Spoilers VAN: Storming Heaven by David Mack Review Thread
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I finally sat down and read Storming Heaven over the weekend. I've owned the book for several months but tend to procrastinate over endings. I do this with television series and computer games as well. I don't want them to end. I've managed to stay away from this thread until now.
I've been enjoying the series since I first picked up in the middle. Then endeavored to collect the previous novels to get the full effect. And boy did I ever. Not that I haven't already been aware of how much I enjoy the cast of characters, but I hadn't realized how much Zeke meant to me until I read his fate. I almost threw the book across the room I was so angry. But I refrained.
Overall, I was satisfied with the series conclusion. I continue to be impressed with how seamless the Vanguard story retroactively fits within context to the original television series. Why hadn't we ever heard of Vanguard station before? Well, the books explain this pretty well.
Something that I had personally theorized for a few years - but wasn't touched upon by series conclusion - was that the alien described in J.M. Dillard's novelization of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, may have been a weakened Shedai. IMO, this still fits. That great barrier could well have been real enough to have cut it off/protect it from the fate of the other Shedai in the Vanguard novels.
I've been enjoying the series since I first picked up in the middle. Then endeavored to collect the previous novels to get the full effect. And boy did I ever. Not that I haven't already been aware of how much I enjoy the cast of characters, but I hadn't realized how much Zeke meant to me until I read his fate. I almost threw the book across the room I was so angry. But I refrained.
Overall, I was satisfied with the series conclusion. I continue to be impressed with how seamless the Vanguard story retroactively fits within context to the original television series. Why hadn't we ever heard of Vanguard station before? Well, the books explain this pretty well.
Something that I had personally theorized for a few years - but wasn't touched upon by series conclusion - was that the alien described in J.M. Dillard's novelization of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, may have been a weakened Shedai. IMO, this still fits. That great barrier could well have been real enough to have cut it off/protect it from the fate of the other Shedai in the Vanguard novels.
Not reading entire thread as only halfway through but is it ever a corker! I've avoided the Vanguard books because I was trying to catch up on everything else.
i've also avoided because of the nostalgia factor. It's hard not to read the "Big Three" and their contemporaries in the TOS era w/out a little pang. Oddly enough, I consider the Typhon Pact books to be "current" and It's a little sad to feel like the TOS era days are "gone."
i've also avoided because of the nostalgia factor. It's hard not to read the "Big Three" and their contemporaries in the TOS era w/out a little pang. Oddly enough, I consider the Typhon Pact books to be "current" and It's a little sad to feel like the TOS era days are "gone."
Do yourself a favor and read Vanguard. It was, IMHO, the best Trek series that was never filmed. At times it did try a little too hard to tie things into TOS but when it was off doing it's own thing it was amazing. Great characters. Great stories. And some of the best covers by Doug Drexler. as a series I rate it 9/10. Pretty amazing for a run of novels written by more than one author.
^Agreed, Vanguard is a must read for any fan of Trek literature
The cover of Storming Heaven, by Doug Drexler, was mentioned in a review of the 'best' sci-fi & fantasy covers of the year. DD put it up on his Facebook wall:
http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/favorite-science-fiction-and-fantasy-covers-of-2012
http://www.facebook.com/doug.drexler.7
http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/favorite-science-fiction-and-fantasy-covers-of-2012
http://www.facebook.com/doug.drexler.7
I just finished this, and wow that was a great ending to the series. I was very happy with how this ended.
I was disappointed to see Fisher, and Xiong die, but at least they both died heroic deaths.
I got a kick out of Marcus and her team being sent to Regula as a set for Wrath of Khan. Things like that, and all of the stuff on Nimbus III did a lot to make the TOS movie and TV series eras feel more connected
Was the end meant to leave it ambiguous as to whether or not the Shedai were gone? It seemed to me like that was left open for them to possibly pop back up.
I loved the big battle at the end, it was very dramatic and exciting.
Definitely gets an outstanding vote from me.
I was disappointed to see Fisher, and Xiong die, but at least they both died heroic deaths.
I got a kick out of Marcus and her team being sent to Regula as a set for Wrath of Khan. Things like that, and all of the stuff on Nimbus III did a lot to make the TOS movie and TV series eras feel more connected
Was the end meant to leave it ambiguous as to whether or not the Shedai were gone? It seemed to me like that was left open for them to possibly pop back up.
