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Star Trek: The Next Generation
Before Dishonor
An enemy so intractable that it cannot be reasoned with. The entire race thinks with one mind and strives toward one purpose: to add our biological distinctiveness to their own and wipe out individuality, to make every living thing Borg.
In over two centuries, the Federation has never encountered a greater threat. Twice Starfleet assembled and threw countless starships to stand against them. The Borg were stopped, the price paid in blood. Humanity breathed a sigh of relief, assuming it was safe. And with the destruction of the transwarp conduits, the Federation believed that the killing blow had finally been struck against the Borg.
Driven to the point of extinction, the Borg continue to fight for their very existence, for their culture. They will not be denied. They must not be stopped. The old rules and assumptions regarding how the Collective should act have been dismissed. Now the Borg kill first, assimilate later.
When the Enterprise manages to thwart them once again, the Borg turn inward. The dark places that even the drones never realized existed are turned outward against the enemy they have never been able to defeat. What is revealed is the thing that no one believed the Borg could do.
In over two centuries, the Federation has never encountered a greater threat. Twice Starfleet assembled and threw countless starships to stand against them. The Borg were stopped, the price paid in blood. Humanity breathed a sigh of relief, assuming it was safe. And with the destruction of the transwarp conduits, the Federation believed that the killing blow had finally been struck against the Borg.
Driven to the point of extinction, the Borg continue to fight for their very existence, for their culture. They will not be denied. They must not be stopped. The old rules and assumptions regarding how the Collective should act have been dismissed. Now the Borg kill first, assimilate later.
When the Enterprise manages to thwart them once again, the Borg turn inward. The dark places that even the drones never realized existed are turned outward against the enemy they have never been able to defeat. What is revealed is the thing that no one believed the Borg could do.
407 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 2007
57 people are currently reading
781 people want to read
About the author
Peter David
3,568 books1,363 followersaka David Peters
Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.
Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.
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February 8, 2016
Exciting action against the Borg!
This book is a direct sequel to the events described in the novel “Resistance” by J.M. Dillard.
ONLY RIVERS DON’T GET BACK
Sometimes,-- --in order to feel alive, one has to take chances with one’s safety.
No. One really does not.
While there is a novel published in-between of Resistance by J.M. Dillard and Before Dishonor by Peter David, which is the novel Q & A by Keith R.A. DeCandido, but that's a self-contained story concerning Q (the all-powerful entity, not the letter), so if you already read Resistance you can “jump” ahead to read Before Dishonor since the latter is a direct sequel to the developed events on the first. (And while it’s not strictly necessary, it’s quite advisable having read Vendetta by Peter David (even before of Resistance) which is a novel sequel to the TV two-parter episode “The Best of Both Worlds” of Star Trek: The Next Generation).
Peter David is easily my favorite Star Trek author, where I enjoyed a lot all the novels written by him that I have been able to read so far. Of course, I have other favorite writers in the franchise, but if I have to choose the most favorite, I wouldn’t hesitate to name him.
And once again, Peter David done it again!
I commented in my review of Resistance by J.M. Dillard, that the author had some very odd notions about how the Borg works, but happily I can say that you won’t find any of those here, since Peter David indeed knows his Borg.
It’s understandable that when this book was published in the first time, it cause a lot of controversy since certain shocking incident ocurring in the story. While I actually read until now the novel, the mentioned incident was so big that I knew about it without having to read the book, and I must admit that I was also quite uncomfortable (to put it mildly) about it. However, now I have the advantage of knowing that eventually (in another novel) that incident was amended, so I was able to fully enjoy this wonderful and exciting novel without worrying of that incident.
And in defense for Peter David, I honestly think that he already have in mind that amendment (not matter if he didn’t write himself that other novel), due his clever use of certain guest character in the narrative. I think that reader and/or fans should have faith in Peter David (one of the most prolific and succesful Star Trek writers in prose novels and comic books) knowing that while he needed that incident for a strong “kick” at the climax of the story, he never wanted to make it something permanent. Trusting that…
…always there are possibilities.
TO BORG OR NOT TO BORG
A wise man once said that there is no future, only the past endlessly repeating itself.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard thought to beat for good the Borg during the events of Resistance, but you can never be totally certain of anything if the Borg are involved.
A Borg cube, severed from the main Collective Hive Mind and trapped in the Alpha Quadrant, it was already beaten once, due the daring efforts of the USS Enterprise-E’s crew. The Borg cube seems “dead” and that perception is the key of everything, since nothing can be dead IF it wasn’t alive first.
Captain Picard already have his hands full, out there, with the Borg threat; but he will have to deal also with a different kind of problem, inside his ship, an unexpected act, testing his patience, his equanimity, his forgiveness. Luckily, he will have the priceless assistance of two formidable guest characters, and that’s good since the odds are against them.
The Borg are back!
The Federation thought they knew the Borg. – They knew nothing.
The Borg have evolved in their methods, now they are insidious and cunning as never seen before, no one and nothing is safe in the Alpha Quadrant, and the Sector 001 (our Solar System) won’t be the same anymore!
This book is a direct sequel to the events described in the novel “Resistance” by J.M. Dillard.
ONLY RIVERS DON’T GET BACK
Sometimes,-- --in order to feel alive, one has to take chances with one’s safety.
No. One really does not.
While there is a novel published in-between of Resistance by J.M. Dillard and Before Dishonor by Peter David, which is the novel Q & A by Keith R.A. DeCandido, but that's a self-contained story concerning Q (the all-powerful entity, not the letter), so if you already read Resistance you can “jump” ahead to read Before Dishonor since the latter is a direct sequel to the developed events on the first. (And while it’s not strictly necessary, it’s quite advisable having read Vendetta by Peter David (even before of Resistance) which is a novel sequel to the TV two-parter episode “The Best of Both Worlds” of Star Trek: The Next Generation).
Peter David is easily my favorite Star Trek author, where I enjoyed a lot all the novels written by him that I have been able to read so far. Of course, I have other favorite writers in the franchise, but if I have to choose the most favorite, I wouldn’t hesitate to name him.
And once again, Peter David done it again!
I commented in my review of Resistance by J.M. Dillard, that the author had some very odd notions about how the Borg works, but happily I can say that you won’t find any of those here, since Peter David indeed knows his Borg.
It’s understandable that when this book was published in the first time, it cause a lot of controversy since certain shocking incident ocurring in the story. While I actually read until now the novel, the mentioned incident was so big that I knew about it without having to read the book, and I must admit that I was also quite uncomfortable (to put it mildly) about it. However, now I have the advantage of knowing that eventually (in another novel) that incident was amended, so I was able to fully enjoy this wonderful and exciting novel without worrying of that incident.
And in defense for Peter David, I honestly think that he already have in mind that amendment (not matter if he didn’t write himself that other novel), due his clever use of certain guest character in the narrative. I think that reader and/or fans should have faith in Peter David (one of the most prolific and succesful Star Trek writers in prose novels and comic books) knowing that while he needed that incident for a strong “kick” at the climax of the story, he never wanted to make it something permanent. Trusting that…
…always there are possibilities.
TO BORG OR NOT TO BORG
A wise man once said that there is no future, only the past endlessly repeating itself.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard thought to beat for good the Borg during the events of Resistance, but you can never be totally certain of anything if the Borg are involved.
A Borg cube, severed from the main Collective Hive Mind and trapped in the Alpha Quadrant, it was already beaten once, due the daring efforts of the USS Enterprise-E’s crew. The Borg cube seems “dead” and that perception is the key of everything, since nothing can be dead IF it wasn’t alive first.
Captain Picard already have his hands full, out there, with the Borg threat; but he will have to deal also with a different kind of problem, inside his ship, an unexpected act, testing his patience, his equanimity, his forgiveness. Luckily, he will have the priceless assistance of two formidable guest characters, and that’s good since the odds are against them.
The Borg are back!
The Federation thought they knew the Borg. – They knew nothing.
The Borg have evolved in their methods, now they are insidious and cunning as never seen before, no one and nothing is safe in the Alpha Quadrant, and the Sector 001 (our Solar System) won’t be the same anymore!
June 21, 2023
I am not going to beat around the bush, this is a very poor book, likely the worst long form Star Trek book I have ever read. The saddest part is, it didn't have to be....
Peter David simply doesn't get some basic stuff, one of the things he doesn't understand is the larger Star Trek Canon. What he gets, and what he writes masterfully is TOS style Star Trek, with all the campiness, and over the top stories that come along with that. He also succeeds well in making that believable, if he has characters that work for this, or characters he himself created, see the excellent New Frontier series for what I mean. However even New Frontier feels very different from the TNG era story telling.
Another thing he doesn't get is Starfleet, and the Federation, nor does he seem to like either. It is from little things like him insisting that the federation uses a currency, even though it is well established that they do not, to him portraying Starfleet as an authoritarian organisation limiting the freedoms of federation citizens at every turn.
Finally he doesn't get the secularity that has always been a part of Star Trek, putting multiple entirely extemporaneous religious references in this work, coming from the two least like characters to make them in the entire Trek canon. Namely Janeway and Seven of Nine. It is incredibly frustrating, especially coupled with this author's clear libertarian streak.
Alright on to the book, it could have been pretty good. It is the final big Borg story before the upcoming Destiny Trilogy. It is billed as a TNG novel, however I would say the main character is in fact Seven of Nine, and Janeway as a second. In fact this book *Spoiler Alert* “kills” her off *Spoiler Alert*.
I have noticed Peter David's love for rogue characters before, but this time he takes it even further. He not only creates a new rogue character with a grudge against Starfleet, he has nearly every single character in this book rebel against someone, often for no real narrative purpose beyond libertarian fantasies. None of the existing characters sound like themselves. Janeway, Seven, Spock, and Picard being the clearest examples. They do, say, and thing things that are completely against their established characters. There's a crisis of faith in several characters that simply doesn't make any sense. There's constant questioning of the existence of souls, and a god, that does nothing to further the plot beyond setting up a single page ending scene that didn't need to be set up. I have to wonder about the author's own religious views, because he seems to think Logic is a faith based position as well, when it is the antithesis.
I would have thrown this book out of the window long before, if I didn't know that it was as pivotal for books to come. I knew I had to get through it, so I rushed it and finished it about twice as fast as I usually would. I didn't savour it, or in anyway enjoyed it. If this book had to be written it should have been given to an author that actually likes the characters it pretends to describe. Kirsten Beyer should have written this, since it is a direct set up for her Voyager novels.
Unless you are into this kind of thing I would recommend skipping this one. Read the memory beta synopsis, you will save yourself a lot of time and frustrations...
Peter David simply doesn't get some basic stuff, one of the things he doesn't understand is the larger Star Trek Canon. What he gets, and what he writes masterfully is TOS style Star Trek, with all the campiness, and over the top stories that come along with that. He also succeeds well in making that believable, if he has characters that work for this, or characters he himself created, see the excellent New Frontier series for what I mean. However even New Frontier feels very different from the TNG era story telling.
Another thing he doesn't get is Starfleet, and the Federation, nor does he seem to like either. It is from little things like him insisting that the federation uses a currency, even though it is well established that they do not, to him portraying Starfleet as an authoritarian organisation limiting the freedoms of federation citizens at every turn.
Finally he doesn't get the secularity that has always been a part of Star Trek, putting multiple entirely extemporaneous religious references in this work, coming from the two least like characters to make them in the entire Trek canon. Namely Janeway and Seven of Nine. It is incredibly frustrating, especially coupled with this author's clear libertarian streak.
Alright on to the book, it could have been pretty good. It is the final big Borg story before the upcoming Destiny Trilogy. It is billed as a TNG novel, however I would say the main character is in fact Seven of Nine, and Janeway as a second. In fact this book *Spoiler Alert* “kills” her off *Spoiler Alert*.
I have noticed Peter David's love for rogue characters before, but this time he takes it even further. He not only creates a new rogue character with a grudge against Starfleet, he has nearly every single character in this book rebel against someone, often for no real narrative purpose beyond libertarian fantasies. None of the existing characters sound like themselves. Janeway, Seven, Spock, and Picard being the clearest examples. They do, say, and thing things that are completely against their established characters. There's a crisis of faith in several characters that simply doesn't make any sense. There's constant questioning of the existence of souls, and a god, that does nothing to further the plot beyond setting up a single page ending scene that didn't need to be set up. I have to wonder about the author's own religious views, because he seems to think Logic is a faith based position as well, when it is the antithesis.
I would have thrown this book out of the window long before, if I didn't know that it was as pivotal for books to come. I knew I had to get through it, so I rushed it and finished it about twice as fast as I usually would. I didn't savour it, or in anyway enjoyed it. If this book had to be written it should have been given to an author that actually likes the characters it pretends to describe. Kirsten Beyer should have written this, since it is a direct set up for her Voyager novels.
Unless you are into this kind of thing I would recommend skipping this one. Read the memory beta synopsis, you will save yourself a lot of time and frustrations...
July 14, 2022
Star Trek: Before Dishonor is a novel in The Next Generation line of Star Trek novels featuring The Borg. It was written by Peter David and was released in November of 2007.
Wow! I am shocked at how good this book is. After reading the Destiny Trilogy and Greater Than the Sum (both published after this book) I was worried I would feel Borg fatigue. This book is by far the biggest, most epic, and most well written of the bunch. This might go down as one of my favorite Star Trek books ever made!!!
This is an action packed book that feels so cinematic. This would have been a superb movie script. This feels like an epic showdown with the Borg that fans have wanted. Destiny turned into being more about the Caeliar (which was a good story) and Greater Than the Sum was smaller and not as action packed. First Contact was so small in scale and different that it doesn't feel like the epic Borg showdown it was promised as. This book, however, sets up all the promises, and delivers on all of them!
The strongest part of this book is the writing style. In this book, Peter David is able to effectively capture the tone of all the characters involved, capture the classic Star Trek feeling, and also just make the story entertaining. This is one of the most purely entertaining stories I've read in Star Trek. Everything is properly balanced, no aspect of the story has too much time, too much humor, or too much heaviness to it. It is simply perfectly executed.
The humor in this book is on point. I can confidently say I have never laughed so much in a single Star Trek novel, and there have been several quite funny ones written. Spock and Seven of Nine delivered the best Deadpan humor moments, with several others coming from Worf, Janeway, Nechayev, and Kadhota. Seriously, the humor here was great.
I do have one criticism that I didn't love everything revolving around the climax of Janeway's arc. Had this truly been the end, I would have been massively disappointed, which is why I think Kirsten Beyer was wise to bring her back later on in some capacity.
Despite being a Next Generation title, this really is Seven Of Nine's book. As such, she really shines and not only is interesting, but has several great discussions in this book about her character development in the Star Trek series. This book really is the culmination of her character arc since she came on board in Voyager season 4.
The Borg action was massive and delightful. I kept thinking "no they can't go bigger", and yet they would. If Destiny had utilized this scope, it could have been my favorite Star Trek story. As such, this takes the Borg story away and shows how its truly done.
I also thought that Peter David handled Lady Q well, although that is probably considered to be his strongest aspect, as he has written so many Q stories. I really didn't like his book with John De Lancie "I, Q", but I thought he knocked Lady Q out of the park here.
Overall, this is a superb story and is one of the most entertaining books of Media Tie-In Fiction I've ever read. This goes up there in my all time favorites list. It does not come close to the "Prey" Trilogy for me, but it is up there with "Takedown", "The Fall", and "The Antares Maelstrom". Well done Peter David! 5 out of 5!
Wow! I am shocked at how good this book is. After reading the Destiny Trilogy and Greater Than the Sum (both published after this book) I was worried I would feel Borg fatigue. This book is by far the biggest, most epic, and most well written of the bunch. This might go down as one of my favorite Star Trek books ever made!!!
This is an action packed book that feels so cinematic. This would have been a superb movie script. This feels like an epic showdown with the Borg that fans have wanted. Destiny turned into being more about the Caeliar (which was a good story) and Greater Than the Sum was smaller and not as action packed. First Contact was so small in scale and different that it doesn't feel like the epic Borg showdown it was promised as. This book, however, sets up all the promises, and delivers on all of them!
The strongest part of this book is the writing style. In this book, Peter David is able to effectively capture the tone of all the characters involved, capture the classic Star Trek feeling, and also just make the story entertaining. This is one of the most purely entertaining stories I've read in Star Trek. Everything is properly balanced, no aspect of the story has too much time, too much humor, or too much heaviness to it. It is simply perfectly executed.
The humor in this book is on point. I can confidently say I have never laughed so much in a single Star Trek novel, and there have been several quite funny ones written. Spock and Seven of Nine delivered the best Deadpan humor moments, with several others coming from Worf, Janeway, Nechayev, and Kadhota. Seriously, the humor here was great.
I do have one criticism that I didn't love everything revolving around the climax of Janeway's arc. Had this truly been the end, I would have been massively disappointed, which is why I think Kirsten Beyer was wise to bring her back later on in some capacity.
