Spoilers TF: Revelation and Dust by DRGIII Review Thread

[Nob Akimoto]

Rather, when Star Trek Online was created in 2009-10, its creators deliberately chose to contradict the direction the novels had already been going in for years. It borrowed some ideas and characters from the novels, like Titan and President Bacco, but it disregarded most of the DS9 post-finale series, the events of Destiny and the surrounding books, the novels' prior portrayals of races like Species 8472, and so on. STO chose to be a separate continuity from the start, and it and the novels have both been charting their own independent courses.

Fair enough. I wasn't entirely sure where the difference in courses had started. Do kinda note that they do seem to take an inordinate delight in doing everything in the reverse of how you seem to flesh out a lot of "seldom seen" species, ranging from 8472 in Places of Exile, to the difference between the "Elachi" and your portrayal of the aliens in A Choice of Futures. (Plus the crystalline entity and some other things I'm sure I'm forgetting)

While I can see some of it being necessary from the standpoint of making a video game (and I enjoyed it for a long while) it's disappointing because a lot of the Star Trekiness is sacrificed on the altar of combat mechanics. I get the sense they'll be doing something similar with the Voth soon.

 

[Christopher]

^Yeah, STO has its own rather narrow set of priorities shaping how it develops its ideas. The books are able to be broader and more flexible, and don't have to interpret every race in terms of combat potential or whatever. I don't think Pocket and STO are deliberately trying to contradict each other. I know I'd never even heard of the "Elachi" until after I'd already written A Choice of Futures, and the STO folks certainly had no idea I would later write a book about the "Silent Enemy" aliens when they dubbed them Elachi. Pocket and STO are just operating in distinct spheres, developing ideas independently and with different priorities.

 

[Edit_XYZ]

So - DS9 blown up by a saboteur.
And now, Bacco killed.
Both times, the best "security" that can be assured by starfleet intelligence and the crew of DS9 was in place.

Pathetic security on DS9. How incompetent can they get?

 

[Shane Houston]

I started reading this morning. The epilogue was wrong, Sisko was on the Defiant in the wormhole, not Robinson. Makes me wonder if the author reads his own books.

I like the fact Kira is reliving Sisko's appearance in the wormhole. So far, this feels like a new pilot for the new DS9.

 

[Masiral]

I thought it was Above Average. Not quite as good as Plagues of Night or Raise the Dawn, but a pretty good opening to a new miniseries.

Spoiler: Big Spoiler

RIP Nanietta Bacco - you will be missed

 

[Reanok]

I got my book in the mail today I can't wait to read this book.

 

[Ronald Held]

I would prefer the novel avoid going in the direction STO is pursuing. I am curious as the the global direction after the Hobus supernova has occurred.

 

[JoeZhang]

I thought this was a mixture of reasonable (DS9) and turgid (that other stuff), I found it very hard going to get through the other stuff.

 

[Shane Houston]

I voted below average, and that's not something I usually do. Here's why I voted that way.

First off, I thought I would have a problem when the writer and editors of the book didn't catch the mistake in the prologue where they didn't remember from the last book Sisko was in command of the Defiant, and not the Robinson. If it was just a mistaken name, that's one thing, but it even identified that it was a Galaxy class starship. If it was a simple mistake, that's one thing. But Sisko being in command of the Defiant was meant to be a big deal.

I liked the Kira stuff in the beginning, but the Kira as someone else on ancient Bajor became boring and tedious stuff. It felt like it took forever to get through and the end result could have been done in a more exciting and interesting way. At least that fact she's alive and more importantly Taran'atar, was good to see. It seems there is a setup to explain the 5 missing years. I just hope DRGIII isn't the one to write it.

When I learned Bacco was to be killed I was shocked. What wasn't shocking is that the way it was written in the book, and how it happened, was not as good as it should have been. It would have been good if the suspect they had found for it ended up BEING the killer. But they tech tech the tech and found it was the Tzenkethi. Yawn. If the writer had just followed through and kept the Bajoran First Minister's assistant and friend it would have been better.

Some things I liked were Odo and the wormhole being back. The ideas behind the new station, despite the fact it was beaten over our heads how bad the old station was. I liked the praetor of Romulas meeting with Bajor's first minister and it was good to see Dax try and make amends to Julian. OBrien being Chief Engineer again was also good, along with the starbase now having something for Keiko to do.

You really do have to feel sorry for Captain Ro. You felt for her, just not as much as I did for the readers of all the Kira as Keeve chapters.

All in all I rate this book a 3 out ten. The stuff happening on DS9 was semi-interesting. But the Kira stuff bogs it down too much and was the first book since the last Titan novel that made my eyes gloss over in boredom while reading. It made it more of a chore than entertainment to get through. But glad I bought it if only to support the chance to read about future adventures for this crew, hopefully by a different author. He seems like he either has Star Trek fatigue, or in some cases just doesn't give a damn.

 

[DEWLine]

Sidebar discussion 1: Would this count as the kickoff for "Season 10" for our purposes?

 

[DEWLine]

Sidebar discussion 2: DS9 as launch point for further exploration of the Alpha Quadrant.

The subject comes up several times in the course of this story, and I started wondering about where the Khitomer Accords signatory nations would like to go looking around. Should I refer this topic to the Trek Tech board?

 

[Sci]

Nan! NOOOOOOOOOOO!

I'm really sad. Nan Bacco has been one of my favorite Trek characters for the better part of a decade. I'm gonna miss her!

I gotta admit, though, her death scene was well-written.

So the question is: Whodunit? The reference to the new Federation Councillor from Bajor -- now President Pro Tempore -- having maneuvered Councillor Krim out of the way made me suspicious. I gotta wonder if there's something more going on than just more wacky Tzenkethi hijinks.

Meanwhile: Yeah, the posters above were right. Starbase Deep Space 9 is where heads of state go to die. First Chancellor Gowron, then First Minister Shakaar, now President Bacco... I'd keep away from DS9 if I were a head of state or government!

More seriously: This is now two Presidents in a row the Federation has seen assassinated. You gotta wonder what's happening to Federation political culture these days. Is this the Federation's equivalent to the turmoil of the Sixties and Seventies in America?

ETA:

I loved the Kira sub-plot, and don't understand why anyone wouldn't find it both a compelling story and a fascinating look at Bajor's history.

 

[Jeff]

I loved this book. While reading the book, I got to thinking of the group known as Cardassia First. Anyone else see them as an analogue for the current Tea Party of the US government? They seem very similar at times, both looking down on other nations as inferior to theirs, and also want things back "the way they used to be", conveniently forgetting the disasters those past policies led to.

 

[jpv2000]

I'm really sad. Nan Bacco has been one of my favorite Trek characters for the better part of a decade. I'm gonna miss her!

Same here. RIP Nan Bacco.

 

[JoeZhang]

I've never been keen - she just seems to be a string of platitudes, Chrisjen Avasarala from James S. A. Corey's* Caliaban's war is a similar but far more realised character with much better lines.






* Yes I know it's a pen-name.

 

[RPJOB]

Bacco seems to have collected on the bad karma she's been collecting since she turned a blind eye to the coup by Picard and the others and the murder of Min Zife. I, for one, am glad to see that payback. I liked the character but she had to answer for ignoring the evidence and her own doubts about what happened to her predecessor. Now we just need to see the truth fully come out. Picard, Ross and the others need to answer for their crimes.

 

[Edit_XYZ]

Bacco seems to have collected on the bad karma she's been collecting since she turned a blind eye to the coup by Picard and the others and the murder of Min Zife. I, for one, am glad to see that payback. I liked the character but she had to answer for ignoring the evidence and her own doubts about what happened to her predecessor. Now we just need to see the truth fully come out. Picard, Ross and the others need to answer for their crimes.

If you think this has the slightest chance of happening, you're dreaming.

Far more likely, this being an event book, something that shook the status quo had to happen.
And Bacco was K. DeCandido's creation. Given his fall from grace with TPTB of the trek lit line, eliminating the character was an easy pick (previously, writers were instructed to close his plot-lines expeditiously or simply ignore his books).

 

[DEWLine]

Going to ignore that comment about Keith for the moment. The novelists' community is close enough that I might be inclined to believe that some of the people working on The Fall would run this past Keith privately beforehand.

Back to the main plotlines and characters, to ask this question: What of reporter Ozla Graniv?

She let herself be talked into sitting on the evidence she'd accumulated regarding Min Zife in return for Ross' retirement, and never pursued the investigation past Ross himself. In part because she feared the consequences to the Federation and Klingon Empire alike.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

So the question is: Whodunit?

Given the title of this novel series, it wouldn't surprise me if it were a character who's near and dear to many of us. I don't have anyone specific in mind, but I can't shake the feeling a number of us are going to be heartbroken when it's revealed who the assassin is.

--Sran

 

[Masiral]

So the question is: Whodunit? The reference to the new Federation Councillor from Bajor -- now President Pro Tempore -- having maneuvered Councillor Krim out of the way made me suspicious. I gotta wonder if there's something more going on than just more wacky Tzenkethi hijinks.

I was also suspicious of First Minister Asarem's very excellent speech, that conveniently took place right before her aide allegedly assassinated Bacco.