Rating: 
Summary: Experience does not bring skill
Review: After reading Vornolt's first three Star Trek novels, I skipped everything else he's written because I couldn't stand his awful characterizations and his bad writing style. I picked up "A Time to be Born" from the library hoping that he may have learned something from writing more than ten novels, but unfortunately, he's just as bad as he's always been.I should say first off that he plots well. I picked up his first three books because the plots sounded interesting. They still do. He's got great ideas. However, trying to read his writing is quite difficult due to how overly flowery it is. In the first chapter, Wesley's dialogue reads like bad Tolkein fanfic. Also, he hasn't learned how to use the word "said" or how to use only one or two names for a character. For example, in the same chapter, Wesley is referred to as: Wesley, the former Starfleet Officer, the human, the newly born Traveler, and the young man. Usually he won't use the same name twice in a row, which makes for very stilted reading. If his writing style doesn't put you off, and you want to see what could have happened to the Star Trek TNG crew between Insurrection and Nemesis, then pick it up, you might enjoy it. But I can't get past his bad writing enough to actually be able to like the book much.
Rating: 
Summary: The ghosts of Rashanar, the dangers of Traveling
Review: First off, let me start by saying that "A Time to Be Born" cannot be reviewed merely as a stand-alone; it is half of a story continued in "A Time to Die," and those who lambaste it for being either too rushed or too slow obviously have not finished the second half. With that out of the way, on to the review. Simply put, if this is what the "A Time to..." series is going to be like, then we are certainly in for a treat. Vornholt probes deeply into the psyches of the "Enterprise" crew, giving even the little-used (but known) characters of Perim and Vale face time. Empathy is key in "Born," as we see in the opening chapters when the Traveler (Wesley Crusher, completing his training) comforts the old woman. We see the possibility of "Enterprise" self-destructing, alone in space, and feel the horror, pain, and shock Wesley feels watching his home explode. He feels helpless and decides to go against his Traveler training to help his former comrades. And then the action begins. "Enterprise" is sent to assist with the recovery efforts in the Rashanar sector, working in tandem with "Juno" and the Ontailians, a superstitious race whose fear of Rashanar borders on devotional. Quickly we learn the politics and dangers of Rashanar; Picard, Data, and LaForge are ambushed on the hulk of a dead starship, and the result is the theft of the captain's yacht, "Calypso" (really, there is no luck with these captain's yachts). The Androssi are the culprits (for those who have not read the S.C.E. e-books, where we have the first mention of this pirate/foraging race, there is background information, so all is not totally new) and become the catalyst for the novel. Something is haunting Rashanar, a sort of vampiric ship that feeds of antimatter, causing chaos, confusion, and conflict; it is Starfleet Captain versus Starfleet Captain in a battle of wills and wits. All is not what it seems in Rashanar, and Vornholt pulls off the destruction of the "Juno" and her crew so quickly, efficiently, and shockingly that the reprecussions resonate well after completing the novel. After "Juno's" destruction, action returns to Earth, where Picard is forced to face a tribunal (Admirals Ross, Nakamuru, and Paris) defended by Vornholt's favorite admiral, Necheyev. With her is an indistinct, unnoticable ensign named Brewster, a young man with years of experience and a hidden agenda. Picard is railroaded, Riker is put in command, and Rashanar is still a bloodbath. With Picard under the ministrations of Starfleet Mental Health and Counsellor Colleen Cabot, Vornholt leaves the reader desiring the answers to the biggest question of them all: what is the secret of Rashanar? In all, this was a great read and a welcome return to focus of the Next Generation crew. It is somewhat sobering to realize that this is what will set them on the road to their ultimate fate, but in the end, this is a great first step, and one that answers a few questions...but raises more.
