| Reviewer : |
Secretmirk |
| Ave Rating : |
3.0000 for 10 reviews |
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| Title : |
Dark Mirror |
Rating : |
 |
| Writers : |
Diane Duane |
Year : |
1993 |
| Review : |
Of course this book handles the "Mirror Universe" with its evil orientation to everything good in "our" Trek-Universe better than it was done in DS9. But on the other hand this book is at least a bit annoying in terms of being a bit too much "freestyle". The dolphin-scientist appears like borrowed from Sea Quest and the humour around him isn't that funny. Then the author seems a bit a victim of the "nitpicking-phenomena" because she takes sometimes too long efforts to discuss why things happen and why for example a nitpicker shouldn't be able to crush it as illogical. Furthermore she builts up a big thing about the involved technical and scientific background which is very much phantasy but shall occur like logic in itself. The characters (of "our Trek of course) occur to me not really well portraied as known from the series but too unfamiliar while not giving a satisfying alternative for only in the book. Result of my review: The book is most of the time good to read and to enjoy but I would have liked to see a number of things on the one hand being written shorter without delaying dramaturgy for ultimate logic reasons and on the other hand the "normal" characters more according to their behaviour in the series. So a three of six from me because there were other books I enjoyed clearly more. |
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| Title : |
A Rock and a Hard Place |
Rating : |
 |
| Writers : |
Peter David |
Year : |
1990 |
| Review : |
This was for long my favourite book from Star Trek. It's not so much centered abround true Trek but offers two good adventure stories while Picard has to deal with a typical B-Movie rough typ with nerves out of steel and a name that says all: Stone. Both storylines gather the readers attention and are exciting in their own ways. At least if you let yourself in into especially the involuntary funny character of Stone. You know it from many B-Movies: The hero can't miss a target whenever he shoots, has nearly superhuman physical strenght and capabilities of endurance, self-control and whatever. In modern terms you could call him an super-athelete with a heavy borderline syndrom. ;-) |
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| Title : |
Q-Squared |
Rating : |
 |
| Writers : |
Peter David |
Year : |
1994 |
| Review : |
Like the book "Vendetta" this novel is the second book of Star Trek I would call something like a masterpiece. Again the plot is based on something that happened during TOS, Trelane, the Squire of Gothos and that is taken into the TNG-era. Mixing parallel-universes with each other like mad in a way like it happened in the final episode "All good things" makes that book very joyful to read. Another advantage: There are many pages so there is much to discover without getting bored! |
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| Title : |
Ghost Ship |
Rating : |
 |
| Writers : |
Diane Carey |
Year : |
1988 |
| Review : |
This is a book you can really miss in the list! It's about a kind of energy-monster that once came to earth in the time the book was written and went on a new russian aircraft-carrier in the Black Sea a bit like the crystall-entity. Somehow the ghosts of the russian seamen get transferred into the future where that entity attacks the 1701-E during the first season. The ghosts of the seamen help to save the ship finally and everything is fine again. What makes the book really bad is, that it was made in a time where it wasn't clear at all, how the characters of TNG would really be. So Picard is here a kind of choleric for example and the atmosphere on board can't be defined but is absolutly far from what we know, yet also no interesting alternative but only irritating. So I don't want to blame the author really but it was too early to jump on the series at that point already. It's some book but except the settings it's neither TNG, or TOS or whatever... |
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| Title : |
Masks |
Rating : |
|
| Writers : |
John Vornholt |
Year : |
1989 |
| Review : |
A book about a mission on a planet, where everyone wears masks which mark their social function and prestige in a mediival-ages society. It takes place during season of TNG when Pulaski was the doc. The Enterprise investigates secretly on that planet in order to determine how Ferengis try to make profit there in a bad way. The book has some phantasy-aspects like Lord-of-the Rings in it. It was written in a time, when TNG wasn't yet very well defined and so made use of the opportunity to interprete the people a bit. Not superb but absolutly well to enjoy it while taking a look back seen from todays position. A look into the "childhood-days" of TNG. |
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| Title : |
Shatner: Where No Man...The Authorized Biography of William Shatner |
Rating : |
 |
| Writers : |
Myrna Culbreath, Sondra Marshak, William Shatner |
Year : |
1979 |
| Review : |
Well, relativly interesting to read but full of a kind of "Man, am I a Superman"-attitude... |
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| Title : |
Survivors |
Rating : |
|
| Writers : |
Jean Lorrah |
Year : |
1989 |
| Review : |
