Hmmm...
In a(n admittedly unlikely) hypothetical scenario where someone was watching "The Savage Curtain" but had never heard of Abraham Lincoln at all, I wonder if they would have trouble understanding his significance?
Referencing classic novels?
- Thread starter F. King Daniel
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In a(n admittedly unlikely) hypothetical scenario where someone was watching "The Savage Curtain" but had never heard of Abraham Lincoln at all, I wonder if they would have trouble understanding his significance?
For the record, while Destiny doesn't mention Vendetta by Peter David, David's Before Dishonor-- which Destiny references several times, and whose direct sequel, Greater Than the Sum, led in to Destiny -- references Vendetta heavily, including utilizing the Doomsday Machine from Vendetta to help defeat the Borg supercube. New Frontier Book I also references Captain Korsmo from Vendetta (appropriate, considering that Elizabeth Shelby appears in both, and both are written by Peter David).
^However, there are no Vendetta references in Greater Than the Sum itself. Also, I wouldn't call GTTS a "direct sequel" to BD. It's a separate story that begins three months after BD and picks up on a leftover plot thread from BD as a McGuffin, as well as tying off a few other character threads in its early chapters before moving on to new business.
I don't think they need to be reconciled though. The gates plottline from Abode of Life/Chain of Attack/The Final Nexus was pretty much wrapped up in that at the end of The Final Nexus everything sorta "winked" out not to be seen again.
I don't recall the crew ever calling them wormholes, although I think anybody reading them would be lead to assume that if they weren't wormholes they were something very similiar.
My point was that there is still plenty that could be mentioned in the current book line (if an writer wanted to/or even cared about those books enough) about those develops near the end of the FYM. How would other races have reacted to gates that could've transported them to other galaxies or universes? Would they have simply relied on the UFP experiences and believe the gates no longer existed? What about the 1000 or so people who came back with the Enterprise from the other side of the gate in Chain of Attack?
I just think there is plenty for another writer to build on if they wanted to.
That doesn't matter. The point is, "The Price" and DS9 did not say "This is the only stable wormhole currently known to exist." They said "This is the first stable wormhole ever discovered." The explicit reference wasn't just to the present state of affairs in the 24th century, but to the entire history of the known galaxy.
Changing the label doesn't change what it is. Heck, the term "wormhole" wasn't even coined until decades after the phenomenon was originally theorized; the word is really just a pithy nickname for an Einstein-Rosen-Podowlsky bridge. The gates behaved exactly like wormholes, therefore they were wormholes. And given that they were around for 20,000 years before their collapse, they were definitely stable.
Nobody's saying there isn't, but Trek novelists do not have an unfettered license to tell any story we want. We are required to remain consistent with established screen canon. If an old book is contradicted by subsequent canon, then it's off the table.
I enjoyed Chain of Attack and The Final Nexus. I'm not criticising them in any way or saying that they wouldn't have been worth following up on if it were feasible to do so. You don't have to justify their worth to me, because worth isn't the issue. Consistency with canon is the issue.
I understand what you are saying, Christopher. In my vision of trek though, just because something has been contradicted by more recent on screen material doesn't mean its been eliminated.
Yes it may be difficult (or perhaps impossible) for other writers to reference those events because of "newer" information, but because of my enjoyment of them I would love to see what happened. Some sort of follow up.
It may not happen.
Yes it may be difficult (or perhaps impossible) for other writers to reference those events because of "newer" information, but because of my enjoyment of them I would love to see what happened. Some sort of follow up.
It may not happen.
In CBS Licensing's "vision of Trek", though, it does require pussyfooting. Books 3/4 of the "Rihannsu" story had had to carry a disclaimer, and the final novel brought the arc as full-circle as possible, to match up with canonical changes to the Romulans wrought by TNG.
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Before I watched Bread and Circuses I engaged in 6 months research of the Roman Empire. Without researching it I would never have understood the episode!
I plan to watch Time's Arrow soon but I must read the collected stories of Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens first!
You're right about Abe Lincoln, in the event that someone doesn't know about his history, his importance in the episode would go above his'her head.
Don't forget Alice in Wonderland before watching "Shore Leave" or Macbeth before "The Conscience of the King".
I'm still looking for a copy of Chicago Mobs of the Twenties so I can understand "A Piece of the Action".
"Time's Arrow" is another case where you're probably better off not researching the real history. According to TA, Samuel Clemens's 1893 encounter with people from the utopian future reawakened his idealism and hope for humanity. In reality, though, Clemens/Twain's writings from that point onward became increasingly cynical and Clemens himself increasingly depressed due to ongoing financial struggles. I suppose it could be reconciled by assuming that his optimism about the future was soon cancelled out as his financial hardships worsened, but that makes the resolution of his arc in the episode seem rather hollow.
ronny said:
[Pedant Mode] The title is actually a Hamlet reference:
"(...) the play's the thing /
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." (Hamlet, II.ii.604-605)
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
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But the play they are performing in the show is Macbeth.
Ah. I've never actually seen the episode; my mistake, then.
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
Oh, just read the Complete Works. That way you'll be set for "By Any Other Name", "The Measure of a Man" and "Thine Own Self" too.
I am curious if KRAD, David Mack, Dayton Ward, William Leisner, Christopher, or any other writer active at TrekBBS who writes licensed fiction, have read every licensed piece of fiction published in novel, short story, or e-book form by Pocket Books? Do any of you believe that this is a requirement to write licensed Star Trek fiction?
Im trying to get hold of a copy of 'Enough of that Mary Sue Bollocks'. Hopefully this will enable me to get through the works of Diane Carey.
I've seen comments by at least 3 of the authors you mention saying they haven't read all the books so I the answer is no.
I'm guessing if you were to require the writers to have read every single Star Trek book, the books would be written by professional readers, not writers, and the quality would suffer.
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