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Spoilers TP: Zero Sum Game by David Mack Review Thread

How would you rate Zero Sum Game?

  • Outstanding

    Votes: 42 23.2%

  • Above Average

    Votes: 83 45.9%

  • Average

    Votes: 46 25.4%

  • Below Average

    Votes: 8 4.4%

  • Poor

    Votes: 2 1.1%
  • Total voters
    181
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

Thanks Mack, I've been waiting for this one. I enjoyed it. Although I personally would have liked more of Bacco, although I admit I'm a huge fan of Atricles of the Federation. I can never get enough of how the Federation is run and how the differing species interact with one another. I could do less with the Bashir and Dax characters. Maybe cause I never liked them from the very start. I just hope we see less of them in the upcoming novels.

So far this series looks promising. I just HOPE it culminates into an epic massive war ... maybe something similar to the dominion war? I can only hope.

I have a few questions,
why did the Aventine have to ram the prototype ship back into the hanger with its sheilds?
couldn't they have used a tractor beam? or gently nudged it back with its phashers?. That whole sequence was just unnecessarily overly dramatic.

AND why TWO WEEKS LATER?! couldn't you have written a chapter or at least a paragraph or two about how Leishman fixed the warp coils, and not to mention the aventine escaping the 4 incoming breen cruisers and getting past the cloaked Romulan warbirds? ... sure, you say they had slipstream but to me at least this seems like a major gap in the story.
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

kaysea said:
I have a few questions,
why did the Aventine have to ram the prototype ship back into the hanger with its sheilds?
couldn't they have used a tractor beam? or gently nudged it back with its phashers?. That whole sequence was just unnecessarily overly dramatic.
Click to expand...
It's all about plausible deniability.
Using weapons or other energy emissions in an offensive manner could have been detected at a distance and turned into evidence. The shoving match left nothing conclusive for the enemy to use politically.

AND why TWO WEEKS LATER?! couldn't you have written a chapter or at least a paragraph or two about how Leishman fixed the warp coils, and not to mention the aventine escaping the 4 incoming breen cruisers and getting past the cloaked Romulan warbirds? ... sure, you say they had slipstream but to me at least this seems like a major gap in the story.
Click to expand...
The fact that you just described the entire sequence of events shows why it was not necessary for me to do so. It would have been anticlimactic and added nothing to the story.
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

David Mack said:
It's all about plausible deniability.
Using weapons or other energy emissions in an offensive manner could have been detected at a distance and turned into evidence. The shoving match left nothing conclusive for the enemy to use politically.
Click to expand...

feds are getting paranoid i see. finally someone who knocked the off their high horses... the dominion started the job, but i guess the pact had to finish it. the galaxy isnt as nice as they believed it to be...:lol:

btw: if i dont get my book tomorrow i'll probably go down to the post office and start shooting. Tomorrows headlines: "Crazy Trek fan attacks postal workers with ancient firearm. Pleads not guilty. Claims delay of new David Mack book caused temporary insanity." :guffaw:

Hmm, i could actually get away with that... God bless the swedish justice system :)
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

Ok. I'll buy those answers.

Great job on the novel and creating this Star Trek universe. Please keep this Star Trek Universe alive and I hope you continue to write on it until your death. If you write it I will buy it
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

Mr. Mack, I have a question:

Why is it that we rarely, if ever, in the book read anything from Ezri's POV--and that whenever we do, we read little to nothing of her inner thoughts?
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

^ Because I want her to be a mystery — an enigma wrapped in a riddle and smothered with secret sauce. Metaphorically speaking. Don't go getting any pervy notions. ;)
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

David Mack said:
^ Because I want her to be a mystery — an enigma wrapped in a riddle and smothered with secret sauce. Metaphorically speaking. Don't go getting any pervy notions. ;)
Click to expand...

Ah! Sweet...! :drool:

Okay, Mr. Mack. Here's holding out hope that we'll get an inkling of her arc in the book in the near future. :techman:

In the meantime...I guess it's up to all us rank amateurs to pick up the slack on that....;)

(I tell ya...that makes me feel good inside. Hey--what are the odds her arc is something similar to Odo's upon the poor changeling's discovery of Kira/Shakkar...?)
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

USS Hartington said:
/pervy notions
Click to expand...

shanejayell said:
Hmm, sauce....
Click to expand...

uhm...

David Mack said:
Don't go getting any pervy notions. ;)
Click to expand...

nuff said :lol: although, Mr Mack, you have to admit. it sounded really dirty. :lol:


oh and i didnt get the book today but regardless what i said earlier, i wont shoot anyone. now its hard for me to admit, but i'm afraid of the damn thing. hell, it hast been fired in 50 years. and i'm quite fond of my right hand, thank you... i have no intention of losing it.
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

William Leisner said:
Many. many moons ago, I read a short story set in a society where everyone was forced to wear masks to hide their looks, weights to negate any physical advantages, and brain implants that would prevent the smarter members from out-thinking anyone else. Needless to say, Dave's depiction of the Breen reminded me of that old tale, and I'm wondering if anyone else might recognize it?
Click to expand...

Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut. I read it in high school. I thought of the same story when I read Zero Sum Game.

I liked the Bacco angle, I didn't think we'd see her in this novel. Paths of Disharmony yes, but not here.

It reaffirms my view that the Bacco character was a wise choice as a plot device to show high-government level issues quickly without tying down the story in endless descriptions of governments structure.
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

Breezed through the first 100 pages today, so far so good.
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

Basically...I'm a little set off at how rushed the "clash" between Ezri and Julian was.
It looks as if Ezri over-reacts (to put it mildly) at Julian bringing up what Sarina had once said about her--and then when he claims he has deep feelings for Sarina, Ezri insults his new semi-career as a spy, leading Julian to get ticked off (naturally, I might add)....
It's like the relaunch over again. Ezri--WHAT THE HECK IS YOUR PROBLEM???
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

ah... i gotta stop reading spoilers... good lord its gonna be a pain to go to school on monday... one hour before lady mailman arrives with my book... (she's hot btw :lol:)
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

What's up with this book in Canada? I went to two different Chapters and neither had it in stock, and now I try ordering it off amazon.ca and it say 10-14 days to ship? WTH???
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

Freman said:
What's up with this book in Canada? I went to two different Chapters and neither had it in stock, and now I try ordering it off amazon.ca and it say 10-14 days to ship? WTH???
Click to expand...

I went to the Chapters in Belleville on the 28th and they had Destiny but not Zero Sum Game. I checked online but they don't seem to be stocking the Typhon Pact novels.

I ordered from chapters.ca and got it in four days. They have lowered their free shipping threshold to $25 so just get another book or two while you're at it.

Or you can order anything direct to their store with no shipping charge.

Amazon.ca isn't actually a Canadian business, they ship from the States through Mississauga. Long story short (it's very political) Chapters has the book and are shipping it now and on time. Save yourself the trouble and pre-order Seize the Fire online.
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

Something that occured to me earlier. At some point in the book, there is mention made of the "Khitomer Accord Powers", I think it was someone on one of the Romulan warbirds that got caught by Ezri's cloaked Klingons trick asking if the order not to fire on the "Khitomer Accord Powers" ship had bee rescinded.

Is this supposed to be an indication that in the year or so since Destiny/Singualr Destiny that more states signed up to the Accords (maybe as a result of that summit mentioned at the end of Singualr Destiny) or is it just really a fancy title for the Fed/Klingons that is remeniscant of the Typhon Pact in naming style?
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

I took it as confirmation that that summit was succesful and the Khitomer Accords had been expanded to include Cardassia, the IRS and the Talarians (and maybe the Ferengi Alliance).
 
Re: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game Review thread

According to the Chapters website, 11 of 13 Chapters-owned stores within 25 km of my postal code have the book in stock. (The two local Chapters stores that don't have ZSG are the two nearest to me.)

Amazon.ca did have the book because I got mine from them.
 
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