The Buried Age (Spoilers!)

[Admiral_Young]

Ok Christorpher...printed out and read your entire annotations (I love when author's do this btw, extra points for having annotations) and they were as entertaining and insightful as the book its self (the book wasn't probably insightful but you know what I mean). I'm now going to have to go back and read the annotations for "Red King" and "Ex Machina".

Another thing that I enjoy about your work is the technical and scientific detail you make a point to include in the story as it is a rather important thing in a ST novel or episode (technobabble) but also your inclusion of real scienice or at least theorical science and cutting edge science being included within the mix of Star Trek universe science makes it all the more entertaining and allows the reader to actualy do research if they so wish without bashing them over the head with it!!! Have I sucked up to you enough now? I was also happy to discover that there is an upcoming Tzkenthi (damn I mispelled it) War novel!!! That should be an interesting and entertaining read...and the artist intereptation of Ariel/Giriaenn was much apprieated as I was having a hard time visuallizing her...

Admiral Young

 

[Ronald Held]

Yes, his stories are technically detailed and correct for the STU, AFAIK.
I am going to read the annotations for this story, soon.

 

[Baerbel Haddrell]

This is my review of "The Buried Age". It definitely contains spoilers!

*

*

I have been looking forward to this book for a long time. I always liked Picard and was wondering what he did during the time between after losing the Stargazer and becoming captain of the Enterprise. I already had a hunch that he would at least spend part of the time following his passion for archaeology and when first news about the book confirmed that, my curiosity grew. I very much enjoyed the Mirror Universe story featuring a Picard adventure in which archaeology plays a very important part (“Glass Empires” – “The Worst of Both Worlds” by Greg Cox). The excellent cover of “The Buried Age” also shows a Picard who obviously just made a stunning discovery. This combined with the author`s style of combining a strong sense of discovery and wonder, of SF-science with strong character elements in his Titan book “Orion`s Hounds”, caused me to expect a story in a similar style that would be something special to me.

I quickly found out that I was right: “The Buried Age” is indeed one of the best Picard stories I have read so far and the style of the book reminded me indeed of the Star Trek: Titan novel I mentioned. The descriptions of the aliens, their history and their culture were very interesting. Hardcore SF is not my cup of tea but the scientific and technological parts of the book didn`t bother me most of the time, which is already something positive. Sometimes they even captured my attention and I made some more effort to follow these explanations. Nevertheless, I think this is the only weakness at times in this book. The explanations about the transporter problems, like when Janeway was spewing her technobabble, just went past me. I neither had the motivation nor the technical understanding to follow that. I remember that I lost patience at one point and skimmed a few paragraphs. I also think the idea of using a black hole as a giant computer for storing data does not make sense. It was too fantastic and just sounded ridiculous to me. At least there weren`t any hidden, floating parasites in the transporter beam who could bite people, as shown in one TNG episode.

But this barely counts compared with how much I enjoyed the book. I definitely felt for a long time that I am going on a discovery as well when Picard started his expedition. This feeling already started with the powerful speech he gave in class. He certainly got my attention and I smiled because his passion was so tangible and infectious.

I like it how the author tries to also give humanoid species he invented something special, something that makes them distinctive among the many humanoid species in the Star Trek universe. The symbiosis between plant life and the Mabrae is very interesting indeed. By the way, I liked Coray and I regret her death but on the other hand, it fits well into the story.

I must admit, the many descriptions of how beautiful, wondrous and otherwise perfect “Ariel” was got at times a bit on my nerves. But I was also amused because I thought, this is a male author. Why should he not write about such a kind of super woman? To be fair, I welcomed it that Picard was certainly not just attracted to a beautiful packaging. It also became increasingly clear that “Ariel” (even before she rediscovered her identity) was a natural, skilled manipulator. The more Picard felt attracted to her, the more I was getting suspicious and was wondering – where is the catch?

