Book Review #108 - Star Trek: Destiny: Lost Souls by David Mack

Book 32 of 52
Page count -283

Fantastic!

The Federation is only moments away from complete destruction.  Billions have died and billions more are about to.

With the help of Captain Erika Hernandez, Will Riker and the crew of the Titan return to the Azure Nebula only to find that they are well behind enemy lines.  The war looks to be lost while the remnants of the Federation are preparing to meet their fate. The Borg press on with their plan to destroy it.

There are often glimmers of hope in the battle however most gains the Federation makes are soon lost, leaving only desperate plans.  What comes as a surprise is which characters rise to the challenge and which take unfamiliar roles of support rather then leadership.  I found that very refreshing.

We are also treated to a wonderful origin story that becomes the key to everything.

I cannot express how happy I am that this series has come along.  From this trilogy all the characters we know from the Star Trek universe are set free from the shackles of CBS and Paramount Pictures.  The authors are no longer constrained by what might transpire in future movies or TV episodes, since they are over and there is no chance of further installments.  The 23rd century now only lives in the novels and it is in very capable hands.

If you've come this far you will read the last book in the series; you don't need me to encourage you.  Resistance to Star Trek: Destiny is futile.

Omnibus edition cover art.

David Mack

Book Review #107 - Star Trek: Destiny:Mere Mortals by David Mack

Book 31 of 52
Page count - 273

What a wonderful surprise.  After the exceedingly dull narrative of the first book this one hooked me in.  Plot lines started to come together in compelling ways.  The long captivity of Captain Hernandez begins to pay off as we find the crew of the Titan is now trapped in orbit around the Caeliar home world; while Troi's pregnancy increases the tension.

Meanwhile, in the Azure Nebula, Picard and Dax are trying to unravel the mystery of the subspace tunnels that the Borg are using to attack the Federation.  While there they witness an overwhelming attack.  This was a "Holy Crap" moment in the story where I did not pause for a moment to begin reading the final book in the series.

What I learned from this tale was to trust David Mack; he has mad skills as a novelist and there is nothing in the books that doesn't pay off further along.

Read this trilogy; it changes everything about Star Trek literature.  From this you really get the sense that the plots are moving forward again.

Omnibus edition cover.

David Mack

Book Review #102 - Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night by David Mack

Book 26 of 52
Page Count - 269

I had read this book once before and gave up on it.  I knew it was part of a trilogy, however I found the book so slowly paced that I was uninterested in perusing it further.

Then along comes the Literary Treks podcast and I learn that this trilogy is the key to the entire Star Trek universe reset.  Since all the shows are done and there is no chance of further movies, Pocket Books now has the freedom to alter the path of the characters how they want.  

With this trilogy the separate shows of The Next Generation, Deep Space 9 and Voyager are folded into one giant story.  This is appropriate since they all occupy the same time period.  Even some of the characters that have only lived in the novels are brought in here too.

Based on what Christopher Jones and Matt Rushing, the hosts of Literary Treks, said about this series, I bought the 828 page, door stop of a book, omnibus edition collecting the tree novels. 

In my mind, if you're writing a trilogy, you might want to bore people with the second book, not the first one.  I remember why I quit it in the first place - pacing.

I'm shocked that the death of millions of people from Borg attacks could feel as though it is a footnote to the more "important" story of what happened to the crew of the NX-02 Columbia or of Troy and Riker's attempt to have a baby.  

We follow four different story lines here, Captain Hernandez and the Columbia, Captain Jean Luc Picard of the Enterprise, Captain Will Riker of the Titan and Captain Ezri Dax of the Aventine; who are all chasing the mystery of the Columbia's disappearance.  Some of these captains don't know it yet as they are looking for clues as to how the Borg are getting into Federation space without being detected but it is all linked to the Columbia.

The only plot line that is even remotely interesting is the Enterprise because they are engaged with the Borg directly.   What goes on with all the other plot lines is exceedingly dull and mostly revolves around folks talking about tricorder readings. But I kept with it and things got more interesting at the end of the book where two of the four plot lines came together.

I will keep with it because I trust Rushing and Jones and because I want to get into this new universe.  Plus, when I hold a book that is over 800 pages long it's understandable that the first 270 might be about the set up.  I think I would have been happier if each of the separate plot lines were broken up into smaller chunks and if there was more action within.  I don't need explosions on every page but I also don't want computer readouts and endless descriptions of alien crew members.  To be honest, I'd be much happier if Star Fleet had more humans on board so we could enjoy some story telling.

So far, I'm not a fan.

David Mack's website is HERE.

Original cover of the first volume.

David Mack