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Starfleet Corps of Engineers #9
Grand Designs
Corps of Engineers
These are the voyages of the U.S.S. da Vinci. Their mission: to solve the problems of the galaxy, one disaster at a time. Starfleet veteran Captain David Gold, along with his crack Starfleet Corps of Engineers team lead by former Starship Enterprise (TM) engineer Commander Sonya Gomez, travel throughout the Federation and beyond to fix the unfixable, repair the irreparable, and solve the unsolvable.
Whether it's an artificial planetary ring that was damaged during the Dominion War, an out-of-control generation ship, a weapons inspection gone horribly wrong, shutting down a crashed probe, solving a centuries-old medical mystery, or clearing a sargasso sea of derelict ships, the S.C.E. is on the case!
But the problems they face aren't just technical; Tev must confront the demons of his past, Lense must confront the demons of her present, Gold faces a crisis of leadership on his own ship, and Gomez must lead an away team into the middle of a brutal ground war. Plus the da Vinci crew must find a way to work with their Klingon counterparts in a deadly rescue mission.
640 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2004
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169 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 14, 2008
Still reading this one. I'll tell you, though, it's making me have to brush up on Star Trek species. Some are new to me, but some I need a refresher on what they look like. It's a totally different crew from any of the shows, and it's great to get to know new characters.
Well, I finished this one finally. It wasn't what I expected, and I enjoyed it less than a lot of other Star Trek books I've read. I don't think it was the fact that these were all new characters for me (except for Scott, who we never really see), or that it was a short story collection. The stories just didn't "wow" me, and I probably won't buy any more in the SCE series (though I might peruse one if I happen across it in a library).
Well, I finished this one finally. It wasn't what I expected, and I enjoyed it less than a lot of other Star Trek books I've read. I don't think it was the fact that these were all new characters for me (except for Scott, who we never really see), or that it was a short story collection. The stories just didn't "wow" me, and I probably won't buy any more in the SCE series (though I might peruse one if I happen across it in a library).
November 2, 2016
Very good but somehow it still does not read as fluent as the episodes before half the characters were killed off. Maybe because more stress is put on the psychology of the characters and less on the action or pure engineering solutions (which clearly are my favourite). Still: can't wait to start the next volume and see how the adventures of Da Vinci crew continue.
April 25, 2020
Another excellent collection of SCE stories, while none of these are spectacularly good, the quality is still high.
Ring Around the Sky
We’ve been suffering through Tev’s rather unlikable nature for a while now, and it’s time to find out what made him this way as the Da Vinci is send to his childhood home to fix a construction of planetary proportions. As the artificial ring Yates around his home is threatened, and the orbital elevators that service it threaten the planet, we meet a childhood friend of Tev who is less than friendly. Tev might have to put that aside to convince his friend of the only possible way to save their world. It turns out that his freiend’s expertise might not be as well founded as it seems... on a personal note, Bart, the ship’s linguist references the lord of the rings, something he will do a few more times in the series.
Orphans
What do you get when you mix epic medieval style fantasy with a generation ship? A kick ass SCE series is what! Just another excellent read, I have to believe it was set up a little in the previous story. On another note, this story includes the Klingon SCE equivalent, something I would have loved to see more of!
Grand Designs
Tempers flare aboard Da Vinci as Gomez is put in an impossible position. Balancing her loyalties to captain gold, with her orders from a smarmy diplomat in way over his head. The stakes are two planets, in one hell of a big mess.
Failsafe
A mission that seems cursed from the onset starts as a simple retrieval, but sets our crew up against an entire planet, from entire militaries to tribal groups. All to save a people from a Starfleet threat. It’s hard to save people when you can’t say who you are, or what you’re saving them from.
Bitter Medicine
Doctor Lense makes a promise to a young boy, which she can’t possibly keep... To cure him. She knew she shouldn’t have done it the moment she did, and it will likely haunt her for the rest of her life if she can’t figure this one out.
Saragossa Sector
The cleanup of a spacelane uncovers a mystery that seems to strange to believe, as all the odds are reset to 1 to 1. A starship with an improbability drive is to blame, something most of you will recognize as a Douglas Adams reference. And I honestly think he would appreciate this story. On a side note this story is the origin of my favorite inside joke moment ever, where I told the only two people I knew that would get it, that the odds were 1 to 1...
Like I said, just another excellent collection. I think I preferred Ring around the sky, but it’s hard to be sure.
Ring Around the Sky
We’ve been suffering through Tev’s rather unlikable nature for a while now, and it’s time to find out what made him this way as the Da Vinci is send to his childhood home to fix a construction of planetary proportions. As the artificial ring Yates around his home is threatened, and the orbital elevators that service it threaten the planet, we meet a childhood friend of Tev who is less than friendly. Tev might have to put that aside to convince his friend of the only possible way to save their world. It turns out that his freiend’s expertise might not be as well founded as it seems... on a personal note, Bart, the ship’s linguist references the lord of the rings, something he will do a few more times in the series.
Orphans
What do you get when you mix epic medieval style fantasy with a generation ship? A kick ass SCE series is what! Just another excellent read, I have to believe it was set up a little in the previous story. On another note, this story includes the Klingon SCE equivalent, something I would have loved to see more of!
Grand Designs
Tempers flare aboard Da Vinci as Gomez is put in an impossible position. Balancing her loyalties to captain gold, with her orders from a smarmy diplomat in way over his head. The stakes are two planets, in one hell of a big mess.
