David seems obsessed with the idea of keeping it current. Ah well. At least the holes get filled in occasionally with crossovers, cameos and so forth. But wow. My favorite series' are so far apart.

 

[DarkHorizon]

TNG did have novels set before Nemesis - the A Time To... series...

 

[RonG]

I think that's one of the reasons for the DS9-R's "5 year jump" with 2010's Typhon Pact mini series. Afterwards, all the 24th century Trek series will be on the same page (for the duration of the mini series, if nothing else)...

 

[RonG]

TNG did have novels set before Nemesis - the A Time To... series...

while the ATT series was *primarily* set before Nemesis, it's core idea, AFAIK, was to setup the TNG series post-Nemesis i.e. shed light on tibbits from the film (Worf's return, Data's emotion chip, etc..).

The ATT used (canon) information from Nemesis, to propel TNG into what was called IIRC "The Second Decade"

 

[Thrawn]

NF is only a tiny bit behind, but has always kind of been in its own world, and the Typhon Pact miniseries catches DS9 up. All the rest are together already. So I'm not sure I see your complaint.

 

[captcalhoun]

Nemesis kinda showed that there couldn't be any galaxy-shattering events between INS and NEM cus the Federation's still there...

 

[JB2005]

Nemesis kinda showed that there couldn't be any galaxy-shattering events between INS and NEM cus the Federation's still there...

But there could have been all kinds of things that happened in between. Things happened in DS9 that were never mentioned in TNG during the TV Show's run...

 

[myselfeneye]

If Typhon Pact catches DS9 up, that's also no good...I don't want less stories. Like I said, I just want them faster, but it looks like I'm not going to get them. It looks like instead I get a ton of them that fit into a very tiny timeframe, followed by absolutely nothing happening except for a single drawn-out tale that takes place over the course of a few years?

DS9 has had 2 comic book miniseries', a few cameos, S.C.E. crossovers...packed into the span of a year in their time...and then we're jumping ahead. No fun!

 

[Christopher]

If Typhon Pact catches DS9 up, that's also no good...I don't want less stories. Like I said, I just want them faster, but it looks like I'm not going to get them. It looks like instead I get a ton of them that fit into a very tiny timeframe, followed by absolutely nothing happening except for a single drawn-out tale that takes place over the course of a few years?

At this point, you get about 19 stories spanning a little over a year from early 2376 to early 2377, then a jump to a single story covering a portion of (probably) 2382. What comes after that is up to the new editor, whoever that will be. Margaret Clark's plan was to keep DS9 in the 2380s and eventually fill in the gap in some form, perhaps with an anthology. But she's gone, and her replacement might have a different plan. I think it's safe to say that at this point, literally nobody knows what will happen with DS9 after The Rough Beasts of Empire. So nothing can be ruled out.

 

[myselfeneye]

It actually seems to start at the near-end of 2375 with The Left Hand of Destiny, followed by The Lives of Dax and N-Vector. So we cover just over a year.

 

[Thrawn]

If Typhon Pact catches DS9 up, that's also no good...I don't want less stories. Like I said, I just want them faster, but it looks like I'm not going to get them. It looks like instead I get a ton of them that fit into a very tiny timeframe, followed by absolutely nothing happening except for a single drawn-out tale that takes place over the course of a few years?

DS9 has had 2 comic book miniseries', a few cameos, S.C.E. crossovers...packed into the span of a year in their time...and then we're jumping ahead. No fun!

It's true, though, that aside from maybe NF (which like I mentioned is kind of in its own world anyway) none of the other series has had anything like the DS9 relaunch's density. TNG, VOY, Titan, and Vanguard have all been much larger in terms of time-per-book, not to mention Articles of the Federation, A Singular Destiny, etc. Once the switch to one book per month happened, the pace picked up on all the other series except DS9. It would likely have been time to make that adjustment anyway, whether the 5-year jump happened or not. Half as many books per year means each book has to cover more, or at least have more important stories.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I don't want less stories. Like I said, I just want them faster, but it looks like I'm not going to get them. It looks like instead I get a ton of them that fit into a very tiny timeframe, followed by absolutely nothing happening except for a single drawn-out tale that takes place over the course of a few years?

