I believe there may have been a reference to that somewhere, that maybe he was a descendent of the Commander or something hinted at maybe.
Spoilers PIC: The Dark Veil by James Swallow - Review Thread
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I believe there may have been a reference to that somewhere, that maybe he was a descendent of the Commander or something hinted at maybe.
He attributes the saying about being "creatures of duty" to an ancestor, IIRC.
Yeah, that was it. I knew there was something that reminded me of the Commander from "Balance of Terror."
Maybe James Swallow will let us know if the intent was for them to be one and the same (though I imagine he wouldn't have included that little bit if that wasn't the intent--sometimes it's safe to assume
).
Yeah, the deliberate intention there is to suggest that Medaka is related in some way to Mark Lenard's character from "Balance of Terror".
I wanted to highlight the two familiar poles of Romulan characters from Trek in the novel - so Medaka embodies the 'honourable adversary' while Helek is the 'zealous schemer'.
I gave it one of my vanishingly-rare "Outstanding" votes. Not that it was without faults; I thought the "Helek" scenes went on a bit long. But the story kept me engaged, and was full of surprises.
along with the "Balance of Terror" and Star Trek: Insurrection references, as well as the "Macha Hernandez" Easter egg. And while there was an invocation of the "eye-scream" trope, it was mercifully short on both length and gory detail.
The incident referred to in the "chapter Picard had just finished" in the history book he was writing didn't ring any bells with me. Should it have?
And I seem to have entirely missed the Gurney Halleck reference. Then again, after I got as far as God Emperor of Dune, I gave up, and consigned all my Frank Herbert to the used book dealer, and never saw more than a few minutes of any of the screen adaptations of Dune.
As to the Zhat Vash, late last night, it occurred to me that their genesis might have had something to do with ancient contact with either the Borg, or the Exo III androids, or both. But perhaps we'll get a canonical explanation (as it is, thanks to my annual Lenten reading of the entire KJV, and various electrical projects around the house, I'm still only a little over halfway through the first season of Picard).
the Jazari turning out to be the Androids of the Planet Mudd,
The incident referred to in the "chapter Picard had just finished" in the history book he was writing didn't ring any bells with me. Should it have?
And I seem to have entirely missed the Gurney Halleck reference. Then again, after I got as far as God Emperor of Dune, I gave up, and consigned all my Frank Herbert to the used book dealer, and never saw more than a few minutes of any of the screen adaptations of Dune.
As to the Zhat Vash, late last night, it occurred to me that their genesis might have had something to do with ancient contact with either the Borg, or the Exo III androids, or both. But perhaps we'll get a canonical explanation (as it is, thanks to my annual Lenten reading of the entire KJV, and various electrical projects around the house, I'm still only a little over halfway through the first season of Picard).
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I believe that's what Picard was working on at the beginning of the show when the news service was doing their interview.
You know, too, somehow I missed what's in your spoiler. Not sure why I didn't add that up because now that you mention it, it was totally obvious. It just totally went over my head--and I caught the reference about the Romulan commander.
Either that, or go up in a big soggy explosion (in which case innocent bystanders might be hurt).
He's writing about the Station Salem One attack, which is mentioned in the TNG episode "The Enemy" as an incident on par with Pearl Harbour during WW2.
I'd hope not, for his editor's sake! ST: Picard takes place over a decade after the events of The Dark Veil - that'd be a long, long deadline...!
It's one of Patrick Stewart's lines from the 1984 Dune movie.
I gathered it had something to do with that. The few minutes I've seen of it are more than the combined total of what little I've seen of all other screen adaptations. I could never really get into Dune: its milieu always struck me as not so much a moral inversion as a moral eversion: completely inside out.
Yeah, I guess that's true enough.
Though I suppose it's possible he started writing it that early and got a publisher lined up later down the road. Sometimes it takes someone a long time to write a book
Just finished it. it was pretty good. Certainly better than that other Picard novel. They actually felt like their characters here. Some very interesting JJVerse references in this; from Red Matter, the design of the Tal Shiar ships and even the stuff mentioned from Spock. Would be interesting to see the new version of Countdown for this timeline.
I liked how he tried to make sense of what they did with Thad in Picard with that bizarre illness he had that needed an android brain to cure him. Him being cured by the Jazuri which would lead to complications later on in life makes it a bit more believable. He needed a "touch up" so to speak which wasn't available and the parents didn't seem to care that much from finding another.
Wasn't the biggest fan of the Zhat Vash. That whole concept was just poorly executed in Picard and it just brought the story down.
