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ogreart's review against another edition
4.0
This is a "Kelvin universe" iteration of the Star Trek franchise. I had a good time. Seeing how these rebooted versions of the basic characters diverge and are similar to the originals. I was pretty surprised to see the guest alien bad guys show up.
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
0.5
Rating: 1 star
I have so many problems with this graphic novel that I don't even know where to begin. I was going to give it another star because it is Star Trek after all, but it was honestly that bad.
I need to give Star Trek: Boldly Go some kind of praise before I completely trash it, so I will say that the illustrations were fantastic. There were some pictures where Kirk looked the splitting image of Chris Pine, and Spock Zachary Quinto. The colours were also great, and the cover is amazing.
Now we get into the trashing. First of all, it makes no logical sense that Kirk and the Enterprise-NCC-1701-C should be coming into contact with the Borg. The Borg are first encountered by the Enterprise-D captained by Picard when Q throws the starship and its crew millions of light years away where they could never have reached on their own. This alerts the Borg to the existence of humans and Starfleet, and causes them then to travel into Federation space (because the Borg are capable of much higher warp speeds) and start assimilating new species. There is no conceivable way that the United Federation of Planets could have known about the Borg before this, nor vice versa.
But this is the Kelvin timeline. Whatever. It takes place in the universe of Star Trek (2009) and things are different (heck, the only thing they did right in this reboot was casting Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan and that scene when Zachary Quinto's Spock and Leonard Nimoy's Spock exchange a Vulcan salute). I guess you can suspend your disbelief and accept that somehow the Borg became aware of the Federation before Q introduced the two of them. But the issues don't stop there. (The rest is going to be pretty major spoilers, but you really don't want to read this if you like Star Trek at all, trust me). Sulu is on a ship when the Borg attack and start assimilating the crew. He is not captured however because he is on the battle bridge at the time of the attack. How does this make any difference whatsoever?! The Borg are ruthless, and don't overlook things. Guinan is the last of her kind, because when the Borg visited her planet while she was off world, they were thorough and assimilated all of her race. The Borg simply don't leave stragglers.
Then Spock gets captured by the Borg and we all fain shock and surprise when he escapes. He escapes from the Borg. What?! There is a reason why Picard, Seven of Nine (and her Baby Borgs) and that small colony of people from that Voyager episode are the only people who have ever been de-assimilated from the Borg Collective - it just does not happen. And Spock's method of escape is (get this) pulling his eye piece off and quote-unquote "resisting assimilation". What happened to "resistance is futile"? You really don't have to do any research other than know their signature catchphrase to know one can't just say "stop it I don't like it" and run away from the Borg. (I am facepalming so hard right now.)
But Spock is special. We can give him a pass (and a ton of plot armour) and look beyond his extremely convenient- ah, I mean highly improbable escape from the Borg. But one fact is too glaringly obvious to overlook, and that is that all the Starfleet personnel who were captured and/or assimilated were set free. Every. Single. One. I'm not going to even try to justify or explain this. It's just too stupid to comprehend.
Whoever came up with this storyline knows literally nothing about the Borg Collective or Star Trek lore (lowercase "l" lore, not Data's brother Lore). And I'm just complaining about the problems with the Borg, without even touching on the mishandling of the Romulans, or the complete butchering of Spock's character.
If Star Trek: Boldly Go taught me anything, it's that even one of the best villains in sci fi history can be terrible when put into the wrong hands. Because on top of all that whining I have done, the Borg in this novel didn't even arrive in their infamous Borg Cube. No. They floated onto the scene in a not-a-Death-Star-but-totally-a-Death-Star:
Yep, that's right. (Yes I know this is a legit Borg ship, but it’s in the Delta Quadrant.) The Borg are pretty much Stormtroopers now under the Borg Queen's Palpatine. The Force of the resistance will be strong with this one.
I have so many problems with this graphic novel that I don't even know where to begin. I was going to give it another star because it is Star Trek after all, but it was honestly that bad.
I need to give Star Trek: Boldly Go some kind of praise before I completely trash it, so I will say that the illustrations were fantastic. There were some pictures where Kirk looked the splitting image of Chris Pine, and Spock Zachary Quinto. The colours were also great, and the cover is amazing.
Now we get into the trashing. First of all, it makes no logical sense that Kirk and the Enterprise-NCC-1701-C should be coming into contact with the Borg. The Borg are first encountered by the Enterprise-D captained by Picard when Q throws the starship and its crew millions of light years away where they could never have reached on their own. This alerts the Borg to the existence of humans and Starfleet, and causes them then to travel into Federation space (because the Borg are capable of much higher warp speeds) and start assimilating new species. There is no conceivable way that the United Federation of Planets could have known about the Borg before this, nor vice versa.
