Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg!!!

[Dancing Doctor]

You know, I've been having a pretty good year, Trek Lit wise. All these great books coming out, most of them dealing with The Next Generation. If I were religious, I'd say that we were blessed, and then I'd go worship at the Altar of Literary Commerce (AKA the bookstore).

However, I'm going to end 2007 reading Before Dishonor. Ironically, that should have been Peter David's status prior to this book being written. I'm going to quote Henry VIII here. The day he met his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, he turned to Cromwell and said "I like her not," in a flat voice. Cromwell, of course, freaks out. The day after the wedding (and the wedding night, a most important time in a royal marriage) Henry walks out, with Cromwell waiting impatiently. Cromwell eagerly asks "How like you [the Queen]?" Henry's response? "I liked her before not well, but now I like her much worse."

That's the way I feel about Before Dishonor. It's somewhat plodding (I'm only on Chapter like 5-6, but it feels so slow). The way the characters are described feels off, and it's the fucking Borg again. I knew that going in, of course, but Jesus Kee-rist. It's just...too much. Homecoming and The Farther Shore had the same problem. There's only so many times you can deal with the Borg, and this is a bit much. And Soco, the premonitory Argelian? Are we being serious? Janeway and the Einstein gets assimilated, the Borg have changed, we're going to get assimilated. Resistance sucks. Sarek School of Diplomacy. Etc...

It got so bad I had to turn to something better (in this case, Terri Osborne's wonderfully well-written 'Q'uandary, from the awesome New Frontier compilation titled No Limits). In fact, I'm considering doing something I've never willing done in regards to a Trek book: I'm considering not finishing reading it.

It actually pains me to say that, but I'm currently so turned off by it that I don't think I can go through it.



This is so unlike Peter David, whose work I've never not enjoyed. I'm really disappointed, because the fact his name on it contributed a good portion of the reason why I picked it up.

So, that's the current status report. I'm really hoping it changes, but... *shrug*

 

[Anubis]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

What went so wrong here? I hear nothing but bad things about this book. I like Peter David as well. Peter, what's wrong!?

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

It's just not his thing, really.

It was like Resistance, in a way. So many different things that *should* have worked...but somehow didn't.

 

[Smiley]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

I enjoyed Before Dishonor thoroughly. It did take a little while to kick into full throttle, but when it did get going, it was a great ride.

I would recommend giving it another chance. If you don't want to do that, then at least read the last few chapters to see how it ends.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

I'll give it another go, but I was just so throughly disappointed by what I've read so far.

 

[Warp Coil]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

I found the novel to be quickly-paced and a "fun" read.. I was eager to see how everything turned out. I thought it was a good page-turner. But when it's all said and done, and I have time to go back and really think about what I'd read, I was disappointed. I think a lot of people were, too.

Not sure what's happening with TNG right now... while all 3 of the new TNG "relaunch" novels were entertaining to read and published by great authors, I wasn't thoroughly impressed with any of them, and was disappointed that nothing more significant and profound happened.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

I'm at about pg. 148-149, and my initial impression has not changed. It basically feels like Peter David had nothing better to do but lift the storyline for Resistance and change it a little. Because the basic plot is the same: Picard and crew (with very little dissenting!) disobey orders from Command and go deal with the Borg. There will be some creepy revelation scenes with the Borg later on, and there will be all sorts of chaos, but the Borg will eventually be stopped...with a cliffhanger ending.



I am correct, aren't I?

A few more things:

What's up with Leybenzon and Kadohata? Seriously. She's supposed to be married, and he's...well, a weird former enlisted security officer who doesn't seem to make time to form a relationship-or have the inclination. And yet the two of them are flirting? Cripes.

T'Lana is even more annoying than I thought possible. She's still going to protest, and even argue with SPOCK of all people?! At least this time Leybenzon allies with her, kinda. But it still sucks. Seriously.

Seven *seems* like she's still acting like herself, but...whatever.

Like I said upthread, there's too much Borg. Why can't they just be good little former adversaries and freaking die?! They've been overused, and when it happens in the Lit world, it's not good.

I'm going to continue, for now, but I'm still pretty disappointed.

 

[Julio Angel Ortiz]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

Warp Coil said:
I found the novel to be quickly-paced and a "fun" read.. I was eager to see how everything turned out. I thought it was a good page-turner. But when it's all said and done, and I have time to go back and really think about what I'd read, I was disappointed. I think a lot of people were, too.

Not sure what's happening with TNG right now... while all 3 of the new TNG "relaunch" novels were entertaining to read and published by great authors, I wasn't thoroughly impressed with any of them, and was disappointed that nothing more significant and profound happened.

Well, based on information I found for upcoming 2008 books, Greater than the Sum looks to continue the Borg fun according to the early blurb:

"Believing that the destruction of the Borg controlled ship Einstein will wipe out the Borg forever, Starfleet Command sends out the Enterprise — only to discover how very wrong that decision is….

One lone ship, the former science vessel Einstein, has been taken over by the Borg. Cut off from the rest of the Collective, if the ship can be found and destroyed, the Federation could rest easy. The discovery of a system-wide slipstream that could enable the Einstein to reach the Collective, or worse, give the Borg the ability of instantaneous transportation, convinces Starfleet to send the Enterprise to stop the Einstein once and for all. Although it’s only one ship, the Borg have evolved and are more determined than ever to make Earth, and the Federation, theirs."

I'm intrigued but I wonder why Margaret Clark felt the need to dedicate most of the early TNG Relaunch books to the Borg.

And I've taken the approach with the TNG Relaunch that they're great, popcorn-munching fun action books. I've enjoyed them quite a bit as a result.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

 

[Julio Angel Ortiz]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

Vixen said:

Well, Christopher L. Bennett isn't a chump, you know. He writes some rockin' books... wait and see how GttS turns out.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

^You're right.

It's just...I'm all Borged out. With the lackluster entries of Resistance and Before Dishonor I'm a lot more wary of any new Borg stories.

First Contact and Voyager killed the Borg for me. Christie Golden's Homecoming and The Farther Shore tamped down the dirt. And this just seems to be beating the corpse further into the ground.

 

[Julio Angel Ortiz]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

Vixen said:
^You're right.

It's just...I'm all Borged out. With the lackluster entries of Resistance and Before Dishonor I'm a lot more wary of any new Borg stories.

First Contact and Voyager killed the Borg for me. Christie Golden's Homecoming and The Farther Shore tamped down the dirt. And this just seems to be beating the corpse further into the ground.

Out of curiosity, how did First Contact kill the Borg for you? I can understand with Voyager... they should have stopped with "Scorpion." And don't get me started on the Voyager relaunch...

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

Julio Angel Ortiz said:

Vixen said:
^You're right.

It's just...I'm all Borged out. With the lackluster entries of Resistance and Before Dishonor I'm a lot more wary of any new Borg stories.

First Contact and Voyager killed the Borg for me. Christie Golden's Homecoming and The Farther Shore tamped down the dirt. And this just seems to be beating the corpse further into the ground.

Out of curiosity, how did First Contact kill the Borg for you? I can understand with Voyager... they should have stopped with "Scorpion." And don't get me started on the Voyager relaunch...

The Borg Queen...the time travel that was never used again...it just seemed a little...much. It was First Contact combined with Voyager. I mean Q Who I was freaked out, because I was really little when I saw it. Best of Both Worlds was also gripping, because of Picard getting assimilated. But, even during BoBW, they just began to turn me off. And then they kept getting introduced. "Hey, let's use the Borg again, and have the heroes vanquish them...for now!"

First Contact was, IMO, an okay movie. I preferred Nemesis to First Contact, actually, the first time around. The Borg have lost any intimidation or punch that they originally had. And the TNG Relaunch's attempts to try and pull a Q Who aren't connecting or doing anything for me.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

Well, you can never put too much stock in the advance catalog. I'll put it this way: that blurb kind of describes (and inaccurately embellishes) the setup for GttS... but it doesn't really describe what GttS is about. It's not a "Borg story" in the same way as its predecessors. Both Margaret and I wanted it to be a change of pace.

Also, I'm pretty sure that's just a stand-in cover.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

Christopher said:
Well, you can never put too much stock in the advance catalog. I'll put it this way: that blurb kind of describes (and inaccurately embellishes) the setup for GttS... but it doesn't really describe what GttS is about. It's not a "Borg story" in the same way as its predecessors. Both Margaret and I wanted it to be a change of pace.

I could hug you right now.

 

[Julio Angel Ortiz]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

Christopher said:
Well, you can never put too much stock in the advance catalog. I'll put it this way: that blurb kind of describes (and inaccurately embellishes) the setup for GttS... but it doesn't really describe what GttS is about. It's not a "Borg story" in the same way as its predecessors. Both Margaret and I wanted it to be a change of pace.

Also, I'm pretty sure that's just a stand-in cover.

Yeah, that's why I qualified it as an early blurb. And that cover screamed of placeholder.

Glad to hear it's a change of pace!

 

[Scott Pearson]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

Julio Angel Ortiz said:
Well, Christopher L. Bennett isn't a chump, you know. He writes some rockin' books...

Christopher: Julio just wrote your epitaph!

 

[trampledamage]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

It's certainly a good blurb quote!

 

[JD]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

Christopher said:
Well, you can never put too much stock in the advance catalog. I'll put it this way: that blurb kind of describes (and inaccurately embellishes) the setup for GttS... but it doesn't really describe what GttS is about. It's not a "Borg story" in the same way as its predecessors. Both Margaret and I wanted it to be a change of pace.

Also, I'm pretty sure that's just a stand-in cover.

So this stuff does happen, it's just not the focus of the book?

 

[captcalhoun]

Re: Vixen tries to do Before Dishonor or: Motherf**king Borg

i liked Resistance and BD