Destiny did have a Dramatis Personae, and all subsequent Titan books have as well.
Some general comments on recent Trek Lit
- Thread starter Tropical_Night
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I am a bit concerned about the future of Trek lit. It seems like the momentum that the novels were building just kinda teetered out after Destiny. Some of this, I'm sure has to do with the revolving door of editors and the behind-the-scenes organizational changes at Pocket Books. The loss of editor Marco Palmieri has been quite evident in the most recent novels that have been published since his layoff. His keen instinct and passion for Trek really came across in the novels that were crafted under his guidance.
I think the release schedule has made things a little frustrating. There have been some pretty big gaps between novels. I'm not sure how much of it is intentional and how much of it is out of their control. I understand that there are only so many slots available in a year, and that the company is trying to cater to different types of stories. We can't have a new DS9 relaunch novel every other month. I get it. But it seems like everything is slower these days. The decision to capitalize on the Abramsverse backfired when Bad Robot pulled the four already-written novels off the schedule, creating a huge hole in the summer of 2010. We went many months without any 24th-century, post-Destiny novels and now we're getting four in a row with the Typhon Pact. We've been waiting for a while to get a VOY follow-up and it's still a few months away. DS9 has been completely screwed around with. First, fans had to suffer through the long wait for Fearful Symmetry (which was delayed and delayed for various reasons). Then there's the frustration of not knowing what the future of the series will be, especially now that they've jumped ahead several years to show us DS9 characters in the post-Destiny time frame without following up on the building Ascendants story. There are no DS9 titles on the schedule for the year, and nothing has been announced.
Creatively, the series are kinda all over the place. TNG's relaunch has been inconsistent but I would say fairly enjoyable. It took several books to nail down the crew (there were a few rounds of music chairs with characters like Nave, T'lana, Leybenzon, etc. coming and going) but I think it's in a good, stable place now. The quality of the novels has varied wildly.
I would say that the Titan novels have also been inconsistent. I enjoyed the first several books but I was not impressed with their more recent offerings (Over a Torrent Sea, Synthesis, Seize the Fire). I like the crew a lot, and I think that the series has a lot of potential. Hopefully someone will come along and knock it out of the park, take things to the next level.
DS9, as mentioned above, is a giant mess with a huge question mark dangling over it. DS9's relaunch series, from Avatar up through Warpath, was about as solid and well-written as you could get. Then there was the delay with Fearful Symmetry, the introduction of Illiana Ghemor, the shift off-course into the mirror universe that seemed unnecessary and uninteresting, and suddenly the series lost its momentum. The stories that had been building over the course of many novels seemed stuck in neutral, or were pushed to the back burner. By the end of The Soul Key, it seems like maybe we're finally going to get back on track again. But there's been no direct follow-up. Instead, the decision was made to jump ahead in time to align the DS9 characters with the post-Destiny time frame. Fans have been thrown through a loop as we try to figure out how our DS9 characters get from where we last saw them to where they appear to be now (Ezri suddenly a Captain on the Aventine, Sisko a broken, confused man who has been cut off from the Prophets, Bashir a lonely, depressed doctor with no friends on the station, Kira a Vedek on Bajor, Ro in command of the station, etc.). WTF happened during the gap that brought these characters to this moment, and when will Pocket fill in the missing pieces?
I still can't believe I'm saying it, but VOY is the series with the most potential right now. Talk about an overhaul! The first four relaunch novels, as written by Christie Golden, were creative mis-steps in my opinion. I didn't care for her story ideas or writing style. Several years past without a VOY follow-up, and I suspect many wondered what the future held of the series. Then Kirsten Beyer was given the reigns, and... wow! What a difference! New author, new story direction, some new characters. And it all works. The VOY characters are suddenly far more interesting and more compelling than they've ever been.
I can't comment on some of the other series (TOS, ENT, Vanguard) because I'm just not reading them.
