Rating: 
Summary: Dreadful
Review: This book doesn't deserve to use the Star Trek title, it is definitely not set in the 24th century. I can't believe that the author has ever an episode of Star Trek. Bick clearly doesn't understand the main founding principle of Star Trek; humanity has matured.The characters in this book come straight from the 20th century and their dialogue is 1950's war movie speak. I even found the phrases "dollars to doughnuts" (pp153) and "like a traffic cop signaling a stop" (pp139). Most people in the 24th century of Star Trek will have forgotten what all these things are, but more importantly they are at odds with the atmosphere the author should be trying to create. Gene Roddenberry's whole point was to reach the stars human society would need to learn and evolve past its 'adolescence'; stop fighting petty wars over resources and beliefs and get along with each other. Humans are almost wiped out in WW3 before they learn this lesson in Star Trek, but the characters in this book show no signs of this evolution. They still spend their time arguing over petty grievances. It came as no surprise when I discovered that this book was written by a psychoanalyst; it's all introspection and no action. Large chapters are taken up with two characters discussing things of no importance and everyone in the story seems to have been given a different complex from Bick's casebook. The ship's counselor even has a 'bell' to tell him when his session is up. Is he charging his patients? The only thing this book gives any insight into is what the slush pile at Pocket Books must be like. I also love the idea of "sepia" covers for the Lost Era series, like they don't have colour already in 2236? My advice if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in close proximity to this book is implement a transporter code 14 on it and go and find some good fanfic.
Rating: 
Summary: The book gets better as the author does
Review: This book is a prime example of something I've seen in quite a few first novels - the author, at the beginning, is still writing short stories. Each chapter is its own little self-contained story, only about one or two characters, and so the book is choppy and overwritten. Then, about 1/3 of the way through, we finally start getting introduced to the rest of the ship's crew, little by little, and there start being more complex scenes. By the last third, the book is in fine Star Trek form - space battles, shattering plot twists, brilliantly realized characters, etc, etc. In short, everything you've come to expect from the truly outstanding Lost Era thus far. Granted, a little darker than the first three, but still very much a Star Trek novel. The problem is that the whole book isn't as good as the last third - the first third is slow, plodding, and doesn't flow at all, and the second third is mediocre at best. I look forward to Bick's next novel - by the end of this one, she had really figured out how to do this right - but this one just didn't hold together well enough.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, in its way.
Review: This book is an attempt to flesh out the character of Captain Rachel Garret, who we've previously seen (very briefly) in the "Next Generation" episode, "Yesterday's Enterprise", Captain of the Enterprise "C" who died defending a Klingon colony world from a sneak attack by the Romulans.
The book is reasonably (if not spectacularly) well-written, and eventually, the characters begin to take on enough life to catch our interest. But the book certainly starts slowly, and takes some time to gain the reader's attention.
Not without interest, but not an "E Ticket".
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Read
Review: This is the forth installment of The Lost Era books and in it we meet the somewhat disfunctional crew of Enterprise-C. This book has a much darker tone than the first three books and is the least favorite for me. It spends a great deal of time exploring the problems of the various crew members before turning into a very good mystery story. For those readers who like reading about characters who have a mulitude of problems then this is the book for you. The back cover description gives one the impression that this story is mostly about an archeological find concerning Cardassians and that really isnt the case. A large portion of the book concerns the Enterprises XO named Halak. Garrett's husband and son are also featured. Though this book wasnt my cup of tea it was as finely crafted as the first three and I am sure there are those who will like it as much as they did the first three.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to get into
Review: To say that "Well of Souls" is not your conventional Star Trek novel is a bit of an understatement. It is a book that is bound to provoke a strong reaction, either positive or negative in those that read it. "Well of Souls" contains many of the usual elements you would expect to find in a Star Trek novel but many more that you usually don't. First and foremost this novel is about the characters. They are perhaps the most human cast of characters I can ever remember encountering in any Star Trek book. They are flawed, and that, in and of itself, is extremely refreshing. Unfortunately all the soul searching and introspection bogs down the pace of the story and I found myself becoming extremely impatient the more I read. Every time the plot began to pick up a bit the narrative suddenly changes tempo and reverts to a slow crawl. The author throws in more than one left curve and there are small bursts of action within the subplot but until the final one hundred or so pages they never last for long enough to build momentum. We didn't get to know learn very much about Rachel Garrett in the Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" and I must admit that my initial reaction to the character in "Well of Souls" made me feel very grateful for that lack of knowledge. But as the story unfolds you can find much to admire in her character and you might even find yourself empathizing with Garrett and her dysfunctional officers to some degree. The sheer number of secondary characters is a bit overwhelming at times and they are not all as fully developed as they could have been but some of them really stand out, like the straight talking CMO Jo Stern or the Naxeran tactical officer G'Dok Ghemour. Bick's prose however is wonderful. Exquisitely descriptive and at times so graphic you can't help but feel uncomfortable. This is Ilsa Bick's first full-length novel although her short fiction has been widely acclaimed and her talent shines from every page of "Well of Souls". The point of view of each character comes through clearly and the scene transitions are wonderful. But while the execution of the story is superb on a number of levels it is a difficult story to get involved in initially. The old saying "first impressions are the most important" is extremely apt when it comes to "Well of Souls". While this novel may not make a particularly good first impression, patience with its eccentricities does bring some rewards in the end.
Rating: 
Summary: More from this new Trek author .... PLEASE!
Review: What a fabulous book - very cool character development - lots of twists - great descriptions like, "the way her black eyes flashed - a veritable semaphore of hostility." I can see why Dr. Bick also won first prize in the star trek anthology contest - a gifted story teller - I hope she publishes more books soon!
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