David R. George III Talks 'Mission: Gamma'

Star Trek author David R. George III recently talked about his involvement in Pocket Books' upcoming four-part 'Mission: Gamma' series.

A continuation of the Deep Space Nine relaunch storyline which began in S.D. Perry's 'Avatar, Book One' and 'Avatar, Book Two,' the series "details a three-month exploration of the Gamma Quadrant by Defiant's crew," George told TrekWeb. The DS9 relaunch is set after the events of 'What You Leave Behind,' with Colonel Kira now in command of the station.

George has penned the first 'Mission: Gamma' instalment in the series, entitled 'Twilight.' "'Twilight' is a character-oriented novel that pretty much touches on everybody, although some characters - and one in particular - have bigger storylines than others," he said. The writer added that although each 'Mission: Gamma' book functions as "part of a larger story, they each also have a definite beginning, middle, and ending. In many ways, each of the Mission: Gamma books are two novels in one, dealing with events aboard both Defiant and DS9."

The brain behind the 'Mission: Gamma' series and indeed the whole DS9 relaunch is Pocket Books editor Marco Palmieri, whom George described as "very creative and talented." Each of the writers involved in the project - George, Heather Jarman, Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels and Robert Simpson - worked under Palmieri's guidance to ensure a strong sense of continuity between the novels.

"Although we never met as a group, the 'Mission: Gamma' writers did keep in communication with each other throughout the writing of the novels," George said. "For major issues, we worked through Marco, and for smaller issues, we worked directly with each other. For example, throughout 'Mission: Gamma,' Defiant was off in the Gamma Quadrant with a crew of forty for three months, so we all had to make sure that we kept the crew consistent, and that every writer's needs were fulfilled by who we had aboard."

With 'Twilight' only being one part of a multi-book series, did George feel limited in any way? "I did not feel very restricted when writing 'Twilight,' although there were of course some constraints. But it's sort of like writing a specific type of poem. If I set out to write a sonnet, for example, I am constrained to write a fourteen-line verse in iambic pentameter, with a particular rhyme scheme. Does that mean I can't write a good poem, or that my creativity is limited? I don't think so. In some ways, it focuses the creative mindset.

"In 'Twilight,' I had certain responsibilities - this had to happen on the station, and that had to happen on Bajor - but there were a great many ways I could have made those things happen. So I'd say that I didn't feel limited, but focused."

'Twilight' is currently set for release in September, together with 'Mission: Gamma's' second book, 'This Grey Spirit'. Parts three and four, entitled 'Cathedral' and 'Lesser Evil', will be published in October and November, respectively.

The full interview, in which George also talked about his favourite character to write for and 'The Lost Era' series, can be found here at TrekWeb.

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