Posts Tagged ‘Julian Bashir’

How the U.S. surveillance state inspired Section 31: Control

Yesterday my latest Star Trek novel, Section 31: Control, was published by Pocket Books. Today I answered a few questions for Anthony Pascale over at TrekMovie.com about the inspirations behind Control, and how I think Section 31 fits into the fabric of the Star Trek fictional universe.

Here’s a brief snippet from our in-depth exchange:

Mack on Section 31 and Julian Bashir’s Quest

TrekMovie.com: As noted on the back cover description for Control, Section 31 is as an “amoral” organization working on behalf of the Federation. It was yet another dark and controversial introduction into Trek lore from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a show which you worked on as a writer. What do you say to those who feel Section 31 doesn’t fit into the more utopian Roddenberry vision of the 24th century as seen on Next Generation and Voyager?

David Mack: I can’t speak to what Gene Roddenberry would have thought of Section 31. What I do know is that while humanity has often aspired to live in utopias, in fiction they tend to be deadly dull. Even one of the most famous utopias, the Garden of Eden, wasn’t terribly interesting until the Serpent arrived to bring temptation and crash the whole thing down.

That said, I can certainly understand the objections of Star Trek fans who feel that the mere existence of Section 31 undermines all that the Federation stands for — and that’s a view shared by many of the principal characters of the various series, particularly Doctor Julian Bashir.

One thing I’ve never understood is why even a small subset of Star Trek fandom would want a Star Trek: Section 31 television or film series. If there’s one thing the show and novels have always been clear about, it’s that Section 31 are not the heroes, and they do not deserve to be presented as people for whom we should desire success.

There’s a lot more at the link, so go check it out!

#SFWApro

Be afraid — SECTION 31: CONTROL has arrived | #SFWApro

Good morning, Star Trek fans! It’s the last Tuesday of a month, and you know what that means. A new Star Trek novel has been published by the fine folks at Simon & Schuster imprint Pocket Books! This month’s new Star Trek adventure is one of mine: the harrowing thriller Section 31: Control.

Star Trek - Section 31 - Control - cover image of Julian Bashir

Here is the description from the back cover:


SECTION 31

NO LAW.
NO CONSCIENCE.
NO MERCY.

Amoral, shrouded in secrecy, and answerable to no one, Section 31 is the mysterious covert operations division of Starfleet, a rogue shadow group pledged to defend the Federation at any cost.

The discovery of a 200-year-old secret gives Doctor Julian Bashir his best chance yet to expose and destroy the illegal spy organization. But his foes won’t go down without a fight, and his mission to protect the Federation he loves might end up triggering its destruction.

Only one thing is for certain: this time, the price of victory will be paid with Bashir’s dearest blood.


In a perfect world, tens of thousands of you would have pre-ordered this book months ago. However, since I can’t count on that, I’m going to urge you to buy one or more copies of Section 31: Control for yourself and/or the Star Trek fan in your life.

Trust me — this is one action-packed, blood-soaked adventure you won’t want to miss. It’s the alpha-and-omega of Section 31 stories, and there’s a good reason I asked my editor to make sure its cover was the color of blood….

Control is available now from all your favorite retailers, and directly from the publisher. Signed copies will soon be available through my website’s online store, so be on the lookout for that. Until then, happy reading!

#SFWApro

Cover Reveal! Star Trek: Section 31 – Control

Section 31 - ControlI’m thrilled to be able to share the approved cover art for my upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 novel, Control.

I love the color of it, which speaks to the blood-soaked action in the story, and the overall look and feel, which were conceived to visually link it to my previous Section 31 novel, Disavowed. Though my input was considered by the editors and production department, this work of fierce beauty is the creation of Gallery Books art director Alan Dingman.

For the curious, the story of Control is a direct sequel to Disavowed, which was part of my ongoing chronicle of Julian Bashir’s shadow war against the illegal covert operations group known as Section 31. If you’re keen to know more about this long-running story arc, see the list of “Related Novels” in the sidebar of the page for Control.

Here is the back-cover copy from the book:


SECTION 31

NO LAW.
NO CONSCIENCE.
NO MERCY.

Amoral, shrouded in secrecy, and answerable to no one, Section 31 is the mysterious covert operations division of Starfleet, a rogue shadow group pledged to defend the Federation at any cost.

The discovery of a 200-year-old secret gives Doctor Julian Bashir his best chance yet to expose and destroy the illegal spy organization. But his foes won’t go down without a fight, and his mission to protect the Federation might end up triggering its destruction.

Only one thing is for certain: this time, the price of victory will be paid with Bashir’s dearest blood.

CONTROL
THE HARROWING NEW THRILLER BY
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
DAVID MACK


Control will be published at the end of March 2017 by Simon & Schuster. Pre-order your copy now from the retailer of your choice!

Literary Treks talks Disavowed

Last week, I chatted with Christopher Jones and Matthew Rushing of Trek.fm podcast Literary Treks about my latest Star Trek novel, Disavowed. Today that podcast went live, and is available to subscribers via iTunes or to anyone who wants to listen online here.

lt-083-th-square

Here is their concise rundown of the show’s contents, for those who might want to skip to a particular segment:

News
Judge a Book By Its Cover: The Collectors (00:02:53)
Blurb revealed for Kirsten Beyer’s Atonement (00:07:07)
John Byrne bringing the Borg to TOS in New Visions (00:10:09)
Review: The Q Gambit, Part 4 (00:16:11)
 
Feature: Section 31: Disavowed
Designing the Cover (00:32:01)
Crafting Disavowed and the Life of Bashir (00:40:03)
Researching and Remembering the Past (00:50:17)
Working in the Mirror Universe (00:57:16)
Charting Bashir’s Future (01:09:28)
Influencing the Spy Game (01:20:12)
Section 31 Didn’t Know WHAT?! (01:23:34)
Principles Betrayed and a More Interesting Conflict (01:29:59)
What’s Next for David? (01:36:59)
Closing (01:43:32)

As always, there’s fun behind-the-scenes bits to be gleaned from this candid chat, so check it out.