Interesting seeing what they kept the same from the Prime novelverse to this. Vale and Keru is still around but the rest are all different. The one that makes me upset was Doctor Ree being replaced. I thought with him being reptilian like the Jazuri would have made some nice interactions between them.
I liked how he tried to make sense of what they did with Thad in Picard with that bizarre illness he had that needed an android brain to cure him. Him being cured by the Jazuri which would lead to complications later on in life makes it a bit more believable. He needed a "touch up" so to speak which wasn't available and the parents didn't seem to care that much from finding another.
Wasn't the biggest fan of the Zhat Vash. That whole concept was just poorly executed in Picard and it just brought the story down.
Interesting seeing what they kept the same from the Prime novelverse to this. Vale and Keru is still around but the rest are all different. The one that makes me upset was Doctor Ree being replaced. I thought with him being reptilian like the Jazuri would have made some nice interactions between them.
I was watching a livestream for a podcast I listen to recently ("Space the Nation," a politics-focused sci-fi discussion show that used to be the second iteration of "The Churn," SyFy's house podcast for "The Expanse"), and at one point they mentioned they were planning to do an episode on the Dune movie, and I thought they meant this one and not the new one, and we all had a fun moment of confusion where they didn't understand when I asked in the chat if they were going to talk about all the pugs.
They did care, but they had no way to do it.
Also 'and the parents'. What kind of way is that to refer to Troi and Riker?
*flashbacks to DS9 where Odo was suddenly the only shapeshifter...Well they didn’t try hard enough considering how littered the galaxy is with androids.
*(Copy of post I just made on my Facebook page.) I just finished reading the second “Star Trek: Picard” novel, The Dark Veil, by James Swallow (2021).
Another prequel story to the opening events of the first season of “Star Trek: Picard”, the CBS All Access (now Paramount+) streaming access television series, just as the previous Picard novel, The Last Best Hope, had been, The Dark Veil focuses on Captain William T. Riker in command of the USS Titan, along with his wife, Commander Deanna Troi, their son, Thaddeus, and the rest of their crew.
Set soon after the attack on the shipbuilding facilities on Mars detailed on “Star Trek: Picard”, Riker and his ship and crew come to the aid of a secretive ally race of the Federation which is seeking to leave the area of space they have been living in behind and travel in a great colony ship across the galaxy to where their race first originated from.
Riker is forced to broker an uneasy partnership with the commander of a Romulan Warbird who has also taken an interest in seeing them on their way as it requires them to journey close by Romulan territory. And aboard the Romulan Warbird is a member of the Tal Shiar, the Romulan secret police/intelligence agency, who is also a member of the Zhat Vash, an even more secret Romulan organization/cadre who have witnessed a dire vision of future events called the Admonition in which the destruction of all organic living beings are wiped out by artificial/synthetic beings. The Zhat Vash’s mission is to route out and destroy synthetic beings before this may take place, all the while facing the destruction of the Romulan home world and much of the surrounding Empire but the soon to go supernova Romulan central star.
That all sets the stage for the events of The Dark Veil. I have to say that I really enjoyed this one. I like reading about Riker as captain of the Titan. From 2005 through 2017, there was a series of novels titled the “Star Trek: Titan” series, which followed Riker, Troi, and the USS Titan (James Swallow wrote two of the novels in that series), and these characters also appeared together in other Star Trek crossover novels throughout this same period.
However, “Star Trek: Picard” established a new backstory which places it and its tie-in material (which includes The Dark Veil) outside of anything established in the Pocket Books novels that preceded it, so it is unnecessary to have read any of the prior “Star Trek: Titan” novels to be able to understand and enjoy The Dark Veil. (I know because I have not yet read any of the “Titan” novels, yet I now look forward to going back and doing so.)
I don’t want to give too much more away regarding the plot, other than to say that it fits in well with the back story established in “Star Trek: Picard”, and also includes a lot of the tried and true Star Trek elements of success, such as exciting starship emergency rescues and ship battles, Romulan intrigue, and the Starfleet characters attempting to better understand this mostly unknown secretive race that has been living amongst them for a very long time but has always kept their ways hidden to outsiders.
I would love to see more stories aboard the USS Titan, although the time table of events established by “Star Trek: Picard” only allows a limited number of years following The Dark Veil that William Riker, Deanna Troi, and their family remain on the Titan. Plus, the next “Star Trek: Picard” novel has already been announced and like the first two will focus on an entirety different character, that of Captain Cristóbal Rios, and his story leading up to the start of the “Picard” series. This book, Rogue Elements, is due out in August 2021.
As for The Dark Veil, I highly recommend it, and I gave it four out of five stars on GoodReads.
