Boldly Reading Book Club #2 – Agamemnon
Boldly Reading Book Club #2 – Agamemnon
Our next Boldly Reading Book Club selection is mdgarcia’s Agamemnon. The story is rated M.
Introducing Agamemnon
A new executive officer arrives on the Agamemnon, as Richard James thinks he’s gotten himself on the fast track to a sweet promotion. But all is not sunshiny, as he’s met with less than perfectly opened arms.
And then discipline is a little … lax.
There’s a nice word for it.
For James, it’s a culture shock as he sees the captain’s yeoman hanging around the captain perhaps a little too much, the chief engineer is less than cordial to him and no one seems to have done any paperwork in a dog’s age.
The Characters
The cast is small, and easy to follow. There’s the captain, Hank Grayum. As already mentioned, there’s the new first officer, Richard James, and the captain’s yeoman, Missy Davies. The pilot is a young Betazoid named Rittian Low. The chief engineer, Halley Gage and chief petty officer Heather Munoz, round out the cast, except for one character introduced later in the piece, a Romulan, khre’Arrain t’Aimne. Seven faces.
Talking Points
As the crew begins to respond to the adjustments being made, first by James and then by t’Aimne, how well do you feel it was handled? Were their reactions believable? Did the unit gel more quickly or more slowly than you would have thought, or was the timing just right?
The missing paperwork is, possibly, the first driver of the story. Between Captain Grayum and Missy, how did things get done before Rick’s arrival? For what fell through the cracks, could the crew have handled that better? Or was it all a part of what happens when any group is short-staffed? By the crew being short-staffed and missing paperwork deadlines, was that, possibly, an impetus behind Rick’s transfer being approved? If the paperwork had been delivered on time, regardless of staffing issues, would a new first officer ever have been assigned to the Agamemnon?
A lot of the characters have suffered career disappointments, and are working to get ahead. What are their motivations for their behaviors? Do the actions they are taking lead to their goals directly? Or are they more roundabout?
How did you see the conflicting command styles on display? Which one do you prefer, personally, if you were serving aboard the Agamemnon? Which do you think gets the most done?
How is success measured within the context of the story? Who changed the most? Did any characters surprise you? Did any of them behave in a manner that seemed inconsistent? How did the character interactions work? Who had to adapt the most?
What did you think of the Romulan character, khre’Arrain t’Aimne? Was her behavior consistent? Did it make sense to you? Was she a believable character? How did attitudes change toward her? Were those changed attitudes justified by her behavior? Did anyone not change their mind(s) about her, who maybe should have?
What was the climax of the story? Did it devolve to a satisfactory conclusion?
What happens right after the curtain comes down on the story? Where would you take these characters – and this ship – next?
Author’s Commentary
Mike’s own ideas about how Agamemnon worked, and what its creation taught him, can be found in Author’s Commentary: TQB “Agamemnon”. He’s also got a sequel in progress, The Sacrifice of Agamemnon. Do his ideas for a sequel match yours? t’Aimne also shows up in To Triump and Not to Mourn. Does that direction makes sense for this character?
So all that remains is to get Reading, get Reviewing and get Ready for Discussion.
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