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odin45mp's review against another edition
3.0
I know I read this at least twice as a young teen, who devoured everything Star Trek that I could get my hands on. It was... interesting to revisit as an adult.
It is very well paced and plotted, reading like a lost episode of the TV series. Each characters gets some screen time, and their bits all feel very in character. Nothing out of place except perhaps Riker's flashback/dream. I loved the expanded role of Dr. Selar. I also enjoyed her relationship with the young Andorian girl, and the social commentary on ableism. Data's romance novel subplot was on point for the character, but even more cringe now that I've read some highlights of book twitter and their takedowns of bad male-gaze "romance" passages. This is the worst of that, magnified.
The resolution to the A plot was pleasing, and I am glad that I revisited this one. Worth a read, but nothing to write home about except that I've read much, much worse tie in fiction, and this ticked all the boxes for a comfort read on a lazy Sunday afternoon/Monday night.
It is very well paced and plotted, reading like a lost episode of the TV series. Each characters gets some screen time, and their bits all feel very in character. Nothing out of place except perhaps Riker's flashback/dream. I loved the expanded role of Dr. Selar. I also enjoyed her relationship with the young Andorian girl, and the social commentary on ableism. Data's romance novel subplot was on point for the character, but even more cringe now that I've read some highlights of book twitter and their takedowns of bad male-gaze "romance" passages. This is the worst of that, magnified.
The resolution to the A plot was pleasing, and I am glad that I revisited this one. Worth a read, but nothing to write home about except that I've read much, much worse tie in fiction, and this ticked all the boxes for a comfort read on a lazy Sunday afternoon/Monday night.
optimismprime's review
2.0
Needed a break. Huzzah for easy-to-read sci-fi!
And no, despite my massive update last week, I haven't read this one before. It was new to me. Really.
Anyways, it was typical Trek. Oh no, horrible dilemma, how do we save ourselves? Seemed a bit too much like another episode, "Booby Trap," which actually came out a year earlier. Upon realizing that, I've revised my rating down from 3 to 2 stars.
Did like the focus on Geordi--his character had a ton of potential that's not realized on-screen very much. Good to see him get a turn in the limelight.
Overall, a fun book. I needed a break. Chicks have their trashy romance novels (not all, mind you, just some)... I have my trashy sci-fi. It works.
And no, despite my massive update last week, I haven't read this one before. It was new to me. Really.
Anyways, it was typical Trek. Oh no, horrible dilemma, how do we save ourselves? Seemed a bit too much like another episode, "Booby Trap," which actually came out a year earlier. Upon realizing that, I've revised my rating down from 3 to 2 stars.
Did like the focus on Geordi--his character had a ton of potential that's not realized on-screen very much. Good to see him get a turn in the limelight.
Overall, a fun book. I needed a break. Chicks have their trashy romance novels (not all, mind you, just some)... I have my trashy sci-fi. It works.
1outside's review
3.0
Well...this book is not great. There's not much action, there's a lot of psychological analyses going on - and some of them are not far off Data's forays into literary fiction - but I still as a whole quite enjoyed reading this one. I did skip a paragraph here and there but it was a quick and fun read overall.
Since the story features a few short cuts or full-on plot holes I can't give The Eyes of the Beholders a higher rating but as I said...compared to some of the other Next Gen novels I've read so far this one belongs to my favourite ones at this point. It gave me new appreciation for La Forge's character, as well as Selar's - and that's no small feat.
Since the story features a few short cuts or full-on plot holes I can't give The Eyes of the Beholders a higher rating but as I said...compared to some of the other Next Gen novels I've read so far this one belongs to my favourite ones at this point. It gave me new appreciation for La Forge's character, as well as Selar's - and that's no small feat.
taaya's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Zwar einiges an Ableismus drin - aber auch eine spannende Geschichte, etwas Humor, was fürs Herz ... Und immerhin gleich zwei behinderte Charaktere, von denen einer nicht mal Plotdevice, sondern ein komplett eigener Nebenplot war.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Suicide
Minor: Murder
frakalot's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great book but one of those where I've found the side plots to be more enjoyable than the main. Although I was satisfied with the solution to the main problem I found the symptoms less satisfying to read about.
The Vulcan playing foster mom was quite nicely handled and resulted in a few poignant moments.
Data running around seeking appraisals of his latest artistic endeavour was pure classic and very enjoyable.
