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maggiespages's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death
graff_fuller's review against another edition
4.0
I loved, loved, loved this book. I was frustrated at points (see one of my recent comments while reading near the end), but nothing could diminish my heartfelt thanks to the authors for writing (rewriting Star Trek history) to getting it right-er.
Many tears were shed during this book. These characters are very near and dear to me. Trip and T'pol, Shran and Jhamel, the Aenar Theras, the Tuckers, Captain Archer...and the whole crew. A very touching story.
Many tears were shed during this book. These characters are very near and dear to me. Trip and T'pol, Shran and Jhamel, the Aenar Theras, the Tuckers, Captain Archer...and the whole crew. A very touching story.
almightytim's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
vingilot's review
5.0
When they wrote the Enterprise series Finale they attempted to do something that could be seen as admirable. They wanted to close an era of nearly two decades of continuous Star Trek on television. An era that spanned four shows, and 624 episodes. As far as they knew this might be the last episode of any Star Trek series. They decided to make it something special to acknowledge this, and as most of you reading this will know they failed miserably.
They spliced in the Enterprise Finale into a great episode of the Next Generation. They skipped seven years so that they could skip the Romulan War, and feature the founding of the Federation. All of this could have been done well, but it was simply a failure, reducing the show to what seems to some nothing more than a Holo-novel. The episode itself is also filled with holes, and simple stupidity to fuel the plot, this book aims to fix that.
I do not want to spoil it too much, however it shall suffice to say that it is likely that all your frustrations with the episode will be addressed in this book. It uses a n unobtrusive future framing device to retcon the episode in a way that leaves it intact, but allows for it to be entirely changed at the same time. As you might suspect they simply use the fact that all we see in the episode is a 24th century historical account of what happened in the 22nd century. History gets muddled, just think how little we truly know about events 200 years ago. As a Tolkien fan, I have to say that this is a retcon the Professor would have appreciated.
Everyone disappointed with the Enterprise finale should read this book. It is very well written, and sets up the Romulan War books that came after it. If I had to put the book in a category it would be Espionage.
They spliced in the Enterprise Finale into a great episode of the Next Generation. They skipped seven years so that they could skip the Romulan War, and feature the founding of the Federation. All of this could have been done well, but it was simply a failure, reducing the show to what seems to some nothing more than a Holo-novel. The episode itself is also filled with holes, and simple stupidity to fuel the plot, this book aims to fix that.
I do not want to spoil it too much, however it shall suffice to say that it is likely that all your frustrations with the episode will be addressed in this book. It uses a n unobtrusive future framing device to retcon the episode in a way that leaves it intact, but allows for it to be entirely changed at the same time. As you might suspect they simply use the fact that all we see in the episode is a 24th century historical account of what happened in the 22nd century. History gets muddled, just think how little we truly know about events 200 years ago. As a Tolkien fan, I have to say that this is a retcon the Professor would have appreciated.
Everyone disappointed with the Enterprise finale should read this book. It is very well written, and sets up the Romulan War books that came after it. If I had to put the book in a category it would be Espionage.
irenevh's review
3.0
3,5 stars
As someone who has watched pretty much all of Star Trek but never dived into the books, I was recommended this particular one for one simple reason; the retcon of the most stupid of stupid deaths for a character I really liked. I knew very little of the content of this book going in other than good ol' Trip Tucker would live and with that created my own expectations, which unfortunately for me, weren't fully met.
The story started somewhat slow for me, introducing too many new characters that didn't interest me, when I would have much rather started with the familiar enterprise crew. This left me slightly demotivated at the start to really get going, but as we got further along, we spend more time with our known characters and the story picked up.
Still, in some ways Trip's story line felt like a lot of a build up, compared to his conclusion, while the enterprise story line had a shorter buildup and a long part in which they were trying to resolve the issue. As both stories started to become more tense, the constant switch between story lines after every chapter allowed for constant cliffhangers, but also annoyed me how short a time we had per story before moving back to the other. I personally would have like two chapters between the many switches.
