A Time to Kill

Star Trek: A Time to... #7

by David Mack

On the cusp of their epic battle with Shinzon, many of Captain Jean-Luc Picard's long time crew were heading for new assignments and new challenges. Among the changes were William Riker's promotion to captain and his new command, Riker's marriage to Counselor Deanna Troi, and Dr. Beverly Crusher's new career at Starfleet Medical. But the story of what set them on a path away from the Starship Enterprise™ has never been told.

UNTIL NOW.

At the height of the Dominion War and unknown to all save those in the highest levels of command, the Federation secretly armed the neutral planet Tezwa with devastating weapons -- part of a contingency plan against the Dominion if the front lines collapsed. But Tezwa also lies near the border of the Klingon Empire...making the Federation's covert strategy in direct violation of their fragile peace treaties,and creating the potential threat of scandal and all-out war.

Now Tezwa's power-hungry prime minister is all too eager to flex his newfound military muscle, menacing a nearby Klingon border world. Sent on an urgent diplomatic mission, Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew are caught in the crossfire as the crisis quickly escalates. With time running out and billions of lives at stake, only one man can avert the looming disaster -- Ambassador Worf, who must choose between his oath to the Federation and his loyalty to Martok, Chancellor of the Klingon Empire....

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Star Trek The Next Generation, Fiction, Ebooks, Adventure, Space

338 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 1, 2004

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

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mack delivers a compelling, fast paced and thrilling look at the deceptions and moral compromises that are sometimes necessary in war and the costs involved, with excellent pacing and a well balanced narrative that gives a fair share of the spotlight to a wide range of TNG characters. The story focuses on the ramifications of the federation president's decision to secretly arm an unaffiliated world during the Dominion war, and the ensuing slippery slope of moral compromises and risks he takes to prevent that secret from getting out and potentially igniting a war with the Klingons. Picard and the Enterprise crew get tasked with the ensuing coverup, while being kept in the dark as to the real reason for their mission. Worf, serving as Federation ambassador, faces a moral dilemma that really tests his loyalties, and the cloak-and-dagger bits involving him and Starfleet intelligence on Qo'nos were among my favorites, as well as following along with each of the six commando teams dispatched planet side from the Enterprise tasked with sabotaging remote weapons facilities.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this series makes me realize how much I missed getting my Star Trek fix! Seriously, it's that good!

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fast-paced and thrilling, A Time to Kill is a departure from a typical Star Trek novel. David Mack has his pulse on what makes a compelling story, and I found myself racing through the novel in a couple of afternoons. While the action is very well-done, it is not the only thing that A Time to Kill has going for it: the world-building and character work are similarly top-notch. The fact that this was David Mack's first novel-length Star Trek story is nothing short of amazing given the quality of the work. There are hanging plot elements leading into the next book, A Time to Heal, but A Time to Kill still feels like a complete story and more than capable of standing on its own. Superb!

Full review: https://www.treklit.com/2019/02/ATtK....

