NO TIME LIKE THE PAST has a unique and ridiculous premise: What if Voyager's Seven of Nine met Captain Kirk? Seven of Nine remains an ensemble darkhorNO TIME LIKE THE PAST has a unique and ridiculous premise: What if Voyager's Seven of Nine met Captain Kirk? Seven of Nine remains an ensemble darkhorse from that series and, like the Doctor, has shown up in unexpected places but this seems to be going further than normal. Even so, it was an effective crossover as it convinced me to buy this book over many other Star Trek books I could have been reading instead.
The basic premise is Seven finds a massive monument to Captain Kirk in the Voy's present, curious about this (given she's in the Delta Quadrant), investigates. This results in her being transported across the galaxy as well as time into the Five Year Mission, Seven manages to save Kirk's life and decides she has to go on a scavenger hunt for parts that will lead her to be able to return home.
Some interesting issues are brought up like using Seven's knowledge against the Klingons, the Orions (which were always underused), and revisiting some worlds that were underepresented in the series. Yes, that includes "Let This Be Our Last Battlefield" that hasn't aged well at all and is still sadly as one-dimensional as it was before. Still, I'm glad for its inclusion as we at least get to see how their race met its end.
The ending is also a bit of a copout as it erases any of the continuity problems this book might have included.
Merged review:
NO TIME LIKE THE PAST has a unique and ridiculous premise: What if Voyager's Seven of Nine met Captain Kirk? Seven of Nine remains an ensemble darkhorse from that series and, like the Doctor, has shown up in unexpected places but this seems to be going further than normal. Even so, it was an effective crossover as it convinced me to buy this book over many other Star Trek books I could have been reading instead.
The basic premise is Seven finds a massive monument to Captain Kirk in the Voy's present, curious about this (given she's in the Delta Quadrant), investigates. This results in her being transported across the galaxy as well as time into the Five Year Mission, Seven manages to save Kirk's life and decides she has to go on a scavenger hunt for parts that will lead her to be able to return home.
Some interesting issues are brought up like using Seven's knowledge against the Klingons, the Orions (which were always underused), and revisiting some worlds that were underepresented in the series. Yes, that includes "Let This Be Our Last Battlefield" that hasn't aged well at all and is still sadly as one-dimensional as it was before. Still, I'm glad for its inclusion as we at least get to see how their race met its end.
The ending is also a bit of a copout as it erases any of the continuity problems this book might have included....more
MIRROR DANCE is a book that took me a long time to finish, not because it's bad but because of what happens early on in the story. Basically, we spendMIRROR DANCE is a book that took me a long time to finish, not because it's bad but because of what happens early on in the story. Basically, we spend a significant time not in the head of Count Miles Vorkosigan or Admiral Naismith (they are the same person) but the self-hating doubt-ridden Mark Vorkosigan, his much-abused clone. Mark screws up, for lack of a better term, and the entirety of the rest of the book is dealing with the consequences and his struggle to believe the Vorkosigans could love him as a member of their family. The story is masterfully written but there's a lot of dark emotions that won't be for everyone....more
EXPEDITIONARY FORCE just keeps going and going like the Energizer Bunny and I don't have a problem with that. In this case, Skippy and Joe Bishop haveEXPEDITIONARY FORCE just keeps going and going like the Energizer Bunny and I don't have a problem with that. In this case, Skippy and Joe Bishop have managed to discover that the enemy they're fighting isn't an Elder AI at all but one of the mysterious Outsiders. I miss Joe's wife and wish that she'd be brought back despite her children being a primary concern. Otherwise, I continue to love these books and hope they go on forever....more
Cyberpunk is a genre that is a bit like grimdark in that it is a very popular one but also one that no one has any real luck defining. As much as “High Tech, Low Life” is busted out, what that actually means is a matter of opinion. For me, I tend to suggest cyberpunk is science fiction noir. It’s when the quality of life has not been improved by technology but the problems remain because of human nature. While not all cyberpunk has to be cops and robbers in a corrupt system, it certainly helps when they are. Neuromancer, Takashi Kovacs, the Buyadeen books, Blade Runner, and both the Cyberpunk 2022/2077 and Shadow Run world all depend on this. Which as close to an all-inclusive list as you’re going to get. Even Robocop, Akira, and Ghost in the Shell are adjacent here.