Despite being a Next Generation title, this really is Seven Of Nine's book. As such, she really shines and not only is interesting, but has several great discussions in this book about her character development in the Star Trek series. This book really is the culmination of her character arc since she came on board in Voyager season 4.
The Borg action was massive and delightful. I kept thinking "no they can't go bigger", and yet they would. If Destiny had utilized this scope, it could have been my favorite Star Trek story. As such, this takes the Borg story away and shows how its truly done.
I also thought that Peter David handled Lady Q well, although that is probably considered to be his strongest aspect, as he has written so many Q stories. I really didn't like his book with John De Lancie "I, Q", but I thought he knocked Lady Q out of the park here.
Overall, this is a superb story and is one of the most entertaining books of Media Tie-In Fiction I've ever read. This goes up there in my all time favorites list. It does not come close to the "Prey" Trilogy for me, but it is up there with "Takedown", "The Fall", and "The Antares Maelstrom". Well done Peter David! 5 out of 5!
September 18, 2019
Before Dishonor occupies a strange place in the Trek Lit world. I feel like if it were more of a standalone novel, rather than in the middle of an on-going continuity, it would be more palatable; however, given that the tone of the story is so markedly different from the previous and subsequent novels, it feels very much out of place. Normally, I enjoy Peter David's trademark comic-style humor, but it feels like it is dialed up to eleven in this novel. This stands in stark contrast to the heavy elements of the plot: an existential threat to the Federation, a mutiny, and the death of a major character. I also recently re-read Vendetta, and I feel like a much better balance of tone and stakes was struck in that novel. For me, Before Dishonor greatly misses the mark. There are a couple of elements I enjoy, but they are not enough to make this an enjoyable read overall.
Full review: https://www.treklit.com/2019/09/befor...
Full review: https://www.treklit.com/2019/09/befor...
December 11, 2009
"In over two centuries, the Federation has never encountered a greater threat. Twice Starfleet assembled and threw countless starships to stand against them. The Borg were stopped, the price paid in blood. Humanity breathed a sigh of relief, assuming it was safe. And with the destruction of the transwarp conduits, the Federation believed that the killing blow had finally been struck against the Borg.
Driven to the point of extinction, the Borg continue to fight for their very existence, for *their* culture. They will not be denied. They must not be stopped. The old rules and assumptions regarding how the Collective should act have been dismissed. Now the Borg kill first, assimilate later.
When the Enterprise manages to thwart them once again, the Borg turn inward. The dark places that even the drones never realized existed are turned outward against the enemy they have never been able to defeat. What is revealed is the thing that *no one* believed the Borg could do."
Yes, that's right. My latest read is a Star Trek book. I figured after getting through Anna Karenina, I'd earned some brain fluff. Unfortunately, this was unbelievably badly-written brain fluff. It was the sort of writing that you'd expect from a 15-year-old with a degree of storytelling talent. Which is fine, if the author were 15, but presumably, he's a grown man, and should have been able to hone his writing ability by now. Especially, as, let's face it: the man writes Star Trek novels. It's not like he has a huge quantity of social life to get in the way of his writing time. And yet.
One of the particularly obnoxious aspects is that he has evidently not outgrown the need to vary the verb used to indicate speech. I used to do this. I even had a little list that I got from a thesaurus, of synonyms for "said," so as not to get repetitive. Then I went to j-school, and got that annoying little habit drummed out of me. Have a look at your favourite book. Find a page with a lot of dialogue. How many times does the author use something other than "said"? Probably not many, and if there are any such instances, there's probably a very good reason. But the idea that you have to mix it up just for the sake of mixing it up? Arg! It is infinitely less distracting to use the word "said" ten times on a single page than to see he stated, she exclaimed, he uttered, she announced, he averred, she blurted, he cried, she pronounced, he yelled, she declared. Authors, take note: "said" is your best friend.
And then there were unnecessary adverbs. Adverbs are fun. It's nice to be able to tell people not only what someone did, but how they did it. But don't go overboard. A few well-chosen and well-placed adverbs can be very effective. Adding one to every other verb is just way overkill. Especially when it's obvious. For example, something like "'Wow, your ass looks big today!' he exclaimed bluntly." "Wow, your ass looks big" is pretty blunt. You don't need to tell me that it was said bluntly; I'm not sure you could use those words and not say something like that bluntly. Another j-school lesson: think long and hard before you use an adverb. It's probably not necessary. And I swear, this book would have been 20 pages shorter without all the damned adverbs.
Then there's the stupid asides and meta jokes. A completely unnecessary paragraph about the fact that Seven still thinks that the human requirement for clothing is a little silly? Could you be any more obvious in your pandering to adolescent Trekkies who want to think about Seven naked? Or how about this one, that made me want to throw the book across the room: Geordi's observation that "for some reason," the computer's voice always reminds him of Deanna's mother. Gah! Lay off.
And last (the last thing I'm going to cover, anyway), is the characters themselves. Writing fiction based on a set of pre-existing characters is a tricky thing to do. For seven years each, the TNG and Voyager characters were drawn and developed for us all to see and get to know, and we did get to know them. We got to know how they responded to certain situations, and we got to know how they spoke. For an outsider to carry that forward into books is a hard thing. I recognize that, but it doesn't keep me from being annoyed when the author screws it up. There were a number of instances where certain characters said things that they just wouldn't. One that springs to mind was when, at one point, Seven said she thought Janeway was in "dire straits." Dire straits? Really? That's kind of a sensational and poetic way of putting it. And if you know anything at all about this character, you know that sensational and poetic are two things that Seven most definitely is not. In danger? Sure. Maybe even grave danger. But not dire straits. Bleh.
Aside from that, the story was fine, I guess. It's hard to go really wrong with a Borg story. And despite what I said in my previous paragraph, there were some moments when the author did a really good job of capturing the characters. But ultimately, this was really quite atrocious.
Driven to the point of extinction, the Borg continue to fight for their very existence, for *their* culture. They will not be denied. They must not be stopped. The old rules and assumptions regarding how the Collective should act have been dismissed. Now the Borg kill first, assimilate later.
When the Enterprise manages to thwart them once again, the Borg turn inward. The dark places that even the drones never realized existed are turned outward against the enemy they have never been able to defeat. What is revealed is the thing that *no one* believed the Borg could do."
Yes, that's right. My latest read is a Star Trek book. I figured after getting through Anna Karenina, I'd earned some brain fluff. Unfortunately, this was unbelievably badly-written brain fluff. It was the sort of writing that you'd expect from a 15-year-old with a degree of storytelling talent. Which is fine, if the author were 15, but presumably, he's a grown man, and should have been able to hone his writing ability by now. Especially, as, let's face it: the man writes Star Trek novels. It's not like he has a huge quantity of social life to get in the way of his writing time. And yet.
One of the particularly obnoxious aspects is that he has evidently not outgrown the need to vary the verb used to indicate speech. I used to do this. I even had a little list that I got from a thesaurus, of synonyms for "said," so as not to get repetitive. Then I went to j-school, and got that annoying little habit drummed out of me. Have a look at your favourite book. Find a page with a lot of dialogue. How many times does the author use something other than "said"? Probably not many, and if there are any such instances, there's probably a very good reason. But the idea that you have to mix it up just for the sake of mixing it up? Arg! It is infinitely less distracting to use the word "said" ten times on a single page than to see he stated, she exclaimed, he uttered, she announced, he averred, she blurted, he cried, she pronounced, he yelled, she declared. Authors, take note: "said" is your best friend.
And then there were unnecessary adverbs. Adverbs are fun. It's nice to be able to tell people not only what someone did, but how they did it. But don't go overboard. A few well-chosen and well-placed adverbs can be very effective. Adding one to every other verb is just way overkill. Especially when it's obvious. For example, something like "'Wow, your ass looks big today!' he exclaimed bluntly." "Wow, your ass looks big" is pretty blunt. You don't need to tell me that it was said bluntly; I'm not sure you could use those words and not say something like that bluntly. Another j-school lesson: think long and hard before you use an adverb. It's probably not necessary. And I swear, this book would have been 20 pages shorter without all the damned adverbs.
Then there's the stupid asides and meta jokes. A completely unnecessary paragraph about the fact that Seven still thinks that the human requirement for clothing is a little silly? Could you be any more obvious in your pandering to adolescent Trekkies who want to think about Seven naked? Or how about this one, that made me want to throw the book across the room: Geordi's observation that "for some reason," the computer's voice always reminds him of Deanna's mother. Gah! Lay off.
And last (the last thing I'm going to cover, anyway), is the characters themselves. Writing fiction based on a set of pre-existing characters is a tricky thing to do. For seven years each, the TNG and Voyager characters were drawn and developed for us all to see and get to know, and we did get to know them. We got to know how they responded to certain situations, and we got to know how they spoke. For an outsider to carry that forward into books is a hard thing. I recognize that, but it doesn't keep me from being annoyed when the author screws it up. There were a number of instances where certain characters said things that they just wouldn't. One that springs to mind was when, at one point, Seven said she thought Janeway was in "dire straits." Dire straits? Really? That's kind of a sensational and poetic way of putting it. And if you know anything at all about this character, you know that sensational and poetic are two things that Seven most definitely is not. In danger? Sure. Maybe even grave danger. But not dire straits. Bleh.
Aside from that, the story was fine, I guess. It's hard to go really wrong with a Borg story. And despite what I said in my previous paragraph, there were some moments when the author did a really good job of capturing the characters. But ultimately, this was really quite atrocious.
October 3, 2017
It's getting late, and I have a lot to do, so, I'll just say this: This book was better than usual for a Star Trek novel.
December 14, 2011
(Original review: http://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2008/04/...)
Peter David has written a lot of very entertaining and well-crafted Star Trek novels. This, alas, is not one of them.
Overall: Fair
Story: Fair
Re-Readability: Fair
Characters: Fair
Story: This book, part of the new Next Generation novels, is a sequel to "Resistance". Unfortunately, that book was written by J.M. Dillard, and David tries, but can’t quite manage, to pick up the threads from the prequel and carry them along.
The Borg are back — but, of course, that’s old hat, so they have to be New, Improved Borg. Q is back — or a different Q, rather, which is a shame because David has proven himself quite adept at writing that character.
Things Happen. Lots of Assimilation takes place, and more. A Planet Dies. Lots of Big, Futile Space Battles Wherein Many Starships Get Trashed. Earth is Threatened. Picard Disobeys Orders. There is Self-Sacrifice, Hard Decisions, etc.
David, unfortunately, seems to be doing the book by the numbers. His sense of humor seems muted. His grasp of character is blunted. If told he was working from an Official Outline of where the book franchise owners wanted things to go, I could well believe it — it seems to grate on him, and ends up producing a far less interesting story, with far fewer twists (and those more clumsily handled) than usual.
Way too much “And then something unexpected happened …” ending chapters — and way too much deus ex machina (sometimes literally).
Characters: The book touches heavily on both Voyager and Next Generation (with a smattering of David’s own New Voyages book series), but evolutions in the STU have left the characters largely adrift and out of familiar context, and it shows here. Katherine Janeway and Seven of Nine play lead roles, but largely in a vacuum. Picard is the third protagonist, but he’s surrounded by plenty of new officers and crew — and the new ones feel like cardboard cutouts (this one’s the Angry Shouting One, this one’s the Thoughtful Dedicated One, this one’s the Annoyingly Arrogant One), while the old ones are simply following old patterns without much insight or growth. I don’t expect much out of Geordi LaForge, but making both Worf and Spock dull is actually difficult to do, but David manages it.
I know, from earlier TNG novels, that David can do an excellent job with characters — there’s a reason he’s the only Star Trek novelist I’ll buy – but the drive toward Big Action and the new setting seem to have either impacted his interest or his feel for interpersonal chemistry, because nobody feels all that real or believable here.
It doesn’t help that the Borg have been done to death (indeed, they’re the subject of the prequel). While their threat level here is ramped up a serious notch, it’s still, ultimately, the same ol’ same ol’ “Resistance is Futile.”
Oh — a Significant Name dies by the end of the book. That’s probably the most exciting aspect of the whole thing, which is kind of sad.
Re-Readability: There’s so little substance here, so little solid characterization or interesting story, that it’s only David’s name that makes me want to put it on the shelf and read it again some other time. Disappointing.
Overall: I don’t know if David was contractually obliged to do another book and resented it, got stuck writing a sequel he didn’t want to, or what, but this is as close to “phoned in” a novel from him as I’ve ever run across. Even though he tries to do work all the usual interesting bits — humorous exchanges, homage lines, coincidental character interactions, bits of old Star Trek trivia suddenly brought into the present and made significant — the overall effort falls quite flat.
Overall, only suggested for dedicated Star Trek fans. Peter David fans should probably skip it.
Peter David has written a lot of very entertaining and well-crafted Star Trek novels. This, alas, is not one of them.
Overall: Fair
Story: Fair
Re-Readability: Fair
Characters: Fair
Story: This book, part of the new Next Generation novels, is a sequel to "Resistance". Unfortunately, that book was written by J.M. Dillard, and David tries, but can’t quite manage, to pick up the threads from the prequel and carry them along.
The Borg are back — but, of course, that’s old hat, so they have to be New, Improved Borg. Q is back — or a different Q, rather, which is a shame because David has proven himself quite adept at writing that character.
Things Happen. Lots of Assimilation takes place, and more. A Planet Dies. Lots of Big, Futile Space Battles Wherein Many Starships Get Trashed. Earth is Threatened. Picard Disobeys Orders. There is Self-Sacrifice, Hard Decisions, etc.
David, unfortunately, seems to be doing the book by the numbers. His sense of humor seems muted. His grasp of character is blunted. If told he was working from an Official Outline of where the book franchise owners wanted things to go, I could well believe it — it seems to grate on him, and ends up producing a far less interesting story, with far fewer twists (and those more clumsily handled) than usual.
Way too much “And then something unexpected happened …” ending chapters — and way too much deus ex machina (sometimes literally).
Characters: The book touches heavily on both Voyager and Next Generation (with a smattering of David’s own New Voyages book series), but evolutions in the STU have left the characters largely adrift and out of familiar context, and it shows here. Katherine Janeway and Seven of Nine play lead roles, but largely in a vacuum. Picard is the third protagonist, but he’s surrounded by plenty of new officers and crew — and the new ones feel like cardboard cutouts (this one’s the Angry Shouting One, this one’s the Thoughtful Dedicated One, this one’s the Annoyingly Arrogant One), while the old ones are simply following old patterns without much insight or growth. I don’t expect much out of Geordi LaForge, but making both Worf and Spock dull is actually difficult to do, but David manages it.
I know, from earlier TNG novels, that David can do an excellent job with characters — there’s a reason he’s the only Star Trek novelist I’ll buy – but the drive toward Big Action and the new setting seem to have either impacted his interest or his feel for interpersonal chemistry, because nobody feels all that real or believable here.
It doesn’t help that the Borg have been done to death (indeed, they’re the subject of the prequel). While their threat level here is ramped up a serious notch, it’s still, ultimately, the same ol’ same ol’ “Resistance is Futile.”
Oh — a Significant Name dies by the end of the book. That’s probably the most exciting aspect of the whole thing, which is kind of sad.
Re-Readability: There’s so little substance here, so little solid characterization or interesting story, that it’s only David’s name that makes me want to put it on the shelf and read it again some other time. Disappointing.
Overall: I don’t know if David was contractually obliged to do another book and resented it, got stuck writing a sequel he didn’t want to, or what, but this is as close to “phoned in” a novel from him as I’ve ever run across. Even though he tries to do work all the usual interesting bits — humorous exchanges, homage lines, coincidental character interactions, bits of old Star Trek trivia suddenly brought into the present and made significant — the overall effort falls quite flat.
Overall, only suggested for dedicated Star Trek fans. Peter David fans should probably skip it.
January 31, 2017
This book is about the TNG crew and part of the Voyager crew with Spock basically taking on the Borg and doing what they have to to save earth.
There was just so much good about this novel although I do understand how some gave it such a low rating. So the bad: I feel like David didn't quite nail some of the characters like Worf and lady Q. I just can not see the Q's actually thinking it's funny that anyone would die in a church. Star Trek is made by an atheist but I still felt those comments were off and just not ok. I also feel Worf, at times, was a completely different Worf that was on the show. Although there were also some great moment (some very funny) with Worf. And I still don't know how I feel about everything that Janeway did and advise she ignored.
Now there were tons of good points as well. The book was so atmospheric at times that I completely forgot where I was. If I had the time I probably could have read this in one day, it was just that fast paced. There were a lot of pearls of wisdom that came from Spock along with some surprisingly humorous parts. I know the reader was probably no supposed to like T'lana but I did! She was funny at points, she did have her contributions, but mostly I loved how the crew had to deal with a difficult personality. We all have had jobs with some know-it-all so it was nice seeing that here, although T'lana was likable in ways to me. Grim was another great character that I just loved from the start, come on no one should completely trust the government.
