TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoilers!)

[F. King Daniel]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

Generic? I did my best to make Choudhury unlike any security chief we've ever seen before.

I'm afraid she didn't stand out to me, not like your original characters in the DTI novels or on Titan.
Perhaps I just never got out of the "security chief of the week" mindset from the First Contact/Insurrection era TNG novels.

Finished it. Very much enjoyed it.

Spoiler: spoily spoiler

Killing off Choudhury very quickly and randomly while introducing another female security officer who might as well be Choudhury?

Hint, hint: Have a look on the Enterprise-E bridge officers in Countdown.

I guess this is final confirmation that the novelverse is setting up the events of the Countdown comic.

 

[Christopher]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

I guess this is final confirmation that the novelverse is setting up the events of the Countdown comic.

On the contrary: The Persistence of Memory directly contradicts the Countdown/Star Trek Online version of Data's resurrection. Apparently in that version, it was Geordi installing the emotion chip in B-4 that caused Data's memory and personality to reactivate in B-4's body. Also, The Needs of the Many says that took place in late 2385, while TPoM takes place in January '84.

Drawing on a character from a given Trek story doesn't require acknowledging that whole story's continuity as "real" -- any more than Batman comics acknowledged the Batman: The Animated Series continuity as real when they incorporated Harley Quinn and Renee Montoya into their distinct version of the universe. Heck, in Forgotten History I included a Klingon captain from the post-TMP comic strips!

 

[F. King Daniel]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

I guess this is final confirmation that the novelverse is setting up the events of the Countdown comic.

On the contrary: The Persistence of Memory directly contradicts the Countdown/Star Trek Online version of Data's resurrection. Apparently in that version, it was Geordi installing the emotion chip in B-4 that caused Data's memory and personality to reactivate in B-4's body. Also, The Needs of the Many says that took place in late 2385, while TPoM takes place in January '84.

But Star Trek Online and Countdown are not one and the same. Treklit and STO could both include Countdown in their post-Nemesis continuities, while getting there in different ways and then taking different directions afterwards.

Drawing on a character from a given Trek story doesn't require acknowledging that whole story's continuity as "real" -- any more than Batman comics acknowledged the Batman: The Animated Series continuity as real when they incorporated Harley Quinn and Renee Montoya into their distinct version of the universe. Heck, in Forgotten History I included a Klingon captain from the post-TMP comic strips!

True, and IIRC, Beneath the Raptor's Wing mentioned a character from Starfleet: Year One.

You'd of course know better than me what the future of Treklit holds, but I'm predicting based on this and the hints dropped in prior Typhon Pact novels (Picard being offered a job as Ambassador, Spock becoming a legal resident of Romulus when Countdown said etc) that the novelverse is going to tie-in to Countdown.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

Drawing on a character from a given Trek story doesn't require acknowledging that whole story's continuity as "real" -- any more than Batman comics acknowledged the Batman: The Animated Series continuity as real when they incorporated Harley Quinn and Renee Montoya into their distinct version of the universe. Heck, in Forgotten History I included a Klingon captain from the post-TMP comic strips!

True, and IIRC, Beneath the Raptor's Wing mentioned a character from Starfleet: Year One.

You mean Lydia Littlejohn? Yeah, I think SCE also mentioned her.

 

[Christopher]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

But Star Trek Online and Countdown are not one and the same. Treklit and STO could both include Countdown in their post-Nemesis continuities, while getting there in different ways and then taking different directions afterwards.

Data's exact words from Countdown are that "my neural nets were successfully imprinted onto B-4's existing programming." That reference was no doubt the basis for the STO version, which elaborated on it. And there's no way to reconcile that statement with TPoM, in which only Data's memories, not his neural net, were downloaded into B-4, and it was a failed imprint that almost killed B-4.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

But Star Trek Online and Countdown are not one and the same. Treklit and STO could both include Countdown in their post-Nemesis continuities, while getting there in different ways and then taking different directions afterwards.

Data's exact words from Countdown are that "my neural nets were successfully imprinted onto B-4's existing programming." That reference was no doubt the basis for the STO version, which elaborated on it. And there's no way to reconcile that statement with TPoM, in which only Data's memories, not his neural net, were downloaded into B-4, and it was a failed imprint that almost killed B-4.

Ack. I'd forgotten about that. I remembered only that Data preferred the term "return" to "resurrection"

Maybe I'm not so sure about that prediction, after all

 

[Jarvisimo]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

And also, he's in a very different body too - something more akin to the appearance of Soong from Birthright on the book's cover?

 

[zarkon]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

And also, he's in a very different body too - something more akin to the appearance of Soong from Birthright on the book's cover?

That's not too much of a leap if he decides to fix his chameleon circuit.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

Drawing on a character from a given Trek story doesn't require acknowledging that whole story's continuity as "real" -- any more than Batman comics acknowledged the Batman: The Animated Series continuity as real when they incorporated Harley Quinn and Renee Montoya into their distinct version of the universe. Heck, in Forgotten History I included a Klingon captain from the post-TMP comic strips!

True, and IIRC, Beneath the Raptor's Wing mentioned a character from Starfleet: Year One.

You mean Lydia Littlejohn? Yeah, I think SCE also mentioned her.

It did.

 

[Jarvisimo]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

And also, he's in a very different body too - something more akin to the appearance of Soong from Birthright on the book's cover?

That's not too much of a leap if he decides to fix his chameleon circuit.

But it did feel like Mack was consciously avoiding Countdown's Data, and making a new figure. And who knows what will happen by Cold Equation's end?

 

[Christopher]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

She's also in Destiny, according to Memory Beta.

Right. Dave created Šmrhová in Destiny, introducing her as the relief security officer, and now he's brought the character back. Destiny came out half a year before Countdown. So I don't know where this claim is coming from that Šmrhová is a character from Countdown.

 

[Ben]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

I just finished reading it and I loved it! I'm really happy about one thing that happened in it, but I'm also a bit sad about another thing...

Spoiler

I'm glad he's back! Woo!

 

[Ben]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

I just want to pop in and thank everyone who has bought this book so far — you've helped it to debut at #30 on the Nov. 18, 2012, New York Times extended list for mass-market paperback fiction. Your support has helped me become, after more than a decade of writing books, a "New York Times bestselling author." And for that, I thank you.

You deserve it! That was a fantastic read! I can't wait for parts 2 and 3.

I guess I need to track down Immortal Coil now.

 

[Enterpriserules]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

I just want to pop in and thank everyone who has bought this book so far — you've helped it to debut at #30 on the Nov. 18, 2012, New York Times extended list for mass-market paperback fiction. Your support has helped me become, after more than a decade of writing books, a "New York Times bestselling author." And for that, I thank you.

Really loved the book and am hard at work on my review for Trek.FM. You have knocked it out of the park again sir!

 

[Ronald Held]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

I finally finished it. Not certain about it's rating. How dangerous is it with B-4 and Data available to be used by the Breen to make and/or activate the assembled androids? I see Data as not being resurrected by upgraded and reanimated.
Finally the Enterprise-E security chief again has a short tenure in that position.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

And who knows what will happen by Cold Equation's end?

So is there an overarching plot that extends through all three of these books?

 

[David Mack]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

There are some continuing plot elements that weave through the entire trilogy, yes. But I also structured it so that, unlike the Destiny trilogy, each of the three volumes in Cold Equations would be a complete story in its own right.

 

[Enterpriserules]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

My full review is up at Trek.fm

 

[Defcon]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

A little heads up: Chronic Rift has put up an Interview with David Mack about the trilogy: http://chronicrift.com/node/2744

Haven't listened to it yet, but will do so on my commute to work tomorrow.

 

[Ronald Held]

Re: TNG: The Persistence of Memory by David Mack Review Thread (Spoile

Mr. Mack, was there a backup plan by Soong in case his positronic matrix suffered cascade failure?