MUSHROOM BLUES falls under this definition even if we could probably be cute an call it “Fungalpunk.” In this case, it’s science fiction with the premise being humanity has conquered a world that has (probably) human-descended colonists that have merged with the local cordyceps to form their own culture. Note: This isn’t a spoiler or even brought up in the book as a possibility but I feel there’s a lot of clues to this effect. If this doesn’t sound like a cyberpunk tale, take note that it’s actually about the brutality of racism, colonialism, capitalism, organized crime, and how absolutely none of this can be affected by our protagonists.
The absolute simplest way of describing the story is a fantastic prejudice allegory ala WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT or the X-men. It takes place on an alien planet but humans are in charge because they won the war and the local mushroom people are under their thumb. The humans hate it on the island nation of Hoppon and its capital of Neo Konoko. Fungus is, understandably everywhere, and the locals hate them. The humans treat the locals like crap and the fungals hate them right back. Henrietta Hofmann is assigned to work with fungal police officer Koji Nameko and the two of them get along like oil and water. It’s a fairly classic IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT scenario, only with more black mold.
Henrietta Hofmann is a casually racist and particularly nasty protagonist that is assigned to NKPD because she’s burned all bridges with her alcoholism as well as involvement in an incident that may have gotten her daughter killed. The actual specifics are a secret until the end of the book but paint her in the worst light possible. She hates fungals and hates being where she is. Like most racists, though, she has limits and doesn’t think she’s a racist. Awful cop that she is who hurls casual slurs, she is genuinely horrified at fungal children being murdered and wants to solve the crime.
Koji Nameko is an Asian coded police officer who is considered to be a traitor to his people by the occupied fungals. However, the police force is as racist to him and hateful as anyone else. The police chief insists that everyone is equal but he’s being very clear that this is only to keep the overt racism in line since everyone, including Koji, knows that the humans are an occupying force. He states his job is to try to help his people by working from the inside but it’s questionable how much he can do (if anything).
Much of the book is dedicated to Henrietta learning not to be viciously racist and viscerally disgusted by the fungals. These are the least pleasant parts of the books and there were many times that I didn’t care about Henrietta’s journey of self-discovery. Instead, I was more interested in the developing resistance and lives of the fungals. The combination of realistic oppression with sci-fi concepts like fungal minds is very interesting and I’m totally on their side.
In conclusion, this is a solid and entertaining novel. I really enjoyed the characters, the world-building, and the real-life allusions. The plot is excellently structured with several unexpected twists along the way. While I wasn’t a fan of Henrietta, I have to say that I’m still going to pick up the sequel. Cyberpunk is rarely treated with the seriousness and darkness it requires to really hit home as satire but this succeeds....more
I loved DEEP SPACE NINE more than any of the other Treks and was anxious for this one but it doesn't actually provide that much insight into his actioI loved DEEP SPACE NINE more than any of the other Treks and was anxious for this one but it doesn't actually provide that much insight into his actions during the series. Instead, it more or less focuses entirely on his history in New Orleans for the first half of the book and then sort of skips past everything from the Dominion War. It's got a lot of really good stuff in there but a lot of it feels contradictory to the character we see on the screen.
For example, Ben Sisko finds out his mother was possessed by a Prophet for most of her marriage with his father and yet he acts like he remotely knew the "real" woman (indeed, had a deep as well as meaningful relationship with her--which is flat out not true since she runs away the moment she's no longer possessed). Ben Sisko is someone that also has a meaningful spiritual background when it's fairly clear he did not before encountering the Prophets. There's also a flat out INSANE line about Kai Winn being the kind of leader that Bajor needed at the end.
"However, in the end when Bajor needed her, when I needed her, Kai Winn became the true spiritual leader of Bajor it always deserved, and for that I am grateful."
