Star Trek - Titan 7: Gefallene Götter

Star Trek: Titan #7

by Michael A. Martin, Stephanie Pannen (Translator)

Das Raumschiff Titan setzt seine Entdeckungsreise fort!
In den unbekannten Weiten des Beta-Quadranten wird die Suche nach der lange verlorenen Terraforming-Technologie einer uralten Zivilisation fortgesetzt. Sie wäre ein Segen für viele von den Borg verwüstete Welten innerhalb und außerhalb der Föderation.

Die wissenschaftlichen Experten der Titan stoßen auf den Planeten Ta'ith, wo Überbleibsel einer ehemals großen Zivilisation beheimatet sind. Doch der Besuch des Planeten bringt die Titan auch gefährlich nahe an den tödlichen Vela-Pulsar heran, die stärkste Quelle todbringender Strahlung in der gesamten Galaxis, und riskiert damit sowohl die Titan und was von der ta'ithianischen Zivilisation noch existiert.

In der Zwischenzeit sieht sich Riker auf Konfrontationskurs mit dem Föderationsrat und der andorianischen Regierung, die beide vorhaben, die andorianischen Besatzungsmitglieder der Titan abzuberufen. Und eine dieser Andorianer, Lieutenant Pava Ek'Noor sh'Aqabaa, deckt eine furchtbare Gefahr auf, die seit zweihundert Jahren von allen unbemerkt geblieben war.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Audiobook, Ebooks, Media Tie In

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

Michael A. Martin's solo short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He has also coauthored (with Andy Mangels) several Star Trek comics for Marvel and Wildstorm and numerous Star Trek novels and eBooks, including the USA Today bestseller Titan: Book One: Taking Wing; Titan: Book Two: The Red King; the Sy Fy Genre Award-winning Star Trek: Worlds of Deep Space 9 Book Two: Trill -- Unjoined; Star Trek: The Lost Era 2298 -- The Sundered; Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Mission: Gamma: Vol. Three: Cathedral; Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31 -- Rogue; Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers #30 and #31 ("Ishtar Rising" Books 1 and 2); stories in the Prophecy and Change, Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain's Table anthologies; and three novels based on the Roswell television series. His most recent novels include Enterprise: The Romulan War and Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many.

His work has also been published by Atlas Editions (in their Star Trek Universe subscription card series), Star Trek Monthly, Dreamwatch, Grolier Books, Visible Ink Press, The Oregonian, and Gareth Stevens, Inc., for whom he has penned several World Almanac Library of the States nonfiction books for young readers. He lives with his wife, Jenny, and their two sons in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was tough to review because I honestly like half of the story. That, however, was the problem; there were two distinct and completely unrelated stories.

Important disclaimer first: If have not read previous books in the Star Trek Titan series or in expanded Star trek Universe, this book will absolutely make no sense to you.

Did I scare everyone off? Ok then. Fallen Gods, as previously mentioned, is two distinct stories - a ship-side story and a scary alien planet story. The ship in the bottle story dealt with the recent secession of Andor, one of the Federation's founding worlds. Because of this, Starfleet has issued recall orders for Titan's Andorian officers. To complicate matters, an Andorian starship arrives to repatriate these officers.

If this book was just about this "ship" story, it would be a pretty good short story. The Andorian characters are faced with forced repatriation with Andor or the equivalent of internment in the Federation. True to Star Trek there is always a third option which Riker and Troi explore. There is also a satisfying twist in the story that left me ready for the next novel.

If only it had been that simple.

The 2nd story takes place on the planet that the Titan is investigating. The planet in question is dying due to its proximity to a pulsar emitting lethal radiation. The people, who are never really described well beyond the fact that they are bug like creatures are locked in a political struggle of their own. The Preservationists want to save the technology of their fallen while the Thrashers want to destroy the technology that they fear as magic. Their salvation comes from the melding of minds between two of Titan’s officers and the planet's technology.

No really, THAT is the B story and it was not told very well. I was severely tempted to skip the portions of the story that took place on the planet. I simply did not care about the fate of Preservers or the Thrashers, and, honestly, neither did the author.

Another fatal flaw is the loads and loads of characters in the Titan series. Personally, Star Trek books are my "in-between" books because it is easy to visualize characters, plot, and setting. The series had so many characters from so many species it is difficult to keep track of who I am supposed to care about. The cast characters are made diverse for sake of being diverse. It is ultimately distracting.

My best advice is to only read this if you are a rabid Star Trek fan; even then, only read the Andorian plotline.

[John Carter McKnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was torn between 2 and 3 stars, and finally decided that, though it wasn't what I wanted, it was a solid example of what it is. I haven't been reading any of the Trek ship series: I returned to the books for the Typhon Pact storyline, and picked up this one as a crossover.

Fallen Gods reads like an episode of TOS or TNG. Which, if that's what you're looking for, is great. I came for an ongoing storyline of galactic-political intrigue, and felt all the way through like I was reading something I've seen hundreds of times before on Trek episodes.

