283: Everyone's Tilting at Windmills

Vendetta. The Borg: the Federation's most lethal adversary. A force of nature, nearly unstoppable, and the harbinger of doom for any civilization unfortunate enough to come to the attention of this cybernetic menace. The crew of the Enterprise thwarted their attack on the Federation once; but now, when this relentless enemy comes again in force, can the Federation once again be saved? In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Bruce Gibson and Dan Gunther discuss the TNG novel Vendetta by Peter David. We talk about Picard's mysterious connection to a woman with a vendetta, the horrors of a Borg attack, Geordi's quixotic role in the novel, new types of Borg, Picard's rival, the Doomsday Machine, the theme of Vendetta, how this book compares to its sequel, Before Dishonor, and wrap up with our final thoughts and ratings. In the news section, we talk about a number of new releases: issue #2 of Star Trek: Aftermath, the 40th anniversary edition of the novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Gene Roddenberry, and Star Trek: The Next Generation: Collateral Damage by David Mack. We also review issue #6 of Star Trek: Year Five, and respond to listener feedback from the Babel Conference for Literary Treks 281: The Next Evolutionary Step of the Borg. News New Releases (00:03:24) ST: Year Five #6 Comic Review (00:05:53) Listener Feedback (00:16:46) Feature: Vendetta Picard's Long Lost Love (00:28:43) The Borg Attack! (00:34:09) Geordi "Don Quixote LaForge (00:38:49) The First Female Borg (00:43:32) A Ferengi Borg (00:48:39) Capt. Korsmo and Cmdr. Shelby (00:51:34) Guinan's Sister (00:58:02) Striving to Achieve (01:03:18) A Prequel to Before Dishonor (01:12:54) Ratings (01:15:46) Final Thoughts (01:19:43) Hosts Dan Gunther and Bruce Gibson Production Bruce Gibson (Editor and Producer) Dan Gunther (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager) Ken Tripp (Associate Producer) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Associate Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Jeffery Harlan (Associate Producer)