Tripping the Vanguard Fantastic (Possible Spoilers)

[Dancing Doctor]

I decided to go back and reread the Vanguard books (of which I have all 5) because

A. They're some of the best Trek Lit around

B. It's keeping me occupied as I wait for Indistinguishable from Magic to arrive.

C. They're really good.

D. Now that I've got all 5, I can read and follow the events without having to wait, and

E. Did I mention they're really good?

As an aside, I've been reading them in reverse order, just to see how it would affect the reading experience (Answer: It's been very odd, but no less enjoyable).

Don't ask me to rank them in order of most to least favorite, because I really can't. They're all excellent equally.

However, there is one thing:

Maybe it's just me, but I found Jeanne Vinueza (Commodore Reyes' ex-wife) completely annoying and unsympathetic. I'm still not totally sure why he still had a candle burning for her, as she had pretty much moved on and cut the cord. Her character being pretty much a bitch also somewhat lessened the impact of her death, and the destruction of the New Boulder colony. It didn't seem like it would have been the straw that broke the camel's back for Reyes, especially since he had lost two close friends and colleagues (Gannon and Sheng), in addition to his mother and several subordinates and, with the exception of his mother, everyone died, in one way or another, because of Operation Vanguard. Plus, she kept blowing Reyes and Starfleet off...until it was too late.

It just felt like "Wait...she died...because of Operation Vanguard's mission? Oh, my eyes have suddenly been opened to the dangers and hazards!"

Then again, I'm kind of a cold-hearted person when it comes to relationships and that sort of thing, so maybe I'm not getting it.

Really, apart from that, I can't really find too much else to comment negatively about.

 

[David Mack]

^ Not to put too fine a point on it, but the difference between Jeanne's death and the others that you mentioned, from Reyes's point of view, is that…

Spoiler: Vanguard 3 - Reap the Whirlwind

he didn't actually watch the others get dismembered by Shedai on a live vid feed

I think that would make a difference in an event's impact.

Also, there is simply no accounting sometimes for who a person loves or why. They don't always love the most lovable person, or love the one who loves them back. People are funny that way.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

I had forgotten that point, actually. (All I remember is her talking to Reyes before she died).

And, your point about who and/or why a person loves is true.

This might sound awful, but I still really don't feel anything about her death, or the impact on Reyes (except for interest in how it affected his actions, which led to interest in how that affected the continuing story of Vanguard).

 

[Smitty]

I for one am a Vanguard virgin. I own the books but have yet to start to read them. Yes, it is really hard to skim over a post like this. I finished Destiny not too long ago and have been reading some shorts from "The Sky's The Limit" until I decide to either start Vanguard, continue with Titan or read something else like Federation or a couple of the "old" numbered books. Such a wonderful problem to have!

 

[Dancing Doctor]

You really should read the Vanguard books. They're incredible, and one of the consistently excellent series Trek has.