Is it safe to say that the DS9 Relaunch is dead?

[David R. George III]

I see so many people defending what's going on, I don't think some people understand that it bothers a lot of fans that characters Niners care for a lot have suddenly, out of nowhere, moved into directions that we didn't figure.

I'm sure that all of these things will be explained in novells to come and make sense then, but to some fans, it feels like a slap in the face: you know what, we are just gonna pull these characters into where we want them to be, have drastic things happen to them over a period of 4 years and we'll just explain it later on.....maybe.....

How do you think that feels for fans of DS9?

You know, those of us who actually write Deep Space Nine tales, who take days and weeks and months to develop a story and then to write it, also care about Star Trek and about the characters. To think that we don't borders on the absurd. I just read a comment from a reader who was displeased that the novels had taken the DSN characters off of the station. Except that they seemed to forget that at the end of the series, Sisko had ascended to the Celestial Temple; O'Brien and his family had returned to Earth; Jadzia had died; Odo had gone back to the Great Link; Worf had become the Federation ambassador to the Klingon Empire; Rom and Leeta had gone to Ferenginar; Garak had remained on Cardassia; the Founder leader had been imprisoned; and Winn, Dukat, and Weyoun had perished. Indeed, change was one of the great hallmarks of the show. It's not like the novels moved these character off the station; the series did that. And when people write that Sisko would never do this or that, they often forget that he did precisely that thing during the course of the series.

Look, obviously liking a novel or series of novels is a subjective thing. But I'm a fan myself of the ongoing Deep Space Nine narrative, not just as a writer, but as a reader. Directions have been taken that I didn't expect or want, but I don't mind being challenged by a story. I have no problem with somebody not liking--or even hating--one of my novels, but please don't ascribe motivations to me that suggest I don't care about what I do, or that I don't care about the characters and settings in which I do it. How do you think that feels for writers of the DSN literary line?

 

[flemm]

The books say "The saga of Deep Space Nine will continue."

I think that bold text at the end of ZSG can be taken as an editorial acknowledgment that the saga has been foundering around a bit and that readers might need some reassurance that it is indeed still ongoing. If the saga had been proceeding smoothly and a DS9 novel were on the immediate horizon, it would not have been necessary to make this proclamation.

So, really, both points of view have some validity here.

"Relaunch" gets used a lot because it conjures up imagery that feels appropriate for a Trek series, I think, but at one time the novels from Avatar to Unity were referred to as season 8 pretty frequently, with the Worlds books and Warpath as the beginning of season 9. That way of looking at things took a hit, obviously, with the time jump to events post-Destiny.

 

[Defcon]

The books say "The saga of Deep Space Nine will continue."

I think that bold text at the end of ZSG can be taken as an editorial acknowledgment that the saga has been foundering around a bit and that readers might need some reassurance that it is indeed still ongoing.

Huh? That is that standard text at the end of every Deep Space Nine post-finale book IIRC.

 

[flemm]

Huh? That is that standard text at the end of every Deep Space Nine post-finale book IIRC.

It's not a DS9 novel. It was the most DS9-focused of the Typhon Pact books, so it made sense to put it there. I was glad to see it, but it wouldn't need to be there if it were otherwise obvious that the saga was proceeding smoothly.

 

[Defcon]

Huh? That is that standard text at the end of every Deep Space Nine post-finale book IIRC.

It's not a DS9 novel.

Fine, it's the standard text at the end of every Deep Space related post finale novel.

I was glad to see it, but it wouldn't need to be there if it were otherwise obvious that the saga was proceeding smoothly.

Honestly, I think it's just a standard procedure to put it at the end of every Deep Space Nine heavy book and that you're interpreting too much into it.

 

[flemm]

Honestly, I think it's just a standard procedure to put it at the end of every Deep Space Nine heavy book and that you're interpreting too much into it.

That is of course possible, though I would like to see it as an acknowledgment that the DS9 saga has had its problems recently but that there are plans to get it moving again.

 

[ProtoAvatar]

Most story lines developed in the DS9 relaunch have been dropped (the Ascendants already happened, the characters changed/moved/etc).
Books featuring events in which the former DS9 reaunch cast (more likely, most of DS9 relaunch cast) appear will be published, at the earliest, in 2012 - and that's a 'maybe'; nothing definite.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Books featuring events in which the former DS9 reaunch cast (more likely, most of DS9 relaunch cast) appear will be published, at the earliest, in 2012.

Or Shar, right now, in 2011. "Paths of Disharmony".

I would like to see it as an acknowledgment that the DS9 saga has had its problems recently...

Or, that editor Jaime Costas, being new to the Star Trek tie-in franchise, didn't feel a burning need to cross it out when approving the galleys?

 

[ProtoAvatar]

Now 'paths of disharmony' is supposed to be a DS9 relaunch novel? Really? Grasping at straws much, Therin?
'Most of the DS9 relaunch cast' means a LOT more than one character's cameo.

And, AT THE EARLIEST, a novel featuring most of DS9 relaunch cast (the entire cast is unrealistic, at this point) will appear in 2012.

