Last Best Hope

[Cake Is Eternal]

I’m really enjoying “The Last Best Hope” by Una McCormick. My nerd heart melted when I found a line in one of Picard’s log entries: “My heart tells me...” my heart tells me that Una is a LOTR fan as I am! I do so often think that so many Trek fans also love LOTR.
Also I was reflecting as I was reading how refreshing it is to read a Star Trek novel by an author with a UK perspective. What I mean by that is, there is a bit of a tendency in earlier Trek novels to be troublingly American-centric, and I do think that a book written by someone like Una, directly experiencing Brexit, is a very good change of perspective. This is I think a very Brexit novel.
I dearly loved Jean-Luc’s relationship with the Qowat Milat.
This book is deepening my love and appreciation for the series and I think that is exactly how tie-in fiction is meant to work. There are so many stories that can be told in tie in fiction that can’t on the screen and I love the opportunities to deep dive into the characters journeys.

 

[Christopher]

This book is deepening my love and appreciation for the series and I think that is exactly how tie-in fiction is meant to work. The two forms of storytelling should complement one another rather than be in competition with each other.

They've never been in competition. The job of tie-ins is to supplement the core work by telling conjectural stories that might have occurred within its continuity. It is never intended to compete with the canon, contradict it, or claim to be equal in status to it, but merely to follow its lead. And that means giving way when the canon chooses to do something different. Tie-ins always do their best to complement the canon; that's their whole purpose. It's just not usually practical to make that relationship reciprocal.

 

[Cake Is Eternal]

They've never been in competition. The job of tie-ins is to supplement the core work by telling conjectural stories that might have occurred within its continuity. It is never intended to compete with the canon, contradict it, or claim to be equal in status to it, but merely to follow its lead. And that means giving way when the canon chooses to do something different. Tie-ins always do their best to complement the canon; that's their whole purpose. It's just not usually practical to make that relationship reciprocal.

Very true but I’ve been thinking lately how deeply canon is influenced by the tie-ins. Michael Chabon has a recent interview in which he mentions he drew a good deal of insight from Memory Beta. The idea of Worf drinking prune juice comes from “The Final Reflection, as does a good deal of inspiration for Discovery. Those are just a couple examples. By “competition” I was speaking personally... I mostly prefer the novels to the movies.

 

[Christopher]

The idea of Worf drinking prune juice comes from “The Final Reflection

Has this been confirmed anywhere, or did someone just assume it because there happens to be a passing mention of prune juice in TFR? If anything, the reference there contradicts the TNG approach, suggesting that prune juice would be a terrible thing to give to a Klingon. I think it's just a coincidence. (Although there is a probable TFR reference years later in DS9, where a couple of Klingon characters swear "by the hand of Kahless.")

 

[mastadge]

Has this been confirmed anywhere, or did someone just assume it because there happens to be a passing mention of prune juice in TFR? If anything, the reference there contradicts the TNG approach, suggesting that prune juice would be a terrible thing to give to a Klingon. I think it's just a coincidence. (Although there is a probable TFR reference years later in DS9, where a couple of Klingon characters swear "by the hand of Kahless.")

According to Memory Alpha, Ron Moore confirmed it in the BD commentary for "Yesterday's Enterprise". Again, it was more by means of Moore drawing inspiration from something he liked in the novel than "incorporating it into canon" or whatever.

 

[Cake Is Eternal]

Has this been confirmed anywhere, or did someone just assume it because there happens to be a passing mention of prune juice in TFR? If anything, the reference there contradicts the TNG approach, suggesting that prune juice would be a terrible thing to give to a Klingon. I think it's just a coincidence. (Although there is a probable TFR reference years later in DS9, where a couple of Klingon characters swear "by the hand of Kahless.")

Yes in interviews with Ronald D. Moore. I was doing a research project on the evolution of Klingons and came across it and thought it was interesting.

 

[Reanok]

The Picard books are really good filling the backstory for the series. I really liked the first book alot getting the back story of the romulans the Qwot Milat. And getting Raffi's back Story and Agnes' story too.The Dark Veil By James Swallow is an excellent novel too

 

[Cake Is Eternal]

The Picard books are really good filling the backstory for the series. I really liked the first book alot getting the back story of the romulans the Qwot Milat. And getting Raffi's back Story and Agnes' story too.The Dark Veil By James Swallow is an excellent novel too

I am really looking forward to reading “The Dark Veil”!

 

[Stevil2001]

Also I was reflecting as I was reading how refreshing it is to read a Star Trek novel by an author with a UK perspective. What I mean by that is, there is a bit of a tendency in earlier Trek novels to be troublingly American-centric, and I do think that a book written by someone like Una, directly experiencing Brexit, is a very good change of perspective. This is I think a very Brexit novel.

If you like Una's take on space analogies for the problems of Brexit, I highly recommend The Fall: The Crimson Shadow.

 

[Cake Is Eternal]

If you like Una's take on space analogies for the problems of Brexit, I highly recommend The Fall: The Crimson Shadow.

Awesome recommendation, thank you!

 

[Damian]

The Picard books are really good filling the backstory for the series. I really liked the first book alot getting the back story of the romulans the Qwot Milat. And getting Raffi's back Story and Agnes' story too.The Dark Veil By James Swallow is an excellent novel too

Yes, agree there. I read the novel before seeing the show and I found it helpful. One example is when Raffi visits her son. Having read the novel I knew some of the back story behind what happened between her and her family. Also, when Picard first visits her on the show I already knew she was not going to be too happy to see him. And there are other examples, Agnes' background, and Picard's post-Nemesis as well.

Now, of course, we must all be cautioned that the novels are not canon. The show runners can changes something that nullifies some part of that 'back story' at any time. Though in large part I didn't see anything in season 1 that conflicts with anything in the novel. My biggest disappointment I think was that the novel hints that there might have been something more sinister going on with the Romulan Star's nova. Season 1 didn't really delve at all into the nova event. I'm hoping season 2 maybe gets into that a bit more. Also, I wonder if the upcoming Coda trilogy will get into that at all. I get the distinct impression that trilogy will attempt to link the relaunch timeline with that of the Picard timeline, and it will be interesting to see if the nova is part of that overall story in some way. I doubt they will provide a cause in the Picard timeline, since it's very possible the show may do that in a future season, but perhaps it affects the relaunch timeline or even causes some unforeseen catastrophe in the relaunch timeline. Well, we'll see.

Anyway, for any fan of Picard I'd highly recommend The Last, Best Hope. It definitely fleshes out season 1 of the show. And I started reading The Dark Veil (while so far it doesn't seem to add a whole lot to season 1 of Picard, so far it's a good read and it's nice to see some Titan series characters like Christine Vale and Keru make the transition).

 

[Christopher]

Now, of course, we must all be cautioned that the novels are not canon.

People dwell far too much on this. Even canon can be freely contradicted by later canon -- for instance, the early seasons of TNG showing a peacetime Starfleet where war games were considered a quaint and archaic concept, and then season 4 establishing that the Federation had been at war with Cardassia until just a year before. Or DS9 contradicting virtually every detail of "The Host"'s depiction of the Trill.

Of course a series is more likely to stay consistent with its own past details than with things established in tie-ins, but it's never guaranteed in either case, so the difference isn't really that important.

My biggest disappointment I think was that the novel hints that there might have been something more sinister going on with the Romulan Star's nova.

Both Picard novels so far have hinted at this, so maybe there is something there.

 

[Cake Is Eternal]

People dwell far too much on this. Even canon can be freely contradicted by later canon -- for instance, the early seasons of TNG showing a peacetime Starfleet where war games were considered a quaint and archaic concept, and then season 4 establishing that the Federation had been at war with Cardassia until just a year before. Or DS9 contradicting virtually every detail of "The Host"'s depiction of the Trill.

Of course a series is more likely to stay consistent with its own past details than with things established in tie-ins, but it's never guaranteed in either case, so the difference isn't really that important.




Both Picard novels so far have hinted at this, so maybe there is something there.

I often think that the novels are the spackling on the rough and holey walls of canon. They fill in and smooth over the holes. That’s the beauty of reading and writing them.

 

[Damian]

People dwell far too much on this. Even canon can be freely contradicted by later canon

Yes, that's certainly true. I was just throwing a cautionary note that while The Last, Best Hope provided a lot of good insight and background on where the show is at its start, the show is not beholden to that in any way.

It does seem with the current show runners that there is more of an attempt to keep a tighter continuity between the show and tie ins, and more collaboration then perhaps Trekkies are used to. And that's certainly a good thing, IMHO. I liked reading the novel before seeing the show as I found it gave me a good foundation to start with. Tie ins that are part of the overall continuity don't replace the show, but it's nice that they add to it. None of the information in the novel is vital to enjoying the show, but it increased my ability to enjoy the show (which is why I'd recommend the novel to any fan of the show, even if they are not a frequent novel reader). But as we learned with Desperate Hours, it's no guarantee future episodes will stay consistent with what was presented in the novel.

 

[Damian]

I often think that the novels are the spackling on the rough and holey walls of canon. They fill in and smooth over the holes.

Yes, I find that's true in a number of novels. Now, not every novel 'fixes continuity' and some of my favorite novels really don't touch on that. But there are a lot of good novels that do some continuity "repair." And usually in a way that makes some logical sense, at least from a narrative standpoint. Christopher has done some of that, Greg Cox too. And I've seen it here and there from other writers.

