Book Review: Star Trek: Destiny Book 1: Gods of Night
I said before that Trek books are like Romance novels for Sci-Fi fans. A friend of mine who reads romance had a rule once (don't know is she still does) that she only lets every other book she reads be a romance novel. I can see why now. Starting to read Trek books again lately has gotten me back in the habit of reading regularly and reading quicker, but I am starting to read them over the other books I have been working on (a book on Proudhon, the Libertarian/Socialist/Anarchist, and a book on Buddhism). I want to finish these books too, but get so sucked in to the Trek book and then when I finish, I want to start another. Enforcing a rule like hers may work but I tend to have multiple books going at once, so it doesn't feel like I am not reading the Proudhon book.....it is sitting on my bed with a bookmark in it after all. It is just that the Trek book is also sitting there and I pick it up instead.
Gods of Night by David Mack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I wish Goodreads allowed me to give a 4-1/2 star rating. This book was almost perfect. I could not put it down and only had a few small complaints that would keep me from giving it a 5 star rating.
After reading a few of his books, I would say that Mack is one of the best Star Trek writers. He gives his stories a very human element and manages to make large casts very exciting. (I usually prefer smaller casts allowing you to focus on a few characters.)
In this book, he has an extremely large cast. Besides the Captains and crews of four starships, he also has scenes dealing with some of the other folks around the galaxy. He is telling a sweeping tale here that affects the entire Federation, so he tells you a bit about what is going on around the whole Federation.
The Borg are attacking again. Yeah, the Borg are over-used and honestly, I am sick to death of them. They haven't really been cool since "Best of Both Worlds." However, Mack does make them feel like a threat again. In fact, they feel like more of a threat even then when they were in "Best of Both Worlds." This fact almost kept me from reading the book, and did keep me from reading the TNG books that led up to this trilogy. I am just really bored of the Borg.
However, the book includes so much more. There are the personal stories as Picard deals with how the Borg affects him, Troi and Riker deal with trying to conceive a baby, Pazlar's dealing with being a low gravity person on a high gravity ship, etc., etc.. There is also the flashback tale of the USS Columbia (from the 22nd Century) making first contact with a powerful alien species. There are the mysterious deaths on the USS Aventine (Ezri Dax's ship). There is so much more than just the Borg....and it all ties together.
Speaking of Ezri, that is another thing that keeps this book from a 5 star rating. Like many folks on Goodreads, I just couldn't buy her as a Starship Captain. The last time we saw her in the show, she was still extremely unsure of herself and certainly did not seem like Captain material. Of course, she could grow, but the book never really tells us what changed her or demonstrates her as that strong of a leader.
Small complaints aside, this is a fantastic read that I couldn't put down. Then, it ends with a nice little cliffhanger. I'll be picking up book 2 as soon as I find a used copy. (I'm frugal, not cheap.) I can't wait to read the next book. 4 and a half stars!
View all my reviews >>
Gods of Night by David Mack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I wish Goodreads allowed me to give a 4-1/2 star rating. This book was almost perfect. I could not put it down and only had a few small complaints that would keep me from giving it a 5 star rating.
After reading a few of his books, I would say that Mack is one of the best Star Trek writers. He gives his stories a very human element and manages to make large casts very exciting. (I usually prefer smaller casts allowing you to focus on a few characters.)
In this book, he has an extremely large cast. Besides the Captains and crews of four starships, he also has scenes dealing with some of the other folks around the galaxy. He is telling a sweeping tale here that affects the entire Federation, so he tells you a bit about what is going on around the whole Federation.
The Borg are attacking again. Yeah, the Borg are over-used and honestly, I am sick to death of them. They haven't really been cool since "Best of Both Worlds." However, Mack does make them feel like a threat again. In fact, they feel like more of a threat even then when they were in "Best of Both Worlds." This fact almost kept me from reading the book, and did keep me from reading the TNG books that led up to this trilogy. I am just really bored of the Borg.
However, the book includes so much more. There are the personal stories as Picard deals with how the Borg affects him, Troi and Riker deal with trying to conceive a baby, Pazlar's dealing with being a low gravity person on a high gravity ship, etc., etc.. There is also the flashback tale of the USS Columbia (from the 22nd Century) making first contact with a powerful alien species. There are the mysterious deaths on the USS Aventine (Ezri Dax's ship). There is so much more than just the Borg....and it all ties together.
Speaking of Ezri, that is another thing that keeps this book from a 5 star rating. Like many folks on Goodreads, I just couldn't buy her as a Starship Captain. The last time we saw her in the show, she was still extremely unsure of herself and certainly did not seem like Captain material. Of course, she could grow, but the book never really tells us what changed her or demonstrates her as that strong of a leader.
Small complaints aside, this is a fantastic read that I couldn't put down. Then, it ends with a nice little cliffhanger. I'll be picking up book 2 as soon as I find a used copy. (I'm frugal, not cheap.) I can't wait to read the next book. 4 and a half stars!
View all my reviews >>