Reading Andoria: Paradigm for the first time

[DS9Continuing]

(*) Who was J. Noah Kym? Is the name a pseudonym?

A lot of people seem to think so, though I've never really seen any reason as to why they think that. Purely because he's never written anything else in Trek?

But if it is a pseudonym, my guess is that it's Marco Palmieri. Given that Fragments & Omens set into motion a lot of the continuing arc plot of that section of the book series, and Marco was editor of the series at the time, I could see him wanting to take a personal hand in getting it right. But also because he was editor, it would be a conflict of interest for him to do so, hence the pseudonym.

We know that pseudonyms are hardly unheard of in Trek Lit (*cough* Mack *cough*), and that Marco is a perfectly capable writer as well, since he contributed to the Vanguard series as an author under his own name once he was no longer editor. So it's possible.

But that's all wild speculation based on no hard evidence whatsoever and could very well be completely wrong. J Noah Kym may entirely possibly be a real person for all I know.

On topic re Paradigm, I also like the subtle use of varying cultures on Andor - the modern-city life of Zhevra versus the traditionalist farmers-and-artists life of Thelasa-vei for example. As for comparing it to screen-canon depictions of Andor in Enterprise, I think it feeds well into my general theory that when humans first met Andorians, the latter were in the tail end of an ice age. With 200 years of climate change and advanced technologies, they now live in much warmer temperatures. But the consequence is a certain meteorological unpredictability, such as the flash-floods.

.

 

[Therin of Andor]

But if it is a pseudonym, my guess is that it's Marco Palmieri.

I seem to recall that Marco denied it was him.

People assume it is a pseudonym because the author bio in the book says, "J. Noah Kym has been characterized by his friends as a tough nut to crack."

A palm nut?

 

[Jarvisimo]

I wondered if JNK was a pseudonym (i) partly because of the description, and did wonder if it was Marco for the same reasons above (time for stylistic comparison?), (ii) there is no other reference to the name on the internet other than this single book, and (iii) like with Mack & the Mirror books, as mentioned above, pseudonyms were used in the period.

Anyway, it was really beautiful. Could Mr or Mrs Kym come back and write more, almost a decade later? And as I said upstream, its smallness of plot was especially attractive - the same smallness of plot that mostly fills Paradigm, and the same grandness of emotion and mundane reality. Books which depict generational succession and everyday events. I'm struggling not to write the confusing "genre" as above! But books heavy on the normality of our lives, yet also very good at exploring alien locales in interesting ways (as with The lotus flower)

It's great to have variety in a treklit line. Reading Keith's delightful Feringinar at first seemed a jump, but was (despite my trepeditions) very welcome. Like its more succesul predecessors, it also has, despite its concerns with interstellar governance, at its heart a most common of human occurances - marriage and divorce. Also having just finished Raising Steam, it's also nice to carry on with a comic-but-serious tone...

 

[Avro Arrow]

Speaking of "Paradigm", this new one-off t-shirt turned up today! I won a free shirt for ordering some concert tickets online.


Therin Park t-shirt by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

You should have made the heart blue!

 

[Therin of Andor]

You should have made the heart blue!

Funny you should say that. As I mentioned, this was a "free" designer T-shirt, but essentially designed to convince you to place a hefty order. As I followed the steps to order it, there was an additional charge for an extra message, extra charge for doublesided printing, extra charge for higher quality fabric, extra charge for faster postage, extra charge for matching business cards or pens, and extra charge for other modifications to the design. I went "free" all the way, then after placing the order I wondered if there was an option to alter the colour of the heart.

 

[shivadas]

I just finished Andor from Worlds of Deep Space Nine and was totally smitten by its elegance. Of course, all of the books leading up to it were perfect as well, there was just something about this story that tugged at those ol' heart strings. I am currently reading Worlds of DS9 Vol. 2 and was wondering if the Andor/ Shar storyline makes a return?

If not, can I launch an official petition for Mrs. Heather Jarman to write a sequel?

 

[borgboy]

I really love the Andirian novella, and the Andorians in general. Their society is really developed well here with loving details. Their four genders and the complex relationships they form are really interesting and a nice way to develop a species that is truly alien to us, and not just another race with bumps stuck on their head but still living very heteronormative lives.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I just finished Andor from Worlds of Deep Space Nine and was totally smitten by its elegance.

My bizarre "Andor: Paradigm" story. I sent a message to Heather Jarman to thank her for the Therin Park cameo, and told her that I'd been playing the soundtrack of the then-recent, third "Lord of the Rings" movie soundtrack, while reading the final section. As the funeral scene started, on came Annie Lennox singing "Into the West" and I was sobbing hopelessly as I read.

Heather wrote back to say that her music of choice, when writing it, had been... the then-recent, second "Lord of the Rings" movie soundtrack.

When we scattered my Dad's ashes a short while later, I played "Into the West" on my iPhone. Sadly, the noise of the cicadas was too intrusive.

was wondering if the Andor/ Shar storyline makes a return?

Yes, Shar's quest to resolve the fertility dilemma continues!

 

[DS9Continuing]

was wondering if the Andor/ Shar storyline makes a return?

Yes, Shar's quest to resolve the fertility dilemma continues!

...But not for some time, at least from the at-the-time reader's perspective. Because the DS9 books fizzled out for a few years, many storylines got dropped for a while, and the Andorian plotline was one of them.

The storyline finally returns in two further novels, namely Paths of Disharmony by Dayton Ward (part of the Typhon Pact crossover series), and then A Ceremony of Losses by David Mack (part of the The Fall crossover series). No, you don't have to read every book in either series if you just want to follow the Andorian plot.

Heather Jarman does have some other credits within the Star Trek Universe, as you can see here. But nothing ST-related since 2006.

.

 

[shivadas]

Thanks for the replies. That's a cool story regarding the LOTR soundtracks. I did see Dayton mentioned in this thread and was shocked to learn that Paths of Disharmony was not part of the relaunch for DS9. They took quite a leap of faith in hoping that TNG fans were familiar with the story. I determined that this story takes place around Zero Sum Game and Rough Beasts of the Empire so will know where to squeeze it in. Thanks for informing me of A Ceremony of Losses. Glad to see my blue-skinned friends will return!