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Star Quest #2
Star Quest: All That Remains
When Captain Hunter and the crew of the Endeavor come across an alien ship, they have no idea what caused the deaths of its entire crew. Could they be infected with some unknown virus? Or did they simply all go mad and kill each other?
Once Dr. Klein rules out infection, it seems like they're in the clear. Until, that is, some strange phenomenon invades the ship. Suddenly, crew members are acting strangely and the ship's course keeps changing against orders. To make matters worse, Commander Bishop and Captain Hunter port down to the aliens' home world to investigate, and end up imprisoned.
Now, it's up to the rest of the crew to free them and save the ship...and themselves.
Once Dr. Klein rules out infection, it seems like they're in the clear. Until, that is, some strange phenomenon invades the ship. Suddenly, crew members are acting strangely and the ship's course keeps changing against orders. To make matters worse, Commander Bishop and Captain Hunter port down to the aliens' home world to investigate, and end up imprisoned.
Now, it's up to the rest of the crew to free them and save the ship...and themselves.
166 pages, Paperback
Published July 31, 2020
3 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 7, 2020
STAR QUEST: ALL THAT REMAINS is the second book in the STAR QUEST series by Patricia Lee Macomber. The Star Quest series is a idealized Star Trek-esque space opera about the first human interstellar starship. It is sent out into the Great Beyond after mankind barely manages to repel an alien invasion. It has a ANOTHER LIFE and STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE-esque feel, though far more entertaining than both are for me.
Captain Hunter and the crew of the Endeavor are really good Federation-esque citizens, which contributes to its Star Trek pastiche-esque flabor. This isn't an insult but a compliment as Star Trek is one of the most influential series of all time but very few science fiction series really "get it." Too often, they get it only superficially similar or outright invert its themes to something more cynical.
Star Quest really is an homage the way THE ORVILLE is but lacking Seth MacFarland's toilet humor. Instead, this is coming from a place of love and really shows with every page. It's about a bunch of scientists and explorers treading into the unknown in order to see what is out there. They're also just really nice people and that has a lot of merit to it by itself.
They may not be the most dynamic or flawed bunch but I could easily imagine myself watching a Amazon or Netflix show about them. After having watched endless parades of antiheroes, its nice to have a bunch of people without overwhelming amounts of baggage.
This book deals with the crew coming across a space vessel where the entire crew has seemingly died for no reason. It's a classic sci-fi TV plot and Patricia Macomber gives her own spin on the ghost vessel storyline. It also climaxed in a way that I felt was very true to the setting and themes that the Star Quest series is apparently working on.
If I had one small complaint about the book, it feels more like the next episode of the Star Quest television series than the next book in an ongoing literature series. That's not necessarily a bad thing as I love Peter David's NEW FRONTIERS books that were similarly self-contained science fiction adventures. I wouldn't mind a bit more character development, though. Either way, this was a solid and entertaining story.
Captain Hunter and the crew of the Endeavor are really good Federation-esque citizens, which contributes to its Star Trek pastiche-esque flabor. This isn't an insult but a compliment as Star Trek is one of the most influential series of all time but very few science fiction series really "get it." Too often, they get it only superficially similar or outright invert its themes to something more cynical.
Star Quest really is an homage the way THE ORVILLE is but lacking Seth MacFarland's toilet humor. Instead, this is coming from a place of love and really shows with every page. It's about a bunch of scientists and explorers treading into the unknown in order to see what is out there. They're also just really nice people and that has a lot of merit to it by itself.
They may not be the most dynamic or flawed bunch but I could easily imagine myself watching a Amazon or Netflix show about them. After having watched endless parades of antiheroes, its nice to have a bunch of people without overwhelming amounts of baggage.
This book deals with the crew coming across a space vessel where the entire crew has seemingly died for no reason. It's a classic sci-fi TV plot and Patricia Macomber gives her own spin on the ghost vessel storyline. It also climaxed in a way that I felt was very true to the setting and themes that the Star Quest series is apparently working on.
