John Jackson Miller will see his first full-length Star Trek novel on shelves come January 27th, titled Takedown. Like in his Titan e-novella Absent Enemies, the USS Aventine is set to appear. Blurb on forward sensors: PS.: I'm sorry for the late thread - life ...
My order has dispatched. Looking forward to giving this a try. EDIT: It's arrived. I'm going to start reading.
It's always nice to have new writers (new to Trek, I mean) become involved with the line; I hope we see more Miller Trek novels in the future. I found Absent Enemies so-so, but Takedown was a lot of fun. Simply having a new style of writing means a lot sometimes, and new angles on the characters and players that still nonetheless fit with what we know are always welcome. The more variety, within the existing mould of the novel 'verse, the better. I thought Takedown was very enjoyable. Some of it feels a little uncertain in places, perhaps inevitably given that the novel 'verse Trek galaxy is a somewhat altered place from what viewers and fans of the shows are familiar with (navigating all that continuity must be tough), but on the whole I think this one worked. The continuity details were generally good, and the references all felt organic. Even deft, sometimes, like with the single mention of "banjo-playing professors". Spoiler: Takedown. The actual plot was a good one. We assume, of course, that Takedown isn't real, that the objective is different from that being claimed, and I enjoyed the mystery. Knowing that this almost certainly isn't a "military objective" story, that the matter's undoubtedly more subtle and complicated than that, definitely works in the book's favour, especially since we can easily speculate that the eight are on some secret assignment. The revelation is fun, too, in that the assignment indeed isn't intended to provoke a war, but isn't benevolent or carried out at the behest of the Alpha/Beta quadrant powers (which was what I was assuming). It plays with the reader's assumptions as well as the characters'. That leads me to Cytherians. Cytherians! I've wondered if they were ever going to show up again (why, yes, Federation, let's not bother following up on the friendly, approachable super-advanced people who can warp ships thousands of light-years and turn people into super-geniuses ) and this was a great way to bring them back. The descriptions - or hints, really - about Cytherian nature and the various means by which the two people/facets involved relate to each other were intriguing. The conflict between them was also a rather fresh take on the Trek superbeing tropes, both laughably mundane when reckoned against the political stakes of the local powers, and yet undeniably significant and weighted with importance in their own way. I like the idea behind the Romaine Centre, and it is appealing to have the simulations and interrogations revealed as the product of something not only benign but helpful, rather than sinister. It ends the novel on a satisfying, comfortable note, and a very humane one. The facility is pretty logical as an extrapolation of the Federation's not-too-infrequent encounters with mind-altering beings. I do wonder, though, how the station fared during the Dominion occupation of the Betazed system... Bretorius was fun. I can't even call him a villain - he couldn't possibly aspire to being something as important or noteworthy as that. He was just there, and sometimes an irritant to the others - which is the whole point, of course. That's his life. The introductory scene in which he privately bemoans not being invited to join the Shinzon coup was amusing. Is it just me, or did he almost feel like a New Frontier character?
Spoiler: just to be safe Yeah, Bretorius was a good character, you can kind of sympathize for him while simultaneously hating him. The end was pure brilliance, he got what was coming to him, but he still managed to have the last laugh. I also liked Ensign Riordan, the slacker genius serving on Aventine. Unlike most Eternal Ensigns, it's pretty damn obvious why this guy has never been promoted.
I found a copy on a trolley with other books needing to be put out in my local waterstones so picked it up and once I've finished what I am reading now, I'll read this.
My pre-order came through 20 minutes ago and I'm only 2 chapters in and the difference in quality between this and Absent Enemies is very apparent. Characterizations are far better (pretty much spot on) and terminology is bang on. Hope the rest is as good. Although I just noticed Aventine's registry is wrong in chapter 2. Its NCC-82602 not 82062
Every trek book I bought last year at my local Chapters was early. I felt so lucky. Everything was showing up one-two weeks early. And now TNG: Takedown, the first book of 2015, isn't at any store locations on the day of release, and none showed up early. I guess my luck has dried up
I pre-ordered my copy from Chapters and I got an email Friday saying it was in. I just haven't had a chance to pick it up.
Also, later on (in the UK Kindle version anyway) there's a reference to wolf 357. It's pretty good so far
Hmm. Spoiler: 70 pages in, and somehow, at least two people aren't exactly themselves. And speaking of "banjo-playing professors," has any banjo-playing professor been established in ST?
And in Chapter 3, the Titan's encounters with the Breen in Absent Enemies are referred to as "a few months earlier". That can't be possible. The historian's note of Absent Enemies says that its main events take place in November 2385 while Takedown's historian's note says that its main events take place in late November 2385.