[reherrma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dies ist für mich bisher der beste Roman der „Zeit des Wandels“-Reihe, bei dem es kaum etwas zu kritisieren gibt. Das Buch ist eigentlich von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite unheimlich spannend, wobei für mich der absolute Höhepunkt der Handlung die Verwicklung der Förderationsregierung in die Machenschaften um Präsident Zife und deren Verletzung des Kithomer-Abkommens mit den Klingonen war. Diese Sache wurde ja später im Buchkanon weiter verfolgt, als z.B. die Nachfolgerin Zife’s die Wogen zu glätten versucht und die in die Zerschlagung der Sektion 31 mündete. Auch die Sektion 31 hat in diesem Roman ihre Finger in Person der undurchsichtigen L’Haan im Spiel.
Diese Seiten markieren Hochspannung, während derer es einem wahrlich schwer fällt, den Roman zur Seite zu legen. Doch der Roman ist nicht nur ungeheuer spannend, sondern durchaus einfallsreich. Außerdem bietet er trotz der schnellen und actionreichen Handlung durchaus auch ein wenig Tiefgang.
Auf dem blockfreien Planeten Tezwa werden auf dem Höhepunkt des Dominion-Kriegs, und ohne das Wissen aller, außer den höchsten Kommandoebenen, von der Förderation heimlich verheerenden Waffen installiert als Teil eines Notfallplans gegen das Dominion, falls die Frontlinien zusammenbrechen sollten. Aber Tezwa liegt auch nahe der Grenze des Klingonischen Reichs … wodurch die Geheimstrategie der Föderation in direktem Widerspruch zu ihren fragilen Friedensverträgen, z.B. das Kithomer-Abkommen, steht und die potenzielle Gefahr eines Skandals und eines umfassenden Krieges entsteht. Nun ist Tezwas machthungriger Premierminister nur allzu bereit, seine neu gewonnene militärische Macht spielen zu lassen und bedroht eine nahegelegene klingonische Grenzwelt. Captain Picard und die Enterprise-Crew werden auf eine dringende diplomatische Mission geschickt und geraten ins Kreuzfeuer, während die Krise schnell eskaliert. Nachdem eine klingonische Flotte von diesen überlegenen Waffen, von der Förderation stammend, vernichtet wurde und auch die ENTERPRISE auf ihrer diplomatischen Mission schwer beschädigt wurde, versuchen die Förderationsregierung mit allen Mitteln zu verhindern, dass die Klingonen hinter das Geheimnis kommen, auch wenn es ein Genozid an den Tezwanern geben sollte. Auch die Sektion 31 folgt diesem Plan, während Picard und Kanzler Martok nichts ahnen….
Ich bin sehr gespannt, wie es weitergeht…

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Mack's first foray into full-length Star Trek novel writing is a huge step up in standards for the struggling "A Time To" series.

The plot has huge scope and potential, tying in established 24th century continuity from all angles and placing Picard and the Enterprise right in the middle of the mother of all diplomatic crises. Attempting to prevent the hawkish Prime Minister of the Tezwans from provoking all out war with the Klingon Empire, Picard finds himself attempting to douse the Klingon's bloodthirsty desire for revenge while at the same time managing a series of daring guerrilla away missions to knock out the Tezwans' deadly surface-to-orbit pulse cannons.

Mack excels at creating an interesting, diverse species in the Tezwans, ranging from the deliciously ruthless Prime Minister Kinchawn - a trigger-happy megalomaniac who even justifies the deaths of his own family - to the more sympathetic Deputy Bilok, who is nevertheless caught in the web of political skulduggery orchestrated from the highest ranks of the Federation itself.

Federation Chief of Staff Kol Azernal is quickly becoming one of the most fascinating characters of this series. After the previous duology touched on his role masterminding the mass-drugging of Delta Sigma IV, "A Time to Kill" takes it up a notch. Here, we see him desperately trying to escape from being exposed as the one who arranged for Federation weapons to be placed on Tezwa in direct violation of the Khitomer Accords, thus risking all out war with the Klingons. The beauty of this rather intricate plot is that it's all too plausible... and I can all too easily see how Azernal justified his actions in the first place.

The famed ability of Zakdorns to strategize is a perfect fit for Azernal's carefully crafted and calculated moves on the political chessboard of the Alpha Quadrant. It's somewhat horrifying to read about such a character wielding such influence over the President (who is clearly a mere puppet, in totally over his head)... yet at the same time, it's all too believable. Perhaps that's what makes this such great storytelling.

Stepping up to the plate to prevent armageddon on a mass scale, Picard and the crew concoct an amazingly daring plan to knock out the planet-based weapons by sending six strike teams to destroy the fire-stations which serve to control them. The ensuing missions form the backbone of the book, and are undeniably thrilling to read. Mack has teams led by Riker, Data, Geordi, Vale, Taurik and Security Deputy Peart embark on a daring atmospheric descent to the planet to six varied locations, all deadly in a different way. We have a base on the top of an icy mountain with low visibility, one in the arctic, one in the middle of a firestorm, one at the bottom of an ocean, one in the middle of inaccessible swamp land and one camouflaged in the desert and guarded by hovercraft. Overkill? Perhaps I could make a case that Mack over-egged the pudding a little bit with such a large dose of drama at once, but at the same time it all contributes to one hell of a fun-read which never slows. And if there's one thing this novel series needed, it was some decent pacing.

