309: The Dark Crystal

David Mack: More Beautiful Than Death. J.J. Abrams' Star Trek came out of the gate like a race horse, giving us a new take on the Original Series characters, in a new universe that allowed the creative team at Bad Robot the freedom to take them where they wanted. It was also meant to be a time to forge new boundaries for the literary treks, yet sadly it would take ten years for the books to see publication. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and C Bryan Jones welcome David Mack back to the show to talk about his book More Beautiful Than Death. We discuss the long publication history, changes to the book, the audiobook market, writing the Kelvin Timeline, themes from the book, the Akiron, disasters, fear and where to find David online and what he has coming up next. In the news section we look at the new Voyager comic Seven's Reckoning that is coming from IDW and our plans for covering the DS9 comic, Too Long A Sacrifice. News Seven's Reckoning Comic (00:01:42) Too Long A Sacrifice Plan (00:05:19) Feature: David Mack It's Been a Long Road (00:06:48) Changes to the Book (00:09:53) The Audiobook Market (00:14:53) Writing the Kelvin Timeline (00:20:44) Doing What is Right (00:32:25) Belief (00:37:24) The Needs of the Many (00:47:09) The Twist (00:54:21) The Akiron (01:00:31) Cultural Impact of Disaster (01:02:07) The Things Fear Causes (01:08:39) What is Next and Where to Find David (01:15:58) Final Thoughts (01:19:31) Hosts Matthew Rushing and C Bryan Jones Guest David Mack Production Matthew Rushing (Editor and Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Greg Rozier (Associate Producer) Casey Pettitt (Associate Producer)