Twisted Kingdom

Date Completed: August 14, 2007
Publication Year: 1997
Book One in the New Frontier series

Reason for Reading: Somehow, I missed this series. I did not even know that it existed, but earlier this year, Zeek posted for the Ten Books She Could Not Live Without (full blogger list found here) that she could not live without Peter David's New Frontier series (you can see her list here). I was intrigued, but it took me all this time to actually get around to both purchasing and reading the first book in this series. (Actually, I only found the book yesterday). Angela (ScifiChick) also likes this series, and since these are both people I trust, I am now going to read this series. (Although Angela did not have this on her list, but she did have A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle and Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn, which are two of my favourite science-fiction books.)

Sector 221-G: For the whole of Federation history, this large area of space has been controlled by the Thallonians, a cruel, militaristic race of which little is knownexcept that they rule the other races in their sector with vicious iron hand.

Now the Thallonian Empire has collapsed and the systems it once ruled are in chaos. Old hatreds are surfacing. Petty tyrants control deadly weapons. World after world is descending into disorder and self-destruction. The Federation must send a starship to help where it can and report what it finds.

That ship is the U.S.S. Excalibur, a newly refit Ambassador-class starship commanded by Captain Mackenzie Calhoun and manned by Starfleet's best and brightest, including some old friends from Star Trek: The Next Generation and some of the most dynamic new characters ever to crew a Federation starship.

Join Captain Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur as they explore strange new worlds, seek out new life and new civilizations, and boldly go where no one has gone before!

This book largely just sets the series up. Some of the main characters are introduced, but they do not actually come together as a crew in this book. In the first section we meet the man that would go on to captain the U.S.S. Excalibur. He is only 19 years old when we first meet him and living on a very violent planet. Despite his youth, he has already accomplished a great deal and then he meets Jean-Luc Picard, then the captain of the Stargazer, who sees something in this young man that could equal greatness. It would be 20 laters later before he would become the captain of the Excalibur, and lots of things have happened in his life between now and then.

In this novel, we have Captain Jean-Luc Picard, some appearances from Ambassador Spock, some of the crew from the U.S.S. Enterprise-E, and other characters that I am sure that will go on to instill greatness. As this book only sets the series up, and all the adventures that will be coming are only hinted out, I thought I would share a wonderful scene from the book:

Looking at the monitor screen, in regards to their entourage, Commander William Riker commented, "I feel like a mother duck."

Data turned at his station and regarded Riker with such clear befuddlement that it was all Picard could do to keep a straight face. "Don't say it, Data," he pleaded, heading it off.

"'It,' Captain?"

"Yes. Don't begin inquiring as to whether Mr. Riker will begin quacking, or waddling, or laying eggs or acquiring webbing between his toes. The answer is no."

"Very well, sir," Data replied reasonably. "In any event, it will not be necessary, since you have already voice all the possibilities that occured to me."

Picard opened his mouth again, and then closed it. Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi exchanged broad grins.

"Although," Data added thoughtfully, "there is a slight tendency toward waddling...."

Riker's face immediately darkened. The fact that Deanna was now grinning so widely that it looked as if her face was going to split in two didn't help matters. "Mister Data, I will have you know I do not, have never, and will never, 'waddle.'"

"You do tend to sway when you walk, sir," Data replied, undetered and apparently oblivious of the imagery he was evoking. "A sort of rhymthmic, side-to-side motion that could, under normal conditions, be construed as--"

"No, it couldn't," Riker said sharply.

"If you would like, I can demonstrate," Data began, half up out of his chair.

Both Riker and Picard quickly said, "No!" Surprised by the vehemence of the reaction, Data sat back down.

(Pages 69-70 from House of Cards by Peter David (the four-in-one book)).

I LOVED this scene, no, I LOVE Data. I was laughing, and I could picture this scene in my head. It was priceless, and the best thing is.... I cut it off, there is more to the scene. This is Data, afterall. So, maybe people want to pick up a copy of this book just to see what else happens. I know that I am thrilled with the series, even if this book only starts things, I can see much more hillarious moments as the series progresses. I am prepared to sit back and enjoy the ride, that's for sure.

Date Completed: August 13, 2007
Pages: 284
Publication Year: 2004
Book One in the A Time to... series

Reason for Reading: I stopped reading Star Trek a few years ago, but I remember when this series came out. I almost resumed reading Star Trek right then and there, but there were so many other books that I wanted to read I didn't. When I recently found the first five books in the series at the second-hand bookstore, I picked them up.

On the cusp of their epic battle with Shinzon, many of Captain Jean-Luc Picard's long-time crew were heading for new assignments and new challenges. Among the changes were William Riker's promotion to captain and his new command, Riker's marriage to Counselor Deanna Troi, and Dr. Beverly Crusher's new career at Starfleet Medical. But the story of what set them on a path away from the Starship Enterprise™ has never been told.

UNTIL NOW.

The site of one of the Dominion War's fiercest battles, the Rashanar Sector now contains a vast interstellar graveyard littered with the lifeless hulks of hundreds of devastated starships. The explosive destruction of so many varied warp drives has severely distorted the space-time continuum in this region, resulting in dangerous unleashed energies and bizarre gravitational anomalies.

The Enterprise has been assigned to patrol the perimeter of the danger zone, while other vessels carry out the difficult and highly hazardous task of retrieving the bodies of the dead from the wrecked warships.

To some alien races, the former battleground is hallowed space. To others, including the rapacious Androssi, it is a scavenger's paradise, ripe for salvage. None expect this ship's graveyard to hold a deadly secret that will force the android Data to make a heart-wrenching decision about the path his life will take -- and that will endanger not only the Enterprise, but Picard's future in Starfleet.

This is a series of books that I believe many Star Trek fans will want to read because it explains all that happened between the movies Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek: Nemesis. A lot changes, and with this series of books, people can understand why. For starters, I was very happy to see Wesley Crusher return to the cast. I would not call myself a big fan of him, but it was about time he reappeared. I was mostly just curious what happened to him and what he was doing during those years that he was off with the Traveler. This book fills the reader in.

I will have to read book two in this series soon, it has a cliff-hanger sort of ending and I want to know what happens next. Mean writers. At least when this series came out they came out one book a month, but for some reason the sixth book in the series is out not available on amazon.ca. Anyways, unlike the last book I read, the Dominion War is over in this book. The Federation is left to pick up the pieces, and the Enterprise is sent to a particularly bad spot to salvage the bodies and send them home to their families. This battle was particularly bad and is full of mystery. It seems that the mystery did not end with the destruction of all those ships, though, the Enterprise and its crew find itself in the middle of it.

This was a rather interesting way to explain all the changes that the crew go through, and I am enjoying learning why things turned out the way they did. The problem with the show not being on television anymore is that things are not explained each week, so when they make a new movie there are often big gaps. Writing books to fill them in is, I think, a great idea.

There is one scene in this book that I do not think I will ever forget. It is between Geordi and Data, and honestly, it was such a perfect scene. Not perfect in how things were dealt with, but perfect in how it was orchestrated. Another good book in the Star Trek series.

Date Completed: August 12, 2007
Pages: 263
Publication Year: 2002
Part of the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. An untold tale of the Dominion War.

Reason for Reading: I spent my childhood reading Star Trek novels and watching it on television. This is why there are so many fantasy books that I still have to read, I started out my life with science fiction, mostly books based on Star Wars and Star Trek. So, the other day I decided that I am going to start reading these series again. Deanna, the main character in this book, was always my favourite character from TNG and I always wondered how Betazed was saved, so this was a logical reentry into the genre.

In the darkest hours of the Dominion War, as the Federation's downfall seemed ever more certain, Jem'Hadar and Cardassian forces conquered Betazed, the homeworld of Deanna Troi. Their victory sent shock waves through the Alpha Quadrant, and put the Dominion within striking distance of Vulcan, Andor, Tellar — and possibly Earth itself.

To secure their position in the very heart of the Federation, the Cardassians begin constructing space station Sentok Nor in orbit of Betazed. The station is to serve as both the seat of the Dominion occupation and the site of horrific experiments by Cardassia's foremost exobiologist, the infamous Dr. Crell Moset.

With Starfleet's forces spread too thinky in the ongoing struggle to retake Betazed outright, the U.S.S. Enterprise™ along with some old and new friends, is deployed to carry out a dangerous and desperate plan. But no matter what the outcome, the consequences could alter Betazed irrevocably, forcing Deanna Troi to choose between her world's survival and its very soul.

I remember when I was watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Commander Sisko was told that the Dominion had just attacked Betazed. Then, not a lot was explained about what happened after that, and what was done to save it. I had always been curious, so when I was at the bookstore looking at Star Trek books and saw this one, I had to see what happened.

This book captures the struggle that the Federation was in, they just did not have enough vessels to retake Betazed, and lots of people on Deanna's homeworld were dying. The Dominion, the bad guys, were winning and the Federation desperately needed something to swing things into their favour. Then, a member of the Betazed Resistance got a message to Star Fleet and offered up a plan that could easily bring about the rescue of the Betazed people, but they needed Deanna and she was not sure if this was something she wanted to be a party to. It would mean release even more evil into the world, and Deanna was not sure if that was worth it or not if the evil turned on them.

This was a good book. Star Trek novels are not exactly brain food, but they are like brain candy. They are usually pretty short with lots of activity, and since I have seen every single episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and most of Star Trek: Voyager, I can hear the characters voices in my head and picture the activity much more than normal. It was interesting to see how Betazed was saved, to watch the relationship between Deanna Troi and Commander Riker move towards what it would be in Star Trek: Insurrection, and to visit with some old friends. I think you will likely see more of my Trekkie roots on this blog in the future.

This book was exactly what I needed!

Howdy Folks! Sorry I have been so slack in updating, I am hoping people still read this blog... If you do, I am looking for some recommendations. Carl's reading challenge will be starting up soon, and last year I rewarded myself with one new purchase in honour of the challenge, so this year I am looking for another one. It is the R.I.P challenge, so I am looking for dark fantasy. I know most of the 'popular' fantasy authors, so I am really hoping people will go outside the box. Anyways, any recommendations would be great!

Also, I am looking for some Charles de Lint order. I have read a few books by him, but it was years ago, and I am currently reading Spirits in the Wires. I also have The Onion Girl headed my way. What other books by him are really good and people recommend? He has a lot of books to get through.

I have two fantasy books on the go, so updates soon, don't lose interest!