My Weekend At OSFest 8

"As One" by Arden Ellen Nixon

OSFest 8 - The Darkness Within - July 31-August 2, 2015

This past weekend was the eighth annual Omaha Science Fiction Education Society’s convention more commonly known as OSFest 8. Attending this convention is something I look forward to all year and this year, as in years past, I had a great time.  This year was especially fun because I was able to be involved more than I have in past years thanks to my friends of the IKV Raptor's Heart crew. My weekend was balanced between serving on panels and just being a spectator.  I was constantly busy and didn't have a minute to be bored.

Chrissy, Diane and I decided to head out a day early for a stop at the Strategic Air Command Museum in Ashland, Nebraska.  We had not been there is quite a few years and it was great to see how it has grown since I was last there, I think about seven years ago. They have added many new items and exhibits and I would recommend, especially if you are a military history buff, that you consider stopping there. Make sure that you have at least a few hours to spend to take everything in.

We stayed the night in Bellevue and headed into Omaha. The Klingons has asked for assistance with setting up for their very ambitious weekend, and I wanted to be involved, so I wanted to arrive early. I was not disappointed as I was put to work right away setting up displays.

One of the first panels on the program was the Dune Discussion panel hosted by John Shoberg, Pat Kennedy and me. We talked about the history and culture of the Fremen from that universe and the audience participation was very good.  As the discussion progressed, we talked about the Fremen in the books and films and the question came up about whether anyone would ever be able to make a really good film depicting Frank Herbert's creation. It was a great way to kick off the convention. If deemed worthy by my Dune Saga Podcast partners, the audio portion of this podcast will appear on our programming.

Even while the Dune panel was taking place, there was the first of the Klingon activities happening in another room. Trudy Myers was hosting a Klingon Pin Workshop, and thank goodness, it was a two hour event, so I was able to get in on it before it was over. The purpose was to take a blank pin and paint it to look authentic. I am no artist, so my effort fell a little short, but I did get to visit with Trudy for quite some time and that was even more fun than the painting.  As the panel was ending, Trudy gave me a few more blanks to go along with the ones that John had already given me and encouraged me to try again when time is not a factor.  I'm not giving up.

I also got to see a little bit of the Star Wars Match game taking place in the main gathering area. I have participated in this game before and it is quite fun.  It was nice to hear all of the creative answers to finish phrases that the host, Gene Ray Burn was throwing out. I wish I could have been more than one place at a time.

As always, the best part of attending a convention is visiting with friends and making new ones.  I had already had my dinner when Patrick Kennedy invited me to join his family, but I joined him anyway and had a cup of coffee while I visited with Pat and the Artist Guest Of Honor, Arden Ellen Nixon.

Following the opening ceremonies, I attended the Great Tribble Hunt, which turned out to be a game of Tribble dodge ball.  I had intended to participate, but when I saw that it was mostly kids playing, I decided to stand aside; they move way too fast for me.  A couple of the adults did get involved, and I managed to get my hands on a couple of tribbles that went astray, but my aim is not good anymore and I didn't hit anyone.  It was fun to watch the kids run around and expend some pent up energy at the end of the day.

By the end of the Tribble Hunt, it was time to visit with friends at the room parties. I wish to say congratulations to John Shoberg and Trudy Myers on the publication of their books, and thanks for the cake and conversation.

The next morning, I was up early, so I secured a large cup of coffee and sat down to read for a while and waited for things to get started. It wasn't long before my good friend Troy Rutter arrived and along with my family, we had a nice breakfast and visit together. Soon after breakfast, I helped Troy set up his display of a costume from the movie Ender's Game. He managed to acquire the exercise suit from the training scenes that was actually worn by the character Bean, as portrayed by Aramis Knight.

The first panel I attended and participated on was the Babylon 5 Fan Gathering. This was hosted by resident B5 expert Mitch Obrecht and along with myself, included Troy. Mitch kicked off the panel by trying to lead a talk about the possible Babylon 5 film that has been talked about on social media.  Somewhere along the line, the subject swerved off the topic and became a discussion about the economics of TV/movies and especially the recent Sharknado. I am not sure where the panel went off the rails, but there seems to be quite a lot of passion about the SyFy series depicting sharks being lifted into the air by tornadoes and subsequently dropped on our country's major cities.

At this point, I decided to take a walk through the vendor's room and visit with friends there.