If I had one small complaint about the book, it feels more like the next episode of the Star Quest television series than the next book in an ongoing literature series. That's not necessarily a bad thing as I love Peter David's NEW FRONTIERS books that were similarly self-contained science fiction adventures. I wouldn't mind a bit more character development, though. Either way, this was a solid and entertaining story.
August 2, 2020
STAR QUEST: ALL THAT REMAINS is the second book in the STAR QUEST series by Patricia Lee Macomber. The Star Quest series is a idealized Star Trek-esque space opera about the first human interstellar starship. It is sent out into the Great Beyond after mankind barely manages to repel an alien invasion. It has a ANOTHER LIFE and STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE-esque feel, though far more entertaining than both are for me.
Captain Hunter and the crew of the Endeavor are really good Federation-esque citizens, which contributes to its Star Trek pastiche-esque flabor. This isn't an insult but a compliment as Star Trek is one of the most influential series of all time but very few science fiction series really "get it." Too often, they get it only superficially similar or outright invert its themes to something more cynical.
Star Quest really is an homage the way THE ORVILLE is but lacking Seth MacFarland's toilet humor. Instead, this is coming from a place of love and really shows with every page. It's about a bunch of scientists and explorers treading into the unknown in order to see what is out there. They're also just really nice people and that has a lot of merit to it by itself.
They may not be the most dynamic or flawed bunch but I could easily imagine myself watching a Amazon or Netflix show about them. After having watched endless parades of antiheroes, its nice to have a bunch of people without overwhelming amounts of baggage.
This book deals with the crew coming across a space vessel where the entire crew has seemingly died for no reason. It's a classic sci-fi TV plot and Patricia Macomber gives her own spin on the ghost vessel storyline. It also climaxed in a way that I felt was very true to the setting and themes that the Star Quest series is apparently working on.
If I had one small complaint about the book, it feels more like the next episode of the Star Quest television series than the next book in an ongoing literature series. That's not necessarily a bad thing as I love Peter David's NEW FRONTIERS books that were similarly self-contained science fiction adventures. I wouldn't mind a bit more character development, though. Either way, this was a solid and entertaining story.
Captain Hunter and the crew of the Endeavor are really good Federation-esque citizens, which contributes to its Star Trek pastiche-esque flabor. This isn't an insult but a compliment as Star Trek is one of the most influential series of all time but very few science fiction series really "get it." Too often, they get it only superficially similar or outright invert its themes to something more cynical.
Star Quest really is an homage the way THE ORVILLE is but lacking Seth MacFarland's toilet humor. Instead, this is coming from a place of love and really shows with every page. It's about a bunch of scientists and explorers treading into the unknown in order to see what is out there. They're also just really nice people and that has a lot of merit to it by itself.
They may not be the most dynamic or flawed bunch but I could easily imagine myself watching a Amazon or Netflix show about them. After having watched endless parades of antiheroes, its nice to have a bunch of people without overwhelming amounts of baggage.
This book deals with the crew coming across a space vessel where the entire crew has seemingly died for no reason. It's a classic sci-fi TV plot and Patricia Macomber gives her own spin on the ghost vessel storyline. It also climaxed in a way that I felt was very true to the setting and themes that the Star Quest series is apparently working on.
If I had one small complaint about the book, it feels more like the next episode of the Star Quest television series than the next book in an ongoing literature series. That's not necessarily a bad thing as I love Peter David's NEW FRONTIERS books that were similarly self-contained science fiction adventures. I wouldn't mind a bit more character development, though. Either way, this was a solid and entertaining story.
August 18, 2020
1.8 stars (a full 2 stars indicates 'it was ok' and it was not). Not quite as dreadfully executed as the first book but still lacking professional editing and any trace of adult-level prose.
