Interview with David Mack

[Scott Pearson]

That would fall under your "win-win" category.

 

[BrotherBenny]

Scott Pearson said:
That would fall under your "win-win" category.

David's never heard of the Kobayashi Maru. If he had, he'd kill everyone.

 

[Scott Pearson]

Xeris said:

Scott Pearson said:
That would fall under your "win-win" category.

David's never heard of the Kobayashi Maru. If he had, he'd kill everyone.

Not everyone . . . a lot of people, sure, a ship, a fleet, maybe even a planet or two. Okay, maybe, if pushed, an entire dimension of the multiverse, but not everyone. There are always some witnesses/survivors. Of course, we don't really know what he's up to in the Destiny trilogy yet . . .

 

[David Mack]

Xeris said:
David's never heard of the Kobayashi Maru.

XO: "Captain Mack, there's a civilian ship trapped on the wrong side of the Neutral Zone!"

ME: "Target photon torpedoes on their engines and fire."

XO: "Sir?"

ME: "We can't risk an interstellar incident to save them, but I'll be damned if I let the enemy capture them. Fire at will until there's nothing large enough left to shoot. I'll be in my ready room having a scotch."

 

[CaptainDonovin]

I don't care who you are that's funny right there.

 

[David cgc]

Oh. My. God. It just snapped into sharp relief.

David Mack

Mackenzie Calhoun

And I'll just bet no one has ever seen the two of you in the same room at the same time!

 

[JD]

David Mack said:

Xeris said:
David's never heard of the Kobayashi Maru.

XO: "Captain Mack, there's a civilian ship trapped on the wrong side of the Neutral Zone!"

ME: "Target photon torpedoes on their engines and fire."

XO: "Sir?"

ME: "We can't risk an interstellar incident to save them, but I'll be damned if I let the enemy capture them. Fire at will until there's nothing large enough left to shoot. I'll be in my ready room having a scotch."

I guess that would be one way to deal with the no-win scenario.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

David cgc said:
Oh. My. God. It just snapped into sharp relief.

David Mack

Mackenzie Calhoun

And I'll just bet no one has ever seen the two of you in the same room at the same time!

I was just thinking the same thing!

 

[TGTheodore]

David Mack said:

Xeris said:
David's never heard of the Kobayashi Maru.

XO: "Captain Mack, there's a civilian ship trapped on the wrong side of the Neutral Zone!"

ME: "Target photon torpedoes on their engines and fire."

XO: "Sir?"

ME: "We can't risk an interstellar incident to save them, but I'll be damned if I let the enemy capture them. Fire at will until there's nothing large enough left to shoot. I'll be in my ready room having a scotch."

ME: "Belay, that. Is my ex still assigned to that ship?"

XO: "Yes, sir."

ME: "Oh. You have your orders."

--Ted

 

[the_wildcard]

Hmm I never realized David Mack wrote some scripts for DS9. I just did a search and realized those are 2 of my favorite episodes!

 

[David Mack]

^ Glad to hear it, wildcard!

And Ted? You're right on target, as usual.

 

[Therin of Andor]

David Mack said:
ME: "... Fire at will until there's nothing large enough left to shoot."

Decker, Riker and Wheaton all duck for cover.

 

[Julio Angel Ortiz]

David Mack said:
^ When it first came out, a lot of people who commented on it, either here, on Amazon, or to me at conventions, dismissed it as nothing more than an action piece that did nothing to advance the overall storyline of the post-finale DS9 books. There are clues to future DS9 novels' story arcs embedded in different parts of the narrative, but because they will become "obvious" only in retrospect, some readers have assumed the book is just a "waste of time" --- especially since it ends on a cliffhanger.

Other readers accused me of lifting the ending sequence from Aliens (which is ridiculous -- the parallels are superficial at best, and could be applied to many other SF films and books published before and after Aliens -- it has as much in common with the end of Return of the Jedi). In fact, the visual symbolism at work in the final Prynn/Vaughn sequence in Grennokar is rooted in the psychology of confronting depression caused by a dysfunctional father-child relationship.

Another issue that has plagued me is that it suffers from "middle chapter syndrome". Some of my friends and family tried to be supportive of my work by reading the book, only to find themselves hopelessly lost. Warpath is so dependent upon the reader's familiarity with the complex, ongoing narrative of the PF-DS9 books that it really can't be enjoyed on its own. By contrast, my TNG duology, my Vanguard books, my Mirror Universe story, and my Wolverine novel all can be read and enjoyed on their own.

I'm still proud of the book itself. Line by line, and in the context of its series' big picture, I think it works. The bottom line regarding Warpath is that it is exactly what I was asked to deliver. Marco hired me to write a fast-paced, action-oriented adventure ride, and that's what I did.

Just wanted to throw out there that I just finished this a few days ago (I purchased it after release but finally caught up in the DS9-R only recently).

Yeah, and I loved it. It helped remind me of all the reasons that I fell in love with the DS9-R- the complex, interwoven plots, the characters... yeah, loved it.

I thought, though, that just about all of the pertinent information regarding previous plot points. The only thing I thought might have been a bit much for someone new was the revelation by the Cardassian Woman to Vaugn and Prynn about the fake Kira. It was an information dump, and then the novel ends shortly thereafter.

But hey, it didn't bother me any.

And that hand-to-hand fight between the Cardassian Woman and the Naussican... probably the best one I've read in a Trek book.

 

[David Mack]

^ Thanks for the compliments, Julio. Much appreciated.

And, yeah, the Cardassian Woman does commit the sin of expositional info-dump at the end of the book, but I figured after making readers wonder what was going on for most of the book, they deserved a clear answer.

 

[Anubis]

Wow, I love David's writing, but I didn't know he was so recently an up and coming star. See what happens when I stop reading Trek books for a few years?

 

[David Mack]

^ Well, come on back, pal! The more the merrier...

 

[Anubis]

David Mack said:
^ Well, come on back, pal! The more the merrier...

I just finished the last paperback collection of SCE and I felt Small Worlds was one of the stronger stories. I also just reread Harbinger, and it was just as good this time around. Looking forward to Reap the Whirlwind and would like to get to the A Time To... series one of these years.

 

[Ktrek]

Thanks for posting this interview! It was informative and made me excited for the upcoming Star Trek Destiny trilogy not to mention the possibility of a 5th Vanguard book written by David.

And to David I would like to say that the concept of your new original novel intrigues me and I hope it is very successful and that it turns into a continuing series for you! I'm looking forward to seeing it published in 2009. Based on your previous track record with Star Trek I am sure it will be a worthwhile read! I love your books! I just hope that even if The Calling is a success that you will not abandon Star Trek because we need ya man!

Kevin

 

[David Mack]

^ Thanks for the votes of confidence, Kevin! I'll do my best not to let you (and all the other readers of my work) down.