The alien machine intelligence A story is very, very classic Trek, and solidly done if formulaic. The B story, with Riker caught in the middle of a conflict over the status of his Andorian crew... It was a nice dilemma, again very much in the Trek episode tradition. My only complaint was a technical one: after hundreds of pages of buildup, the solution seemed abrupt and insufficiently grounded. Hints were there, but the end could've been better tied to the middle.

In all, it's much like a summer crossover in comics: however good the main storyline could be, the peripheral stories usually seem crammed in, and driven more by marketing than storytelling.

The next Typhon Pact entry releases at the end of the month; that, I'll be looking forward to.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan of the STAR TREK: TITAN series and also the TYPHON PACT but the crossovers with the latter have been hard to track down to get a real picture of the events going on.

In this case, though, we actually get to see what it is like for the Andorians in Starfleet that have to deal with the fact their homeworld has Brexited from the Federation. I found this plot to be easily the most interesting part of the story and is distracted from by the "main" plot where there is a planet that has advanced technology they have forgotten to use but threatens to kill them all.

If you aren't familiar with the Andorian plot of them leaving the Federation as found in other books (and there are A LOT of Star Trek novels to navigate) then you probably won't get as much out of this as you otherwise might.

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Trek: TNG: Post-Nemesis: Titan series 07 Fallen Gods by Michael A. Martin

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense

Medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? It's complicated

4.0 Stars

This is a complex story. It did not do what I thought it set out to do (which lies on me, for I thought this was going to be a Bug Hunt story, like Starship Troopers, Aliens, etc), but it was not.

Now, thinking about the "cockroaches", which somewhere in the text it mentioned the species like that, where I had (up to that point) had more of an ant visual), but now with the cockroach visual in my head...it was harder for me to feel compassionate for this species (which is not good, but I hate cockroaches. Period.) There's not a world where I don't.

But, with that said, the story goes in a different direction (which honestly was better).

Also, I love the Andorian race within the Star Trek universe. They are passionate and aggressive, but they have a complex culture and history within the Star Trek world.

Shran was my favourite, from Star Trek: Enterprise. He was the character that brought me in...to enjoying the Andorian species, then with his arc...which was really well done.

As many can see...I use the avatar of myself as an Andorian on most of my social media accounts.

Then the introduction of the Tholians, and this whole thing got a lot darker.

What was done in this book, has speculated about for years within the Star Trek community, but in this story...they did it. AND, they did it really well. At first, I didn't recognize that THAT was what was happening, but when I reread it...I had that "A'ha" moment.

Yes, very interesting. I wonder how they are going to wrap this portion of the story up, by the end of the series.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ancient alien race and its remnants are slightly side-swiped in this novel by the post-succession Andorian politics (and the plot strand introduced here doesn't get very far in the long run), but the character work with the Titan crew is outstanding. I'm impressed by how much hard Asimov/Clarke-style SF runs through many of these Titan novels. The authors arent afraid of pushing boundaries, and I appreciate the effort.

[Derkanus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review: 2.5 stars. Some good ideas, but mediocre execution.

Summary:
Prologue: Opposing factions on Ta'ith debate what to do about the Heart of the Cosmos (their sun). The Preservationists want to protect the ancient works of their forbearers who had advanced technology, but the Deconstructors say those need to be cast aside.

Riker has a holo-conference with Admiral de la Fuego, who wants to know if Tuvok has recovered and if he's retained any information from his mind meld with the Brahma-Shiva terraformer AI. He tells her that Tuvok remembers nothing, and says White-Blue is also offline from interfacing with the device. Titan itself needs repairs from a battle with the Gorn (Typhon Pact); she says she's sending the USS Capitoline to meet them with replacement parts, and crew--the Andorians have left the Federation and are demanding that all their citizens repatriate, including the 7 Andorian officers aboard Titan. Riker is arguing with the admiral when the connection drops--possibly due to interference from the Vela Pulsar that they're studying.

De la Fuego tells Admiral Akaar that she doesn't like keeping Riker in the dark about the greater picture, since Titan will be the first to deal with the consequences.

The subspace disruptions may have been caused by the Typhon Pact (Romulans, Breen, Kinshaya, Tzenkethi, Gorn, or Andorians); Vale wonders if one of the Andorians on Titan could have done it. Riker tells Troi he's willing to be court-marshalled to stand up for his Andorian crew, even if that means being sent to a penal colony.

On Ta'ith, Preservationist Eid’dyl is tortured by Fy'ahn of the Deconstructor sect; they want to know how to destroy their forbearers sacrifices technology and records to "stop the Daystar's wrath."

Pazlar notices something odd about the magnetosphere of the planet near the pulsar and thinks it's possible that it's inhabited, despite all odds. She believes it may be ecosculpture technology keeping the planet alive. Furthermore, the turbulent activity of the pulsar may have been caused by Titan's warp field. Riker wants to send an away team down to the planet via shuttle to see if they can reverse the damage they've caused.

The Deconstructors cannot destroy the ancient machines, as they immediately self-repair. Eid'dyl says s/he can summon one of the Fallen Gods of they allow her.