Next up was lunch with the IKV Raptor's Heart crew. Their presentation, Dining On Qo'noS included some delicious culinary selections that while may have looked like normal Terran fare, were a very welcome change to the usual restaurant food. Everything was home made and prepared with great care to not only taste good, but looked good too. If you are reading this, thanks to you, Sharon and crew for a good meal and fellowship.

I really had to wolf down lunch quickly to attend Troy's Babylon 5 On The Web panel in the next room. Babylon 5 was one of the very first television series to have a presence on the internet thanks to the efforts of Troy Rutter.  Much of what he did has become an industry standard for promoting and maintaining a fan base for almost every genre television production available today. Troy explained that while in college in Iowa, he worked with others to create websites that gained the attention of the creator of Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski who invited Troy to visit the show's location in California. As he tells it, he didn't waste anytime getting a plane ticket the very next day.  He was soon offered a position on creating and running the web activities of the show. Even though I had heard a few of the stories before, I still had a lot of fun listening to the ones I had heard before, and to hear new ones.

With nothing happening that I was involved in, I decided to take a stroll through the dealer's room and art display. I picked up a couple of CD's and a book that will come in handy for the Babylon Project Podcast that I am a co-host on. I also put in my bid on some art for Chrissy and me.  She found two ink drawings from Star Wars and the price was right. I choose one of Patrick Kennedy's Dune prints.  I also visited with Bruce Schindler, a local author that I met at the Buffalo County Fair who writes science fiction with an interesting twist; post apocalyptic western stories. I stopped and visited with Robert Collins, another author of scifi and fantasy, and arranged an interview to discuss a collection of short stories I finished last week from the Frigate Victory series.

The restaurant at the venue closes between services, so while my family, Troy, and I waited to get in for the taco buffet they were offering, I was approached by John who opened our conversation with a question, "Do you think we can get you into (Klingon) uniform next year?", to which I replied in the affirmative.  John then proceeded to tell me that a couple would like to renew their wedding vows at next year's OSFest, and he told me that he would like me to participate as a member of the wedding party! I was floored, to say the least. I agreed, after recovering from mild shock. So, I guess I will be building a Klingon uniform. Thank goodness I have almost a year to worry about that and a wife that knows how to sew.

After dinner, I wandered around admiring the costumes and took a few pictures.

I attended another panel with Troy on collecting autographs, a hobby of his.  Unfortunately, there were only two of us that attended, but we got a lot of interesting information and ideas for those that collect autographs. Troy's specialty is collecting autographs through the mail. He talked about how to tell if that type of autograph is authentic or not. He further explained that there are those celebrities that do indeed sign their own, some that have a secretary sign them, and even some who have a machine that will do it for them.  I learned that I am an IP'er, or someone who prefers to collect autographs in person.

The next panel I served on was called Legends Lost where I joined John Shoberg, Matt McKeever, Dennis Lynch, and Author Guest Of Honor Matt Rotundo where we discussed our thoughts and memories of Leonard Nimoy and Christopher Lee. What I expected would be a tearful remembrance of two of our icons actually turned out to be a fun and light hearted discussion with some good audience participation, and for me, a learning experience.  I was sorry to admit that I didn't know a great deal about Mr. Lee beyond my exposure to him as Dracula and Count Dooku. As John pointed out to me later, a panelist should not only contribute to a conversation, but should also take something away.

After the panel, Troy and I hung out and visited about films, television, and I took a closer look at the autograph collection. It is extensive and distinguished and he personally knows many of the people he has signatures from. Troy is a truly interesting man and has many fun stories to share. Along with that, he mixes up a very good Jovian Sunspot.

On the last day of the con, I was all set to attend a session on the Klingon art of Mok'bara, which is really Tai Chi.  I have always been interested in learning more about it, and figured that this would be a great opportunity, when suddenly the facilities' fire alarm sounded! As if the convention weren't exciting enough. Apparently, while moving one of the retractable walls by the dealer's area, a fire sprinkler was bumped and a weakened pipe burst causing water to be sprayed from the ceiling! Immediately, a bunch of people rushed in and helped with the situation until the Omaha Fire Department arrived. Fortunately, the water sprayed on the floor and beyond that, there was no other property damage. Within a half an hour, the situation was resolved and I and a few others learned about Tai Chi and where to find further information.