Worf's inclusion in the story was rather skillful, and much overdue. We see a nice pivoting of the character from by-the-book Ambassador to the patriot/warrior we all know and love, and some welcome insights into the relationship between Chancellor Martok and Worf after they've adapted to their new roles on Qo'noS. David Mack clearly enjoys writing for Worf, and it shows in every scene that he sets. There are some great callbacks to the Klingon suspense and cloak-and-dagger behavior that was so prolific in The Next Generation (I'm thinking "Sins of the Father" and "Redemption", especially). Plus, Mack manages to fold Worf into the story in an absolutely believable way that doesn't feel gratuitous or designed to fill a plot-hole.

The intelligence operative story thread is perhaps the one weak point of this outing. It felt superfluous, although I'm open minded enough to reserve judgment in case the author has an endgame in mind with it in the concluding second part. Nevertheless, nestled among so much well-written action and drama, it pulled me out of the experience somewhat. Presumably Zeitsev, Dietz and L'Haan are part of some Section 31-style undercover operation overseeing ... everything. That's fine, I suppose... as long as their appearance isn't perfunctory and actually leads somewhere.

I'm also curious to find out just how far up the Tezwan weapon conspiracy goes. Is knowledge just restricted to Azernal and Zife? Or are elements of the Starfleet admiralty also aware? Ross, Janeway and Nechayev all seem oblivious, so unless there are some other actors to be revealed, I suppose we're meant to believe that this is purely Azernal's orchestration.

There's an awful lot going on in this opus, and it's to Mack's credit that he keeps track of all the moving pieces with skill and aplomb.

All in all, a gripping read, and I'm glad Mack is on board to straighten the rudder of this series (albeit far too late in the game). For the first time, I can genuinely say I'm excited to read the conclusion to the story!

[Patrick Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Near the Klingon border is the planet Tezwa, a world run by a dictator. This planet was a key world during the Dominion War for the Federation, for if the Klingons attacked it would be the first line of defense. It's ruler is going rogue, announcing it will expand, going into Klingon territory. The Enterprise is tasked with getting there with the Klingon fleet to keep them and the Tezwan people from blasting each other. Things are looking hopeful until blasts from Tezwa destroy several Klingon ships. How was this world able to acquire these massive planetary weapons? Can the Klingons be stopped from launching a war with Tezwa? Can Picard solve both these problems? This book is the first half of this tale.

I was impressed with this read, more so that it is Mack's first printed Star Trek novel, with his previous works being only e-novels. The characters think and act as one would want and every character has something major to do. NO SPOILERS: I was really impressed with how Mack was able to split up the cast, have them doing "something", and keep the tension high. What was going on at Federation Headquarters was equally impressive.

The only downside to this book is that it's not complete: the conclusion can be found in A Time to Heal. I'm looking forward to seeing what Mack, who is currently one of Trek's best writers, does to wrap this up.

[Brent Knorr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an improvement over the previous two books. The plot moves along quickly, the story is interesting, if there is any filler material it isn't obvious and isn't repetitive. I think Beverly only thinks about her possible promotion to head of Starfleet Medical once and there aren't multiple descriptions of what people are having for dinner.
It's a little hard to figure who's plotting against who in a few places, but that's probably intentional, and Deanna inexplicably seems to lose the power to tell whether or not Will is still alive while down on the planet, something that was leaned on fairly heavily in the previous story.
Again, this is a two part story, but this novel tells a fairly complete story on it's own with just enough plot threads left hanging to lead you into the next novel.
David Mack's characterizations are always quite good, and he continues that in this story.
Overall, I quite enjoyed this one and it renewed my enthusiasm for the rest of the series.

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Trek: TNG: A Time to... 07 A Time to Kill by David Mack

4.0 Stars

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense

Medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of charactersare a main focus: Complicated

This is a good multi-POV story with high stakes. The court intrigue. Our intrepid heroes...doing hero things.

The time with each of the character groups was good.

Love what Worf is doing...putting IT on the line for being on the right side, but maybe not for his own part in history (Klingon perspective). Taking one for the team.

This actual adventure is nearly a suicide mission (but that's never stopped our Star Trek heroes from stepping up to the plate), but will it fall into the trap of leaving too much of the arcs in the next novel (written by David Mack...which has been the bain of this series, so far), and I think you know what happens, but the rating of the book.

