Wednesday, October 30, 2019

The Antares Maelstrom

Star Trek: The Original Series
The Antares Maelstrom by Greg Cox
Release date: August 13th 2019
Read August 14th 2019

Previous book (The Original Series): The Captain's Oath
Next book (The Original Series): The Motion Picture: 40th Anniversary Edition
Purchase:
Trade Paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

 Publisher's description:
The final frontier erupts into chaos as vast quantities of a rare energy source are discovered beneath the surface of Baldur-3, a remote planet beyond the outer fringes of Federation space. Now an old-fashioned "gold rush" is underway as a flood of would-be prospectors, from countless worlds and species, races toward the planet to stake their claim.

 The galactic stampede threatens the stability of neighboring planets and space stations, as widespread strife and sabotage and all-around pandemonium result in a desperate need for Starfleet assistance. Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise are dispatched to deal with the escalating crisis... which lies on the other side of a famously perilous region of space known as the Antares Maelstrom.

My thoughts:

Click here to watch my video review of The Original Series: The Antares Maelstrom, or click play on the embedded video below!



Final thoughts:

A fun TOS story that makes numerous callbacks to original Star Trek episodes. Every member of the main cast is given an interesting part to play, and the story feels like a good old-fashioned TOS adventure. While some may bristle at the large number of plotlines the story juggles, I found myself enjoying each one. A great entry in the long-running TOS book line!

 More about The Antares Maelstrom:



Also by Greg Cox:

Next time on Trek Lit Reviews:

My next review is for the first book in the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy by David Mack: Gods of Night.


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Monday, October 28, 2019

Literary Treks 286: The Wrong Thing for the Right Reason

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Collateral Damage
Exclusive interview with author David Mack!

Purchase Collateral Damage:
Trade Paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Eight years ago, Captain Jean-Luc Picard was party to events that led to the ouster and eventual assassination of disgraced Federation President Min Zife. Now, he must return to Earth to face the music in a hearing called to determine his culpability in those events. Meanwhile, the Enterprise, under the command of Worf, must deal with a determined enemy in possession of a weapon capable of inflicting unimaginable damage on the Federation.

In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson are once again joined by author David Mack to discuss his most recent novel, Star Trek: The Next Generation: Collateral Damage. We talk about wrapping up the loose ends of Tezwa, the inspiration for the Nausicaans' plight, the unique literary devices used in this novel, a Starfleet Intelligence spin-off, Worf's development as a character, Lieutenant Aneta Šmrhová, Picard's hearing and eventual fate, and wrap up with where David can be found online and what he is working on now.

At the top of the show, we respond to listener feedback from The Babel Conference with your thoughts on Literary Treks 284: Smoothing Over the Rough Edges of Canon.


Literary Treks 286: The Wrong Thing for the Right Reason
TNG: Collateral Damage - Exclusive interview with author David Mack!





Previous episode: Literary Treks 285: Those Bloody Mind Control Revolts!
Next episode: Literary Treks 287: Fear Usually Leads to Chaos
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Friday, October 25, 2019

Greater Than the Sum

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Greater Than the Sum by Christopher L. Bennett
Published July 2008
Read September 29th 2019

Previous book (The Next Generation): Before Dishonor
Next book (Post-Nemesis Continuity): Destiny, Book I: Gods of Night
Purchase:
Mass-market paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Spoilers ahead for Greater Than the Sum!

 From the back cover:
The Starship Rhea has discovered a cluster of carbon planets that seems to be the source of the quantum energies rippling through a section of space. A landing party finds unusual life-forms inhabiting one of the planets. One officer, Lieutenant T'Ryssa Chen -- a half-Vulcan -- makes a tenuous connection with them. But before any progress can be made, the Rhea comes under attack from the Einstein -- a Starfleet vessel now controlled by the Borg. The landing party can only listen in horror as their comrades are assimilated. The Borg descend to the planet, and just as Chen accepts that she will be assimilated, the lieutenant is whisked two thousand light-years away.

 A quantum slipstream -- instantaneous transportation -- is controlled by these beings in the cluster, and in the heart of the cluster there is now a Borg ship. Cut off from the rest of the Borg collective, the Einstein cannot be allowed to rejoin it. For the sake of humanity, the Borg cannot gain access to quantum slipstream technology.

 Starfleet Command gives Captain Picard carte blanche: do whatever he must to help the beings in the cluster, and stop the Einstein no matter the cost.

 My thoughts:

The fallout from the previous novels continues as the U.S.S. Rhea is attacked by the assimilated U.S.S. Einstein (see: Before Dishonor). A landing party from the Rhea investigating a nearby planet is also attacked and seemingly all killed, with one exception: Lieutenant T'Ryssa Chen, who is spirited away to a planet many light years distant. It seems that the alien lifeform encountered by the away team has the ability to send people and objects vast distances via quantum slipstream, a capability that must be kept out of the hands of the Borg at all costs.

The Borg once again threaten the Federation, with the latest menace from Resistance and Before Dishonor still not yet completely dealt with.

