Faceman Reads Star Trek Books

Was this a one-off character shown in any of the television series? The name doesn't ring a bell.

Edit: Nevermind, Google says, "No."

There's not a shred of sarcasm there. Hooded mask and all

Atonement (VOY) 2382

This novel is not the science fiction version of the shitty movie by the same name. Despite never having seen the film, I can say that definitively. No, I will never watch your stupid chick-flick. Can’t you see? I’m busy reading a VOY novel.

This novel is about…shit, I already forgot. Hold on.





OK, I’m back. Thank jebus for memory beta. This novel is about what the last two novels were about…and more! Please refer to my reviews for Protectors and Acts of Contrition. Review over.


OK, fine. Following Acts of Contrition, Janeway escapes the kangaroo court she had surrendered to which she realizes is being controlled by “consciousnesses” inhabiting the aliens, not the aliens themselves. The consciousnesses were first discovered in Unworthy when one took over the hologram Meegan. Stupidest name ever. Who names their kid Meegan? Fuck.

Anyway, Janeway stupidly decides to help the alien consiousnesses (they keep their host bodies the whole time and then kill them later), known as the Seriareen (I probably spelled that wrong), to find their ancient home planet. She ventures into confederacy space with their tense allies only to discover, gasp, that the aliens had already rigged Voyager for their control. The chief engineer has also been possessed by one of the Seriareen who was secreted about VOY like months ago yet did nothing but hang out in the main computer watching holodeck…you know. With the help of a Vulcan, Janeway retakes the ship just as the Seriareen escape to a giant subspace worm and take over his body. The worm digs subspace tunnels that local aliens use to transverse the DQ faster than warp (see i.e. borg transwarp tunnels)

Um. I don’t know what happens next. It just ends. The worm is defeated? A bigger worm comes along? Not sure. Oh and they kill their chief engineer, bring her back to life, and the Seriareen who escapes her body goes into the Doctor who then just deletes him. Which makes him a murderer!

Janeway and company depart Confederacy space with better relations though still a large cultural gap between the two powers. I suspect we’ll see them never again.

On a side note, here’s something that bothers me about Star Trek books, or maybe it’s just VOY books. Can’t be sure. There’s constant preaching from the main characters to people they meet about not just who they are but what the ideals and beliefs of the Federation are. Over and over. It’s like they’re trying to sell a religion, in each book. It seems to really get hammered home in the last three VOY books. We do this. We gave that up long ago. We exist for this purpose. We only cook using transfat free cooking replicators. Ugh. Is it possible to have a Trek story without having the main characters constantly discussing their religion with aliens? Do starfleeters wear special undies too?

Next up another VOY book because fuck me…

Ugh, I totally forgot there was a subplot on earth with seven, Tom, Dr. Sharak, the Wildmans, Paris’s mom, and Icheb!

They fixed everything. It was all good in the end. Problem resolved. Icheb will be transferred to VOY. Naomi is a loser drop out. And the plague or whatever was cured by Seven and friends. (Not Tom. He did nothing. His mom had to do everything for him. Duh.)

A Pocket Full of Lies (VOY) 2382

Well we made. The end. No more VOY novels have been published. VOY will be left behind, now. What was this one about? Very little in the way of lies. I mean, everyone keeps secrets, but lies? No. Not a pocket full.

Janeway meets her duplicate on a planet. she is a leader of her adopted people, fighting an unwinnable war. Why are they fighting? That's actually never explained - just a lot of sadness from offworlders who used to live there about how they just won't stop. I was expecting some boogie man that they were fighting over, or were being forced to fight because of. Never happened.

Alt-Janeway was abducted from another timeline from the Krenim (See Year of Hell). They mistook her for normal ("normal") Janeway. Since they couldn't extract information from her they dropped her on the planet. Somehow she became their leader...also not explained. Also a Krenim agent in disguise hooked up with her and had a kid. He...fuck it. I don't even know.

This is probably another soft beginning to a new trilogy. The main of the story resolved around the 80% mark, leaving some loose ends to play out. They're gonna go visit the Krenim next because reasons. Honestly, it's best this one's over.

Was it the year of hell Janeway I took it it was the Janeway from shattered who never bonded with the crew. That's why they went to Titan to get Tuvok to talk to her

It was shattered janeway who the krenim thought was year of hell Janeway. What a disappointing plot. It should have a been a mystery. When we are told where she's from in the first quarter of the book i was convinced it was a fake story because it was just so dull. There had to be another layer to it but there wasn't.

