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Stürmische See

(Star Trek: Titan #5)

Christopher L. Bennett (Goodreads Author),

Stephanie Pannen (Translator)

3.79 · Rating details · 837 ratings · 48 reviews

Der Planet Droplet ist eine Welt, die hauptsächliche aus Wasser besteht, ohne den kleinsten Flecken festen Bodens. Hier sollte es kein Leben geben, dennoch gedeiht es. Aili Lavena, die aquatische Pilotin der Titan, führt die Erforschung dieser geheimnisvollen Welt an und stellt sich der Gefahr des riesigen, wilden Ozeans. Eine der einheimischen Spezies entpuppt sich als em ...more

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Paperback, 360 pages

Published January 8th 2011 by Cross Cult (first published March 2009)

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Start your review of Stürmische See (Star Trek: Titan, #5)

Apr 21, 2013 Lars rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, star-trek

Over A Torrent Sea is without question the worst Star Trek novel I've read since returning to the books after David Mack's Destiny trilogy. Set after the Borg Invasion of the Alpha Quadrant, the U.S.S. Titan led by Captain Riker resumes its deep space exploration and discovers an aquatic world (kind of like the one Voyager visited in the season 5 episode Thirty Days). Except this oceanic world is filled with truely bizarre but intelligent alien creatures. The crew sets out to try and communicate ...more

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Jul 18, 2020 Robert Murphy rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is the eighth book in a series on Captain William T. Riker and his wife Counselor Deanna Troi's new ship, the USS Titan. Unfortunately, this is not a good place to come into the series, and I was quite a while orienting myself to the extremely diverse crew. (Unlike TV shows and movies, where having 99% humanoids saves on the budget, this series takes advantage of the book medium and has a crew with very few humans.)
Also very unusual, this book has a setting extremely difficult to pull of i ...more

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Mar 03, 2020 Shelby Lynne rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-interlibrary-loans

What, and I cannot stress this enough, the hell was that.

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Nov 21, 2009 Michael rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2009, star-trek

Following the events of "Star Trek: Destiny," Captain Riker and the crew of the Titan are sent back to the original mission--exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilizations.

Early on in Christopher L. Bennett's "Over a Torrent Sea," the reasoning for sending Titan back out on its original mission instead of staying behind to rebuild the Federation is laid out in a fairly believable manner.

Then it's on to the planet of Droplet, a world made of mostly of oceans with a u ...more

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Feb 08, 2012 Christian rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I have to admit the book was a bit boring. It is a nice idea to set up the story on a waterplanet but I had to fight till the end. I put the book several times away but I want mostly to finish books. So I read it till the end. The other Titan books are much better.

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Jun 13, 2015 Crystal Bensley rated it liked it · review of another edition

A bit slow in parts but I really love the crew of Titan and its exploration focus!

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Jun 19, 2018 Christopher rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Over a Torrent kick off with the intrepid crew of the Titan encountering a water plant that after some investigating the realise is inhabited by a group sentient species known as the Squales and the planet being named Droplet! :D Initially both sides have trouble identifying themselves as sentient as on Droplet the Squales do not ave any metals and so rely on Bio-Engineering to make everything they need from probes to vehicles! :D This contributes to misunderstandings throughout as well as humou Over a Torrent kick off with the intrepid crew of the Titan encountering a water plant that after some investigating the realise is inhabited by a group sentient species known as the Squales and the planet being named Droplet! :D Initially both sides have trouble identifying themselves as sentient as on Droplet the Squales do not ave any metals and so rely on Bio-Engineering to make everything they need from probes to vehicles! :D This contributes to misunderstandings throughout as well as humour – when the Away Team realises they are the ones that have been under observation will have you it stitches! :D At the same time though it goes to show that the Federation is not all knowing and that it has much to learn! :D Though in the Federations favour they know this and are constantly seeking to improve themselves! :D This attitude of course eventually goes over brilliantly with the Squales once they have got over the hiccups that keep popping up throughout the book! :D

We get to see also how the crew is adjusting to the post-Borg universe that really lays in the character building throughout! :D We get to see Christine Vale in command and how she adjusts to the unexpected and deals with the Titan as it is being trashed trying to save the planet! :D At the same time Riker and Aili in the planet trying to open and improve on the diplomatic dialogue they are engaging in with the Squales! :D This gives us an insight into Aili that hasn't been there before really building her character up but at the same really developing her! :D Dr. Ree goes a little crazy trying to protect Deanna's unborn baby and this leads to a pursuit to the uninhabited planet of Lumbu where the locals amongst the usual military and politicians value philosophers which leads to some hilarious first contacts situations first as Ree wants to see the Obstetrics department and then when Tuvok comes to fetch them! :D Event though it only features in part of the book the Lumbu are as devolved as the Squales on Droplet and this makes the book have an adventuress feel to the everything that is going! :D Tuvok and his wife T'Pel get their limelight as well as they have been through the ringer but the sorting out of their issues is really brilliantly handled and Tuvok and T'Pel's reaction to Troi and Riker's Baby is brilliant! :D The baby in question getting named Natasha is a neat little touch as well and will the lumps in the throat going but in a good way! :D As an aside we also get to see Melora and Xin getting spun around a bit which further develops their characters! :D Over a Torrent Sea takes great pleasure in throwing it's characters around and seeing what falls out and this lead to great character development! :D

The action and cultural misunderstandings throughout come thick and fast and the way that the crew of the Titan have to adjust is excellently handled and gives us an entire alien ecosystem that is brilliantly developed though you would certainly wince along with Cethente as he is put down through the depths! :D The discovery of the second ecosystem is very surreal and really comes off the page brilliantly you really have feeling of being there and this dovetails with the rest of the story excellently! :D Throughout the book the story works on a palimpsest of the levels that come together brilliantly in ways that you would not expect! :D The decision to have diplomatic relations and the debate in regards to the Prime Directive are carefully debated and you can certainly see reasons why eventually they would want to change things to reflect different circumstances! :D Indeed that is the argument that Riker and Vale make between themselves and coming to the same conclusions much to Riker's surprise! :D This at the same time illustrates how Vale has settled into the role of First Officer so well she really keeps the crew and Riker on the edge of their toes as all points which is obviously her job but really allows her character to flourish and develop more as well! :D

Over a Torrent Sea does a brilliant job as well of continuing the Titans exploration mission as well really getting to grips with the issues the crew are facing as well as moving on existing plotlines and setting new ones up in the process! :D We are getting to see the Titan characters really getting pushed out of their comfort zones but at the same time this is really allowing them to crow both as characters and as a reflection the worlds, phenomena etc that they ere encountering which in turn for the great world building is making for a warp powered adventured that are full of depth and exploration both of the character but of the new ground etc that they are breaking! :D Over a Torrent Sea is a roller coaster of events that gel brilliantly together in ways that you would not expect which gives the book a great feeling of inventiveness! :D At the same time it sets things up brilliantly in terms of plotting and character development for future books! :D Brilliant, full of adventure, daring do and action packed throughout! :D Bring you Snorkel! :D Highly recommended make sure you have the next one! :D Crisp high five! :D ...more

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Dec 21, 2018 John rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I sit here wondering if I will ever come across a Titan novel that will be a real thriller. This one was among the weakest of the post-Nemesis Trek novels I've yet read.
The premise is quite intriguing. The starship Titan and its grotesque zoo crew begin to survey a planet whose surface is entirely ocean. I really like the concept of this- I remember an Animated Series episode with a similar theme that captured my imagination. The crew discovers an intelligent form of life that look like somethin I sit here wondering if I will ever come across a Titan novel that will be a real thriller. This one was among the weakest of the post-Nemesis Trek novels I've yet read.
The premise is quite intriguing. The starship Titan and its grotesque zoo crew begin to survey a planet whose surface is entirely ocean. I really like the concept of this- I remember an Animated Series episode with a similar theme that captured my imagination. The crew discovers an intelligent form of life that look like something between squids and whales, and they call them "squales."
Basically, the plot centers around a few things. First, the efforts of a "Selkie" officer named Lavena, who is originally from a water world herself, to communicate with the squales. Second, the Titan's efforts to deflect an asteroid which just happens to be about to impact the planet; the efforts go haywire. Third, Deanna Troi is pregnant and about to pop, and an over-protective medical officer goes to extreme lengths to protect them in the midst of the crisis.
But along the way, I kept waiting for something to happen, and it never really did. The narrative is filled with scientific banter about the nature of the planet and its life, but these got really old fast. The dialogue between characters is atrocious. The story jumps the shark (pun intended) in multiple places (the aforementioned protective doctor taking the pregnant Troi to a warp-incapable planet to use their hospital facilities for birth; Riker becoming malnourished after being stranded on the planet and being found lying in his own filth). The interactions between Lavena and the squales seem forced and corny; the squales were perhaps the most shallow characters in the novel. And perhaps worst of all, it reads like a soap opera. Riker has apparently had a fling with this Lavena person a long time ago, and it leads to awkwardness and arguments that are just painful to read. Two other characters (Pazlar and Ra-Havreii, just read the book) have an even more painful treatment here.
I could probably go on a lot longer, but I'll just stop here. It just seems like Bennett was intrigued with the idea of an ocean planet, and tried to create a plot to fit it. And the result was a disjointed, forced, awkward narrative that was devoid of excitement. Now, I'm on to James Swallow's "Synthesis," and hopefully I will find something exciting there. ...more

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Dec 08, 2018 Jess rated it liked it · review of another edition

I think Bennett's other Trek books have spoiled me. The others of his I read this year were expertly plotted and well paced and all the known characters seemed just right. Riker, Troi and Tukok seem their typical selves.

This one seemed a little rushed. I don't know why. Maybe it's all those sections (mostly in the middle) that broke the show not tell rule. I think he sort of got so lost in creating such a weird new planet that he sort of lost track of the story. Or was ordered to tie up or inc ...more

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Jun 08, 2020 Ash rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: series, scifi, read-on-ebook, spaaaace, star-trek-tng

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 26, 2017 Sunknight rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I kept waiting for something exciting to happen until the end of the book. Way to bogged down by relationships and emotions. Too much like a soap opera set on a Federation Starship.

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Nov 10, 2018 Jamie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It can feel a wee bit slow in parts, but overall a decent book. Been around 5 years since I last read this book

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Feb 12, 2019 Tony Pope rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It's pretty much a given...if it's a Star Trek novel...I'll like it...

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Jan 12, 2020 Joanna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This one and the other one by this author were the best in the series IMHO

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Jul 29, 2019 Valerie Montero rated it liked it · review of another edition

A Star Trek episode

This book was basically an episode of Star Trek. They go to a planet, get into trouble, and have to get out of it. Next to no connection to the wider universe.

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Feb 26, 2012 Maurice Jr. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I enjoy Star Trek books set on exotic planets, namely because the authors have a knack for making me feel like I'm there. This one featured Ensign Aili Lavena as she headed up the away team exploring the water planet Droplet. With no land masses to speak of, Lavena was the perfect one to literally explore the planet's depths. As a mature Selkie, she's fully aquatic and the only crewman able to check things out without needing a shuttlecraft or diving equipment.

Lavena's initial foray into Droplet
I enjoy Star Trek books set on exotic planets, namely because the authors have a knack for making me feel like I'm there. This one featured Ensign Aili Lavena as she headed up the away team exploring the water planet Droplet. With no land masses to speak of, Lavena was the perfect one to literally explore the planet's depths. As a mature Selkie, she's fully aquatic and the only crewman able to check things out without needing a shuttlecraft or diving equipment.

Lavena's initial foray into Droplet's waters got her attacked by a giant jellyfish and brought her to the attention of the locals, creatures resembling small whales or large dolphins with squidlike tentacles. On her next dive, she met more "squales" (squid-whales) and when she learned they were sentient, started a conversation. They agreed to continuing diplomatic conversations, but an approaching asteroid endangered both the squales and their planet and Titan as they tried to deflect it.

When the dust settled, Riker and Lavena were stranded on one of the floater islands naked with none of their technology (the squales didn't like anything unliving and got rid of it when they rescued the pair from the massive tidal wave the asteroid kicked up).

While the captain and the helmsman tried to find a way to get in touch with the ship, a very pregnant Counselor Troi was about to give birth, but Dr. Ree was acting strangely. He took a shuttlecraft and abducted Troi to parts unknown. Now Commander Vale, left in command of the ship, had two crises to resolve; find her missing crewmen and get the doctor back from wherever he took his patient to keep her safe for her birthing.

I enjoyed the resolution of multiple problems as usual, and especially learning more about Lavena's personal history (I've been wanting to know what a "sepkinalorian" was since she mentioned the term in the first book) and her twenty-years ago tryst with Captain Riker when he was an ensign. I also enjoyed getting more backstory on Dr. Ree, Eviku and Dr. Cethente- very interesting characters who deserved to get more spotlight.