The answer was a surprise to me and I found the explanation fascinating. First of all, I love the parallels with Babylon 5 (although I am aware of it that there must be other SF stories out there dealing with the same idea). In Babylon 5 there was a clear division between the ancient and the new races as well as the desire of some ancient races to guide the younger ones. In Babylon 5 it was the Vorlons and the Shadows, very roughly a competition between “order” and “conflict”.

I think we saw something very similar, although not that obvious, in this book. Also the Federation is guiding younger races but following an opposite philosophy compared with “Ariel`s”, meaning Giriaenn`s species, the Manraloth. The book shows very well that extremes, that absolutes are usually not the right answer. I very much agree with what the author said about the Prime Directive and in the past I often pointed out how much I disagree with the literal meaning of this law. The Manraloth on the other hand don`t favour growth by conflict but growth by order. As with the PD, it looks good on the surface but this extreme, absolute form is not an approach I agree with either. That Picard was determined to fight her and the Manraloth was very understandable and I very much agreed with him.

Nevertheless, I could see the irony that Giriaenn felt the need to also sacrifice lives in order to do what she sees as the greater good. Picard condemned her but when he did, did he think of the times when the Federation, when Starfleet did the same? Also Starfleet sacrificed and sacrifices lives in the name of the PD. Picard saved the aliens in “Pen Pals”. Other Starfleet captains would not have done that and nobody would have prosecuted these captains for doing nothing.

The climax was excellent. I was actually waiting for it that Picard plays Sheridan`s part. It was not “Get the hell out of this galaxy!” But in essence there is not a big difference, except that Picard was less blunt and more diplomatic. When it became public knowledge thanks to Sheridan and of course others as well that the Vorlons and Shadows had been manipulating the younger races for ages, they rebelled, refusing to be drawn into their wars any more. Picard made it clear that the Federation, knowing about the history of the Manraloth and their efforts to manipulate them, reacted very much the same: Picard explained that humanity and species on a similar level will find their own way and that the Manraloth (like the Vorlons and Shadows) should finally move to the next level.

Another parallel is, of course, that Vorlons, Shadows and Manraloth would have destroyed that what they saw as their destiny to guide – the future of the younger races. They all started with the best intentions but in time, their cause got twisted and corrupted. Hopefully, the history of the Manraloth will also serve as a warning to the Federation not to enter a similar path one day in the future.

To me, Babylon 5 is still one of the best SF series ever and with this book, a lot of what made Babylon 5 special is now also part of the Star Trek universe. This is great! I very much enjoyed the part when the Manraloth met Q. It was also fun because it provided a direct link to “Encounter at Farpoint”. It explains a lot and it also makes me even more curious about “Q &A”, the new book featuring Q which is announced for October.

At this point I want to mention the beginning of the book dealing with why Picard decided to pursue archaeology until he decided to be the captain of the Enterprise as Guinan had seen in her future. This book provides the full story of what was shown in “The Battle” but is also hinting at future developments seen in TNG. It also made good use of the Stargazer characters we got to know from the Stargazer books. Then it shows the brutal court martial mentioned in “Measure of a Man”. I expected it to be tough but was amazed at the personal betrayal Phillippa was guilty of. Picard`s reaction was very understandable. I couldn`t help it, I remembered the witch hunt he suffered later in “The Drumhead”, which was definitely worse. But the books managed to even treat Picard worse in “A Time to…” than what happened on screen. Well…. I can only hope that lessons have finally been learned!

I welcomed it to meet Data again and see the beginnings of a remarkable career and growth as an individual. Unfortunately all appearance of Data will be tained for me because of “Nemesis”. Also this time it took some effort not to let my frustration and anger about this dreadful movie to spoil these well written, interesting and sometimes humorous scenes.

