A great supplement with tons of useful information for the Delta Quadrant. Lots of new races, ships, planets and adventure ideas for any GM that mightA great supplement with tons of useful information for the Delta Quadrant. Lots of new races, ships, planets and adventure ideas for any GM that might want to fling a group of PCs far away from home....more
This novel takes place shortly after Nemesis and sets things up for the novels to follow. The main story was okay, not great but not bad. There is a bThis novel takes place shortly after Nemesis and sets things up for the novels to follow. The main story was okay, not great but not bad. There is a bit of a side story with Worf and Geordi that doesn't really go anywhere. The main focus is really on Capt. Picard and Dr. Crusher individually reflecting on their relationship with each other. It's a little disappointing that the author skips over Dr. Crusher's thoughts near the end of the novel when she makes her decision, opting to go for a "surprise" scene for Capt. Picard at the end, which is really no surprise at all. I also suspect that this is the point where the novels take a major branch away from what we have seen so far in the "Picard" TV series although they haven't even mentioned Dr. Crusher in that one yet. Overall, this was a middle of the road sort of story for me. It was okay, I didn't love it, I didn't hate it....more
I wish I could say I liked this book, but I didn't. It's not that it isn't well written, or that the story isn't good once you figure it out, but it'sI wish I could say I liked this book, but I didn't. It's not that it isn't well written, or that the story isn't good once you figure it out, but it's just a style of writing that I really don't care for. It jumps all over the place in time, sometimes even within the same paragraph. I found that by the last third of the book I really didn't care what was happening, I just wanted to get it finished and move onto something else. I much prefer a linear style of storytelling. A book can be running with two connected stories that take place in two different time periods and I'm fine with it bouncing back between those times, as long as the stories in each period unfold sequentially. Bouncing around randomly to different points in a person's life just annoys me. I always get the feeling that the author is trying to artificially create suspense by doing that because the story isn't strong enough to stand up on it's own. I actually don't think that is the case here, and the style makes sense for the type of story the author is telling, but it's not for me. I can totally understand why many people would love this book, but unfortunately I'm not one of them....more
It sounds like this book is often assigned reading in Canadian schools. It deals with some serious topics and I think could really influence how a youIt sounds like this book is often assigned reading in Canadian schools. It deals with some serious topics and I think could really influence how a young reader might view the Métis people and some of the issues they have faced. The contrasting yet overlapping lives of the two sisters, Cheryl and April illustrates how many different influences outside of their control can both hinder and help them, and, in some cases, not have as much of a lasting effect as you might think or hope. It also illustrates how one's views can change as you grow up in both positive and negative ways. It was certainly an interesting and thoughtful read....more
While I always enjoy Dresden books, I had a little trouble getting into this one. I probably should have reread the previous book first, it’s been oveWhile I always enjoy Dresden books, I had a little trouble getting into this one. I probably should have reread the previous book first, it’s been over five years since I read it, so I was having trouble remembering who some of the characters and the details of what had happened to them. The story also ends on a cliffhanger, without wrapping up any of the storylines. I really hope it’s not another five years before the next one ...more
A solid finish to the series. Certainly less action and more politics than the last two books, but there are some action sequences with Worf that are A solid finish to the series. Certainly less action and more politics than the last two books, but there are some action sequences with Worf that are fun to read. A lot of the book revolves around politics, which is more interesting than it sounds. In some ways the novel is a collection of short stories, with the end goal of getting all the main characters where they needed to be for "Nemesis" and at the same time moving some characters out of the way, like Christine Vale, who is a main character in the novels but never appears on screen. Overall the author handles this fairly well, although the reason for Wesley Crusher showing up at Will and Deanna's wedding in uniform with the rank of Lieutenant is pretty weak. Mind you, I thought the movie "Nemesis" was really weak so I'll give the author props for even trying. :) ...more
This is a really nice starter set. The materials are high quality, the included double sided map is printed on very heavy paper as are the covers on tThis is a really nice starter set. The materials are high quality, the included double sided map is printed on very heavy paper as are the covers on the Rules book and the Adventure book. The pages in the books are on glossy paper, as are the five loose pregenerated characters. It comes with 10 six sided custom dice, which are pretty standard in quality and not actually required, regular dice would work fine. The 32 page rulebook does a good job of describing the settings and the rules with enough examples to make the relatively simple rules easy to understand. The 16 page adventure looks like it would be fun. There are a few areas that are left a little vague for the players and the GM to figure out on their own, primarily some "Starting Scenes" for the Kids (Player Characters) and some additional "Scenes From Everyday Life" a little further into the adventure. This is fine because one of the features of the game is that the Kids stories are supposed to be a collaboration between the players and the gamemaster. The core of the adventure is well described, with a couple of handouts that can be copied for the players, or downloaded and printed from the website. Having said all of that, I don't know that I would ever run this game. While I enjoy it when players come up with great backgrounds for their characters, my GMing style isn't really that open to the level of collaboration that this game requires. I'm also not big on running kid based adventures. It's been a long time since I was a kid, and I don't have children, so I'm not sure I could do a good job relating. It is set an an alternate version of the 80's, which is a decade I'm very familiar with, so I would have that going for me :) I do think this could be a lot of fun to play with the right group of people, and even if I don't GM it, I could see playing it a couple of times....more
Wow, I'm sure glad I wasn't a security officer on the Enterprise during the events of this novel. A fast paced and action packed conclusion to the storWow, I'm sure glad I wasn't a security officer on the Enterprise during the events of this novel. A fast paced and action packed conclusion to the story. I found this one to be interesting because the overall mission can't really be called successful, and most of the main characters end up not being particularly pleased with how things turn out.
For me, finding out how characters react when they don't achieve the objectives they set out to accomplish makes for a more interesting story than when everything goes according to plan.
I'm finding the relationship between Picard and Dr. Crusher to be interesting. I know in the novels further into the timeline they do get married, but in the "Picard" TV series, there is no mention of an ongoing relationship between them. I'm curious to see what the last novel in this series does with this. It is set a few weeks before the events in the movie "Nemesis".
I'll also have to read the novelization of "Nemesis" to review what happens there. It looks like there are two books between this one and that, one doesn't sound like it fits into the current story arc, the second fits into the arc, but I'll have to check it if takes place before or after "Nemesis". I'm rather curious to figure at which point the novels would have to be considered to be a completely separate timeline from the TV shows. ...more
This is such an improvement over the previous two books. The plot moves along quickly, the story is interesting, if there is any filler material it isThis is such an improvement over the previous two books. The plot moves along quickly, the story is interesting, if there is any filler material it isn't obvious and isn't repetitive. I think Beverly only thinks about her possible promotion to head of Starfleet Medical once and there aren't multiple descriptions of what people are having for dinner. It's a little hard to figure who's plotting against who in a few places, but that's probably intentional, and Deanna inexplicably seems to lose the power to tell whether or not Will is still alive while down on the planet, something that was leaned on fairly heavily in the previous story. Again, this is a two part story, but this novel tells a fairly complete story on it's own with just enough plot threads left hanging to lead you into the next novel. David Mack's characterizations are always quite good, and he continues that in this story. Overall, I quite enjoyed this one and it renewed my enthusiasm for the rest of the series. ...more
Ultimately, this was a very disappointing story. This book reinforced my opinion from the first book that this should have just been one book not two.Ultimately, this was a very disappointing story. This book reinforced my opinion from the first book that this should have just been one book not two. If anything, the repetition of information got even worse in this one, or, maybe it just seemed that way because I read them back to back.
It seemed like every time the author moved back to a character the same thing was repeated. Doctor Crusher wondering if she should take the position at Star Fleet Medical. Deanna and Will separately wondering what their future should be. Captain Picard basically walking in circles. And even worse, most of the questions the characters spent so much time brooding over weren't even resolved. They were obviously being saved for later in the series.
A minor quibble is that I think the titles of the books should have been the other way around. Primarily because of what happens with Will Riker, his father, and Deanna, as well as the citizens of the planet, I think it would have made more sense to call the first one " A Time to Hate" and the second one "A Time to Love". As for the actual plot, it was okay. I didn't really buy into the whole idea of how the "cure' could spread the way it did, although there are a few hints as to why it worked the way it did. I think with the amount of padding the story had, a little more time could have been spent on explaining the mechanics of how that worked.
Overall, I was quite disappointed in these two books and hope the last three in the series are more like the first four rather than these two....more
This really seemed like the first half of a two part story that didn't really have enough material to be two books. It's not that the story is bad so This really seemed like the first half of a two part story that didn't really have enough material to be two books. It's not that the story is bad so far, it just seemed to have a lot of repetition and unnecessary scenes. Hopefully the second book moves along a little quicker....more
A well done supplement with lots of information on the residents of the Gamma Quadrant including a good collection of adventure hooks for a GM wantingA well done supplement with lots of information on the residents of the Gamma Quadrant including a good collection of adventure hooks for a GM wanting to run adventures in that area....more
Loading...
