Product Description The U.S.S. Enterprise is ready to rejoin the fleet. The body of the great starship -- which managed to survive the deadly Romulan-Reman attack only with Data's ultimate sacrifice -- has been restored.With the departure of first officer William Riker and ship's counselor Deanna Troi, Picard has to replace two of his most trusted advisors. A Vulcan is granted the commission of ship's counselor. Logical and pragmatic, T'Lana is a highly decorated member of Starfleet who served with distinction during the Dominion War. For his Number One, Captain Picard has only one candidate: Worf. The captain is looking forward to putting the shadows of war behind him, shaping his new crew, and returning at last to being an explorer. However, the Klingon refuses the promotion. And Picard senses that his new counselor does not approve of Worf. Starfleet hands the Enterprise a simple assignment perfect for a shakedown cruise. Picard is confident that this is all he needs to bring his crew together. Before the mission commences, the captain once again hears the song of the Borg Collective. Admiral Janeway is convinced that the Borg have been crushed and are no longer a threat. Picard knows that she is wrong, and if he doesn't act immediately, the entire Federation will be under the domination of its most oppressive enemy.
Don't botherNovember 10, 2008 Jeffrey C. Dillon(San Diego, CA USA) Very little happens in this book except the exploration of the feelings of a few characters, most of whom you won't care about. Has none of the breezy action or easy characterization you'd expect from a Star Trek novel, and nothing else really to drive the plot forward or make you think.
Very well done Borg storyOctober 11, 2008 Murphy(NC) I found this novel entertaining and quite well done, connecting up storylines and Star Trek Voyager and TNG. I enjoyed the Crusher/Picard storyline, but I didn't completely like the characterization of Janeway, but it was close enough. I loved both Voyager and TNG and found it a good read.
Why is everyone so.... Resistant?September 18, 2008 Jason Johnston(Grapevine, TX) I picked this book up about a week ago, had never heard of it before because, as you can tell from reading my previous reviews, I haven't been reading much lately and as a result, haven't been keeping up with this Star Trek series like I have in the past.
I immediately assumed from the title that we would get to see some more Borg action in this book and I was correct. This book starts with a bang and keeps you page-turning all the way to the end. I do not understand some of the reviews I have read on this book which say it slows in the middle. I didn't find that to be fact at all. In fact, after Picard volunteers to becomes Locutus again (with a neural transmitter that inhibits total Borg take-over), the action starts to pile up and intensify when he is re-captured and re-assimilated the Borg way.
So once I picked up this book and read a chapter or 2, then came home and looked it up on this site to read reviews, I was disappointed because I thought it wasn't going to end strong. However, don't let these previous false reviews sway you. Perhaps some people didn't like the book and I am sure that the author isn't going to please everyone, but I enjoyed this read. I thought it built on itself and kept you interested and coming back for more.
Not the best ST book you'll read but if you like the Borg I don't think you'll be disappointedJuly 21, 2008 Tiberius(Alpha Santeria) For me this book was a must read. I am trying to get caught up with the Star Trek Relaunch and I am getting ready for the Destiny Trilogy due out later this year. I also am a huge Borg fan so I had two reasons for wanting to read this book.
Overall I was pretty happy with it. I rate on Characters, Pacing, Accuracy of the book, and story. The only "A" that it got was pacing, as the book is an easy read and lots of action. The other 3 catagories got "B's" which is still good, but not great. So that is basically the kind of book that this is... good but not great.
