Comments on: Synopses for March Star Trek Books: “STO: Needs of the Many” & “Unspoken Truth”

By: Natascha

Natascha — Sun, 30 May 2010 08:52:18 +0000

“Star Trek: Unspoken Truth”

I read it yesterday, actually read it in one go. Usually i skip certain pages cause it is same old same old. yet if i would do that now, i would miss vital parts.

I.mo. good storyline, characters very in canon and overal a delight to read. Also the fast saavik had finally a huge part in the book was also a relief.

For the TOS collectors and Saavik fans a definite must buy.

By: Barking Alien

Barking Alien — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:46:35 +0000

Hmm…I was really looking forward to there being a novel set in or around the STO timeline but the description above does not really excite me. I was hoping for something different I suppose.

Many of the plots and stories in the MMO are very cool and following a crew and ship in that setting would be quite interesting. So too would be a book similar to the Articles of the Federation novel, this new one following Jake Sisko as his interviews with key characters illustrate how we got from ST: Nemesis to STO.

A book about a war with Species 90210 does not interest me at all as the text above sounds nearly identical to what things were like when the shapeshifting Founders were everywhere in the Dominion War. Just replaces Undine with Founders in every sentence and its exactly the same story.

The Undine/Species 911 are visually interesting, however they (like many elements of the ST:Voyager series) have been glossed over and given no real detail or depth IMO. They were scary and tough for the same reason Paris Hilton is popular. We are told they are by their publicists.

By: Bobby

Bobby — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:20:58 +0000

31- Good. :-)

By: Robby

Robby — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:00:20 +0000

I never really cared for the all out War stories. Even against the Borg, it always seemed to be a series of battles, not a war (and, yes, I know a series of battles CAN be a war, but I never got that impression from the Borg conflicts). I was also very happy with DS9 before the Dominion War began and really had to warm up to the war as a storyline. In the end, I feel that they handled it well and made it work for DS9. Unfortunately, the Temporal Cold War was really crap from the get-go and never, never got any better, ever. Don’t get me wrong, as a whole, I really liked Enterprise, just not that aspect of the show. What I’m trying to say is this: I think that some of the best episodes of any of the series are not born of war. From “City on the Edge of Forever” (Gods, Harlan, yes–your check’s in the mail) and “Devil in the Dark” to “Darmok” and “Inner Light,” to “Dear Doctor” and “Carbon Creek”, these are Star Trek at its best: barely a shot fired and a new understanding acheived. We don’t need new enemies, we need new ideas.

By: HotStove

HotStove — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 18:15:34 +0000

I never got the vibe that the Typhon Pact novels were going to be a “war” epic, so that’s good to know. Maybe “cold war”, but that’s different – political intrigue, diplomacy and shifting loyalties are very much a part of all incarnations of Trek.

So far, the post-Destiny books have been a riff on Commander Ben Sisko’s observation from “The Maquis” episode of DS9 – “It’s easy to be a saint in paradise”. I like it – how long will Federation principles stand in the face of overwhelming danger and loss? Kind of sounds like an allegory of what our democratic society has and will face in the future…

I am patiently waiting for the Typhon Pact stories to begin in earnest!

By: MorbidGorn

MorbidGorn — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:25:03 +0000

Dayton, thats great to know, esp coming from one of the authors.

Very much looking forward to reading about the Typhon Pact!

By: Dayton Ward

Dayton Ward — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:52:14 +0000

The Typhon Pact books are not a “war epic.” At all.

By: demo

demo — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:57:01 +0000

Can you imagine a new trek series with Saavik as a character? I can!

By: CarlG

CarlG — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:28:02 +0000

What’s that line from Buffy about having to learn the plural form of “Apocalypse”? Oh well, Istill have my hopes up for “Typhon Pact”…

That being said, Unspoken Truth sounds great. Margaret Wander Bonnano is a terrific writer — you should check out her TMP-era novel “Probe”, if you haven’t already.

By: Bobby

Bobby — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:55:32 +0000

27 – That’s not entirely true of the novels anymore. About 10 years ago it was more true. Except for the high profile multi-book borg arc recently, of course. The one-off novels actually tend to be more classic trek. (Such as the Unspoken Truth mentioned in this article.)

I agree about the movies though. It is much easier on TV or in the books to have more thoughtful plotlines; movies always seem to want to be “evil villain that must be stopped” stories to appeal to the mass market. To me, that’s not really Trek, though it can be entertaining. Seriously, was Nero really that much different than the romulan villains in Nemesis (whose names I’ve already forgotten)?

The sort of Trek you’re looking for exists – seek out the Vanguard or Titan serieses. Or, anything by Christopher Bennett, he’s been writing some great “exploration” novels lately.

I would love to see another TV series though. As long as it didn’t suck.