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Star Trek: Titan #2: The Red king
Investigating the disappearance of a secret Romulan fleet, the U.S.S. Titan, commanded by Captain William Riker, is unexpectedly propelled more than 200,000 light-years into the Small Magellanic Cloud. One of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies, the Cloud is also home to the Neyel, the long-sundered offshoots of Terran humanity, with whom the Federation has had no contact in over eighty years. Nearby, Riker's uncertain ally, Commander Donatra of the Romulan Warbird Valdore, rescues a young Neyel, the survivor of a mysterious cosmic upheaval that seems at times to be both unraveling and reweaving the very fabric of space...the fulfillment of an apocalyptic vision that has already claimed millions of lives. Titan's science team soon finds evidence that the ravaging of Neyel space is the work of a vast and powerful the stirrings of a dormant consciousness that is maintaining the existence of the Small Magellanic Cloud -- and all life within it -- from one moment to the next. And if it should awaken, the consequences are unimaginable. As Riker considers his options, his new crew struggles with the scientific and philosophical implications of what they've discovered...while the young Neyel in their midst forges a bond with the captain, conjuring old ghosts Riker has yet to lay to rest.
- GenresStar TrekScience Fiction
384 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 27, 2005
3 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Michael A. Martin
92 books54 followersMichael 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 10, 2021
Star Trek: Titan: The Red King by Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels is the second book of the series. Continuing directly off from Taking Wing, it follows Captain William T. Riker and his wife Ambassador Deanna Troi as they continue their exploration of universe with the crew of the U.S.S Titan.
The premise of the Titan series is that Captain Riker and his wife are being sent on essentially the same mission as Captain James T. Kirk. They're taking their Luna-class starship out into the reaches of space to boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before. Part of the humor of last book derived from the fact they were hijacked from this mission to help with the Romulan government's rebuilding.
They get hijacked from this mission again, no spoilers, fairly early in this book. However, it does nicely settle our heroes back down in the usual Star Trek pattern of exploration. They encounter a new civilization (or semi-new since the one featured in this book was apparently introduced in a previous novel), discover a crisis, and basically have to deal with all the fallout from this crisis.
What changes in this book is that the nature of a novel means that there's no limit to the "budget" that the authors can work with. As a result, the events depicted are staggeringly more epic and grandiose than Captain Kirk usually had to deal with. Well, maybe not Captain Kirk, he often had to deal with planet-eating monsters and worse. Ditto Picard. Okay, Sisko too. Never mind, bad example. What's important is that a lot of stuff happens that we could never see on screen.
Likewise, the novel is a great deal darker than the usual Star Trek fair. Not dark like Troi's unnecessary rape in Star Trek: Nemesis but dark like massive disasters occurring. I'm not a big fan of portraying huge tragedies in space opera as being less important than the individual ones. Alderaan blowing up is a billion times bigger disaster than Obi Wan Kenobi, no matter how much I like Sir Alec Guinness' portrayal.
One of the things I like about Star Trek is the fundamental optimism of Roddenberry's vision. I actually disliked it in Star Trek: Voyager when they left Vidiian space without curing the Phage. As an adolescent, I assumed that the natural end to the Vidiian storyline would be the crew saving their enemies because that's what Star Trek heroes do. When the crew abandoned the Vidiians to a horrific, if well-earned, fate I was left nonplussed.
Here, Riker is largely powerless against the kind of events he's arrayed against and must really struggle to achieve any lasting result. Indeed, futility and the struggle against overwhelming despair is a major theme of the book. In the end, it affected my overall enjoyment because I get enough darkness in my day-to-day life that I'd rather avoid it in my Star Trek. One of the reasons I quit reading Star Wars books is I couldn't stand how gritty and "realistic" they'd made the series after the New Jedi Order.
Ironically, some of the lightest fair in the book comes from the interaction between Commander Donatra and the Klingons. The Romulans and the Klingons were ostensibly allies in the original Star Trek series but quickly became mortal enemies in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Here, there's a great deal of humor derived from the utter loathing the two groups have for one another. I hope Commander Donatra continues to play a role in the series because she never ceases to entertain.