This book started out with Picard having dreams about the Borg. His dream goes pretty much the same way that it went in First Contact so he knows that just like he knew then that the Borg is back!!! This time he had a feeling that the Borg were building a giant cube on a moon fairly close by and that they were also were transforming a drone into a new queen. He immediately decides that he is going to take the Enterprise there to stop them before they even get started. However he contacted Admiral Janeway and she outright refused the Enterprise to go. She told Picard to hold his position and she would send Seven of Nine to evaluate the situation and go with them to the ship. Picard knew in his heart that they did not have four days, which was the amount of time it would take for Seven of Nine to reach them; he therefore went against Janeway's orders and went anyway. Captain Picard was also getting to know some of his new crew. The new chief of security was Lieutenant Lionardo Battaglia who is also the tactical officer, Sara Nave she is the new conn officer, and Counselor T'Lana who is taken over for the recently transferred Deanne Troi. Picard also had a new first officer, Riker replacement was none other than Commander Worf. Even though Worf had issues with feeling that he doesn't deserved the position he was going to hold it until Picard found a replacement.
The strength of this novel was the pacing. Very fast moving, the story picks up very fast and just keeps moving. Also Dillard does a great job of making you care about the new characters, as she introduces them but doesn't allow the plot to slow down. T'Lana, Nave and Battaglia are all written with a lot of heart and written with their own dreams and ambitions, you almost feel like you know them for the screen. I personally think that some of the most exciting episodes of the series are related to the Borg. And I know that the best movie had the Borg in it, so I was very excited about this novel and I wasn't disappointed. The Borg was back and ready for action. The Borg have a new philosophy they don't want to assimilate earth, they want to destroy it. There are no prisoners taken in this war is a great touch.
However, there were also some problems with the book. Most Star Trek books have more than one story going on at once. Usually you have a main story, and then one or two side stories. Sometimes they connect at the end and sometimes they don't. This one didn't have much of that. T'Lana disliking Worf, Worf questioning his ability to be a good first officer, and the romance between Nave and Battaglia only took up a few pages each. It gave the book a lack of depth which I think an overall Star Trek books need now. Another negative opinion that I have is centered on Geordi La Forge; he didn't get near the time as any of the other crewman. He has been an active member of the Enterprise since the start and here he was treated like a red shirt. Four or five lines and basically had very little to do with the story. The only other nit picky thing I noticed was Worf mentioned in this book that he had never met Admiral Janeway, but in "Death in Winter" she came aboard the Enterprise and met with Worf and Geordi, that was only the book before this one, that should have been caught.
All and all there are more positives than negatives and this is a good novel and I do recommend it. Now I am ready for "Before Dishonor".
The Worst Star Trek Novel EverJuly 10, 2008 The Ersatz Economist This book is without any redeeming points. Dillard is a horrible writer; I mean she is truly awful. She writes as if she were composing an encyclopedia, astutely cataloging every event and conversation as tersely as possible. Because she cannot write a conversation or action scene worth a damn, she spends three-quarters of the book using internal monologues that go on for pages, even when such monologues are ridiculous, e.g., Picard is in the bowels of the Borg Cube, and he decides to take a five-page jaunt through memory lane.
The characterization is horrible. Janeway becomes a total b!tch. One of the most innovative captains in Starfleet becomes a whining, over-bearing b!tch. Dillard must have issues with women, because, unless the women is petite, feminine, and subordinate, she is a b!tch.
The plot is pathetic. Just when will the Borg wake up and realize that a ship nearby, even though it has its shields and weapons powered down, may be trouble, because it is collecting information. One of the most important aspects of warfare is information. Countless armies have been defeated by their lesser opponents because the opponents had better information. After having their butts kicked repeatedly by the Federation, you'd think they'd have learned that by now, especially when their Super Cube can easily destroy the Enterprise, so why do they always let it pull up next to them and send people aboard to gather information and sabotage the ship.
Finally, Dillard contradicts her own characters. After spending pages learning about the new Vulcan counselor who has years of experience, is highly decorated, and is renowned for understanding and adapting to different cultures, she finally boards the Enterprise and begins to insult, undermine, contradict and denigrate the senior staff. Absolutely pathetic. So why was she so decorated?
This book should NEVER have gotten pass the editors. Don't buy it. Don't read it. Just let it die, and avoid Dillard's books at all costs.
