I'm also curious as to who the "we all" are who are supposedly going ape. All of about twenty individuals have posted on this thread, and only a small number of them resemble monkeys...
Review "Forged in Fire" No Spoilers
- Thread starter CaptainGold
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The Excelsior stories/novels are few and far apart. Can any o you honestly say that when one is announced & published that you don't look forward to it? Does the Excelsior campaign really matter? Does it seem fair that Riker, Calhoun & the rest have their own series of novels & Sulu (who is in an ideal position for the Lost Era) should lose Out?
Stand up those who can say that the Sulu/Excelsior centric books have been bad?
Stand up those who can say that the Sulu/Excelsior centric books have been bad?
^ I look forward to it, but that's because Sulu has been tied with McCoy for my favorite TOS character since I was a little kid. I was thrilled when Marco asked me to do a continuity read on Forged in Fire, and devoured the book in a couple of days (and earned myself a very kind acknowledgment from the M&M boys, for which I am grateful). In a lot of ways, FiF was the book I'd wanted to write since high school (when I wrote a particularly dreadful Captain Sulu novel), and the book lived up to my expectations (which were unreasonably high).
In terms of viability as a TV show, the Excelsior campaign is notable for its distinct paucity of numbers. I don't see what Riker and Calhoun have to do with this, but I can say that New Frontier and Titan have been big sellers, and Sulu/Excelsior books have not been (The Captain's Daughter tanked, and that was a book written by arguably the most popular Trek author).
And what's more, not to speak ill of the dead, but I'll stand up and say that The Fearful Summons was very very very bad.
In any case, success as a book doesn't translate to success as a TV show. Keep in mind that the most successful Trek sells to a number of people that is 10% of the number that watches the least successful episode of Enterprise.
In terms of viability as a TV show, the Excelsior campaign is notable for its distinct paucity of numbers. I don't see what Riker and Calhoun have to do with this, but I can say that New Frontier and Titan have been big sellers, and Sulu/Excelsior books have not been (The Captain's Daughter tanked, and that was a book written by arguably the most popular Trek author).
And what's more, not to speak ill of the dead, but I'll stand up and say that The Fearful Summons was very very very bad.
In any case, success as a book doesn't translate to success as a TV show. Keep in mind that the most successful Trek sells to a number of people that is 10% of the number that watches the least successful episode of Enterprise.
I don't think Sulu has lost out just because he hasn't been featured in the same quantity of books as other captains. Captain Sulu tales have been cropping up all over the book line for a long time now, even if not organized under a blanket title. And Sulu's the only captain to get his own series of original audiobooks, even if it was only three volumes long.
The Captain's Daughter is one of my fav books. Janice Rand trying to explain the events of ST3, one of my fav scenes. The viability of a Sulu/Excelsior TV series has never been a big concern of mine. My opinion has always been that Hikaru & crew should have had more acknowledgment in the lit world.
Personally, I'm kinda suprised that Captain Sulu stories aren't popular. I figured they would have been very popular, since it seems like people like Sulu and IMO what we saw on screen seemed like it could have been a good jumping off point for alot of stories.
I also just wanted to say that I am a little more than 100 pages into FiF and so far it is great. If the rest of the books is as good as it's been so far I'm going to be very happy with it.
I also just wanted to say that I am a little more than 100 pages into FiF and so far it is great. If the rest of the books is as good as it's been so far I'm going to be very happy with it.
I devoured the first 400 pages of this book yesterday and finished it off today. It is by the far the best book--Trek or otherwise--that I've read in the last year. The seamless weaving of episodic material ("Blood Oath", "Affliction/Divergence" (which I've only recently seen), the Tribble episodes) with new material was great. I was apprehensive at first about how Sulu could be inserted into the story of the blood oath but was pleasantly surprised at the results. The little continuity nods were great too (the aforementioned line regarding "The Host" as well as Sulu's musings on using Chapel's voice for Excelsior's computer). This novel has definitely given me a taste for Sulu-centric books and I shall be picking up The Sundered ASAP!
Thanks to all of you who've read and commented on FiF. We appreciate the comments and feedback!
Wow. That's a terribly unfortunate acronym.
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
I've always been a huge fan of this particular timeframe and the U.S.S. Excelsior, thus "Forged in Fire" is a must read. I'm halfway through and I can't complain so far. Minor nitpick: I wished the writers would ignore Rand's Lt.Cmdr.-rank in "Flashback" and go along with her Lt. (JG) rank in TUC.
just finished Forged in Fire - Top notch piece of literature! I actually liked it better than Red King (and I absolutely loved the Titan duology)...
Blending elements from various Trek incarnations added to the overall excitement. In fact the only drawback is that the DS9 episode Blood Oath now pales in comparison to the novel
...
Blending elements from various Trek incarnations added to the overall excitement. In fact the only drawback is that the DS9 episode Blood Oath now pales in comparison to the novel
...
Quite a comedown from her Commander rank in ST III.
You know, that's the second time I've seen this complaint, and I just don't see it. If anything, it enhances what was already a brilliant, powerful episode: the conversation between Kira and Dax about killing; the hilarious opening scene with Kor, Odo, and Quark ("No, he said he'd kill you"); Kang's discourse to Dax on kids today and how things were better in the good old days when he was young and brutal; "How did you get in here?" "I am Koloth." "That's not an answer." "Yes, it is."In fact the only drawback is that the DS9 episode Blood Oath now pales in comparison to the novel
Plus, Michael Ansara and John Colicos at the absolute top of their already-impressive game.
"Blood Oath" is a great episode, and all Forged in Fire does is make it greater.
There was no Xon in TMP. Xon was the Phase II character that would have been played by David Gautreaux, who went on to play Commander Branch of Epsilon 9. The Vulcan science officer who died in the transporter accident was Lieutenant Commander Sonak, played by Jon Erik Kamal.
And I don't see how she could've been demoted from commander for something that happened when she was a chief petty officer.
And I don't see how she could've been demoted from commander for something that happened when she was a chief petty officer.
Forged in Fire treats Korvat and Qu'Vat as separate places, when conceivably each name is just the anglicized/klingonized version of the other.
Was there a particular reason for making them two different places?
Was there a particular reason for making them two different places?
When Geoffrey Mandel wrote Star Charts in 2002 he used prominent names of vessels for many of the star names in places like the Klingon or Romulan Empires presumably on the assumption that those ships were named after prominent places from their respective homelands. Makes sense to me and fills out some places.
Consequently when making the charts for the Klingon region he used the references to the Korvat Colony from DS9's "Blood Oath" (1994), and he used the name of the IKS Qu'Vat from TNG's "Aquiel" (1993). as two different star systems ironically relatively close to each other and to the Federation border.
When Ent's "The Augments" came along in 2004, followed later by "Affliction" & "Divergence" the writers presumably used Star Charts as a reference for finding a suitable border world. Thus the Qu'vat Colony was born and a face and some history was given to the Klingon starship name.
When M&M came along to write last year's Forged in Fire they dutifully used Ent info, as well as the DS9 info about these two respective places as well as the assertion from Star Charts that they were 2 separate locales.
edited:
Plus, what Kieth said.
Consequently when making the charts for the Klingon region he used the references to the Korvat Colony from DS9's "Blood Oath" (1994), and he used the name of the IKS Qu'Vat from TNG's "Aquiel" (1993). as two different star systems ironically relatively close to each other and to the Federation border.
When Ent's "The Augments" came along in 2004, followed later by "Affliction" & "Divergence" the writers presumably used Star Charts as a reference for finding a suitable border world. Thus the Qu'vat Colony was born and a face and some history was given to the Klingon starship name.
When M&M came along to write last year's Forged in Fire they dutifully used Ent info, as well as the DS9 info about these two respective places as well as the assertion from Star Charts that they were 2 separate locales.
edited:
Plus, what Kieth said.
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