Man, what? I believe the author must have misremembered the series because that doesn't describe Kai Winn's fate at all. She died heroically but not in any way that made her a leader. I also feel like we don't see nearly enough of Curzon Dax in the story for a figure that was supposed to be so incredibly meaningful in his life. Still, there's some good stuff here like the fact that Ben was originally an engineer and only moved into the command track reluctantly....more
A fantastic lead up to the ending of the series. This is a series that has been leading up to Earth joining the rest of the galaxy and our heroes big A fantastic lead up to the ending of the series. This is a series that has been leading up to Earth joining the rest of the galaxy and our heroes big plan is to build a Walmart for super-technology as a way to ease us in.
The Last Hunter crew is working now against a half-dozen factions simultaneously. The Kindgom, The Poseidon Group, The Tardans, and even more aliens aThe Last Hunter crew is working now against a half-dozen factions simultaneously. The Kindgom, The Poseidon Group, The Tardans, and even more aliens are all at their throats. Can our heroes beat them? Probably. But its entertaining to watch them do so....more
The penultimate installment of our protagonist's adventures. He's been exiled from the Peacekeepers and they've been taken over by a bunch of crooked The penultimate installment of our protagonist's adventures. He's been exiled from the Peacekeepers and they've been taken over by a bunch of crooked cops. Can our hero overthrow them and build something better? Probably! However, it's cool to see Van and Turina on the back foot. It's still a lighthearted series but this is darker than most installments....more
Another good installment of the Backyard Starship series. This one seems to be setting up for the finale of the series and that makes me sad but it's Another good installment of the Backyard Starship series. This one seems to be setting up for the finale of the series and that makes me sad but it's had a very good run. I also note that this is one of the rare occassions where our protagonist screws up and screws up big. Still, it is the comfort food of mass produced indie space opera....more
The final confrontation between all of the various factions start to take shape. I'm still enjoying the series and hope to see how it all shakes out. The final confrontation between all of the various factions start to take shape. I'm still enjoying the series and hope to see how it all shakes out. Lots of intrigue, counter moves, and space battles. Still, I think we could see a resolution to the Poseidon Group. I am iffy about the "human feudal empire" outside of Earth space and think they're not as as good a set of villains....more
WILL LEAVE THE GALAXY FOR GOOD by Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw is the third and final installment of the Jack McKeown series. The series is about an out of wWILL LEAVE THE GALAXY FOR GOOD by Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw is the third and final installment of the Jack McKeown series. The series is about an out of work star pilot and his feud with the seemingly fictional Jack McKeown, a author of rugged stories about star pilots who has actually rewritten the adventures of both the protagonist as well as his many friends. Due to complicated stories, the protagonist is also forced to adopt the identity of Jack McKeown on multiple occasions. Sometimes he’s also known as Dashford Pierce, even though that is also a pseudonym.
The third book opens with Jack/Dashford struggling with the fact that Jack McKeown is no longer as popular as he used to be. The Flash Gordon-esque star pilot stories have gotten passe and the public have moved on to the more Star Trek-like Trail Spacers. Worse, the protagonist can’t write any new books to continue his legacy because, well, he’s not actually an author. Instead, the point becomes moot when his apartment blows up and Jack/Dashford assumes that it is Jacques McKeown behind it.
There’s a certain melancholy to the third book as I really think this could have remained a ongoing series as the humor of Yahtzee remains relevant throughout. Still, you could tell he was perhaps running low on the premise as there’s only so many ways you can reinterpret the same premise of, “maybe Golden Age heroism wasn’t all its cracked up to be and we should all be living in the real world versus fantasies.” Which is a hard needle to thread when you are reading escapist literature primarily read by fans of the same.
This isn’t me criticizing the book and whether or not this is actually the Aesop being supported by the protagonist or the author is deliberately undercutting it at every turn is up for interpretation. Much like Martin Scorseze, he presents star pilots and the protagonists as stunted man children but also individuals have a genuine sense of heroism that is needed against, well, very unheroic sorts of people. Indeed, analyzing this contradiction and what it means may be the heart of this story.
