By GustavoLeao / 13:36, 24 March 2007 / Trek Books

In this exclusive interview, author Geoffrey Thorne talks to TrekWeb about his upcoming Star Trek Titan novel, Sword of Damocles.

Q : What can you tell us about the plot of your upcoming Star Trek Titan novel Sword of Damocles ?

I wanted (and more importantly, Marco Palmieri wanted) to really get back to pure exploration and, I hope, a sense of the outward motion that used to be the hallmark of Star Trek but which often got diverted into stories of war and martial conflict.

Nothing against those stories. Indeed some of the best Trek tales ever have come from the military friction between Starfleet and the Federation's various neighbors. But TITAN isn't about that.

Christopher Bennett's wonderful ORION'S HOUNDS sets the tone I think for the overall ethos of the TITAN series as much as the Mangels/Martin entries set the characters, their relationships and the mission statement. I am honored to be allowed to follow them and I hope I do half as well. Titan is not Enterprise. Riker is not Picard.

My story takes place some months after the events of ORION'S HOUNDS and deals with the discovery of several new and potentially dangerous phenomena that TITAN must investigate and, perhaps, bring to an end. We will deal with issues of Faith in a way that hasn't gotten much attention in Trek fiction as well. A great many people will die.

I'm introducing a new species, a new world and, I think, one of the more unique cultures in Trek fiction. I will also be spending some time on the inter-species frictions that can sometimes gum up the operations of an enclosed floating city which is, essentially, what a starship is.

The title, SWORD OF DAMOCLES, deals both with the larger physical dangers of the peice as well as the more subtle personal issues faced by several characters.

Q : How is writing for Riker and Troi, now senior officers on another starship other than the Enterprise-E ?

I have never written, directly, any tales that included the TNG crew. Ther closest I got was my story in PROPHECY & CHANGE which includes an oblique reference to Worf. That said, I was an huge TNG fan and find both the Trois to be as familiar to me as any close family member. Although I may be showing a side of both of them that's rarely been seen before.

Q : What are your feelings about the Titan starship design by Sean Tourangeau and the Sword of Damocles cover art by Ellery O'Connell ?

My feelings about Sean's design can be summed up in one word. GENIUS. There was some groussing about his design from some quarters just after the contest was over but, for me, this is the only way TITAN could have looked. Sean got the era of design right, I think he incorporated the Luna class mission of pure exploration perfectly. Wouldn't change a thing. The cover is equally stellar. And I may have a surprise or two for Sean in SWORD OF DAMOCLES as well. I hope he'll forgive any dings to the hull.

Q : How your book relates to the previous U.S.S Titan books, Red King byAndy Mangels and Michael A. Martin and Orion's Hounds by Christopher L. Bennett ?

My story furthers some subplots established in the earlier books and completely ignores others. Some of the characters end the book in CONSIDERABLY different states than they begin. Both physically and emotionally. Some relationships are massively and irrevocably altered. heh heh heh.

Q : How is writing for the new characters created by Pocket Books especially for the series ? What are your favorite characters ?

I love the TITAN crew, whether they've come from the canon material or are strictly from the Lit-verse. I can't say who my favorite is. I enjoy Christine Vale a lot and I love Dr. Ree but there's no real stand-out.

Q : After Sword of Damocles, what are your future projects ?

Well, I'm still looking into a second season of my web series, THE DARK. Beyond that, frankly, I'm too immersed in TITAN right now. Once I've got this under my belt there are some notions I might want to explore. I'd like to write at least one story involving every Trek crew before I'm done. I have a MACO story I want to tell.

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