I loved the big battle at the end, it was very dramatic and exciting.
Definitely gets an outstanding vote from me.
Since the thread has come back up, and I was on TBBS sabbatical when the book originally came out, I wanted to ask a question I've always wondered about.
At the end of SH, when the Enterprise rides in to the rescue, I was struck by how much I resented Kirk in that moment when it switched to his perspective. All these other characters I knew and loved had been suffering and dying, and he's being all cocky about how his hotshot crew can execute this perfect rescue, when he's just been lucky enough to show up after the hard part but before the day is totally lost.
I've wondered if that was a commentary on how many TOS episodes had the Enterprise showing up after a planet had been destroyed, or another ship's crew had all been killed. If you were to step outside of the perspective of Kirk and his crew and look at the whole sequence of events objectively, the episode was still a total disaster even with the intervention of our heroes. It certainly gave me a new perspective on a lot of stories that only had happy endings thanks to a sort of narrative myopia that asserted that our TV friends were the only people who mattered.
So I've been curious if that was an intended message, or if I just took something unexpected out of the contrast of the Vanguard crew being routed and the Enterprise hardly even mussing their hair.
At the end of SH, when the Enterprise rides in to the rescue, I was struck by how much I resented Kirk in that moment when it switched to his perspective. All these other characters I knew and loved had been suffering and dying, and he's being all cocky about how his hotshot crew can execute this perfect rescue, when he's just been lucky enough to show up after the hard part but before the day is totally lost.
I've wondered if that was a commentary on how many TOS episodes had the Enterprise showing up after a planet had been destroyed, or another ship's crew had all been killed. If you were to step outside of the perspective of Kirk and his crew and look at the whole sequence of events objectively, the episode was still a total disaster even with the intervention of our heroes. It certainly gave me a new perspective on a lot of stories that only had happy endings thanks to a sort of narrative myopia that asserted that our TV friends were the only people who mattered.
So I've been curious if that was an intended message, or if I just took something unexpected out of the contrast of the Vanguard crew being routed and the Enterprise hardly even mussing their hair.
I just read the entire series in a couple weeks, Probably should have done it slower but it was so good, I love it!
It was actually the Mirror Universe Vanguard segments in other novels, and the
that got me to read the series, I wanted the back story.
I only actually started reading Trek novels recently, and kind of have been going "back in time" so to speak. So it is interesting to read about a character or event in a newer book, and then read about it in an older one.
It was actually the Mirror Universe Vanguard segments in other novels, and the
whole Meta Genome-Andorian Cure
I only actually started reading Trek novels recently, and kind of have been going "back in time" so to speak. So it is interesting to read about a character or event in a newer book, and then read about it in an older one.
Just finished the series.
What a rush.
Possibly my all time favorite Star Trek work. The tie-ins and continuity nods are amazing everywhere. It also paints such a nasty picture of Starfleet that David Marcus' distrust is not only justified but Commander Kruge. The Genesis Device is a weapon created from stolen Shedai technology and after the fact Starfleet was blowing up planets with the last one, there's no reason to believe that their "galactic gansters" accusation is actually wrong. I'm surprised he didn't make an appearance in the Taurus Reach.
The biggest moment for me was not the final coda of the Shedai really but the much more dismissive, "And now Starfleet is murdering witnesses." No Section 31, no secret sinister cabal. Just the people in charge gone completely power mad and needing to be put down.
What a rush.
Possibly my all time favorite Star Trek work. The tie-ins and continuity nods are amazing everywhere. It also paints such a nasty picture of Starfleet that David Marcus' distrust is not only justified but Commander Kruge. The Genesis Device is a weapon created from stolen Shedai technology and after the fact Starfleet was blowing up planets with the last one, there's no reason to believe that their "galactic gansters" accusation is actually wrong. I'm surprised he didn't make an appearance in the Taurus Reach.
The biggest moment for me was not the final coda of the Shedai really but the much more dismissive, "And now Starfleet is murdering witnesses." No Section 31, no secret sinister cabal. Just the people in charge gone completely power mad and needing to be put down.
There's one e-book novel that's the last of the Vanguard series. You'll like the four spin off books from the Vanguard series and Dayton ward's new Novel that features Captain Katassi and her crew . It's a really good book. If your a Vanguard fan you'll like these books.
I picked up the "epilogue" book and poured through it.