Another prequel story to the opening events of the first season of “Star Trek: Picard”, the CBS All Access (now Paramount+) streaming access television series, just as the previous Picard novel, The Last Best Hope, had been, The Dark Veil focuses on Captain William T. Riker in command of the USS Titan, along with his wife, Commander Deanna Troi, their son, Thaddeus, and the rest of their crew.
Set soon after the attack on the shipbuilding facilities on Mars detailed on “Star Trek: Picard”, Riker and his ship and crew come to the aid of a secretive ally race of the Federation which is seeking to leave the area of space they have been living in behind and travel in a great colony ship across the galaxy to where their race first originated from.
Riker is forced to broker an uneasy partnership with the commander of a Romulan Warbird who has also taken an interest in seeing them on their way as it requires them to journey close by Romulan territory. And aboard the Romulan Warbird is a member of the Tal Shiar, the Romulan secret police/intelligence agency, who is also a member of the Zhat Vash, an even more secret Romulan organization/cadre who have witnessed a dire vision of future events called the Admonition in which the destruction of all organic living beings are wiped out by artificial/synthetic beings. The Zhat Vash’s mission is to route out and destroy synthetic beings before this may take place, all the while facing the destruction of the Romulan home world and much of the surrounding Empire but the soon to go supernova Romulan central star.
That all sets the stage for the events of The Dark Veil. I have to say that I really enjoyed this one. I like reading about Riker as captain of the Titan. From 2005 through 2017, there was a series of novels titled the “Star Trek: Titan” series, which followed Riker, Troi, and the USS Titan (James Swallow wrote two of the novels in that series), and these characters also appeared together in other Star Trek crossover novels throughout this same period.
However, “Star Trek: Picard” established a new backstory which places it and its tie-in material (which includes The Dark Veil) outside of anything established in the Pocket Books novels that preceded it, so it is unnecessary to have read any of the prior “Star Trek: Titan” novels to be able to understand and enjoy The Dark Veil. (I know because I have not yet read any of the “Titan” novels, yet I now look forward to going back and doing so.)
I don’t want to give too much more away regarding the plot, other than to say that it fits in well with the back story established in “Star Trek: Picard”, and also includes a lot of the tried and true Star Trek elements of success, such as exciting starship emergency rescues and ship battles, Romulan intrigue, and the Starfleet characters attempting to better understand this mostly unknown secretive race that has been living amongst them for a very long time but has always kept their ways hidden to outsiders.
I would love to see more stories aboard the USS Titan, although the time table of events established by “Star Trek: Picard” only allows a limited number of years following The Dark Veil that William Riker, Deanna Troi, and their family remain on the Titan. Plus, the next “Star Trek: Picard” novel has already been announced and like the first two will focus on an entirety different character, that of Captain Cristóbal Rios, and his story leading up to the start of the “Picard” series. This book, Rogue Elements, is due out in August 2021.
As for The Dark Veil, I highly recommend it, and I gave it four out of five stars on GoodReads.
Just finished it and voted outstanding. Didn't know how much I missed Riker and Troi. And @James Swallow let all our beloved characters shine. The cameos (Picard and a certain Vulcan) were great and I learned a lot more about the Romulans. Medaka was a interesting and great character and he was handled very well. Nice family moments of the Troi-Rikers added to an enjoyable reading experience.
Thanks to youngtrek and Kilana2 for your comments! 
4/5
I am a big defender of the STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, PICARD, and LOWER DECKS series. However, if I had to choose between them then I'd probably say that Picard is my favorite of the three. It has the most interesting premise and ideas to develop. Indeed, my biggest issue is that I felt the first season was far too compact and that it needed another few episodes to detail all the various concepts it was dealing with.
I was a big fan of THE LAST BEST HOPE and felt it really could have been the basis for those extra episodes. Una McCormack took the time to expand and explain the political situation and build-up in a way that helped the story breathe. I was wondering if something similar could be done with THE DARK VEIL as James Swallow (who I mostly know from his Star Trek: Titan novels) follows the U.S.S Titan into the events of Picard.
The premise of this book is that the U.S.S Titan with Captain Riker and Counselor Troi are dealing with the fact a Federation ally, the Jazari, are suddenly leaving the Alpha Quadrant in a generation ship. Something has horribly spooked them and the Federation is left clueless. This is also just a year after the horrific Mars attacks, Synth Ban, and failure to evacuate the Romulan homeworld. After a space disaster leads to the Titan rescuing the Jazari ship, an unexpected alliance occurs between them and a Romulan warbird. Everything promptly goes to hell afterward.
The Dark Veil feels like a combination of the Titan novels and the Picard era, which is an interesting fusion that I would be interested in seeing more of. Certainly, novel character Christine Vale shows up and I've always supported her in more properties. I'm still hoping she'll be canonized by Lower Decks. Really, it feels like a mixture in ways both subtle as well as overt.
The Jazari are the kind of species that feel very much like a Titan creation. They are alien and "big" in a way that novels can do in ways that television can't (or is very hard pressed to) as well as aluding to past history that the shows rarely do these days. I figured out their secret fairly early and it's a bit on the nose but Star Trek has rarely needed to be subtle about it's themes. Arguably, Picard could have done more with its themes like this.
I also appreciate the use of the Romulans in this book as we get a nice mixture of "honorable soldier", "sneaky KGB Loyalty officer", and "insane death cultist." Some people had issues with the Zhat Vash when it was introduced in Picard but seeing how the Admonition utterly breaks someone's mind like a Lovecraftian Cthulhu cultist actually helps underscore what the show only hinted at.
The book also effectively uses foreshadowing and canon to hang an ominous cloud over all of its events. Thaddeus Riker is an adorable child that we know for a fact is not going to reach adulthood. The fact the Romulan system has about a year left before 900 million residents die is also something that hangs over the heads of each of its residents. Using that helps elevate the material as we know there's no good ending to all this. The fact the Jazari choose to make the decision they do also underscores just how badly the Federation has screwed up.
In conclusion, this is a good Star Trek novel and would be appreciated by both U.S.S. Titan as well as Picard fans. I preferred The Last Best Hope but that was more due to the fact that it got heavier into the politics of the event. This is a more pulpy space opera adventure that I also like but not quite as much.
I am a big defender of the STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, PICARD, and LOWER DECKS series. However, if I had to choose between them then I'd probably say that Picard is my favorite of the three. It has the most interesting premise and ideas to develop. Indeed, my biggest issue is that I felt the first season was far too compact and that it needed another few episodes to detail all the various concepts it was dealing with.
I was a big fan of THE LAST BEST HOPE and felt it really could have been the basis for those extra episodes. Una McCormack took the time to expand and explain the political situation and build-up in a way that helped the story breathe. I was wondering if something similar could be done with THE DARK VEIL as James Swallow (who I mostly know from his Star Trek: Titan novels) follows the U.S.S Titan into the events of Picard.
The premise of this book is that the U.S.S Titan with Captain Riker and Counselor Troi are dealing with the fact a Federation ally, the Jazari, are suddenly leaving the Alpha Quadrant in a generation ship. Something has horribly spooked them and the Federation is left clueless. This is also just a year after the horrific Mars attacks, Synth Ban, and failure to evacuate the Romulan homeworld. After a space disaster leads to the Titan rescuing the Jazari ship, an unexpected alliance occurs between them and a Romulan warbird. Everything promptly goes to hell afterward.
The Dark Veil feels like a combination of the Titan novels and the Picard era, which is an interesting fusion that I would be interested in seeing more of. Certainly, novel character Christine Vale shows up and I've always supported her in more properties. I'm still hoping she'll be canonized by Lower Decks. Really, it feels like a mixture in ways both subtle as well as overt.
The Jazari are the kind of species that feel very much like a Titan creation. They are alien and "big" in a way that novels can do in ways that television can't (or is very hard pressed to) as well as aluding to past history that the shows rarely do these days. I figured out their secret fairly early and it's a bit on the nose but Star Trek has rarely needed to be subtle about it's themes. Arguably, Picard could have done more with its themes like this.
I also appreciate the use of the Romulans in this book as we get a nice mixture of "honorable soldier", "sneaky KGB Loyalty officer", and "insane death cultist." Some people had issues with the Zhat Vash when it was introduced in Picard but seeing how the Admonition utterly breaks someone's mind like a Lovecraftian Cthulhu cultist actually helps underscore what the show only hinted at.
The book also effectively uses foreshadowing and canon to hang an ominous cloud over all of its events. Thaddeus Riker is an adorable child that we know for a fact is not going to reach adulthood. The fact the Romulan system has about a year left before 900 million residents die is also something that hangs over the heads of each of its residents. Using that helps elevate the material as we know there's no good ending to all this. The fact the Jazari choose to make the decision they do also underscores just how badly the Federation has screwed up.
In conclusion, this is a good Star Trek novel and would be appreciated by both U.S.S. Titan as well as Picard fans. I preferred The Last Best Hope but that was more due to the fact that it got heavier into the politics of the event. This is a more pulpy space opera adventure that I also like but not quite as much.