I think the release schedule has made things a little frustrating. There have been some pretty big gaps between novels. I'm not sure how much of it is intentional and how much of it is out of their control. I understand that there are only so many slots available in a year, and that the company is trying to cater to different types of stories. We can't have a new DS9 relaunch novel every other month. I get it. But it seems like everything is slower these days. The decision to capitalize on the Abramsverse backfired when Bad Robot pulled the four already-written novels off the schedule, creating a huge hole in the summer of 2010. We went many months without any 24th-century, post-Destiny novels and now we're getting four in a row with the Typhon Pact. We've been waiting for a while to get a VOY follow-up and it's still a few months away. DS9 has been completely screwed around with. First, fans had to suffer through the long wait for Fearful Symmetry (which was delayed and delayed for various reasons). Then there's the frustration of not knowing what the future of the series will be, especially now that they've jumped ahead several years to show us DS9 characters in the post-Destiny time frame without following up on the building Ascendants story. There are no DS9 titles on the schedule for the year, and nothing has been announced.
Creatively, the series are kinda all over the place. TNG's relaunch has been inconsistent but I would say fairly enjoyable. It took several books to nail down the crew (there were a few rounds of music chairs with characters like Nave, T'lana, Leybenzon, etc. coming and going) but I think it's in a good, stable place now. The quality of the novels has varied wildly.
I would say that the Titan novels have also been inconsistent. I enjoyed the first several books but I was not impressed with their more recent offerings (Over a Torrent Sea, Synthesis, Seize the Fire). I like the crew a lot, and I think that the series has a lot of potential. Hopefully someone will come along and knock it out of the park, take things to the next level.
DS9, as mentioned above, is a giant mess with a huge question mark dangling over it. DS9's relaunch series, from Avatar up through Warpath, was about as solid and well-written as you could get. Then there was the delay with Fearful Symmetry, the introduction of Illiana Ghemor, the shift off-course into the mirror universe that seemed unnecessary and uninteresting, and suddenly the series lost its momentum. The stories that had been building over the course of many novels seemed stuck in neutral, or were pushed to the back burner. By the end of The Soul Key, it seems like maybe we're finally going to get back on track again. But there's been no direct follow-up. Instead, the decision was made to jump ahead in time to align the DS9 characters with the post-Destiny time frame. Fans have been thrown through a loop as we try to figure out how our DS9 characters get from where we last saw them to where they appear to be now (Ezri suddenly a Captain on the Aventine, Sisko a broken, confused man who has been cut off from the Prophets, Bashir a lonely, depressed doctor with no friends on the station, Kira a Vedek on Bajor, Ro in command of the station, etc.). WTF happened during the gap that brought these characters to this moment, and when will Pocket fill in the missing pieces?
I still can't believe I'm saying it, but VOY is the series with the most potential right now. Talk about an overhaul! The first four relaunch novels, as written by Christie Golden, were creative mis-steps in my opinion. I didn't care for her story ideas or writing style. Several years past without a VOY follow-up, and I suspect many wondered what the future held of the series. Then Kirsten Beyer was given the reigns, and... wow! What a difference! New author, new story direction, some new characters. And it all works. The VOY characters are suddenly far more interesting and more compelling than they've ever been.
I can't comment on some of the other series (TOS, ENT, Vanguard) because I'm just not reading them.
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Fleet Captain
About the DS9 relaunch:
The Typhon Pact books were, apparently, intended to provide a restart, with establishing the position of DS9 characters in the post-destiny time-frame.
Also - several developments from 'Paths of Disharmony' seem to indicate that the andorian story-line is intended to be continued in future DS9 books.
The Typhon Pact books were, apparently, intended to provide a restart, with establishing the position of DS9 characters in the post-destiny time-frame.
Also - several developments from 'Paths of Disharmony' seem to indicate that the andorian story-line is intended to be continued in future DS9 books.
Unless something interesting sounding pops up, I'm not planning to buy anymore Trek books and that does not sound interesting. I find the Andorians a pretty boring race.
Partly because I find the population/breeding problem storyline desperately dull and also I find the naming scheme hard to follow and off-putting "Zhag'sdgdrhgdrhf turned to Zhadsdgdg'sdgdfhdsfh and said 'have you seen Shser'assetdgrdsh?"
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Well, I must once again state that I'm not happy with the current state of TrekLit.
The only good thing is that Ro Laren has been brought back and is active in the DS9 relaunch. Otgerwise there are too many good characters missing because they have been killed off for no good reason at all, destroyed or missing for some other reason.
However, if anyone can give me some tips about some 24th century series or similar where I don't have to risk encountering certain scenarios like Janeway being dead, Data killed off or some horrible "Fury" crap, then I might give it a try.