Tuvok spars with the Andorian security/tactical officer Pava, who says she feels like the Japanese-Americans during WWII. She has a mental breakdown, saying she gave up everything to be in Starfleet. Tuvok tries to relieve her from duty, but she attacks him; he decides she needs the work to help her deal with the stress, but intends to keep an eye on her.

Eid'dyl uses a cranial interface helmet to contact the keeper of the Old Records. The voice tells the Trashers that it needs to repair the damage done to the Builder's Creations, and they destroy the helmet, calling the voice a false Elder God.

Torvig and Ensign Crandall repeatedly attempt to revive White-Blue. Torvig insists that the AI spoke to him after being shut down by the Brahma-Shiva, and can still be rescucitated. Crandall is unsure that Torvig's recall of the incident can be fully trusted.

Maintenance Module One One Six notices a space vessel near Ta'ith and detects Whetu’irawaru machine code present, and thinks perhaps it can regain its lost code by reaching out to the two minds it senses.

Tuvok's wife says she knows about the ecosculpting knowledge he is concealing from Riker, and says he could suffer neurological injury if he keeps it concealed forever. She says withholding information like this is similar to how Starfleet supressed scientific data that could have reversed Andor's population decline.

Titan is hit by a subspace energy pulse from the planet. White-Blue awakens momentarily, infodumps in a language Torvig is unfamiliar with, and becomes inert again. The same happens to Tuvok, who slumps into unconsciousness. He is taken to sickbay, where he remains unconcious, until he abruptly sits up.

116 apologizes to Tuvok and White-Blue for the psionic fusion without consent, but it tells them they both have information about its creators that it needs, though they must consent to give it to him.

Tuvok tells everyone in sickbay that his mind is joined with 116; 116 says the conjoining was possible because of Tuvok's meld with the terraforming tech at Hranrar, and that it also interfaced with White-Blue. It says it has recovered 97% of its original code, but cannot return to Ta'ith because the output of the pulsar has increased again. It asks to tag along on the shuttle they're planning to send to the planet. Dr. Ree estimates that they have no more than 36 hours before disconnecting 116 from Tuvok's mind would be fatal.

An unknown ship warps into the sector, causing the pulsar to intensify unexpectedly. The shuttle is mostly fried, but still manages to make a relatively safe crash landing on the planet, where they're greeted by hundreds of Ta'ithans. The ship is an Andorian battle ship, and Commander Zhrar demands Titan hand over their Andorian crew. Pava suggests that she go over first to explain to the Commander that they're on Titan by choice.

Zhrar does something to Pava during transport--there seems to be 2 versions of her. The real Pava wakes up in the dark several hours later and learns that all the other Andorians from Titan are already aboard. When she confronts Zhrar, 2 Tholians appear with disruptors drawn. Zhrar says the Tholians can communicate over long distances and that the Andorians have adapted that biology successfully into some Andorian test subjects. Pava attacks her captors, but a giant disruptor hole is blasted through her midsection.

The Tuvok amalgam addresses the Ta'ithans in his ancient language and the natives agree to take them to the Technocore if they help overthrow the Trashers. 116 tries to connect to the system, but can't do it remotely. They only have a few hours before sunrise when the radiation will destroy everything on the planet's surface.

Zhrar tells Riker that the Andorian sensor tech from Titan is the only one who has decided to stay, but when Riker asks to speak with them, he is denied. Riker suggests he sends one of the other Andorians back over, and Zhrar agrees.

Pava wakes up in the infirmary and the doctor says she suffered a transporter accident while beaming over from the Titan. Zhrar tells her that he's a member of the Andorian Imperial Intelligence Bureau (the All-Sensing Antenna).

The Preservationists encounter the Trashers on the way to the Technocore. Fy’ahn uses a knife to gut Eid'dyl, and a battle ensues. The away team makes it to a console, and 116 leaves Tuvok. White-Blue also reactivates. Tuvok says 116 is degrading and will likely not be able to fix the self-repair system. Vale realizes they're all dead.

There are rumors that Pava's corpse was seen in the Therin's pathology lab, and also that she's still alive aboard the ship. Lt. Churan encounters Ensign Vallah trying to hack a console, and is surprised she is also not back on Titan. A security detail takes her away. In her quarters, Pava hacks a console to contact Titan for an emergency beam-out. They try to beam her away, but the Therin tries to beam her back. Titan eventually gets her, but she passes out upon materialization.

Tuok and White-Blue reinitiate the mindmeld with 116 through the terminal, hoping to restore its cohesion enough to function. Tuvok awakens shortly and tells Vale they need to get to the shuttle; they make it just as Ranul is about to lift-off.

Pava wakes up and tells Dr. Ree he has to warn Riker that he was interogated by Tholians aboard the Therin. Riker tells Zhrar to send Vallah back, or face Federation charges of piracy and kidnapping; Zhrar agrees and returns Vallah. Zhrar seems oddly triumphant even though all 7 Andorians decided to stay on Titan. He warps out of the system, causing a gravitational shear.