I was invested with the teams. I saw what was happening from the OTHER side of the narrative. I saw the page count...and with each page...

Well, we got an ending, but in my "pea brain", it just wasn't what I wanted. That's okay. I'm going to read the next book...fairly soon. So, I will survive...but will the some of the characters in this story? Hmm?

The struggles that our Enterprise crew have been going through...have born out in these later books...within in this series. They have effected their stories (which I love...so unlike TNG of the time television-wise).

Cannot wait to pick the penultimate book in this entire series. I'm hoping it concludes with two bangers.

On to Star Trek: TNG: A Time to... 08 A Time to Heal.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series finally lives up to its potential. What a jump in quality, helped no end by having a strong author like David Mack. This is a proper adventure, with lots of moving parts and a great focus on character. It's genuinely epic. I particularly liked the way it balanced all the different things happening and effectively gave the feeling that it all was happening simultaneously without ever short-changing any one plot thread.

The character of Christine Vale, invented for the Trek books, is getting more and more interesting with each novel. This book finally feels like it's getting around to setting things up for all the unexplained changes we were shown in the movie Nemesis. Data has been largely kept to the background in this series so far and here he's finally given something to do which was appreciated, along with his altered outlook on things.

The book is a bit long, and in the final third it does feel a little heavy in the amount of things its trying to do. Splitting the events between 6 different strike teams, the Enterprise, the Tezwa government, the Federation government and the Klingon government is a hell of a lot. The super short chapters sometimes feel a little too throwaway, but for the style of narrative here I think they ultimately work.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book COULD have been amazing, if it weren’t for two fatal flaws, in my opinion:

First, the principal TNG cast hardly features in this story, aside from Worf. Yes, Picard, Data, La Forge and Riker do appear in the story. But each barely has a page’s worth of dialogue and have supporting roles *at best*. This is, disappointingly, most true of Picard, who has two to three appearances that are almost cameos, given how short they are. Worst of all, in what little we get of our beloved TNG cast makes little use of their unique qualities, traits, strengths and personalities. For example, yes: Geordi does and says some ‘engineer stuff,’ Data does and says some ‘android stuff,’ and Picard and Riker do and say some ‘command things’, but you could essentially re-shuffle who gets which lines and tasks and it would almost make no difference.

We do get, for example, about a page’s worth of some actually interesting exploration of Data’s journey with his emotion chip and we see one or two instances of him interpreting human behavior in his unique, idiosyncratic, ‘Data’ way — which is actually fascinating… but it’s maybe one page’s worth. Similarly, we get a taste of Riker’s coping with a family tragedy, but that lasts little more than a few pages. Worst of all (for me, anyway) we get virtually nothing from Picard besides him opening hailing frequencies, issuing some commands to bridge crew and speaking to Starfleet Command in his ready room — all of which do little more than exposition and move some plot forward. But there’s nothing in the way of his ordinarily exquisite performance of leadership under pressure, pushing people to do the right thing in extreme circumstances, him excavating his past mistakes — none of this shows up, mostly because *he* barely shows up. (As I said, his total lines comprise little more than a page of dialogue in total.)

As such, the lion’s share of this book follows not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but six — count them — six different away teams sent to a planet’s surface to execute a sabotage mission. Each team consists of four crew people, the only TNG regulars being Riker, Data and Geordi. That’s right, if you did your math correctly, that means we’re following TWENTY FOUR different away-team characters, THREE of whom you’ll be familiar with if you haven’t read any ST novels before. So the middle ~50% of the book was me reading rotated scenes between 6 away teams, having to keep track of 21 new characters. And as you might imagine, there is hardly *any* development of any of them. (There is actually one character who I really developed an affection for, and his development really pays off at the end, but I won’t spoil it. But save for him, I felt like I was watching some network TV show not a quality that resembles something like CSI — very procedural, very boring.)