Failsafe
A mission that seems cursed from the onset starts as a simple retrieval, but sets our crew up against an entire planet, from entire militaries to tribal groups. All to save a people from a Starfleet threat. It’s hard to save people when you can’t say who you are, or what you’re saving them from.
Bitter Medicine
Doctor Lense makes a promise to a young boy, which she can’t possibly keep... To cure him. She knew she shouldn’t have done it the moment she did, and it will likely haunt her for the rest of her life if she can’t figure this one out.
Saragossa Sector
The cleanup of a spacelane uncovers a mystery that seems to strange to believe, as all the odds are reset to 1 to 1. A starship with an improbability drive is to blame, something most of you will recognize as a Douglas Adams reference. And I honestly think he would appreciate this story. On a side note this story is the origin of my favorite inside joke moment ever, where I told the only two people I knew that would get it, that the odds were 1 to 1...
Like I said, just another excellent collection. I think I preferred Ring around the sky, but it’s hard to be sure.
May 31, 2020
This was just a weird collection of stories. I liked that each one had a different character as the main but I just felt like there was a lot lacking . The stories all seemed alike, and there wasn't a lot of depth to them. I was reading it at the same time as A Stitch in Time so maybe my comparison meter is off here. I just was underwhelmed by the whole thing.
Also, the only female main had a tragic love story that led to a whole bunch of other trauma layers. So tropey.
Also, the only female main had a tragic love story that led to a whole bunch of other trauma layers. So tropey.
May 18, 2021
Several very interesting Star Fleet Engineering stories.
May 24, 2025
Love the SCE stories.
July 19, 2011
The Star Trek Corps of Engineers series is a series that follows the exploits of the USS da Vinci, a ship whose mission is, essentially, to find solutions to technical problems that are beyond the abilities of the engineering staffs of regular ships. There is a skeleton crew of command and security officers, but the majority of the crew of 40 are top-notch engineers.
The series has been told in chronologically consecutive short-story format, so each book in the series has had around 5 stories; this book is no exception. The stories have generally been of high quality, closer to classic science fiction than the usual Star Trek stories, with more emphasis on science in the plots than most. This book is no exception, and I would have rated it at five stars except for the last story, (Sargasso Sector) which on its own I would barely have rated a second star.
The story was entertaining enough, but far too much of it was simply implausible. (I realize that there is an argument to be made that when one is dealing with faster than light travel and matter transferrence as standard technology, plausibility is not terribly important, but what I'm talking about is INTERNAL plausibility within the Star Trek universe.) I'm aware that there is a counterargument to my complaint, but I've considered that argument and found it wanting. Unfortunately, in order to detail my complaints, acknowledge the counterargument, and explain why it failed to be sufficient rationalization for my tastes would involve giving multiple plot spoilers, and given that those spoilers would ruin the only positive that the story has going for it, I'm unwilling to do so. The only objection that I can give that would NOT be a plot spoiler, by itself, would seem trivial and picky. So I will simply say that the story did not at all work for me, and leave it at that. If you have less insistence on stories making internal sense than I do, you may enjoy it. In any case, it's just one story out of five.
The series has been told in chronologically consecutive short-story format, so each book in the series has had around 5 stories; this book is no exception. The stories have generally been of high quality, closer to classic science fiction than the usual Star Trek stories, with more emphasis on science in the plots than most. This book is no exception, and I would have rated it at five stars except for the last story, (Sargasso Sector) which on its own I would barely have rated a second star.
The story was entertaining enough, but far too much of it was simply implausible. (I realize that there is an argument to be made that when one is dealing with faster than light travel and matter transferrence as standard technology, plausibility is not terribly important, but what I'm talking about is INTERNAL plausibility within the Star Trek universe.) I'm aware that there is a counterargument to my complaint, but I've considered that argument and found it wanting. Unfortunately, in order to detail my complaints, acknowledge the counterargument, and explain why it failed to be sufficient rationalization for my tastes would involve giving multiple plot spoilers, and given that those spoilers would ruin the only positive that the story has going for it, I'm unwilling to do so. The only objection that I can give that would NOT be a plot spoiler, by itself, would seem trivial and picky. So I will simply say that the story did not at all work for me, and leave it at that. If you have less insistence on stories making internal sense than I do, you may enjoy it. In any case, it's just one story out of five.
August 27, 2008
Cool book. As an engineer, I think I was able to appreciate it a little more than the average person. One thing I like about Star Trek is that they have stuff in there for the engineering minded (and medically minded and cultural minded, etc), while having just enough explanation that someone who doesn't specialize in any of those areas can understand and enjoy it. This book does not disappoint.
March 3, 2010
Fascinating "what if" history re-write:
What if the American Revolution had taken place, not 200 years AGO, but 200 years from now, and what if we make the opposing armies planets instead of countries, and give them modern WoMD . . .
Throw the Federation in as mediators of the conflict, & you've got yourself a clever yarn!
What if the American Revolution had taken place, not 200 years AGO, but 200 years from now, and what if we make the opposing armies planets instead of countries, and give them modern WoMD . . .
Throw the Federation in as mediators of the conflict, & you've got yourself a clever yarn!
November 23, 2007
Another really solid collection of Trek novellas. The stories are a little less formulaic than in previous volumes and some of the situations the crew find themselves in are generally compelling.
September 15, 2013
talk about your cliffhanger endings.
June 15, 2009
Good book!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews