Line #4 Trivia/StarTrekCoda


1	* AuthorsSavingThrow: ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'' is one for the ''Titan'' readership, as James Swallow ''finally'' resolves the Andorian clone storyline from ''Fallen Gods''. This is a plot thread that has been left hanging for nearly a decade because of Michael A. Martin leaving the series (and also ''Titan'' then becoming caught up in ''The Fall'' and its aftermath). The ''Titan'' readers have been complaining about it ever since and with ''Coda'' being the last chance to tie it up, Swallow mentions in passing that the cloning scandal has been exposed.
2	** By admission, this is something of the point of the trilogy itself, as the novel continuity of the last twenty years has to give way to the new canon of the current crop of shows - the authors explicitly compare the situation to the abrupt ending of Franchise/StarWarsLegends and how they wanted the fans to have more closure than was offered there, and set about wrapping up as many various plot threads as they could, even if it just amounted to a single line of text.
3	* CreatorBacklash: David Mack's [[https://blog.trekcore.com/2021/11/interview-star-trek-coda-david-mack-oblivions-gate admitted]] he ''wasn't'' happy initially with [[spoiler: bringing back the Borg -- or at least the alternate Borg of 2373 from ''First Contact'' -- during ''Oblivion's Gate''. He understandably had done all he wanted with the Collective during the ''Destiny'' trilogy when he took them off the literary playing field. However, Mack eventually warmed up to the idea of having the Literary Picard face his greatest fear and foe one last time as part of his sendoff.]]
4	* ExecutiveMeddling: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pBHMuDsppw According to Mack]], [[spoiler: while Q was among the early candidates for the Temporal Apocalypse's Big Bad, they were ultimately barred from using the entity in any capacity due to the character's role in Season Two of ''Picard''.]]
5	** On a lesser note, Mack also confirmed that [[spoiler: apart from Tom Paris, B'Elanna, and Tuvok, all of the ''Voyager'' characters were off limits at the request of editor and Voyager Relaunch writer Kirsten Beyer. The creators were fine with this one, though, as they respect Beyer and wanted to honor the ending she'd crafted for the Voyager Relaunch in ''To Lose the Earth''.]]
6	* FollowTheLeader: Like ''Star Wars'', the Novel Verse is ending due to the unanticipated resumption of canon multimedia projects (''Picard'' in this case, not to mention ''Lower Decks'' and ''Prodigy'', plus ''Discovery'' changing its setting from pre-''TOS'' to the far future, allowing it to draw from ''Picard'' plot points). ''Unlike'' the Galaxy Far, Far Away, however, Pocket Books and the creative team took note of the backlash to the abrupt termination of the pre-Disney Expanded Universe and set out to give ''their'' Expanded Universe a proper sendoff. Dayton Ward [[https://blog.trekcore.com/2021/09/interview-dayton-ward-star-trek-coda-trilogy discusses]] this in an interview:
7	-->'''Ward''': When we first started to get a sense of just what was involved in realigning the book lines with the new shows, we said we don’t want to do a ''Star Wars''. We definitely don’t want to tell people who’ve been buying these books for 20 years, “None of this counts, none of this matters, you wasted all your time and your money. Oh, and by the way, buy our new books which are tied back into the show now!” How do you sell that? You don’t.
8	* MilestoneCelebration: The release of the ''Coda'' Trilogy overlaps with the 20th anniversary of the modern Novel Verse (which is accepted to have begun with the [=DS9=] Relaunch in 2001).
9	* RealitySubtext: Ward, Swallow, and Mack were writing the trilogy throughout 2020, i.e. at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. So, it's arguably not hard to see the events of that year reflected in the plot as the Starfleet characters struggle with isolation, mental illness, unprecedented death and destruction, governmental dysfunction, etc.
10	* RealLifeWritesThePlot:
11	** Again, the entire existence of ''Coda'' is this due to the on-screen return to the 24th Century with ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' and the need to adjust and reconcile the tie-in literature with the new canon. Another factor might be the announced sale of Simon & Schuster (including Pocket Books) by Creator/ViacomCBS.
12	** David Mack's [[https://blog.trekcore.com/2021/11/interview-star-trek-coda-david-mack-oblivions-gate/ revealed]] this happened during ''Oblivion's Gate'' and influenced why they ultimately had to select [[spoiler: 2373 and the events of ''StarTrekFirstContact'' as the divergence point between the Novel Verse and the Prime Reality. They knew going in that they were going to have to rewind the clock back to an earlier point to reconcile the two canons. Problem was, they quickly realized ''Picard'' had boxed them into a corner. The new post-''Nemesis'' canon established by the show was ''so'' different from the Novels' post-''Nemesis'' canon that they ''couldn't'' use the Synth Attack on Mars in 2385 as the divergence point without it coming off as an AssPull. Using ''Nemesis'' itself likewise was out given given similar irreconcilable differences (like the ''[[Literature/StarTrekATimeTo A Time To...]]'' series). It forced them to go further and further back through the TNG timeline trying to find an acceptable divergence point until Ward pitched using ''First Contact'' as temporal ground zero.]]
13	** Meta example. Mack's also revealed this trope was a driving reason for splitting the writing of the trilogy between multiple creators. Given the scale and scope of the production schedule, and with fewer ''Trek'' publishing slots being available now compared to a decade earlier during Mack's ''Destiny'' or ''Cold Equations'' trilogies, it was logistically easier to have an entire creative team working on ''Coda'' rather than a single creator.
14	*** That said, Mack's also admitted he didn't mind being a co-collaborator instead of sole creator (as he can attest firsthand from ''Destiny'' and ''Cold Equations'' how challenging that is).
15	* ScheduleSlip: ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'' was initially solicited for a mid-October 2021 release. It was later pushed back two weeks for a late October release.
16	** Physical releases were also being complicated by the paper shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
17	* TrollingCreator: Of the Trilogy's trio of creators, David Mack in particular seems to be [[https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/coda-book-1-moments-asunder-by-dayton-ward-review-thread.309148/page-10#post-13909968 enjoying]] stoking the readership's fears about the death and destruction still to come.
18	* TroubledProduction: Mack has [[https://davidmack.pro/blog/2021/09/07/star-trek-coda-the-end-is-nigh/ acknowledged]] that, again, working on the trilogy throughout [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic 2020]] was understandably a trying experience for the entire creative team.
19	** Mack's also revealed there was a great deal of creative conflict between him, Swallow, and Ward over [[spoiler: the trilogy's ending and whether the Novel Verse should be definitively erased, or whether it should survive in some way that only the readership would be aware of.]]
20	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
21	** According to [[https://blog.trekcore.com/2021/09/interview-dayton-ward-star-trek-coda-trilogy Ward]], the original ''Coda'' pitch was for a quartet of novels rather than a Trilogy. Ward had also proposed an additional fifth novel that would have served as a stealth prelude.
22	*** Ward had also initially hoped to have fellow ''Trek'' novelist [=Una McCormack=] involved in the project, but she had a scheduling conflict and couldn't commit. James Swallow has likewise [[https://literarytreks.libsyn.com/332-tears-of-the-prophets confirmed]] they had hoped to have David R. George III involved, but it didn't pan out.
23	*** Ward revealed more details of the development on the [[http://www.trek.fm/literary-treks/330?fbclid=IwAR063vedidT_AiiZti4wpfULqxkowBmrSAmjUYCoZBjca4g9lrzKP4MSmN8 ''Literary Treks'' podcast for ''Moments Asunder'']]:
24	*** He nearly ended up writing the second novel, ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'', rather than ''Moments Asunder'' (with James Swallow taking his place on the Trilogy's kickoff). They ultimately swapped writing orders for creative and logistical reasons (a scheduling conflict in Swallow's case).
25	*** [[spoiler:Revealing Taurik's future information from his TNG Relaunch novel ''Armageddon's Arrow'' was tied to ''Coda'' was obviously not part of the plan originally (as ''Coda'' wasn't even on the drawing board back in 2015). Ward had several potential options for that future knowledge, including Taurik learning of the then-impending [[StarTrek2009 Romulan Supernova]]. However, for legal reasons, the tie-in literature could ''not'' use elements from the Kelvin Timeline at the time (pun intended). By the time ''Coda'' began development, ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' had of course incorporated the destruction of Romulus into its backstory. So, needing to conclude this plot thread, Ward decided ultimately to retroactively tie Taurik's information to the Temporal Apocalypse.]]
26	** In the Afterword of ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'', James Swallow admits he initially declined the invitation to work on the Trilogy. As a fan, he didn't want to partake in the destruction of the continuity he'd both followed and contributed to during the last 20 years. It was David Mack who ultimately talked him into it.
27	** As detailed under CallForward on the main page, [[spoiler: O'Brien's]] death in ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'' was originally a much more explicit nod to ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks''. Specifically, Swallow [[https://blog.trekcore.com/2021/11/interview-james-swallow-star-trek-coda-ashes-of-tomorrow originally]] wanted to put in a line during [[spoiler: O'Brien's death that set up his [[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E03TemporalEdict future statue]] ]]but it was ultimately decided to be too on the nose.
28	*** In the above interview, Swallow also revealed that early in the development, the creators ''did'' consider using the Krenim Imperium as the BigBad before settling on [[spoiler: the Devidians]]. They ultimately rejected the Krenim because they wanted to respect what Kirsten Beyer had done with them -- plus, they feared using them as the architects of the Temporal Apocalypse would only be retreading old ground.
29	** Prior to the publication of ''Oblivion's Gate'', David Mack [[https://paulsemel.com/exclusive-interview-star-trek-coda-book-iii-oblivions-gate-author-david-mack/?fbclid=IwAR1S9diAq1A1gMspeWua9lVtGhYXydaxPP3BVoPHvW_vzejcYH6booqJn0s revealed]] that he'd actually had the idea to make the [[spoiler: Devidians]] a final antagonist for the Novelverse Picard as early as 2011 for the ''Cold Equations'' Trilogy. That idea was based on how it didn't seem Pocket Books was going to renew the ''Star Trek'' publishing license and ''Cold Equations'' would thus be the TNG Relaunch's de facto series finale. The premise would have seen [[spoiler: the Devidians targeting an elderly, dementia-ridden Picard in revenge for the events of "Time's Arrow"]]. Once the license was renewed, those early plans for ''Cold Equation'' got shelved...until ''Coda'' presented Mack with the chance to revisit and rework them.
30	* WorkingTitle: According to Swallow in the Afterword of ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'', working tiles for ''Coda'' included: ''Swansong'', ''Reset'', ''Long Goodbye'', and, their personal favorite, ''Wormhole Death Canon''.

Context Trivia / StarTrekCoda