Rating:  Summary: Has its moments, but falls short... Review: When I started reading this book I thought to myself, "wow, I actually like this book." But soon after, I decided it wasn't as good as I thought it was. It has some excellent moments, namely, Riker's attitude toward Bateson and his "old style" of thinking, and Picard's identity crisis is a real plus. I don't think it was very realistic to have given Morgan Bateson, a man from ninety years in the past (oh wait, ninety- THREE!), command of the new Enterprise, (granted, they WOULD try to promote Picard to admiral, so I'm not complaining about that), but I think command would most certainly have gone to someone who knew how the current world worked... and the way Bateson botched the Klingon encounter, it was obvious he didn't know what he was doing.I was going to give it 3 stars (it was a descent book after all) but the ending ruined the ENTIRE book. Man, Diance Carey slapped an ending on it just to end it. The book could easily have been another 100 pages, if not two... That would have been sweet. There was still so much story to tell, and she didn't give the book its due. Diane Carey has never been one of my favorite writers, but she had something with this one, but it fell short of it's potential. 2 stars. Recomended read, but only if you want to be dissapointed
Rating:  Summary: This one is GREAT! Review: This book ties in greatly with the series, as we see Captain Bateson, Captain Scott, and a bunch of pissed off Klingons! I always wondered what happened to Captain Bateson after the TV episode where he and his crew were freed from the time loop. Well, unknown to me until now, he had a major part in the new Enterprise E! Whoda thunkit?
Rating:  Summary: Thankfully, I got it on the bargain pyramid... Review: This was, well, awful. It seems like the author bit off more than she could chew. She drew together plots with Captain Bateman and his crew (from the TNG Episode "Cause and Effect,"), brought in the brand new Enterprise-E, tied in Scotty, the Gul that tortured Picard in "Chain of Command,", some previous-century Klingons, and - oh yes - a holodeck recreation of Kirk. And tribbles. The result is an alarmingly out-of-character mash of crossovers that leaves you feeling like you're reading a comedy, not a science fiction novel. The only thing that redeemed this book at all to me was the plight of Captain Bateman and his crew, stranded far ahead of their own timeline. They were interesting. The rest was not. Skip this one, unless you'd like to know more about the crew of the USS Bozeman. But go to a library.
Rating:  Summary: I Love Diane Carey's books, well most of then anyway. Review: Diane Carey brings to life the Star Trek Universe not by expanding on the lives of the already, Oh so well known, crew of TNG, but by introducing us to new people. You dont get know these new people as well as the crew of the Enterprise but you will understand and feel for them and what motivates them in much the same way. Its refreshing to walk in the shoes of other Captains from the ST universe and Diane Carey walks you through it as if you were standing on deck next to them. Great book with a wonderful plot and easily explains why events happen as they unfold. Read it and enjoy the ride.
Rating:  Summary: One big dissapointment Review: This was the first Diane Carey book I'd ever read and I was shocked. The book got absolutely nowhere, the characters were boringly portrayed and, at times, seemed to act very much out of character. The novel is filled with over-simplification, clichés and stereotypes, while it gives us the usual Klingon-animal Human-God type of message. About 85% of the book is made up by completely irrelevant and poorly paced scenes that don't contain any entertainment or artistic deapht. But it DID portray an interesting time on the TNG timeline and is maybe worth one read if you have time and can find it from a public library. But don't by it. Thats all I have to say about this one.
Rating:  Summary: Diane Carey should've taken more time to write this book! Review: The story itself was okay, with some interesting details. The events of "First Contact," "Cause and Effect," and the original series episodes were well told. Unfortunatlely, it juggled too many stories and had some really annoying incongruities with regard to the movies and series. First, Klingons don't live quite so long, so Bateson's enemy probably wouldn't be alive after all this time. Second, didn't anybody PROOFREAD this book!? I can understand the occasional misspelling of a big word, but "Alfa 177"!? I think if the author had taken more time to get down some of the small details and have somebody proofread her book, it would have come out much better. The story is good, it just needs to focus on one or two of the big storylines.
Rating:  Summary: Ship of the Line is first rate Review: Normally I do not like books by Diane Carey. She has done novelizations in the past which I have read, and I have thought them too short with not enough detail. However, this one book would turn me into a Diane Carey fan. I loved this book. I know, from reading a lot of the reviews before mine, that there are a lot of people who hated it because there wasn't enough TNG crew involved, they didn't like the ending, etc. Well, "Cause and Effect" is one of my favorite STTNG episodes (I have it on tape) and I always wanted to know what had happened to Captain Batesman (played by Kelsey Grammer) and his crew. One gets a glimpse of him in the Peter David book "The Captain's Daughter," but we see none of him in any other book. He is an engaging character that I would love to see in more books. Simply put, I began reading this book a few minutes after I bought it, and I didn't put it down until I was finished with it (two hours later). I love it, I love the ending, I love his crew, and the biggest thing I love about this book is that it didn't have a bunch of characters that we already know in it. We got to meet a lot of new people with new stories. If you have a hankering for a ST book that doesn't have a lot of ST characters we already know in it, pick up this book. If you like quirky, smart characters, pick up this book. If you are looking for more Picard & Co. action, best leave it alone. But at least read it once.
Rating:  Summary: a must-read book Review: I'm a fan of Diane Carey books. I enjoyed reading Diane Carey novelizations of DS9 novels and Star Trek CD ROM. This is one of the most entertaining novels i read. the interaction between Bateson and Kozara especially as enemies is quite interesting. The story is well-written.
Rating:  Summary: Not Your Usual Star Trek Adventure Review: If you only yearn for lots of Kirk or Picard and their crews, avoid this book because it only has a smidgeon of Picard and the Next Generation crew. If you do avoid the book, I think you will, however, be making a mistake. The Star Trek novels are often a retelling of the same story line, with only some variation in the details to help you fight off total boredom. Ship of the Line makes a bold attempt to go where the other novels have not gone before. Here are some of the differences. The story focuses on the building of the Enterprise 1701-E1, the replacement for the D1 which was destroyed. The characters are from the 23rd century, Morgan Bateson and his Klingon arch enemy. When Picard does appear, he has to call on help from his former Cardassian torturer. The theme of the book is clearly that stalled thinking is harmful to us and those around us. A good example is that if we decide someone is an enemy, we may miss the opportunity to form an alliance with that enemy that would be to our mutual advantages. In fact, it may be easier than we think to do so. In this book, Diane Carey is clearly pointing out the real lessons of conflict. Enemies who meet each other often find they like and respect one another. Destruction also requires rebuilding, and care lest we make the same mistakes all over again triggering another round of destruction. Whip of the Line is a nice, balanced story with lots of food for thought. What more can we ask of our Star Trek novels?
Rating:  Summary: Enjoyable read, though perhaps overrated by Pocket Books Review: This need not have been a special event novel except for the fact that it's the "first" Enterprise-E adventure. What they failed to mention is that it wasn't a Picard-and-crew adventure. Note that I really liked the bits about the construction of the new Enterprise, and the different command style exhibited by Bateson is fun ang engaging, but we don't really tune in to see HIM every week. The plot still moves along fairly well, with a villain that's unusual, but far from scary most of the time. The clash of captain styles is something we've visited before with Jellico in "Chain of Command". And there are a lot of other clichés as well. May be better for non-Trekkers, actually. You get to meet the main characters in the book, without need of any other material. Fans will feel cheated out of the usual crew's presence.
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