Rating: 
Summary: Not your fathers Star Trek
Review: A great sci-fi series has been transported from gender neutral to outright gay. Star Trek has always beeen tolerant of views but these authors take it way out of line. I wouldn't let my children read this.
Rating: 
Summary: I wonder what Neal McDonough has to say about it
Review: Set as a flashback from a couple days after FIRST CONTACT to six months before it, this one has the reintroduction of several bit characters from the past, such as Picard's old Academy buddies Marta Batanides (now an admrial) and Cortin Zweller (now a Section 31 stooge), as well as Enterprise-E helmsman Lt. Hawk. It also plays up the lesser-of-two-evils/greater-of-two-goods dilemma of whether or not to support Chiaros' allegedly-genocidal goverment or the rebels who want to overthrow it, and whether or not to hand the entire sector over to the Romulans in exchange for a list of Tal Shiar agents working in the Federation.
As for the oft-debated subplot of making Hawk a gay Irish Martian with a thing for historical holodramas, the writers of FIRST CONTACT left the door open for it by making Hawk a redshirt without so much as a first name, but Mangels and Martin made him come off as a spaceborne Will Truman; another positive example of this would be Slon in NEW FRONTIER #10: EXCALIBUR #2: RENAISSANCE. He's not the first gay Trek character (that honor goes to the Mirror Universe Ezri) but I was suprised to see that even though the 24th century is so enlightened and tolerant to allow this sort of relationship, they're still using the self-segregationist term "partner" instead of "boyfriend" or "husband." They also fell prey to the DS9 running gag of having a homosexual relationship with a Trill, and used the BABYLON 5 subplot of Martians not liking Earth.
Rating:
Summary: Not the greatest but a good one to read
Review: The section 31 series has its up and downs. The high point for me was Abyss. That was the best. The worst of the bunch was Shadow. Rogue is not the best but not the worst. It's a good read. I know some people have mentioned the homosexuality aspect but I could care less. To me it was just two people loving each other and nothing tacky or overt. Typical Trek stuff really. No big time sex scene. The story was good I thought but I agree with some of the people here that Section 31 comes of kinda of dumb. I was hoping they would shaft the Tal Shiar in the end. They didn't really. I think that is what people like about section 31 how they want one thing but are really doing something else. Also the fact they sacrifice two solar systems for a ... list didn't impress too much. Something more valuable would have done it or as I mention it was a ruse for something else. That section 31 introduced the disease that the Chairman of the TalShiar will get in the DS9 series. But overall I liked it and was not bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Failed to hook me.
Review: I was rather disappointed with this book as the overall story failed to grab me. I enjoyed Lt. Hawk's role in the book and I wish we would be seeing more of him as I think the Enterprise could use some crew rotations. Riker's continued rejection of command can't be doing his career much good. Back to the novel, Hawk's contemplation of the morality of Section 31 was very interesting and I think the authors did an excellent job of presenting the organization as a moral gray area. The "controversal" subplot is just that. If anything, I'm surprised that the Star Trek universe has not addressed this issue before. I didn't become preoccupied with looking for double entendres. If I had access to a holodeck, I'd probably run a pirate simulation, too.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book from beginning to end!!
Review: I thought the characters were handled beautifully, the plot was suspenseful and interesting, and the whole thing was true to Star Trek ideals. What an interesting idea to elaborate on Mr. Hawk's personal life....the writer was very good at showing us the inner workings of an otherwise supernumary character. This book was well worth the money!!
Rating:
Summary: Section 31 vs. Picard... can't miss out!
Review: Regardless of all the complaints that this book focuses on the rather interesting yet racey first really out there ' gay' Trek character, being TNG's Lt. Sean Hawk being too much of a focus, shadowing the entire Section 31 theme, this book was good. Perhaps one of the better ones this year behind DS9's The Avatar books. Its interesting, yes it is a bit slow at times, the reason for the four stars instead of the five. Yet, I was able to get through it in no time. First of all, this book does feature Section 31. It does a wonderful job in my opinion of reminding you of all your favorite things about those TNG years; good Riker and Troi moments, Beverly Crusher has more to do than in most books and even Nurse Ogawa makes an appearance. Reg Barclay is mentioned and yes, Lt. Hawk and his partner have good interaction that doesn't go beyond conversation and simple interaction. Nothing to cry over or to complain and pick about. It also features Picard's Academy pals as seen in ' Tapestry' play a major role in this book. Romulans, which are supposedly the main villans in Star Trek X factor into this book and spice up things as its a Section 31 meets Tal Shiar moment. In all, its a good reading. Picard handles himself well through out the book, and it takes place six months before First Contact. If your looking for a story that'll keep you on your toes till the last page, this is your book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: An outstanding novel. The best Star Trek book I've read in a long time. I enjoyed the character of Lt. Hawk. They treated Star Trek's first gay character with respect.
Rating:
Summary: Star Trek for grown-ups!
Review: The best thing to happen to Trek novels since the New Frontier series! This story has it all: mystery, suspense, covert operations, divided loyalties, moral ambiguities, all wrapped up in a very well-written story. The character development and depth added a lot to my enjoyment of the book. My only complaint is that a few of the established characters were a little more "black-and-white" than I would've liked, but I suppose they were just being true-to-form. I also would've liked some kind of resolution on Capt. Picard's thoughts in the beginning of the book, where he was wondering whether or not the Enterprise's incursion into the past to defeat the Borg had, indeed, resulted in some sort of alteration to the timestream. Oh well, maybe that's coming. One other note: It's sad that one reader can trash the entire book because of a few fleeting references to the sexual orientation of two crew members. I certainly hope you don't let this kind of narrowmindedness prevent you from enjoying one of the best Trek books in a long time.
Rating: 
Summary: Buyer Beware ......... Has Star Trek Sunk to This??
Review: I've been reading Star Trek novels for well over 15 years. Let's face it...these books are a pleasant diversion at best. They're not known for being particularly profound. Never the less, I was looking forward to reading this novel when I saw it was part of a series concentrating on Section 31, a covert section of Starfleet. I have to say this is a very poor effort, mainly because of the authors emphasis on some very controversial subjects. As most people know, there is a secondary story concerning the sexual orientation of Lt. Hawk, a character introduced in the film " First Contact". This story is introduced in such a jarring manner that I actually went back to re-read the previous page to see if a female character had been introduced that I had missed. It is obvious that the authors interest is in presenting this aspect of the story to the detrement of the main story. It is jolting to have Data happily complement the couple on an anniversary and I found myself laughing outloud. The happy couple on their way to the holodeck to play a pirate adventure....what next, Spartacus? Two warriors sparring in an underground cave has new meaning, especially when the shirtless men are breathlessly described as being overly muscular. The sub-story colors everything else to the point where I spent more time looking for double entendres. This was not what I expected in this novel at all. The final straw was the stab at organized religion as Picard approaches the planet at the center of the story. It is obvious the author has issues with sexuality and religion that he wants to address but this is not the format. I found this novel offensive, and I'm sure a lot of others will as well. Word to the publisher: I've bought my last Star Trek novel. I know the Star Trek franchise likes to brag about its groundbreaking acheivements, but frankly most of the truly new things ( e.g. the first interracial kiss) happend with the original series. This book comes off as propaganda for the left, and this subject matter was not appropriate in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Essential for TNG Fans!
Review: I am so impressed with this book. It's been far too long to actually have an adult TNG book put out that not only stays true to the original characters, but that is both thought provocing and well written. The authors keeps you rivited to the story and make you want to keep reading to see what happens. The gay characterization was extremely well written and thought out. I certainly hope that Pocket Books leaves the story of Section 31 to be told by these two fine authors, for these men do justice to their treachery and the shade of gray the member of this organization walk to justify their actions.
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