But this is the Kelvin timeline. Whatever. It takes place in the universe of Star Trek (2009) and things are different (heck, the only thing they did right in this reboot was casting Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan and that scene when Zachary Quinto's Spock and Leonard Nimoy's Spock exchange a Vulcan salute). I guess you can suspend your disbelief and accept that somehow the Borg became aware of the Federation before Q introduced the two of them. But the issues don't stop there. (The rest is going to be pretty major spoilers, but you really don't want to read this if you like Star Trek at all, trust me). Sulu is on a ship when the Borg attack and start assimilating the crew. He is not captured however because he is on the battle bridge at the time of the attack. How does this make any difference whatsoever?! The Borg are ruthless, and don't overlook things. Guinan is the last of her kind, because when the Borg visited her planet while she was off world, they were thorough and assimilated all of her race. The Borg simply don't leave stragglers.
Then Spock gets captured by the Borg and we all fain shock and surprise when he escapes. He escapes from the Borg. What?! There is a reason why Picard, Seven of Nine (and her Baby Borgs) and that small colony of people from that Voyager episode are the only people who have ever been de-assimilated from the Borg Collective - it just does not happen. And Spock's method of escape is (get this) pulling his eye piece off and quote-unquote "resisting assimilation". What happened to "resistance is futile"? You really don't have to do any research other than know their signature catchphrase to know one can't just say "stop it I don't like it" and run away from the Borg. (I am facepalming so hard right now.)
But Spock is special. We can give him a pass (and a ton of plot armour) and look beyond his extremely convenient- ah, I mean highly improbable escape from the Borg. But one fact is too glaringly obvious to overlook, and that is that all the Starfleet personnel who were captured and/or assimilated were set free. Every. Single. One. I'm not going to even try to justify or explain this. It's just too stupid to comprehend.
Whoever came up with this storyline knows literally nothing about the Borg Collective or Star Trek lore (lowercase "l" lore, not Data's brother Lore). And I'm just complaining about the problems with the Borg, without even touching on the mishandling of the Romulans, or the complete butchering of Spock's character.
If Star Trek: Boldly Go taught me anything, it's that even one of the best villains in sci fi history can be terrible when put into the wrong hands. Because on top of all that whining I have done, the Borg in this novel didn't even arrive in their infamous Borg Cube. No. They floated onto the scene in a not-a-Death-Star-but-totally-a-Death-Star:
Yep, that's right. (Yes I know this is a legit Borg ship, but it’s in the Delta Quadrant.) The Borg are pretty much Stormtroopers now under the Borg Queen's Palpatine. The Force of the resistance will be strong with this one.
jonwesleyhuff's review
3.0
I really enjoyed this! A quick read, but a really fun premise. Really gorgeous art in the main storyline.
fammy's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
msteasam's review
3.0
This was fun! Lovely art and an engaging storyline, but nothing too groundbreaking.
frackie's review
2.0
I'm going to be honest and just say I'm nitpicking.
The plot isn't good. Not to be one that pulls the "It doesn't go with lore card but *sigh* Yeah that's it. I just can't get over it dude. I know you need something new and fresh for the Kelvin Timeline but ugh. The Borg and Romulan characterizations suck. It jut sucked.
Like Jaylah's background though, that put it up a star.
The plot isn't good. Not to be one that pulls the "It doesn't go with lore card but *sigh* Yeah that's it. I just can't get over it dude. I know you need something new and fresh for the Kelvin Timeline but ugh. The Borg and Romulan characterizations suck. It jut sucked.
Like Jaylah's background though, that put it up a star.
snazel's review
3.0
Let's be honest I'll read any and all startrek. But I was impressed by how much they were willing to change up everybody's lives. An almost-war with Romulan? Half the crew on different ships? THE BORG?
Jayla was the best part because she is the best. That and Lt. Uhura being boss.
Jayla was the best part because she is the best. That and Lt. Uhura being boss.
buggy's review
4.0
I blasted through this super quickly, will definitely be on the look out for more in the future. Made my star trek beyond loving heart sing, and the art style is awesome. Especially loved the Romulan/Federation politics and Kirk's new lieutenant was a very compelling character.
mamabearreading's review
5.0
I loved it! I was a huge fan of the new movies and so when I stumbled across this graphic novel I just had to pick it up. The art is fun, the stories are exciting, I would recommend it!