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Tell me about Titan

Astonishment seconded!

Any such allegory could indeed have been written in a far more plumbum-handed fashion than it actually was.
 
^I often find it an interesting challenge to write about characters whose beliefs fundamentally differ from mine, to get into their heads and understand how their views can be arrived at through legitimate and well-intentioned means. I disagree with the beliefs and customs of the Pa'haquel in Orion's Hounds, but I really enjoyed building their civilization and had great fun writing Qui'hibra. I disagree with a lot of the views held by Rishala in Ex Machina (for instance, she doesn't think highly of literacy), but she was my favorite character to write.

So Orion's Hounds is actually far, far less critical of hunting than it would be if I had intended it as a polemic.
 
I think it would be a very shallow fictional world if an author only wrote characters that he can identify with.
 
I thought all the different perspectives in Orion Hounds were presented very even-handedly. Indeed, at times it was impossible to tell which side, if any, was more antagonistic. I especially liked the way the various issues were resolved in a natural, and in retrospect, logical fashion.
 
Orion's Hounds, p. 226-7. Maybe "flirting" is a bit strong, but it's the same kind of banter he'd engage in with a receptive female of his own species, so I think it counts as heterosexual behavior.
 
Ah thanks. I don't remember much of OH, but I am planning on rereading it in the near future.
 
Christopher it wasn't my intent to push you down a flight of stairs. Kerus' feelings of sorrow were wonderfully written. Maybe what I wanted to see was more romance, less sex hook-up. I guess I'm just a old fashion kind of girl (sort of).
 
Well, then you should be happy about the gay interactions in TTN, since they've all been portrayed in a very chaste manner, all about attraction and emotion with no "hook-ups" in sight.
 
Christopher -
Thanks for pointing out the dichotomy, while I quietly steamed in the hallway.

If heterosexual people understood how much their sexuality (whether orientation, affection, or outright sex) is flaunted in our faces, they'd understand how angry it makes gay people when hand-holding or the mention of one's partner is deemed as "flaunting it."

We've finally — FINALLY — gotten to a point where GLBT characters are visible in Trek fiction, and now those who will argue they aren't homophobic are crying "why do WE have to see them flaunting it?" And they fail to get that for 40+years, Star Trek has been flaunting NOTHING BUT heterosexuality.

And hopefully this comment won't derail the thread into yet another of the idiotic "Andy and his Gay Agenda" BS things, as I'm the ONLY openly gay person writing Trek (Susan Wright is openly Bi), and plenty of heterosexual writers (who've "flaunted" their wives and husbands and children at conventions and in their bios) are — thankfully — writing GLBT characters as well.
 
^ If it helps any, I feel like Trek including GLBT characters really helped me confront some prejudices I didn't know I had, and hopefully make some real strides towards overcoming them. I realized reading your post that I would actually be completely fine with far more overt/explicit gay relationships in Titan and in the other books, and be interested in seeing those emotional dynamics, where I don't think that would've been true 5 years ago.

I don't mean to say that I was intentionally prejudiced, I just hadn't grown up knowing anyone GLBT, and realized upon getting to know some of these Trek characters that I'd never really had to think about it, and there was a level of discomfort there that surprised me. I'm glad I had the chance to get over it.

So it's helping some people :)
 
I'm not the biggest fan of the Titan series, some entries in it i have found quite disappointing. However how the series handles homosexual characters is exactly how homosexual characters should be handled in anything.
I like the fact that when Crewman Bob unexpectedly goes on a date with Crewman Simon, observing characters are simply happy that they have found someone, not "OMG I didnt know he was gay!!!?!". At least by the 23rd century, we have forgotten this modern notion of homosexuality being wrong or something to hide because its not "normal".
 
I'm really pleased with the name of Riker & Troi's baby (from Torrent Sea), and I look forward to finding out the name of Picard and Crusher's baby, but I have a question for the authors:

Who gets to/got to decide the names of the kids?
 
I'm really pleased with the name of Riker & Troi's baby (from Torrent Sea), and I look forward to finding out the name of Picard and Crusher's baby, but I have a question for the authors:

Who gets to/got to decide the names of the kids?

At first, when I read the naming of the Troi's child, I thought it was cheesy as hell given that Christopher's cat was named the same, now if this wasn't the case, it would have been fine. Never mind though, Christopher and the Editor (Marco?) felt it was a good fit so so what if it she was named after a deceased feline aswell so I just got over it.
 
I'm really pleased with the name of Riker & Troi's baby...

Really? I found it slightly odd as
Tasha
was only their friend for about a year or so. I actually thought they were going to name the baby after Troi's deceased older sister Kendra, or maybe Elizabeth after Riker's mother. I actually lost a bet to my wife. She guessed
Tasha
;).
 
I'm really pleased with the name of Riker & Troi's baby (from Torrent Sea), and I look forward to finding out the name of Picard and Crusher's baby, but I have a question for the authors:

Who gets to/got to decide the names of the kids?
I think Christopher said in a earlier thread that he got to pick Tasha's name, so I'm assuming it will be the same with the Picard kid. As for his/her name, I'm thinking they might go with Renee or Robert, especially since Marie played such a big role in the beginning of LtP.
 
Who gets to/got to decide the names of the kids?

As with most things in Trek lit, the author comes up with the idea and the editor decides whether to approve it or change it. At least, that's what happened here. I offered Marco a list of suggested names, and he said he'd think about it. When the time came in the manuscript, I incorporated my suggestion, aware that Marco might ask me to change it, but he didn't.

I think naming the Picard-Crusher child might have been more of a group effort, though. I don't remember exactly, but there's no formal process for these things.


I'm really pleased with the name of Riker & Troi's baby...

Really? I found it slightly odd as
Tasha
was only their friend for about a year or so. I actually thought they were going to name the baby after Troi's deceased older sister Kendra, or maybe Elizabeth after Riker's mother. I actually lost a bet to my wife. She guessed
Tasha
;).

I thought of naming the child after Kestra Troi, but the Riker-Trois already named a whole star system after Kestra in Orion's Hounds, so it would've been repetitive.

As for the duration of the friendship in question, I've found in my life that there's no linear correlation between the length of a friendship and the importance it has in one's life. And I feel that the individual in question is one who deserves commemoration. Maybe I could've come up with a clearer justification for the choice, but I kind of took it for granted that it would be self-evident.
 
I think naming the Picard-Crusher child might have been more of a group effort, though. I don't remember exactly, but there's no formal process for these things.
So a name has already been picked then? Any idea which book we'll learn it in?
 
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