Star Trek Destiny

[Cut]

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?

[The Tatterdemalion King]

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

[Cut]

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

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Well, there's always Memory Beta...

[Ineti]

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.

[First of Two]

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.

[Mac417]

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.

[Cut]

Thanks for the advice Mac!

Haven't read a Trek novel in quite a while and looking forward to it

[Mac417]

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.

[Cut]

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.

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?]

[Mac417]

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.

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.

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.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

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...

To state it plainly: Has Trek been Vonged? : P

[Mac417]

To state it plainly: Has Trek been Vonged? : P

In a word, no.

In fact, I can say that the Big Bad of this story ceases to be a threat from here on out at series' end.

[Ineti]

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?

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.

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.

[Cut]

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...