This book had some very relevant parts here is one quote that I especially loved.
"He is your captain as well, whether you prefer that to be the case or not. When you pushed the captain out of power Counselor, all of us lost."
I really thought this was one of the more quotable books, and here is just a sample of the humor I mentioned.
"Don't forget to say 'engage.'" Calhoun cautioned. "It's just not the same unless you say 'engage.'"
"Make it so."
"Damn you, Picard, you tricky bastard"
Overall I would highly recommend this book for anyone that likes Star Trek it is just a fun read.
There was just so much good about this novel although I do understand how some gave it such a low rating. So the bad: I feel like David didn't quite nail some of the characters like Worf and lady Q. I just can not see the Q's actually thinking it's funny that anyone would die in a church. Star Trek is made by an atheist but I still felt those comments were off and just not ok. I also feel Worf, at times, was a completely different Worf that was on the show. Although there were also some great moment (some very funny) with Worf. And I still don't know how I feel about everything that Janeway did and advise she ignored.
Now there were tons of good points as well. The book was so atmospheric at times that I completely forgot where I was. If I had the time I probably could have read this in one day, it was just that fast paced. There were a lot of pearls of wisdom that came from Spock along with some surprisingly humorous parts. I know the reader was probably no supposed to like T'lana but I did! She was funny at points, she did have her contributions, but mostly I loved how the crew had to deal with a difficult personality. We all have had jobs with some know-it-all so it was nice seeing that here, although T'lana was likable in ways to me. Grim was another great character that I just loved from the start, come on no one should completely trust the government.
This book had some very relevant parts here is one quote that I especially loved.
"He is your captain as well, whether you prefer that to be the case or not. When you pushed the captain out of power Counselor, all of us lost."
I really thought this was one of the more quotable books, and here is just a sample of the humor I mentioned.
"Don't forget to say 'engage.'" Calhoun cautioned. "It's just not the same unless you say 'engage.'"
"Make it so."
"Damn you, Picard, you tricky bastard"
Overall I would highly recommend this book for anyone that likes Star Trek it is just a fun read.
July 31, 2021
This is a fine story that absolutely noone wanted to read. Having read other books that referenced the main event of this story, without knowing which book would commit this travesty, I had been dreading it every time the Borg came up in a story. And here it is.
I definitely didn't want to read this. It's dramatic. It's tragic. It's too far, Star Trek. Like throwing Holmes off a cliff, it's just too far.
The horrible thing happens very early in the story and while you might think the story couldn't get much worse, it certainly doesn't get much better.
It is a fine story but it isn't easy to read.
I definitely didn't want to read this. It's dramatic. It's tragic. It's too far, Star Trek. Like throwing Holmes off a cliff, it's just too far.
The horrible thing happens very early in the story and while you might think the story couldn't get much worse, it certainly doesn't get much better.
It is a fine story but it isn't easy to read.
April 10, 2011
Hated this one. I love Peter David's "Star Trek" stuff (he has spun the best Q yarns out of all of them), but this one felt like an "anti-Voyager" rebuke.
April 10, 2024
I admit to being late on reading this one despite the fact I read its sequel, GREATER THAN THE SUM before it and still haven't read Peter David's VENDETTA that this is a sequel to as well. The nature of Star Trek books is that they're often read out of order and any continuity can seem pretty loose to an amateur like myself.
The premise of this book is that there's a dormant Borg Cube and it absorbs Kathryn Janeway before radically altering the way Borg assimilate things before moving to annihilate Earth for a third time. This is before STAR TREK: DESTINY and I actually tend to think I prefer the Borg here a bit versus the Reaper-like presentation of the ones there (not that I didn't enjoy those books for what they were--they were a better Mass Effect ending than Mass Effect ever gave).
I understand this book to be quite controversial and can see why with the death of a major character (despite them later getting better) and three popular OGs going against Jean Luc Picard. Really, despite knowing the reasons behind their actions, I was full of righteous indignation on behalf of our captain.
Still, I do think this book suffers from some issues that make it less enjoyable than, say, New Frontier for me. Basically, it's a little too ovethetop and silly (and this is me talking about that). Several of the jokes don't land and there's some questions of characterization that I feel fans of the more sedate TNG would not enjoy. Basically, if you don't like the kind of flawed rebellion Picard of Insurrection (let alone Picard Season 3) then this will make no sense to you.
I do.
The premise of this book is that there's a dormant Borg Cube and it absorbs Kathryn Janeway before radically altering the way Borg assimilate things before moving to annihilate Earth for a third time. This is before STAR TREK: DESTINY and I actually tend to think I prefer the Borg here a bit versus the Reaper-like presentation of the ones there (not that I didn't enjoy those books for what they were--they were a better Mass Effect ending than Mass Effect ever gave).
I understand this book to be quite controversial and can see why with the death of a major character (despite them later getting better) and three popular OGs going against Jean Luc Picard. Really, despite knowing the reasons behind their actions, I was full of righteous indignation on behalf of our captain.
Still, I do think this book suffers from some issues that make it less enjoyable than, say, New Frontier for me. Basically, it's a little too ovethetop and silly (and this is me talking about that). Several of the jokes don't land and there's some questions of characterization that I feel fans of the more sedate TNG would not enjoy. Basically, if you don't like the kind of flawed rebellion Picard of Insurrection (let alone Picard Season 3) then this will make no sense to you.
I do.
September 10, 2017
a perfect example of star trek at its very best
March 18, 2008
This is the sequel to Star Trek: Resistance by Peter David, and you should read that one first. Resistance references events in the Star Trek movies First Contact and Nemesis and the 6th season of Deep Space Nine.
There are some spoilers to the novel Star Trek: Vendetta by Peter David, though you don't have to have read that book to read this one.
*****
My main issue with this book is that I really like the relationship between Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay. Even though in cannon they never had much of a romance after New Earth, they were still very close friends and colleagues. I can't believe that Chakotay wouldn't have come to help at the first notion that Janeway might in any way be in trouble. And yet, he was only mentioned in passing by description, not even by name. I thought that was a rip.
(Fortunately, I have Spilleta42 for my Janeway/Chakotay romance stories. Very non-canon, of course, but usually close enough that it could easily pass for canon.)
There are some spoilers to the novel Star Trek: Vendetta by Peter David, though you don't have to have read that book to read this one.
*****
My main issue with this book is that I really like the relationship between Kathryn Janeway and Chakotay. Even though in cannon they never had much of a romance after New Earth, they were still very close friends and colleagues. I can't believe that Chakotay wouldn't have come to help at the first notion that Janeway might in any way be in trouble. And yet, he was only mentioned in passing by description, not even by name. I thought that was a rip.
(Fortunately, I have Spilleta42 for my Janeway/Chakotay romance stories. Very non-canon, of course, but usually close enough that it could easily pass for canon.)
August 13, 2008
I have long considered Star Trek novels to be a kind of "cotton-candy" literature--mostly sugar and little substance. This novel doesn't break out of this established mold.
Also included is something that has frequently annoyed me with fan-produced and professional non-canon stories--the inclusion of cross-series characters and references. Of course, I can certainly understand the compulsion, considering how all the Trek series are taking place within the same universe, and there is precedent even within the canon stories, but it seems that every time these characters are called into non-canon action, it's just so the author can say "hey, see, I know Star Trek, remember this guy?" without there being a real solid reason, and without putting the characters to appropriate use.
That said, the inclusion of Seven and Janeway in this particular storyline is certainly warranted, if poorly handled. I can't say that Seven is mischaracterized, but Janeway is very ill-served by this novel. If you're a Janeway fan, you're going to hate this novel.
As with most Trek novels, I can't really recommend it if you're not already a fan of the Trek universe, and even then I can really only recommend this novel if you're jonesing for a Trek story.
Also included is something that has frequently annoyed me with fan-produced and professional non-canon stories--the inclusion of cross-series characters and references. Of course, I can certainly understand the compulsion, considering how all the Trek series are taking place within the same universe, and there is precedent even within the canon stories, but it seems that every time these characters are called into non-canon action, it's just so the author can say "hey, see, I know Star Trek, remember this guy?" without there being a real solid reason, and without putting the characters to appropriate use.
That said, the inclusion of Seven and Janeway in this particular storyline is certainly warranted, if poorly handled. I can't say that Seven is mischaracterized, but Janeway is very ill-served by this novel. If you're a Janeway fan, you're going to hate this novel.
