Spoilers S31: Disavowed by David Mack Review Thread

[Kertrats47]

Well, couldn't find Sorrows Of Empire on short notice, so I ordered Rise Like Lions and Disavowed. Should be here in a few days.

Sorrows of Empire is excellent, and I would urge you to read it at some point, but I agree with what's been said above: Rise Like Lions does an excellent job of recapping events perfectly, and it's a damned great read besides.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

My copy just shipped from Amazon today! Hopefully I'll get as soon as I get back from Spain next week.

 

[Dsven43]

Spoiler: Minor Spoiler for Disavowed

Don't mess with Memory Omega!

 

[Skywalker]

I'm about a third of the way through it already. Very interesting so far. All I can say is I'm very glad I grabbed a copy of Rise Like Lions earlier this year, before it got sent to Pulp-town.

 

[Jedi_Master]

Finished it last night. Excellent! I particularly enjoyed the compact story and the pacing. It felt like a DS9 episode, and there was no extraneous material or unneeded page count building fluff.

David Mack knows how to write an action scene, and is fantastic at building dramatic tension.

A few things I was particularly impressed with was

Spoiler: Stuff

the thought he put into the conception of the alt-Dominion. That part thoroughly surprised me, and the little comment about the universes swapping Odos was brilliant. I also enjoyed the Dominion trial of Bashir. The overall theme of the value of trust and honor, and the futility of elaborate schemes that rely on deception and betrayal was easy to determine, but was subtle enough to not overwhelm the story. I enjoyed how David answered the question of how the jaunt ship got into the "regular" universe.

Another fine outing from, in my opinion, the second best ST novel writer. Sorry David, you still can't top Kirsten NYTBSMF Beyer.

 

[Thrawn]

Finished it last night. Excellent! I particularly enjoyed the compact story and the pacing. It felt like a DS9 episode, and there was no extraneous material or unneeded page count building fluff.

David Mack knows how to write an action scene, and is fantastic at building dramatic tension.

A few things I was particularly impressed with was

Spoiler: Stuff

the thought he put into the conception of the alt-Dominion. That part thoroughly surprised me, and the little comment about the universes swapping Odos was brilliant. I also enjoyed the Dominion trial of Bashir. The overall theme of the value of trust and honor, and the futility of elaborate schemes that rely on deception and betrayal was easy to determine, but was subtle enough to not overwhelm the story. I enjoyed how David answered the question of how the jaunt ship got into the "regular" universe.

Another fine outing from, in my opinion, the second best ST novel writer. Sorry David, you still can't top Kirsten NTBSNMF Beyer.

Wait. What's the N?

(Oh and I'm just about to start this one, so I have nothing useful to say so far...)

 

[Jedi_Master]

Finished it last night. Excellent! I particularly enjoyed the compact story and the pacing. It felt like a DS9 episode, and there was no extraneous material or unneeded page count building fluff.

David Mack knows how to write an action scene, and is fantastic at building dramatic tension.

A few things I was particularly impressed with was

Spoiler: Stuff

the thought he put into the conception of the alt-Dominion. That part thoroughly surprised me, and the little comment about the universes swapping Odos was brilliant. I also enjoyed the Dominion trial of Bashir. The overall theme of the value of trust and honor, and the futility of elaborate schemes that rely on deception and betrayal was easy to determine, but was subtle enough to not overwhelm the story. I enjoyed how David answered the question of how the jaunt ship got into the "regular" universe.

Another fine outing from, in my opinion, the second best ST novel writer. Sorry David, you still can't top Kirsten NYTBSNMF Beyer.

Wait. What's the N?

(Oh and I'm just about to start this one, so I have nothing useful to say so far...)

I forgot the Y. New York Times Best Selling Mother....

 

[David Mack]

Actually, I think a more correct way to incorporate her acronomial nickname into her credit would be “Kirsten NYMFTBSA Beyer.” Just sayin'.