Otherwise I have to be content with another round of Voyager season 1-3 books, certain fanfiction and occasional old TNG books if I want to read some Trek stories.
"They talk about creating but all they do is kill
They say we're gonna mend it but they never will"
"No No No"
Deep Purple
The only good thing is that Ro Laren has been brought back and is active in the DS9 relaunch. Otgerwise there are too many good characters missing because they have been killed off for no good reason at all, destroyed or missing for some other reason.
However, if anyone can give me some tips about some 24th century series or similar where I don't have to risk encountering certain scenarios like Janeway being dead, Data killed off or some horrible "Fury" crap, then I might give it a try.
Otherwise I have to be content with another round of Voyager season 1-3 books, certain fanfiction and occasional old TNG books if I want to read some Trek stories.
"They talk about creating but all they do is kill
They say we're gonna mend it but they never will"
"No No No"
Deep Purple
Personally I am very much enjoying the current state of Treklit. For me the nadir came in the late 90's. When with the exception of New Frontier it felt as if every series was merely rehashing what had been seen on tv. All of them essentially forbidden to do anything other than haunt the minor gaps of on screen continuity. Never able to make a bold move.
Now things like the Destiny trilogy and Typhon Pact storyline feel big and bold. I'm excited to pick up Trek books again.
Now things like the Destiny trilogy and Typhon Pact storyline feel big and bold. I'm excited to pick up Trek books again.
I agree with Stoek. It seems like a far more vibrant world now that they can play around with the characters to their hearts' content. I may or may not like what certain authors choose to do, but at least the universe has a little life to it and isn't constrained entirely by the TV shows' timelines and rules any more. I got out of Trek lit years ago and only came back fairly recently because I had heard what they started doing with the stories like the relaunches and Vanguard. Moving people around, killing off major characters... it's all just much more exciting to read because no one is constrained by that pain in the ass reset button any more.
Apart from a small number (Before Dishonor comes to mind almost immediately) I've found the Trek Lit books to be enjoyable and compelling. Up until the Destiny trilogy, which has me incredibly conflicted. On the one hand, they were an incredible tour-de-force that left me speechless and breathless at many points. On the other hand, I had gotten sick of the Borg going back to Endgame and the first two Christie Golden books. It's almost like "Really?"
I've enjoyed the Typhon Pact novels, although I would have preferred more follow-up on things like the terraforming process from Seize The Fire, or the new praetor. And I'm fairly apathetic about the situation on Andor. I would love to see how the new government will deal with the population/genetic issue (which, I'm sad to say, I've never really felt interested in or attached to, partly because it feels so contrived and only recently mentioned).
I've enjoyed the Typhon Pact novels, although I would have preferred more follow-up on things like the terraforming process from Seize The Fire, or the new praetor. And I'm fairly apathetic about the situation on Andor. I would love to see how the new government will deal with the population/genetic issue (which, I'm sad to say, I've never really felt interested in or attached to, partly because it feels so contrived and only recently mentioned).
I probably should have said this earlier, but what I really liked about the Desiny series was that the Borg properly came.
I still laugh re-watching the scene in First Contact when Picards log says "the borg have begun and invasion of the federation...this time there may be no stopping them"..then cut to the observation lounge "how many ships" "one"
I know they're powerful..but don't call one ship an invasion.
I'd always wondered why they didn't just send 10 cubes etc and stop sending one scout to get the job done, and in Desiny they did, and it was interesting to explore without fear of a reset button.
Because at the time, the Federation didn't really matter to the Borg. It was a minor power in a remote part of the galaxy, one they were curious about but not concerned enough about to invest much effort. And the attack in First Contact was really a targeted strike with the goal of sending the time sphere back to prevent First Contact (though why they had to get close to Earth first, rather than going back in time first and then heading to Earth with no opposition, is a mystery).
But when Janeway destroyed the transwarp hub, that suddenly made the Federation a major threat worthy of a major investment of resources to destroy.
I probably should have said this earlier, but what I really liked about the Desiny series was that the Borg properly came.
I still laugh re-watching the scene in First Contact when Picards log says "the borg have begun and invasion of the federation...this time there may be no stopping them"..then cut to the observation lounge "how many ships" "one"
I know they're powerful..but don't call one ship an invasion.
I'd always wondered why they didn't just send 10 cubes etc and stop sending one scout to get the job done, and in Desiny they did, and it was interesting to explore without fear of a reset button.