Why do you assume the gap will never be filled? Look at the TOS novels: they have always jumped all over the timeline, from pre "The Cage" April and Pike stories to post "Star Trek Generations" 24th century Spock and Kirk stories.

So impatient!

I wish I could find the time to read everything DS9 after "Warpath". My DS9 to-read pile is humongous and growing.

 

[myselfeneye]

New Frontier has the opposite of density, Thrawn. I don't really mind that, however. If anything, it sets it apart. I mean, the ship was blown up, the Captain went missing and returned, Shelby captained a ship and then took over a starbase, and it didn't happen in the span of very many books at all.

DS9? Well, I love the density. DS9 stories were built to run together, and with the books, they're doing what the TV series couldn't. I mean, I suppose it could have...Babylon 5 did it...but they didn't want to take the same risks, thus it was more episodic. The only problem now is that they've jumped everyone else ahead except, it seems, S.C.E. It's nice to know there's someone to keep pace with.

Therin, I get the impression at this point that the gap will be filled. Problem is, I don't want it filled retroactively. That's assuming it will be, too...after all, DS9 isn't as popular as TOS.

It's been a fun ride thus far, at least, and at least I know that there are a couple more stories to look forward to. Maybe we'll get to see what was going on in the Bajoran sector when Voyager finally got back. Not that I expect a crossover or even a mention, but it would be great to see DS9 stories leading up to that point and beyond.

Speaking of catching up, Therin--I've got to catch up on my New Frontier reading! I've got the latest two novels still to read, and I went and read the 5-part comic anyway! Shame on me! I wanna know what's happening!

 

[Therin of Andor]

Therin, I get the impression at this point that the gap will be filled. Problem is, I don't want it filled retroactively.

Easily solved. Buy the new books but refuse to read them until the gaps are filled.

I really don't understand how you can be so prescriptive about how writers should be performing the service of entertaining you. Have a little trust and faith in their professionalism to tell a good yarn in the way they decide it needs to be told. If they choose flashback, then so be it.

Speaking of catching up, Therin--I've got to catch up on my New Frontier reading! I've got the latest two novels still to read, and I went and read the 5-part comic anyway! Shame on me! I wanna know what's happening!

Well the comic takes place before "Treason", the most recent novel, but PAD covers all the bases.

 

[myselfeneye]

Mmm, well there's the rub, Therin. I write myself, and I'm also just a highly critical person. I'm also somewhat lazy, or else I'd be writing Trek novels by now. I'm prescriptive because I don't like what I see, plain and simple. These people are in charge of my favorite series' destinies at this point, and all I can do at the moment is watch. But also, it's in the hands of the people who run the company, not just the writers...and there's marketing to consider...after all, it's about money as much as it is entertainment and depth, as loathe as I am to recognize it.

 

[JD]

The only problem now is that they've jumped everyone else ahead except, it seems, S.C.E. It's nice to know there's someone to keep pace with.

Actually Corps of Engineers, did kind jump ahead to. The series itself is over, but we did see several of the characters in A Singular Destiny. The same is true of Klingon Empire too.

 

[Paris]

^Hopefully we get another KE book at some point. Seeing Klag and a bunch of his crew alive and well in 2381 was cool. I would love to see how they got there. Maybe a Full Circle-type book...

 

[myselfeneye]

As long as something ties in in some way, I consider it an extension of the series and try to place it in chronological order. At the moment I'm trying to read DS9 and New Frontier side-by-side in chronological order, which probably means I'll end up reading "Gateways" twice...

NF is going to pass by DS9 so fast. But that makes it interesting.