This book from the early days of ST:TNG is rather extraordinary. It takes place during the first season and concentrates on Tasha Yar with Data being involved also. The book set's up a rather complete "biography" of Tasha's career before her service on the Enterprise. Their mission is to travel to planet Treva in which the UFP has a certain strategic interest in close to the Orions space. Treva may be a candidate to join the UFP but the official governmernt, which claims to be democratic and elected by the people, says to be under attack of warlords who once draw their political power from feudalistic principles. During their investigations Yar and Data quickly find out, that the civil war is part of a conspiracy of the orion-influenced head of state, to bring the UFP into overwhelming the opposition, being the true local government, and later to turn over to the Orions. Finally Yar is being kidnapped by a commando of one warlord and brought to his HQ in order to get told his point of view. In the warlords HQ she meets her old love. His name is Daryl Adin and ge was once the starfleet officer in comand of the away team that saved Tasha Yar from the lost federation colony where she lived before. Later he got her mentor but their relationship split dramatically after an incident during a traing mission while Yar was still a cadet. The training-ship on which they all served was ambushed by Orions and many cadets and officers died. Later a complot presented Adin as being responsible and a traitor. He escaped prison and began working as a soldier of fortune, now serving for the trevan warlord. The same as he was considered being a traitor he considered Tasha for having betrayed him and having destroyed his starfleet career. Tasha and Data discover to be the warlord being the "good guy" and the official government to be dangerous and take part in fighting it in self defense after the HQ gets under attack. They manage to be victorious and in the moment of triumph, when Yar seems to have lost contact to starfleet principles and the prime directive due to reborn sympathies for Adin, Data arrests him as still being a federation wide wanted traitor. Due to Datas android capabilities he can manage to proofe Adin accused wrong and being the victim of an orion plan to bring him in trouble after he once defeated the orions very clearly. So he is set free but refused to return to Starfleet and remains the famous "Silver Paladin", a soldier of fortune. Shortly after the events described in the book Tasha dies in the Episode "Skin of Evil" and Data has to tell Adin the bad news. By the way: The figure of Daryl Adin as the Silver Paladin will reappear in another book of Jean Lorrah but only shortly. The book is nice to be read because it brings in some more real attitudes toward Star Trek besides the sometimes very elitaerien view of mankind presented by Star Trek. It's very understandable, that especially Tasha get's drawn more and more into the warlords mission. Her origin from a planet in chaos makes this clear after all the others except Worf are risen in the sorrow-less federation. Data's role is being a counterpart to her because he logic mind isn't influenced by emotions and thus holds on to the starfleet principles. After having read the book, you beginn missing the Tasha of the novel in the series. As far as I know, there is no other book making a great deal out of Tasha and so this one is very special. |
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| Title : |
The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers |
Rating : |
|
| Writers : |
Phil Farrand |
Year : |
1993 |
| Review : |
What a superb book full of ironic humor but what was caused by it... Phil Farrand's book is abolutly fascinating to read, counting practically every smallest logical error in TNG and commenting it in a funny way. What a tragedy that this humor hasn't spread throughout the fandom completly too but that the book instead ignited a kind of hysteric "logicalness-mania" without the necessary humour. Since then many people lost understanding for drama and story-telling but like more to destroy the miracle behind the series by hunting down everything unlogical, demanding a movie or episode to be only good, if it is logical in itself to a 100%. Demonstrating a kind of foolishness contained in nearly every "totalitarian" system: Give the little people the chance to create order. I met several "fanatics" who lost totally the connection to the world of Trek by being on the watch for logical mistakes in what they see only. A book with too high demands on the intellectual capabilities of many fans... Like Umberto Eco wrote in "The Name of the Rose" (quoted according to sense, not to exact writing): Be aware of every truth or conviction that comes along without containing a smile. |
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| Title : |
The Children of Hamlin |
Rating : |
|
| Writers : |
Carmen Carter |
Year : |
1988 |
| Review : |
A book from the childhood-days of TNG's first season. The Enterprise has to make contact with an alien species travelling in ships looking like big soap-bubbles. Once they kidnapped children from afederation colony called Hamlin but now they shall be returned as part of a peaceful understanding but the children are completly unfamiliar with human life but are used to life in these bubble-ships filled with a liquid they can breathe. So even strating to breath in a normal atmosphere is something unknown to them. It's a book about a TNG that might have been possible but hasn't come true. |
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| Title : |
Vendetta |
Rating : |
|
| Writers : |
Peter David |
Year : |
1991 |
| Review : |
That was the first novel around Star Trek I was really impressed of. While most of the books can't be called masterpieces this one could deserve called so. The story combines TOS and TNG and brings the most dangerous species of TNG, the Borg, in a Trek-historic context of a long lasting historic war lost in the long ago past. It's a thick book but after starting to read you will be keen on every new page. Somehow in a sub-story the concept of Seven-of-Nine is already brought up by Geordi's attempt to re-intergrate a former human Borg-drone into human society. I don't want to say much more because the story is full of astonishing uses of some of Star Trek's most interesing concepts. |
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