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odin45mp's reviews
1062 reviews
The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2 by Greg Cox
2.0
The premise and promise set up by the first book are sadly let down here. Greg Cox tried too hard to hold himself to our timeline of events, thus burying the Eugenics War underneath terrorist plots and back room deals. I expected a WAR, with Khan calling the shots and rallying ordinary people as well as genetically engineered supermen to his cause. Or at least taking on the entire world with a smug sense of superiority.
The author suffered from a bad case of fanwank, and tried to squeeze every single time travel episode or historical event into his novel, and it suffered for it. One or two, I can understand. But he tried his hardest to force every last event into his story. Furthermore, it makes no sense that the entire framing device, Kirk reading Gary Seven's exploits as historical fact, even exists. Gary Seven worked behind the scenes, undercover, there is no reason for his exploits to be recounted in such great detail unless he or Roberta wrote a biography.
The novel failed to deliver an epic story on the foundation laid by the first book in the Eugenics War miniseries.
The author suffered from a bad case of fanwank, and tried to squeeze every single time travel episode or historical event into his novel, and it suffered for it. One or two, I can understand. But he tried his hardest to force every last event into his story. Furthermore, it makes no sense that the entire framing device, Kirk reading Gary Seven's exploits as historical fact, even exists. Gary Seven worked behind the scenes, undercover, there is no reason for his exploits to be recounted in such great detail unless he or Roberta wrote a biography.
The novel failed to deliver an epic story on the foundation laid by the first book in the Eugenics War miniseries.
Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein
4.0
A fairly basic fantasy story with a couple of twists and good ideas towards the end. Heinlein's free love thinking is again expressed here, similar to some of the ideas he put forth in Stranger in a Strange Land regarding sexuality. A very enjoyable read.
Star Trek, Volume 2 by Mike Johnson
4.0
The continuing voyages of the starship Enterprise. This recounts one adventure of the Enterprise that we had in our universe a couple years later, and one new adventure unique to this universe. They tell a good tale, expanding our understanding of the motivations of our crew and how they are modified by the events of the Star Trek (2009) movie. Good characterization and good art.
Countdown to Darkness by Mike Johnson, Roberto Orci
3.0
It had some good character moments, building on the relationships established in Star Trek (2009) and pointing to further development in Into Darkness. Some of the setup is questionable (Mudd's Bajoran daughter) and the foreshadowing felt heavy-handed. I did read this after seeing the movie. I don't know if Protocol 31 is a reference to Section 31, or not. The plot felt a bit thin and largely a rehash of "The Omega Glory". Given the loving and thoughtful retellings of classic Trek episodes in the other prime universe comics, I was hoping that this movie tie-in would strike out in a bold new direction and tell a completely original story.
Silent Weapons by David Mack
4.0
An enjoyable Star Trek novel, with some good page time for all main characters. I debated between 3 and 4 stars due to the way the villain's plot unfolded, but decided that the writing and characterization merited 4.