Tuvok seems completely fine, but he says White-Blue elected to stay behind on Ta'ith, fused with what was left of 116, so the others could escape. Vale tells him it might be for naught, as the shuttle's shields are collapsing and they can't go to warp without triggering the pulsar; Tuvok takes control of the shuttle and takes it to warp; he says either White-Blue or 116 took control momentarily, and used a warp-frequency that wouldn't damage local space.

Vallah tells Pava that she saw her aboard the Therin an hour after Pava escaped.

Torvig wants to restore White-Blue from a backup in the main computer core, by rendering him using the holodeck first, and then transfering him into his lifeless shell.

Tuvok confides to T'Pel that he wishes he hadn't given up the terraforming knowledge.

Riker meets with Captain Holverson from the USS Capitoline. He tells her that his Andorian crew have renounced their Federation citzenship, and thus are not subjected to the new law and qualify for diplomatic sanctuary.

Epilogue: Pava's bondmate Churan visits her in her room on the Therin and says he saw her dead in the morgue. He explains that Zhrar and the Tholians are splitting transporter beams into a second location, and he's duplicated all 7 of the Titan crew.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fallen Gods is not a terrible novel. It's just kind of... there. The prose is bland, and the story is not terribly engrossing. There are some positives in the novel: for example, Tuvok's reaction to the loss of the eco-sculpting knowledge from the previous novel was very interesting, and I would have loved to have the author explore that idea a little more.

Fallen Gods seems to retread a lot of ground previously covered in other novels. Nothing really happens to advance the characters all that much, and while I'm interested in seeing the Andorian situation developed in the future, this novel makes me wary of the direction it seems to be taking. The idea that a lot of what is going on could be the result of nefarious Tholian mind-control worries me about what the next turn in this tale will be. Time will tell, and I'll certainly be reading. But Fallen Gods is definitely a bit of a miss in what has been a series of hits in Trek literature lately.

Full review: treklit.blogspot.com/2012/08/fallen-g...

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

You have but to look back on my past reviews to see that Titan is my least favorite Star Trek series... and I've read New Frontier. That being said, I was surprised at how much I liked this. The Andorian plot was great and it actually focused on recognizable characters. This is literally the first time I've read one of these where I wanted to pick up the next book instantly. I hope this is an indication of what is to come.

I discuss this in more detail in this episode of the All the Books Show Podcast https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...

[Crystal Bensley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good Titan novel focusing on the Andorians on board after their world leaving the Federation. Slow in some parts but a decent story.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fallen Gods continues on from the previous book with the crew of the Titan encountering a system that appears to have been bombarded by it's star going supernova millennia ago! :D Thanks to Pazlar Riker finds out that the planet is potentially still inhabited! :D Tuvok and White-Blue make contact with the inhabitants and Vale then leads a mission to the planet! :D This is compounded by the fact the the being an AI Undercity Maintenance Module 16 who needs the crew to aid itself in repairs while at the same time having to avoid the civil war that is brewing on the planet due to the technophobia of one side! :D

At the same time the Andorian ship IGW Shantherin th'Clane under Commander  Krasizhrar ch'Harnen turns up with what can only be called sticky fingers wanting to get the Andorian crew on Titan back the Andoria ostensibly! :D As the book develops in becomes very obvious that this Andorian ship is up to a spot of duplicating crewmembers and is done in a very underhanded way! :D This obviously set up things for later plot developments as you cannot imagine characters like Pava Ek'Noor sh'Aqabaa sitting by and letting things like that slip by without more fighting as we see earlier in the book as well! :D The adding in of Krasizhrar and the Tholians neatly ties things into the events that take place in the Typhon Pact books as well which really places Titan and it's crew at the heart of all the skulduggery that is taking place all over the Quadrants of the Milky Way since the creation of the Pact! :D

The characters and what they encounter is handled excellently! :D Fallen Gods is full of moral quandaries from debates over the Prime Directive and whether they should be getting involved with Maintenance Module 16' attempts to all the way through to the ethics of Starfleet putting the Andorian members of Starfleet into less sensitive posts! :D The analogy to World War e come a flying but really bring home the points that Riker is making! :D At the same time the arrival off USS Capitoline turning to take the Andorian members their new assignments or repatriation the legal and political situation come to a head! :D Luckily for Riker and crew the captain of the Capitoline is an old friend from the USS Hood Roberta Holverson so Riker to Roberta surprise pulls another rabbit out of the hat! :D This of course sets the stage for future plotlines as well as setting things up in ways that would allow Riker and anyone else who cares to use to tie the Federation up in legal knots and do and end run round them if needs be ! :D

