A question for someone who's read "The Lives of Dax" more recently than I: Does Tobin Dax's story fit with Enterprise continuity? I seem to recall that in the story, Dax is working on a prototype transporter, and his ship is boarded by Romulans. That doesn't seem to fit with Enterprise, where we have a functional, if somewhat untrusted transporter and we're only vaguely aware of the Romulans.

Strictly, of course, the Trill have a different history from the humans, and maybe they were working on transporters later, or meeting Romulans sooner. But I can't shake the feeling that it doesn't quite fit. Can anyone who's read it since Enterprise started give their opinion on this?

I don't think it does. I was reading Dax on a business trip so I couldn't come and discuss (and then I forgot) but I remember thinking it didn't make sense. I'm pretty sure Tobin claimed to be the first person to be transported and his project had Human and Vulcan team members and was being conducted on a Human crewed ship.

They didn't recognize the Romulans for what they are, did they? Tobin's friend noticed something through a face mask but it's possible it's a case like the Ferengi. Records were lost. I guess it's fanwankable but I'd have to reread to be sure.

What's to say they aren't in contact with Trill in the ENT era? (I'm not sure of the dates for Tobin.)

If I'm remembering right, the Dax symbiont was born and joined to Lela not that far from now (2004). A normal Trill lifespan seems to be about 100+ years (barring accident or violence, as with Torias, Joran, and Jadzia), so assuming Lela, Tobin, Audrid, and Emony lived as long as Curzon did, Dax would have passed from Lela to Tobin maybe 15 or so years before the ENT era.

Nothing. "The Lives of Dax" posits Trill as a very early Federation member. They seem to be nearly as important as Earth and Vulcan. Nothing in canon seems to indicate that, but nothing really contradicts it, either (The book also makes a point of how the Trill are keeping the symbionts secret from everyone else, to try to fit with TNG's "The Host").

But that's not really the problem I have. The problem I have has to do with the chronology of technology and Romulans.

That's what I was aiming at- there's no reason Tobin couldn't be working on the transporter that wound up on NX-01.

On the other hand, there was a comic- actually a graphic novel, "Forgiveness," Wildstorm, October 2001- which had a human inventing the transporter in 2052. But I'm not sure if that version was supposed to have lasted.

Except that I just flipped through the first few pages of the story, and Tobin refers to the Earth-Romulan war as being in the past. So that would have to put it post-Enterprise.

There's probably a way to wank it. For example, do the Vulcans have the transporter? Maybe after they saw the humans had it, the Vulcans and Trill worked together to make one. Ultimately, though, I think we just have to admit that Tobin Dax's story was basically the first to explore this era, and didn't have Enterprise as a canon reference point, so some of their details were off.

But Tobin and his Vulcan friend were working on a human ship and Tobin was pretty nervous about being the first person to transport so I don't think humans had the technology already. It seemed to be a joint research effort between the 3 races.

I haven't read Lives of Dax, but could we wank that he was nervous about being the first Joined Trill to be transported?

The line goes - from my paperback edition of The Lives of Dax, page 118- as follows:

The first humanoid ever to be transported is going to be carrying two very large bombs with him, Tobin mused, shaking his head.

So the book directly contradicts ENT-canon. (Part of me would much rather listen to Tobin Dax than to Bermaga, though.)

Ha! Sadly, I believe on-screen canon supercedes anything in the books, even if the books are better-written, more thought-out, and far more interesting.

Speaking of which, I finally started Unity last night. I'm just getting into it, but my first impression is, "Yay!"

It brings the "Yay!," it brings the sniffles; there is much goodness. This is another one of those rare creatures: apart from being a good ST novel, it's just a good novel.

Oh, starri, that wanking raises so many canon issues...

Bombs? Can you explain?

Yeah, umm ...

These Romulans have come aboard in attempt to steal the warp technology that Tobin and this Vulcan scientist guy have been working on ... and Tobin gets the bright idea that if he blows up the engines, the Romulans can't steal it.

It's not the only thing in the book that contradicts ENT canon. Like, I think ENT pretty much establishes that the Romulans have warp technology already (in "Minefield", although I could be mistaken), whereas in the book, they apparently don't (although possibly they just don't have *as good of* warp technology, which I think isn't that big of a stretch).

That's also a TOS/ENT contradiction. The latest Star Trek Communicator quotes a line (not sure from who) about how continuity is nice, but sometimes plot neccessity overrides it.

I've decided to start reading the DS9 Relaunch books now that I've finished my dvds. According to a list posted above, I need to read one of the books from the Gateways series. Is it ok if I just read the one? Do I need any background before starting?

Someone above said something about reading "the pertinent chapter of Gateways #7." What does this mean? If I don't need the whole book, I'll find a chair at Barnes and Noble. My amazon wishlist is long enough.