Chen joins the crew of the Enterprise on its long journey back to the star cluster the Rhea was investigating, hoping to make contact with the lifeform there and convince it to not share its knowledge with the Borg. However, the alien nature of the lifeform may mean its sympathies lie with the Collective over the loose conglomeration of individuals that make up the Federation.

On the way back to the star cluster, the Enterprise encounters a familiar ally: Hugh, and his breakaway Borg faction who were cut off from the Collective. Aiding them in their fight against the Borg, Hugh's forces are now made up of not just the Borg we see in TNG's "Descent" two-parter, but the Borg who were able to escape the Collective thanks to the "Unimatrix Zero" debacle in Star Trek: Voyager. This was an interesting turn for the story to take. First of all, it was great to see Hugh again, and to be able to catch up with what he and his fellow disconnected drones have been up to. This part of the story also allowed the author to explore a huge issue in Picard's life: reproduction. The breakaway Borg want Dr. Crusher to assist them in being able to procreate, a topic that carries a lot of baggage for Picard, who isn't sure about bringing a child into the world with the Borg as a resurgent threat. Dr. Crusher, to whom Picard was recently married, does want children, and the topic is a point of contention with the couple.

Hugh leads "The Liberated," former members of the Borg Collective who have broken away and live as individuals.

Each Star Trek author currently writing has areas in which they are known to excel. David Mack, for example, has become known for huge, sweeping epics. Una McCormack delivers stunning political and cultural commentary. Dayton Ward gives us strong, character-driven plots with a familiarity that makes his Trek feel like home. As for Christopher L. Bennett, I would contend that one of his areas of expertise lies in making strong canon connections and making this whole Star Trek thing feel like a cohesive universe.

Star Trek has never been just one person's vision. Rather, it is an amalgam of the ideas of hundreds of writers, all contributing to a vast tapestry that, at times, doesn't hold together as well as we would like it to. This, however, is where the secondary materials that make up the Star Trek universe have a chance to shine, providing the connective tissue that can potentially help to make everything make sense. Christopher L. Bennett is a master of weaving this material, and his work in Greater Than the Sum is no exception.

A number of inconsistencies have cropped up over the years in the way the Borg have been portrayed. In The Next Generation, the Borg ships were said to have been completely decentralized, with major systems distributed evenly throughout the vessels. However, in Voyager, the crew is often able to target specific systems on a Borg vessel, such as the shield generators or weapon systems. Bennett is able to provide a plausible reason for these differences in a way I had never considered, causing this seeming contradiction to make some semblance of sense. Similarly, the differences in the nature of Borg we have seen over the years (androgynous unassimilated drones vs. assimilated gendered drones) is explained quite deftly by the author as well. In recent years (and indeed, throughout Star Trek history), many Trek fans have taken a perverse delight in nitpicking and tearing apart the choices of the writers and producers. However, I believe there is much more fun to be had in trying to explain those inconsistencies in a way that makes the Trek universe feel more cohesive. Christopher Bennett clearly shares in that delight, and he has become quite good at it!

Christopher L. Bennett is able to reconcile the various inconsistencies that have cropped up over the years in how the Borg have been portrayed in Star Trek.

Ultimately, the final showdown with the Borg involves an heroic sacrifice by Hugh, who gives his life to deliver a killing blow to the Borg: a "multi-vector agent" (MVA) that combines a number of attacks on the Collective into a nano-virus that is designed to incapacitate the Borg. The attack proves successful, and it seems that the Federation now has an effective tool with which to combat the Collective. However, at the end of the novel, the Borg begin attacking the Federation en masse. In one of the first engagements, Lieutenant Leybenzon, former security chief of the Enterprise, loses the weapon to the Borg in an act of extreme hubris, giving the Collective the ability to adapt to the weapon before it can be used to defend the Federation.

And thus, Star Trek: Destiny begins...

 Final thoughts:

I really enjoyed Greater Than the Sum. Going into it, I thought "not the Borg AGAIN!," but this turned out to be a very thoughtful and compelling story, unlike Resistance and Before Dishonor, both of which were disappointments. Christopher L. Bennett gives us a unique take on the Borg, which is difficult at this point, and also sets the story up nicely for the apocalyptic events of Star Trek: Destiny. Top marks for this novel from me; Bennett delivers not only an action-filled thriller, but a perfect character-driven story that gets to heart of what it means to be human. What more can you ask for from Star Trek?

 More about Greater Than the Sum:

Also by Christopher L. Bennett:

My next read:

Next up is my long-overdue video review of The Original Series: The Antares Maelstrom by Greg Cox. See you next time!

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Monday, October 21, 2019

Literary Treks 285: Those Bloody Mind Control Revolts!

Star Trek: The Motion Picture
by Gene Roddenberry
40th Anniversary Edition

Purchase:
Trade Paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

A destructive menace is heading directly towards Earth, and the Enterprise is the only starship in interception range. Admiral James T. Kirk must once again assume command to take on this threat and solve the mystery of "Veejur" before it destroys all life on Earth. The film that launched the Star Trek movie series has mixed reviews, but the novelization of that film offers us a glimpse into the mind of the creator of Star Trek!

In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Bruce Gibson and Dan Gunther are joined by "Dr. Trek" himself, Larry Nemecek, to discuss the novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Gene Roddenberry. We talk about differences between the film and the novel, the persistent "Alan Dean Foster myth," Kirk's subtextual relationship with Spock, the story from Veejur's perspective, Decker's ultimate fate, and wrap up with our final thoughts and ratings.

In the news segment, we report on the announcement of Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Inside the Art & Visual Effects by Jeff Bond & Gene Kozicki, coming in March of 2020. We also respond to listener feedback from the Babel Conference for Literary Treks 283: Everyone's Tilting at Windmills.


Literary Treks 285: Those Bloody Mind Control Revolts!
Star Trek: The Motion Picture Novelization by Gene Roddenberry - 40th Anniversary Edition





Previous episode: Literary Treks 284: Smoothing Over the Rough Edges of Canon
Next episode: Literary Treks 286: The Wrong Thing for the Right Reason
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Monday, October 14, 2019

Literary Treks 284: Smoothing Over the Rough Edges of Canon

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Greater Than the Sum
by Christopher L. Bennett

Purchase:
Mass-market Paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

In recent months, the Borg have returned again and again to threaten the peace of the Federation. Now, Picard and his crew must team up with unexpected allies to prevent the Borg from acquiring quantum slipstream technology, an advancement that would give the Borg unprecedented power to assimilate the Federation. Along with a new and untested crewmember, the men and women under Captain Picard's command face incredible odds in their latest round with the Borg.

In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson discuss the TNG novel Greater Than the Sum by Christopher L. Bennett. We talk about Lieutenant T'Ryssa Chen, Christopher Bennett's amazing ability to "fix" glitches in Star Trek continuity, a star cluster filled with strange new worlds, an old friend named Hugh, a plan to destroy the Borg once and for all, the ending that leads into David Mack's Destiny trilogy, how this story jives with what we know about Star Trek: Picard, and wrap up with our final thoughts and ratings.

At the top of the show, we respond to listener feedback from The Babel Conference for Literary Treks 282: And Then Wonder Woman Shows Up!


Literary Treks 284: Smoothing Over the Rough Edges of Canon
The Next Generation: Greater Than the Sum by Christopher L. Bennett





Previous episode: Literary Treks 283: Everyone's Tilting at Windmills
Next episode: Literary Treks 285: Those Bloody Mind Control Revolts!
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Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Release Day! TNG: Collateral Damage by David Mack

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Collateral Damage
by David Mack

It's already been showing up on bookshelves, but today is the official release day for the latest entry in the ongoing Star Trek saga: Star Trek: The Next Generation: Collateral Damage by David Mack!

Continuing the fallout from Section 31's exposure in Control, this novel sees Captain Jean-Luc Picard return to Earth to face the consequences of his actions in the ouster (and subsequent assassination) of disgraced Federation President Min Zife.

I'm very much looking forward to reading this one, and you can be assured we will be covering it on an upcoming episode of the Literary Treks podcast, as well as here on Trek Lit Reviews!

Check out below for the back-cover blurb and links to purchase from Amazon.




Publisher's description:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours comes an original, thrilling novel set in the universe of Star Trek: The Next Generation!

 The past returns to haunt Captain Jean-Luc Picard—a crime he thought long buried has been exposed, and he must return to Earth to answer for his role in a conspiracy that some call treason. Meanwhile, the U.S.S. Enterprise is sent to apprehend pirates who have stolen vital technology from a fragile Federation colony. But acting captain Commander Worf discovers that the pirates’ motives are not what they seem, and that sometimes standing for justice means defying the law….

Purchase Star Trek: The Next Generation: Collateral Damage:

 Trade Paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk


Next Release: Discovery: Dead Endless

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Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Release Day! The Motion Picture Novelization: 40th Anniversary Edition!

Star Trek: The Motion Picture
by Gene Roddenberry
40th Anniversary Edition

Available today is a re-release of the only Star Trek novel penned by the creator of Trek, Gene Roddenberry! Pick up the 40th anniversary edition of the novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in trade paperback edition wherever you buy books.

Check out below for the back-cover blurb and links to purchase from Amazon!




Publisher's description:
Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture with this classic movie novelization written by legendary Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry!

 The original five-year mission of the Starship Enterprise to explore strange new worlds and to seek out new life and new civilizations has ended. Now James T. Kirk, Spock, Dr. McCoy, and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise have separated to follow their own career paths and different lives. But now, an overwhelming alien threat—one that is ignoring all attempts at communication and annihilating all opposition in its path—is on a collision course with Earth, the very heart of the United Federation of Planets. And the only vessel that Starfleet can send in time to intercept this menace is a refitted Enterprise, with her old crew heeding the call to once again boldly go where no one has gone before….

Purchase Star Trek: The Motion Picture: 40th Anniversary Edition:

 Trade Paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk


Next Release: The Next Generation: Collateral Damage

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