Needless to say, I look forward to more voyages of the Titan soon. ...more

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Feb 01, 2016 Emma rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So in all my time of watching TNG and reading Star Trek novels I never thought I'd hear/read Riker announce "I was wearing a thong!" as a defence!

What I like about the Titan books is that they've tried to do something new and different with Star Trek - sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.

The books (including this one) have interesting plots BUT I can't help but feel that the endings are a bit rushed and simplified compared tot he rest of the plot.

Now time for some Aili Lavena bashin So in all my time of watching TNG and reading Star Trek novels I never thought I'd hear/read Riker announce "I was wearing a thong!" as a defence!

What I like about the Titan books is that they've tried to do something new and different with Star Trek - sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.

The books (including this one) have interesting plots BUT I can't help but feel that the endings are a bit rushed and simplified compared tot he rest of the plot.

Now time for some Aili Lavena bashing - up to now she wasn't really on my radar because there are a LOT of new and VERY different characters to get used to. However she is definitely on my mind now - what a b***h! I mean, okay so she and Riker had a fling 20 odd years ago (you weren't the only one love - get over it!) but all of a sudden she's wanting to give up on being rescued and live with him on a floating island or in life saving pod thingies?! I was trying to control the inner teenage fan girl that still resides inside me a little bit (I'm in my 30's now) but when she was conveniently glossing over the fact that Riker would miss his wife and baby the inner fan girl was screaming "Hey! They're Imzadi and you're deluded! Back off!". I've calmed down now....

I just thought she was very self pitying as a character and basically she managed to get them rescued by telling the squales about a painful experience from her past...really? That's all it takes?!

I like the fact that Deanna chose Natasha as her baby's name - that at least made senses but I haven't yet forgiven Riker for choosing Miana as the middle name. I mean - you're stranded away from your wife with another woman (one you've slept with and more recently been very naked with!) and she almost caused you to be permanently separated from your wife and child and you're going to give you baby a middle name after the dead sister of this other woman?! Um...what?!

From a less irrational fan girl point of view - T'Pel is growing on me and it's nice to see a slightly different side to Tuvok as well.

...more

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Sep 19, 2016 Angela rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek-tng

The crew of the Titan find an unusual water planet. They decide to investigate, and things get very complicated. Deanna is due to give birth very soon, and Tuvok is dealing with the death of his son. The world is very interesting and unusual. The truly alien feel to it is well realised. It concentrates mainly on the aquatic member of the crew and who she really is. There are some great character moments. A good read.

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Feb 17, 2013 Dan Gilman rated it it was ok · review of another edition

While I loved the idea of Over a Torrent Sea, it really failed to flesh out much of anything, while touching on everything. It really did seem all over the place, Aili Lavena, Troi, Riker, Ree, Cetenthe, Melora and a few more have story lines running concurrently, it plays out much as an episode of Star Trek would, but it seemed rather negatively so.

The main theme running throughout is relationships, inter-personal, planetary, and add to that a "Prime Directive? LOLWUT!?" attitude and you see ti ...more

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Jan 07, 2014 Micah rated it it was ok · review of another edition

After reading the Destiny trilogy I was interested to see how the Titan crew was recovering from those events. Previous Titan adventures proved to be remarkably well written and developed but such remarks are loosely applied to this adventure. Much like a TV episode that had a seemingly random plot & left you confused at the point of that episode "Over a Torrent Sea" achieves the same effect. Instead of techno babble and great orations on warp travel, cosmic phenomenon, etc. The book is filled w ...more

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May 28, 2014 Jimyanni rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek

Some reviewers seem to feel that there was either too much exploration of the emotions of the Titan's crew in this novel, or that those emotions didn't ring true for them, or that that aspect of the story seemed too soap-opera-ish for their taste. I didn't find this to be the case; for the most part, the emotions seemed reasonable and legitimate to me, and where they didn't strike a perfectly harmonic note, the circumstances and the explanations given seemed to me adequate to justify the slight ...more

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Mar 21, 2015 Jarrah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek, sci-fi

A solid addition to the Titan series. After the epic events of the Destiny trilogy, Titan is back to exploring new worlds, specifically a water-covered planet called Droplet. Selkie Ensign Lavena gets a starring role in this book as she uses her physiological and linguistic similarities to Droplet's lifeforms to make first contact and manage the consequences.