From there, I was privileged to co-host a panel on Star Trek Philosophy. Along with Matt McKeever, a very intelligent and thoughtful man, we began discussing Gene Roddenberry's vision of a utopian future exploring the galaxy encountering other races and interacting with them. In a sort of "good cop/bad cop" way, I took a more pessimistic track than Matt did and I think I might have derailed the topic when I asked if we, as a species, would be able to transcend above our nature. From there, the discussion turned to more of an economic and the want/need for material goods as well as other topics.  It was a spirited conversation and most of the audience got involved.

The last event of the day that I participated in was Klingon Jeopardy.  I not only participated, I was permitted to be the MC. The motto was "come for the chocolate, stay for the pain."  So, as is done on the show, the MC presents the answer and the contestant has to provide the question. So I might say, "a very young Clint Howard guest starred on this Original Series episode."  The correct response would be, "what is The Corbomite Maneuver."  If the contestant gets it right, then they get a piece of chocolate, but if they get it wrong, they get poked with a pain stick (which consists of a hand-shake buzzer on the end of a broom handle).  This was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed presenting the questions and acting silly for an hour.

By the end of that, I was pretty well conned out and ready to hit the road for the three hour ride home.

There was so much to do and see this year at OSFest 8. With over 90 panels, workshops, author readings, and activities, not to mention the room parties there was definitely no lack of programming. The only problem with this was that I wished I could be in more than one place at a time.

One of the best things about being at most any convention is to meet up with people you only get to see once a year, and to meet and make new friends. I did manage to sit down and just visit with friends for a while a couple of times and share stories, information, and laughs. I again would like to compliment and show my appreciation to the officers of the IKV Raptor's Heart for making me feel very welcome and for the huge effort they made to make this event a success. They were everywhere doing whatever they could to provide everyone who chose to participate a great time.  I would also like to thank James "Hawk" Hawkswell and the rest of the staff for their courtesy and professionalism. Everyone was very friendly and accommodating and did their part to make this a fun experience for everyone.

So now I begin looking forward to OSFest 9. I better get started making that Klingon uniform.

Darth Vader Force Choking Hawk.

Hawk's Revenge

IKV Raptor's Heart Display

More Klingon Swag

Troy's Display Of The Exercise Suit Worn By Bean In Ender's Game

Batman & Starlord With Their Kids

Star Trek Philosophy Panel

John Stands By With The Pain, Sharon With The Chocolate, I Read The Questions

If You Answer Wrong, You Get The Pain Stick

Sharon Dealing With An Unruly Contestant

Well, there it is...

QaplaH!

ANT-MAN - My Review Of What I Think Is An Excellent Superhero Film - Entertaining and Fun

ANT-MAN - 2015

A while back, I heard that Marvel Studios was considering making a film that I wanted to see. It was supposed to be about the Avenger member Black Panther.  I was very excited about that because he was one of my favorite characters when I read comic books. Then the announcement came that they were actually going to make Ant-Man.  “Lame” I thought.  I had read a few Ant-Man comics, but didn’t care too much for them, and wondered who would want to see a movie about that?  Then I saw the trailer for the film and thought that it didn’t look too bad and decided to give it a look.

So, this afternoon, Diane, Chrissy and I headed to the theater to see what it was all about and I am here to say that I very much liked this film.

The film opens in 1989 with Dr. Hank Pym (the original Ant-Man) resigning from S.H.I.E.L.D. because they were apparently attempting to replicate his shrinking technology Pym tells the S.H.I.E.L.D. leaders that he will hide what he knows until the day he dies and walks out.

In the present day, Pym’s former protégé, Darren Cross,along with Pym’s estranged daughter, Hope, have forced Pym out of control of his company. Working on what he has learned from Pym, Cross is getting very close to perfecting the shrinking technology. Cross has built a shrinking suit that he calls the Yellowjacket, and continues to test methods to make it work.

Meanwhile, a former thief, Scott Lang, is being released from prison. He moves in with his former cell mate Luis and tries to secure gainful employment (no easy task for an ex convict) so he can begin to help support his daughter and be a part of her life. When Scott goes to his daughter’s birthday party, he is told that he may not have visitation rights until he has an apartment, a job, and begins providing support. Dejected at not finding work and not begin able to see his daughter decides to perform a burglary that is suggested by Luis.

