Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book?

[Baerbel Haddrell]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

Most of the Star Trek books nowadays form its own continuity. I don`t think I would be happy if a major main character I care about dies for good and I will be told you can only read new adventures of that person in flashbacks, alternate universe stories or something with holodecks and time travel.

As much as I enjoy the overall trend of a tight Star Trek book universe, it has its disadvantages if something is introduced I am very unhappy with. (Of course, especially death stories are usually very controversial and you can`t please everybody. I am just saying how I personally feel about this).

 

[Mike Farley]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

I think that when you're dealing with someone else's "toys" you have an obligation to put them back in the box in more or less the same condition you found them.

In the world of licensed poperties it's more about the illusion of change. Stuff happens, it affects the characters, but at the end of the day they're left more or less the same as when you started.

Chewie's death might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but now no-one can ever write a kick-ass story about Chewbacca saving Han's grandchildren.

You don't have to kill characters to create drama. The oncreen Trek adventures killed off who (permanently)? No-one from TOS in TOS. Then in the TNG era: Yar, Kirk, Data, Jadzia, Kes, Trip? Any other MAJORS?

 

[JD]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

Except Kes didn't die. Remember, she came back in "Fury" and then went back home in the end.

 

[OmahaStar]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

Yar - Brought back via alternate timeline
Kirk - Brought back via "shatnerverse" books by the Reeves-Stevens
Data - Isn't "really" gone, thanks to B-4, Data's duplicate
Jadzia - Brought back via Dax host in Ezri
Kes - Hasn't died yet, as far as we know, just another super powerful alien.
Trip - "Death" explained as a trick in the books

So really, none of them have died forever.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

Spock also died but we all know how that went...

 

[AN_D_K]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

I think you could happily wipe out all of the Voyager cast without worry.

 

[Smiley]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

OmahaStar said:
Yar - Brought back via alternate timeline
Kirk - Brought back via "shatnerverse" books by the Reeves-Stevens
Data - Isn't "really" gone, thanks to B-4, Data's duplicate
Jadzia - Brought back via Dax host in Ezri
Kes - Hasn't died yet, as far as we know, just another super powerful alien.
Trip - "Death" explained as a trick in the books

So really, none of them have died forever.

Yar - Her alternate died in the past
Kirk - Not everyone accepts Shatner's version
Data - Will (most likely) not be brought back via B-4
Jadzia - Not the same person as Ezri
Kes and Trip - NOT.DEAD. in the first place

Besides Spock and resurrections in the same episode, the regulars who were actually killed off onscreen have stayed dead.

Personally, I don't want to see any major character killed off just for a shock or on a whim. If it happens, it should be a natural outgrowth of the story.

 

[OmahaStar]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

Smiley said:
Personally, I don't want to see any major character killed off just for a shock or on a whim. If it happens, it should be a natural outgrowth of the story.

Well ... How do we define Naomi and Harry Kim? They both died (and were, or became, regulars) and were replaced by alternate universe doubles.

 

[David R. George III]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

As has been mentioned, I did kill off a main character in Provenance of Shadows. I have also killed off other significant characters in other Trek works. Of course, I never did it simply for the sake of doing it, but for what I considered valid and meaningful story-related reasons--which, in writing, is just about the only legitimate reason ever to do anything.

 

[Smiley]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

For all practical purposes, they did not die. It's not any different in principle from events like McCoy's death and return in "Shore Leave." New Harry and Naomi come from the same universe and are exact duplicates of the others except for those few hours.

 

[OmahaStar]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

Smiley said:
For all practical purposes, they did not die. It's not any different in principle from events like McCoy's death and return in "Shore Leave." New Harry and Naomi come from the same universe and are exact duplicates of the others except for those few hours.

I know. I'm just pointing out the silliness of the whole life/death/life thing in Trek.

 

[Sci]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

I'm fairly certain that everyone from ENT, with the possible exception of T'Pol, has died by the time of TNG.

 

[JD]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

Can Vulcan's live that long? I know can they live to be well over 100 years old, but do we have any kind of evidence that they could make it to 200+?

 

[JWolf]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

TerriO said:
Just putting this out there in case anyone's ever looking for someone to do it:

I've already got a plot to kill off Worf. Including a lengthy, drawn-out torturous death scene darker than anything ever seen in Trek. We're talking something that makes BSG look like a bunch of pansies.

But BSG IS a bunch of pansies.

 

[Smiley]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

JD said:
Can Vulcan's live that long? I know can they live to be well over 100 years old, but do we have any kind of evidence that they could make it to 200+?

In "Sarek," they mention that Bendii Syndrome affects some Vulcans over 200 years old.

My estimate is that a long Vulcan life is about 300 years, just like a long human life is about 100 years.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

Sci said:
I'm fairly certain that everyone from ENT, with the possible exception of T'Pol, has died by the time of TNG.

Unless they pulled a Scotty.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

JD said:
Can Vulcan's live that long? I know can they live to be well over 100 years old, but do we have any kind of evidence that they could make it to 200+?

Sarek was a vigorous 101 in "Journey to Babel" and then showed up in TNG about a century later.


The Making of Star Trek established that the average Vulcan lifespan is around 250 years, although the only canonical reference is "over 200" ("Sarek"). An average of 250 means that 300 might not be out of the question.

T'Pol was born in 2088. That means that she would've been 178 when TOS began and 276 when TNG began, and 292 as of the most "current" novels (2380). I'd say that all of those are within the realm of possibility for a Vulcan of above-average longevity, although 292 might be close to a record. For comparison, we saw her at 183 in the alternate future of "E^2".

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

^ T'Pol's future self in E2 seemed rather, well, ancient, didn't she? She looked a lot worse than Sarek did when he was 202 (in TNG).

Of course this could be because of Expanse/Trellium poisoning, but still. They didn't have to make her look *that* shriveled.

 

[Sci]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

Babaganoosh said:
^ T'Pol's future self in E2 seemed rather, well, ancient, didn't she? She looked a lot worse than Sarek did when he was 202 (in TNG).

Of course this could be because of Expanse/Trellium poisoning, but still. They didn't have to make her look *that* shriveled.

Another possibility is that female Vulcans age more visibly than male Vulcans.

 

[William Leisner]

Re: Would you ever 'really' kill a major character in a book

E2 T'Pol also didn't spend her last century in the best of environments.