Lastly, what drives this story is plot rather than character development. The whole story centers around a villainous dictator who acquires weapons of mass destruction and uses them to threaten the Klingon empire directly and the Federation indirectly. The book's plot, thus, is the Enterprise's efforts to stop this 'evil villain' (and yes, that's about all he is, an evil villain). Nothing in this book is driven by, for example, the personal journey of any character, deep philosophical questions about the nature of existence, or any real drama other than: "We have to stop this bad guy from starting a war!" I actually think this story would have worked much better as a feature film, because it is trying to be a race-against-the-clock action thriller and I think that type of plot can work great as a movie, because you can build the intensity with music, camera work, visual effects, acting, action choreography, etc. But in book form, you're just reading action in prose form: 'Character X shoots a phaser blast at the bad guy running toward him, sending him tumbling down a staircase.' I think something like that is much more satisfying to watch than to read. But most importantly, none of the tension in this plot has anything to do with: the TNG crew in any kind of personal way, Earth and its history or cultural distinctiveness, or really anything else that a reader might care about or have an emotional connection to — say, the way "First Contact" had a similar plot, but was embedded into a set of cultural and character histories that the audience cares about: Earth's 'history' with World War III, its discovery of warp drive, and ultimate integration with other worlds, the forming of the Federation; Picard's personal history with the Borg; Data's identity as a machine trying to become human, his emotions chip and his 'temptation of the flesh.' In short, First Contact's action was *earned* because it carried in the balance so many emotional ties that the audience and TNG characters feel deeply connected to. Whereas in this book, the action has virtually no such connections.

In short, if you came because you loved TNG’s exploration of philosophy, politics, existential thought experiments, and deep character development, you’ll get almost none of that here. This was apparently supposed to be an espionage / ‘special-ops thriller’, which wasn’t even that thrilling, considering it’s all based on a conspiracy that you’re told about in act one, so while the characters don’t know about it, you do, so there are virtually no ‘reveals.’

That said, the book managed to partially redeem itself at the end, mostly because there are some big developments that set up the book’s sequel, “A Time to Heal.” (Which I am now ~40% of the way through, and can say that that 40% already has orders of magnitude more interesting content — not to mention better written — than all of “A Time to Kill.”)

[Alexander Kozdra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Political military Star Trek

[Elliot Weeks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an action packed and excellently written book by David Mack. I decided to ‘double back’ and read the last three “A Time To...” novels because I know they are central to the overarching 24th century meta plot. As that is likely to be wrapped up with Mack’s upcoming “Collateral Damage,” I thought it would be good to check these out. I devoured this book quickly and joyfully. Mr. Mack found space in the seemingly relentless action for nice character moments that brought out the heart of each TNG character (except for Dr. Crusher who was placed on the shelf for this one). Can’t wait to see what happens with the Federation government cover up. Onward!

[Christopher Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series really roars into gear with David Mack's first full length Trek novel. After the stultifying Vornholt beginning, the exciting if over-long Ward/Dilmore sophomore effort, and the just all round disappointing Greenberg pair of novels, how great to finally have a great story paired with great pacing and characters that actually act in character!

[Crystal Bensley · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some cool undercover infiltration stuff in this one but it just didn't grab me as much as I'd like.

[Leland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series of Star Trek novels... Can't wait to pick these up again.

[David Palazzolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the fastest read of the whole “A Time for…” series—also my favorite one so far. Very short chapters helped to keep the book moving at a breakneck pace, giving a kind of James Patterson feel to the book. It’s also very detailed—draws us into Tezwa society and politics (both internal and in relation to their Alpha Quadrant neighbors) without getting bogged down in long drawn out sequences. Same can be said for the political set up with Klingons and Federation. I don’t think I’ve read anything by David Mack before, but I believe I’ll seek his work out again.

Even though we know everything is going to work out (this does take place before the movie ST: Nemesis where we’re all one big happy fleet again), David Mack has set up such a dire situation one can’t help wonder how it’s resolved.

[Peter Rydén · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boken är mycket spännande, även om alla dessa tillbakablickar till tidigare böcker i serien är tröttsamma i sin detaljrikedom. Har man redan läst de övriga böckerna så blir tillbakablickarna nästan helt onödiga. (Samtidigt så ger det ju faktiskt möjligheten för nya läsare att komma in i bokserien.)

Här får vi möta flera av underofficerarna (kärleksparet Peart & Perim för att nämna några) men också åter stifta bekantskap med allas vår favoritklingon - Worf - som har ett stort spionarbete framför sig. Vi får också se mer av hur säkerhetstjänsten inom federationen arbetar.

