Should there still be a future for Titan?

[Mage]

God, I know how pessimistic that title sounds, and ofcourse it's not a very easy question, nor one with an easy answer.

But the thing is....

Seize The Fire and Fallen Gods have not been met with a lot of positive feedback. Two novels in a row from a particulair series (yes, even though it said Typhon Pact on the cover, Seize The Fire is a Titan novel) with so much negative impact COULD have a profound impact on a series. You'd think that such feedback would get back to Pocket Books somehow, and leave them wondering what to do next.

What would you preferably see?
Have Titan continue as its own series?
Stop the entire series, finish the Andorian plot in a solo novel and have Titan become something along the lines of the Aventine? (A ship/crew that pops up every now and then)
Just quite the entire thing and pretend it never happened?
Re-invent it. Have it go back to what it was supposed to be, a series about the exploration of the unknown, with more novels like Orion's Hounds and Under a Torrent Sea, where the crew discover new and intriguing ways of life?

Personally, I'd love to have Titan return to what it was supposed to be, all about the hopes and dreams and positive attitude of the exploration of space.

​

 

[MatthiasRussell]

I say continue with the same continuity and work with what's currently there. A good author can make Titan work It is a great book about exploration and diversity and needs to continue.

There is no need to reinvent it just because the last few books haven't been that great. Even if the series isn't selling well, I would hope Pocket would okay another Titan title IF a best selling author makes the pitch.

Though I am not reading Fallen Gods and don't know how it ends, if it did end in a manner that makes you wonder, "how do you pick up from here?" look at Vanguard. Each book ended with Ward and Mack throwing a curve ball for the other but the next author always made it work with each title better than the previous. There is enough talent and love for this title amongst the trek authors to keep titan going.

 

[Mage]

I think I should make clear what I ment with re-invent. I'm not saying a reboot or anything, where the writers should start from scratch. But bring it back to what it should be. Perhaps remove a character or two. Xin is someone I could do without, since all we get from him is either 'dangit, I love me some women', or 'oh dear lord, I feel so horribly guilty for what happened on Luna'.

The Andorian plot could easily be handeled in a different, stand alone novel. Perhaps an Enterprise-E/Titan crossover, so atleast the Andorian crew from Titan can be involved. After that, continue with stories like Orion's Hounds, or Syntesis. Where unique forms and ways of life are found, completely new forms of societies. I know that some form of strive is necessary to tell a moving story, but it can be a little less planet-shattering, galaxy-altering then what we've seen sofar. I could certainly get into that.

 

[JWolf]

Voyager did not need to be rebooted/started over to be good. Kirsten Beyer was able to pick up where it left off and make it very good. The same thing can be done with Titan. All we need is/are the right author(s).

 

[ToddCam]

Two mediocre books in a row doesn't mean it's dead.

Just get a different author.

 

[BillJ]

Too mediocre books in a row doesn't mean it's dead.

Just get a different author.

For all we know, the Martin books could be selling very well. They may suck, but if they're making money they'll likely hand Martin as many assignments as he wants.

 

[JoeZhang]

and let the crew occasionally have some fun.

 

[Therin of Andor]

For all we know, the Martin books could be selling very well.

I think we heard that the first few "Typhon Fact" novels sold very well, which is why we got more after the first four.

So even if people started blackballing Martin's ST novels after "Seize the Fire", no slump in sales for "Titan" is going to get noticed yet.

The majority of people who buy Star Trek novels - or even just "Titan" novels - don't come here to complain about Michael A Martin.

 

[Relayer1]

I don't know what it is that really doesn't work for me about Titan. I certainly don't hate it, but it's some of my least favourite Treklit.

I think the exploration aspect is part of the problem for me. Yes, I know 'boldly going where no one...' etc. is very basic to Trek, but it's been done to death and I'm bored with it. There may well be a place for it (Voyagers doing a better job of it anyway) but I'm more into the political TP stuff thesedays.

I'd cancel it and bring the Titan and some of it's crew (I'm not fond of all of it) into the TNG / TP books, or maybe link it with the Aventine somehow.

 

[Julio Angel Ortiz]

Yes, but it needs to open back up to other authors. Another one by Christopher or Geoffrey Thorne would be boomsauce. Or maybe the gestalt entity of Ward/Dilmore can pen one. Titan is, after all, TOS for the 24th century...

 

[ryan123450]

I haven't read the last two Titan novels yet, but I think it would be a mistake to make it a one author series. I think focusing on the original intent of the series is a formula for success.

 

[Skywalker]

It sounds to me like most of the series' problems would be solved by booting Martin. And injecting a little more fun into the books.

 

[CaptainDonovin]

I haven't read the last two Titan novels yet, but I think it would be a mistake to make it a one author series. I think focusing on the original intent of the series is a formula for success.

I agree, we've already had a one author series (New Frontier) & honestly it could have used some other ideas towards the end.

I like Titan but it does need a spark or something. Not all Trek novels need to be action end to end but there have ben some dill moments in the series, this last one included.

 

[BillJ]

I haven't read the last two Titan novels yet, but I think it would be a mistake to make it a one author series. I think focusing on the original intent of the series is a formula for success.

I agree, we've already had a one author series (New Frontier) & honestly it could have used some other ideas towards the end.

I like Titan but it does need a spark or something. Not all Trek novels need to be action end to end but there have ben some dill moments in the series, this last one included.

I don't think it helps that the family situations mirror one another on TNG/Titan and that in the books I've read and Riker acts quite a bit like Picard.

One takes place inside Federation space and the other on the frontier, but they feel like two sides of the same coin.

 

[ryan123450]

I'm enjoying Voyager as single author (although the last time that happened it was not a good thing at all), and DS9 may end up being good with one author, but I don't think Titan should follow that pattern.

 

[Patrick O'Brien]

Voyager did not need to be rebooted/started over to be good. Kirsten Beyer was able to pick up where it left off and make it very good. The same thing can be done with Titan. All we need is/are the right author(s).

Great point

 

[Wally]

Of course. Just get a different author. I still love the concept. It's far enough on the frontier, it's best to leave the Typhon Pact storylines behind (Aventine, Enterprise, and DS9 can still deal with all that).

There is nothing broken about the series and no reason to end it.

 

[Mage]

Two mediocre books in a row doesn't mean it's dead.

Just get a different author.

I never said it was dead. I said I felt something needed to change.
I agree no more Martin is a great start....

But look at some of the other novels. A lot of pretty shitty and intense stuff has been going on for Titan, with the events from Sword of Damocles, the Destiny trilogy, Synthesis. Even Over A Torrent Sea had some very intense situations. Titan's been through some pretty horrific stuff.
Ofcourse we'd need situations like that in novels, I do understand that. We need dillema's and drama, to make for an interesting read. But still, true exploring has been on the backburner for Titan, while planet-scale devastation has been part of nearly every novel.

 

[Christopher]

I should point out that Over a Torrent Sea didn't exactly feature planetwide devastation -- just disruption that had the potential to become devastating if it weren't stopped. I deliberately sought to keep the death toll to a minimum in that book, so that it would be a lighter change of pace after the cataclysms of Destiny.

 

[Mage]

I should point out that Over a Torrent Sea didn't exactly feature planetwide devastation -- just disruption that had the potential to become devastating if it weren't stopped. I deliberately sought to keep the death toll to a minimum in that book, so that it would be a lighter change of pace after the cataclysms of Destiny.

That's why Over A Torrent Sea was added with an 'even' in my post, since it was on a far less scale then earlier novels.