Scott, Luis, along with two others go to a house, disable the alarms, and crack a safe.  There isn’t much in the safe except what Scott thinks is an old motorcycle suit, which he takes back to Luis’ apartment. Later, he tries on the suit and to his surprise, when he presses one of the buttons, he is reduced to the size of an insect which takes him on a journey that terrifies him. All the while, Scott hears Pym’s voice as he goes on his adventure. Scott decides to break into the house again to return the suit. Upon exiting the house, Scott is arrested.

Posing as his lawyer, Pym smuggles the suit into Scott’s cell, with the help of some ants, and helps Scott escape from Jail.

Scott and Pym meet face to face where Scott learns that he has been manipulated into becoming Ant-Man to help Pym stop Cross from completing development of the Yellowjacket suit by stealing it. Scott reluctantly agrees and is trained how to fight and control ants by Hope.

Scott’s first task is to go to Avengers’ headquarters and steal a small device. But what should have been an easy task gets a little harder when Sam Wilson (Falcon) enters the picture. Scott and Sam fight, but Scott finally gets the upper hand when he shrinks down and gets into the workings of the Falcon’s wings.

We learn next that the reason for Hope’s estrangement is that Pym has never told her the complete truth about her mother’s, Janet’s death. Finally, Pym tells him how her mother and he were on a mission to stop a nuclear missile from striking the United States. Janet (Wasp) shrunk herself to get inside the workings of the missile, but to do this she had to enter the Subatomic Quantum Realm, so after she managed to stop the weapon, she continued to shrink and was lost to this world. Pym also warns Scott that the same could happen to him if he improperly makes adjustments to the Ant-Man suit.

So, Cross finally perfects the Yellowjacket suit, and invites Pym to it’s unveiling.  At the same time, Scott, Luis, and their crew break into the building with the intention of stealing the Yellowjacket suit, but Cross is one step ahead and traps Scott and tells everyone present that he intends to sell HYDRA both the Ant-Man and Yellowjacket suits.  Scott manages to break free though, and dispatches most of the HYDRA agents, but one gets away with a vial of material used in the shrinking suit technology. Meanwhile, Cross escapes, explosives planted in the building detonate and is vaporized.

Cross puts on the Yellowjacket suit, he and Scott fight but it is cut short when Scott is once again arrested. When a call comes over the radio that there is trouble at the home where Scott’s daughter lives.  When he arrives, he finds that Cross has taken his daughter hostage.  Scott and Cross fight again, but this time, Scott enters the Quantum Realm, get’s inside of the Yellowjacket suit, and destroys it and cross.  As Scott continues to shrink, he realizes that he can manipulate the workings of the suit and manages to return to the normal realm

Later, Scott is told that Sam Wilson is looking for him.

In the first of two Easter Eggs, Pym shows Hope a Wasp suit that will be hers when completed.  In the second scene, Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers are holding Bucky Barnes in custody.

At the end of the credits, it is announced that “Ant-Man Will Return.”

I thought the main characters for the most part were well written. Hank Pym was awesome as played by Michael Douglas who looks to be in great shape and ready for a return in the sequel. His performance alone was worth the price of admission. The same can also be said for Paul Rudd as Scott/Ant-Man.  He was someone that I found myself caring about and felt invested in seeing him be successful.  I didn’t like the Cross character, but we aren’t supposed to, because he is the bad guy.  His part was understated somewhat, and also underdeveloped and I didn’t get the feeling that I knew exactly why i didn’t like him, beyond the fact that he was the bad guy.  One area that Marvel has been catching a lot of heat on is the handling of their female characters, or lack of handling, as in the case of this film. I didn’t feel any sympathy at all for Hope or her plight.  She was a very one dimensional character and the highpoint of her part in the plot was in teaching Scott how to fight. I think that Marvel has to do a better job with their female roles, or they are going to lose the market to comic book fans.

One of the best aspects of Ant-Man was the incorporation of humor throughout the movie.  It was always appropriate to the plot and worked well, adding to the story.  And what a story.  While we get an origin/reboot of the Ant-Man character, we also get a comedic heist kind of film where everything goes wrong, despite the best efforts of the crooks, who are really nice guys who are just a little bad. The plot was very engaging for the most part, but I did get the feeling at times that the exposition of the film was just a bit draggy, which turned around as soon as Scott donned the Ant-Man suit.

Also impressive were the action sequences in the film. In some of the Marvel films, I have thought that the action was too fast, and often filmed too close to get the full effect of the fight scenes.  That was not the case here.  I don’t feel like I have to go and see the movie again to get a better look at the action, which I appreciate.

