TITAN too diverse?
- Thread starter BrentMc
- Start date
The da Vinci crew has a number of "exotic" crewmembers, but it's still an overwhelmingly human/humanoid crew. The Luna class ships are unusual in that they aren't dominated by humans and have a lot more nonhumanoids than most Starfleet vessels we've seen. Three or four exotic types in a ship that's comfortable for humans and similar species is a different climate altogether from a ship with dozens of wildly diverse species and a minority of humans (less than 15% of the crew, according to the series bible).
And the crew isn't "exceptionally hung up on diversity." They just happen to be exceptionally diverse, and are dealing on a day-to-day basis with the issues and complications that inevitably arise from thta. "Hung up" would imply that they had psychological or ideological problems with it in disproportion to its real impact. I think the opposite is the case -- they're all willing in principle to take it in stride, but in practice it takes a certain amount of attention and effort.
And the crew isn't "exceptionally hung up on diversity." They just happen to be exceptionally diverse, and are dealing on a day-to-day basis with the issues and complications that inevitably arise from thta. "Hung up" would imply that they had psychological or ideological problems with it in disproportion to its real impact. I think the opposite is the case -- they're all willing in principle to take it in stride, but in practice it takes a certain amount of attention and effort.
I find it too diverse for my taste. I mean, kudos to the authors for being so creative and it probably is more realistic to what a Starfleet ship's crew would look like. However, I have a hard time keeping things straight. First of all, when I first sat there reading I would take forever trying to figure out what the person being described looked like. Or I kept spending time jumping on the internet trying to remember what the alien of Episode 8 of the third season of TNG looked like (just a made up example...). And the books are written so far apart that by the time I read the next installment I forget what species the alien I am reading about is a member of!!
Again, I am not trying to dog the authors... I just can't keep everything straight!
Again, I am not trying to dog the authors... I just can't keep everything straight!
I really do think the Titan novels (and the Gorkon ones, for that matter), would be well served by a Dramatis Personae up front.
Hmm. To those complaining about getting lost in the cast: Star Wars novels usually have a list of dramatis personae at the front of their books, listing name, occupation, gender and species. Would you think that something like that might be useful? It's short enough not to scare anybody away like a minipedia of characters accompanying each book would, but can make for a quick reference sheet. What they look like, however... I don't know how that would be covered, since a lot of these species have never actually been depicted.
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
EDIT: Gah! Quit preceeding me, you!
Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
EDIT: Gah! Quit preceeding me, you!
I find those useful in any book I read.
For a lot of the recent Star Wars books, I haven't found the Dramatis Personae very useful, since it's basically always the Big Three and their kids these days, but they were massively useful in keeping the X-Wing series, with its dozen-plus entirely new main characters straight, providing names, rank, position, species, and homeworld.
Oh I love the diverseness (if that's an actual word) of the ship. One thing I always thought about TNG was there were more non-humans around but we didn't see them, perhaps because they didn't want to do make-up for too many non-speaking extras. We did see a few more in DS9, VOY and ENT toyed a bit with CGI creatures which was different for Trek. With over 150 Federation members these ships and starbases have to have larger populations of non humans. I think this is a great way to show how the different species of the UFP work together w/o always getting along. Our own world should be so lucky to be able to get along that well.
I love it when the authors of the Titan books give us something like how some members are uncomfortable when the carnivores eat. It's also interesting to imagine the different species on the ship, how they look, act, how their quarters look since a few have water in them, I think one member of the crew has a web-like interior. That would be something to see.
I love it when the authors of the Titan books give us something like how some members are uncomfortable when the carnivores eat. It's also interesting to imagine the different species on the ship, how they look, act, how their quarters look since a few have water in them, I think one member of the crew has a web-like interior. That would be something to see.
they're also helpful in keeping straight all those ARCs, RCs and troopers in the Republic Commando series...
^ Just be mindful of spoilers in the Vanguard minipedia. When I wrote it, I had intended it to be used as an in-house reference for the series' editor and writers. When it was adapted into supplemental content for RtW, it was tweaked in a hurry and some details that spoil the ending of RtW were left in by mistake.
^ What really needs to happen here is for you to just off half the Titan crew in the Destiny trilogy. It'll be easier to keep track of who's left after that.
Take care of that, would ya, boss?
Take care of that, would ya, boss?
Ah, that Dayton, always trying to help everybody!
Lemme see, here.....Dayton Ward said:
Take care of that, would ya, boss?
Bull's-eye stencil? Check.
Paint? Check.
So many freaky aliens, so little paint....
(cue diabolical laughter)
try the Starbase 11 and Virtual Dreadnought mods for EF1 set in the 23rd century then...
Caitians, Saurians, Tellarites, Andorians, Vulcans, Orions, oh my!
even a coupla Deltans...
Caitians, Saurians, Tellarites, Andorians, Vulcans, Orions, oh my!
even a coupla Deltans...
Just to put in my two cents...I read the first Titan book and am currently reading Christopher's Ex Machina.
It seems to me that there are two main approaches, if you will, to modern science fiction. The first approach, which I think of as the Babylon 5 Approach (though perhaps I should think of it as the Battlestar Galactica approach, as that show - in my mind - has replaced B5 as the best science fiction show ever) is using alien beings to reflect and explore humanity. The other approach, which I term the Farscape Approach (first seen in the mainstream in Star Wars) is developing species that are truly alien, often bizarre and unrecognizable, with story emphasis often on worldbuilding as much as plot.
Titan, it appeared to me, takes an approach more familiar to Star Wars and applies it to the world of Star Trek, which resulted in the long passages of description seen in the first (and I am assuming the second through fourth) Titan novels.
It's honestly not my favorite type of Star Trek - I'm one of those people who do believe Star Trek tends to be at its best when casting light upon the human condition - but as Christopher pointed out...the "Farscape Approach" is no less valid, and I accept it - and even do gain some enjoyment out of it - because it does give us new perspectives of a universe that is now 41 years old.
Also...without beating a dead horse...I lurk on this board far more than I post, but in my few years here - which date before Chrisopher was a published Trek writer - I've never known him to be anything but considerate, polite, and even-tempered. Sorry to hear someone else mistaked him for anything but.
It seems to me that there are two main approaches, if you will, to modern science fiction. The first approach, which I think of as the Babylon 5 Approach (though perhaps I should think of it as the Battlestar Galactica approach, as that show - in my mind - has replaced B5 as the best science fiction show ever) is using alien beings to reflect and explore humanity. The other approach, which I term the Farscape Approach (first seen in the mainstream in Star Wars) is developing species that are truly alien, often bizarre and unrecognizable, with story emphasis often on worldbuilding as much as plot.
Titan, it appeared to me, takes an approach more familiar to Star Wars and applies it to the world of Star Trek, which resulted in the long passages of description seen in the first (and I am assuming the second through fourth) Titan novels.
It's honestly not my favorite type of Star Trek - I'm one of those people who do believe Star Trek tends to be at its best when casting light upon the human condition - but as Christopher pointed out...the "Farscape Approach" is no less valid, and I accept it - and even do gain some enjoyment out of it - because it does give us new perspectives of a universe that is now 41 years old.
Also...without beating a dead horse...I lurk on this board far more than I post, but in my few years here - which date before Chrisopher was a published Trek writer - I've never known him to be anything but considerate, polite, and even-tempered. Sorry to hear someone else mistaked him for anything but.
I will add...there is a third approach - the "Close Encounters/X-Files Approach" which tries to treat alien encounters as they might happen in "real life" (or at least in a believeable "modern world") but that kind of storytelling really doesn't apply to what is being discussed here.
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