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tandemjon's review
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
I only read the TOS and TNG chapters of this book and they were ok. TOS 2.5* TNG 3.5* I thought the concept was good and the TNG plot was interesting and enjoyable to read. TOS not so much. I didn't really believe the character was Kirk.
kazzified29's review against another edition
1.0
Considering what we discover about the gateways in the respective preceding books (Doors Into Chaos, Demons of Air & Darkness and No Man's Land being the ones that I exclusively read), 'What Lay Beyond' is the farthest thing from what I had expected to read. In some way, that probably overshadowed my expectations and tainted what I actually read. The gateways are essentially stargates or portals. What Colonel Kira, Captain Janeway and Captain Picard all experienced in their stories did not compute with me with what these portals were. It was bizarre and strange and not what I was expecting at all and I did not like it at all. Essentially, I DNF'd this book after reading the story for Voyager (without reading the story for TNG). It was such a disappointment after the build-up from the previous novels.
mousie_books's review
This book contains the endings for the other books in the Gateway series. It felt like they just chopped off the last few chapters of each book, and collated them all into this hardcover. I remember the individual stories were good, but I was very annoyed at the gimmick. Also, I read this one last, so I had somewhat forgot the details of the earlier novels or had stopped caring.
ehsjaysaunders's review against another edition
4.0
Well, the highs and lows of the series are on display, as the last chunk of each entry is compiled here. That was a choice. Overall, still a fun read, but the execution's been pretty uneven.
3.5/5 The Gateways outstayed their welcome, but at least some fun was had.
3.5/5 The Gateways outstayed their welcome, but at least some fun was had.
bdplume's review
4.0
I thought this was better than the rest of the series, which in general was only ok.
apostrophen's review
2.0
Oh, this made me angry. I refused to pay full price for this, which was a 36.50$ Canadian hardcover which was nothing more than six completed short stories to six previous novels that were in paperback, that didn't actually have their endings included. From a "cliffhanger" point of view, I had indeed wanted to know what happened, but from a marketing and make-the-customer-happy point of view, this was a huge mistake.
So, I'll middle-ground it around 2 stars (1 for the function of how the book worked, 3 for the endings of the stories).
I did find a copy at a used bookstore, which I nabbed.
So, I'll middle-ground it around 2 stars (1 for the function of how the book worked, 3 for the endings of the stories).
I did find a copy at a used bookstore, which I nabbed.
jaycatt7's review
2.0
Much like the series it concludes, the quality of these stories was mixed. Each novella provides the ending of one of the unfinished novels that made up books one through six.
The Kirk closer was not awful, but it felt lackluster and obvious compared to the first part of the story.
The Keller conclusion I actually liked, even if the ending came completely out of left field.
The DS9 exploration of Kira's journey was just as good as the preceding novel. Easily the strongest concluding story.
I can't really judge the Voyager novel since I didn't read it, but its conclusion was silly.
I also didn't read the Calhoun and Shelby book, for which the concluding novella makes me glad. Pretty sure M'k'n'z or whatever would have been laughed out of the room by the D&D players in Stranger Things. I basically skimmed this one to see if it had any impact on the larger story, and the only hint that it might was never picked up again. Apparently Chekhov didn't carry a phaser.
The TNG conclusion was about as shoddy as the TNG novel, if you could call it that. We see the return of Incompetent Riker and Badass Troi, though not the recurrence of Nervous Data. The reprised bad guys from a Voyager episode never actually turn on anybody. Yawn. And most of the "action" is Picard playing Space Jesus to a planet full of NPCs from Ocarina of Time. Completely lackluster.
So for the series as a whole.... The DS9 novel and novella were decent. The Kirk novel was fun and the Keller book was ok. I kind of regret wasting my time on the rest of it. I always liked TNG, which is why it hurts to see it done so badly.
And even if the writing had been up to snuff and the stories had been solid, this "buy the 7th book to read the endings to the first 6!" gimmick needs to die.
The Kirk closer was not awful, but it felt lackluster and obvious compared to the first part of the story.
The Keller conclusion I actually liked, even if the ending came completely out of left field.
The DS9 exploration of Kira's journey was just as good as the preceding novel. Easily the strongest concluding story.
I can't really judge the Voyager novel since I didn't read it, but its conclusion was silly.
I also didn't read the Calhoun and Shelby book, for which the concluding novella makes me glad. Pretty sure M'k'n'z or whatever would have been laughed out of the room by the D&D players in Stranger Things. I basically skimmed this one to see if it had any impact on the larger story, and the only hint that it might was never picked up again. Apparently Chekhov didn't carry a phaser.
The TNG conclusion was about as shoddy as the TNG novel, if you could call it that. We see the return of Incompetent Riker and Badass Troi, though not the recurrence of Nervous Data. The reprised bad guys from a Voyager episode never actually turn on anybody. Yawn. And most of the "action" is Picard playing Space Jesus to a planet full of NPCs from Ocarina of Time. Completely lackluster.
So for the series as a whole.... The DS9 novel and novella were decent. The Kirk novel was fun and the Keller book was ok. I kind of regret wasting my time on the rest of it. I always liked TNG, which is why it hurts to see it done so badly.
And even if the writing had been up to snuff and the stories had been solid, this "buy the 7th book to read the endings to the first 6!" gimmick needs to die.
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