Dyson Sphere [Import] [Unbound]

Charles R. Pellegrino (Author), George Zebrowski (Author)

Product Details

• Unbound
• Publisher: Pocket Books (March 1999)
• ISBN-10: 0743421299
• ISBN-13: 978-0743421294
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What falls away, January 11, 2001

By 

George (Philadelphia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dyson Sphere (Star Trek: The Next Generation, No. 50) (Mass Market Paperback)

This review refers to the original version of the book, which was approved by Paramount for publication and which was mysteriously gutted by Pocket Books on the eve of publication - -without either author's knowledge or consent. I, like many readers, am familiar with the superior works of both authors and as I trudged through these seemingly misconnected chapters I could not escape the feeling that huge pieces were missing. Conversations would break off unexpectedly, then start off somewhere else - with different people! It was as if a good movie had been given over to Ed Wood for editing (or to the writers' worst enemy). One of the authors (Pellegrino) is a professional engineer and archaeologist and I could not imagine how a book in which the Captain of the Enterprise, an archaeologist at heart, is given charge of a most amazing archaeology expedition - - the Dyson Sphere, and the archaeology of the Borg - - could possibly go so wrong. I approached Pellegrino about this and he confirmed that approximately 25% of the book had been removed, that someone had renamed ships half-way through the story but not throughout (so that ships and even characters abruptly changed names), and that gross scientific inaccuracies had been introduced. All the more puzzling because Pellegrino claimed that he and Zebrowski had been hired on specifically to write a scientifically literate Star Trek novel. He was kind enough to let me read the original, approved version and I will never understand why some of the most fascinating creatures and chapters (including anything at all that dealt with character development or Piccard's personal suffering) were deleted. Pellegrino politely explained that there had been sincere apologies from Pocket Books, and that although no one at Pocket seemed to know how this had happened, the full version would be published shortly. That was nearly two years ago, and when I ran into him at a recent conference in Philadeplhia, he confirmed that the promise of a restored edition was apparently nothing more substantial than "lip service," and stated (this time, not so politely)that "Dyson Sphere" was the only one of his own books that you would ever find on his shelves. This is too bad, because the version I read was every bit as good as Pellegrino's "Dust," Zebrowski's "Brute Orbits," or Pellegrino and Zebrowski's "The Killing Star." Pocket could easily have had another New York Times best seller on its hands. I've never before heard of a publisher destroying one of its own books. It makes no sense. It's like eating your children.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A better book than it is credit for., May 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Dyson Sphere (Star Trek: The Next Generation, No. 50) (Mass Market Paperback)

I don't know what so many people seem to think is wrong with this book. I thought the Horta crew was interesting, since there never was much talk about the Horta since their main episode. Picard kept in character with his need to go into the sphere and be the archeology lover he is. Though some characters didn't say much, that does not take away from the story. There doesn't need to be a chapter per character to be a good novel. The science was very evident, the authors obviously did their research. The sphere itself was well-described, and the manakin people showed evidence of new life beginning, and unfortunately a quick ending. Using the sphere in a story was a good idea, and I enjoyed it. All in all, it was an excellent book, and don't be afraid to try it.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Needed more paper., October 20, 1999

By 

Brandon Hume (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dyson Sphere (Star Trek: The Next Generation, No. 50) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book takes on concepts that are on par with the Rama books, but unfortunately doesn't go anywhere with it. The situations the crew encounters are mind-boggling and VERY nifty. The book does very well describing the immensity of an object like the Sphere, and coming up with unique things that might occur with such an object. Unfortunately, no sooner are you just getting interested in something than the crew runs away to do something else.

You'll find yourself saying, "Uh...WHAT?" often as you read this book, as the crew makes wild speculation on everything and running with it as though it were proven fact. They frequently add zero and zero to get elephants, and it gets tiring after a while. Guinan shows up, for no apparent purpose than to wander around and periodically say something mysterious.

The text of the book itself seems to imply authors with good talent, who were trying to meet a deadline. "Dyson Sphere" is a trilogy of thick books, boiled away and crammed into an inadequate 197-page novel.

Quite sad, really.