Customer Reviews

A Call to Darkness (Star Trek, the Next Generation, No. 9)

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

 

 

"A Call to Darkness" is Michael Jan Friedman's second Star Trek novel and first Star Trek The Next Generation novel which has lead to him being Star Trek's most prolific author altogether. This was the first of his novels that I'd read and from this very beginning I found his writing to be quite compelling and a true joy to read. If you've read any of his later novels and not read this one yet, I suggest that you go back and check this one out for you will not be disappointed in the least.

The premise:

Captain Picard and the Enterprise discover a lifeless Federation research vessel in orbit of a planet that his hidden behind a mysterious energy shield. Despite the strong and ever present objections of his first officer, Commander Riker, Captain Picard leads an away team to the abandoned vessel to search for the crew; then they disappear. Commander Riker now finds himself in the position of having to find his missing Captain and crew and at the same time a mysterious disease strikes the crew of the starship...

Of the many early Star Trek The Next Generation novels, this one stands a cut above the rest due to Michael Jan Friedman's captivating and intriguing writing style. I would definitely recommend this early STNG novel to any and all fans. {ssintrepid}

Micheal Jan Friedman shows why he is one of the better Trek writers in Call to Darkness. It is standard Trek fare, not likely to linger in the memory for very long, but written in an engaging way. There are some flaws, of course, including a holodeck scene with Homer reciting the story of Cassandra (absent from the Odyssey; Virgil or Aeschylus would have been more accurate). However, it was good to see Pulaski again. Unlike every other character in Trek, we all know and have worked with a Pulaski-type; she was the most "real" of all Trek characters, and Friedman does a fine job of capturing her orneriness. Overall, A Call to Darkness is worth any Trek fan's time.

Star Trek-The Next Generation: A Call to Darkness written by Michael Jan Friedman is a book where Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise is taken and Commander William Riker has to figure out how to get him back book.

This book is early TNG and the rolls of Worf and Data still need direction and real purpose. This book pays more attention to the rolls of Riker, Dr. Pulaski, and Geordi LaForge as they try to find a way to get Captain Picard back after he is trapped on a brutal world. A world that for entertainment of the masses they have war games for real... made for TV. Of course, the combatants are all kidnapped from spacefaring races that happen to come close to the planet.

War being the only entertainment for these people they require more and more players(combatants), as such, more and more crews become MIA's. At least 18,000 people are alive and doing combat war games for entertainment. But, that is not the only plot in this book. Soon after Picard's disappearance, Commander Riker has a strange mysterious disease begins to ravage the crew of the Enterprise.

I found this book to be a fast read, engaging till the ending. What I liked about this book in particular, was Riker working independent from Picard as it shows Riker's character and fleshes him out. Friedman tells a good tale and you will be throughly entertained

While the book is easy to read (most books are, on the Kindle), for some reason, there's not a single quotation mark in the entire book. No apostrophes, no double quotes, no nothing. Makes it VERY hard to figure out when someone is speaking, or when you're reading expository text.

This is the third Trek book I've encountered with the exact same problem. I hope they get better at converting books from print to Kindle format.

This book kept my attention. I never really cared for Pulaski but this made me see a better side of her. I think this is a little better than the average ST:TNG.

The plot, involving the kidnapping of Enterprise crewmembers so that they can participate in war games for the entertainment of the masses, reads like something stolen from a fantasy novel for most of the pages. Worf gets to shine a little, but little else is very interesting here, mostly because the characters all have amnesia and are not truly themselves.

Occasionally, within the ST series of books comes along a novel that is a gem not only in the realm of Star Trek but also in the realm of pure Science Fiction. A call to Darkness is such a book. The book tells the story of an ancient empire crumbling under the weight of its age, arrogance and aristocracy.
In order to maintain its stranglehold over its populace the ruling class uses the remnant of its technological past to kidnap the crews of passing space vessels. The prisoners are then stripped of all their memories. Their talents, however, are used to help placate the repressed serf society. They become participants in a made for distraction war.
The plan works well for years until they capture, by mistake, a landing party from the Starship Enterprise.
A Call to Darkness is a novel from early period of Star Trek the Next Generation. Data is still a naive machine striving to find his niche among his human crewmates. Worf's character is still unrefined, caught between his Klingon heritage and his human upbringing. And Dr. Pulaski is the senior medical officer on the Starship Enterprise. They along with Captain Picard and Geordi LaForge find themselves caught up in cruel senseless war with no way out.

the kindle version lacks proper punctionation which makes the read not very grabbing. the story on its own is interesting, but I found myself more interested in the storyline of the 'aliens' then of the enterprise crew. average book, could be better worked out.

While not necessarily a book that you just can't put down, it was an enjoyable read.

THIS IS A GOOD READ. THE STORY FLOWED WELL AND WAS A GOOD CONCEPT. MR. FRIEDMAN KEEPS IT INTERESTING.