I think you'll find authors seem to see it as a challenge, or a puzzle (as opposed to something they do because they feel they have to). I usually say it's like making a square peg fit in a round hole. You have two story lines that don't fit well together, how can we puzzle that out and make it fit.

I always point out Greg's 3rd Khan book, "To Reign in Hell", a great novel overall for its story content of Khan's exile on Ceti Alpha V. But he also does a great job tying "Space Seed" with TWOK and explaining away the various inconsistencies between the two. Frankly, I can't think of anything he missed. And that was another case where a novel helped me enjoy a movie more. His book added to the narrative, made some sense of things. TWOK is my 2nd favorite Trek movie, but certain things bothered me about it (no, Chekov being recognized wasn't one of them, I always figured he was on the ship in another capacity, that's an easy 'fix'). Khan's insatiable need for vengeance, at the expense of all else. His obsession bothered me a bit. Like Joaquin said, he had a ship, take it and go wherever you want. But the novel helped explain how that could happen to someone. Khan's obsession was something that slowly simmered in the novel over those roughly 15 years, and you can start to grasp how he became enraged, psychotically so, as the years passed. And of course how Khan's band of merry superman turned into an 80's blonde rock band. But I found it an enjoyable book for the story as well.

 

[Christopher]

Yes, that's certainly true. I was just throwing a cautionary note that while The Last, Best Hope provided a lot of good insight and background on where the show is at its start, the show is not beholden to that in any way.

I just get tired of people feeling the need to point that out every time. It's not so overarchingly important that it needs to be harped on so constantly, so it just feels like gatekeeping. Any story might be contradicted by future stories, but if it hasn't happened yet, there's no sense worrying about it.

And it doesn't matter anyway. Fiction is not about saying "This is real." It's about exploring possibilities, imagining things that might be. Which means there's room for exploring more than one alternative possibility.

 

[Enterprise1701]

By the way, the dedicated review thread for The Last Best Hope is here:

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/sta...by-una-mccormack-review-thread.302877/page-28

 

[Cake Is Eternal]

Yes, I find that's true in a number of novels. Now, not every novel 'fixes continuity' and some of my favorite novels really don't touch on that. But there are a lot of good novels that do some continuity "repair." And usually in a way that makes some logical sense, at least from a narrative standpoint. Christopher has done some of that, Greg Cox too. And I've seen it here and there from other writers.

I think you'll find authors seem to see it as a challenge, or a puzzle (as opposed to something they do because they feel they have to). I usually say it's like making a square peg fit in a round hole. You have two story lines that don't fit well together, how can we puzzle that out and make it fit.

I always point out Greg's 3rd Khan book, "To Reign in Hell", a great novel overall for its story content of Khan's exile on Ceti Alpha V. But he also does a great job tying "Space Seed" with TWOK and explaining away the various inconsistencies between the two. Frankly, I can't think of anything he missed. And that was another case where a novel helped me enjoy a movie more. His book added to the narrative, made some sense of things. TWOK is my 2nd favorite Trek movie, but certain things bothered me about it (no, Chekov being recognized wasn't one of them, I always figured he was on the ship in another capacity, that's an easy 'fix'). Khan's insatiable need for vengeance, at the expense of all else. His obsession bothered me a bit. Like Joaquin said, he had a ship, take it and go wherever you want. But the novel helped explain how that could happen to someone. Khan's obsession was something that slowly simmered in the novel over those roughly 15 years, and you can start to grasp how he became enraged, psychotically so, as the years passed. And of course how Khan's band of merry superman turned into an 80's blonde rock band. But I found it an enjoyable book for the story as well.

So many rich veins for storytelling here, and some of those stories are told best in the novels! It’s a delight to watch canon and look for those story telling opportunities.

 

[mastadge]

My biggest disappointment I think was that the novel hints that there might have been something more sinister going on with the Romulan Star's nova. Season 1 didn't really delve at all into the nova event..

I'm kind of hoping for a Spock novel that ties the supernova thread into the backstory of the Kelvin-verse and manages to make it seem like it was all one big plan from the start.

 

[Damian]

I'm kind of hoping for a Spock novel that ties the supernova thread into the backstory of the Kelvin-verse and manages to make it seem like it was all one big plan from the start.

I do hope to see that angle covered at some point. I doubt the show will go there since the event happened at least 12 years prior, and obviously Nimoy isn't available for any cameos, sadly. But perhaps in some future novel there might be a good place to tell that part of the story. Maybe Coda will do that in some fashion, or maybe it will be left up to some future Picard novel, or maybe the show will surprise us and cover it themselves at some point.