As with most Trek novels, I can't really recommend it if you're not already a fan of the Trek universe, and even then I can really only recommend this novel if you're jonesing for a Trek story.
May 4, 2025
Just when Captain Picard thought it was safe to take a deep breath, the Borg cube he and his crew disabled in Resistance reactivates.
Admiral Kathryn Janeway and a science team went to check things out, and naturally things went haywire. Seven of Nine was the one to sense the Collective's activity this time, and, when Starfleet didn't believe her, she took matters into her own hands. She found a transport ship willing to take her with no questions asked and headed out to investigate the cube for herself.
It took Picard and his crew with help from Seven and Ambassador Spock to take on the cube and to wrestle for Admiral Janeway's body and soul. I won't spoil the ending, but there is also a Q involved- and not necessarily the one you might think.
I can see that the Borg storyline in these Star Trek books is coming to a head, and I can't wait to see how it all turns out.
Admiral Kathryn Janeway and a science team went to check things out, and naturally things went haywire. Seven of Nine was the one to sense the Collective's activity this time, and, when Starfleet didn't believe her, she took matters into her own hands. She found a transport ship willing to take her with no questions asked and headed out to investigate the cube for herself.
It took Picard and his crew with help from Seven and Ambassador Spock to take on the cube and to wrestle for Admiral Janeway's body and soul. I won't spoil the ending, but there is also a Q involved- and not necessarily the one you might think.
I can see that the Borg storyline in these Star Trek books is coming to a head, and I can't wait to see how it all turns out.
July 28, 2015
I want to knock off a star because of a character death but it's just too damn exciting a story! Love the New Frontier references too.
March 25, 2025
Definitely a page turner but is overall messy and could’ve used some tightening especially considering how important it is to the Star Trek book continuity.
So there is a borg cube dead in space as the result of Star Trek: Resistance. The cube manages to come back to life by becoming almost a new type of borg with new abilities. These Borg are especially motivated by the emotions of their newly assimilated queen. They definitely act different from the Borg we all know, but it makes sense as they are sort of a fledgling collective. The pro is that it’s new the cons are that it’s inconsistent and the villains act bizarrely on occasion.
Of course it’s up to the Enterprise to save the day which has recruited the aid of Seven of Nine and Ambassador Spock. I liked the mix of characters here, kind of a characters from all series (except deep space nine) teaming up to defeat an ultimate evil.
Meanwhile there are mounting tensions on the Enterprise with many doubting Picard’s choices. This story line is utterly groan inducing with many of the characters coming off as completely petty. It takes up far too many pages and really could’ve been removed or at least diminished.
The story keeps things exciting but it feels hollow. There are hardly any moments where the characters actually converse or think about what’s happening and how they feel. It’s all action all the time. Which makes for a fun and easy read but I really missed reflection and emotion. Also David is constantly trying to be funny. This is fine for the most part as he’s known for his humor but at some points it feels like nothing is serious. Also the ending is majorly anticlimactic. He will keep you reading but leaves you empty. Star Trek obviously isn’t high literature but this book felt more flash over substance than usual.
I won’t spoil it but this book is pretty infamous for the treatment of one character. You don’t have to look too far to figure out what that is because of how controversial it was at the time. So yeah, big important thing happens in this book but that big huge monumental change is not really even focused on. I’ve read that it wasn’t the author’s choice but he really was not the right pick to implement it.
Peter David is one of the most popular Star Trek writers due to his fast moving pace, large scale plots, and a heavy sprinkling of humor. Unfortunately this comes at the cost of character work. The plot in this one is huge and epic but it’s missing a beating heart to tie it together. A lot of people absolutely hate this one, but it’s still entertaining despite its shortcomings.
So there is a borg cube dead in space as the result of Star Trek: Resistance. The cube manages to come back to life by becoming almost a new type of borg with new abilities. These Borg are especially motivated by the emotions of their newly assimilated queen. They definitely act different from the Borg we all know, but it makes sense as they are sort of a fledgling collective. The pro is that it’s new the cons are that it’s inconsistent and the villains act bizarrely on occasion.
Of course it’s up to the Enterprise to save the day which has recruited the aid of Seven of Nine and Ambassador Spock. I liked the mix of characters here, kind of a characters from all series (except deep space nine) teaming up to defeat an ultimate evil.
Meanwhile there are mounting tensions on the Enterprise with many doubting Picard’s choices. This story line is utterly groan inducing with many of the characters coming off as completely petty. It takes up far too many pages and really could’ve been removed or at least diminished.
The story keeps things exciting but it feels hollow. There are hardly any moments where the characters actually converse or think about what’s happening and how they feel. It’s all action all the time. Which makes for a fun and easy read but I really missed reflection and emotion. Also David is constantly trying to be funny. This is fine for the most part as he’s known for his humor but at some points it feels like nothing is serious. Also the ending is majorly anticlimactic. He will keep you reading but leaves you empty. Star Trek obviously isn’t high literature but this book felt more flash over substance than usual.
I won’t spoil it but this book is pretty infamous for the treatment of one character. You don’t have to look too far to figure out what that is because of how controversial it was at the time. So yeah, big important thing happens in this book but that big huge monumental change is not really even focused on. I’ve read that it wasn’t the author’s choice but he really was not the right pick to implement it.
Peter David is one of the most popular Star Trek writers due to his fast moving pace, large scale plots, and a heavy sprinkling of humor. Unfortunately this comes at the cost of character work. The plot in this one is huge and epic but it’s missing a beating heart to tie it together. A lot of people absolutely hate this one, but it’s still entertaining despite its shortcomings.
April 14, 2023
I find the Borg to be a very tired concept in Star Trek. They've run their course and any scare factor they had has long since disappeared. I wasn't relishing the prospect of them being reintroduced into the relaunch lit-verse.
It's to the author's credit that he manages to create a real threat from them. Peter David walks the line between silly fan fiction and a truly engrossing story, only occasionally leaning too hard into the former. It helps that he has a good understanding of the established characters and is able to find their voices, for the most part. When he gets it right it feels effortless, yet he does tend to throw in more cartoonish dialogue just to get a laugh, and it doesn't always feel right. The writing of Spock here did seem to take me out of things more often than not.
But this book is also something of an event novel, an epic moment in this alternate Star Trek timeline. It delivers where it counts. The TNG cast are mixed with character from Voyager and The Original Series (no room for DS9, I guess) and it feels natural. Once the story kicks in, it's quite a thrill ride.
I'm not totally onboard with the new characters that have been introduced over the past few relaunch books. The Enterprise has a new chief of security, a new counsellor and a new second officer - they're all difficult to like. It's a tricky thing to get right, partly because as readers we are measuring them against the old crew and also because this is the third author who has had to give them a voice. This leads to them feeling different across each book, and I'm still waiting for a story that gives them time to settle down.
Overall, a recommended read if you enjoy things being over the top, and a book that has significant events for the overall relaunch narrative.
It's to the author's credit that he manages to create a real threat from them. Peter David walks the line between silly fan fiction and a truly engrossing story, only occasionally leaning too hard into the former. It helps that he has a good understanding of the established characters and is able to find their voices, for the most part. When he gets it right it feels effortless, yet he does tend to throw in more cartoonish dialogue just to get a laugh, and it doesn't always feel right. The writing of Spock here did seem to take me out of things more often than not.
But this book is also something of an event novel, an epic moment in this alternate Star Trek timeline. It delivers where it counts. The TNG cast are mixed with character from Voyager and The Original Series (no room for DS9, I guess) and it feels natural. Once the story kicks in, it's quite a thrill ride.
I'm not totally onboard with the new characters that have been introduced over the past few relaunch books. The Enterprise has a new chief of security, a new counsellor and a new second officer - they're all difficult to like. It's a tricky thing to get right, partly because as readers we are measuring them against the old crew and also because this is the third author who has had to give them a voice. This leads to them feeling different across each book, and I'm still waiting for a story that gives them time to settle down.
Overall, a recommended read if you enjoy things being over the top, and a book that has significant events for the overall relaunch narrative.
July 13, 2021
Again with the Borg.
I get it, they're the big, scary bad guys of the Star Trek universe. But once they appeared on Star Trek: Voyager they were over-used so much they no longer seemed threatening.
Two books ago in this Star Trek: The Next Generation relaunch there was another book focusing on The Borg. I can't remember anything about it, but according to my rating on goodreads (two stars), I didn't love it.
In this book I did enjoy that Peter David tried something quite different with the Borg in an attempt to reignite just how scary they can be, but ultimately it feels like every other Borg story. They attempt to assimilate Earth but are thwarted at the last minute.
I don't think that's a spoiler. There are twists and turns and perhaps not everyone gets out alive, but the Borg always lose.
I did like the inclusion of some technology from The Original Series, that was some interesting retconning, but overall I was fairly underwhelmed.
I get it, they're the big, scary bad guys of the Star Trek universe. But once they appeared on Star Trek: Voyager they were over-used so much they no longer seemed threatening.
Two books ago in this Star Trek: The Next Generation relaunch there was another book focusing on The Borg. I can't remember anything about it, but according to my rating on goodreads (two stars), I didn't love it.
In this book I did enjoy that Peter David tried something quite different with the Borg in an attempt to reignite just how scary they can be, but ultimately it feels like every other Borg story. They attempt to assimilate Earth but are thwarted at the last minute.
I don't think that's a spoiler. There are twists and turns and perhaps not everyone gets out alive, but the Borg always lose.
I did like the inclusion of some technology from The Original Series, that was some interesting retconning, but overall I was fairly underwhelmed.
April 11, 2017
Take the Enterprise, Seven of Nine, Ambassador Spock, Captain Picard, the Borg, the Planet Destroyer, Kathryn Janeway, Lady Q, and other assorted characters and the result is an enjoyable story. When Janeway joins a team investigating a dead Borg cube things happen.
The Borg awaken and create a new queen who wants Picard and Seven. During its dormancy the Borg cube has changed. It isn't good.
It is up to the Enterprise and others to defeat the Borg. We know that Starfleet will prevail, but it is the journey that makes for a fun read.
The Borg awaken and create a new queen who wants Picard and Seven. During its dormancy the Borg cube has changed. It isn't good.
It is up to the Enterprise and others to defeat the Borg. We know that Starfleet will prevail, but it is the journey that makes for a fun read.
May 26, 2019
It started out slow and annoying BUT...it got better. The continuity of some of the characters from Resistance (essentially part 1) was off.
The characters were hilarious throughout and the Borg battle was typical.
Most importantly I enjoyed it!
The characters were hilarious throughout and the Borg battle was typical.
Most importantly I enjoyed it!
August 26, 2025
This book takes *huge* swings and I loved it. It’s a big, epic, action sci-fi thriller with multiple lead characters from multiple Trek casts. But it’s beyond just an ‘action-adventure flick’ of a book. It’s got clever, witty, almost fourth-wall-breaking writing. Lots of layers, nuanced characters and dramatic tension. Keeps you guessing right up to the last page. Manages to be thrilling, dramatic, explosively action-packed, witty, and heartfelt — all in the same book.
April 13, 2025
Having finished the last books in the Star Trek litverse, the opening of each book in the Coda trilogy (which I’ll review at a later date) contained a chronology of key events up to that point. With the trek literary experiment as we know it at an end, I decided to go back and read some of the ones I’d missed. This was one of them. Initially discounted because of the cover, in this case, I think I should have listened to my instincts.
SETTING
Set in the period after Nemesis, the story follows the crew of the Enterprise along with some guest stars from Voyager in their quest to defeat a Borg cube thought already defeated, with the entire universe at risk once more.
CHARACTERS
Based on Star Trek : The Next Generation, it features the crew at a point after Nemesis, when Riker and Troi have departed for the USS Titan, and Data has been destroyed at the hands of Shinzon as seen in the film Star Trek: Nemesis. Primarily starring Captain Picard, Worf, Geordi, and Doctor Crusher, they are joined by several literary only characters to round out the cast.
By and large I felt that Peter David does not capture the voices of our beloved characters well at all. In thought and deed I felt like it seemed very unlike all of them with the exception of Worf. While I think he does original characters in the trek universe with a fair amount of skill, I do not believe he manages to sync with the flow of the stories and ideas that work well in the trek universe as established post Nemesis. Most of the characters not from the television series feel less out of place, but this is only because we have less to base their decisions on so there is less likelihood of sensing an unnatural deviation. The characters that are original do not get along well with our established cast and not simply because this is part of the plot. They are somewhat limited in their development, seeming to serve only one purpose, to be a discordant voice in the melody.
PREMISE
The Borg cube is dead. Defeated by Captain Jean Luc Picard, it has lain dormant for months. But Captain Janeway is not satisfied and decides to go see for herself, despite warnings for her to do the exact opposite. Taking a science vessel to the cube’s location, she is determined to make certain the cube is not a threat, but no matter what state their in, the Borg are never to be taken lightly.
REVIEW
As a connoisseur of Star Trek novels I’ve read a lot of them, and over the years I’ve probably read just about every trek author that’s ever written for the media tie in. But upon reading this novel I was reminded of the state of trek fiction back then, when it was more up to the individual authors doing stand alone work and it seems to have elements of it here. But I’ll get into that later.
First I’ll start by saying that the beginning of the book feels like a bait and switch. Officially listed as a Star Trek The Next Generation novel, it begins with most of the book focusing on Janeway and Seven of Nine. Now while this was written during the time of the great literary interconnectivity of the span between Enterprise and Discovery, I thought it felt inappropriate to have only one chapter of the first six or seven focus on the crew whose series this book was ostensibly a part of.
Having read Peter David before I know he knows how to work in the Star Trek Universe, but I feel that a lot of his narrative choices were either self referential to his own series in the pantheon, but also to a novel written before the Star Trek literary universe was even an idea. As such it feels very out of place in the grand scheme of things and does not sit well with me as someone who has read the vast majority of trek novels during the time these books were set.
Regarding the structure of the book, it would also be remiss of me to not mention that towards the conclusion, the entire final battle is broken up into more than a dozen single page chapters, which to me seemed like a strange way to go about it. Without getting into the specifics, it just seemed very discordant in terms of flow.
My overall impression was considerable disappointment, and I do not recommend it. For further insight, please continue to watch.
WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD.
The story involves a Borg threat to Earth, but unlike some of the more well written novels using the slow boil technique this one feels more like you can’t wait for it to be over. Allegedly the cube becomes sentient in and of itself, absorbing materials rather than traditional assimilation, becoming an unstoppable threat, and at the heart of it, Kathryn Janeway.
On a personal level it bothered me that Janeway was brought in just to be assimilated, and the fact that it happened so easily. While the argument could be made that this was a special cube and she was simply unprepared, I expect better for Janeway. I mean the amount of effort it took to get Picard, this felt like it was just nonsensical to me that it would happen without Janeway resisting a lot more. I just didn’t feel like the Borg were written consistently with previous appearances, nor Janeway or anyone else for that matter.
Peter David is a talented author, let’s get that right. But I feel and I felt this more the more of the book I read, that he is not well suited to writing about the well established characters in trek. I remembered when I started reading it, having read some of his work in the past, that Peter David used to write his own Trek literary only series called Excalibur, and most of the crew consisted of original characters or guest characters that had appeared on screen once or twice, leaving a lot of room for interpretation. I always enjoyed the ones based on his own characters more than the ones where he tried to put his own spin on the trek universe.
Additionally the book really just felt like a professionally done fan fiction in my view. The solution to the problem of the enhanced cube ended up being a reference to a book Mister David had written a long time ago, called Vendetta. At the time I bought it easily because I was a sucker for any story involving the Borg, them being my all time favorite next generation villains. The basic concept involved the planet killer, a device from the original series, being designed as a weapon to destroy the borg.
Personally I found this hard to buy, as it was never suggested in the series to be a habitable craft, or to be designed for any purpose other than its base programming. Now I do grant the fact that it could not have planned for the Borg, a storyline some twenty some odd years later, but given that it was never seen other than that one episode and never in any other Borg media that this was simply a non starter. It was a device that seemed to be designed to eat planets and fuel itself with the rubble, and to suggest it was designed to fight the borg seemed counter to what would make sense in established canon.
Add to it the fact that the story seemed like an excuse to reference his own book, complete with a guest spot from his own literary starship, not seen in the trek literary universe for some time, and it really seemed like wish fulfillment on the part of the author rather than a well written adventure for the fans.
Long story short, I definitely was glad to be done with this one, and will stick to original fiction if I read anything Peter David.
SETTING
Set in the period after Nemesis, the story follows the crew of the Enterprise along with some guest stars from Voyager in their quest to defeat a Borg cube thought already defeated, with the entire universe at risk once more.
