ST:TNG Resistance (SPOILERS)

[Newspaper Taxi]

I was slightly disappointed with this book. It was really gripping and exciting, for sure and in the end I enjoyed it very much, yes sir, but I was slightly disappointed.

This has been mentioned before, but Picard's idea to turn himself into Locutus really came out of left field. My first reaction to the plan was: "How on earth did he think that would work?" If it worked, they saved the day, but if it failed, he was already pretty much a borg. I like the concept of Picard having to take on this transformation but I don't think they built it up enough...Although I don't know if they could have built it up, realistically.

One thing I did like, however, was that the Borg themselves had some character development. They've acknowledged that the humans are one of the greatest threats they've ever faced and decided to kill on site rather than let another one of the human's zany ideas ruin their plans. I also liked how the Borg mirrored the insect world even more with the any drone can become a Queen idea.

I really liked how the book immediatly answered how to deal with the romantic developments of "Death in Winter" -- have Picard wake up in bed with Crusher. That was a strong and effective way to deal with it.

I also liked Worlf's development in the book. At first I thought he was being a bit angsty but the more I thought about it that would probably be a haunting thing to a Klingon. I was happy to see that Worf redeemed himself in his own eyes at the end of the book when he nearly killed Locutus/Picard. I don't doubt that if Crusher's plan hadn't worked Worf would have killed Locutus. He even found a way to still be honorable and loyal about it by dying in the process; an eye for an eye and a life for a life.

I liked T'lana's character alot. I feel that very few characters of Trek Lit ever actually reach a level when they're equal with the characters from their respective shows. The only characters I'd put in that category would be Shar, The Jemahadar in DS9:R, and Dr. Ree. I'd put T'lana in there, too -- although the other characters would be higher ranking and could boss her around.


So those are my disoragnized thoughts. End communications.

 

[od0_ital]

Posted this at another board, thought I'd share here, too -

Just finished the second post-ST: Nemesis story, this one written by J.M. Dillard, an author who usually sticks with novelizations of the movies, and it shows with the openin' chapter bein' a step by step description of the openin' scene of ST: First Contact, with minor changes.

The story itself is set "months" after TNG: Death in Winter, though its the first time since ST: Nemesis the Big E is out of space dock...maybe. Doctor Crusher recalls an away mission that one of the new crewmembers had to be treated afterward, and before this, Crusher was still workin' at Starfleet Medical.

Another odd bit is that the ship's counselor got ferried out by shuttle, to rendevous with the Big E while it was en route to its first mission since the end of ST: Nemesis.

And if, while readin', ya miss the description of how the new counselor looks when she first beams aboard, don't worry - every member of the senior staff who sees her, except Geordi, creates a page & a half long description of how cherubic, short, and odd, for a Vulcan, she appears to be.

Also, it seems that J.M. Dillard believes there are only four positions on the bridge - captain's chair, first officer's station, counselor's station, and the conn. And the conn officer is the new Mary Sue, a young prodigy, the product of two Starfleet officers, the former chief of security for the Big E before transferrin' to the conn. Though that doesn't make sense in the novel continuity, since Christine Vale was the chief of security in the novels, 'til right before the events of ST: Nemesis. Why would Lieutenant Mary Sue have been chief of security for a ship in spacedock? Even more, how does that experience make her the MOST experienced one to transfer back when the position opens back up?

And yet another continuity issue, this one caused by TNG: Death in Winter is that when Worf communicates with Admiral Janeway via subspace, it's noted that he'd never met her in person.

The story is pretty straightforward - on the way to negotiate a cease fire between two alien cultures, Picard hears the song of the Borg, goes against orders to take on the cube before a new Borg Queen can be created, and winds up takin' on the identity of Locutus to do it.

That's pretty much it.

There's a lot of friction between Picard & the new counselor, Worf & the new counselor, Beverly & the new counselor, while Lieutenant Sue gets along well with everybody on the ship, and even trains with Worf on how to use a bat'leth. Sue even gets a one night stand, and can be excused from her station (one of only four, don't forget), to rush to the transporter room to wish her one night lover luck before the mission that he gets assimilated durin'.

The next couple of post-ST: Nemesis stories have been written by Keith R.A. DeCandido and Peter David, so I'm hopin' they turn out better than the first couple of 'em.

 

[Technobuilder]

^I find myself agreeing with just about everything you mentioned.

Now I liked the story alright, but truthfully, I was expecting a lot more in terms of the new TNG books set after Nemesis.

Plus, I know it's a minor thing, but the continuity glitches you mentioned tended to jump out at me waving a sign. It doesn't help that I read the books as a continuation from one to the next. Reading Death in Winter & Resistance back to back for example.

 

[od0_ital]

Technobuilder said:
... Reading Death in Winter & Resistance back to back for example.

Yeah, I made that mistake, too.

At least I have CoE: Grand Designs to look forward to.

 

[Christopher]

od0_ital said:
The story itself is set "months" after TNG: Death in Winter, though its the first time since ST: Nemesis the Big E is out of space dock...maybe. Doctor Crusher recalls an away mission that one of the new crewmembers had to be treated afterward, and before this, Crusher was still workin' at Starfleet Medical.

Another odd bit is that the ship's counselor got ferried out by shuttle, to rendevous with the Big E while it was en route to its first mission since the end of ST: Nemesis...

And the conn officer is the new Mary Sue, a young prodigy, the product of two Starfleet officers, the former chief of security for the Big E before transferrin' to the conn. Though that doesn't make sense in the novel continuity, since Christine Vale was the chief of security in the novels, 'til right before the events of ST: Nemesis. Why would Lieutenant Mary Sue have been chief of security for a ship in spacedock?

All of these "problems" arise from your assumption that this is their first mission since NEM. In fact, it should be clear from several references in the book, including the ones you cite here, that this is not the case. It's stated repeatedly that it's been months since NEM, that Worf has been temporary first officer for months, that it took a long time for Starfleet to convince Picard to accept T'Lana as his counselor, etc. Maybe you were expecting that the post-NEM book series would begin with their very first mission out of drydock after NEM, but that's not what was actually done here.

 

[od0_ital]

^

I was expectin' this to be the first mission because it picks up after TNG: Death in Winter, which had the ship still bein' repaired. When Picard returned from that mission, the ship was still bein' repaired and gettin' its crew aboard.

And, that aside, the back cover of TNG: Resistance says -

The U.S.S. Enterprise is ready to rejoin the fleet. The body of the great starship - which managed to survive the deadly Romulan-Reman attack only with Data's ultimate sacrifice-has been restored...

...Starfleet hands the Enterprise a simple assignment perfect for a shakedown crusie.

Now, this may have been a simple error at some point, similiar to what happened a few years ago, where the back cover of a book is written before the actually book has been printed, but it set certain expectations for me, as both the reader and as the guy who paid full price at Borders, that I was goin' to get the first mission of the Big E after Star Trek: Nemesis.

That bein' the case, I cite examples of just how jacked up the continuity is from the promise of the back cover copy when compared to the story told within, not to mention the continuity from the A Time to... and Titan novels.

And that is something that this entire readin' community was told wouldn't happen again, once the schedule got changed to one paperback release a month. Bigger books, better stories, stronger continuity. In this case, y'all failed.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Death in Winter has a lot of contradictions with other books. In DiW, Sariel Rager is Ben Zoma's new XO, but Titan has her still at Conn.

IIRC, there was some other niggling detail about the state of the Romulan Empire that also contradicted Titan.

The name of the person Beverly was supposed to replace at Stafleet Medical was different in DiW than it was in A Time to...

Then, of course the Janeway meets Worf thing and the Sara Nave as Security chief thing. For Nave, I figure that it was an interim assignment following Vale's transfer until a permanent replacement was found and she could go to the Conn, which was where she wanted to be.

ETA: Of course, the Sara Nave as security chief thing had nothing to do w/DiW. Forgive me, it's been a long couple of days...

 

[The Nth Doctor]

od0_ital said:
^

I was expectin' this to be the first mission because it picks up after TNG: Death in Winter, which had the ship still bein' repaired. When Picard returned from that mission, the ship was still bein' repaired and gettin' its crew aboard.

And, that aside, the back cover of TNG: Resistance says -

The U.S.S. Enterprise is ready to rejoin the fleet. The body of the great starship - which managed to survive the deadly Romulan-Reman attack only with Data's ultimate sacrifice-has been restored...

...Starfleet hands the Enterprise a simple assignment perfect for a shakedown crusie.

Now, this may have been a simple error at some point, similiar to what happened a few years ago, where the back cover of a book is written before the actually book has been printed, but it set certain expectations for me, as both the reader and as the guy who paid full price at Borders, that I was goin' to get the first mission of the Big E after Star Trek: Nemesis.

I had the same expectation for the same reason. The key phrase in the back cover description is the final line ending with "...for a shakedown cruise." That heavily implies this is their first mission.

 

[LightningStorm]

od0_ital said:
Sue even gets a one night stand, and can be excused from her station (one of only four, don't forget), to rush to the transporter room to wish her one night lover luck before the mission that he gets assimilated durin'.

I disagree with this part. It's made fairly clear that this was not a "one night stand" (which to me implies that it was a simple one-off thing that involved little to no feelings). It was a new and budding relationship that just happened to come to a premature end. Which is why she was so hell-bent on going over to the cube to save him, because she loved him. (Or if loved is too strong a word for such a new relationship she REALLY liked him A LOT.)

 

[Christopher]

od0_ital said:
I was expectin' this to be the first mission because it picks up after TNG: Death in Winter, which had the ship still bein' repaired. When Picard returned from that mission, the ship was still bein' repaired and gettin' its crew aboard.

Uhh... what have you got against terminal Gs?

Anyway, the DS9 Relaunch picked up three months after "What You Leave Behind," and Spirit Walk picked up six months after The Farther Shore. There's plenty of precedent for jumping ahead.

And, that aside, the back cover of TNG: Resistance says -

The U.S.S. Enterprise is ready to rejoin the fleet. The body of the great starship - which managed to survive the deadly Romulan-Reman attack only with Data's ultimate sacrifice-has been restored...

...Starfleet hands the Enterprise a simple assignment perfect for a shakedown crusie.

Now, this may have been a simple error at some point, similiar to what happened a few years ago, where the back cover of a book is written before the actually book has been printed, but it set certain expectations for me, as both the reader and as the guy who paid full price at Borders, that I was goin' to get the first mission of the Big E after Star Trek: Nemesis.

Okay, that was misleading, but there was enough of an abundance of clues within the text itself to demonstrate that the blurb was simply inaccurate.

And where is it written that every "first mission out of drydock" has to be big and exciting? Realistically, any ship would have plenty of routine missions where nothing huge was at stake and nothing went terribly wrong. Maybe this wasn't the first mission out of drydock, but it was the first really significant tale to be told about the E-E's missions in the post-NEM era.

 

[od0_ital]

Christopher said:

od0_ital said:
I was expectin' this to be the first mission because it picks up after TNG: Death in Winter, which had the ship still bein' repaired. When Picard returned from that mission, the ship was still bein' repaired and gettin' its crew aboard.

Uhh... what have you got against terminal Gs?

I type the way I talk, and if ya ever hear me talk, ya will never hear a "g" at the end of a word.

Anyway, the DS9 Relaunch picked up three months after "What You Leave Behind,"

Which was consistent with the series takin' three month breaks between finale & premiere.

and Spirit Walk picked up six months after The Farther Shore. There's plenty of precedent for jumping ahead.

I won't argue usin' the VOY Relaunch, simply because I don't have those books handy anymore.

And I'm not sayin' there isn't precedent - hell, just look at New Frontier, seems like every other book is set two years since the one before it.

And, that aside, the back cover of TNG: Resistance says -

The U.S.S. Enterprise is ready to rejoin the fleet. The body of the great starship - which managed to survive the deadly Romulan-Reman attack only with Data's ultimate sacrifice-has been restored...

...Starfleet hands the Enterprise a simple assignment perfect for a shakedown crusie.

Now, this may have been a simple error at some point, similiar to what happened a few years ago, where the back cover of a book is written before the actually book has been printed, but it set certain expectations for me, as both the reader and as the guy who paid full price at Borders, that I was goin' to get the first mission of the Big E after Star Trek: Nemesis.

Okay, that was misleading, but there was enough of an abundance of clues within the text itself to demonstrate that the blurb was simply inaccurate.

Like I said, looks like y'all screwed up.

And where is it written that every "first mission out of drydock" has to be big and exciting?

To be honest, goin' to deal with a dispute between two alien worlds does not sound excitin'. And that's the mission they were sent on, not the one that took them to the Borg cube.

Realistically, any ship would have plenty of routine missions where nothing huge was at stake and nothing went terribly wrong. Maybe this wasn't the first mission out of drydock, but it was the first really significant tale to be told about the E-E's missions in the post-NEM era.

And the initial mission of goin' to settle a dispute sounded routine enough, and it fits with the idea that this would be the first thing that the Big E would be sent on. The Borg thing was just an unexpected detour.

Anyway, in my opinion, the first two post-Nemesis stories are astronomically huge disappointments, and I'm hopin' that the future of the series is better. While the New Adventures of the Big E aren't as bad as the VOY Relaunch, they're pretty damn close to each other right now.

 

[LightningStorm]

od0_ital said:
I type the way I talk, and if ya ever hear me talk, ya will never hear a "g" at the end of a word.

Just because of the way that's worded...

Borg, mug, rug, beg, and countless other words that end in G without being "ing" are the same way too, huh?

 

[Christopher]

od0_ital said:
I type the way I talk, and if ya ever hear me talk, ya will never hear a "g" at the end of a word.

It's one thing to talk that way, but it's annoyingly pretentious to type that way. Written English is not spoken English and it shouldn't pretend to be. It takes no less effort to type an apostrophe than it does to type a g, so it's not a matter of accent or saving energy, just of being self-consciously cutesy and irritating to the reader.

I mean, uhh, if I talked, uhh, the way I, um, I mean if I typed the way I talk, uhh, talked, it'd be kinduunpleasan -- uh, silly-looking. And annoying. Tuh, to read.

For that matter, I sincerely doubt you actually are writing the way you talk, because there are no ums and uhs, no missteps and restarts, etc. as there are in real speech. For the most part, you already are using the written language distinctly from the way you use spoken language.

Like I said, looks like y'all screwed up.

In a minor way that you blew out of proportion by harping on "ohh, it's supposed to be their first mission out of drydock, but this and that" about three separate times. I think it's unfair to attack the book for something in the cover blurb, which probably wasn't even written by the book's author.

Realistically, any ship would have plenty of routine missions where nothing huge was at stake and nothing went terribly wrong. Maybe this wasn't the first mission out of drydock, but it was the first really significant tale to be told about the E-E's missions in the post-NEM era.

And the initial mission of goin' to settle a dispute sounded routine enough, and it fits with the idea that this would be the first thing that the Big E would be sent on. The Borg thing was just an unexpected detour.

Doesn't change my point. What are the odds that every ship's first mission would either be intrinsically dangerous/important or would just happen to get sidetracked by something really dangerous/important? You're blowing this issue of when the story occurred, whether it was the first mission or not, enormously out of proportion. And the novel itself, as opposed to the blurb that somebody else wrote, is entirely consistent in asserting that it isn't the first mission.

 

[tenmei]

I think it's unfair to attack the book for something in the cover blurb, which probably wasn't even written by the book's author.

But, still, Christopher, it's something that could and should have been caught by someone somewhere down the line that the blurb was inaccurate.

 

[Christopher]

tenmei said:
But, still, Christopher, it's something that could and should have been caught by someone somewhere down the line that the blurb was inaccurate.

Of course that's true, but the point is that odO_ital treated it as a systemic flaw in the novel itself rather than a secondary issue. And I don't think that's fair to the book or its author.

 

[tenmei]

That is true. My copy turned up today and I'm already about fifty pages into it, it's not up to the Vanguard/Titan/DS9 Relaunch quality, imho, but it's still very very good.

 

[Technobuilder]

The story certainly wasn't bad, but I wouldn't say it was very very good either. Good would suffice. I think I was just hoping for something more and the expectation overshadowed the finished product. Nothing against the author, or the book. Just wasn't that into it.

 

[od0_ital]

LightningStorm said:

od0_ital said:
I type the way I talk, and if ya ever hear me talk, ya will never hear a "g" at the end of a word.

Just because of the way that's worded...

Borg, mug, rug, beg, and countless other words that end in G without being "ing" are the same way too, huh?

Yes.

Christopher said:

od0_ital said:
I type the way I talk, and if ya ever hear me talk, ya will never hear a "g" at the end of a word.

It's one thing to talk that way, but it's annoyingly pretentious to type that way.

Hey, ya asked, I answered. Don't hate.

Written English is not spoken English and it shouldn't pretend to be. It takes no less effort to type an apostrophe than it does to type a g, so it's not a matter of accent or saving energy, just of being self-consciously cutesy and irritating to the reader.

Well, it's the just the way I've been typin' for quite awhile now. Sure, I could just as easily type out "The writing and editing of this novel sucked out loud and damn near made me want to go walking off the closest pier." but that wouldn't be me at all, and not just 'cause of the possibility of committin' suicide. If nothin' else, it makes my posts a bit distinctive from others, and I have read studies that have shown folks don't think of online interaction as "real" interaction, and act accordingly, meanin' no rules for social niceties. If my posts are different from the way everyone else words themselves, it may just make it that much more difficult for me to be mistaken for just another non-person on the internet.

I mean, uhh, if I talked, uhh, the way I, um, I mean if I typed the way I talk, uhh, talked, it'd be kinduunpleasan -- uh, silly-looking. And annoying. Tuh, to read.

And if ya did type like that, I would simply assume English wasn't your first language, but I sure wouldn't call ya out on it while tryin' to argue the merits of a piece of work that neither you or I had anything to do with. It would be rude, ya know.

For that matter, I sincerely doubt you actually are writing the way you talk, because there are no ums and uhs, no missteps and restarts, etc. as there are in real speech. For the most part, you already are using the written language distinctly from the way you use spoken language.

Well, ya got me there. But then, that's why there's an edit button, to fix misssteps, and restart. Of course, the way I talk, when I need to "restart" myself, I usually say, "Wait a minute...", pause, and then, after my train of thought is back on track, I start again. The internet does help with that a bit...not so many awkward pauses, ya know.

Like I said, looks like y'all screwed up.

In a minor way that you blew out of proportion by harping on "ohh, it's supposed to be their first mission out of drydock, but this and that" about three separate times. I think it's unfair to attack the book for something in the cover blurb, which probably wasn't even written by the book's author.

Well, sure, I can agree that its minor, this time, when compared to similiar ways the books have been fouled up in the past. But if the book does diverge from the planned summary, shouldn't one or the other be corrected before its put out on the market?

Of course, another example would be your book, The Buried Age, which I chose not to buy, despite lookin' forward to the idea of a Picard story set between the loss of the Stargazer and takin' command of the Enterprise-D. I read the back cover copy, and the mention of Picard teamin' up with Guinan, Data & Deanna Troi turned me off from readin' it. Now, is that accurate for your novel, or was there another foul up somewhere between the printers and the local Books-a-Million?

Realistically, any ship would have plenty of routine missions where nothing huge was at stake and nothing went terribly wrong. Maybe this wasn't the first mission out of drydock, but it was the first really significant tale to be told about the E-E's missions in the post-NEM era.