The primary difference between Trailspacers and the star pilots is, without mentioning it, the Prime Directive. The TrailSpacers observe things happening but don’t interfere and then pat themselves on the back for doing nothing. This, of course, is rarely what the protagonists of Star Trek do but there’s been a few indications when they take the attitude it’s morally superior to do nothing but observe. This is then contrasted to the people who watch TrailSpacers and the people who are stuck inside the show. I can’t say more without spoiling things.
I will say that this is a pretty good ending for the series and that most of the major plotlines are wrapped up in a satisfying way. I was surprised by the identity of Jacques McKeown and I think no one will properly guess his identity but that it is surprisingly timely with recent scandals among Amazon and other publishers. I also think the series nicely ties into MOGWORLD and if you haven’t read that book then you probably should.
In conclusion, it is sad to say goodbye to Dashford Pierce/Jack McKeown but we’ve had a good run. Very few books get more than one great book about the series. This one isn’t quite as good as the previous two since it seems to restart itself after having a couple of perfectly satisfying endings to begin with. That’s a small complaint, though. I gladly would have continued to enjoy the adventures of the last star pilot....more
WILL DESTROY THE GALAXY FOR CASH by Ben “Yahtzee” Crowshaw is the scond book in the Jacques McKeown series. The series is about a washed up space heroWILL DESTROY THE GALAXY FOR CASH by Ben “Yahtzee” Crowshaw is the scond book in the Jacques McKeown series. The series is about a washed up space hero who lost his job after teleportation (quan-tunneling) wiped out the necessity for spaceships. The first book was an absolute treat and I immediately picked up the second one in the series. This is one of those series that is best listened to in audiobook form because Ben Croshaw’s voice is so distinctive as well as so much of his humor tied into his delivery.
The premise for this volume is that our protagonist has unfortunately found himself impersonating the fictional Jack McKeown, world famous author-adventurer, who the protagonist bitterly loathes because all of said adventurer’s adventures are plagarized from other star pilots (like himself). A life of absolute luxury and wealth seem like a poor way of torturing our hero but he can’t bring himself to enjoy any of it knowing that it comes from pretending to be someone he’s not.
This all becomes extra-twisted as Warden, “Jack’s” employer from the last book wants to hire him for a job that suspiciously sounds like a heist. Specifically a heist of Jimmy Henderson, boy mob boss, as he pays for McKeown Con. It’s supposed to be for a cure that will help the protagonist’s father-figure/mentor, Robert Blaze, but you can never take anything as it seems in these books.
I really enjoyed the heist crew of this book and Derby, a self-styled gentleman thief, and Malcolm Sturb, a nebbish mad scientist who invented the setting’s equivalent of the Borg. Oh and he was also the protagonist’s archnemesis. The three of them play off one another well and also underscore the fact that so much of the series is about men playing dress up as well as trying to pass themselves off as the heroes of their own narrative.
Fans of the original more or less know what to expect with the sequel. It’s a kind of zany Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy travel through the bizarre world where space piloting was a brief Golden Age of Sci-Fi/Flash Gordon-esque time of heroes before popping like a soap bubble. Sort of like the Wild West. However, the question of whether the star pilots were ever actually that heroic in the first place is repeatedly brought up. Were they actually heroes or just guys living out their adolescent fantasies on worlds that hadn’t discovered steam power?
Ben Croshaw is a fantastic narrator and performer but he’s also a great writer of comedy and this comes from someone who writes comedy for a living. His word-building isn’t bad either and it more or less hangs together. Things may be absurd or silly but they’re never such for its own sake but as a commentary on the driving forces of capitalism and human pride.