Deanna Troi`s introduction in “Encounter at Farpoint” was pretty dreadful. I am grateful that this book shows an early Deanna I would have liked to have seen much more often in early TNG on screen. I was very impressed and not only because to Deanna her moral principles were more important than following orders that are in conflict with them but also because she understood Picard so well. I am sure, Picard would not have succeeded without Deanna and Guinan at his side. I also enjoyed it to meet Guinan again, I liked the appearances of Tasha, Geordi and Worf. Picard indeed chose a remarkable crew for the Enterprise.

This is a remarkable book and I think people who like Picard should definitely read it.

 

[Christopher]

HortaVorta said:
Christopher, I greatly enjoy your meticulous, thoughtful approach to weaving all these disparate details that have piled up in Trek over the years into a plausible and compelling whole. I'm a big fan of that approach, and I think you've got the perfect blend of logic and restraint that keeps it from getting fannish.

Moreover, the awful grandeur of space and time you evoke in these books is enthralling. I've always been intrigued by the brief glimpses we get in Trek of the galaxy's dense, layered histories of development and extinction. Your extrapolations are consistent, fascinating, and evocative.

You've got a great grasp of the characters too. As Picard came in contact with his future crew, it was a nice callback to the late '80s and my early enjoyment of TNG.

Bravo. I look forward to future contributions.

Thank you very much! I enjoy exploring the larger tapestry that ties Trek together, and I'm glad you enjoy the results.

Admiral_Young said:
Another thing that I enjoy about your work is the technical and scientific detail you make a point to include in the story as it is a rather important thing in a ST novel or episode (technobabble) but also your inclusion of real scienice or at least theorical science and cutting edge science being included within the mix of Star Trek universe science makes it all the more entertaining and allows the reader to actualy do research if they so wish without bashing them over the head with it!!!

In my youth, I learned a lot about science from the science fiction I read (indeed, it was Star Trek that initially inspired my interest in space and science). I've always felt that SF can be a great, entertaining way to teach about real science, and so I always try to work real scientific concepts (or historical ones) into my fiction. But, as you say, to do it unobtrusively so it doesn't feel like one of those dramatized educational things they show on PBS or issue to classrooms on video.

Have I sucked up to you enough now?

I'll let you know...

...and the artist intereptation of Ariel/Giriaenn was much apprieated as I was having a hard time visuallizing her...

I wasn't sure I conveyed her description well enough in the text either. I was actually surprised at how well the picture turned out. I was planning on doing a sketch in pencil (regular and colored), but this turned out better than that could have.

Baerbel Haddrell said:
The excellent cover of “The Buried Age” also shows a Picard who obviously just made a stunning discovery. This combined with the author`s style of combining a strong sense of discovery and wonder, of SF-science with strong character elements in his Titan book “Orion`s Hounds”, caused me to expect a story in a similar style that would be something special to me.

I quickly found out that I was right: “The Buried Age” is indeed one of the best Picard stories I have read so far and the style of the book reminded me indeed of the Star Trek: Titan novel I mentioned. The descriptions of the aliens, their history and their culture were very interesting.

Thank you! I appreciate it.

Hardcore SF is not my cup of tea but the scientific and technological parts of the book didn`t bother me most of the time, which is already something positive. Sometimes they even captured my attention and I made some more effort to follow these explanations. Nevertheless, I think this is the only weakness at times in this book. The explanations about the transporter problems, like when Janeway was spewing her technobabble, just went past me. I neither had the motivation nor the technical understanding to follow that. I remember that I lost patience at one point and skimmed a few paragraphs.

Sorry that didn't work for you. It's kind of symptomatic of the way I plot these things -- I can't just make up random technobabble, I need to have some understanding of how it could actually work. And then I needed to have the characters explain that logical process I went through to get from point A to point B. I tried to simplify it as much as I could, but it got into some pretty complex areas, and even I felt the techie analysis got a little cluttered at times. I hope the saving grace is that most of it actually makes a fair degree of physical sense.

I also think the idea of using a black hole as a giant computer for storing data does not make sense. It was too fantastic and just sounded ridiculous to me.

