I'd say this is one of the few books that should be added to the "must read" list of Star Trek novels. This is, in a way, a follow-up to the movie "Star Trek Nemesis." This is the first full-length novel to feature the Titan and its crew. Captain Riker and Troi and the ship have both appeared in other post-Nemesis novels, including Shatner's "Captain's Blood." So, how does it do? It's a fun novel. We don't have Picard involved at all, we don't have Troi and Riker looking back or relying on the Enterprise-E, they're out on their own and there's a freshness to the entire premise. Titan is a vessel whose mission is compared in text to the old Constitution-class vessels; long-term, deep space assignments. The premise of this first novel plays with this mission. The crew is bothered that Starfleet Command has chosen their vessel for an assignment into the Neutral Zone when the ship is meant for exploration and discovery. Part of the novel takes place days after Nemesis and the coming novel "Death in Winter," involves Riker's last visit to the Enterprise-E as seen in the movie, and him visiting Chrstine Vale (appeared throughout "A Time to..." series) to get her to join the crew.
I'd personally say this novel is more about the characters than the actual action. The plot of Riker and crew having to sort out the mess that's fallen upon the Romulan Star Empire is onlya backdrop to the characters. Each seems have something to work on; Riker on adjusting to his own command and finding his own style, Troi on proving she's more than Riker's wife and is a capable diplomatic officer, Vale being comfortable with leaving the Enterprise for an executive officer position, Ra-Harveii on ghosts from his past, Keru still hasn't gotten over the death of Sean Hawk in the novel "Rogue," Ree on being somewhat of an outsider among everyone. What's best about this novel is that the authors bring life into a lot of these characters. There are people from each series of Trek (except Enterprise) being involved. Tuvok, Spock and Admiral Akaar also play big roles in this novel.
What worked or didn't work? I felt as if the Romulan situation was so big that perhaps it was simplified for this novel. Tal'Aura (NEM) and Tamalok (TNG) have claimed power over the entire Empire while Donotra (NEM) and Suran (NEM) have claimed power over the military. Then you have the Tal Shiar, the Remans, and the Unificationers all working in the same picture, at the same time. Yet, the reader is only shown parts of this situation. We never really get a look at Tal'Aura beyond her wanting to stay in power. Who is she? Why did she feel she should support Shinzon in Nemesis? Who does she think she is to suddenly takeover the entire Romulan Star Empire? The end features her the typical angry, upset, fearful villain who realizes things won't go their way. Also, what's happening on Romulus beyond the capital? What's happening on other Romulan worlds?
The plot suffers also from a lot going on. I don't think there were too many characters introduced. It helped flesh out the Titan and set it apart from all the other ships out there. I liked that it is home to one of the first Cardassians in Starfleet and that there's a very different Ferengi doctor on the crew. Also, there was a death of a major crewmember while a couple had its first child by the end of the book, a rather amusing pregnancy indeed. Also, we got to see a rather uncertain Troi who doesn't do much counseling at all but plays up her diplomatic role. Even Spock has a moment when he learns his Unification movement may be in jeopardy. Tuvok, who's often ignored in Christie Golden's Voyager Relaunch novels, seems to have found a place here.
There are a few things that held this novel back from being a five-star novel. Perhaps too much focus on characters like Keru. A lack of development of the Romulan characters. Even though Sela will be a part of the "Death in Winter" novel, I'd have liked to have seen her in this situation a little since I'm sure she could have taken advantage of a Romulan Star Empire without any true leaders. I felt the ending mirroed a previous novel by these authors too much, and that it was too much like Star Trek Voyager redux. Admiral Janeway played a rather large role in the "A Time to..." series in Riker being assigned the Titan. Why wasn't she even mentioned here? Instead of Akaar being involved in the same capacity he is in the DS9-Relanch and TNG novels, the use of Janeway could have really been a creative point of the novel. The Romulan situation, by the end, seems to be wrapped up a little too well, though I was glad to read that the Remans played a major role in all of this.
So, perhaps it covers too much ground. Yet, it remains interesting throughout and introduces some great new charactes. This is a good series to get into, going back to the roots of Star Trek and putting a focus on the characters more so than big action and war. Definately worth your attention and money.
Product Description
After almost a decade of strife against foes such as the Borg, the Cardassians, the Klingons, and the Dominion, the United Federation of Planets is at the dawn of a new era. Starfleet is renewing its mission of peaceful exploration, diplomacy, and the expansion of knowledge. Among the starships spearheading that endeavor is the U.S.S. Titan, commanded by Captain William T. Riker and manned by the most biologically varied and culturally diverse crew in Starfleet history.
But their mission does not begin according to plan.
In the wake of Star Trek ® Nemesis, Praetor Shinzon, slayer of the Romulan Senate, is dead. The power vacuum created by his demise has put the Romulan Star Empire, longtime adversary of the Federation, at the brink of civil war. Competing factions now vie for control of their fragmenting civilization, and if the empire should fall, that entire area of the galaxy may destabilize.
To restore order to the region, Titan 's long-anticipated mission of exploration is delayed as Starfleet assigns Riker to set up power-sharing talks among the Romulan factions. But even as the first tentative steps are taken toward building a new Romulus, the remnants of the Tal Shiar, the dreaded Romulan intelligence service, are regrouping behind the scenes for a power play of their own. With no other help available, Riker and the Titan crew become the last hope to prevent the quadrant from falling into chaos.
About the Author
Michael A. Martin's solo short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He has also coauthored (with Andy Mangels) several Star Trek comics for Marvel and Wildstorm and numerous Star Trek novels and eBooks, including the USA Today bestseller Titan: Book One: Taking Wing; Titan: Book Two: The Red King; the Sy Fy Genre Award-winning Star Trek: Worlds of Deep Space 9 Book Two: Trill -- Unjoined; Star Trek: The Lost Era 2298 -- The Sundered; Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Mission: Gamma: Vol. Three: Cathedral; Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31 -- Rogue; Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers #30 and #31 ("Ishtar Rising" Books 1 and 2); stories in the Prophecy and Change, Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain's Table anthologies; and three novels based on the Roswell television series. His work has also been published by Atlas Editions (in their Star Trek Universe subscription card series), Star Trek Monthly, Dreamwatch, Grolier Books, Visible Ink Press, The Oregonian, and Gareth Stevens, Inc., for whom he has penned several World Almanac Library of the States nonfiction books for young readers. He lives with his wife, Jenny, and their two sons in Portland, Oregon.
Andy Mangels is the USA Today bestselling author and coauthor of over a dozen novels -- including Star Trek and Roswell books -- all cowritten with Michael A. Martin. Flying solo, he is the bestselling author of several nonfiction books, including Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Characters and Animation on DVD: The Ultimate Guide, as well as a significant number of entries for The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes as well as for its companion volume, The Supervillain Book.
In addition to cowriting several more upcoming novels and contributing to anthologies, Andy has produced, directed, and scripted a series of sixteen half-hour DVD documentaries for BCI Eclipse, for inclusion in the He-Man and the Masters of the Universe DVD box sets.
Andy has written hundreds of articles for entertainment and lifestyle magazines and newspapers in the United States, England, and Italy. He has also written licensed material based on properties from numerous film studios and Microsoft, and his two decades of comic book work has been published by DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse, Image, Innovation, and many others. He was the editor of the award-winning Gay Comics anthology for eight years.
Andy is a national award-winning activist in the Gay community, and has raised thousands of dollars for charities over the years. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his long-term partner, Don Hood, their dog, Bela, and their chosen son, Paul Smalley. Visit his website at www.andymangels.com.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Taking Wing (Star Trek: Titan, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)
No comments:
Post a Comment