I admit that it was...terrifying and compelling to see the Borg as a truly terrifying force. Except that I had gotten bored with them, and even the nuBorg didn't change that. I think the main thing was the fact that, speaking personally, I'm burnt out on conflict. I mean, we're just 5 or so years past the Dominion War, which the Alpha and Beta Quadrants were still in the process of recovering from. Between then and "now", we had the Genesis Wave incident, which caused all sorts of problems, as well as the Parasite Crisis, the Watraii crisis, the Tezwan crisis, the Romulan Senate and Praetor become space dust, and then the whole Borg War/Crisis, Horrible Event of Doom occurs, taking us up to now. I had been getting into the exploration groove with Titan, and then to have all the Borg stuff occur was jarring.
I probably should have said this earlier, but what I really liked about the Desiny series was that the Borg properly came.
I still laugh re-watching the scene in First Contact when Picards log says "the borg have begun and invasion of the federation...this time there may be no stopping them"..then cut to the observation lounge "how many ships" "one"
I know they're powerful..but don't call one ship an invasion.
I'd always wondered why they didn't just send 10 cubes etc and stop sending one scout to get the job done, and in Desiny they did, and it was interesting to explore without fear of a reset button.
I admit that it was...terrifying and compelling to see the Borg as a truly terrifying force. Except that I had gotten bored with them, and even the nuBorg didn't change that. I think the main thing was the fact that, speaking personally, I'm burnt out on conflict. I mean, we're just 5 or so years past the Dominion War, which the Alpha and Beta Quadrants were still in the process of recovering from. Between then and "now", we had the Genesis Wave incident, which caused all sorts of problems, as well as the Parasite Crisis, the Watraii crisis, the Tezwan crisis, the Romulan Senate and Praetor become space dust, and then the whole Borg War/Crisis, Horrible Event of Doom occurs, taking us up to now. I had been getting into the exploration groove with Titan, and then to have all the Borg stuff occur was jarring.
I take your point about conflict.
As I said earlier when the Born crises came up I thought christ here we go this is the way its going to be from now on a "how dark can we make Star Trek" race to the bottom, but I liked the Borg crises and I'm glad they finished the Borg off, rather than hint that they may be back
I think they should be careful with the Typhon Pact story now (I'm on book 2), have refrence to a cold war etc but lets not go into another conflict, I'd prefer another exploratory series in the mode of the Titans or Mission Gammas, or more stand alone novels, that kinda thing.
If they bring up another war it will just ruin things.
I probably should have said this earlier, but what I really liked about the Desiny series was that the Borg properly came.
I still laugh re-watching the scene in First Contact when Picards log says "the borg have begun and invasion of the federation...this time there may be no stopping them"..then cut to the observation lounge "how many ships" "one"
I know they're powerful..but don't call one ship an invasion.
I'd always wondered why they didn't just send 10 cubes etc and stop sending one scout to get the job done, and in Desiny they did, and it was interesting to explore without fear of a reset button.
I admit that it was...terrifying and compelling to see the Borg as a truly terrifying force. Except that I had gotten bored with them, and even the nuBorg didn't change that. I think the main thing was the fact that, speaking personally, I'm burnt out on conflict. I mean, we're just 5 or so years past the Dominion War, which the Alpha and Beta Quadrants were still in the process of recovering from. Between then and "now", we had the Genesis Wave incident, which caused all sorts of problems, as well as the Parasite Crisis, the Watraii crisis, the Tezwan crisis, the Romulan Senate and Praetor become space dust, and then the whole Borg War/Crisis, Horrible Event of Doom occurs, taking us up to now. I had been getting into the exploration groove with Titan, and then to have all the Borg stuff occur was jarring.
I take your point about conflict.
As I said earlier when the Born crises came up I thought christ here we go this is the way its going to be from now on a "how dark can we make Star Trek" race to the bottom, but I liked the Borg crises and I'm glad they finished the Borg off, rather than hint that they may be back
I think that's the best part, personally. It means the Borg can't come back in this line of the Novelverse.
