Rating: 
Summary: I read all the Star Trek Books, this was one of the best!
Review: I really enjoyed the way all the events in the books melded together. How friendship and courage and decency became the glue that cemented the whole of the story. To me, as a 25 yr Star Trek fan that is the appeal of the series and the Star Trek characters. The character of Stiles was a refreshing one. He seemed within the emotional reach of the reader and his self-discovery and self-realization lead the story along, while providing a wonderful avenue for bringing the more familiar characters of Spock and Dr. McCoy and Dr. Crusher into the tale. Diane Carey has done her usual job of making the details and science of the Starfleet ships and crew seem very believable, also. I am not overly concerned with technology and sometimes feel bogged down with details in some of the books,but Carey makes me want to read about the workings of a StarFleet ship and makes it an interesting part of the story. The medical aspects of the whole Double Helix series has been interesting to me and prompted my initial interest in the series. I think they are a keeper and I can't wait to read the next three!
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good, Bad ending
Review: I really enjoyed this book for the most part. I enjoyed learning about the character Eric Stiles, and the chemistry between Spock and McCoy was very well portrayed. Though I am not a super-Next Generation Fan, I do like the characters Dr. Crusher and Data, and I think the scene in the Romulan fortress was great. However, I did not particularly care for the way the author ended the book. I don't like endings where the author creates somthing out of this world and unexpected (AKA Zevon's Kung-Fu Wife) and then ends the book with the feeling that you've read too fast or something.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Star Trek book I've read in a while
Review: I really enjoyed this book. If you're going to read only a couple of books in the Double Helix series this should be one of them.
Rating: 
Summary: Very disappointing.
Review: I was looking forward to this book, but it ended up being an utter disappointment. The virus storyline that should've been the main plot was reglated to subplot status, which made me question the point of even doing this book as a "Double Helix" book. Heck, the virus isn't even mentioned until page 122! And when it was mentioned, it was done in a very offhandish way. It seemed to me that the author was more interested in telling her story about the commander (Eric Stiles) than she was about the supposed purpose of the book, and that just seemed utterly disrespectful to me. That story should've been saved for another novel, and the main focus should've been on the research to discover a cure. I found the ending to be way too pat for my tastes. I've never been a fan of "surprise endings" in which we are dumped a pile of information that we didn't previously know and the author goes "ha! gotcha!" as if that's supposed to make us feel like dupes for not figuring out the mystery (even though there's no way to figure out the solution given just the clues in the book). This happened with the "surprise" revelation that Zevon had a child, and this child is the last "uncontaimed" Romulan royal family member. There were also some plain-out weird word choices in this novel. I can't remember any other book where I've paused so much after reading a certain word or phrase. Using the word "edited" in a dialogue tag, and Dr. Beverly Crusher remarking that perhaps she would change her career to being a professional wrestler (when I'm fairly sure no such thing exists in the ST future) were just two of the many examples that caught my eyes. All in all, a very disappointing story, one that I wouldn't recommend at all. Perhaps the worst Star Trek story I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Spock is brilliantly portrayed in this novel.
Review: In this novel, the portrayal of Eric Styles, the ensign who grew up, is quite interesting, but the interaction between him and Spock is superb. Spock, here portrayed as an older ambassador, is filled with wit, depth, kindness, and above all, humor. In fact, all of the scenes and dialogues are truly thoughtful and intelligently conceived. The story is finely plotted and timed. However, the ending is too abrupt. Over all this is an excellent story with excellent characters.
Rating: 
Summary: "leers"
Review: It's funny how each book has a word that gets trapped in the loop. With Wagon Train to the Stars, it was "that." I couldn't get rid of it. I ended up having to go back through every chapter and changing sentences. With First Frontier, it was "levered." Writing is a strange and possessed sort of occupation.
Rating: 
Summary: Carey just can't get above Betty Sue...
Review: Mark Twain once described Richard Wagner's music as being "better than it sounds." This sentiment sums up my feelings of Diane Carey's Trek novels.
When one picks up a Star Trek novel by Diane Carey, one may be assured of two comforting elements: 1) Captain Kirk (and, by association, the rest of the TOS crew) will be treated by other characters as the bravest, strongest, noblest, handsomest, simply the ginchiest anyone has ever seen; and 2) Ms. Carey's knowledge and experience of nautical and naval traditions will be lathered over the story at every opportunity in a manner almost of reminiscent of Irving Wallace, who would do extensive research of his subject and then have a character simply mouth paragraph after paragraph of expository paraphrasing, almost completely divorced from the context of the plot. Ms. Carey's last two efforts evince these traits exceptionally well. In "Ship Of The Line," she has Captain Morgan Bateson speak in nineteenth-century sailing lingo, while in "Red Sector," her protagonist has a case of hero-worship on Spock that borders on the homoerotic.
Ms. Carey's latest effort, "Wagon Train To The Stars," is classic Carey. Both the above elements are present in full force. A supporting character -- the captain of a privateer vessel in the aforementioned "wagon train," early on rebels against taking orders from Kirk, saying "there's only one man in a hundred thousand worth following" (or words to that effect). Then, after several amazingly heroic, courageous and daring feats, the privateer places himself fully at Kirk's disposal, repeating his earlier statement.
... She has to show the reader just how heroic, how wonderful the TOS characters are. I can't imagine her Kirk with the humor shown in "The Trouble With Tribbles" or "How Much For Just The Planet?", the self-doubt of "Balance Of Terror" and "Obsession," or the fallability of "Operation -- Annihiliate!" and "Errand Of Mercy."
I'll continue to read the New Earth books. Once again, Carey (this time with John Ordover) have concocted a brilliant plot, and so far it's a pretty good story. It's just that her actual words never quite live up to the story's promise.
Rating:
Summary: Carey just can't get above Betty Sue...
Review: Mark Twain once described Richard Wagner's music as being "better than it sounds." This sentiment sums up my feelings of Diane Carey's Trek novels.
When one picks up a Star Trek novel by Diane Carey, one may be assured of two comforting elements: 1) Captain Kirk (and, by association, the rest of the TOS crew) will be treated by other characters as the bravest, strongest, noblest, handsomest, simply the ginchiest anyone has ever seen; and 2) Ms. Carey's knowledge and experience of nautical and naval traditions will be lathered over the story at every opportunity in a manner almost of reminiscent of Irving Wallace, who would do extensive research of his subject and then have a character simply mouth paragraph after paragraph of expository paraphrasing, almost completely divorced from the context of the plot. Ms. Carey's last two efforts evince these traits exceptionally well. In "Ship Of The Line," she has Captain Morgan Bateson speak in nineteenth-century sailing lingo, while in "Red Sector," her protagonist has a case of hero-worship on Spock that borders on the homoerotic.
Ms. Carey's latest effort, "Wagon Train To The Stars," is classic Carey. Both the above elements are present in full force. A supporting character -- the captain of a privateer vessel in the aforementioned "wagon train," early on rebels against taking orders from Kirk, saying "there's only one man in a hundred thousand worth following" (or words to that effect). Then, after several amazingly heroic, courageous and daring feats, the privateer places himself fully at Kirk's disposal, repeating his earlier statement.
... She has to show the reader just how heroic, how wonderful the TOS characters are. I can't imagine her Kirk with the humor shown in "The Trouble With Tribbles" or "How Much For Just The Planet?", the self-doubt of "Balance Of Terror" and "Obsession," or the fallability of "Operation -- Annihiliate!" and "Errand Of Mercy."
I'll continue to read the New Earth books. Once again, Carey (this time with John Ordover) have concocted a brilliant plot, and so far it's a pretty good story. It's just that her actual words never quite live up to the story's promise.
Rating:
Summary: Another great installment!!!
Review: Red Sector is a fantastic book. It's very refreshing having a book that concentrates almost primarily on a non main character in John Eric Stiles. The character is extremely well thought out and written. The author nailed Spock and a hundred and thirty something Dr. McCoy perfectly. I'm dying to find out who the voice is at this point. Hopefully the next three in the Double Helix series will be as good as this one and the other two. Thank you very much to Diane Carey for an excellent book, even if I don't understand all those sailing terms your books are replete with.
Rating:
Summary: Another great installment!!!
Review: Red Sector is a fantastic book. It's very refreshing having a book that concentrates almost primarily on a non main character in John Eric Stiles. The character is extremely well thought out and written. The author nailed Spock and a hundred and thirty something Dr. McCoy perfectly. I'm dying to find out who the voice is at this point. Hopefully the next three in the Double Helix series will be as good as this one and the other two. Thank you very much to Diane Carey for an excellent book, even if I don't understand all those sailing terms your books are replete with.
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