Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously
Thanks much for the detailed comments, LaBarre!
I also really liked the way T'Ryssa Chen was written, after receiving little attention in Destiny. She's a great character and it's fun reading about her and to see the developing dynamics of her unorthodox relationship with Picard. He lets her off with stuff he wouldn't cop from any other crewmember. It shouldn't work, but it does, reminding me of the interactions of Kamin-Meribor and Picard-Ro.
That's very interesting. I can see the Picard-Ro comparison -- experienced mentor helping younger officer with spotty career fulfill potential -- even if I never had that in mind. But to compare it to a father-daughter relationship, particularly as Picard is preparing to welcome his first child into the world... very interesting, indeed.
Speaking of religion, that is my only gripe - and it's not specifically directed to Mr Leisner - but to the overall message of the ST:TNG relaunch, Destiny trilogy and Singular Destiny books . It just seems to me that if you are an alien (e.g. Bajoran) with a religious belief, or a human with eastern religious tendencies (Hindu-light or Bhuddist), then your religious perspective gets treated with seriousness. I've yet to see any positive allusion whatsoever to either Islam or Christianity. Do neither of these religions exist anymore? And if they do, why are the authors shying away from providing some postive aspects of these faiths informing the attitudes and beliefs of at least some of our human characters?
Jasminder's beliefs were established during her introduction in
Greater Than the Sum, and they naturally took center stage as she grappled with the horrible tragedy that befell her family. Had Christopher and David decided she was to be a Christian or a Muslim, I can assure you I would have been just as serious in depicting those beliefs in her time of personal tragedy.
That said, yes, Christianity and Islam do still exist in the 24th century, though no, they have not gotten the same kind of exploration. The question of why is probably better suited to a topic all to itself.
I am sad to see that Miranda ends up detached from Enterprise, particularly as so much work in the relaunch has gone into portraying the real difficulties faced by a mother of very young children who nevertheless has a successful career on the upswing and chooses the latter over the former when they conflict. [...] for most women I know, when two very important things collide, in this case career and family, family almost always wins out.
In response to this and the other comments about Miranda, I would like to stress the point that this is not Miranda giving up her career and running back home to to be a mother and housewife. She's still a Starfleet Commander, technically on detached service from the
Enterprise, and working on what is going to be one of the more challenging tasks of the post-Borg era, in helping all these refugees through this transition and re-establish their lives. Like she tells Vicenzo, it's going to be like being ops officer for a half dozen starships. Her career is still important to her; it's just taken a course she hadn't anticipated before.
Again, thanks for all the comments.
).