Okay. Actually this part is pretty firmly rooted in physics, specifically the black hole information paradox arising from the work of Hawking and Bekenstein. At most I made a few minor tweaks to serve the story.

But this barely counts compared with how much I enjoyed the book. I definitely felt for a long time that I am going on a discovery as well when Picard started his expedition. This feeling already started with the powerful speech he gave in class. He certainly got my attention and I smiled because his passion was so tangible and infectious.

Glad you liked his lecture. I feared it was a little dry and talky.

I like it how the author tries to also give humanoid species he invented something special, something that makes them distinctive among the many humanoid species in the Star Trek universe. The symbiosis between plant life and the Mabrae is very interesting indeed.

Yeah, I haven't really done much with humanoids before, have I? Aside from established ones like the Fabrini.

I must admit, the many descriptions of how beautiful, wondrous and otherwise perfect “Ariel” was got at times a bit on my nerves. But I was also amused because I thought, this is a male author. Why should he not write about such a kind of super woman?

I'll confess that's part of it. But also, I was trying to depict a highly advanced species in a way that differed from the usual Trek cliches of telekinesis and glowy energy beings and stuff like that. So she was advanced in other ways, physically and mentally, and I guess describing those advancements could come off as doting on her perfection.

First of all, I love the parallels with Babylon 5 (although I am aware of it that there must be other SF stories out there dealing with the same idea). In Babylon 5 there was a clear division between the ancient and the new races as well as the desire of some ancient races to guide the younger ones. In Babylon 5 it was the Vorlons and the Shadows, very roughly a competition between “order” and “conflict”.

I think we saw something very similar, although not that obvious, in this book. Also the Federation is guiding younger races but following an opposite philosophy compared with “Ariel`s”, meaning Giriaenn`s species, the Manraloth.

I don't think I really thought about it in B5 terms. Maybe at the back of my mind I was aware of the similarity, but it wasn't a specific inspiration.

The book shows very well that extremes, that absolutes are usually not the right answer. I very much agree with what the author said about the Prime Directive and in the past I often pointed out how much I disagree with the literal meaning of this law. The Manraloth on the other hand don`t favour growth by conflict but growth by order. As with the PD, it looks good on the surface but this extreme, absolute form is not an approach I agree with either. That Picard was determined to fight her and the Manraloth was very understandable and I very much agreed with him.

In fact, what I had in mind was that the society the Manraloth had built really did work as well as they said, because it had evolved organically with the willing participation of its members, and because it had this whole rich support structure to keep it functioning smoothly. Maybe it was more tame and restrained and whitebread than modern civilizations, but that was the tradeoff for a successfully peaceful and egalitarian society. Giriaenn's mistake was in trying to recreate it unilaterally and push it on people who hadn't asked for it or participated in creating it.

By analogy, Great Britain in the 19th-20th centuries had built a pretty free, enlightened, civilized society, and that was good for its own people, but then when they went around and tried to impose that social order on other people who already had their own, it wasn't such a good thing. What was positive and liberating among the people who'd created and opted into it by choice was negative and oppressive among the peoples who had it pushed on them by others who thought they knew better.

The climax was excellent. I was actually waiting for it that Picard plays Sheridan`s part. It was not “Get the hell out of this galaxy!” But in essence there is not a big difference, except that Picard was less blunt and more diplomatic.... Picard made it clear that the Federation, knowing about the history of the Manraloth and their efforts to manipulate them, reacted very much the same: Picard explained that humanity and species on a similar level will find their own way and that the Manraloth (like the Vorlons and Shadows) should finally move to the next level.

To be honest, I find the whole "It's time to move on to the next level" thing to be rather corny. But it was mandated by the need to reset the playing field to the state it was in during TNG. And it's an established principle of the Trek universe, so I tried to make the best of it.

I very much enjoyed the part when the Manraloth met Q. It was also fun because it provided a direct link to “Encounter at Farpoint”. It explains a lot and it also makes me even more curious about “Q &A”, the new book featuring Q which is announced for October.

Just to be clear, there's no direct connection between Q&A and my Interlude. Keith and I made sure to stay consistent with each other, and I stuck in a throwaway line foreshadowing Q&A, but that's about it.

This is a remarkable book and I think people who like Picard should definitely read it.

Thank you!

 

[Baerbel Haddrell]

I just want to say thank you for your very interesting comments. I very much appreciate it.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Just finished the book last night, and I must congratulate Christopher on a job well done.

Time permitting, I may post a more detailed review.

 

[JD]

I'm about 160 pages into it, and I do have one very minor complaint. Some of the science talk about the time bubble thing is really confusing. Other than that I am absoultely loving it so far, it is deffinitely a great Picard story.

 

[Csalem]

Just finished this book today and overall I enjoyed the book. It had a good story and did something that Christopher does a lot and I enjoy - it had a bad guy who wasn't evil, just mistaken. I always find that approach makes the character more complex and interesting.

Two minor quibbles: I didn't like the scene with Janeway deciding that in future she would sacrifice all for another species after she failed to rescue the aliens. Personally at times like that I prefer to have this sort of thing implied than stated. I would have found it more interesting to have Janeway debate this in her head and for her to be interrupted before she came to a conclusion. It would have seen more realistic that way to me. But then that is only my opinion and I am not a writer.
My second problem was Picard being given the Enterprise. it just seemed a little underwhelming for someone to be given such an important ship.

But despite all that it was a great read and enjoyed reading it.

 

[Christopher]

Csalem said:
Just finished this book today and overall I enjoyed the book. It had a good story and did something that Christopher does a lot and I enjoy - it had a bad guy who wasn't evil, just mistaken. I always find that approach makes the character more complex and interesting.

I do too, but frankly I'm getting a little tired of it. Sooner or later I need to do something with a really awful, unrepentant villain.

My second problem was Picard being given the Enterprise. it just seemed a little underwhelming for someone to be given such an important ship.

Could you clarify what you mean by this a little more?

But despite all that it was a great read and enjoyed reading it.

Thanks!

 

[Csalem]

I always imagined Starfleet would have made a big deal out of commissioning the Enterprise, having a PR event, and possibly a competition of some sort amongst a number of captains. In the book it just seemed to come across that a vacancy opened up and Picard was given it as he was next in line. I did like the way you mentioned the bicentennial in relation to the launch of the Galaxy-class ships but I would have seen that occasion as a way for Starfleet to announce there was going to be a new Enterprise and over the coming months they would be drawing up a short list of names to choose a captain from. After all it had been over fifteen years since there had been an Enterprise so surely it would have been a major event.

But maybe that scenario would have been more appropriate to a book focusing on the ship rather than a Picard book where things are from his perspective.

 

[Christopher]

^^I just don't believe that Starfleet or the Federation as a whole would make as huge a deal out of the launch of an Enterprise as we do. It's important to us because we're ST fans and three shows out of five have focused on ships of that name. But there are plenty of other ships in the fleet. There's probably just as much history behind the name Lexington or Farragut or Saratoga or whatever as there is behind Enterprise. Sure, a couple of ships named Enterprise have been involved in saving the Earth or the galaxy a few times, but for all we know, the Earth may have been saved by the Republic once, the Potemkin once, and the Kongo twice in other, unchronicled instances. We shouldn't assume that the people who live in the Federation are as exclusively fixated on the Enterprise as we are. We just see a narrow fraction of the reality they inhabit.

Besides, this isn't a beauty pageant, it's the command of a strategically important vessel in a peacekeeping fleet. A competition and a PR blitz? How does that serve the security of the Federation or the advance of its scientific goals? They would choose the best-qualified person for the job based on careful analysis, not hold Who Wants to Be a Starship Captain?