I enjoyed Bennett's imaginative and detailed world-building in this book, although at times it made the plot move a little slowly and part ...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Alex rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, star-trek

A bit of a rebound from the previous book in the series. Titan encounters an aquatic world with a highly developed aquatic type of lifeform, highly advanced in biotechnology but not a spacefaring civilisation. When an asteroid impacts the planet and changes its "song" Riker and its crew attempt to fix it. While Riker gets trapped on the planet with ensign Aili Lavenna his wife, hours away from giving birth to their first child, is abducted by dr. Ree. He takes Troi to a planet nearby, whose popu ...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Daniel rated it liked it · review of another edition

"Over a Torrent Sea" is a follow-up to the Star Trek Destiny series of books. This book does not deal with the ramifications of what the Borg invasion has done to the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, instead, this is more a book about self discovery and exploration. This story is similar to the Star Trek Voyager episode "Thirty Days" where Voyager discovers a world made entirely of water with no land masses. In this case, the world, called Droplet, became entirely water naturally without any rock or di ...more

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Jun 08, 2016 Luke added it · review of another edition

Originally reviewed at http://wp.me/p4Wvzn-1tt

Over a Torrent Sea is the 5th book in the Star Trek Titan series and the first book in the Titan series that follows the harrowing events depicted in the Destiny trilogy.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that if you haven' read Star Trek Destiny...you're going to be seriously disadvantaged in reading this book. So much of the story references crew members who have lost loved ones in the Borg invasion and crew members suffering from post trau ...more

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Oct 22, 2016 Scott Williams rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is the second Star Trek novel by Bennett that I've read this year. I quite enjoy his work. This is a Star Trek story that could only be told in novel format. It's a story of science, exploration and discovery and also a story about characters we love.

I was quite impressed by the amount of scientific research Bennett did to inform this work. He relies on the newest published theories to bolster his world creation and the result is something that feels very real.

The characters on the USS Tit ...more

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Apr 08, 2009 D. Eric rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

A competent if somewhat slow-in-the-beginning Star Trek novel. A bit heavy at times on the relationship stuff, but heck, it's Star Trek, so it cannot be too bad if you are a fan. Finally starts moving about halfway through to end on a satisfying note.

It was perhaps time for a novel of this bent if you have been keeping up with the Star Trek Universe. Plots cannot always be about saving the universe and defeating the Borg--sometimes you need a bit of a breather and that is what this novel provid ...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Nicolas rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek

I was glad to see Riker, Troi & Tuvok taking on a bigger role in this story. I get that the Titan series is trying to do something different, but I find the wacky alien crew-members to be a little much. I might be able to handle them if the antagonists weren't also over the top: giant bee people, star jellies and in this case singing fish people. I felt like this found a better balance of Riker/Troi/Tuvok vs. original characters. Because of that, I even found myself enjoying the bits with the ne ...more

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Jan 25, 2012 Miket01 rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek, sci-fi

This was a good "episode" of Titan, but not great. Lots of good elements that kind of flat when they all (don't) come together.

On the soap opera side we have some interesting perspectives on polyamory and non-traditional relationships. Plus we also have the final month or so of Commander Troi's pregnancy.

On the exploratory side, there is a great setting of a ocean planet and its complex biosphere, but it feels more like watching a cool science documentary with some fairly arbitrary challenges f ...more

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Apr 19, 2014 Jeremy rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek-post-ds9

I think I slept through this book and somehow came to the end. Again, not my favorite author and just an uninteresting book and characters I use to care about but these books do them a grave disservice

After a reread this book is still uninteresting. It feels like you need a marine biology book nearby to understand anything going on. The book doesn’t have anything interesting going until about 3/4 of the way through. I also find the Rikers’ child’s name amusing and ridiculous considering they are ...more

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About Christopher L. Bennett

Christopher L. Bennett

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Christopher L. Bennett is a lifelong resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, with a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in History from the University of Cincinnati. A fan of science and science fiction since age five, he has spent the past two decades selling original short fiction to magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact (home of his "Hub" series of comedy adventures), BuzzyMag, and Galaxy's Edge. Sinc ...more