Despite this book being about Captain Riker and his wife, the real stars of the story are Admiral Leonard James Akaar and Tuvok. The two of them were said to have had a long-lasting friendship in the previous Titan novel only for it to have fallen apart over an unexplained event in their past. Here, we discover the root of that conflict and see how the two react to having it once more shoved in their faces. This is, by far, the most compelling plot thread of the book.
I'm only familiar with Admiral Akaar from the previous novel and a short cameo he made in Star Trek: Online. However, the book indicates he's a much better established character in the Star Trek Expanded Universe than I would know about. In a way, he's sort of an anti-Vulcan, embracing cultural passion and emotional displays at the expense of logic. Oddly, it makes his friendship with Tuvok all the more believable to me.
Tuvok, on the other hand, gets a chance to shine as part of the U.S.S Titan cast that he never really got to do as part of Voyager. I salute the authors for making use of a much-underused character in a way that makes sense and is interesting.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, though not as much as Taking Wing. The relentless darkness of the tragedies the crew have to deal with along with the inability of the heroes to have a meaningful effect on it undercut my appreciation. The character interaction is fine, even if I didn't find it particularly ground-breaking.
As a result, I'm going to have to give the book a 6.5 out of 10. The extra .5 comes from the amusement I derived from Commander Donatra and the Klingons.
The premise of the Titan series is that Captain Riker and his wife are being sent on essentially the same mission as Captain James T. Kirk. They're taking their Luna-class starship out into the reaches of space to boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before. Part of the humor of last book derived from the fact they were hijacked from this mission to help with the Romulan government's rebuilding.
They get hijacked from this mission again, no spoilers, fairly early in this book. However, it does nicely settle our heroes back down in the usual Star Trek pattern of exploration. They encounter a new civilization (or semi-new since the one featured in this book was apparently introduced in a previous novel), discover a crisis, and basically have to deal with all the fallout from this crisis.
What changes in this book is that the nature of a novel means that there's no limit to the "budget" that the authors can work with. As a result, the events depicted are staggeringly more epic and grandiose than Captain Kirk usually had to deal with. Well, maybe not Captain Kirk, he often had to deal with planet-eating monsters and worse. Ditto Picard. Okay, Sisko too. Never mind, bad example. What's important is that a lot of stuff happens that we could never see on screen.
Likewise, the novel is a great deal darker than the usual Star Trek fair. Not dark like Troi's unnecessary rape in Star Trek: Nemesis but dark like massive disasters occurring. I'm not a big fan of portraying huge tragedies in space opera as being less important than the individual ones. Alderaan blowing up is a billion times bigger disaster than Obi Wan Kenobi, no matter how much I like Sir Alec Guinness' portrayal.
One of the things I like about Star Trek is the fundamental optimism of Roddenberry's vision. I actually disliked it in Star Trek: Voyager when they left Vidiian space without curing the Phage. As an adolescent, I assumed that the natural end to the Vidiian storyline would be the crew saving their enemies because that's what Star Trek heroes do. When the crew abandoned the Vidiians to a horrific, if well-earned, fate I was left nonplussed.
Here, Riker is largely powerless against the kind of events he's arrayed against and must really struggle to achieve any lasting result. Indeed, futility and the struggle against overwhelming despair is a major theme of the book. In the end, it affected my overall enjoyment because I get enough darkness in my day-to-day life that I'd rather avoid it in my Star Trek. One of the reasons I quit reading Star Wars books is I couldn't stand how gritty and "realistic" they'd made the series after the New Jedi Order.
Ironically, some of the lightest fair in the book comes from the interaction between Commander Donatra and the Klingons. The Romulans and the Klingons were ostensibly allies in the original Star Trek series but quickly became mortal enemies in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Here, there's a great deal of humor derived from the utter loathing the two groups have for one another. I hope Commander Donatra continues to play a role in the series because she never ceases to entertain.
Despite this book being about Captain Riker and his wife, the real stars of the story are Admiral Leonard James Akaar and Tuvok. The two of them were said to have had a long-lasting friendship in the previous Titan novel only for it to have fallen apart over an unexplained event in their past. Here, we discover the root of that conflict and see how the two react to having it once more shoved in their faces. This is, by far, the most compelling plot thread of the book.
