Götterdämmerung, Trek Style

The Destiny trilogy answers the question, "how much stuff/aliens/references can I pack into one piece of fan fiction?" The answers is "a lot."

You get all the captains*: Picard, Riker, (Ezri) Dax, passing references to Janeway and Archer. You get all the aliens*: humans, Klingons, Romulans, Andorians, even aliens whose race was never mentioned in a canon show or film but is part of canon like Efrosians (the President of the Federation in 2293 with droopy moustache and wild hair). You get all the bad guys*: Borg, Nausicaans. And you get bonus additional material, like a super-powered alien race you've never seen before, the Caeliar!

[*Surprisingly, though, you get no TOS crew and no Q.]

And are important things at stake? You bet! How about a war that might spell the end of galactic civilization as we know it (or know it through watching Star Trek on the TV)? How about minor romantic tiffs between characters we already know? How about a very detailed description of how to walk in a pair of self-fabricated snow shoes?

Seriously, though, I read these books because I am truly a fan of the Star Trek world and wanted to see what the written fiction was like while I took a completist romp through the entire body of existing TV episodes (both live action and cartoon) and movies (both regular time-line and Kelvin Timeline). The author is a professional writer who has written several Star Trek episode scripts and has done quite a few Star Trek books that garner a great deal of praise on the Internet. When I refer to these works as "fan fiction" I don't meant to suggest anything negative about the author, but rather to suggest a genre that assumes its readers know the basic background of the setting and characters and attempts to offer them something that they cannot get from the canonical works. Certainly, that describes these books.

Ultimately, though, I think I would have more enjoyed reading a fresh work by the author, as I had the feeling that he was a bit cramped by the overwhelming press of Trekness: someone has to drink a raktajino every hundred pages or so; Worf has to walk around with a Bat'leth on a regular basis. I found the sub-arc regarding humans who had found themselves chained to a "beautiful prison" with all their needs taken care of and no way out particular effective, and I imagine that the author is capable of even more when unleashed from the requirements of the canon.

So, I guess I learned a lesson about fan fiction. ( )

A surprising well written book and with a surprising well done story that actually makes sense and does not pull out stuff from a magic hat to fit its purpose. ( )

The final book of this series was probably my favorite of the three, which is why I will give it 4 stars.

While some of the danger of the book seems a little false (come on.. they are not going to destroy Earth) it is still interesting to learn to origins of the Borg and sets up an interesting future for them as well. ( )

“We can fight for hope, or we can give in to despair. The choice is yours, Jean-Luc. Let me know what you decide.”

Thrilling conclusion! An interesting sweep of time telling us how the Borg became what they became. And reflections on love as well! And more than a few good quotes!


" Don’t mistake optimism for foolishness or compassion for weakness.

With patience and courage, this can become a time of hope. As long as we remain united, we will emerge from these dark and hideous days into a brighter tomorrow, and we will do so stronger, wiser, and safer than we were before. Together, we can become the future that we seek and build the galaxy we want to live in. It will not come about quickly or easily. But until it does, never flinch, never weary, and never despair. ( )

Star Trek Destiny #3: Lost Souls by David Mack concludes the trilogy that began with Gods of Night and continued with Mere Mortals. If you've been following along with my reviews over the last several days you'll recall that I wasn't completely blown away by the last two books and a lot was riding on the final installment. *drumroll* My faith was justified and I was not disappointed! While it did take me ages to read, I definitely enjoyed this one the most. My suspicions about the Borg were confirmed (don't worry no spoilers here!) and all of the loose ends were neatly tied up. (As in any good Star Trek episode!) It's pretty much impossible for me to go into any details about the plot of this book without completely giving away everything from the first two so if you haven't read them read no further. Essentially, Erika Hernandez has essentially joined the crew of the Aventine and the Federation is in a much better position to counteract the Borg attacks since the Caeliar's powers have adapted her to telepathically link to the hive mind and impersonate the Borg Queen. O_O Things get super serious super quick and the puzzle pieces really start to fall into place about the Borg origin. It has it all: tearful farewells, emotional death scenes, close calls, and happy reunions. I personally think this would have worked better with two books instead of the three but if wishes were horses I would definitely never have gone horseback riding. 9/10 for Lost Souls.

PS Picard finally starts to resemble himself and I like him again.

PPS I still haven't watched Nemesis but I know a key plot point and I am not happy. ( )