What a shame. The elements for a good book are all here. However, what could have been (at best) a story that rivaled some of the best serialized 'Star Trek' novelizations turns out to be a weak and ultimately predictably plotted extended short-story. What is still beyond unbelievable to me is how poorly this book has been edited and/or proofread (in one scene the main cast are discussing an issue in the mess hall only to suddenly be sitting at their stations on the bridge). Everyone involved in these processes needs to re-examine what they're trying to achieve in that regard. I know its possible because the usual Asheville-based literary crowd is a lot better at this.
Though the characters have some merit and an interesting amount of randomly thrown-together variety, they still remain extremely shallow. Inconsistency in behavior and their often unexpected and/or unreasonable reactions to various influences is not sufficient to express any depth. Ultimately, if the author had been given some good advice, she could have turned this into either a decent YA or even middle school adventure (the one dreamed sex scene brought absolutely nothing to the story-line). Still, the outcome is predictable, the plot holes are big enough to pilot the ship through and the entire story would barely have fit into a regular 'Star Trek' time slot, including commercials.
I will try and end on a positive note in that I think Macomber could be a good if not great writer with the right kind of support. I would definitely though urge getting a good thesaurus, maybe take a creative writing course or two... and for goodness sakes, get some reviewers lined up that won't hold back their punches when something doesn't work! The basic ideas seem good but this kind of execution is not a recipe for success. I just feel that at the end of the day I wound up reading a very abbreviated scifi book by someone that had either heard of scifi books or maybe watched a few series on tv and tried to pull off the same feat. It doesn't work that way.
What a shame. The elements for a good book are all here. However, what could have been (at best) a story that rivaled some of the best serialized 'Star Trek' novelizations turns out to be a weak and ultimately predictably plotted extended short-story. What is still beyond unbelievable to me is how poorly this book has been edited and/or proofread (in one scene the main cast are discussing an issue in the mess hall only to suddenly be sitting at their stations on the bridge). Everyone involved in these processes needs to re-examine what they're trying to achieve in that regard. I know its possible because the usual Asheville-based literary crowd is a lot better at this.
Though the characters have some merit and an interesting amount of randomly thrown-together variety, they still remain extremely shallow. Inconsistency in behavior and their often unexpected and/or unreasonable reactions to various influences is not sufficient to express any depth. Ultimately, if the author had been given some good advice, she could have turned this into either a decent YA or even middle school adventure (the one dreamed sex scene brought absolutely nothing to the story-line). Still, the outcome is predictable, the plot holes are big enough to pilot the ship through and the entire story would barely have fit into a regular 'Star Trek' time slot, including commercials.
I will try and end on a positive note in that I think Macomber could be a good if not great writer with the right kind of support. I would definitely though urge getting a good thesaurus, maybe take a creative writing course or two... and for goodness sakes, get some reviewers lined up that won't hold back their punches when something doesn't work! The basic ideas seem good but this kind of execution is not a recipe for success. I just feel that at the end of the day I wound up reading a very abbreviated scifi book by someone that had either heard of scifi books or maybe watched a few series on tv and tried to pull off the same feat. It doesn't work that way.
April 8, 2023
Patricia Lee Macomber is the author of a dozen novels. Star Quest: All That Remains was published in 2020 and is the second in her Star Quest series. It is the 16th book I completed reading in 2023.
I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! I categorize this novella as G. The main character is Captain Steve Hunter of the starship Endeavor.
The Endeavor comes across an alien spacecraft. It is adrift, and they investigate. They find the entire crew dead. The Endeavor’s physician, Dr. Klein, has ruled out a virus or other biological cause. The only unusual thing noticed was the dust that permeated the alien ship. After the team investigating the alien spacecraft returns to the Endeavor, strange things begin happening.
Crew members act differently, and Endeavor’s course is changed. The dust is seen on the Endeavor as well. The crew comes to the conclusion that it is a unique life form. After arriving at the alien home world, Hunter and Commander Bishop travel to the surface. They are welcomed at first, but then both are imprisoned.