In conclusion, this is a fantastic follow-up to the original novel and manages to capture most of the magic. The books have something to say about wish-fulfillment in fiction but I’m not sure it’s wholly negative. After all, the star pilots are mostly heroes. It’s just some of them weren’t at times....more
Let's be honest, this book doesn't make a darn bit of sense with what we later find out about Tasha's continuity or homeworld but I appreciate Jean LoLet's be honest, this book doesn't make a darn bit of sense with what we later find out about Tasha's continuity or homeworld but I appreciate Jean Lorrah taking the time to flesh out the dystopian Mad Max hellscape that Denise Crosby never got to do any development of. I mean, you may argue that SA gangs have no place in Star Trek (and I'd agree with your argument) but it's fascinating to note that Gene Roddenberry was the guy who envisioned a Federation world withdrawing and degenerating to man's primitive and horrifying barbarism. Quark was right about humans and apparently the Father of Trekdom believed that it was only a few meals between your typical Hooman and a muggato.
I think one of the great authors here could easily fix most of the issues here. "New Paris" may have been the colonies original name before it was changed with independence (politics tends to do that) or it may have been its local name with Turkana IV being the official planetary name. Certainly, young uneducated waif Tasha Yar is not going to draw too much distinction as a little girl. Ishara Yar is a much bigger issue but I maintain that I actually think the Enterprise crew were right to be skeptical. If not of her being biologically Tasha's sister then how close they were since the Tasha we knew in the show was unlikely to have abandoned her 10 year old sister. Then again, continuity is fluid and sometimes you just have to say, "Yeah, that's no longer canon."
My headcanon for Ishara Yar is that she is biologically Tasha Yar's sister, or at least half-sister, and the two of them never met. The Coalition, however, encountered some traders that had encountered with the Federation and noted that the USS Enterprise had once had an officer named Tasha by sheer dumb luck--so they set up on making up a story about them being close as part of the con we know they pulled off.
If you wanted to make a whole novel about it, it was possibly a plot by Sela to screw with the ENTERPRISE and Ishara might even be someone she made in a lab somewhere before handing her over to the Coalition. Why? Maybe to involve them in a Prime Directive dispute or part of a larger plan that fizzled out. To make them feel guilty. I dunno, Sela has issues.
I have some issues with the book and that is the kind of "romance novel melodrama" that rubs me the wrong way. This needs to have the kind of asterisk that I feel I need to establish because I love romance novel melodrama and never want to feel like I'm criticizing a fellow author too harshly. I love melodrama, I live there. Still, "guy who looks like my current love interest who rescued me as a child that I later fell in love with as a consenting adult but was wrongly accused by a kangaroo court system then became a pirate/scoundrel mercenary/freedom fighter" is a bit much. Imagining Brent Spiner as a badass rogue is kind of hilarious, though, given all the statements Daryll Adin AKA Dare looks like Data, though.
My wife would LOVE this book, though, for that exact sort of storytelling, though, and I may have it be her first Star Trek novel. I feel like the villainess being a femme fatale dictator of her country (and tied to the orions) was a good twist even if I wondered how she ever thought the Federation would respond to a request to put down the local warlords positively. Not even the United States of the Eighties would be interested in that....more
I'm doing this book as one single review because I feel like the three novellas really are just one very good(ish) New Frontier novel that was dividedI'm doing this book as one single review because I feel like the three novellas really are just one very good(ish) New Frontier novel that was divided into three parts. I feel like it is a questionable place to end the series, though, because there's a lot of unanswered questions.
According to urban legend, Peter David supposedly did a Soleta-centric novel after this novel that he never got published and I would very much like to read it. If it exists, it makes me wonder if it's available on his Patreon. Either way, it saddens me there will never be another New Frontier novel and it is a bit like saying goodbye to a bunch of old friends. You can only speculate where the NF version of Robin Lefler, Shelby, Calhoun, Soleta, Xyon, Kalinda, and others may have ended up.
The story is divided into roughly two parts with Mac suffering PTSD and obviously needing years of therapy before coming back to work, hopping back into work at the chance of getting revenge on the Demiurge race. Mac intends to commit genocide against them because, as we remember, he's a Conan the Barbarian-esque savage in a Star Fleet uniform. This doesn't surprise me as he's someone clearly not in his right mind but the fact that his crew indulges him right up to the point that he's planning genocide, well, doesn't sit well with me.