Kirsten beyer, writer for Star Trek Discovery....

http://trekcore.com/blog/2016/05/voyager-novelist-kirsten-beyer-joins-trek-2017-team/

Zero Sum Game (DS9) 2382

We’re back to DS9…kinda. This book is about Bashir going on a covert mission in Breen space after the Typhon Pact (a coalition of anti-federation governments) stole the plans to the slipstream drive. This book reveals that Ro is now captain of DS9. We spend hardly anytime on board the station. Bashir works with Sabrina Douglas to infiltrate the Breen planet while Ezri, now a Captain, waits to retrieve him on board her ship Aventine…which has far more interesting characters and mission parameters than Titan.

We get a good look at what living amongst the Breen is like. Our heroes eventually get to the slipstream prototype the Breen are building. Bashir is forced to actually kill several independent contractors building the ship which he regrets. Ezri rescues them as they destroy the prototype and corrupt the stolen plans. Later it turns out that Sabrina is section 31 and is grooming Bashir to finally join their ranks.

Just a note on the plan theft – once the plans were stolen four months before the main story starts, that’s it. There’s no covert operation that will fix this. They copied the plans and sent them to the cloud of several aligned planets military. This concept that Starfleet can go to the source where the Breen keep the plans and destroy them is absurd. Sure, they blew up a lot of Breen computers but that’s not the only copy is it?

Otherwise it was a good book.

Seize the Fire (TTN) 2382

This is another Typhon Pact series book. This time, Titan intercepts a planet terraforming machine that has been taken by the Gorn who hope to build a new planet to grow their warrior class. Titan must deal with the Gorn fleet, a rogue Gorn warrior bent on creating his own new warrior class, and an incoming Typhon Pact fleet. This book is monumentally slow. The mission should be simple – destroy the weapon. Yet they waste time doing inane subplots like sending a team to the planet where a pre-warp society lives in order to learn about them. This is so if the Gorn do wipe them out with this terraforming machine at least we’ll have learned about them so they’ll live on. Bullshit. Had no bearing on the outcome of the story.

The rogue Gorn eventually destroys the machine but not before we learn it is sentient. No one succeeds in communicating with it so it’s destroyed without learning about what it was. We learned about the pre-warp society, but not about the weapon central to the plot. Perfect fuck up.

Out of curiosity what in your opinion was the last really good Star Trek novel (of any kind) that you read?

Post 2 in this thread continually updates my ratings each time I post a review and although I gave Zero Sum Game a green rating, Destiny is the book(s) to beat right now.

Paths of Disharmony (TNG) 2382

Book four of the Typhon Pact series focuses on the TNG crew (those alive and not on Titan) as they travel to Andor to participate in a conference about the population issues. Andorian population issues featured heavily in the DS9 relaunch, including one book devoted to visiting Andor during the crisis. The crisis has not gotten better and with the Borg attack on Andor (Destiny) the population is further depleted. The government was mostly killed in the attack leading to more infighting.

The Typhon Pact is largely absent from this novel for at least two thirds, which is fine because it is engaging on its own. The book is focused on the devolving situation on Andor, its politics, and various points of view about the population crisis. Religious fanatics believe tampering with Andorian DNA to be an affront to their God. We later find out that the scientist is being aided by an unknown benefactor in her successful research. Later we find out that the Federation likely had the ability to provide the data to the scientist decades earlier but kept it classified.

This all leads to Andors secession from the Federation with a member of the Typhon Pact playing a critical role. Also, Shar from DS9 is in this, very briefly throughout. Nice to see him too.

Fallen Gods (TTN) 2382

Written by the same author as Seize the Fire, the TTN Typhon Pact entry, I was hesitating to start this a bit. Yet, oddly, this book is like a redemption for the author. First, it doesn’t suck. I read it in a day and a half. Second, it focuses on the fallout of the Andorian secession through the Andorian crew members on board Titan. Oddly, this is not part of the Typhon Pact series yet it is far stronger than Seize the Fire in pulling the threads together. Even a Typhon Pact species makes a cameo on board an Andorian warship.

