Quick thought about the TNG post-NEM novels

[RonG]

Because of several recent TrekBBS threads on the matter, I’ve started re-reading Before Dishonor (won’t go into a review/rant, but it’s actually better than I remembered…), and I had a thought regarding the posy-NEM TNG novels – specifically pre-Destiny​

AFAIK, these novels were mostly met with online criticism, on account of plot repetition / development and characterization inconsistencies. But what if Resistance, Before Dishonor and Greater than the Sum were announced and published as an “official” trilogy? Would prior knowledge of the subject matter improve the books’ reception​

Notice that I don’t include KRAD’s Q&A (probably my favorite of the four… sorry Christopher …), as it is fairly separate IMO from the other three novels in terms of plot, ongoing storylines and character development. In fact, Before Dishonor actually reads better when read right after Resistance (I know that there was some matter of PAD not having a copy of Q&A beforehand but basically, we can only refer to the books as they are, not what they could or should have been​

So again, I return to my question – what do you think? Would the 3 pre-Destiny Borg novels have worked better if released as a trilogy?​

 

[Thrawn]

Well, actually, they sort of were, iirc. As they were coming out in one big clump, everyone thought "oh, ok, Borg by PAD, Q by KRAD, this sounds pretty great." The problems arrived when everyone thought the Borg as portrayed were either totally bizarre or completely boring, and THEN the Destiny trilogy was announced, and THEN so was GTTS, and they were all about the Borg.

I mean, some people were complaining in advance, but I think the real whining didn't really start until the books didn't meet a lot of fan's expectations, and we knew the Borg would be the villain in the next 4 also.

 

[Snaploud]

Resistance
Before Dishonor
Greater than the Sum
Destiny Trilogy

Call it Star Trek: Borg. Everybody will be much happier.

 

[RonG]

Resistance
Before Dishonor
Greater than the Sum
Destiny Trilogy

Call it Star Trek: Borg. Everybody will be much happier.

It's probably just me, but I have a problem thinking of the utter greatness that is Destiny alongside the that was Resistance or the of Before Dishonor. Greater than the Sum HAS to be connected to these two, as it concludes the Borg/Einstein threat...

Personally, I like to think of these as two connected but seperate arcs.

 

[RonG]

I recall a past thread about stand-alone novels, in which Christopher participated and remarked about the TNG-R being "episodic". This was IIRC before Destiny, and I was wondering about Christopher's 2 cents regarding the current topic...

 

[DimesDan]

After I've finished reading what I am currently, I'm planning on rereading Before Dishonour.

As for the threads you mentioned, after reading something like TWENTY pages of the same circular arguments, I just can't be arsed with them and it comes across as an exercise in futility on all sides!

 

[RonG]

After I've finished reading what I am currently, I'm planning on rereading Before Dishonour.

As for the threads you mentioned, after reading something like TWENTY pages of the same circular arguments, I just can't be arsed with them and it comes across as an exercise in futility on all sides!

I assume, then, you're spoiled as to the "event" which launched these threads I wrote about in my OP... as for the circular arguments, I'd just commented in that very same spirit in one such thread

 

[Christopher]

I recall a past thread about stand-alone novels, in which Christopher participated and remarked about the TNG-R being "episodic". This was IIRC before Destiny, and I was wondering about Christopher's 2 cents regarding the current topic...

Well, technically, it is episodic. Even among the three Borg-related novels, each one tells a different story from beginning to end. One is a book about preventing the birth of a new Borg Queen. One is a book about dealing with a mutated Borg technology that takes the life of a major character. And one is a book about encountering a strange new life form while seeking out a rogue Borg ship. Each one arises from the previous one, but they're separate stories focusing on different characters and different crises.

And the E-E is going on other missions between these events; Resistance and Q & A are several weeks apart, Before Dishonor is about a month after that, and three months elapse between BD and Greater Than the Sum. So it's not that different from TNG itself, where you'd have one standalone episode, then a few months later would get a sequel to that episode, then another sequel a while after that, and so on. It's just that the books have skipped over most of the intervening adventures.

 

[DimesDan]

After I've finished reading what I am currently, I'm planning on rereading Before Dishonour.

As for the threads you mentioned, after reading something like TWENTY pages of the same circular arguments, I just can't be arsed with them and it comes across as an exercise in futility on all sides!

I assume, then, you're spoiled as to the "event" which launched these threads I wrote about in my OP... as for the circular arguments, I'd just commented in that very same spirit in one such thread

Nah. I've already read Before Dishonour way back in November 2007 when it came out over here so I'm not spoiled (I don't mind spoilers anyway, because for me it's all about the context of those events) by any of it and as I rushed through it in a couple of days and actually enjoyed it, I plan on re-reading it and seeing if I still enjoy it or if my recent re-watching of Voyager has made me change my opinion on the matters at hand, plus, I don't actually remember vast sections of it.

 

[RonG]

I recall a past thread about stand-alone novels, in which Christopher participated and remarked about the TNG-R being "episodic". This was IIRC before Destiny, and I was wondering about Christopher's 2 cents regarding the current topic...

Well, technically, it is episodic. Even among the three Borg-related novels, each one tells a different story from beginning to end. One is a book about preventing the birth of a new Borg Queen. One is a book about dealing with a mutated Borg technology that takes the life of a major character. And one is a book about encountering a strange new life form while seeking out a rogue Borg ship. Each one arises from the previous one, but they're separate stories focusing on different characters and different crises.

And the E-E is going on other missions between these events; Resistance and Q & A are several weeks apart, Before Dishonor is about a month after that, and three months elapse between BD and Greater Than the Sum. So it's not that different from TNG itself, where you'd have one standalone episode, then a few months later would get a sequel to that episode, then another sequel a while after that, and so on. It's just that the books have skipped over most of the intervening adventures.

While I see your point on this matter (even after all these months ), I think that the nature of the connection between the three "Borg novels" would lend itself quite nicely to a trilogy. Think about it - The E-E is pitted against a Borg Cube in Resistance. Then, the conflict in Before Dishonor centers on that exact Borg Cube, while dealing with Picard's decisions in Resistance. Likewise, the conflict in Greater than the Sum is directly caused by events in Before Dishonor...

That's why I wondered about branding or presenting these novels as one multi-novel "mini series" - how do you like dem apples, Christopher ?

 

[LightningStorm]

Copied from other thread... I think it warrants a mention here too.

Also, please please do not turn this into a debate over who should or shouldn't have been killed, I just want to discuss what happened.

With emphasis.

I know folks are about sick of the sheer number of threads this permeates, and as much as I don't really like being very heavy-handed in modding with the "Stay on topic" mantra, I think we'll need to be for this thread and this thread. At least until things die down a bit.

That is to say this thread needs to stay on topic of the interconnectivity or not of those books and not about Janeway and her apparent death.

 

[ClayinCA]

Well, I'd agree that the novels are episodic, but they're episodic in a way that's much more akin to (say) The Sopranos, where each episode told a story, but was also part of a major, ongoing storyline. Or, if you like, they were more like sixth-season Deep Space Nine than sixth-season Next Generation.