The second part of the book is Robin Lefler, Mark McHenry, and Cwansi returning to New Thallon in order to secure the latter a place for his future rulership. Unfortunately, the cartoonishly evil Shintar Han is determined to invite them back solely for the purposes of eliminating them. The fact that Cwansi would not come of age for twenty years and could easily be a puppet doesn't enter Shintar's head as he just keeps trying to kill them all.
Eventually, he summons the power of the Awesome who turns out to be Q in a plot that I don't think works very well for the TNG character. Q may be as close to a god as anything in the Trek universe but I can't really ever imagine him allowing himself to be worshiped or going out of his way to answer the prayers for a child's murder. He's undoubtedly killed many children with his games but its the very lack of care to the "small picture" is why I don't think he'd work with them. Props to the resolution, though.
Honestly, these novellas are some of the darkest in Star Trek, which is part of why it's so strange that they remain so mostly lighthearted. There's sexual assault, the genocide of THREE races, our heroes help in the genocide of two even if they don't directly annihilate everyone, themes of suicide, and the constant attempts at murdering a baby that are played for a laugh. It doesn't help the Dayam (Damn?) are one-dimensionally evil Necromongers that want to kill all other life in the universe because, they're bad guys meant to be worse than the Demiurge.
Mark McHenry and Robin Lefler become involved in this book and this is an interesting twist because Mark has a lot of Wesley Crusher elements at the end of his run. He's basically a Traveler, awkward, goofy, and probably resembles the adult Will Wheaton now in my head. I think it's a pretty good romance but comes a little quickly after the death of Si Cwan in-universe. Sadly, Cwansi is aged up as an adult, which is kind of terrible and would be incredibly traumatic in real life but fits the kind of "Cable/Nate Summers" logic that I'm fairly sure Peter David was drawing from.
Overall, it's not the best finale but it is a bunch of characters I love....more
GREATER THAN THE SUM is a book I bought in paperback and then bought in Kindle format because I enjoyed reading it twice. It's definitely a book that GREATER THAN THE SUM is a book I bought in paperback and then bought in Kindle format because I enjoyed reading it twice. It's definitely a book that benefits from reading BEFORE DISHONOR first, though I enjoyed it both before I read the latter and just moreso afterward. It deals with some of the fallout of that book and the scenes resonate better if you've read it first. Do I wish that T'Lana and Zelik Leybenzon had stayed on the Enterprise? Yes. Probably unrealistic given what happened in Before Dishonor but I would have enjoyed them dealing with the crew. I understand this wasn't Christopher Bennett's choice, though, but something dictated from on high.
The biggest thing I love about this book is T'Ryssa Chen and she is easily my favorite character from the original TrekLit characters. Yes, that beats out the cast of NEW FRONTIER, VANGUARD, and even the Picard novels. She's a bubbly, exuberant human-choosing Vulcan that reminds me of a number of more fondly remembered ex-girlfriends who just so happened to have all been Trekkies themselves. If I had to vote for any of the TrekLit characters to come back then I'd definitely choose her and hope she gets revived in the Nu Expanded Universe at some point.
I think there's a lot to like about T'Ryssa Chen beyond the fact I'd love to see her in live action too (Jessica Henwick?). She's a character that shows a wonderful to contrast with Spock with him choosing Vulcan and her choosing human. The specter of Spock must also hang over her as the ultimate example of a half-human/half-Vulcan in Starfleet. However, she's more like B'Elanna Torres in that just makes her even more likely to reject her alien heritage. Picard helping her accept her Vulcan side without rejecting her human was good too.
More likeable characters are created with Choudhury, who is the kind of peaceful warrior that Jedi should aspire to being (while also being entirely based in real life spiritual/cultural practices) and seems to be the only security officer trained in conflict de-escalation until (of all people) Shanx. I also like Elfika even if it's only the humor that poor Geordi, the most sexually frustrated of TNG's crew, gets assumed to be uninterested in her because he's blind. That was a very relatable moment and just Geordi's luck.