The other half of the story is equally interesting. A superpower reduced to post-apocalyptic wasteland orbiting a radioactive pulsar. This ties together with the ecosculpter encountered in Seize the Fire. These guys, eons ago, built it but their society has long since collapsed. Their AI is reactivated by these Beyond Thunderdome retards and finds Titan nearby. It realizes that Tuvok and Titan’s AI, White-Blue, made contact with the ecosculpter before it was destroyed. Together they travel to the wasteland, are viewed as gods, and repair the machinery keeping the planet alive. For how long they’re successful, we’ll never know. Half the planet fears the machines and wants to destroy them, too stupid to realize that the machines are keeping the pulsar at bay.

A cliffhanger of sorts sees the Andorian warship successfully transporter duplicate every Andorian on Titan and fly away. Hope they don’t drop this one as it’s the most interesting thread a Titan book has had in a long time.

The Struggle Within (TNG) 2382

This is a Typhon Pact novella by Christopher Bennet, the same guy who did that DTI book series…and I’m just not sure he gets it. Stuffed into a tiny book are two stories. One is Picard trying to get the Talarians into an expanded Khitomer Accords (why naming it after that I don’t know.) The sexist society is impacted by the Tzenkethi who are trying to derail the accords...and although the Tznenkethi are exposed…they still get their way.

The second part is a couple of characters on the Kinshaya world posing as Romulans. They stand by while a massacre happens. The dissenting Kinshaya become martyrs opening up dissent on that world and making them less powerful in the Pact. And that’s it. Pretty much a useless status quo novel.

Indistinguishable From Magic (TNG) 2383

I’m not done with this one yet. I’m a quarter way through and it’s getting on my nerves. It’s a serviceable story. The hook is that an NX class is mysteriously found floating in space after having been sucked back in time 2500 years. Wait. That’s the hook from Destiny.

Well copy/paste works. It’s still a good hook. But then the book devolves into fangasm.

It’s a Geordi story so it's already a bit sad. Here’s where this becomes a garbage piece of fan fiction:

· He gets picked up by Scotty who’s in command of his own starship, to go fix the NX class ship.

· Scotty’s ship is a Galaxy class set up almost exactly like the E-D. Geordi's assigned quarters are where Data used to live.

· For some reason Nog is the chief of security, explained away because he wants to be the chief engineer of the ship, despite no opening, and having been chief at DS9.

· Leah Brahms is there for unknown reasons

· Reg Barclay, who is supposed to be in the DQ w/ Voyager is there. He explains Scotty transported him there. The author and editors were unaware that the Vesta was also in the DQ. The Vesta flew by the space station where Geordi gets picked up just before he meets Reg. Nice continuity fail. Reg is brought on because he worked on an old ship in first contact…which is nothing like an NX ship.

· Ogawa is the CMO of the ship. Ogawa, two months earlier, was a nurse on Titan. And oh wait, she’ll be the nurse on Titan in the next Titan book. A pathetic continuity fail by the editors. This is sadder when you consider this book came out six years after Titan started.

· Guinan is there serving bar in Ten Forward. No shit.

· Berlinghoff Rasmussen is there because he’s from the NX era. Otherwise he’s a criminal.

· Sela is in it for some reason. I’m sure there are others.

Also, Scotty dies at the end.


SPOILER.


Yes, this piece of fan fiction was published and allowed to include Scotty’s apparent death. I suspect this author had been sitting on his fan fiction book for a decade and finally tricked the editors to publish it because there’s no way it was built with the current multi-series universe in mind. It’s just too random.

And that’s sad too. If the editors had exercised some actual editorial discretion then this book wouldn’t be bogged down by this insane fan fiction feel and may actually be a good book. Like I said, the hook is good and while I’m only a third through it seems like there’s probably a story here. It’s just that it was published buried under this sad fanboy wetdream.

The SCE used to have their own ebook series. This felt like the author pitched a relaunch of that series with LaForge as captain (because of Voyagers Timeless) and it got boiled down into a single book because... I guess they already paid him. If you squint you can see the first season of stories they'd planned out, along with setting up Sela as a recurring nemesis for Geordie.

And Scottie is only mostly dead.

I think the big problem is that authors are now allowed to let things go wild.

Previously they had two options - have the status quo preserved by the end of the story, or lead into something that won't get explained on screen (Kirk returning to a desk job between TMP and TWOK for example.) This gave them a defined playpen to go let their imaginations go wild in.

Those parameters are mostly now gone, and they don't have the writers for the world building they want to do. Let's be honest, KRAD is a decent enough writer - but he's not going not going to be mentioned in the same breath as Arthur C Clarke, not unless he decides to move to Sri Lanka to fondle children anyway. And it's the same with most of their roster, the quality goes from 'a bit shit' to 'very good', and those writers would benefit from either having some restrictions or having their own playpen where they don't have to play nice with others' stories.

They'd probably benefit from authors who don't give a shit about Trek too, they'd at least have the ability to step back and go "hmmm, fan wank!"

Treklit used to have an excellent editor (Marco Palmieri) with a solid long-term plan overseeing it, but then they got rid of him and things went off the rails.

This book if indefensible. Bok. Multiple saucer separations cuz it's kewl. The ripped off NX plot went nowhere. A plot that made no sense in book 1 (let's be fair. It is two books mashed together.). It's fanfic zaniness. I don't know why I can't get past this. The quality is so poor. The greatest hits mentality detracts from any semblance of a story. I'm not sure what my takeaway from this book is supposed to be.

The author posts on tbbs. I actually sought out reviews of this atrocity. Obviously they all loved his book there since he is around to answer questions. From what I've read he expected the editors to reject the NX plot, not to have Ogawa given her involvement in Titan, and to only have it be Geordi and Scotty. Publisher wanted more characters so he gave them fan fiction orgasm.

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/tng...-mcintee-review-thread-spoilers.139045/page-6

He started it pre-Destiny and certainly expected it to turn into more than two books.

The one thing that ruin that book for me was there was a guy who grew a goatee who had never been anywhere near Deep Space Nine and said oh look I did a sisko

It made me want to open my veins with the edges of the paper

Oh yeah I remember that part.

I finished the book. Have nothing else to add. It was bad.

And while it's mentioned in the next book, Plagues of Night, Geordi demoted himself to remain on the Enterprise negating all the character growth in the other book.

I don't know. Doesn't it make sense that Sisko would be very well know all across the Federation and probably the whole quadant?

Who?

That's dumb

Why?

Because sisko wasn't famous until season six when the war started. He grew the beard in season three when he was still a commander.

As far as anyone knew he always had it. It was a fanwanky thing about sisko not being cool until he got his goatee.

I didn't grow a beard until I was 30 years old but most people that knew me thought I always had one.

Perception and reality do not always go hand in hand.

Plagues of Night (DS9) 2383 and Raise the Dawn (DS9) 2383

This is a duology of sorts that I’m not going to criticize too much for the book split. The story is again about the Typhon Pact attempting to obtain technology to build a slipstream drive. This time, the Federation agrees to let the Pact enter the Gamma Quadrant as part of a trade deal. A joint mission between the Enterprise and a Romulan warbird also begins. While the Enterprise is in the GQ, a supply ship carrying Pact members attempts to steal Dominion equipment to build slipstream. The warbird fakes its destruction to give aid to the supply ship which then cloaks and goes through the wormhole. In order to ensure the supply ship leaves Bajoran (Federation) space, DS9 is bombed. Defiant detects the cloaked warbird, which then gives rise to other ships decloaking. DS9 fights back but the bombs ultimately destroy the station…To be continued…

At which point Defiant captures the Romulan commander. The Praetor tries to reach out to the Federation to disavow the plot but is ignored so she smuggles herself to earth. The meeting is successful, though the Pact again tries to enter the wormhole and steal Dominion technology. Odo intervenes but the wormhole collapses. Kira is trapped in the wormhole but Sisko, now captaining the Robinson, escapes and reuinites with Kassidy. DS9 operations are moved planet side and a new station begins construction.

Brinksmanship (TNG/DS9) 2383

The final book in the Typhon Pact line is a bit of a letdown. The last several were fairly exciting, game changing affairs. This one is about preventing the Pact from establishing bases in neutral star systems bordering on allied planets. There’s a subplot about a Cardassian spy and a Federation spy trying to escape Tzenketh. Anyway…it’s kind of Cuban missile crisis like. There’s threats of chemical weapons and talk about neutral observers on each facility to ensure that only ship repairs are being conducted. I didn’t care for this one too much.

Cold Equations Trilogy (TNG) 2384

Basically the only thing that happens in 2384 is this trilogy and a couple of DTI novellas with characters no one cares about. What is this trilogy about? It’s by the guy who did Destiny, but it’s not one massive story. It picks up on threads from the Typhon Pact books and its commonality is that Data is in it.

In book 1, B4 is stolen from the Daystrom institute. The Enterprise tracks down a Soong type android and it turns out to be Noonien in an android body. He then spend half the book in first person discussing how he faked his death, became wealthy, and turned into an android. His mission was to track down his wife android, save B4, and compete with Emil Vaslovik. The main story involves liberating a factory built years earlier by Lore and the Borg to make copies of him from the Breen. The Breen steal hundreds of Lore androids, absent programming, before the factory is destroyed (along with Worf’s love interest). Nonien transfers Data’s memories into his own body (killing himself) and leaving B4 as the retard we met in Nemesis.

Book 2 has Data on Orion tracking down Vaslovik while Bacco visits with the Gorn. A federation security agent is murdered by a soong-type android, implicating data. Bacco’s chief of staff is also replaced by an android and attempts to kill Bacco and the Gorn leader. Picard and Data track the source of the soong-android control center and destroy the rest of the androids stole in book one but realize this leaves open a shipping lane for the Breen to enter Federation space. They are recovering a ship capable of producing wormholes. Picard destroys it and Data leaves again.

Book 3 has Data meet with the league of robots, or whatever, who are holding Vaslovik. Vaslovik has figured out how to resurrect dead robots so Data wants him to help him with Lal. The Enterprise, meanwhile, intercepts (thanks to Wesley L) a robot ship destroying planets in order to generate power to go to other galaxies so as to destroy them. The plots intersect that the robot society is able to reason with the robot destructor ship and leave. Something something v’ger.

Throughout the books there is a subplot about Picard quitting and raising a family somewhere safe, Worf getting promoted to command, and nothing happening to Geordi. This goes nowhere. Apparently these books were initially commissioned to end Trek Lit as we know it, and close the door on the TNG characters. Later that was changed and it just became series of stories with some connectivity.

The Stuff of Dreams (TNG) 2384

A TNG novella where Enterprise is ordered to assist in destroying the Nexus (ST:G). A scientist on board another Starfleet ship sabotages the attempt and flies into the Nexus. Picard is also sucked in. The scientist’s family died in the Borg invasion and he wants to live that over and over again. Picard seeks out Soran who helps him navigate the Nexus. Picard convinces the scientist to leave the Nexus, which he does. He goes to see his family just before they are all killed by the Borg. Picard figures out how to lock the nexus from tampering as it enters Typhon Pact space.

The Collectors (DTI) 2384

I don’t remember what this book was about. It was stupid.

Time Lock (DTI) 2385

This one wasn’t horrible. Basically someone tries to rob the DTI vault and a security measure slows time. Time outside goes on at an exponentially accelerated pace which is a way to urge the intruders to leave. It’s a stupid when you think about it since they could just steal some time tech in the vault and go back in time to the point where the first entered the vault, thereby not missing decades of their family’s lives. They never mention that issue, yet the book is built entirely around the threat of a forced time travel. Otherwise this was stupid.

Shields of God (DTI) 2385

I don’t remember what this book was about. It was stupid.

I’m glad I’m done with these DTI novellas. They are truly garbage.

I’m nearly done with The Fall series, five books that take place over 60 days in late 2385. It’s surprisingly good, although I’m expecting some zany reveal at the end of book 5. The thumbnail sketch of this is that DS9 II opens, it’s totally sweet, the President comes to make a speech at the opening and she’s assassinated. Who did it? Who knows. At first it’s a Bajoran, then a Tzenkethi, then perhaps dissident Cardassians, and even perhaps leadership in the Federation itself.

The Fall: Revelations and Dust (DS9) 2385

DS9 is open for business. A plodding look at the characters, their last two years, and the new station starts the book off. No plot is present for about 50 to 60% of the book. We re-meet everyone. Dax and the Aventine are there. Sisko and the Robinson are there. Kira has her own subplot in the wormhole where, at the end, she finds herself on a ship in the GQ with Taranatar. Great reunion special. Then Bacco makes a speech and bam. Done. They arrest the chief of staff to the Bajoran first minister but clear her after finding an Tzenkethi implant in her neck. The real shooter got away and likely off the station. To be continued…

Well???

It's finally over, the post-Nemesis litverse is ending with the Star Trek: Coda trilogy.

I just finished book two, with the third one coming next month.

Long story short,

There's some irony in the fact that

I'm enjoying it so far, but the second book was much better than the first. Honestly, I'd much rather this universe continue than the one introduced in Picard.