 

[ryan123450]

Then I will continue the DS9 storyline in chronological order from where we left off.

And then complain that it's all leading to a huge spoiler that someone already blew in 2013.

That is a possibility. But one I'm willing to live with.

I like DS9 Ongoing. We should start calling it that

I'm with you. Let's make it official.

 

[Therin of Andor]

'Most of the DS9 relaunch cast' means a LOT more than one character's cameo.

Sigh. It seemed much more than "a cameo" by Shar to me. He's even on the cover!

You asked about "books featuring... the former DS9 relaunch cast". (The "most" qualifier was in your parentheses; I wasn't addressing that.)

What kind of story is going to have "'most of the DS9 relaunch cast" anyway? Many of those characters moved off the station during the events of the six concurrent stories of "Worlds of DS9" and "Warpath". So not even an Ascendants War flashback storyline will feature "most" of the Relaunch crew.

 

[David R. George III]

The books say "The saga of Deep Space Nine will continue." Thus, there is an ongoing series.

...it wouldn't need to be there if it were otherwise obvious that the saga was proceeding smoothly.

I find it stunning how people interpret events about which they have virtually no knowledge, but still feel confident enough to make pronouncements.

 

[flemm]

I find it stunning how people interpret events about which they have virtually no knowledge, but still feel confident enough to make pronouncements.

Really? I find it hard to believe that someone with your life experience would find that surprising in the slightest

As for the significance or insignificance of the blurb at the end of ZSG, I concede that I was probably being overly optimistic in my initial reaction.

 

[Thrawn]

The books say "The saga of Deep Space Nine will continue." Thus, there is an ongoing series.

...it wouldn't need to be there if it were otherwise obvious that the saga was proceeding smoothly.

I find it stunning how people interpret events about which they have virtually no knowledge, but still feel confident enough to make pronouncements.

Would it have been less objectionable if I wrote "ongoing story"? It seems pretty clear, unless they're lying to us.

 

[David R. George III]

I find it hard to believe that someone with your life experience would find that surprising in the slightest

I didn't say I was surprised; I said I found what you wrote stunning.

As for the significance or insignificance of the blurb at the end of ZSG, I concede that I was probably being overly optimistic in my initial reaction.

I was not referring to your alleged optimism, but to precisely what I quoted: "...it wouldn't need to be there if it were otherwise obvious that the saga was proceeding smoothly."

Would it have been less objectionable if I wrote "ongoing story"?

I found nothing you posted objectionable. I included your quote simply to identify to what the other poster referred.

 

[flemm]

I didn't say I was surprised; I said I found what you wrote stunning.

That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to discuss the matter further unless you elaborate.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I didn't say I was surprised; I said I found what you wrote stunning.

I'm with you. I'm often stunned by events and opinions on this BBS. And the reactions that seemingly-innocent posts (to some) can instigate.

 

[Christopher]

That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to discuss the matter further unless you elaborate.

Well, isn't it obvious? You see a passage at the end of the book that's exactly like what's been at the end of every previous DS9 post-finale book, and somehow you conclude that it "needed" to be there in order to mollify some imaginary mass doubts about the future of the series. That's a startlingly huge leap to a conclusion.

 

[Thrawn]

I found nothing you posted objectionable. I included your quote simply to identify to what the other poster referred.

Ok, cool; I was a bit thrown for a second.

 

[flemm]

Well, isn't it obvious? You see a passage at the end of the book that's exactly like what's been at the end of every previous DS9 post-finale book, and somehow you conclude that it "needed" to be there in order to mollify some imaginary mass doubts about the future of the series. That's a startlingly huge leap to a conclusion.

The fact of the matter is that the DS9 relaunch or series or whatever we want to call it has had its problems in recent years and, as of ZSG, was about to experience a potentially surprising and/or confusing jump of several years in time from the events of the previous DS9 book, which ended right on the cusp of the Ascendants storyline.

Some readers no doubt keep up on the ins and outs of why certain books were delayed and why a jump forward in time was perceived as necessary, but many don't. It would be prudent to consider the possibility that some of those people might wonder what was going on and whether or not the DS9 storyline was going to continue moving forward as it had previously.

Even some posters here who are relatively informed as to reasons for book delays and the time jump have obviously experienced some doubts regarding this, and we regularly see posts from relative newcomers to the board, such as this very thread, expressing similar concerns. Personally, I was an avid reader of the DS9 novels well before coming to this board, and I originally stopped by this particular forum precisely to find out WTH was up the DS9-R.

Under those circumstances, it would make a certain amount of sense to include the tagline from the regular post-finale DS9 books in the first book following the time jump, even though it is not a DS9 title, as a means of showing that continuity is being maintained and reassuring anyone with any doubts that the DS9-R will indeed continue.

In my initial reaction, I did make the perhaps faulty assumption that the tagline would not have been slated to appear automatically and was consciously added. For that reason, I concede that my initial reaction was overly optimistic and that the inclusion of the tagline likely has no special significance. But really, I see nothing in the original point that would qualify as stunning unless the reader were making a lot of faulty assumptions of his own.