The action comes aplenty throughout the book with the plot really not be spottable as to how it is going to come together! :D Indeed as the book progresses plotlines are set up and continue with abandon and the book itself serves as a setting up point for new storylines neatly dovetailing into other events that are going on in other books! :D This book really gives you the sense of the Titan being in the thick of the new political landscape that the Federation finds itself in! :D This has the different feel to the book with the Titan both still continuing on it's mission of exploration but still finding itself having to deal with political situation and it's fallout! :D In addition, as they are out of the far reaches of explored space, they are unable to get a clear look at the big picture! :D It hinted at by a brief appearance by Admiral Akaar that there is more taking place and more to the orders regarding Andorian citizens than would at first appear! :D This is a neat little trick as you find yourself viewing the situations and the characters with an eye to what is really going on! :D

Krasizhrar would appear to be working rogue from the rest of the Andorian Clans an this is a neat setup as you can see Starfleet having to work it's way through those waters in order for any reconciliation to happen with Andor! :D On the same foot with conspiracies abounding all over the place there will be a number of things to address and the book does a great job of adding to this Starfleet and political can of worms that is growing all over the place raises new questions and plotlines left right and centre! :D

Fallen Gods is a grand adventure with tense political overtones throughout! :D It gives you an impression that has started to blow and is only working itself up! :D Fallen Gods does and incredible job of setting things up and leaves plot gaping ready to be resolved! :D It also addresses the characters and their position on things neatly setting them up for future plots as well! :D It is full of action to boot and deals with serious issues throughout but at the same time keeps itself action packed! :D Brilliant Fast-Paced and highly recommended! :D Crisp high five! :D Make sure you have the next one! :D

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are some interesting plot elements here. First of all, the fallout of the Andorian secession, which forces Titan's Andorian crew members to face some difficult decisions. Then there is the planet that Titan discovers while this political situation is simmering. It is near a very radiation-intense pulsar and is home to a race of giant genderless centipedes or something, who are basically in a state of civil war. Then an Andorian ship shows up, wanting the Titan's Andorians to go back home with them.
So...how was the book? It was just....very meh. Absolutely nothing about it was particularly exciting or unique. The way Riker deals with the aggressive Andorian ship is absolutely moronic. Many of the Andorian characters come across as clinically hyper-aggressive and cranky (some of which is understandable given the situation, but still). There is corny dialogue and cliche all over the place (especially with the pilot of Titan's shuttlecraft whom Martin can't write a sentence of without taking a page out of The Right Stuff). There also really isn't any satisfying payoff, and while there is a halfway decent cliffhanger at the end, it still doesn't really make the whole read worth it.
It's not terrible, but just not that exciting.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a lot of middling to out and out stinkers of a Star Trek book this year. This one however has not one of them. In spite of NOT being a Typhon Pact novel per se, it deals with the ramifications of a lot of the Typhon Pact in a much more mature and intelligent way that most of the Typhon Pact novels I've gotten to thus far. You know how Star Trek is at its best when it's commenting on social ills of our time? This book was written when the 'immigrants in the military' issue was coming up a lot. (And might be even more timely now.)

The really the only odd thing about this book is that the title and the back cover make you think that the B plot (which made it seem like another in a long line of ship goes to unknown planet and gets mistaken for gods stories). But that wasn't the case at all. That story sort of falls back to the B plot as the Andorian story takes hold as the A story. Which is probably for the better since that other story is one Star Trek has boldly told many, many times before.

Not only is the Andorrian story nicely told but it sets up something that looks like it could be really cool a few books down the line.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel has four subplots, one of which was the weakest and appeared about 2/3 of the way through. Some of the subplots were part of the story arc - the investigation of a dying planet near a powerful pulsar while others continued the Typhon Pact arc.

Star Trek: Titan is serialized, but not as bad as other series, and readers need to remember the events of the previous books. Michael Martin does a good job of summarizing and recalling previous events in the series that were written by other authors. Martin also does a good job in limiting how much backstory and previous events slow the prose and storytelling.

Another good point - the clash between the native forces was contemporaneous and not a flashback, but the way Martin wrote it, you had no idea that it was not a flashback as other authors like to use that trope. Then it tapered off when the Titan's landing party arrives.

The downside - the Typhon Pact / Andorian arc was too confusing and had no bearing on solving the crisis on the planet and the pulsar.

[Star Trek Novels and Comics · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave this a One Star. I read this and I don't even think they saved anyone at the end of the novel. At least it left me confused and unclear if the main objective of the novel was actually accomplished.

Forgettable. Difficult to read. Due to the run on sentence problem this writer has... Overly wordy nonsene.

Look, there are a great deal of Bad Star Trek Titan novels. for various reasons but I had to get the word out on this one ASAP

AVOID. Fallen Gods is probably the worst Star Trek Titan Novel in the series. Which is a shame because when this crew is well written it works very good.

[Scott Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one moves apace. There’s quite a bit of action and Martin does a great job of making sure it’s clear what’s happening where. I feel badly for all the torture that these novels seem to be putting Tuvok through! I really hope he gets some time to heal and return to himself now.

[D A Lightcap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saving one world and a surprising discovery

Fighting to fix the mistake of entering this world's space. An old ally arrived with it's mystery to solve. But this is not the ending but a step along the way.

