Spoilers TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread

[John Clark]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

There was one editing hiccup for me with this novel I'm afraid.

In the ebook version I got, there was a reference to the Ba'ku hunting the So'na with drones?

Other than that, it was a quick fun read.

 

[PKS8304]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

Finished reading this, this morning. I thought it was a fun story that followed in the tradition of picking up a story from another story and going further with the idea (Naked Now, Trials and Tribble-ations) I look forward to this author's next contribution to the Treklit Universe

 

[Christopher]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

There was one editing hiccup for me with this novel I'm afraid.

In the ebook version I got, there was a reference to the Ba'ku hunting the So'na with drones?

Other than that, it was a quick fun read.

Oh, as opposed to the Son'a hunting the Ba'ku. Took me a moment to get that.

 

[JJMiller]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

Crudbunnies, I could have sworn I caught that! I'll let the editors know -- nice thing about e-books is they can be fixed. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Kertrats47]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

*mental note to gradually work "crudbunnies" into my everyday vocabulary*

 

[Nob Akimoto]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

Enjoyed the book quite a lot, good tight storytelling in a small package. I liked the format, and between this one and Stuff of Dreams kinda feel like these feel more like Trek episodes than the full length novels do. I'd love to have these as a monthly thing.

Spoiler: Nitpick!

One minor thing: There's a reference to Vale acknowledging fighting against Shinzon. She was off on Earth at the time, at least according to A Time For War, A Time for Peace...

 

[JJMiller]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

Spoiler: Possible solution

I misread the timing in her bio, then. Possible solution: As Shinzon was headed for Earth, the "battle preparations" mentioned could be on the Earth end -- getting ready in case he wasn't stopped. The reference didn't say aboard ship, so there might be wiggle room there.

And the Son'a and Ba'ku transposition is getting fixed, they tell me. Fast service!

 

[John Clark]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

Like you say, one good thing about ebooks (amongst others) is that they are quick and easy to amend

 

[Gul Re'jal]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

Son'a - Baku not fixed yet (I bought my copy today), but it's good such things (fixing) can be done in ebooks

I enjoyed the story very much. I read it in one sitting, quickly forgetting I had to inconveniently read it from my computer screen instead of comfy eReader. I'm currently re-watching VOY, so I had no problems with hearing Tuvok's words (and thoughts) in his voice

 

[JJMiller]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

I know when you're self-publishing, you can push out a fix onto Kindle in about five seconds, but I'm guessing it takes longer for the big publishers, since they have several versions to update.

Whenever it happens, it should theoretically also update-in-place the copies already downloaded on most devices -- that happened with my Overdraft serial I did last year, as we added new chapters to the file every two weeks.

 

[Annorax]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

There were also a few very minor continuity inconsistencies, like Lavena being referred to as an ensign (promoted to lieutenant in Over a Torrent Sea) and Fo Hachesa still being present (described as having transferred off in Over a Torrent Sea).

Overall a good book though, I look forward to seeing more Trek works from this author.

 

[Nob Akimoto]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

I misread the timing in her bio, then. Possible solution: As Shinzon was headed for Earth, the "battle preparations" mentioned could be on the Earth end -- getting ready in case he wasn't stopped. The reference didn't say aboard ship, so there might be wiggle room there.

I think she mentions she was off on a beach in a bikini at the time the battle of the Basson Rift was taking place....that said, I doubt anyone would complain if she were doing battle prep in that getup.

But again, that's a minor nitpick (along with the Ba'ku/S'ona thing). I really liked the pacing of this "episode" and am looking forward to more. I really hope Pocket dives back into ebooks with a vengeance.

 

[JD]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

We are getting two more e-books, both TOS, this year. We had at least one each the last couple years, so it looks like they are back to them on fairly regular basis.

 

[JJMiller]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

I see now my working crew list didn't reflect all the Over a Torrent Sea developments. There could be a reason for Hachesa to maybe be back, but we don't want to demote anyone! I'll make the fix. Thanks for the info.

 

[nickyboy]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

Really enjoyed it. Looking forward to John Jackson Miller's Aventine book.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

I see now my working crew list didn't reflect all the Over a Torrent Sea developments. There could be a reason for Hachesa to maybe be back, but we don't want to demote anyone! I'll make the fix. Thanks for the info.

It's been a few years since he left; plenty of time for him to come back, be reassigned to Titan.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

I really liked it. As others have commented, it felt like a neat star trek episode. We got an interesting mystery that the crew has to figure out, a tie in with a previous TNG ep, some nice action sequences, and a moral lesson on the nature of peace and coexistence.

I don't know if it was intentional or not but this passage at the end gave me a very TOS vibe:

Troi chuckled. “So, Tuvok, are you still as impressed as you were with the Ekorr’s version of peaceful cohabitation?” “What I saw was the illusion of peace,” Tuvok said. “Keeping out of sight of your rivals is no answer to the challenge of coexistence. It requires work.”

It reminded me of the ending of many TOS episodes where Spock, Kirk and McCoy would discuss the moral of the story. Like in TOS, we see Tuvok, also a Vulcan, give the moral lesson of the story, very star trek.

 

[TheUsualSuspect]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

Voted above average on this one. As others have commented, it felt much like a television episode with a fast-paced, well-plotted story. I especially enjoyed the flashback to TNG -- was nice to see the old crew together again!

At first I thought the two "guest" alien species were a bit cartoonish, but as the story moved on, they proved to have a bit more depth than first met the eye. In a way, they both remind me of the Pakleds a little -- first cartoonish and hard to take seriously, but they turn out to be more than that.

All in all, I really enjoyed this one, and look forward to the author's full-length novel next year.

 

[JJMiller]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

It reminded me of the ending of many TOS episodes where Spock, Kirk and McCoy would discuss the moral of the story. Like in TOS, we see Tuvok, also a Vulcan, give the moral lesson of the story, very star trek.

Thanks -- that was very much the intent. And yes, species like the Pakleds were a lot of the inspiration. I think one of the strengths of the various series is that the characters got to interact with threats all along the spectrum, from earth-threatening to merely annoying. I find I love as many of the lighter episodes as the big epic arc ones.

The 2015 novel will be a much different animal in scope, but this was a fun way to start.

 

[Jedi Ben]

Re: TTN: Absent Enemies by John Jackson Miller Review Thread (Spoilers

JJM!

Nice to see you're now active over here, really looking forward to the Aventine book given how I've liked your SW work.

(To everyone else: Yes, you should check it out.)