The Vulcan playing foster mom was quite nicely handled and resulted in a few poignant moments.
Data running around seeking appraisals of his latest artistic endeavour was pure classic and very enjoyable.
djwudi's review against another edition
3.0
Nice to see an encounter with something so alien so to be literally incomprehensible. A bit heavy on references to TNG episodes to prove that the author watched the show; otherwise good.
octavia_cade's review against another edition
3.0
This has a godawful cover. What were they thinking?
The story is actually very good though. I'd give it a four star rating if it weren't for one element that bumped it down an entire star - more on that in a moment. I enjoyed the reveal of what the disturbingly weird space station was, and I liked how everyone worked together to make sure that what needed to be preserved got to be. I liked that there was no real bad guy, either, just something very alien that had been misunderstood. I very much liked the two visiting doctors who were the main guest stars of the book - the gentle pig-faced Tellarite who volunteered for dangerous missions to protect her patients and who kept her cool when the rest of the away team completely lost theirs. And the other doctor, a Vulcan, who developed a caretaker relationship with an orphaned Andorian child... those two were the high point of the book for me. Honestly, either of these two doctors could replace Crusher permanently and I'd be good with it. As I said, I was strongly tempted to give this one four stars, it's the most enjoyable TNG novel I've read in a while.
Apart from a section in the middle, where Riker succumbs to the same disturbing dreams that are plaguing the rest of the crew. His dream recalls an incident from his childhood, where his 15 year old self had an affair with a woman at least three times his age. Crispin presents the whole thing basically positively, and I'm distinctly unimpressed. He was a child. His lover was a predator. Reverse the genders and it screams taking-advantage by a mile. And you know what, I am not always a fan of Peter David's work, but a couple of TNG books before this one, in David's A Rock and a Hard Place, a 16 year old girl with a crush hits on Riker and he shuts that shit down hard, because she is a kid and he is too old for her, and that is what an adult is supposed to do. It is unfortunate that Crispin does not do the same here; I have zero interest in reading young teens get taken advantage of by adults. This is Star Trek. I expect it to do better.
Finally, on a milder note, I wish someone would forcefeed Data a dictionary of idiom and Brewer's Phrase and Fable, because his constant misunderstandings of informal speech have never been one hundredth as entertaining as every single TNG writer seems to think they are.
The story is actually very good though. I'd give it a four star rating if it weren't for one element that bumped it down an entire star - more on that in a moment. I enjoyed the reveal of what the disturbingly weird space station was, and I liked how everyone worked together to make sure that what needed to be preserved got to be. I liked that there was no real bad guy, either, just something very alien that had been misunderstood. I very much liked the two visiting doctors who were the main guest stars of the book - the gentle pig-faced Tellarite who volunteered for dangerous missions to protect her patients and who kept her cool when the rest of the away team completely lost theirs. And the other doctor, a Vulcan, who developed a caretaker relationship with an orphaned Andorian child... those two were the high point of the book for me. Honestly, either of these two doctors could replace Crusher permanently and I'd be good with it. As I said, I was strongly tempted to give this one four stars, it's the most enjoyable TNG novel I've read in a while.
Apart from a section in the middle, where Riker succumbs to the same disturbing dreams that are plaguing the rest of the crew. His dream recalls an incident from his childhood, where his 15 year old self had an affair with a woman at least three times his age. Crispin presents the whole thing basically positively, and I'm distinctly unimpressed. He was a child. His lover was a predator. Reverse the genders and it screams taking-advantage by a mile. And you know what, I am not always a fan of Peter David's work, but a couple of TNG books before this one, in David's A Rock and a Hard Place, a 16 year old girl with a crush hits on Riker and he shuts that shit down hard, because she is a kid and he is too old for her, and that is what an adult is supposed to do. It is unfortunate that Crispin does not do the same here; I have zero interest in reading young teens get taken advantage of by adults. This is Star Trek. I expect it to do better.
Finally, on a milder note, I wish someone would forcefeed Data a dictionary of idiom and Brewer's Phrase and Fable, because his constant misunderstandings of informal speech have never been one hundredth as entertaining as every single TNG writer seems to think they are.
infosifter's review against another edition
4.0
I would give this one a 3.5. There's a fun subplot about Data trying to write a novel, and the story made me think about perspective. Also, as a person with a disability I enjoy the way this author handles disability related issues.
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