And the initial mission of goin' to settle a dispute sounded routine enough, and it fits with the idea that this would be the first thing that the Big E would be sent on. The Borg thing was just an unexpected detour.

Doesn't change my point. What are the odds that every ship's first mission would either be intrinsically dangerous/important or would just happen to get sidetracked by something really dangerous/important? You're blowing this issue of when the story occurred, whether it was the first mission or not, enormously out of proportion. And the novel itself, as opposed to the blurb that somebody else wrote, is entirely consistent in asserting that it isn't the first mission.

Maybe I am a bit hung up on the "when" of the story, because I did want to read about the first mission of the Big E. I like the Big E, I like most of the characters that are still on the Big E, and I'd like to read their stories while waitin' for the next installment of the DS9 Relaunch, the best series Pocket has been able to manage for the last few years.

But even if the Big E was sent to survey Pluto just for the hell of it after Picard & Beverly smooched in the ready room at the end of TNG: Death in Winter, it still doesn't explain how widely inconsistent some things are in this book.

Nave (aka Mary Sue) transferred from security to conn. With the loss of the new security chief, Nave is the most experience to take his place. Just how did she get that experience? Just what the hell could have happened that made her so damn special?

Nothin'.

The ship has been close to home, Earth, for awhile now. And even though Picard wants Worf to be his first officer, and even has Worf servin' in that position aboard his ship, it takes months & months for Starfleet to approve? Fine...but how is it that Worf didn't ever have to step up to act like a first officer durin' those months & months?

There are other stations on the bridge, despite what J.M. Dillard would like folks to think, it ain't just one console, three chairs and a wall for Geordi to stand at in the back. Why isn't anyone else ever mentioned or even noticed by the senior staff? In TNG: Death in Winter, there's a Picard perspective that most of the folks that have been servin' are now gone, or on their way out. New folks are comin' onboard the ship, and yet Nave is the only one who makes an impression on anyone? No mention of the Ops officer, or the science stations, or even an extra nurse in sickbay.

What the hell has Geordi been doin' with B-4 for months and months? Why are they only now gettin' to the point of boxin' him up & shippin' him out to the Daystrom Institute? Why does Picard feel like its a loss? Couldn't he have used the months and months between TNG: Death in Winter and TNG: Resistance to fight for B-4's rights? Data's rights issue was solved in 42 minutes.

One can only assume that Picard was too busy makin' up for lost horizontal mambo time with Beverly, and simply forgot about B-4 even bein' stuck in a storage closet on the Engineering deck.

And while thinkin' of that, how 'bout this? Why is Beverly still havin' a hard time thinkin' of the quarters she shares with Picard as "their" quarters? How annoyin' was that to read, every time she thought to herself about spendin' the night in the captain's quarters, she corrected herself, like she was some damn "captain's woman" from the Mirror Universe. If the story is goin' to have shackin' up together, than the characters involved damn well better be able to think in the terms of a partnered, equal couple, not "He's the Captain, and She's the Saturday Night Special."

Anyway, just my thoughts on how even if its been months and months since the Big E left the repaire station, the story still is a disappointment. And maybe I am blowin' it all out of proportion. Y'all have my money, whether I liked the book or not, right?

 

[Trent Roman]

Christopher said:
It's one thing to talk that way, but it's annoyingly pretentious to type that way. Written English is not spoken English and it shouldn't pretend to be. It takes no less effort to type an apostrophe than it does to type a g, so it's not a matter of accent or saving energy, just of being self-consciously cutesy and irritating to the reader.

Given the preponderance of absolutely terrible spelling, incoherent grammar, juvenile substitutions and indecipherable expressions that often passes for writing online, I really don't see the point in harassing somebody who clearly knows the language but chooses to use a dialectical variant form for flavour.

Fictitiously ya's, Trent Roman

 

[Turtletrekker]

^I hear what yer sayin', Trent. There coulda been "kewl"s, "x-treem"s, "ninjaz" "whut"s, and all sorts of other annoyin' and indecipherable things. I'll take a phoentic accent over that crap anytime.