Sun, 30 April 2017
Dark Victory. James T. Kirk has faced many enemies over the course of his life: Klingons, Khan, Romulans, and countless others. However, none of them will prove as worthy an opponent as his most dreaded enemy: himself! The mirror universe shows us dark reflections of ourselves, and Kirk's counterpart, Tiberius, is the deadliest of them all! In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Bruce Gibson and Dan Gunther discuss the William Shatner novel, Dark Victory, book two in his Mirror Universe trilogy. We talk about the plot, Project Sign, the pacing, a lack of trust, the legend of the Preservers, Kirk trying to outrun death, and our ratings. In the news, we review two comics: New Visions 15: The Traveler, and Green Lantern: Stranger Worlds #6. News Feature: Dark Victory Hosts Production |
Sun, 23 April 2017
The Escape. Time travel has been covered a lot in Star Trek. Starfleet characters often find themselves thrown about the space-time continuum, usually in some sort of unintended accident. But what if there was a society out there whose entire civilization was based on controlled and regulated time travel? Torres, Neelix, and Kim find themselves at the mercy of just such a society, having inadvertently broken their highest law. The punishment? Death. This week on Literary Treks, Brandon Shea-Mutala joins hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson to help continue our look at the first original novels of each Star Trek series by going back to the very beginning of Voyager with The Escape. We discuss why this book, how well the authors capture the tone of Voyager and its characters, the plot, the society of Alcawell, inflexible bureaucracies, the characters of Kjanders and Drickel, some impractical shoes, and end with our final thoughts and ratings. In the news, we discuss the current Pocket Books release schedule, reveal some upcoming DS9 titles, rate the cover for Enigma Tales, and review issue #7 of Boldly Go. News Feature: The Escape Hosts Guest Production |
Sun, 9 April 2017
Section 31: Control: David Mack. Section 31: The Federation's dirty little secret. Amoral, operating in the shadows, and accountable to no one, the secretive group has become a cancer in the body of the Federation. But what are Section 31's true origins? And can Julian Bashir finally succeed in bringing them down once and for all? In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson are joined by author David Mack to talk about his latest novel, Section 31: Control. We discuss the origins of the story, the surveillance state, a chapter written in computer code, the nature of the intelligence behind Section 31, the roles of Data and his daughter Lal, Sarina's part in the story, what's next for the Federation, and wrap up with some hints for future Trek novels as well as some upcoming convention appearances for David Mack. In the news segment, we preview an upcoming George Takei project with IDW comics and review issue number six of Boldly Go. News Feature: David Mack Hosts Guest Production |
Sun, 2 April 2017
Enemy Unseen: Perchance to Dream. Captain Picard and the intrepid crew of the Starship Enterprise must stop a political assassination by extremists on a newly-admitted Federation world, all while battling their own inner demons thanks to a terrifying telepathic weapon. And the key to defeating that weapon can be found in the most unlikely place: the mind of Jean-Luc Picard! In this week's episode of Literary Treks, hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson discuss "Perchance to Dream" by Keith R.A. Decandido, the first part in IDW's comic collection Enemy Unseen. We talk about Data's dreams, how the Damiano scandal mirrors our own society, Worf's security shortcomings, the crew's inner fears, Picard's multiple personalities, and finish with our ratings. In the news segment, we preview new comics coming in June from IDW and review issue #4 of the Star Trek/Green Lantern crossover series, Stranger Worlds. News Feature: Enemy Unseen: Perchance to Dream Hosts Production |