I agree, and I don't think they necessarily will, just because of in-universe reasons. The Romulans are still dealing with not just the internal crises since Nemesis, but also the rebuilding and aid efforts from the Dominion War. The Kinshaya have been fighting the Klingons, and so they're pretty beaten as well. The Breen probably have some reduction in forces and matériel to deal with (conjecture, and not borne out in any way), as well as the Gorn, who have their own internal crisis to deal with. The only members who are really able to cause any problems on their own are the Tholians and the Tzenkethi (maybe the Breen). Now, granted, since they're pooling their forces, they are most likely on at the very least an even keel with the Khitomer Accords powers, but it's unlikely the two will engage in any sort of up-front conflict.
After all, as Kirk said in A Private Little War:
"A balance of power. The trickiest, most difficult, dirtiest game of them all, but the only one that preserves both sides."
I think the writing has been top notch. But I think the plots have become so tangled and confused, as have the series, that its disorienting.
I loved the first few years of the decade, the DS9 relaunch. It was epic. Enjoyed everything about it. The old and new. Brilliant.
I think all the other series post finales and DS9 since "Worlds of DS9" have suffered a lot of plot and story damage, though.
TNG is in the worst shape, IMHO. I really don't care for any of the new people, and am getting irritated with the four originals even. I hope they begin to move things in the direction we've seen for 2387 in the nuTrek comic prequel "Countdown" -- Picard as Ambassador, Data returned and Captain of the big E. Geordi with some sort of actual story! Worf going back to his roots. Fingers crossed!
VGR: we'll see! It floundered for so long... I hate that they killed Janeway. If anyone, get rid of Chakotay. He's always been useless. LOL.
ENT: good writing, like the direction of things. ENT never holds my interest, though.
Titan has been a bright spot, even if the IDIC-ish has been overwhelming at times. I know trek on film really over-humanized the crews, but Titan is always risking being too balanced back the other way, IMHO.
Not keen with what has been done to Sisko in Typhon. Not at all. Avery Brooks would be pissed too. He's always been honest one of the main reasons he did DS9 was to show the strong bond between a black father and son. He even got upset at the finale briefly, because he hated Sisko leaving Kasidy with a Baby on the way. To have him leave Kasidy now, with a 4 year old, and cut off Jake mostly too? To cut off everyone? No matter the reason, it's against the grain of the guy.
I loved the first few years of the decade, the DS9 relaunch. It was epic. Enjoyed everything about it. The old and new. Brilliant.
I think all the other series post finales and DS9 since "Worlds of DS9" have suffered a lot of plot and story damage, though.
TNG is in the worst shape, IMHO. I really don't care for any of the new people, and am getting irritated with the four originals even. I hope they begin to move things in the direction we've seen for 2387 in the nuTrek comic prequel "Countdown" -- Picard as Ambassador, Data returned and Captain of the big E. Geordi with some sort of actual story! Worf going back to his roots. Fingers crossed!
VGR: we'll see! It floundered for so long... I hate that they killed Janeway. If anyone, get rid of Chakotay. He's always been useless. LOL.
ENT: good writing, like the direction of things. ENT never holds my interest, though.
Titan has been a bright spot, even if the IDIC-ish has been overwhelming at times. I know trek on film really over-humanized the crews, but Titan is always risking being too balanced back the other way, IMHO.
Not keen with what has been done to Sisko in Typhon. Not at all. Avery Brooks would be pissed too. He's always been honest one of the main reasons he did DS9 was to show the strong bond between a black father and son. He even got upset at the finale briefly, because he hated Sisko leaving Kasidy with a Baby on the way. To have him leave Kasidy now, with a 4 year old, and cut off Jake mostly too? To cut off everyone? No matter the reason, it's against the grain of the guy.
I think I'll stop reading the books when that happens, especially the Data returns part.
The involvement of the TNG crew in general, and Data in particular, in Countdown felt forced, and all the characters felt totally out of place.
Trek authors have already stated on this board that they're ignoring the events of both "Countdown" and "Star Trek: Online" and are focusing on their own continuity which I suppose is an off-shoot of established on screen Trek continuity so we most likely won't see Trek lit characters going in that direction.
^I'm not sure that's been stated definitively. Yes, ST:O is already in an incompatible continuity with the books. But I think all we've said about Countdown is that the novels aren't obligated to stay consistent with it. I'm not sure that anything in it has been directly contradicted by the books yet, so I think it's still conceivable that, if the current editor or higher-up people wanted the books to stay consistent with Countdown, they could.
I believe it's the same Enterprise-E, just refitted.
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