Customer Reviews

The Art of the Impossible (Star Trek: The Lost Era, 2328-2346)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Lost Era series has another winner with Kieth R. A. DeCandido's The Art of the Impossible. This third of 6 Lost Era books had a hard act to follow comming after The Sundered and Serpents Among the Ruins and in that it exceeds admirably. The book covers 18 years of confict between the Klingon's and the Cardassian's. DeCandido makes excellent use of characters that have appeared in Star Trek on screen. The action is fast paced, lively and gripping. This was another book that was hard to put down. I highly recommend it.

Star Trek - The Lost Era: The Art of the Impossible 2328-2346 written by Keith R.A. DeCandido is a story told well, with charater development and vivid charatization. This story is character driven but has action-adventure and is detailed. This book starts at 2328, thrity-five years after the presumed death of Captain James T. Kirk aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-B in "Star Trek: Generations." It concludes in 2346, eighteen years before the launch of the Enterprise-D at "Encounter at Farpoint."

"The Art of the Impossible" is mainly a character driven book and the characters are those that we've either read about briefly in books or comics or have heard about in the movies, television. This book takes it's basis from a conversation between Bashir and Garak about the eighteen-year Betreka Nebula incident between Cardassia and the Klingons in the ST: DS9 episode "The Way of the Warrior."

"The Art of the Impossible" is a remarkable book as it starts out about a long past Klingon space exploration project and then a cold war between the Cardassians and Klingons developes and the discovery of and ancient Klingon wreck on a planet next to the Betreka Nebula and then the story gets resolved as both sides finially come to their respective senses. So, we have a book that is divided into three sections but there is seamless continuity as Keith R.A. DeCandido writes a well-crafted story.

Some of the characters you'll read about that get fleshed out are K'mpec, Kor, Ian Troi, Sergey and Helena Rozhenko, Kang, Curzon Dax, and Lwaxana Troi. Others in this adventure are K'Tal, Corbin Entek, Tokath, Enabran Tain, General Worf, Koval, Legate Kell, Vance Haden, L'Kor, Kahlest, Sarek, Uhura and Rachel Garrett. Rachel Garrett is the main character in the next novel in the series "Well of Souls" and I will review that book when I'm finished reading it.

"The Art of the Impossible " is a book with great detail but also, it is written in a style that is easily readable and you'll finish the story quickly. If you like to read Trek this is a story you will NOT want to miss as it has some mystery and intrigue sprikled into for some spice, but foremost, the characters are well-written and you can visualize them speaking from the book. This book fills in the missing pieces from snipets of information about the adventures in the TREK universe before Picard and after Kirk.

I gave "The Art of the Impossible" a solid 5 stars for a very well-told adventure that will pique the interest of the reader with detail and is masterly crafted. You will not be disappointed reading "The Art of the Impossible." Keith R.A. DeCandido does a wonderful job of telling a story that is both detailed and interesting.

This book was the first Trek novel I've picked up in a while. It was spectacular. Honestly, I was expecting to be bored. Political books are not usually my thing, but the balance between the cold, heartless leaders and the real people who served under them was just right. I didn't find myself siding with either empire. Instead, I cared about what was happening to Vaughn, Troi, Dax and Mogh. The familiar faces were enjoyable, especially Vaughn. This character has become one of my favorites in the entire Trek universe, and when I read Avatar, I wasn't even sure I was going to like him. He is so unlikable, and that is certainly part of his charm. He's the antithesis of Will Riker. It was also nice to see Curzon Dax, and the reverence he's held in by, well, most of the Klingons. The references to other events throughout Trek history also gave this particular book a depth I wasn't expecting. It makes me want to read the Lost Era novels on either side of it in the timeline. After six months or so not reading Star Trek novels, this was the ideal book to return on. One more thought, the epilogue was wonderfully ironic. We always see Cardassians as spies and military dictators, but this chapter showed just a touch of their human side. My compliments to Keith.

This is exactly what I expected from series of Star Trek novels that promised to tell us about the "Lost Era". Author DeCandido has woven a compelling and utterly believable story out of threads and characters mentioned, often in passing, throughout the whole Star Trek canon. The novel increased my respect for the convcining alien civilizations that Star Trek has developed, and for DeCandido's ability to depict them. This is frankly the first Star Trek novel I've read in years that wasn't a hundred pages too long. I look forward to this author's next book.

Lost Era books seem to be divided into two sections of differing quality. I am glad to report that this one is divided into the great first half and the even better second half. My two favourite reading areas are history and Star Trek. The first half, the 2330s section, blends these two brilliantly. The style of the writing is like the author actually had the historical records for this era and profiles of the historical figures, and added a semi-fictional narrative to bring it to life. Similar types would be Clive Cussler's Sea Hunters, Bernard Edwards Return of the Coffin Ships, or, on a fictional note, Tom Clancy, or John M. Ford's The Final Reflection. Except for Ford, DeCandido's writing is better. I absolutely loved it.

The second half, in the 2340s, changes to a more conventional action-mystery narrative. To my surprise I actually enjoyed it more than the first half. Part of that was the amount of Trek history it contained. Only part, though, because the writing itself was excellent. I don't think I have enjoyed a new Trek book this much since The Left Hand of Destiny. I highly recommend this to every Trek reader.

Keith DeCandido's "The Art of the Impossible" is devoted to the Cardassian-Klingon cold war remembered as the Betreka Nebula "Incident", which would involve both the United Federation of Planets, and eventually, the Romulan Star Empire. DeCandido is at his best describing political intrigue in the Klingon Empire, with memorable portraits of Chancellors Kravorkh and K'mpec and Captain Mogh, Lieutenant Commander Worf's father. He also excels in a riveting character study of Federation Ambassador Curzon Dax and Starfleet Intelligence officer Elias Vaughn. However, I did not find this novel nearly as riveting as David George's "Serpents Among the Ruins". Yet I have no doubt that Star Trek fans will find this "Lost Era" novel most appealing.

This, the third Lost Era novel, "The Art of the Impossible", by Keith R.A. DeCandido tackles an eighteen-year time span in Star Trek history, 2328 through 2346. With broad strokes that paint a clear picture of the political climate of the period, the Betreka Nebula Incident is at last laid bare in this fabulous book. This novel has it all; a riveting plot, incredibly vivid and interesting characters, plenty of action and enough continuity to delight even the most persnickety fan. The story also has broad appeal, tying together events and characters from every aspect of the Star Trek universe: the series, the movies, comics and novels.

It takes a master storyteller to turn a thirty-second conversation in the Deep Space Nine episode "The Way of the Warrior" into a novel with this much scope, imagination and detail. Keith DeCandido has been delighting Star Trek readers with his writing since he burst onto the scene with "Diplomatic Implausibility" in 1991, but with The Art of the Impossible he has really outdone himself. In this novel DeCandido not only succeeds in telling a notable story but he also allows the reader a glimpse inside the hearts and minds of the characters and their cultures. Divided into three parts The Art of the Impossible tells the story from multiple points of view and takes the reader into the worlds of the Klingons, the Cardassians and even the Romulans of that period.

Not since _Federation_ have we seen such an epic Star Trek adventure. Spanning decades, this novel brings together many of Star Trek's familiar, sundry characters, breathes life into them and creates a wonderfully grand mosaic of Star Trek that is seldomly seen. All too often Star Trek remains segmented within its own series. If you want one big integrateed Star Trek universe, then read _The_Art_Of_The_Impossible (or DeCandido's _The_Brave_and_The_Bold_.)

It excels on every level. Great detail, great plot, great characterizations, great continuity.

awesome star trek novel fills in a lot about the lore and gaps in Star Trek history especially TNG in this book. Book was received in supreme condition.

The Star Trek tapestry is rife with what Calvin and Hobbes fans would affectionately call "Noodle Incidents", past exploits and adventures mentioned in passing, but which fans have nevertheless wondered about. As the Lost Era project covers the 70-year gap between James Kirk's death aboard the Enterprise-B and the launch of the Enterprise-D, it is no exception to the rule. The Tomed Incident is perhaps the best-known "Noodle Incident" of this time-frame and David R. George III masterfully covered that in "The Lost Era: Serpents Among the Ruins".

But there is another undocumented adventure that, while not as well-known as the Tomed Incident, is still just as mysterious and fascinating: The Betreka Nebula Incident. First mentioned in passing during the DS9 episode "The Way of the Warrior", we knew only that it had been a minor skirmish between the Cardassians and Klingions that led to an 18 year conflict between the two powers. Naturally, it is a perfect tale for the Lost Era to delve into...

The novel opens in 2328 and runs through 2346. The Cardassian Union is expanding and on the cusp of annexing the world of Bajor. They are seeking precious resources and the newly discovered planet of Raknal V is a perfect candidate. But Raknal V contains more than metals. It also contains the wreckage of one of the Klingon Empire's lost fleets, the legendary forces of Ch'gran. The Klingon Empire is still recovering from the explosion of Praxis and the damage done to their infrastructure nearly 40 years earlier. Such a recovery would bring both resources and a major boost in morale throughout the Empire. The resulting military skirmish and the diplomatic and political maneuvering that follow will instead shape the futures of not only the Klingons and the Cardassians, but the entire Quadrant in ways large and small.

This is easily my favorite of the Lost Era novels and easily one of the best Star Trek novels of the new millennium. Keith R.A. deCandido weaves together seemingly unrelated threads and characters from TOS, TNG, DS9, and VGR to present a political thriller worthy of Tom Clancy. He also addresses longstanding questions and inconsistencies within the Trek canon and gives a sense of unity to the franchise. The book also overlaps with Ilsa J. Bick's "The Lost Era: Catalyst of Sorrows" as there's a brief mention of the Enterprise-C's exploits in that book. I would also recommend reading "The Lost Era: Serpents Among the Ruins" first as DeCandido continues threads that David R. George III set up.