Overall, I did enjoy being reintroduced to characters I liked when watching the show. Phlox is just as likable, and Archer is well represented. Although I do think Reed's character suffers a bit from not having the distinguishable accent and delivery we saw in the show.
In the end I am glad to see a version of Star Trek where the stupid death was retconned, but the story overall isn't one that completely enthralled me. I enjoyed reading it, but wheter or not I will pick up the sequel remains to be seen.
As someone who has watched pretty much all of Star Trek but never dived into the books, I was recommended this particular one for one simple reason; the retcon of the most stupid of stupid deaths for a character I really liked. I knew very little of the content of this book going in other than good ol' Trip Tucker would live and with that created my own expectations, which unfortunately for me, weren't fully met.
The story started somewhat slow for me, introducing too many new characters that didn't interest me, when I would have much rather started with the familiar enterprise crew. This left me slightly demotivated at the start to really get going, but as we got further along, we spend more time with our known characters and the story picked up.
Still, in some ways Trip's story line felt like a lot of a build up, compared to his conclusion, while the enterprise story line had a shorter buildup and a long part in which they were trying to resolve the issue. As both stories started to become more tense, the constant switch between story lines after every chapter allowed for constant cliffhangers, but also annoyed me how short a time we had per story before moving back to the other. I personally would have like two chapters between the many switches.
Overall, I did enjoy being reintroduced to characters I liked when watching the show. Phlox is just as likable, and Archer is well represented. Although I do think Reed's character suffers a bit from not having the distinguishable accent and delivery we saw in the show.
In the end I am glad to see a version of Star Trek where the stupid death was retconned, but the story overall isn't one that completely enthralled me. I enjoyed reading it, but wheter or not I will pick up the sequel remains to be seen.
raptorimperator's review
4.0
What made this really work for me was that all the characters' voices seemed true. The dialogue sounded like what the character would say, or do. A nice fix to a terrible idea done by the series creators when they chose to kill off probably the most popular character on the show. I much prefer this version of Trip's fate over what happened in "These Are The Voyages..."
jonfucius's review
adventurous
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
califrey99's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75
YES! JUSTICE FOR TRIP TUCKER! Also why am I only attracted to men who switch careers and become spies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
jpraska006's review
5.0
While reading this, I was just continually in awe of how Mangles & Martin somehow found a way to make that...unfortunate...finale to Star Trek: Enterprise work so much better. This book manages to recognize that episode as canon in a sense while simultaneously doing some clever gymnastics to retcon and improve upon almost everything the fans disliked about it. With that, there are definitely some elements that come off as convoluted - but with the task these two writers had in crafting this story, those pieces can easily be forgiven. I also really enjoyed the framing device of the elderly Jake & Nog uncovering the truth of these events - it felt like a nice way to contextualize everything without pulling focus away from the core group of Enterprise characters - a mistake the book's on-screen counterpart made handily. All in all, this is a very solid Trek adventure that also really punctuates how much of a bummer it is that Enterprise was cut short at season 4. Looking forward to the rest of this 'relaunch' series!
mabfred's review
3.0
This is probably best Star Trek novel I have read.
Nevertheless, I don't find it to be very well written. There is too much unnecessary exposition, especially the first half was very slow paced. Then it gained more momentum. The TV show is much more compact and condensed and that is in strong contrast to the book. What is more, many character do not align with my mental image build while watching the series.
The book isn't bad per se, but it is weak - nothing breathtaking and overly original. At the same time, I am pretty sure that anyone who liked Star Trek: Enterprise and wonders what could have been if it wasn't cancelled would enjoy reading it.
Nevertheless, I don't find it to be very well written. There is too much unnecessary exposition, especially the first half was very slow paced. Then it gained more momentum. The TV show is much more compact and condensed and that is in strong contrast to the book. What is more, many character do not align with my mental image build while watching the series.
The book isn't bad per se, but it is weak - nothing breathtaking and overly original. At the same time, I am pretty sure that anyone who liked Star Trek: Enterprise and wonders what could have been if it wasn't cancelled would enjoy reading it.