Will the crew of the Endeavor regain control and be able to save Hunter and Bishop?
I enjoyed the 4.5+ hours I spent reading this 155-page science fiction novella. I thought long and hard about calling a Rule of 50 on this, but because of its short length I persisted to the end. It reminded me a lot of the Original Star Trek TV episode, but it felt like a satire of them. The chosen cover art is engaging. I give this novel a rating of 3 out of 5
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! I categorize this novella as G. The main character is Captain Steve Hunter of the starship Endeavor.
The Endeavor comes across an alien spacecraft. It is adrift, and they investigate. They find the entire crew dead. The Endeavor’s physician, Dr. Klein, has ruled out a virus or other biological cause. The only unusual thing noticed was the dust that permeated the alien ship. After the team investigating the alien spacecraft returns to the Endeavor, strange things begin happening.
Crew members act differently, and Endeavor’s course is changed. The dust is seen on the Endeavor as well. The crew comes to the conclusion that it is a unique life form. After arriving at the alien home world, Hunter and Commander Bishop travel to the surface. They are welcomed at first, but then both are imprisoned.
Will the crew of the Endeavor regain control and be able to save Hunter and Bishop?
I enjoyed the 4.5+ hours I spent reading this 155-page science fiction novella. I thought long and hard about calling a Rule of 50 on this, but because of its short length I persisted to the end. It reminded me a lot of the Original Star Trek TV episode, but it felt like a satire of them. The chosen cover art is engaging. I give this novel a rating of 3 out of 5
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
November 9, 2020
A definite improvement on the initial novel in the series in terms of characters are now more settled in and showing signs of development from the ciphers the prior had. Very strong Star Trek feel to the story. No huge space battles, just the crew having to solve a series of mysteries coming from them finding a derelict spaceship. Ending felt a touch weak and rapid as everything seemed to be wrapped up in a dozen pages. Not great literature but a fun read. Will be sticking with the series. Just wish there was more positive reads like this out there.
August 12, 2020
Top long
Book 1 I have a five star rating because it provided a natural progression for the storyline. Great adventure and excitement and kept me rivited the whole time. Book 2 was somewhat slow and dwelt primarily on the one subject, to the point where I became slightly bored and couldn't wait to get to the end of the book.
However, I do recommend both books and look forward to the next book in this series.
Book 1 I have a five star rating because it provided a natural progression for the storyline. Great adventure and excitement and kept me rivited the whole time. Book 2 was somewhat slow and dwelt primarily on the one subject, to the point where I became slightly bored and couldn't wait to get to the end of the book.
However, I do recommend both books and look forward to the next book in this series.
August 18, 2020
It got better!
Wow! Loved the flow, so smooth I rolled through this book . At several points knew it was so good it would end. Had to make myself walk away. Sadly it had to end. Will follow and hope this awesome series continues soon.
Wow! Loved the flow, so smooth I rolled through this book . At several points knew it was so good it would end. Had to make myself walk away. Sadly it had to end. Will follow and hope this awesome series continues soon.
July 13, 2020
I always enjoy SciFi that is basically episodic. Doesn't always have to be epic adventures, but just a tight adventure, that can be loads of fun. Well written, well developed characters, great book.
July 17, 2020
this was an enjoyable read and had what I was looking for in a scifi story, The series is great and I really enjoyed going on this journey with these characters.
August 12, 2020
Another good book. I continue to enjoy the characters and plot. Different twists and turns. I will be looking forward to the next book in the series. (At least I hope there will be a next one).
September 3, 2020
Enjoyable book.
Because? I really enjoyed reading this. It was a very unique story. I really liked discovering the unique characteristic on the dust.
Because? I really enjoyed reading this. It was a very unique story. I really liked discovering the unique characteristic on the dust.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews