Star Trek: The Next Generation: Maximum Warp: Book Two

Rating:
Summary: At first seems better than the first one, but...
Review: After the first "Maximum Warp" book, the second half of the duology starts off really promisingly.

The story holds together much better than in the forst book, there are more interesting siuations and even some sufficciently deepened character moments with both new and familiar characters.

But soon starts the downhill as plot gives it all away to action as long and uneventfull space battles and other action-packed scenes take over the story, the plot gets predictable and characterization is forgotten.

The ambitious but messy ending of the book ruins it all, as it stumbles on sci-fi clichés and overly melodramatic climax.

Leave the "Maximum Warp" duology to the bookstore and maybe borrow it from the library. It's not worth your money.

Rating:
Summary: Book Two Makes the Pair Worthwhile
Review: Book #2 of, "The Maximum Warp", pair manages to pull together the weaker first book and make the pair a worthwhile Trek adventure. One of the keys to the success of a plot whose ending is not completely unfamiliar is the interaction between Mr. Spock and Data, two of my favorite characters from different incarnations of Enterprise ships. I also have always enjoyed the unique relationship bridge that was created when Captain Picard and Captain Kirk met, and the ongoing development of shared experiences with Mr. Spock and Captain Picard.

Whether you agree that this 2 book tale is enjoyable will largely depend on how much familiarity you are willing to accept. The end is filled with phrases like, 10 dimensional type IV civilizations, base matter energy is inescapable, and the theory of oscillating universes. What made this jargon work for me was that it was information and theory that was primarily explored by Data and Mr. Spock, with Data exceeding Mr. Spock's ability for reasons that were interesting. It was a different spin on why Data is different, and not just for the obvious reasons.

I gave book #1 3 stars, and I have given this book 4. Together they are somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars, and again, how much of the material reminds you of another Trek episode may decide how much you like these books and how you would rate them. Many of the sub-plots of the book were hastily brought to conclusion, and many were very questionable as to why they were needed at all, but as the author introduced them in book #1 he had no choice but to either conclude them or leave them unfinished. The book closed with a great quote from Albert Einstein, People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.

This is not a set I would start out with, but if you plan to work your way through the dozens of books in the Trek anthology, you will come across these eventually, and like others I have read they do recall and refer to other adventures of crews in the past.