Rating: 
Summary: A good book, but has flaws
Review: 'The Sundered' by Martin and Mangels is the opening book of the new 'Lost Era' series, exploring all those historical incidents that were only ever hinted at during the various Star Trek series. There are two major plot lines in play, the first is an adventure centred around Captain Sulu and the Excelsior trying to negotiate with the mysterious Tholians, one of the oldest but also one of the least explored species in all of Trek. The second plot line follows the story of a human colony built inside an asteroid during the 21st century, right about the time that WWIII breaks out on Earth. I'll explore the 2nd plot line first. The colony is conducting warp experiments in orbit of Earth, and one goes awry and sends the asteroid colony 200 light years away. What exactly happened here is not explained in any great detail, only that some sort of mysterious mishap sent them away. I found this a weak point of the book. After establishing self-sufficiency, the colony is then swept up by the mysterious phenomenon from the Voyager episode 'One Small Step', which takes the colony over 200 000 light years away to the Small Megalanic Cloud, a small galaxy near the Milky Way. The colony eventually establishies it's own culture and religion, and becomes increasingly warlike after several alien attacks, adopting a policy of 'kill or be killed', even if they aren't sure if the newcomers have hostile intentions. The colony eventually becomes mobile, and conquers a primitive world. Although they arrive under a flag of peace and friendship, the colonists (now adopting the name Neyel) eventually enslave the primitive population, and later conduct a mass slaughter of the primitives on the world. The Neyel then expand their empire, building ships and conquering other worlds, eventually ruling over 30 or so worlds. The Neyel a later drawn into conflict with the Tholians, when a mysterious phenomenon creates some sort of physical conduit between Tholian space and the conquered Neyel homeworld. The two races go to war, and then the Excelsior enters the story, attempting to find out the truth between the mysterious Tholian activities. I won't reveal too much more, but suffice to say that the Excelsior and Captain Sulu are drawn into the situation, trying to broker a peace between two sworn enemies. There's a good mix of action, diplomacy and character development, which makes the book a fairly good story, with the exception of several unexplained technical details from earlier in the story. The writing itself isn't brilliant, as the writers seem very eager to show off their extensive volcabulary by using unusual words. If you want to read this book, I recommend you have a dictionary beside you. The writers also let a few too many of their political views creep into their work: -On page 86, the writers mention the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They describe is as: '....reminded her of frightened Israeli soldiers with quivering trigger fingers. And her own desperate, demoralised cousins who had for decades counterattacked indiscriminately by strapping bombs to their bodies. Justifiable fear had motivated both sides.' This statement is untrue. While they are correct about the Israeli soldiers being frightened, their decription of the Palestinian terrorists is not correct. What fear motivates them? I don't know. Most of them are young people from decent families who have fallen under the influence of evil people who fill these young minds with lies, creating an immense hatred of Israel. Justifying their actions by twisting the meaning of a normally peaceful religion, these people strap explosives to themselves and head into crowded public areas, and look to see where they can kill the most women and children. This is not justifiable fear, it is terrorism. But more to the point, why did the writers even mention this in their book? Star Trek has always dealt with serious issues, but the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not something that Star Trek should be exploring. It also involves religion, another topic that Star Trek steers away from. I also found that the Excelsior crew seemed a little too eager to embrace the Neyel as long-lost cousins. The Neyel had conquered and enslaved the populations of any world that was close to them, and then used to resources of that world to expand their Empire further. This is what the Cardassians did to the Bajorans in the 24th century. These actions are not that of a race that the Federation should be instantly accepting with open arms. In summary, I found the colonists and the eventual Neyel story to take away more from that plot than it gave. I believe that the writers would have been better off using another race from within the Milky Way galaxy, and exploring the Tholians a little more. On other hand, the writers did a great job of exploring the Tholians a little more. I particularly liked the way that they described what the Tholians physically exist as, expanding on one glimpse of them in 'The Tholian Web' and several refrences to them over the years, the writers created an entire species from that. But other than the flaws that I mentioned regarding the Neyel, this is a fairly good book. I thoroughly enjoyed the adventures of Sulu and crew, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the Lost Era series.
Rating:
Summary: A decent story - but a little too long...
Review: A decent story detailing both Captain Sulu & Co. efforts to make peace with the Tholians and a "Space 1999" story of a pre-warp, Zeframe Cochrane-era asteroid outpost populated by humans catapulted away from earth orbit and eventually into another galaxy through a trans-dimensional rift. On the upside, the explorations/revelations concerning the Tholian race (a largely neglected alien race dating back to the Original Series) are great and the evolution of the outpost survivors and the process of relating the two storylines to one another is intriguing. On the downside, the authors take a little too long to tell this story and it could/should have been more concise.
Rating:
Summary: A decent story - but a little too long...
Review: A decent story detailing both Captain Sulu & Co. efforts to make peace with the Tholians and a "Space 1999" story of a pre-warp, Zeframe Cochrane-era asteroid outpost populated by humans catapulted away from earth orbit and eventually into another galaxy through a trans-dimensional rift. On the upside, the explorations/revelations concerning the Tholian race (a largely neglected alien race dating back to the Original Series) are great and the evolution of the outpost survivors and the process of relating the two storylines to one another is intriguing. On the downside, the authors take a little too long to tell this story and it could/should have been more concise.
Rating: 
Summary: 'Sundered' sets the stage for super sequels!
Review: Dictionary.com defines 'Sundered' as... To break or wrench apart; sever. To break into parts. A division or separation. I think this is appropriate do to the fact that 'The Sundered' truly does separate, break into parts, and sever itself from the previous lot of Excelsior & Sulu centric Star Trek novels. For the first time, an Excelsior novel has been done right, and likewise for the first time the prospect of a full-blown Excelsior series is on the horizon -- something some fans even tried to have done for television! I have it on good authority that 'at least' one further Sulu/Excelsior novel is to be penned by Michael A.Martin and Andy Mangels, with the prospects bright for a full line of Excelsior novels. Martin & Mangels have done it again. Though I've only read one other work by the duo - Deep Space 9: Mission Gamma, Book 3 - 'Cathedral' - I was equally impressed with that novel as I have been with 'The Sundered' by M&M's ability to create a truly science-fiction like atmosphere within Star Trek - something that has been lacking in many peoples opinions for quite some time. The non-humanoid Tholians where a brilliant choice to be the 'villian' of sorts in this story, as we for the first time got a truly decent look at the Tholian culture, race, species, government, and individuals. It's amazing to find a truly alien culture in science fiction anymore, when every 'new' race is simply a mock-up of another. The interconnection between 'The Sundered' and the DS9 Relaunch novels was also brilliant. By having the Excelsior Chief of Security be a younger Lieutenant L.J. Akaar -- later Fleet Admiral during the relaunch -- the generations have truly begun to bridge for the first time. It also says something on behalf of the editors at Pocket Books, who have in recent years gone above and beyond the call of duty to make the literature aspect of the Trek franchise the best it can be. Creating original characters and using them in various times and periods, thus connecting everything like a delicate tapestry, is just something we've been missing in Trek. I can't wait for the next M&M work, and the next M&M Excelsior novel. Here's hoping that the next novel cements the Excelsior chain of books, and M&M as their architects.
Rating: 
Summary: WOW!
Review: I finished reading the Sundered a couple of days ago and wanted to say WOW!.
I truly enjoyed that book. It was like coming home again. The character interactions were phenomenal. It was revisiting the past. It sucked you right into the world of Star Trek. The characters are as you remember them, only all grown up. The authors write with a passion that shows they love the series as much as you do. Great job, Fun read. Cannot wait for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Good start to the Lost Era, but an implausible ending
Review: I know this is going to be one of those '0 out of 11 found this review helpful' reviews, but I'm going to do it anyway.
The good:
--Well written, it's easy to get swept away
--Interesting origin story regarding the Neyel
--Interesting interplay between the Tholians and Starfleet
The bad:
--The solution to the core issue was ridiculous, laughably so
--The diplomat was a poorly-drawn character; it's like the authors couldn't decide whether she should be a good or bad character, so they chose neither
--The hyperevolution of the Neyel; they accomplished way too much in too short of a time (and speeding up generations doesn't change the fact that you still have a finite number of hours to work with)
--Yet ANOTHER sword-fight in a Star Trek book
--And, of course, it conveniently made sure that canon wouldn't be violated in the end
--The authors kept contradicting themselves regarding 'Aerth', the Ambassador's beliefs towards the Neyels' origin, and whether or not the crew of the Excelsior were from it...I don't know if this is because each author took turns writing, or they were just careless All in all its a worthwhile book, and it shows a lot of promise for the entire Lost Era series. I know there are more negatives in my review than positives, but that's only because most of my positives have been mentioned by other reviewers. If you like Trek, I'd definitely recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Captain Sulu at his best!
Review: I loved how Captain Sulu performed in "The Undiscovered Country" and now this book carries on with this very intense and believable incarnation of former Lieutenant Sulu from the Original Series. Great! And even though I grew up with the Original Series Star Trek, I also came to love TNG as well and, later, VOYAGER and ENTERPRISE. Being an avid fan of sci-fi in general, however, it would be an injustice on my part not to mention the many other old and new sci-fi works that both led me to Star Trek and which have forever forged my love for all sci-fi works: "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Puppet Masters", "Foundation", "2001", "2010", "Rendezvous with Rama", "Ringworld", all the "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" books, as well as books as new to the genre as "Advent of the Corps" and others.
Rating:
Summary: THE SUNDERED IS A MUST READ
Review: I pulled an all nighter and read The Sundered in one sitting and its a long book on the order of 125,000 word. It was so engrossing that I just couldn't put it down. Those of you who wanted a Sulu novel will not be disappointed. The characterizations of those familiar Star Trek characters are right on the money. The plot is good and richly detailed. The continuity hooks are great. Not only is the book good Star Trek but it is good science fiction. I strongly urge fans of any of the Star Trek series to read this. One part that stands out to me is a meeting between Sulu and Chekov. It was awesome. BUY IT! READ IT! BUY TWO GIVE ONE TO A FRIEND This book would be a great Star Trek movie
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Read
Review: I really enjoyed this novel. It was thick - that was the first bonus. It has a great story - and a great story within a story. Yes, there is obvious foreshadowing in the book. But I'm not convinced that it isn't on purpose. I don't think this book was written as a mystery, where you are shocked when something is revealed to you. Instead, I think you get to see outside the auction, and see our heroes make it all come together. This book left me wanting...wanting to read more adventures of Capt Sulu, the Excelsior, and this crew. I hope we see a series of books centered around this cast. I would welcome it. I could hear all our favorites in our head: Sulu, Chekov, Tuvok, Chapel, Rand - they are there. It's nice to see them leading the charge.
Rating: 
Summary: Very, Very Disappointing
Review: I really wanted to like this book. Before ordering it from Amazon, I found myself hoping that, perhaps, this book would prove to be merely the first in a series of Excelsior-era novels -- with Pocket Books providing us the "Captain Sulu" series Paramount would not. Unfortunately, "The Sundered" is far more concerned with its own plot than with its connection to the larger Star Trek universe. The story reads, for all the world, like a non-Trek SF novel with a Star Trek veneer painted over it to make it fit into the Trek melieu. Authors Martin and Mangels do offer some genuinely interesting plot ideas, but this novel focusses on those plot ideas at the expense of its supposedly-central characters. Captain Sulu, First Officer Chekov, Rand, Chapel, and Tuvok are barely *in* this novel -- and they spend too much of their "on screen" time merely reacting to plot events rather than participating in them. The alien culture featured in this story -- The Neyel -- get *multiple chapters* devoted to their racial origins, and to various events in their cultural history. Meanwhile, some of the Excelsior command crew mentioned above get only a handful of *lines* of characterization in total -- the rest of the time, these characters merely perform their "Star Trek job functions" to facilitate the plot. Too often, we only get to see the Excelsior command crew in "group meeting" scenes, wherein they discuss events (i.e. furnish plot exposition) before Sulu makes a command decision and the scene ends. In short, the Neyel race, and most of the characters wholly created by Martin and Mangels (including one of the most objectionably implausible diplomat characters I've ever encountered) take up the majority of this book. Captain Sulu, and the other characters from Star Trek canon, are little more than background "flavour" here, used to keep the story connected to the Star Trek universe. For those who want a better "Excelsior-esque" Star Trek novel, I would recommend "The Captain's Daughter" by Peter David. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend "The Sundered" to anyone who wants a solid Star Trek tale, first and foremost.
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