The book is another Borg story and that's probably inevitable given it is a lead-in for the controversial but very enjoyable "Destiny" universe tales. Basically, I feel like the Borg work best in small doses and they were somewhat overexposed by this time (even if I feel like S3 Picard confirming they're all dead was a waste). Christopher Bennett does a good job combining your typical Borg story with a V'Ger/Nomad-esque, "we encounter something utterly beyond our understanding" sort of tale.
It reminds me of how he handled the aftermath of TMP with EX MACHINA and I think it is a very good "Clarke-ian" sort of sci-fi. Which is the best term I can put for this sort of Trek tale and works better than the Borg themselves. I would have enjoyed it even if it was trying to keep the Klingons, Romulans, or whoever from getting the alien planet's power. It didn't need to be the Borg but the fact it is the Borg works well as Christopher takes advantage of it to incorporate Hugh into the story.
It's interesting to contrast this version of Hugh with Picard Season 1's and I think I like both of them about equally. Hugh continues to lead the Liberated Borg and wants to, err, well, make himself capable of procreation again--which is a nicely direct way of addressing what we could all guess was going on down there. I also appreciate the book addresses the idiotic statement the Borg didn't procreate in VOY and just assimilated other species (how inefficient). I actually was more interested in Captain Picard meeting one of his original lost crewmen from "The Best of Both Worlds" and how she had begun a relationship with Hugh.
I admit I was confused about her final decision as Hugh willingly sacrifices his life so she can go visit her daughter and then she decides...not to. Ouch. Way to render another person's sacrifice meaningless--I get her reasoning but I think I'd have at least said I was going to keep in touch with her--it also makes me wonder if Rebekah ascended with the caeliar and abandoned her daughter completely. I do also give props for CB causally mentioning her daughter was in a relationship with another woman and not being at all noteworthy by her mother except for how happy it made Rebekah. I recall that was still a bit of a push in Star Trek at the time.
I can't say I was really all that into Picard and Beverly Crusher's storyline regarding whether or not to have a family or not, but I think it was handled better here than a similar one in P2 and 3. Another prop is the fact that reproductive science in the 24th century means that it's not any sort of issue over whether or not she can have a child, though. They never developed uterine replicators in the 24th century like, say, the Vorkosigan Saga but you certainly would like to see progress there.
Any other issues? Hmmm. I feel ending Hugh's story here was something of a waste, especially with the culture built up in the book (and which is gone by Destiny). but as deaths go, he died for the woman he loved knowing fully he was going to do it. Few of us get as honorable a way to go. I also feel Kadohata got off too easy. She's there standing beside T'Ryssa, judging her as unprofessional and not Enterprise material, when she just got off on a failed mutiny. I'm surprised T'Ryssa didn't throw it back in her face.
I admit to being late on reading this one despite the fact I read its sequel, GREATER THAN THE SUM before it and still haven't read Peter David's VENDI admit to being late on reading this one despite the fact I read its sequel, GREATER THAN THE SUM before it and still haven't read Peter David's VENDETTA that this is a sequel to as well. The nature of Star Trek books is that they're often read out of order and any continuity can seem pretty loose to an amateur like myself.
The premise of this book is that there's a dormant Borg Cube and it absorbs Kathryn Janeway before radically altering the way Borg assimilate things before moving to annihilate Earth for a third time. This is before STAR TREK: DESTINY and I actually tend to think I prefer the Borg here a bit versus the Reaper-like presentation of the ones there (not that I didn't enjoy those books for what they were--they were a better Mass Effect ending than Mass Effect ever gave).
I understand this book to be quite controversial and can see why with the death of a major character (despite them later getting better) and three popular OGs going against Jean Luc Picard. Really, despite knowing the reasons behind their actions, I was full of righteous indignation on behalf of our captain.
Still, I do think this book suffers from some issues that make it less enjoyable than, say, New Frontier for me. Basically, it's a little too ovethetop and silly (and this is me talking about that). Several of the jokes don't land and there's some questions of characterization that I feel fans of the more sedate TNG would not enjoy. Basically, if you don't like the kind of flawed rebellion Picard of Insurrection (let alone Picard Season 3) then this will make no sense to you.
STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS 1-3 are a collection of comics detailing the crew of the USS Ceritos versus Dracula. Well, a holographic Dracula. It's exactly STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS 1-3 are a collection of comics detailing the crew of the USS Ceritos versus Dracula. Well, a holographic Dracula. It's exactly as silly as it sounds and that is not a bad thing in the slightest. There's not much to say other than it looks like Lower Decks and I kind of wish that it was an episode....more
Noah Chinn is one of the voices of indie science fiction that doesn't get nearly the attention he deserves. I primarily know him from his reviews in KNoah Chinn is one of the voices of indie science fiction that doesn't get nearly the attention he deserves. I primarily know him from his reviews in KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE MAGAZINE but really enjoyed LOST SOULS by him. He invented a fantastic light-hearted space opera story about a smuggler, his AI starship, and a runaway slave in a well-designed setting where Earth has been destroyed.
The sequel has the premise of affable criminal, Moss, planning to do some good natured piracy under the lie of rescuing a bunch of slaves. Unfortunately for Moss, he discovers that the actual cargo is not something easily turned into profit.. Driven by a combination of guilt and anger from his crewmates, he must find a solution even as they're hunted by the cyborg armies of Earth.
Meanwhile, Roy Herzog, a cybernetic super soldier that was thwarted in kidnapping a bunch of colonists in the previous book, has set his sights on avenging himself on Moss. It's not his primary goal and I appreciated that but it's something he's happy to get if he's in the same area as Moss. Unfortunately, his plans are interrupted when he's taken by his old bosses who can't kill him but are not happy with his desertion.
This book does a lot to flesh out the setting and we learn about what happened to Earth, how freeborn humans (those who aren't genetically modified) ended up enslaved by the cyborgs, and what exactly is going on with humanity's future (hint: it's not good). I really enjoyed getting a sense of how this post-apocalypse setting functions.
I was surprised at how good Noah Chinn was at making his antagonsists sympathetic as well. Roy is a character that is utterly scummy, a pirate and slaver, but you understand how his mind works throughout. It's also good to see him operate behind the scenes, slowly turning all of his enemies among the crew of the Silver Legion into friends or at least allies of conveinance. He's not quite Tyrion Lannister or Palpatine but certainly has watched them work.
We also get a serious examination of the ethics of brain uploading and how it might screw with someone's sense of identity. We also find out why it isn't more widely practiced despite the fact that most people would be fascinated by the prospect of immortality, even if it was the diet coke of immortality as I describe it in my books. I think it's handled very well and Violet's struggles with being able to be "backed up" or "copied" even though it's not "her" are fascinating.
If I had one complaint about the book, it is a very small one and almost silly to mention. My inner shipper is annoyed that two of the main characters I was hoping for Moss to hook up with end up together instead. I'm still hoping he'll end up with one of them but it came out of nowhere. I strongly recommend this book and hope you will check it and its predecessor out. I definitely will be picking up the third book....more
The second part of the grand finale to the STAR TREK: NEW FRONTIER books. Robin Lefler has returned to New Thallonia with her baby, only to be targeteThe second part of the grand finale to the STAR TREK: NEW FRONTIER books. Robin Lefler has returned to New Thallonia with her baby, only to be targeted by countless murderous assassins. Captain Calhoun is on a mission of vengeance to find the people who butchered his people. Oh and Soleta is now in love with Captain Calhoun. Lots of interesting beats but it's also way darker than I'm really comfortable with. Still, I like the history of Thallonia....more
The finale of the NEW FRONTIER series is a really good one with a set up for the end of everything. It's also very dark and morbid with a major specieThe finale of the NEW FRONTIER series is a really good one with a set up for the end of everything. It's also very dark and morbid with a major species (of the book series) destroyed and our protagonist traumatized by it. I feel like this is probably the place to end the series because things had started getting far too dark. However, it feels like 1/3rd of a book rather than an actual full story in its own right....more
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