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Can anybody tell me what books are necessarry to read before one can understand the three books Star Trek Destiny?
Amazon.de talked of a 'conclusion of the epic crossover'.
Gods of Night (Destiny Vol I) sounds interesting, but what would I have to read first?
If the writer isn't incompetent, there should be at least a throwaway line referencing the important past events, shouldn't there?
I mean, they manage to do it in every contiguous episode of Trek : P
I honestly don't know if David Mack is incompetent.
I don't like throwaway lines. I want to know the background that there is or has been established :)
Dave Mack's definitely not incompetent. You might want to read up on the recent TNG, Titan, and DS9 novels, but I don't think they're required reading. Destiny involves pretty much everything from ENT to VOY and beyond, so I'd be very surprised if Mack didn't ease the reader into things.
Reading the Titan, DS9, and TNG books is definitely helpful, but not necessarily necessary.
TNG "Resistance" and "Before Dishonor" take place not too long before hand, and may help to explain what-all's going on with the Borg.
The folks at Pocket are working a lot harder to make sure that Trek fiction is coherent and consistent with each other. That has its advantages, but sometimes it does make it a little harder to pick things up out of the blue - or to come back to a story where it's been more than a year since the last book in the series was published.
That said, I'm waiting until I have all 3 books of Destiny before I read them all consecutively.
Having read Gods of Night, I can tell you that Mack does devote a page or three to catching people up on the Trek Universe as of 2381. The story is split between four ships, the Enterprise-E, the Titan, the Aventine (a new ship introduced in Gods of Night), and flashbacks of the Columbia NX-02. There're also cameos from characters from other series as well.
You might want to pick up Greater than the Sum by Christopher L. Bennett though, as it's a direct lead-in to the trilogy.
Thanks for the advice Mac!
Haven't read a Trek novel in quite a while and looking forward to it :)
I just finished reading Lost Souls, the third and final book in the Trilogy.
If any of you love Star Trek, if any of you just love dead-bang good sci-fi, these books are MUST-READS. I won't spoil anything (unless asked and only in PM), but Destiny turns the whole bloody Trek universe on its ear in levels of horror and brutality heretofore unseen in Trek, and still manages to deliver an optimistic and hopeful resolution while forever changing the landscape of the Trek mythos.
I am torn. I state this openly here. On the one hand I would want to read some good Star Trek fiction anytime now. There are harsh and stressful times ahead of me and I once again turn to Star Trek to provide me with a lifeline of 'something else' aside from that. What you said (and what knowledge I have gathered so far) the Destiny books seem to be good reading.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac417
But your final sentence is what makes me shiver: 'forever changing the landscape of the Trek mythos'. I don't know if that is what I really want. Really big changes to a setting I consider a 'home' to return to, when I want to take a break or take a moment to pause. I don't want to lose that. I'd rather keep the universe as it is for the time being then... I read the "A time to..." Series, at least the first 4 books. That series didn't suite me at all. It wasn't well written, the stories weren't good, and the changes made I didn't like.
Will I find the 'Destiny' books to my liking then?
Mac, you clearly stated, that they are 'Star Trek' from their theme.
But is it still Trek in the End or does the series turn the setting into something more 'modern' but not classical Star Trek.
Do give a comparison: I have read the "New Jedi Order", reviewing them for a german rpg-site, and that series turned me away from the Star Wars universe for good. It is simply grown to be a place, where stories don't interest me anymore. That is (for me) a sad thing, and a destiny I wish to avoid with the Star Trek universe. I'd rather stop reading now, than 'embracing' something, that takes the love for the setting away from me...
[Am I making any sense here?]
Yes, you are. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Cut
Okay, when I said that the Trek landscape had been changed in a big way, I was not exaggerating. However, those changes did not transform what the Star Trek universe fundamentally is and should be. Is the status quo as it was? Not entirely. However, I can say that, without spoiling too much, that at the end Starfleet's mission remains the same. If you loved reading Star Trek prose fiction before Destiny, the new face of the Trek-verse is still quite familiar once the smoke clears.
If you need me to provide spoilers for the books for more details, feel free to ask via PM. :)
To state it plainly: Has Trek been Vonged? : PQuote:
Originally Posted by Cut
In a word, no. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by The Tatterdemalion King
In fact, I can say that the Big Bad of this story ceases to be a threat from here on out at series' end.
Depends on how big of changes you're able to live with. From the "A Time to" series, on through the various TNG novels picking up after the series, on through NEMESIS, and the TITAN series of novels following Captain Riker and co., the Enterprise under the command of Picard has undergone significant crew changes. It's still the Enterprise and Picard is still Picard, but there are new faces on board and old faces in new places.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cut
Not exactly the home we had at the end of "All Good Things..." but still familiar. If you're ok with those kinds of changes, plus one big one that really doesn't affect the day-to-day goings on in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, then you'll probably be good with Destiny.
Thank you, guys.
I am glad to hear Trek hasn't been 'vonged' as TK put it so nicely :) That was sort of my main concern.
I have decided to go forward and ordered the first book of the destiny series and start reading Greater Than The Sum before.
Some changes in the political make up and the situations around trhe major powers I can live with, I just hope that they don't go and kill the old players off that have remained...
I might now agree that Star Trek hasn't been 'vonged'.
...Minor Spoilers follow...
I finished Destiny (at least a fast read-through of the trilogy) and leave it behind with mixed feelings. There are some interesting passages and ideas. I think that a lot of ideas have been integrated by David Mack in a very clever way. Element 010, anyone? ;) That was nicely put together. I liked the characters of Hernandez and Inyx, but I'd agree with some criticism I read elsewhere, that the discription of Picard is in the Lost Souls book a bit off.
And I simply can't stand the thought of projectile weapons in Star Trek. I just can't. That's Stargate's domain for me... Another thing I want to talk about is the passage with the friendly fire casualties. That didn't anything important to the storyline. Why was that included in your oppinion?
In Lost Souls Ezri came on a bit (head-)strong for my taste, but the passages with the Federation President were simply greatly written stuff.
All in all, I have spent some enjoyable hours. There was suspense, action, and a bit of a modern Star Trek feeling followed with a nice up-beat ending with a probable return to a more classic exploration approach for Starfleet, which I would like very much.
As stated before I am still torn: On the one hand I want to have new stories set in the Star Trek universe and if they don't come on-screen I'll read them.
But recent Star Trek (novels) are lacking. Data is being missed (at least for my taste) all over the place.
Anyway, I have read only three of the "A Time To..." series books and the first Star Trek - Titan novel as well as Greater Than The Sum, which was indeed a good lead-in.
Thank you, Mac, for making me read this :)
Warning: many spoilers ahead!
It sounds like Dax and her new ship will be quite likely be getting a novel and perhaps even an entire series of its own (like Riker and Titan), which is why there was all the back-story there, including the details on the friendly-fire incident and its aftermath. I want schematics, the little picture I saw of her new ship on the web left me wanting more and with all the modifications that Hernandez did before she left, that ship is the cutting edge of Starfleet.
The projectile weapons did not bother me. Given how the Hirogen hunt, it was nice to see the Federation willing to use the tactics necessary to survive and win. The Hirogen do no negotiate with those they perceive to be weak. I loved the female alien crew member who fairly well cut them to ribbons. The Federations is vast and there are a lot of races in it who are not warm and cuddly and humans are lucky to have them as allies. Yet, ferocious as she was, she was Starfleet and was violent to protect her ship and her crew. What a fun character she would be to play.
My favorite character though was Torvig. He stole every scene he was in. He's Data without being an android, he's a cyborg and a geek and socially inept, but he's also just fun to learn about. Watching Keru learn how to not ask Torvig how he got all of his information was quite enjoyable.
What struck me though was, yes, in a way, this was the trek meets the vong. But this author changed the entire Trek universe in three novels. New Jedi order went on for five years and honestly should have stopped after the first three books. To realize that George Lucas officially sanctioned all of that torture, sadism, the death of decades worth of fiction continuity got painful to read very quickly.
Yes the Borg killed billions, worlds burned. But the Federation won. And ultimately it won retaining its ideals and its hopes. It nearly crossed a lot of lines but individuals held fast to their morals and said no. Not today, not to save ourselves and become worse than that which they fought. Watching the Romulans take on the role of protectors of human worlds, a Romulan Khitomer was a very nice touch.
This series created a rich, role-playing environment, full of potential. I for one am greatly looking forward to the next book, A Singular Destiny to see where they go next.
Peace now.