David Mack har en bra berättarstil och även om boken av mig fick en stark fyra, så fanns det faktiskt funderingar på att öka det till en svag femma. Att den missar fullpottaren är för alla dessa tillbakablickar som finns i faktiskt alla böcker i denna serien (förutom nr 1).

[Kyle Muntz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally. I've been working through a bunch of these post-series Star Trek novels, but unfortunately none of them were any good. This, on the other hand, is the real deal. It's for so much action it's more like a movie than an episode, but it's the first Star Trek novel I've felt was compelling in a long time. And it makes me excited that, after that, Mack became essentially the main writer in the series.

Half of this is one big action setpiece and it actually works. That alone is a huge accomplishment. He's also a genuinely talented writer if you enjoy a brisk, straightforward style.

On the other hand, though, definitely dealing with a weak villian here. But I'm going to stay optimistic and see what Mack's future work leads to.

[Oleg X · Rating 5 out of 5]

У Дэвида Мэка репутация писателя технотриллеров в Треке, и это пока лучший пример, что я видел. Незаконные действия президента Федерации приводят к войне между нейтральной планетой и целой Клингонской Империей, и "Энтерпрайз", естественно, между ними. Основная часть книги - про то, как шесть команд с "Энтерпрайза" десантируются на планету под видом космического мусора, чтобы саботировать тамошнюю артиллерию. Все шесть миссий происходят в разных регионах планеты с разными препятствиями, прыжки между ними мастерски создают напряжение и драму.

Любимая мелочь книги: Джорди во вроде бы безвыходной ситуации произносит "Hold on, I'm looking at this all wrong!" и начинает переключать режимы зрения.

[Kai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was exciting to read this book because it was the first novel by David Mack that I've read. It also had the best reviews from the A Time To... series. And it was the first book I've read as an eBook on my new eReader. Maybe because of all that hype, it wasn't as amazing as I expected. It was still very enjoyable though. I liked the short chapters. I liked that it involved a lot of places and people. I was a bit surprised that Kinshawn managed to get away so easily without anyone noticing or detecting where he might be. Nonetheless, I'll look forward to book 2.

[Neema · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series has been pretty rough so far, but David Mack is here to save the day. This novel was full of political intrigue, subterfuge, and adventure. I really enjoyed reading this one and am now so excited to read the last two books in the series.

I honestly didnt know if I was going to make it after those first six.

[FrisianTea · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure what this was supposed to be. I'm close to a third in, and next to nothing about actual Star Trek characters in all that time. Just some dull race the author made up and a lot of dystopian, post-Dominion-War nonsense.

I read Star Trek novels for the characters we love. Not whatever tangential glop this is. Giving up, can not finish. Life is short.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. much more plot than the other novels or at least meatier. felt like I was reading it for much longer than I actually was. it’s a tough time to be read plotty books lol. my brain is struggling enough as it is.

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My full review will be up soon on Roqoo Depot. This book is leaps and bounds better than all of its predecessors. I absolutely loved this book. It is Jack Ryan in Star Trek and was such a joy to read(all in 1 day, that's how hooked I was!). 5 out of 5!

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Mack knows how to write a rollicking Star Trek romp. Blending superb action sequences with sublime political intrigue and quality emotional depth, this book effectively sets the stage for the remaining two entries of this sprawling series.

[Vic Page]

dnf @ 60%

It's unfortunate but I think I just don't enjoy this series as a whole. I really wanted to try to finish it but it's been one and a half months and I'm not making much progress. What I'm reading, I'm skimming. I'm just going to have to read a summary and move on

[Shoumik Hassin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, a good TNG book. It's more military action than anything else, but it's exciting and crisply executed. Plus, the Federation seem like raging douches in this and I'm always glad when we get that angle.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series starts to pick up here. Thr reader is treated to the Enterprise E crew preforming covert ops to prevent war with the Klingons while also unwittingly participating in Federation cover-up. It's Star Trek meets 24.

[Melvin Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good but I need to read the whole series for context

Its a pretty good read and that's what I would expect from David Mack who writes good stories. I've only read a couple of books in this series so I'll have to start the series and read through it.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the story!