With the Typhon Pact halfway through its release now, I've decided to write a combined review for the first two novels I've read. (Because of the size of this post, the fact that both novels have seperate threads and I'm also tying into the apathy thread, I've decided to make a new thread; I hope that's OK for the mods.)
In many ways the Typhon Pact miniseries feels like the third and final segment to the defining of the new status quo in Trek Lit for me, with Destiny being the first segment and Losing the Peace and A Singular Destiny as the interlude between them. For me, the release of these novels has coincided with a sort of "evaluation" period for Trek Lit, where I'm debating a possible, at least partial end to my collecting the stories. I've felt for some time now that I'm losing interest in the new novels being released, as I don't care much for the alternate universe volumes and the "mainstream" universe stories have been very hit-or-miss for me lately. I used to write reviews a little more often a few years back, but I figured this was a good a time as any to create one once more. I'm hoping to do a part 2 once I've read the other 2 books in january.
WARNING. PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT WHILE I USUALLY KEEP THINGS VAGUE, THERE MAY BE SPOILERS FROM HERE ON.
OH, and while I'm at it: this post is an opinion. It's not meant to criticise; I value all your hard work!
Zero Sum Game by David Mack
David Mack has, for me at least, been one of the writers to excells at writing... I'm having trouble finding the right word here, but let's say "action-packed" stories. Like going on a fast rollercoaster with the wind flying in your hair. I'm primarily thinking of his A Time to duology and to a lesser extent Wildfire here, both of which I loved immensely. Of his more recent novels, I must admit to having less fond memories, particularly the Destiny trilogy which I must admit I didn't take to as much some people here. Zero Sum Game ended up falling a bit between those two groups for me.
Now before I go on, let me stress that DS9 has been my favorite Trek (Lit) series from day one. I was overjoyed when Ro, who was always my favorite character, was added to the cast and I've enjoyed most of the DS9 Relaunch novels immensely, with the possible exception of the final mirror universe line. The decision to forward the DS9 timeline to catch up with the other series is one I honestly feared, for why change a winning formula? As such, I went into ZSG with high expectations and quite a bit of trepedition.
The obvious parallels with Abyss, which also featured a "spy Bashir" story and is referenced often in ZSG, made this story a fitting follow-up for Bashir's evolution. The one major difference is that here Bashir is teamed with Sarina rather than Ezri, and Sarina... I had trouble forming an opinion of her. There seemed to be little more to Sarina than her work and I had trouble accepting the depth of Bashir's feelings for her, something Ezri (?) notes as well when she remarks Bashir may be more in love with his image of Sarina than with the true Sarina herself. I honestly asked myself what there was to love about her, and couldn't find anything, even her reasoning for joining SI came across as hollow for me. I actually found the Breen more likable than Sarina...
Of course, Sarina's presence automatically caused Bashir to accept this mission. I had less trouble with Bashir's hardened stance and his actions at the end of the story than some readers in the review thread, but I do wonder at the dark turn his life has now taken. At this point I'm actually anticipating that L'Haan's scheme will succeed and that she at long last has truly found his Achilles' heel. (What a chilling scene that final one was, well done Mr. Mack!) The bigger question of why Bashir needs to be pulled into these spy missions is one that L'Haan's presence is the only credible answer for, for me. The Sindorin mission, I'll buy because the target there was someone Bashir was emminently qualified to handle, even without 31's involvement. Here, I did not once see a reason for Bashir to be the one to go, rather than say a trained intelligence operative. Section 31's presence seems to imply that the entire thing was orchestrated for Bashir's dubious benefit, perhaps even including the theft of the slipstream data in the first place.
... I actually wanted to start this review discussing the opportunity for world building. Derailment, oh joy!
Anyway, my real hopes for the entire Typhon Pact miniseries is a chance at exploring the hitherto mostly unknown societies of (most of) its members. The Breen are perhaps the best example of this, with their whole being shrouded in mystery as it is. I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the story, with a faceless enemy nation suddenly becoming a multi-faceted society every bit as varied and socially complex (perhaps even more so) than the Federation itself. The repressing of individuality and the forced anonimity inherent to Breen society were a very nice solution to the question's that's been on everyone's mind since day one: "what's inside the suit?". This is one place in space I'd happily see more stories focus on.