As for a short list, they drew that up years in advance, and Picard had already been on it since the end of Part III, thanks to Admiral Quinn's recommendation and Picard's later achievements in diplomatic and peacekeeping missions under Admiral Hansen's command. He had been offered the Yamato and the Enterprise already, but had turned them down. If anything, Holloway was the second choice to command the E. But when Holloway retired, Starfleet asked their first choice, Picard, to reconsider, and he was then at a place in his mind where he was willing to do so.

 

[Csalem]

They are all good points. My thinking at the moment may be influenced by my present study into HMS Dreadnought which was given a lot of attention at its launch.

 

[Christopher]

^^Well, there's no reason there couldn't have been a lot of publicity around the launch of the E-D. It just happened "offscreen," either in between segments of the book or at a time when Picard was far away from Sector 001 and insulated from the hype.

After all, it's canonical from "All Good Things..." that Picard never actually boarded the E-D until the day he officially took command. I figured, therefore, that the events of the story would need to keep him busy elsewhere until just before the launch.

 

[MichaelS]

Personally, I think that the commissioning ceremony (not the launch itself) of the D was a reasonably large affair, but I could be wrong.

 

[Edward Jellico]

I'm about 60 or so pages into the book, having received it today and am enjoying it so far. A few things I noticed.

During the trial scene a contrast is made between the explorer type captains, idealistic men lioke Picard and the more cynical militaristic captains, like Jellico and Grev.
I've always felt that there has been a division in Starfleet and was happy to see it confirmed. I wonder if by the time of Farpoint, that the Explorer captains are the dominant force in Starfleet.

Daimon Flax, son of Bok was redeemed somewhat in my mind.
Going by the evidence seen in The Battle his attack seemed like a pointless effort and he didn't even manage to press it succesfully.
However the motive behind his attack is made clear in the book, an explanation that is fully compliant with what we know of the Ferengi. His attack on the Stargazer seems like a well planned and executed assault, he was just unlucky to come up against Picard.

 

[Christopher]

^^Thanks for the comments! As for the explorer/warrior divide, that's an attempt to address the dichotomy that developed in TNG -- in the first couple of seasons, we were shown a Starfleet that was extremely peaceful, to the extent that Picard even surrendered twice in the first five episodes, but then "The Wounded" came along and retconned things, stating that Starfleet had been at war with the Cardassians at the exact same time and showing us characters who were bitter and war-weary. My assumption, though, is that the Cardassian war had a limited impact on the Federation and Starfleet as a whole, since it's such a big Federation. I don't see it as a formal divide between explorers and warriors, just a function of some officers being hardened by combat experience that others haven't had to face.

 

[Edward Jellico]

Another thing I noticed.

Where any of your characters named after Star Trek directors. I noticed at least two, Vejar and Kolbe.

 

[Christopher]

Pretty much everyone on the Portia crew except the scientists and the transporter chief (and, well, Picard, Data, and Ariel) is named after a TNG director. The scientists are named for TNG composers, and the transporter chief is supposed to be the guy who was the Enterprise's transporter chief in a few very early TNG episodes.

 

[JD]

Well, I finished Part II and I just thought I'd post my thoughts on it, and I must say they were good thoughts. My only real complaint, which I mentioned earlier was that I was that I was kind of confused by some of the Time Freeze bubble stuff. But other than that I thought it was great, and I am very curious to see where things are going with Ariel. O and I deffinitely did not expect Janeway to pop up in the story. I was wondering , was her having met Picard something that was previuosly establisehd, or did you decide to put her in there completely on you own?

 

[Christopher]

There's no definite information about whether Picard and Janeway had met before, but nothing to rule it out, as far as I know. They seemed friendly toward each other in her Nemesis cameo, and Janeway's ability to do a Picard impression in "Scorpion, Part I" suggested she was acquainted with him. And their scene together in Christie Golden's Homecoming (at the start of Chapter 2) has Picard greeting her like an old friend.