Tuesday, April 30, 2002
Preserver
by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
SIGH.... This was the final book of "The Mirror Universe Saga". It wasn't really bad, just disappointing. I think they probably could have pared this down to a single volume by jettisoning some of the subplots and ended up with a much better novel. I'm glad that Kirk wins the battle (which one, I won't reveal) but after being kicked about for three novels, it seems a bit forced. I'll rate this as waiting room material, but I'd much prefer an issue National Geographic.
LibraryThing link
SIGH.... This was the final book of "The Mirror Universe Saga". It wasn't really bad, just disappointing. I think they probably could have pared this down to a single volume by jettisoning some of the subplots and ended up with a much better novel. I'm glad that Kirk wins the battle (which one, I won't reveal) but after being kicked about for three novels, it seems a bit forced. I'll rate this as waiting room material, but I'd much prefer an issue National Geographic.
LibraryThing link
Labels: JudithandGarfieldReeves-Stevens, StarTrek, WaitingRoomMaterial, WilliamShatner
Saturday, April 20, 2002
Dark Victory
by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Part two of "The Mirror Universe Saga". I didn't mention that part one of the series, Spectre, ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, hence my reading this so quickly on the heels of the first. I've noticed that the middle part of a trilogy seems to be the weakest, and this one didn't break tradition. The main subplot of this is the appearance of Captain Kirk's mirror universe counterpart. He had became emperor in his own universe, was deposed and now wants to wreak havoc in the "real" one. Captain Kirk is pretty much ineffectual against him in a typical underdog versus the unstoppable foe tale. But some of the mysteries of Spectre are furthur unraveled, there's an amusing wedding scene, and one of my favorite supporting characters from Deep Space Nine plays a small role, so I continued reading to the end. This one is waiting room material I could leave behind.
LibraryThing link
Part two of "The Mirror Universe Saga". I didn't mention that part one of the series, Spectre, ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, hence my reading this so quickly on the heels of the first. I've noticed that the middle part of a trilogy seems to be the weakest, and this one didn't break tradition. The main subplot of this is the appearance of Captain Kirk's mirror universe counterpart. He had became emperor in his own universe, was deposed and now wants to wreak havoc in the "real" one. Captain Kirk is pretty much ineffectual against him in a typical underdog versus the unstoppable foe tale. But some of the mysteries of Spectre are furthur unraveled, there's an amusing wedding scene, and one of my favorite supporting characters from Deep Space Nine plays a small role, so I continued reading to the end. This one is waiting room material I could leave behind.
LibraryThing link
Labels: JudithandGarfieldReeves-Stevens, StarTrek, WaitingRoomMaterial, WilliamShatner
Wednesday, April 10, 2002
Spectre
by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Whenever I go to the Friends of the Library semi-annual book sale in Seattle, I have to pick up the obligatory science fiction novel. I don't know why I have this habit, but I do. Anyway, this spring I was a bit rushed, and I ended up picking up William Shatner's Preserver. So why aren't I reviewing that? Well, Preserver is the third book of a Star Trek trilogy, Spectre is the first. Anyway, as I've said before, Shatner and the Reeves-Stevenses write pretty good stuff... for Star Trek novels, anyway. This tale deals with the resurrected Captain Kirk, who is trying to settle down with the love of his life. Normally the resurrection angle would turn me off to the book, but this trilogy ties in with the Star Trek episode, "Mirror, Mirror." And I love alternate universe tales... even alternate imaginary universe tales. Anyway, it's an engaging tale, even if everybody treats Captain Kirk like a demi-god. There's a running tension over whom is real and whom is a "mirror universe counterpart" that gets a bit tired. But I suppose that it's an inevitable consequence of the whole parallel universe schtick. I guess I'll rate this as waiting room material, though I'd hate to start reading this and have to leave it behind after my appointment.
LibraryThing link
Whenever I go to the Friends of the Library semi-annual book sale in Seattle, I have to pick up the obligatory science fiction novel. I don't know why I have this habit, but I do. Anyway, this spring I was a bit rushed, and I ended up picking up William Shatner's Preserver. So why aren't I reviewing that? Well, Preserver is the third book of a Star Trek trilogy, Spectre is the first. Anyway, as I've said before, Shatner and the Reeves-Stevenses write pretty good stuff... for Star Trek novels, anyway. This tale deals with the resurrected Captain Kirk, who is trying to settle down with the love of his life. Normally the resurrection angle would turn me off to the book, but this trilogy ties in with the Star Trek episode, "Mirror, Mirror." And I love alternate universe tales... even alternate imaginary universe tales. Anyway, it's an engaging tale, even if everybody treats Captain Kirk like a demi-god. There's a running tension over whom is real and whom is a "mirror universe counterpart" that gets a bit tired. But I suppose that it's an inevitable consequence of the whole parallel universe schtick. I guess I'll rate this as waiting room material, though I'd hate to start reading this and have to leave it behind after my appointment.
LibraryThing link
Labels: JudithandGarfieldReeves-Stevens, StarTrek, WaitingRoomMaterial, WilliamShatner
Thursday, December 20, 2001
Avenger
by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Who would've thought that William Shatner could write? (Or at least hire good ghost writers to flesh out his ideas?) Shatner, if you don't know, is the actor who played Captain Kirk in Star Trek. He's written a few Trek novels of which this is the third. It was a good read, even if it does violate one of my pet peeves of resurrecting a dead character (before Judgment Day, that is). In this one a lethal virus is plaguing the plant life throughout the United Federation of Planets. Kirk, Captain Picard and their respective crews get caught up in the investigation and save the day. (I know it's bad form to reveal the ending, but do you really think that any Star Trek story is going to end in failure?) This book isn't perfect. Besides the above transgression I mentioned, this one makes connections between old episodes of the series that are hard to swallow. It also is pretty predictable with some of the "surprises" it tries to pull. But the plot is well crafted and kept my interest to the end. If you're looking for some science fictional brain candy, check it out.
LibraryThing link
Who would've thought that William Shatner could write? (Or at least hire good ghost writers to flesh out his ideas?) Shatner, if you don't know, is the actor who played Captain Kirk in Star Trek. He's written a few Trek novels of which this is the third. It was a good read, even if it does violate one of my pet peeves of resurrecting a dead character (before Judgment Day, that is). In this one a lethal virus is plaguing the plant life throughout the United Federation of Planets. Kirk, Captain Picard and their respective crews get caught up in the investigation and save the day. (I know it's bad form to reveal the ending, but do you really think that any Star Trek story is going to end in failure?) This book isn't perfect. Besides the above transgression I mentioned, this one makes connections between old episodes of the series that are hard to swallow. It also is pretty predictable with some of the "surprises" it tries to pull. But the plot is well crafted and kept my interest to the end. If you're looking for some science fictional brain candy, check it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, JudithandGarfieldReeves-Stevens, StarTrek, WilliamShatner
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