Rating: 
Summary: TNG meets the New Frontier...
Review: "Double or Nothing," book five in the 'Double-Helix' saga of Star Trek: the Next Generation brings us up to the 'present' day of the Star Trek universe. The protagonists this time are Riker and Picard from The Next Generation, and the crew of the good ship Excalibur from Peter David's "New Frontier" series.The plot itself - the continuation - and climax - of the viral-centric 'Double Helix' series, is quite good, but there are a few things that make one cringe a little. First, Captain Calhoun undergoes a James-Bond-esque equipment scene where he gets all sorts of nifty little doodads. It doesn't suit the rest of the series, as these devices, however they are explained as rare or unofficial, create a sort of imbalance. Why were these devices not used in battles with the Borg, for example? Second, there is a completely useless death in this book. While I understand the use of murder as invoking pathos, in "Double or Nothing," I was just annoyed at the death of a very strong character, which served no real plot purpose at all. It was disheartening. That said, the semi-comic scenes of Riker in command of the USS Excalibur are worthy of a few chuckles, and the denoument battle is a good read. The completist in me got this book more for the "New Frontier" aspect than the 'Double-Helix,' but I enjoyed it regardless. 'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: TNG meets the New Frontier...
Review: "Double or Nothing," book five in the 'Double-Helix' saga of Star Trek: the Next Generation brings us up to the 'present' day of the Star Trek universe. The protagonists this time are Riker and Picard from The Next Generation, and the crew of the good ship Excalibur from Peter David's "New Frontier" series. The plot itself - the continuation - and climax - of the viral-centric 'Double Helix' series, is quite good, but there are a few things that make one cringe a little. First, Captain Calhoun undergoes a James-Bond-esque equipment scene where he gets all sorts of nifty little doodads. It doesn't suit the rest of the series, as these devices, however they are explained as rare or unofficial, create a sort of imbalance. Why were these devices not used in battles with the Borg, for example? Second, there is a completely useless death in this book. While I understand the use of murder as invoking pathos, in "Double or Nothing," I was just annoyed at the death of a very strong character, which served no real plot purpose at all. It was disheartening. That said, the semi-comic scenes of Riker in command of the USS Excalibur are worthy of a few chuckles, and the denoument battle is a good read. The completist in me got this book more for the "New Frontier" aspect than the 'Double-Helix,' but I enjoyed it regardless. 'Nathan
Rating:
Summary: TNG meets the New Frontier...
Review: "Double or Nothing," book five in the 'Double-Helix' saga of Star Trek: the Next Generation brings us up to the 'present' day of the Star Trek universe. The protagonists this time are Riker and Picard from The Next Generation, and the crew of the good ship Excalibur from Peter David's "New Frontier" series. The plot itself - the continuation - and climax - of the viral-centric 'Double Helix' series, is quite good, but there are a few things that make one cringe a little. First, Captain Calhoun undergoes a James-Bond-esque equipment scene where he gets all sorts of nifty little doodads. It doesn't suit the rest of the series, as these devices, however they are explained as rare or unofficial, create a sort of imbalance. Why were these devices not used in battles with the Borg, for example? Second, there is a completely useless death in this book. While I understand the use of murder as invoking pathos, in "Double or Nothing," I was just annoyed at the death of a very strong character, which served no real plot purpose at all. It was disheartening. That said, the semi-comic scenes of Riker in command of the USS Excalibur are worthy of a few chuckles, and the denoument battle is a good read. The completist in me got this book more for the "New Frontier" aspect than the 'Double-Helix,' but I enjoyed it regardless. 'Nathan
Rating: 
Summary: James Bond in space; and I don't mean Moonraker...
Review: ... well, then again... The previous reviewer hinted at the Bondesque portion of this book. But he didn't tell the half of it. There is the mad-villian, typical of Bond, who matches the Moonraker villian who built a space station to house his own kind of perfect people to survive a similar distruction of all known life. There is even a Bond girl, who winds up like most other Bond girls (at least the first one 007 sleeps with--in the old ones, Calhoun even ... well, uh... gets seduced by her Bond style--in a "rescue pod" after he rescues her from sure death.) There are the contraptions and the Q character AND even an M character... matching with the new female M in the newer Bonds. There is a near perfect match for the guy with the metalic teeth, too, exept he talks. And, if you're still with me, the final scenes on The Voices space station and in the opening scenes are sooooo typically Bond it's pathetic: a normal looking guy goes through [challenges] that would kill anyone else and survives through luck, a bit of ingenuity and with the help of his toys. Luckily, I'm a Bond fan and a Calhoun fan (stopped reading the series after they killed him off. I was peeved.) Sadly, I"m on another Calhoun adventure, one where we find out he's not really dead... and Peter David has him in a typical Coyboy movie a la "Shane"... I know David writes a lot, but Damn! Could he be less inventive? I allowed for the fact he patterned Calhoun after Alexander the Great in the first part of the series, and even enjoyed it, but this is getting weird. Good thing he writes well.
Rating:
Summary: James Bond in space; and I don't mean Moonraker...
Review: ... well, then again... The previous reviewer hinted at the Bondesque portion of this book. But he didn't tell the half of it. There is the mad-villian, typical of Bond, who matches the Moonraker villian who built a space station to house his own kind of perfect people to survive a similar distruction of all known life. There is even a Bond girl, who winds up like most other Bond girls (at least the first one 007 sleeps with--in the old ones, Calhoun even ... well, uh... gets seduced by her Bond style--in a "rescue pod" after he rescues her from sure death.) There are the contraptions and the Q character AND even an M character... matching with the new female M in the newer Bonds. There is a near perfect match for the guy with the metalic teeth, too, exept he talks. And, if you're still with me, the final scenes on The Voices space station and in the opening scenes are sooooo typically Bond it's pathetic: a normal looking guy goes through [challenges] that would kill anyone else and survives through luck, a bit of ingenuity and with the help of his toys. Luckily, I'm a Bond fan and a Calhoun fan (stopped reading the series after they killed him off. I was peeved.) Sadly, I"m on another Calhoun adventure, one where we find out he's not really dead... and Peter David has him in a typical Coyboy movie a la "Shane"... I know David writes a lot, but Damn! Could he be less inventive? I allowed for the fact he patterned Calhoun after Alexander the Great in the first part of the series, and even enjoyed it, but this is getting weird. Good thing he writes well.
Rating: 
Summary: A rich tapestry of fiction.
Review: All of the terrific novels throughout history, in my opinion, are like a good cake, each one element would be good by itself. Everything from the spoof of James Bond films, down to the scientist who knew his own destiny, every small part gets it's time in the sun... The only shame that comes from this book that it will not get the attention it deserves because it is a novel spin-off of Star Trek. Peter David could do so well in the serious novel business that he should finally break out and give the people, not trekkers, something they will truely never forget.
Rating:
Summary: Great Fun Read!
Review: Although the plot is a little too "Star Trek saves the world", Peter David entertains us with a fast paced story filled with great character interaction, action scenes, and more background on some of the shadier sides of Star Fleet. My only critique is if the reader is not familiar with the crew of the Excalibur from the New Frontiers' series, they may get be easily confused. This is a must have for anyone enjoying the New Frontiers series right now.
Rating:
Summary: Wow! The best Double Helix ever!
Review: Double or Nothing had to be the most wonderful books out of the entire series. It had a lot of Peter David's characteristic humor and interesting plot twists. His mix of characters from TNG and New Frontier turned out to be very smart, because they played up to each other well. This book definetely makes the whole series worthwhile!
Rating:
Summary: The Best of Them All!
Review: Double or Nothing is by far the best book of the entire Double Helix series! It brings both TNG and New Frontier characters into it. Peter David is a very good author. I read both Imzadi books and immeadiately fell in love with his writing. This book kept me at the edge of my . . . sofa, bed, car seat, or wherever I was the entire time I read it!
Rating:
Summary: A MASTER work
Review: First of all, this book has EXTREME potential. It is of the Double Helix mini series, one of the GREATEST Star Trek mini-series ever. It features the New Frontier characters, some of the coolest and most fun characters ever. And, most importantly, it is by Peter David. David writes beautifully, and this novel is no exception. This book, strange enough, combines the twists of the X-Files, the gadgets of James Bond, the secret ops of Mission: Impossible, and the universe of Star Trek. A REALLY good book, but not as good as Q-Squared. I finished it in less than a day.
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