One of my favorite parts of the film was the scenery that was used from San Francisco! Those were some great shots and I wish they had put more of those to use in the film.

Overall, I would have to say that Ant-Man isn’t a great film when comparing to the scope of other Marvel films such as Avengers, but it is a solid piece of entertainment that was fun to watch.  It was mostly well acted, well directed, beautifully filmed and edited.  Well worth the price of a matinee admission.  It’s just a good popcorn movie.

 Well, there it is…

Qaplah!

Rise Like Lions - David Mack's Star Trek: Mirror Universe Masterpiece

Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Rise Like Lions by David Mack

One day, while thinking out loud on Facebook, I expressed my intention to read Star Trek: Section 31: Disavowed by David Mack.  It wasn’t long before David came on with a reply to my post with a recommendation that before I read Disavowed, that I should read the books of Star Trek: The Fall series, which I had already done (and have reviewed on this blog) as well as Rise Like Lions. He said that the background from those previous novels would be helpful in understand some of the elements in Disavowed. So, without further question, I ordered and downloaded Rise immediately and began reading; after all, if an author makes a recommendation like that, who am I to dispute him?

So the events in Rise take place in the Mirror Universe.  I am usually very apprehensive when reading stories that take place in that medium, mostly because I didn’t care for the Mirror Universe in the shows.  For those who are not familiar with that alternate reality, pretty much everyone there is an opposite of what they are in our universe.  So if you are a good guy here, you are a bad guy over there. The very first appearance of this alternate universe was in the original series episode “Mirror, Mirror” in which Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Uhura wind up on an Enterprise that is far different than the one they are used to. It is a good episode and I would recommend seeing it.  The Mirror Universe did not appear again until Deep Space Nine.  I have never been all that big a fan of those episodes, mostly because they often seemed silly and a little over-the-top for me.

Anyway, back to the point of this post.

Rise Like lions takes place completely in the Mirror Universe. I am not sure from where the story picks up, but I have watched all of the Deep Space Nine episodes to know that Humans are considered to be the trash of the Alpha Quadrant. The Klingons and Cardassians, along with the Bajorans, who form the Alliance, have become the dominant power who go about conquering and subjecting Humans and Vulcans to slavery. While the Terran Rebellion is working hard to take their fight for freedom to their oppressors, the fight does not go well, and the Alliance looks about to crush what is left of the rebellion.

Just as it looks like the situation is hopeless, things change, as they tend to do in political situation when major powers vie for domination.  First, the Bajorans decide that they need to leave the Alliance, then forces cause the Cardassians to begin fighting amongst themselves and with the Klingons. Then we are introduced to a new faction called Memory Omega that has the ability to travel vast distances and build very powerful ships, but what is needed to bring everything together is a leader. While Miles O’Brien has done a good job of holding the rebels together, he is not the leader that can really take the fight to the Alliance and bring freedom to the Terrans.

Memory Omega chooses a man that they believe can lead the rebels to a final victory, even if their man, Jean-Luc Picard doesn’t believe it. Add to that, Mac Calhoun of the Excalibur who has allied himself with the Romulans, and in the background, the forces of the Taurus Pact, which includes the Breen, Gorn, Tholians, and the Ferengi and you get the formula for one hell of a great story.

I enjoyed this story and there was not a single page of waste in it. David manages to take a massive number of factions, characters, and situations and brings them into sharp focus so clearly, that there is no doubt about what is taking place and at what time.  As I read, i was thinking how neat it was that each chapter was a snapshot of the action, every chapter was a small story in itself that, when put together, became a large puzzle with each of the pieces falling into place by themselves.

As each character is introduced, or reintroduced, they are different from their counterparts in the Primary Universe, but they are also the same.  So while the story is full of discovery, it also has a nice comfort zone because we can recognize the characters as people we have come to know.

One of the best parts of reading Rise for me was seeing people from so many different incarnations of Trek.  I was grabbed from the first line where David brings in Calhoun from Peter David’s New Frontier series of books!  But that is only the beginning. The Vulcans play a pivotal role in the plot, as do many, many characters from all of the television series, along with some new characters. David also does an awesome job taking some of the most maligned characters in Star Trek and making them characters that the reader can admire and respect.

Rise is also an emotional roller coaster ride that goes through the full spectrum. We get people that we love turning out to be horrible, and some that are hated are elevated. Some rise above themselves, while others fall, and some die. But it all adds up to one of the most interesting stories I have read. It is about endings, but it is also about beginnings; the seeds have been planted at the end of the novel for another Mirror Universe story that should prove to be just as amazing as this, perhaps even more so.

My highest recommendations for Rise Like Lions. Get a copy and prepare to be astounded!

Well, there it is…

Qaplah!

A Look At ST: TNG: Armageddon's Arrow By Dayton Ward - The Point Is That It Is A Good Story!

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Armageddon’s Arrow by Dayton Ward (2015)

Imagine that there is a war that has been raging on for years. You suddenly find yourself with the means to go back in time and stop this war before it starts, and you have one of the most powerful weapons ever invented.  But there is one catch; you have to completely annihilate your enemy to accomplish your mission. What are your going to do?  Would you be willing to commit genocide of another world?

[In the 5th novel of the Star Trek: The Fall series entitled Peaceable Kingdoms, Captain Picard of the USS Enterprise requests and is granted permission to return to the ongoing mission that he and his ship was intended for; exploration.

While investigating the Odyssian Pass, a region of space that is believed to contain a number of inhabited worlds, the crew of the Enterprise finds a giant ship that is apparent adrift.  Further investigation finds that while most of the crew has perished, two crew members of the crew are being held in suspended animation and that she ship the Armageddon’s Arrow has traveled more than 100 years from the future.  In a nearby star system, there are two inhabited planets that have been at war for centuries.  The Arrow itself was launched by a race called the Raqilan, and their descendants have launched the ship to obliterate the race that they are, and have been at war with, the Henlona.

As members of the Enterprise crew are aboard the Arrow to offer aid to the surviving members of the crew, representatives of the Henlona arrive on the scene and claim the Arrow captured and her remaining crew prisoners of war. Picard has no say in the matter because his hands are tied by the non-interference directive, however he does offer his services as mediator to help quell the conflict.

On the surface, all of the involved parties seem to want to conflict to end, but there are some with more sinister ideas.

It is also discovered that the Arrow, which was completed in the future, is actually being constructed in the present, and along with that, it is being built based on a design from the past!

Wow!

One might think that this situation would lead to a very tangled web of time paradoxes involving the past, present, and future, there is no need to worry about that because, as usual, Dayton Ward clearly knows his stuff and there is no confusion as the plot winds and twists around until, as one might suspect, Picard comes up with the more or less perfect solution after pointing out the futility of war, with the help of the two remaining crew of the Arrow.

When I see Dayton’s name on the cover of a Trek novel, I usually expect to read something from The Original Series, but he once again shows that he is quite comfortable in any of the series. That being said, there is however, an element in this story that comes from one of the best episodes (in my humble opinion) of Star Trek: The Original Series.  It seems that the Raquilans have designed their weapon on the second season TOS episode “The Doomsday Machine.”

For those that may not remember, that episode featured a machine that was designed by beings from another galaxy to destroy and consume entire solar systems for fuel. At any rate, leave it to Dayton to call up one of the most destructive weapons from TOS and place in the middle of the 24th Century, and it is brilliantly done.

Anyone who reads Trek novels regularly by now knows that the makeup of the Enterprise crew is very different from the days of Next Generation.  While Picard continues to command, Riker has been promoted to admiral and Worf now serves as the first officer, and it is great to see how Dayton has continued to make the character grow as he has gained experience and wisdom.  The newer members of the crew in this story are also interesting and have many dimensions, and that goes especially for Lieutenant Commander Taurik, who first appeared in the TNG seventh season episode “Lower Decks.”

Armageddon’s Arrow is well paced with nothing rushed or glossed over.  There are many references to events in the Star Trek universe that are relevant to the story.  For me, these are quite fun to find and always give me pause to think about what happened and see how well those events are tied into the story I am currently reading.  Dayton is especially good at this aspect of writing his novels

I heard on a podcast that I listen to regularly that it is the intention of the publishers for Star Trek novels to return to a more exploration stance and less focus on the intrigue and military aspects of Starfleet.  I am very glad that Dayton was tapped to be one of the first to kick off the renewed efforts of Trek to get back to seek out new life and civilizations.

Take a look at Armageddon’s Arrow and enjoy a really good, solid story in the TNG vein.

Well, there it is…

QaplaH!