I'm only familiar with Admiral Akaar from the previous novel and a short cameo he made in Star Trek: Online. However, the book indicates he's a much better established character in the Star Trek Expanded Universe than I would know about. In a way, he's sort of an anti-Vulcan, embracing cultural passion and emotional displays at the expense of logic. Oddly, it makes his friendship with Tuvok all the more believable to me.
Tuvok, on the other hand, gets a chance to shine as part of the U.S.S Titan cast that he never really got to do as part of Voyager. I salute the authors for making use of a much-underused character in a way that makes sense and is interesting.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, though not as much as Taking Wing. The relentless darkness of the tragedies the crew have to deal with along with the inability of the heroes to have a meaningful effect on it undercut my appreciation. The character interaction is fine, even if I didn't find it particularly ground-breaking.
As a result, I'm going to have to give the book a 6.5 out of 10. The extra .5 comes from the amusement I derived from Commander Donatra and the Klingons.
March 23, 2023
Once we get to dealing with the proto-universe, the desperate evacuation of a planet before space collapses, and final betrayals, it's all very exciting, but... BEFORE that happens, we are definitely stuck in a recap loop. This is a big problem with the Pocket Books of this era, especially for the casual reader who isn't reading EVERYTHING as it comes out. Not only does The Red King pick up where Taking Wing left off - with the Romulan and Klingon cast from that book to cater to even as we're still learning who is in the Titan cast itself - but this is a sequel to the same authors' The Sundered, which introduced another complicated multi-species culture (and resolving a conflict between Akaar and Tuvok from those events), itself a "Whatever Happened to" story tying into the Vanguard series of books. If you haven't read any of that, they explain it all, and that takes a while. And if you were planing to one day read them, it's all kind of spoiled. Throw in a lot of repeated information, which isn't rare for this kind of book, and it's surprising there's so much incident in the story proper. The writers sequeling their own stories is fair play, but I do question the wisdom of hobbling the Titan series launch with such a sequel-heavy two-parter (Nemesis, then The Sundered) to the point where some characters (like Akaar) are only used to tie up loose ends. I'm also surprised that some of the guest characters don't stick around given how much effort is expended on them. But nice epilogue! The dedication plaque ceremony actually made me misty-eyed, and the other endings and beginnings were intriguing enough to send us - FINALLY! - away to the unexplored Gum Nebula. (Points docked for that terrible Bajoran sex joke.)
November 6, 2023
I’ve read a LOT of Star Trek. All generations, multiple crews.
Mangels and Martin just don’t do it for me I guess.
I’m okay with diversity but the message that diversity is great is given out in about as subtle a manner as being hit over the head with a two ton sledge hammer.
This book in particular, the first chapter is all but unreadable. You’ll be introduced to two dozen different characters comprising 30 different species coming from 40 different cultures and 50 different governments. Okay, I exaggerate but only slightly.
It’s near impossible to keep track of but what’s key ia none of this information is told in any exciting manner. It’s, for lack of a better word, boring.
This one will go on the did not finish shelf for now. I might try again at another time but there are too many good books out there than to read Mangels and Martin.
Mangels and Martin just don’t do it for me I guess.
I’m okay with diversity but the message that diversity is great is given out in about as subtle a manner as being hit over the head with a two ton sledge hammer.
This book in particular, the first chapter is all but unreadable. You’ll be introduced to two dozen different characters comprising 30 different species coming from 40 different cultures and 50 different governments. Okay, I exaggerate but only slightly.
It’s near impossible to keep track of but what’s key ia none of this information is told in any exciting manner. It’s, for lack of a better word, boring.
This one will go on the did not finish shelf for now. I might try again at another time but there are too many good books out there than to read Mangels and Martin.
May 12, 2022
Enjoyable enough and a serviceable addition to the canon. Development of the themes of TNG. This really benefits from not being hampered by the practicalities of TV. However, as someone who knows the mechanics of ST shows pretty well, I was able to spot most of the twists coming, including guessing the Titan's plaque dedication motto.
April 28, 2022
Technically this was a reread. 3.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews