I only have the Audiobook version of this novel, so I cannot check the following data against the printed book.
Firstly, the novel places the main story in 2371 and "First Contact" events in 2372, although it is listed in the Timeline and the Timeline chart as 2372 & 2373 since that is consistent with established Stardates. Should this be mentioned in a footnote and/or updated in the Sidebar which still lists the dates as 2371-72?
As for the Stardate issue, a Stardate is given in the novel by Captain Bateman at the beginning of the Enterprise-E's shakedown cruise, but several problems exist. The Stardate given is 5021.9 (obviously a mis-read date, but I cannot access the novel to check it's printed date). However, assuming this is a 50xxx.x Stardate, that would place those events in 2373, which is contradictory to all timeline data. Should footnotes be listed along with the given Stardate, or just leave the Stardate entry blank?
– 74.197.223.65 08:00, January 17, 2010 (UTC)
- The copy I have indicates Chapter 8 [the lead to the "present" of the novel] starts "Three years later, the year 2371"; Chapter 26 starts with "One year later". I guess I am a little confused about the novel being placed in 2372 instead, but the whole "one year later" thing doesn't seem a huge deal. Suppose it was the end of 2371 to the beginning of 2373 - that's roughly one year.
- For what it's worth, I can't find the reference to the mentioned stardate of 5021.9. --Savar 16:17, January 18, 2010 (UTC)
- Thanks for doing the research. My confusion about the year placement was based on the fact that Worf is already on DS9 during the novel's main time period, which would place it into the 4th season of DS9 in 2372. In any case, thanks for letting me know that the Stardate isn't in the novel at all. – 74.197.223.65 04:04, January 23, 2010 (UTC)
The inaccuracies of user 74's audiobook may differ from the printed version. I'd say the printed version takes precedence in many cases, as it came first. -- Captain MKB 16:37, January 18, 2010 (UTC)