CHARACTERS
Based on Star Trek : The Next Generation, it features the crew at a point after Nemesis, when Riker and Troi have departed for the USS Titan, and Data has been destroyed at the hands of Shinzon as seen in the film Star Trek: Nemesis. Primarily starring Captain Picard, Worf, Geordi, and Doctor Crusher, they are joined by several literary only characters to round out the cast.
By and large I felt that Peter David does not capture the voices of our beloved characters well at all. In thought and deed I felt like it seemed very unlike all of them with the exception of Worf. While I think he does original characters in the trek universe with a fair amount of skill, I do not believe he manages to sync with the flow of the stories and ideas that work well in the trek universe as established post Nemesis. Most of the characters not from the television series feel less out of place, but this is only because we have less to base their decisions on so there is less likelihood of sensing an unnatural deviation. The characters that are original do not get along well with our established cast and not simply because this is part of the plot. They are somewhat limited in their development, seeming to serve only one purpose, to be a discordant voice in the melody.
PREMISE
The Borg cube is dead. Defeated by Captain Jean Luc Picard, it has lain dormant for months. But Captain Janeway is not satisfied and decides to go see for herself, despite warnings for her to do the exact opposite. Taking a science vessel to the cube’s location, she is determined to make certain the cube is not a threat, but no matter what state their in, the Borg are never to be taken lightly.
REVIEW
As a connoisseur of Star Trek novels I’ve read a lot of them, and over the years I’ve probably read just about every trek author that’s ever written for the media tie in. But upon reading this novel I was reminded of the state of trek fiction back then, when it was more up to the individual authors doing stand alone work and it seems to have elements of it here. But I’ll get into that later.
First I’ll start by saying that the beginning of the book feels like a bait and switch. Officially listed as a Star Trek The Next Generation novel, it begins with most of the book focusing on Janeway and Seven of Nine. Now while this was written during the time of the great literary interconnectivity of the span between Enterprise and Discovery, I thought it felt inappropriate to have only one chapter of the first six or seven focus on the crew whose series this book was ostensibly a part of.
Having read Peter David before I know he knows how to work in the Star Trek Universe, but I feel that a lot of his narrative choices were either self referential to his own series in the pantheon, but also to a novel written before the Star Trek literary universe was even an idea. As such it feels very out of place in the grand scheme of things and does not sit well with me as someone who has read the vast majority of trek novels during the time these books were set.
Regarding the structure of the book, it would also be remiss of me to not mention that towards the conclusion, the entire final battle is broken up into more than a dozen single page chapters, which to me seemed like a strange way to go about it. Without getting into the specifics, it just seemed very discordant in terms of flow.
My overall impression was considerable disappointment, and I do not recommend it. For further insight, please continue to watch.
WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD.
The story involves a Borg threat to Earth, but unlike some of the more well written novels using the slow boil technique this one feels more like you can’t wait for it to be over. Allegedly the cube becomes sentient in and of itself, absorbing materials rather than traditional assimilation, becoming an unstoppable threat, and at the heart of it, Kathryn Janeway.
On a personal level it bothered me that Janeway was brought in just to be assimilated, and the fact that it happened so easily. While the argument could be made that this was a special cube and she was simply unprepared, I expect better for Janeway. I mean the amount of effort it took to get Picard, this felt like it was just nonsensical to me that it would happen without Janeway resisting a lot more. I just didn’t feel like the Borg were written consistently with previous appearances, nor Janeway or anyone else for that matter.
Peter David is a talented author, let’s get that right. But I feel and I felt this more the more of the book I read, that he is not well suited to writing about the well established characters in trek. I remembered when I started reading it, having read some of his work in the past, that Peter David used to write his own Trek literary only series called Excalibur, and most of the crew consisted of original characters or guest characters that had appeared on screen once or twice, leaving a lot of room for interpretation. I always enjoyed the ones based on his own characters more than the ones where he tried to put his own spin on the trek universe.
Additionally the book really just felt like a professionally done fan fiction in my view. The solution to the problem of the enhanced cube ended up being a reference to a book Mister David had written a long time ago, called Vendetta. At the time I bought it easily because I was a sucker for any story involving the Borg, them being my all time favorite next generation villains. The basic concept involved the planet killer, a device from the original series, being designed as a weapon to destroy the borg.
Personally I found this hard to buy, as it was never suggested in the series to be a habitable craft, or to be designed for any purpose other than its base programming. Now I do grant the fact that it could not have planned for the Borg, a storyline some twenty some odd years later, but given that it was never seen other than that one episode and never in any other Borg media that this was simply a non starter. It was a device that seemed to be designed to eat planets and fuel itself with the rubble, and to suggest it was designed to fight the borg seemed counter to what would make sense in established canon.
Add to it the fact that the story seemed like an excuse to reference his own book, complete with a guest spot from his own literary starship, not seen in the trek literary universe for some time, and it really seemed like wish fulfillment on the part of the author rather than a well written adventure for the fans.
Long story short, I definitely was glad to be done with this one, and will stick to original fiction if I read anything Peter David.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2014
Peter David is an entertaining author; he is very good at telling a good story, with plenty of action and interesting characters. He handles established characters well, and has a good feel for who they are and what they would do in a given situation. His tone is always recognizable to an experienced reader, and sometimes it gets a bit irritating if one has read too much of his work in too short a period of time. He is very fond of the "sudden reversal" in which a character proclaims definitively that they would never do something, only to find themselves doing it a chapter or two later (or sometimes, a sentence or two later.) He is also very fond of having the best-laid plans fail to accomplish what they should, by all rights, be able to accomplish. Still, his writing tends to succeed at mimicking the tone of those original-series Star Trek episodes that were the best the series had to offer: they have a serious dramatic/action plot, but manage in spite of that to have a few light-hearted, wry-humor moments. Think "The Trouble With Tribbles", or "Shore Leave". This book fits into that ouvre quite well.
July 31, 2022
A massive story that felt it could have been a series of novels, but rounded up fairly neatly in one. Definitely intrigued where the ramifications of this story will lead but all round action packed, with some familiar faces and interesting twists.
September 19, 2014
This book was awesome super hero Picard and damsel in distress to mad scientist crusher get up close and personal with the Borg queen
March 23, 2016
I liked this story. was interesting how picard spock and crew worked to get the planet killer from The doomsday machine to fight the borg
March 26, 2019
What in the world possessed the author to kill off a main character from a different series? The book itself is well written. Just can't enjoy the story.
April 11, 2023
I could read this again and again without issue.
Brilliant book involving TNG, VOY and The Borg!
Brilliant book involving TNG, VOY and The Borg!
March 28, 2024
Nothing is certain. Nothing is safe. If the Borg taught us anything, it is most certainly that.
3.5 stars. Going into this book I wasn't sure how I would feel about it. In some ways I was already thinking that I might not like it because I knew that this is the book where It did end up being a good and very interesting Borg story that drew me in, and as you can tell by my rating I ended up really liking it for the most part.
To start off it was good to have Janeway as such a large part of the story in the beginning where it almost started feeling like a Voyager book for a while. It was a strong start that also involved Lady Q and a lot of looking into what Janeway was thinking and feeling going into this mission. We also got a feeling of some of the seriousness this had on the crew of the Einstein. It is the Borg, after all.
Then Rappaport looked back to the Borg cube and kept telling himself that, despite Janeway's displaying reasonable caution, there was nothing to be concerned about. Experts in Starfleet had pronounced the thing dead, based on everything they knew about the Borg. The only thing that concerned him now was whether there were things that no one knew about the Borg that were going to throw everything off-kilter.
I felt that this story had so much in it. This wasn't just about The Next Generation crew. I've already mentioned Janeway, but we also have both Seven of Nine and Spock as part of this as well as brass back at Starfleet on Earth. Spock being another character that I really like it was a lot of little treats in here for me in many ways. There were also funny little things like this one:
Geordi La Forge settled into his office down in engineering.
"Computer," he said.
"Standing by," came the confident female voice, a voice that to this day still reminded Geordi - for no discernible reason - of Deanna Troi's mother.
But although it was well written in general there were some things that had me raise an eyebrow every now and then. Perhaps nothing major, but Janeway was called Kate Janeway once or twice. It felt a bit weird to me, but oh well. I was also under the impression that Kadohata's husband was back home with their children, and all of a sudden in one scene she says: You are damned lucky my husband didn't come in here first. This was never explained and threw me off a little. But, like I said, nothing too major.
What is major, though, is that even with me ending up liking this book and enjoying it I did never fully shake the feeling that I just don't feel right about
The story was already a strong 3 for me, but towards the end and how everything came together I felt that it got even better with a stronger ending than I had anticipated.
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