[Richard Sampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good read. I do hope I can find more of this series, since I am curious what other adventures of the Titan are out there. This series makes you feel for all the characters on the starship.

[Jeremy Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh another Titan book

This books was ok though the story rang as rather hollow for me. The Andorian situation felt like it went in circles till the end when it was explained.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it's not a bad book but it's lacking in something. I wasn't sure what it was a few years ago when I read it originally and I'm still not sure today

[Frank Normansell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best Titan novel yet. I really enjoyed but it is still not a STNG book which trumps any other Star trek novel.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read a bit better than some of the other Titan books.

[Aaron Eichler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sneaky Andorians

The Titan went on another great adventure with Sneaky Andorians. I loved the interaction between BlueWhite and the other entity.

[Brett T · Rating 2 out of 5]

During the heyday of Star Trek novel publication, Pocket Books put more than a hundred books into print telling stories from the original 1960s series as well as later spinoffs The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Voyager and Enterprise novels started showing up as the franchise glutted the market and also some non-broadcast series like Peter David's New Frontier books.

One characteristic of most of the novels during the saturation period was how little attention they paid to each other's continuity. Paramount Studios gave some strict general guidelines, but overall very few characters or plots from one novel would show up in another unless they were written by the same author or by authors who knew each other. The retrenching of the different series during the 2000s revised this policy and organized the books into a similar continuity, almost like a gigantic shared-universe novel by several different authors. The Next Generation especially was reined in, with the galaxy's politics determined by the overwrought, overwritten, and not over soon enough Destiny trilogy by David Mack. Mack gave the origin of the cybernetic Borg, as well as offering a welcome solution to remove them from the Star Trek universe. Without his deus ex (literal) machina twist at the end of the triad, the unstoppable villains would clearly have assimilated everything in time. Doing something necessary does not mean doing it well, and Mack's 2008 trilogy demonstrates that in lingering, leaden detail.

The success or failure of this new idea is in the eyes of the readers; you can guess my view. Part of the problem is that the TNG series is seriously a product of its time, a 1980s-1990s version of utopia as imagined by Gene Roddenberry at his least imaginative. It had some great episodes and moments, such as "The Best of Both Worlds" two-part episode or the First Contact movie. But it's just not that interesting a place.

The Titan series follows now-Captain William Riker in his long-delayed first command of the exploratory vessel U.S.S. Titan, and exhibits the problems with the approach. Of the TNG main crew, only Riker and his wife Deanna Troi are around, joined by Voyager's Tuvok. Minor characters from books and different television episodes appear, which is probably of little interest to those beyond the core fandom unless the books are well-written enough to bring those people to life.

Few of them are, and Michael Martin's Fallen Gods is not among them. It relies far too heavily on its own series history to help keep the characters straight, including the apostrophe-laden list of new aliens who make up the "most biologically varied and culturally diverse crew in Starfleet history." It also relies on events from Martin's previous Trek novel, Seize the Fire, to a story-stunting degree and spends too much of its time on a story arc it shares with several other novels that describes the fertility crisis of the relatively heretofore minor (in series terms) Federation race of Andorians.

Fallen Gods' own main plot, involving the remnants of a species barely surviving on a planet threatened by a pulsar's radiation, is not particularly interesting either and wraps up too neatly.

The overabundance of bad Trek novels during the 1980s and 1990s produced some serious clunkers, but I would rather subject myself again to the worst of them (Kathleen Sky's Vulcan and Death's Angel, Margaret Wander Bonnano's Dwellers in the Crucible, A.C. Crispin's Yesterday's Son and just about anything from Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath lurch dully to mind) again because as badly as they may stink, they stink with the cast of characters I know, rather than a roster taken from the "also featuring" crawl at a TV episode's end.

Original available here.

[Bridget Petrella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though the United Federation of Planets still reels from Andor’s political decision that will forever affect the coalition, Captain William T. Riker and the crew of the U.S.S. Titan are carrying out Starfleet’s renewed commitment to deep space exploration. While continuing to search the Beta Quadrant’s unknown expanses for an ancient civilization’s long-lost quick-terraforming technology— a potential boon to many Borg-ravaged worlds across the Federation and beyond— Titan’s science specialists encounter the planet Ta’ith, home to the remnant of a once-great society that may hold the very secrets they seek. But this quest also takes Titan perilously close to the deadly Vela Pulsar, the galaxy’s most prolific source of lethal radiation, potentially jeopardizing both the ship and what remains of the Ta’ithan civilization. Meanwhile, Will Riker finds himself on a collision course with the Federation Council and the Andorian government, both of which intend to deprive Titan of its Andorian crew members. And one of those Andorians— Lieutenant Pava Ek’Noor sh’Aqaba— has just uncovered a terrible danger, which has been hiding in plain sight for more than two centuries...

Michael A. Martin has covered a lot of ground as Star Trek author, penning tales spanning from TOS, Enterprise and Deep Space Nine to Titan, Section 31 and The Lost Era. Now he continues his impressive run of Trek novels with Star Trek: Titan: Fallen Gods, out today from Simon & Schuster. Here’s the official description of the adventure:

Though the United Federation of Planets still reels from Andor’s political decision that will forever affect the coalition, Captain William T. Riker and the crew of the U.S.S. Titan are carrying out Starfleet’s commitment to deep space exploration. While continuing to search the Beta Quadrant’s unknown expanses for an ancient civilization’s long-lost terraforming technology— a potential boon to many Borg-ravaged worlds across the Federation— Titan’s science specialists encounter the planet Ta’ith, home to the remnant of a once-great society that may hold the very secrets they seek. But this quest also takes Titan perilously close to the deadly Vela Pulsar, the galaxy’s most prolific source of lethal radiation, potentially jeopardizing both the ship and what remains of the Ta’ithan civilization. As time grows short for both Titan and Ta’ith, Riker confronts the most vexing ethical conundrum of his career: Will he execute a politically motivated order forcing the Andorians aboard his ship to leave against their wishes…or will his loyalty to his crew compel him to jeopardize his career by defying Starfleet Command?

Michael A. Martin's solo short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He has also coauthored (with Andy Mangels) several Star Trek comics for Marvel and Wildstorm and numerous Star Trek novels and eBooks, including the USA Today bestseller Titan: Book One: Taking Wing; Titan: Book Two: The Red King; the Sy Fy Genre Award-winning Star Trek: Worlds of Deep Space 9 Book Two: Trill— Unjoined; Star Trek: The Lost Era 2298— The Sundered; Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Mission: Gamma: Vol. Three: Cathedral; Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31— Rogue; Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers #30 and #31 ("Ishtar Rising" Books 1 and 2); stories in the Prophecy and Change, Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain's Table anthologies; and three novels based on the Roswell television series. His most recent novels include Enterprise: The Romulan War and Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many.

His work has also been published by Atlas Editions (in their Star Trek Universe subscription card series), Star Trek Monthly, Dreamwatch, Grolier Books, Visible Ink Press, The Oregonian, and Gareth Stevens, Inc., for whom he has penned several World Almanac Library of the States nonfiction books for young readers. He lives with his wife, Jenny, and their two sons in Portland, Oregon.

[Excel Lifestyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welp, I read this because I wanted to see the resolution of the Tuvok cliffhanger from Seize the Fire, which I did, but it ended on another cliffhanger that was never addressed again.

Overall it’s an ok Star Trek adventure but I can’t see picking it to read over any of the other books unless you must know what happens to Second Gen White Blue

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

A planet and civilisation under threat from a pulsar where the ship's engine makes it worse, a former friendly race with a very naughty plan, and a general continuation of the themes from the last few Titan novels (artificial intelligence, and an ancient species that have left their technology throughout a region of unexplored space) combine with the ongoing Typhon Pact saga in a challenging and barely fulfilling story... if you can get to the end, then a flicker of light will reward you. But gosh, this is a difficult read.


The very familiar storyline (science vs religion) is rehashed here ineffectually. It's a tired conflict and this showing brings nothing new to the debate. It's basically, 'Destroy the ancient machines' vs 'Preserve the ancient machines'.

The author, Michael A. Martin, seems to have grabbed a bag of scrabble letters and randomly picked his race and character names. Whilst sci-fi and fantasy settings often suffer from this kind of naming - this story presents some of the worst examples: Whetu'irawaru, Ta'ith, Eid'dyl, Fy'ahn, and Garym. I'm sure one of those must be a rude word in somebody's language.
A new personal pronoun is excessively used and 'hir' (presumably a mix of 'his' and 'her' describing a race that clearly doesn't have two genders) is just annoying after a while.
But then, I suppose you could suggest that the author has at least tried to do something different from the standard two arms, two legs humanoids.

But still... YUCK.


There are a few saving graces.

Characterisation is generally very good, as is the way the different storylines meld together - all expertly crafted which is what you would expect from this author, his other books - especially those with Andy Mangels have always been fun. About two thirds in, the story shifts and things begin to happen.
If you can stick with it that far - you might just be surprised with the outcome, which is actually quite satisfying and leaves various hanging threads with some major consequences, and I am interested to see what happens next, which means the story was told well enough to catch my attention (surely, that is the aim of any fiction novel?)

I would have rated this much lower, but since it felt like an actual episode of Trek in its structure and themes, I have settled on a generous 3 stars. I have really enjoyed other novels by this author and so maybe that frustration is the reason for the lower rating.
A bigger concern is that the Titan series doesn't seem to have a goal or aim right now and the last few stories from this series have been 'more of the same'.

[Maurice Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner! After facing down the Gorn over a terraforming device, Tuvok and SecondGenWhiteBlue both have the knowledge of how to rebuild the destroyed device locked into their brains. White-Blue has been non-responsive since the sentient device mind melded with him and Tuvok, and Tuvok is concerned at the destructive potential of the device if he were to access the information and build a new one.

As he ponders things, Captain Riker has multiple concerns. Titan is approaching the Vela Pulsar, a phenomenon so powerful that it could fry the entire ship if they get too close, but Lieutenant Commander Pazlar is convinced there is life on one of the planets inside the pulsar.

Admiral De La Fuego contacts Riker to let him know that in the wake of Andor's secession from the Federation, all Andorian Starfleet officers are to be reassigned to "less sensitive posts." A slipstream equipped ship is en route to collect the seven under his command, including Pava Eq'Noor Sh'quaba, one of the best security officers on board.

They find out that their use of warp drive is causing the pulsar to flare up. Before they can retreat, an intelligence reaches out from the planet Pazlar was investigating and requests their help in saving the population of the planet from destruction. It commandeers Tuvok and White-Blue into a mind-meld to facilitate the process. An away team shuttles to the planet to lend a hand.

While the shuttle is en route, a second ship joins them- an Andorian warship. Commander Zhrar demands that Riker hand over all his Andorian officers so they can return home for reproductive duty. They agree to discuss things instead of shooting at each other, but the Andorians seem to have something up their sleeves.

Riker has multiple problems to solve, and does so with skill (and a fair measure of luck). I look forward to what comes next for the Andorian situation and for the Titan.

[Larry Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a story that pits stereotypical logical,rational scientists against illiterate,uneducated, and violent religionists and does so with some of the most purple prose I have ever read.
An example...
"Behind the lengthening shadows of the ancient Whetu'irawaru ruins that stretched beyond the horizon, the cruel day slid inexorably toward the unsatisfying surcease of another encroaching evening. As night approached, the restive impatience of the Thousand slowly transformed from a formless, inchoate feeling to something far more substantial. Garym, subsachem of the Preservationist sect, could hear this clearly in the overlapping and increasingly forceful stridulations that rippled through the multitude. It had become clear to hir that the reflexive repetition of the Preservationist prayer-dance ritual could not provide sufficient comfort to the crowd of pilgrims that had followed Sachem Eid'dyl on hir quest for peace. The Thousand that Eid'dyl had entrusted to Garym's leadership during the sachem's absence had grown decidedly agitated."

To me that paragraph bleeds violet.

The stereotypes of the scientists vs. the religionists is insulting even though it's disguised in the form of an alien culture.

The dialogue is bad in many areas. There is a scene in sickbay that reminds me of the really bad dialogue that appeared in the quickly cancelled t.v. show "Alcatraz."

There's a secondary storyline that pertains to events taking place else where in the literary Star Trek universe, namely the "Typhon Pact" storyline. This was a much more interesting and enjoyable part of this story.

I have read all the "Titan" novels that have been published to date, and his is the worst of the bunch. Hopefully future "Titan" novels will rise to the better standards that were set forth in the previous 6 books

[Jimyanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mediocre plot, great subplot:

The main plot of this story was a fairly bland, run-of-the-mill Star Trek story: Titan and its crew meet a representative of an alien race in trouble, and help them in spite of some misunderstandings and some technical difficulties. It is moderately interesting that the aliens are actually seriously ALIEN for a change: sentient beings that look like a cross between a giant cockroach, a giant lobster, and a giant millipede, who communicate by making noises with their legs (sort of like crickets). But what was truly interesting about this book was the subplot: as a result of Andor seceding from the Federation (as seen in other books) and demanding that all Andorians serving offworld be forcibly (if necessary) repatriated, the Federation and Starfleet, while refusing to accede to the repatriation demand have concluded that Andorians might be a security risk, and have decided to "temporarily" reassign them to positions that are not so sensitive. This is perceived, by loyal Federation citizens who happen to be Andorian, to be a rather severe slap in the face to individuals who have never given anyone any reason to doubt their loyalty. Captain Riker agrees with them, and is faced with a choice between being a party to this appalling racism, or refusing a direct order from headquarters, guaranteed to result in serious consequences for his career. This makes for an interesting subplot, and some fine character development both of Riker and of the seven Andorians serving on the Titan.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there has been any series of books that has rarely missed lately, it's been the Titan series which has tried to become TNG in it's own right, but for the first time in a while with "Fallen Gods" we have a story that really leaves you almost what did we really do here. In this installment, the Titan continues its exploration of the Gum Nebula with its sights set on a world near the Vela Pulsar & a civilization called the Ta'ith who really aren't all that well fleshed out. Martin's story also brings a new twist to Starfleet with the forced reassignment of all Andorian personnel who could be suspected of sabotage with Andor's recent secession. The plot itself really splits into 2 pieces when a piece of Ta'ith technology interfaces with Titan & Tuvok who still has knowledge of an alien technology from the Hranari. This away mission pretty much is almost boring in spots with really the only casualty being the actual technology itself & Tuvok who continues to surprise. The secondary plot involves the arrival of the Andorian warship Shantherin Th'Clane which claims to be there to the repatriate the Andorian crew members of Titan back into society to help with the reproductive crisis. This plot is a tad more interesting especially due to the involvement of a surprise in the Typhon Pact. Overall this is a rather sub-par story that could've been far more in depth than what it was & save the ending is one that doesn't do a lot for Titan as a whole.