That having been said... one of my fears for this miniseries and one of the main reasons for my growing discomfort with Trek Lit was also present in this story. And with that I mean the current focus on major events and tactical actions rather than character growth. However, I feel that part of this review is better discussed with Rough Beasts in which I felt its presence far more, so see below.
I'll end with a few closing remarks for the Aventine portion of the story. This is a classic Trek bit of story telling, and I liked seeing Ezri really developing into a confident leader in her own right. The Aventine crew seems to be coming together as a real team, and I like that very much, especially with the original DS9 cast in such upheaval as it is.
Rated: Above average
Rough Beasts of Empire by David R. George III
Now, if I'd classify David Mack's storytelling as a rollercoaster, David George's usually feels like a long evening drive along the seaside to me. Something you have to sit down for for a while, which shows you all the sites at a steady pace that lets you enjoy each one as they come. I'm primarily thinking of the excellent Serpents Among the Ruins there.
I went into Rough Beasts expecting a story focusing on the Tzenkethi. I was... disappointed. There have been quite a few stories focusing on Romulus already, so I really question the decision to go there again. I've never been a big fan of Spock, although I will admit his part of the story was excecuted quite well. As for Sisko... I noted above that Section 31's involvement saved the reasoning behind Bashir's part in the story for me and I will admit I'm using the DS9 time gap and the Accendant crisis included in it as the excuse here to try and accept what has become of Sisko. The reasoning behind his self-imposed isolation from those around him seems downright silly to me. He's leaving them all to spare them sorrow, yet is causing it for them simply by having left. It seems to me he's grown far to dependent on the Prophets, and I miss the old captain who chose love over prophecy and married his heart's desire, who sat by Kira's bed after her heart injury just because she was his friend. I can understand the reasoning behind the path chosen for him by our creative staff, but I find it makes for very sad and disheartening reading. I had high hopes for Kira to give him a good slap for being an idiot, but I suppose in her new role that's not allowed and she'd not be likely to slap her Emissary. Apparently, even Emissaries are entitled to being silly.
Now, please understand that I don't think Rough Beasts is not a good story. It's got intrigue, it's got some character development, it's got interesting political development and its share of exciting action. I just... well, I feel like my drive along the seaside is giving me a view of a dirty oil rig in the distance. It's not a bad story, I just don't like where the storyline is going. Once again, we have major upheaval within the Romulan empire, characters who just settled into their roles like Donatra and Tal'aura being (spoiler)ed, another established character's death causing trauma and things going rather belly-up for the good guys. If not for the likable Kamemor's fortunate introduction as Romulus' true new hope for the future, I'd have come away from this story rather upset.
The thing is... we've seen a lot of bad things happening this year. Yes, the Borg are gone, but the Federation and the Klingons are in what could kindly be called a shambles. What I need... is something positive. Star Trek, despite all its Borg, its Dominion War and its vengeful time traveling murderers, has for me always been about a positive future. Losing the Peace and A Singular Destiny at least gave us that light at the end of the tunnel. After so much conflict and misery, I'd like a positive twist. For a moment, that seemed to happen when president Bacco strengthened ties with the Cardassians, the Ferengi and the Imperial Romulan State. I was so looking forward to the "old enemies become friends" part. Now one of those hopes lies in ruins. It makes me wonder about the future direction for Trek Lit.
There are quite a few enjoyable moments in Rough Beasts though, don't get me wrong. I do like that we get some glimpse into the Tzenkethi mindset and their society (albeit far less than the Breen in ZSG), and the Typhon Pact's primary plan involving not waging war on the Federation, but rather containing it. I have also yet to come across a scene with Nan Bacco I did not like.
I also came across more than one reference which could be tied to Star Trek Online (Kira's new "job", starbase 39-sierra is mentioned, Sela's return, etc.) which while they are probably only nods (at least I hope so; the storylines are wholely incompatible) they did cause a few smiles. So all in all, not a bad story, but one that did leave me with a bit of a frown at the end.
Rated: Average
Thanks for reading. Please respond if you feel I've missed something or have something to add.
