Invincible, Part 1

Star Trek SCE (ebooks) Novellas #7

by David Mack, Keith R.A. DeCandido

STARFLEET CORPS OF ENGINEERS
One of the S.C.E.'s top officers, Commander Sonya Gomez, is assigned to supervise a project on the crystal planet of Sarindar -- helping the reclusive and hostile Nalori harness a valuable new ore. Morale is low and the project is behind schedule. Gomez must get the workers up to speed and on track -- a task made more difficult by the Nalori workers, who do not want her there even though their government does.
Just when Gomez begins to gain their trust, two workers are killed by a mysterious local animal called a shii. Gomez must learn the secret of the shii before it kills again....
The first in a gripping, all-new two-part adventure!

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Ebooks, Technology, Fantasy

98 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 15, 2001

About the author

David Mack is the New York Times bestselling author of 39 novels of science-fiction, fantasy, and adventure, including the Star Trek Destiny and Cold Equations trilogies.

Beyond novels, Mack's writing credits span several media, including television (for produced episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), games, and comic books.

Follow him on Twitter @davidalanmack or like his Facebook page.

Reviews

[Casey Pettitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Trek: S.C.E. #7-8: Invincible by David Mack and Keith R.A. DeCandido is an ambitious two-parter that stands out thanks to its unique storytelling format. Told largely through a series of log entries, personal reflections, and internal communications from Lieutenant Commander Sonia Gomez, the story offers a real-time, first-person immediacy that's rare in Trek fiction. It's a refreshing shift in perspective that deepens Gomez's character and gives the narrative a strong sense of urgency.

The premise — helping a planet overcome its hostile environmental effects to access dilithium, while facing a terrifying creature threat — is engaging and suspenseful in Part One. The alien mystery is well executed, and the tension stays high. Unfortunately, Part Two loses some steam. While it's a necessary continuation, the pacing drags, and the resolution, though solid, feels stretched. Still, the story arc as a whole delivers meaningful character growth for Gomez and an inventive twist on the usual S.C.E. formula.

[Crystal Bensley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool short novel- can't wait to read part 2!

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Invincible was boring, not sure why, but it just didn't really capture me.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

EDIT: If you really want to read this two-part story, I discovered the most economical way is to order Miracle Workers. It's an anthology that contains these two novellas and other works besides. The Kindle version is $1.99.

This was David Mack's first fictional writing set in the Star Trek world, aside from some comic books written earlier the same year (2001), and a successful one at that. The novella started off rather slow as Gomez receives her assignment and the details thereof, but it finished strong. First Officer Sonya Gomez now--she was but an ensign when she appeared in an episode of The Next Generation-- is assigned by Captain Montgomery Scott to travel to planet Sarinder to head up a mission to render aid to the native races there. Sarinder has been historically hostile to the Federation and is culturally misogynistic to boot, so Commander Gomez has her work cut out for her.

This novella is the story of how she accomplishes her mission despite various forms of adversity. It is well told by David Mack and very exciting though the format is a bit peculiar. We the reader have the story in the form of documents, those being Gomez's personal and official logs of her mission for the most part. Some won't like the distance from the story this format creates, but Mack works in plenty of dialog nevertheless; it works for me.

My only lament is that at $5.95, the price is rather steep for just a novella. Worse, it ends on something of a cliffhanger, and the next novella, also written by Mack and DeCandido is going to cost another $5.95 just for the e-book. There's no paper form available, to the best of my knowledge, for either volume, one or two. Oh well. It's worth it to me.

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Invincible uses logs and letters as its sole narrative device, which could be tiresome at longer lengths, but suits the shorter eBook format. It even surprised me with a change of POV at one point (a worker's letter), which was later used to good effect to make us care about that character. While not much happens in the book, plot-wise, it's still a strong character piece for Sonya Gomez that shows her resourcefulness, leadership style and brings us into her more intimate thoughts. Still manages to give us a couple of bits about the other characters as well, so that's nice. Does it feel like something that should go to two parts? I'm not sure, we'll see. But it's not boring, and the guest characters are distinct enough to keep one's interest - the lazy Gallamite, the Nalori's distinct culture, the preachy Bolian - I'll be glad to read more about them next book.

[Michael T Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like what this two-parter is trying to do:

a) we focus on a single member of the SCE crew for TWO WHOLE NOVELLAS!
b) we get a fairly old-school Trek setup here, yet it still works in the framework of the SCE series. The Federation is called in to a world to help solve a problem, and for plot reasons they can only send one. On top of that, it's a woman, and this society is still mired in sexism! It's all there, right?

So ... I'm not sure where the division between 1 & 2 is, and I'll leave most of my bigger comments for part 2, but I'll say that I really enjoyed the setup here, and there's a good amount of potential, and the plot moves along quite quickly.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting setup here in part one, and a cliffhanger ending that makes me eager to find out what happens. The first-person narrative style is interesting, and a departure from the norm is always welcome. Good character development and a suspenseful tone made this story one worth reading. Here's hoping that the payoff in part two is just as good!

Full review: treklit.blogspot.com/2013/11/invincib...

[Rich Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part 1 on the next two-part Starfleet Corps of Engineers adventure is another winner, this time featuring a solo tale of Selena Gomez. Gomez is sent as the Federation rep to a crystalline planet, only to find a mythical creature on the surface. Great characterization and a fun story, the hallmarks of this series, pervade this narrative. Recommended!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

An engineer is sent to a crystal planet to take command of a project. The natives dont like women or the Federation. This is a fun, short story told mostly in log entries. It's all about the engineer proving herself to her team. A good read.

[John Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent story, although it didn't really have much to do with engineering.

[Robert Lewter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now I remember why i stopped buying the SCE series. They are way too short.

[Stephen Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

pleasant read, short. I wish I was there or do I.

[John Barclay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little side story, not a lot of engineering, but still a good character development idea.

[Dallas Vinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

didn't care for the format of the book with it all being a collection of log entries.