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Oh boy I'm glad there's a thread for these now. I've enjoyed the few Trek books I've read, but I've yet to be really wowed. Just recently began the Vanguard series. Harbinger was a decent romp, but I couldn't help but want more from all of the characters. Everyone just felt kind of flat, except, maybe ironically, the Vulcan T'Prynn. There's still a lot of room for the cast to grow, so here's hoping. I have a ton of the paperbacks on my bookshelf, but I'm more interested in reading some of the recent stuff. 12 new Star Trek books a year is pretty cool, even if it means a higher amount of chaff to wade through. One of the more recent ones had Kirk team up with Seven of Nine in a bizarre twist of time and space and I'm positive Kirk puts the moves on her. It can't be worse than the Shatnerverse books though, can it?
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Apr 22, 2014 07:32
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A character in Summon the Thunder (Vanguard #2) just rather shamelessly referenced the Great Bird of the Galaxy aka Gene Roddenberry. Other than that I'm enjoying the pacing. A lot more intrigue this time around, with different races playing a bigger role. The Klingons and Romulans are represented, as well as various minor races like the Orions, etc. The books do a good job showing more things than the shows could feasibly do, like less humanoid aliens, bigger battles, things like that.
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Apr 30, 2014 06:12
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Okay so this goes a little deeper than I thought. Peter David established The Great Bird of the Galaxy as an actual space deity in one of his books. So the thing in Vanguard #2 is just a callback to that, not a Gene reference. Still pretty eyeroll worthy.
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Apr 30, 2014 15:17
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Jedi posted:The Great Bird of the Galaxy pops up quite a bit in the New Frontier novels by Peter David. While it may be a wink to Roddenberry, it's very much an in-universe thing. You've read the New Frontier stuff, then? How were they? I have a couple of em I think.
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May 1, 2014 01:01
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Still stumbling through the Vanguard series, Reap the Whirlwind this time. It feels really directionless. A lot of characters and plotlines are being juggled around, leaving the main thrust of the series kind of on hold every so often. Some chapters a lot of cool stuff is revealed, but then there's a few chapters in a row where characters do things that feel incredibly distanced from the Shedai/Tholian sequence. Hoping it'll start to coalesce some and at least have a decent climax. Granted, there are still 4 or so more books (+novellas and poo poo) so I certainly don't expect any meaningful conclusions to be made.
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Jul 15, 2014 07:24
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Wrapped up Reap the Whirlwind last night. It ended up partially redeeming itself in the last 50 pages. Some really cool stuff happened which has me slightly more interested in continuing the series.
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Jul 28, 2014 04:02
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Well, the Vanguard series has gone full goofball as of the end of book four. There were some pretty good moments along the way, mostly in the back half again. The first hundred pages or so was spent reestablishing the characters and their motivations and all the plot threads from the previous books. Oppressively tedious. Nevertheless, the mystery of the Taurus Reach is still tantalizing enough to propel me through the rest. The epilogue featured a twist that was so appallingly cornball I am anxious to crack open the next book just to see what David Mack does with the mess Dayton Ward left him. It's kind of disheartening to see this series is one of the more well received of the Star Trek books. While not entirely unpleasant, there are a lot of eye-rolling moments. Maybe its an issue of having to constrain oneself to a well established universe. The sci-fi stuff I've enjoyed immensely have all been unique creations. Oh well. There are still 5 more books in the series; perhaps they'll win me over.
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Aug 15, 2014 04:18
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Throb Robinson posted:The Vanguard series definitely has a middle to late drag but thst last book is so good. Makes it worth it IMO. This is actually really soothing to hear. I'm about to start Precipice tonight. Did you read the collection of novellas as well? Declassified?
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Sep 17, 2014 01:25
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Holy crap Precipice was so far and above the prior Vanguard books it's not even funny. Aside from an unfortunate use of the 'damsel in distress' trope, I was quite enthralled. A lot less to do with Vanguard politics and more surreptitious missions on/around alien planets. There's hope for this thing, yet!
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Oct 9, 2014 05:12
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