 

[Jedi_Master]

Actually, I think a more correct way to incorporate her acronomial nickname into her credit would be “Kirsten NYMFTBSA Beyer.” Just sayin'.

I don't know, that extra A just makes it feel unwieldy....
I did have a couple of questions for you David Mack if you want to answer them.

Spoiler: Spoilery questions

What inspired the quantum window device? Why did you choose to make the Alt- Dominion a a government of order and law? Are you wanting/planning/hoping to do another alternate universe standalone novel?

 

[David Mack]

I did have a couple of questions for you David Mack if you want to answer them.

Spoiler: Spoilery questions

What inspired the quantum window device? Why did you choose to make the Alt- Dominion a a government of order and law? Are you wanting/planning/hoping to do another alternate universe standalone novel?

My spoilerific answers…

Spoiler: DISAVOWED

1. Dr. Walter Bishop's parallel-universe scrying portal on Fringe.

2. It seemed an interesting inversion of the Prime Universe incarnation of The Dominion, but one that preserved its general structure.

3. Not at this time.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Mine arrived today!

 

[Jedi_Master]

I did have a couple of questions for you David Mack if you want to answer them.

Spoiler: Spoilery questions

What inspired the quantum window device? Why did you choose to make the Alt- Dominion a a government of order and law? Are you wanting/planning/hoping to do another alternate universe standalone novel?

My spoilerific answers…

Spoiler: DISAVOWED

1. Dr. Walter Bishop's parallel-universe scrying portal on Fringe.

2. It seemed an interesting inversion of the Prime Universe incarnation of The Dominion, but one that preserved its general structure.

3. Not at this time.

Thanks so much! I was guessing it had something to do with Fringe.

 

[Ronald Held]

Mr. Mack was it two years from the end of Domo Brex's term to the start of the Breen incursion mission into the mirror universe?

 

[Klaus]

Just d/led my copy onto the iPad, looking forward to starting it!

I've been in the "past" lately, reading the Gemworld and Genesis Wave books, so it'll be nice to get back to the present.

 

[David Mack]

Mr. Mack was it two years from the end of Domo Brex's term to the start of the Breen incursion mission into the mirror universe?

I don't know. Let's look at the Historian's Notes.

Silent Weapons takes place in roughly March or April of 2384.

Disavowed takes place in January 2386.

So, not quite two years.

 

[Jim Gamma]

Amazon seems to be developing a habit of deleting my pre-orders. :-( Ah well, downloaded now.

 

[Enterprise1701]

Mr. Mack was it two years from the end of Domo Brex's term to the start of the Breen incursion mission into the mirror universe?

I don't know. Let's look at the Historian's Notes.

Silent Weapons takes place in roughly March or April of 2384.

Disavowed takes place in January 2386.

So, not quite two years.

Did you have a certain time of year in mind for the 2378 portion of Rise Like Lions?

 

[David Mack]

^ I don't remember. If someone with more time and patience than me wants to try to extrapolate from the story's details when, precisely, it occurred, be my guest.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

"Sonic confetti ejected from a blender" is the best description of Breen noise I've read.

 

[Jedi Ben]

Returned to this this morning and.... well, after that first 100 pages it really speeds up doesn't it? So had to finish it!

It's great stuff, plot moves along well, no wasted sections or stodgy bits, it just zooms along nicely.

I particularly liked how the Dominion continued the mirror-verse theme of inverting what we know of them in the 'main' universe. If anything I'd really like to see more stories of this Dominion, say their engagements with the Borg perhaps? The quadrants must bump up against each other at some point? Equally, that may be the one adversary left for the MU unless it's already been done in a story I don't know of.

I also enjoyed the game of various schemes atop another: The Breen, Memory Omega, Section 31, the disgruntled agents, Bashir and Sarina. I also liked the puncturing of Cole's claim that Memory Omega doesn't want to share its tech, as its revealed they are working with SI on the other side.

Oh and that last page.... Section 31: Control, eh? So want!