Tirius
As my bookstore somehow skipped Seize the Fire, I'll likely review it along with Paths of Disharmony next month.
In many ways the Typhon Pact miniseries feels like the third and final segment to the defining of the new status quo in Trek Lit for me, with Destiny being the first segment and Losing the Peace and A Singular Destiny as the interlude between them. For me, the release of these novels has coincided with a sort of "evaluation" period for Trek Lit, where I'm debating a possible, at least partial end to my collecting the stories. I've felt for some time now that I'm losing interest in the new novels being released, as I don't care much for the alternate universe volumes and the "mainstream" universe stories have been very hit-or-miss for me lately. I used to write reviews a little more often a few years back, but I figured this was a good a time as any to create one once more. I'm hoping to do a part 2 once I've read the other 2 books in january.
WARNING. PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT WHILE I USUALLY KEEP THINGS VAGUE, THERE MAY BE SPOILERS FROM HERE ON.
OH, and while I'm at it: this post is an opinion. It's not meant to criticise; I value all your hard work!
Zero Sum Game by David Mack
David Mack has, for me at least, been one of the writers to excells at writing... I'm having trouble finding the right word here, but let's say "action-packed" stories. Like going on a fast rollercoaster with the wind flying in your hair. I'm primarily thinking of his A Time to duology and to a lesser extent Wildfire here, both of which I loved immensely. Of his more recent novels, I must admit to having less fond memories, particularly the Destiny trilogy which I must admit I didn't take to as much some people here. Zero Sum Game ended up falling a bit between those two groups for me.
Now before I go on, let me stress that DS9 has been my favorite Trek (Lit) series from day one. I was overjoyed when Ro, who was always my favorite character, was added to the cast and I've enjoyed most of the DS9 Relaunch novels immensely, with the possible exception of the final mirror universe line. The decision to forward the DS9 timeline to catch up with the other series is one I honestly feared, for why change a winning formula? As such, I went into ZSG with high expectations and quite a bit of trepedition.
The obvious parallels with Abyss, which also featured a "spy Bashir" story and is referenced often in ZSG, made this story a fitting follow-up for Bashir's evolution. The one major difference is that here Bashir is teamed with Sarina rather than Ezri, and Sarina... I had trouble forming an opinion of her. There seemed to be little more to Sarina than her work and I had trouble accepting the depth of Bashir's feelings for her, something Ezri (?) notes as well when she remarks Bashir may be more in love with his image of Sarina than with the true Sarina herself. I honestly asked myself what there was to love about her, and couldn't find anything, even her reasoning for joining SI came across as hollow for me. I actually found the Breen more likable than Sarina...
Of course, Sarina's presence automatically caused Bashir to accept this mission. I had less trouble with Bashir's hardened stance and his actions at the end of the story than some readers in the review thread, but I do wonder at the dark turn his life has now taken. At this point I'm actually anticipating that L'Haan's scheme will succeed and that she at long last has truly found his Achilles' heel. (What a chilling scene that final one was, well done Mr. Mack!) The bigger question of why Bashir needs to be pulled into these spy missions is one that L'Haan's presence is the only credible answer for, for me. The Sindorin mission, I'll buy because the target there was someone Bashir was emminently qualified to handle, even without 31's involvement. Here, I did not once see a reason for Bashir to be the one to go, rather than say a trained intelligence operative. Section 31's presence seems to imply that the entire thing was orchestrated for Bashir's dubious benefit, perhaps even including the theft of the slipstream data in the first place.
... I actually wanted to start this review discussing the opportunity for world building. Derailment, oh joy!
Anyway, my real hopes for the entire Typhon Pact miniseries is a chance at exploring the hitherto mostly unknown societies of (most of) its members. The Breen are perhaps the best example of this, with their whole being shrouded in mystery as it is. I thoroughly enjoyed this part of the story, with a faceless enemy nation suddenly becoming a multi-faceted society every bit as varied and socially complex (perhaps even more so) than the Federation itself. The repressing of individuality and the forced anonimity inherent to Breen society were a very nice solution to the question's that's been on everyone's mind since day one: "what's inside the suit?". This is one place in space I'd happily see more stories focus on.That having been said... one of my fears for this miniseries and one of the main reasons for my growing discomfort with Trek Lit was also present in this story. And with that I mean the current focus on major events and tactical actions rather than character growth. However, I feel that part of this review is better discussed with Rough Beasts in which I felt its presence far more, so see below.
I'll end with a few closing remarks for the Aventine portion of the story. This is a classic Trek bit of story telling, and I liked seeing Ezri really developing into a confident leader in her own right. The Aventine crew seems to be coming together as a real team, and I like that very much, especially with the original DS9 cast in such upheaval as it is.
Rated: Above average
Rough Beasts of Empire by David R. George III
Now, if I'd classify David Mack's storytelling as a rollercoaster, David George's usually feels like a long evening drive along the seaside to me. Something you have to sit down for for a while, which shows you all the sites at a steady pace that lets you enjoy each one as they come. I'm primarily thinking of the excellent Serpents Among the Ruins there.
I went into Rough Beasts expecting a story focusing on the Tzenkethi. I was... disappointed. There have been quite a few stories focusing on Romulus already, so I really question the decision to go there again. I've never been a big fan of Spock, although I will admit his part of the story was excecuted quite well. As for Sisko... I noted above that Section 31's involvement saved the reasoning behind Bashir's part in the story for me and I will admit I'm using the DS9 time gap and the Accendant crisis included in it as the excuse here to try and accept what has become of Sisko. The reasoning behind his self-imposed isolation from those around him seems downright silly to me. He's leaving them all to spare them sorrow, yet is causing it for them simply by having left. It seems to me he's grown far to dependent on the Prophets, and I miss the old captain who chose love over prophecy and married his heart's desire, who sat by Kira's bed after her heart injury just because she was his friend. I can understand the reasoning behind the path chosen for him by our creative staff, but I find it makes for very sad and disheartening reading. I had high hopes for Kira to give him a good slap for being an idiot, but I suppose in her new role that's not allowed and she'd not be likely to slap her Emissary. Apparently, even Emissaries are entitled to being silly.
Now, please understand that I don't think Rough Beasts is not a good story. It's got intrigue, it's got some character development, it's got interesting political development and its share of exciting action. I just... well, I feel like my drive along the seaside is giving me a view of a dirty oil rig in the distance. It's not a bad story, I just don't like where the storyline is going. Once again, we have major upheaval within the Romulan empire, characters who just settled into their roles like Donatra and Tal'aura being (spoiler)ed, another established character's death causing trauma and things going rather belly-up for the good guys. If not for the likable Kamemor's fortunate introduction as Romulus' true new hope for the future, I'd have come away from this story rather upset.
The thing is... we've seen a lot of bad things happening this year. Yes, the Borg are gone, but the Federation and the Klingons are in what could kindly be called a shambles. What I need... is something positive. Star Trek, despite all its Borg, its Dominion War and its vengeful time traveling murderers, has for me always been about a positive future. Losing the Peace and A Singular Destiny at least gave us that light at the end of the tunnel. After so much conflict and misery, I'd like a positive twist. For a moment, that seemed to happen when president Bacco strengthened ties with the Cardassians, the Ferengi and the Imperial Romulan State. I was so looking forward to the "old enemies become friends" part. Now one of those hopes lies in ruins. It makes me wonder about the future direction for Trek Lit.
There are quite a few enjoyable moments in Rough Beasts though, don't get me wrong. I do like that we get some glimpse into the Tzenkethi mindset and their society (albeit far less than the Breen in ZSG), and the Typhon Pact's primary plan involving not waging war on the Federation, but rather containing it. I have also yet to come across a scene with Nan Bacco I did not like.
I also came across more than one reference which could be tied to Star Trek Online (Kira's new "job", starbase 39-sierra is mentioned, Sela's return, etc.) which while they are probably only nods (at least I hope so; the storylines are wholely incompatible) they did cause a few smiles. So all in all, not a bad story, but one that did leave me with a bit of a frown at the end.Rated: Average
Thanks for reading. Please respond if you feel I've missed something or have something to add.
Tirius
As my bookstore somehow skipped Seize the Fire, I'll likely review it along with Paths of Disharmony next month.