Rating:
Summary: The ghosts of Rashanar, the dangers of Traveling
Review: First off, let me start by saying that "A Time to Be Born" cannot be reviewed merely as a stand-alone; it is half of a story continued in "A Time to Die," and those who lambaste it for being either too rushed or too slow obviously have not finished the second half. With that out of the way, on to the review. Simply put, if this is what the "A Time to..." series is going to be like, then we are certainly in for a treat. Vornholt probes deeply into the psyches of the "Enterprise" crew, giving even the little-used (but known) characters of Perim and Vale face time. Empathy is key in "Born," as we see in the opening chapters when the Traveler (Wesley Crusher, completing his training) comforts the old woman. We see the possibility of "Enterprise" self-destructing, alone in space, and feel the horror, pain, and shock Wesley feels watching his home explode. He feels helpless and decides to go against his Traveler training to help his former comrades. And then the action begins. "Enterprise" is sent to assist with the recovery efforts in the Rashanar sector, working in tandem with "Juno" and the Ontailians, a superstitious race whose fear of Rashanar borders on devotional. Quickly we learn the politics and dangers of Rashanar; Picard, Data, and LaForge are ambushed on the hulk of a dead starship, and the result is the theft of the captain's yacht, "Calypso" (really, there is no luck with these captain's yachts). The Androssi are the culprits (for those who have not read the S.C.E. e-books, where we have the first mention of this pirate/foraging race, there is background information, so all is not totally new) and become the catalyst for the novel. Something is haunting Rashanar, a sort of vampiric ship that feeds of antimatter, causing chaos, confusion, and conflict; it is Starfleet Captain versus Starfleet Captain in a battle of wills and wits. All is not what it seems in Rashanar, and Vornholt pulls off the destruction of the "Juno" and her crew so quickly, efficiently, and shockingly that the reprecussions resonate well after completing the novel. After "Juno's" destruction, action returns to Earth, where Picard is forced to face a tribunal (Admirals Ross, Nakamuru, and Paris) defended by Vornholt's favorite admiral, Necheyev. With her is an indistinct, unnoticable ensign named Brewster, a young man with years of experience and a hidden agenda. Picard is railroaded, Riker is put in command, and Rashanar is still a bloodbath. With Picard under the ministrations of Starfleet Mental Health and Counsellor Colleen Cabot, Vornholt leaves the reader desiring the answers to the biggest question of them all: what is the secret of Rashanar? In all, this was a great read and a welcome return to focus of the Next Generation crew. It is somewhat sobering to realize that this is what will set them on the road to their ultimate fate, but in the end, this is a great first step, and one that answers a few questions...but raises more.
Rating: 
Summary: Endless sifting through rubble does not excitement make
Review: First, there was Star Trek: Nemesis. Then, there was the bright idea by Pocket Books to tell us what led up to the movie. Thus was the "Time to..." series born. It consists of a series of two-part stories by different Trek authors. The first, appropriately enough, is A Time to Be Born, by venerable Trek novelist, John Vornholt. It's an intriguing concept, as the movie had all of the characters ready to move off in different directions, and it would be nice to see how they got there. How is the first book? It's pretty interesting interspersed with some horribly dull parts.
Rashanar is the site of one of the most horrific battles of the Dominion War, and it is now a floating graveyard. Littered with wreckage and gravitational anomalies, the site has become a draw to many greedy species intent on salvaging as much as they can, most especially the Androssi. The Enterprise is assigned security duties at this site, trying desperately to keep the scavengers away so that Starfleet can recover its dead. However, hidden away in all of these fluxes and the warp in the space-time continuum is something sinister, something that can drain the power from any ship it discovers. Their mission will bring Data to a decision point, a decision that could end Picard's career. Unfortunately, the crew may not be alive long enough to care.
There are some really good parts to this book and they make it well worth reading. Unfortunately, there are a few too many scenes of various shuttlepods tip-toeing through the wreckage, playing dead, and otherwise flying around to make it a thoroughly engrossing book. Vornholt tries to make these scenes interesting by providing a lot of character interplay, but he doesn't always succeed. There were times when I was reading where I wished one of these ships would just explode so that *something* would happen. I think I get what Vornholt was trying to do with these scenes, ratcheting up the tension by having it build through the reader not knowing what's going to happen, but sometimes enough is enough.
Thankfully, there aren't too many of these scenes, and the rest of them are very good. The scene where Picard, Data and LaForge explore the wreck of the Asgard is filled with tension, especially when they happen upon the Androssi for the first time. There are also some good scenes between Geordi and Data as they are exploring, especially when they finally find what is hiding in the graveyard. The pace finally picks up when the Enterprise gets back to Earth, even as the action slows down, mainly because I was intrigued by what was happening to Picard back there. Would he be drummed out of Starfleet? What would be the outcome of any court martial? Did he do the right thing?
Vornholt does a good job with the characterization for the most part. He should, as he's been writing these characters for years. The only character who felt a little off was Captain Leeden, mainly because she bounced between competent officer and screaming harpie and back again, sometimes in the same scene. Unlike Counselor Cabot later in the book, Leeden does it for no apparent reason. I know Rashanar is supposed to put everybody under a lot of stress, and she has been there for quite a while, but I just found this to be a little too drastic. Vornholt nails the regulars, though. He also has created an interesting race in the Androssi, and the two main ones we see (Ghissel and her pilot) are well done. Ghissel is a woman on her way up, and the coup that she claims by pulling one over on Picard is nicely done.
There is one bit of characterization that is really badly done, however. That is the various romantic relationships. Troi and Riker don't have very many scenes together as a couple, but the two Androssi do, and it's extremely juvenile. It's also incredibly pointless, considering what happens to them. While I found Ghissel and interesting character, I didn't find that this relationship added anything to her character at all, and I have to wonder why it was included. Even some of the descriptions of Troi and Riker are a little too "cute" for my taste.
Overall, though, Vornholt has created a very satisfying novel. Some bits of prose are a bit clunky. I have no idea why he keeps introducing Wesley as "The Traveler" every time Wesley comes on the scene, and then starts using his name. Wesley is a Traveler, but either use it consistently or just say Wesley. Don't do both. However, this is a minor point and Vornholt generally carries the reader's interest throughout. Even the boring exploration parts are relatively short. The second half of the book is wonderful, too, so don't' be disheartened if you find the first part even more boring than I did. It does pick up.
A Time to Be Born is a very good start to the series. I'm hoping that the rest of the series continues this, or even picks it up.
David Roy
Rating: 
Summary: If only the writing were as good as the plot....
Review: I made the mistake of ordering seven of the series at once, and I can't even make it through the first book! Vornholt obviously has no idea who these characters are and how they interacted with each other on the show. It's irritating when someone tries to write characters they know nothing about. If you don't watch much TNG or don't care about dialogue, the plot will keep you reading, but I can't get over how bad the writing is, so I'm done with this author.
Rating:
Summary: Utter garbage
Review: I really fail to see how this book could have gotten seven positive reviews, except perhaps via the time-honored tradition of fake reviews by advertising peons. The characterizations are extremely one-dimensional and are different from just about any other Star Trek story, canon or otherwise. In most cases the dialogue is outrageously painful to read. The setup and plot for the first half of the novel are extremely contrived, and I dislike being lead through an excessive number of hoops just so the author can set up the exact scenario he wants for the second half of the book. I bought this novel as an ebook. After reading it, I'm contemplating perhaps skimming the next 1-2 in Borders. If those don't seriously impress me, I won't even bother with the rest of the series, and I strongly recommend that nobody else do so either. If you want plot arcs in the Star Trek universe, I suggest looking elsewhere. If you want to preserve a respectable opinion of this author, I suggest reading his TNG novel "Masks" or TOS novel "Sanctuary" instead.
Rating:
Summary: a time to be born
Review: i thought this book and a time to die were much better than a time to sow and a time to harvest. i almost didnt want to read the rest of a time to sow it was so bad. vornholt did a good job of showing that picard is human, that he does have flaws and vulnerabilities.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing series that must be taken together as a whole.
Review: I'm through the first 6 books of this series - over 1,700 pages - and there's no slowing down. This series has made me an voracious reader. I can't put them down. I just preordered the last two books.
I want to encourage readers to give the various writers some room to take the characters in directions that may seem unusual. Some reviews have complained that these books don't conform to the characters they know. The fact is that people change. Every experience the crew has, and especially these intense stories... personal stories, will affect they way they act and work.
The main difference from these stories and previous books is the focus placed on how the missions affect the characters. They are not just about the crew coming to the rescue or solving the mystery. There are serious changes and decision happening across the whole series that are exciting to follow and watch develop.
These books, this SERIES, should be looked upon as a journey. It was specifically designed to bridge the distance between the movies Insurrection to Nemesis. With each book you read, more of the puzzle is filled in, and you start to really understand why family is such an important concept in The Next Generation universe.
Sure you can critique each writer's style and choices, and yes, some books are slower than others, but really, the first book in each pair is really only half of the story, so it's bound to be slower, building towards more action and the resolution. Stick with it and you will be pleased.
Rating:
Summary: Wish John Vornholt was writing all Nine parts of this series
Review: In this nine part saga by Pocket Books, John Vornholt has the first two entries. Looks like a promising one. In this one Wesley Crusher returns to see his Starfleet comrades. He learns that he can't be a human and a traveler. Travelers observe and rarely intervene. He has a vision of the Enterprise exploding and had to find out how this happened. Picard and his crew are exploring an alien ship graveyard only to discover that there are looters. Data, in a moment of distress tells Picard to fire upon a federation ship. One that Data believes to be a clone or a fake. This is because they are in a distorted region of space. The U. S. S. Juno, the ship joining Picard's mission was destroyed in retaliation for their actions. Not a good situation for any Starship captain. The episodes never had Picard on trial over stakes this high. The rest of the book focuses on his questioning by Starfleet Medical. We get to see an old favorite. Admiral Nechayev, for one. She's defending Picard. I never expected her to come to his defense. We see how the federation uses holodecks. They create a relaxed atmosphere, to question Picard. All of the events in this series take place before the movie Nemesis. It shows us in more detail why the crew is splitting up. In the next book, "A Time to Die" takes Riker on a mission to discover why Picard was forced to fire first. I remember awhile back the novel "Prime Directive" had Kirk on trial for violating starfleet's sacred prime directive. This looks like a Next Generation version.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely incredible
Review: It took me about two days to finish this book. I just couldn't put it down. Finally we know what happened to Wesley, and you get to learn a few things about the Travelers. A new alien species is introduced. Even though it's just the first book in a series of nine, it's easy to tell that the rest of the series will be great.
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