If anyone wants share the love emails on DS9 books, let me know. I'm trying to get them used but, with shipping, new isn't that much more expensive.

I believe you can read only the DS9 book of gateways, and the pertinent chapter of #7. And have it make perfectly sense.

The chapter in question is basically the last chapter of the book proper. You cannot go without that chapter, and it's quite long.

The structure of the Gateways books is that the 6 first books explore the same problem, the Gateways, that is, from the angle of the 6 different sub-brands of Trek (incl. Challenger and The New Frontier). You will be somewhat spoilered for the TOS and TNG books if you read the DS9 one first, but not in any big way, if I recall correctly.

The seventh book is the last chapter of each of the previous books. The TNG chapter is the last one in this seventh book, so in the end, everything is up to Picard and his crew. (Not a spoiler.)

(The whole gateways series is actually readable, YMMV.)

Thanks. I read the first Millenium (the Fall of Terek Nor, I think) during the Super Bowl last night. I was expecting it to take place after What You Leave Behind so I was surprised to see Sisko. It was fun to place it in the series' timeline by what was going on. I'm looking forward to starting part 2 tonight.

The two Avatar books start the Relaunch officially, right?

Right. (Then it's Abyss. Then Gateways, MG1-4, Rising Son, Unity, and then a very long time to wait...)

You may also want to check out Andy Robinson's Garak biography A Stitch in Time, which, while not part of the Relaunch proper, is considered part of its canon.

And the Martok books are a great read, although not directly related to the rest of the series. (Err, unless they tie in in Unity, which I haven't gotten to yet).

They dont't. The Martok books are followed up on in Diplomatic implausibility, The Brave and the Bold and the following IKS Gorkon books. And word to what Starri said and what Cleo said.

Anyone planning on getting this, wait until May. It's a part one and part two is released then. Very irritating to get to the end and then having to wait for the next part. It's not too bad, though, I say cautiously.

I have Stitch in Time and the book written by Quark (the 34th Rule I think). I'll have to look for Martok's. I think I can get my library to order the Avatar books from a nearby town. Hopefully, they'll come before I finish what I have.

Thanks for the recommendations.

I was wondering something along the lines of what starri said: Does every Pocket Books book treat every other book as canon? I imagine it's too much to ask authors to keep everything straight- but do the editors make sure it all fits into one universe?

I know that they try to avoid mentioning the Shatner-line of books featuring a resurrected post-Generations Kirk in the 24th century. So that stuff is its own canon that isn't connected to the others.

However, I think in general, they try and respect what's been established in the other books, as long as the shows haven't specifically contradicted it.

What RiverThames said seems to be the case.

But, as long as the authors sometimes cannot avoid continuity problems inside a single book (like in IKS Gorkon, where the travel times conspicuously, and annoyingly, do not add up), continuity errors between books and sub-series are very much to be expected every now and then, when there is a plot to be served.

Not always, but they've gotten a lot better about keep the series internally consistant. Since they've decided to use them to push the story forward instead of just making them a cheap way to make a little money for Viacom.

I'm reading the Millennium trilogy right now and was wondering about the Grigari (I think that's how it's spelled). They're assisting the Ascendency and seem to be very proficient in genetic engineering. I don't remember them being mentioned on any of the shows but I'm not sure. Are they an invented race for the books or have they appeared before?

I believe they were invented for the books. They are also important to the video game DS9: The Fallen (I got distracted from playing that before I finished it, though). That game has the same basic plot as the books, although it's been a while since I read the books, so I can't be sure how closely the plots match.

Oh! I have that game! I am not a gamer in any way, though, so I haven't looked at it yet. How is it? And how is the Sisko voice? I was very disappointed to read that it isn't really him.

The Sisko voice is adequate. It won't pull you out of the gameplay, but it is a little distracting.

The game itself is pretty neat. Definitely better than your average first-person shooter. This one's technically behind the character. A more accurate comparison would probably be Tomb Raider, but with better controls.

Anyway, there's a great deal of puzzle-solving, rather than action. And I love the Tricorder. It can tell you if there's an enemy on the other side of that door, which is much better than being surprised. Sometimes enemies will beam in, which sort of defeats that aspect of the Tricorder, but you need to have some surprises.

All in all, it's pretty fun. And to play one character's path through to completion is pretty short, but you can go back and play the other characters (Sisko, Kira, and Worf are all playable, and have intersecting storylines). So far I've just played most of the Sisko path, and then I got distracted by KOTOR (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic).

Also, the first level isn't very interesting, and the Grigari are pretty obnoxious enemies. Push through it, and the game gets more interesting when you get to fight Cardassians and Jem'Hadar.

It will probably be another 6 weeks before I can look at it (my class is done then), but thank you for the review!

I like The Fallen but my gamer friends think it sucks. I played mostly in the Kira track, though.

It's different from a lot of games of its type, and the Tricorder is a big reason why. I like that they give you that edge, but I can see why a lot of First-Person Shooter fans might not like it. Personally, I think FPS games have upped the difficulty level way too much. The enemies are too smart now, and it's hard for the casual fans to get into it.

If nothing else, The Fallen has some neat levels. Between "missions", you get to wander around Ops and the Promenade. And my favorite level is when you get to walk around on top of, and then inside, a crashed Federation starship. The level design there is just so much fun.

I'm not very good with the FPS or with the Tomb Raider-y kind of games, but I had a blast with The Fallen.

Would that all ST games were as good.

Yay! My library called saturday to let me know they have 3 Relaunch books (the 2 Avatars and Section 31) for me. Unfortunately, I didn't get the message until yesterday and the library is closed today (stupid president's day).

I haven't made it through Garak's book yet. Should I read it first? Where does it fit into the continuity?

It's nothing that you need to read either the Avatars or Abyss, but it's a hell of a book. It's a letter that Garak writes to Bashir a few days before Avatar starts. Bashir is even reading it in Quark's at some point.

Thanks, starri. I'm definitely planning on reading it. I just haven't had time and, since I own it, I can put it off a bit. The Avatar books were borrowed by my library from somewhere and have a definite due date so it's nice to know I can read those first. My next couple of weekends are very booked.

So, I picked up Imzadi dirt-cheap at a used books store last week. I almost never buy Trek novels, but I've always been curious to read Imzadi, so I figured a buck was a good deal on it. Anyway, I'm pretty underwhelmed so far. I don't know if it's just that I don't really like Riker all that much to begin with, or what. I think some of the ideas are intriguing, with the Guardian of Forever and all that, but it's pretty meh overall. Does it get better? (I'm at the point right after Will and Deanna have their first picnic.)

The flashback story is the core of the novel, really, but it is kind of slow until it finally reaches its own action climax (which I believe you're very close to). The real plot snaps back in to focus once the flashback story ends and you get back to Admiral Riker in the bleak, bleak future.

Don't quit now. You'll have spent all that time reading the buildup and not getting any of the payoff.

I'll definitely keep reading. I never start a book and don't finish it (eventually), I was just wondering if I should expect it to pick up more or not. It's a fast read (like most Trek novels) so I'll probably finish it tonight.

Oddly, David even sort of anticipates later seasons of TNG, especially "All Good Things" and the last two movies.

Has anyone read the sequel? What's it about?

I read the sequel. Going in, I wondered how David could create a story with as broad a scope as Imzadi without outright repeating himself. As I found out, he did neither. There's no time-travel plot. What we get instead is Tom Riker, Romulans, and having to further endure the Worf/Troi relationship.

It was utterly forgettable to me. Don't bother with Imzadi II. Unless you really like Worf/Troi and want to read more about them as a couple, that is.

Euugh, I'm glad I didn't waste my 2 bucks on the copy of Imzadi II that was sitting next to Imzadi at the bookstore.

Instead, I got to use those 2 bucks on some trashy romance novels, which is what my friend and I were there for in the first place (and yet, we ended up in the sci-fi/fantasy section first--we're such geeks).

Apparently, to me too. I've been trying to remember anything about Imzadi II since thinga posted but couldn't come up with anything. I'm pretty sure I've read it, however. I really enjoyed the first one.

I've been meaning to thank all of you for convincing me to read the Relaunch novels. I made it through both Avatars and Abyss last week and am really wishing I'd ordered the entire series from my library at the same time. Since they don't own any DS9 books, they have to borrow them from other cities so I have to wait a couple of weeks and I won't be able to order the next set until next week. I wish we had a used book store nearby.

I love the way the books feel so much like watching an episode. So many threads aren't tied up by the last chapter (I can't believe Jake is still missing and they just noticed!). The new characters fit in quite well although I wish they'd put the names/places I should know in boldface. Is Vaugn a totally new person? From the way he was introduced, I felt like I should remember him from somewhere else.

I miss O'Brien though.

I'm glad you're enjoying them, akg. I felt the same way about how much they "feel" like the show.

coleoptera calls Vaughn "Commander Mary Sue." I don't know if I entirely agree with that, but that might account for some of the familiarity with him.

I can see that but I still like him (so far). I'm really liking Taran'atar (or however you spell it).

Speaking of Mary Sues, I got a very strong Mary Sue vibe from the Orion scientist at the beginning of Imzadi (I assume she shows up later, too, but I'm smack in the middle of the flashback right now). I know a Mary Sue is usually more of a major character, but something about the way she (and doesn't her name have "Mary" in it, too?) is described as basically the only Orion woman who isn't an "animalistic sex kitten" and who has to wear baggy clothes and glasses to cover up her innate sex appeal strikes me as very Mary Sue-ish.