Grand Designs (Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers) [Kindle Edition]

Dayton Ward (Author), Kevin Dilmore (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Tensions between two planets in the Rhaax system have abated to the point where the sides have agreed to disarmament. The S.C.E. crew on the U.S.S. da Vinci is sent along with a Federation diplomat to act as weapons inspectors to make sure that the terms of the cease-fire and disarmament are followed.

But soon the S.C.E. learns that neither side has any intention of truly disarming -- and then Tev, P8 Blue, and Soloman are captured by one side. Captain Gold must find a way to rescue his crew, and keep the peace, before both planets explode!

About the Author

Keith R.A. DeCandido was born and raised in New York City to a family of librarians. He has written over two dozen novels, as well as short stories, nonfiction, eBooks, and comic books, most of them in various media universes, among them Star Trek, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Marvel Comics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, Resident Evil, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, Farscape, Xena, and Doctor Who. His original novel Dragon Precinct was published in 2004, and he's also edited several anthologies, among them the award-nominated Imaginings and two Star Trek anthologies. Keith is also a musician, having played percussion for the bands the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players, the Boogie Knights, and the Randy Bandits, as well as several solo acts. In what he laughingly calls his spare time, Keith follows the New York Yankees and practices kenshikai karate. He still lives in New York City with his girlfriend and two insane cats.

David Mack is the author of numerous Star Trek books, including Wildfire, A Time to Kill, A Time to Heal, Warpath and the critically and fan acclaimed series Star Trek: Destiny. With Marco Palmieri, he developed the Star Trek Vanguard series, for which he has written two novels, Harbinger and Reap the Whirlwind.

His other novels include the Wolverine espionage adventure Road of Bones, and his first original novel, The Calling, will publish in July 2009.

Before writing books, Mack co-wrote with John J. Ordover the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fourth-season episode ?Starship Down? and the story treatment for the series' seventh-season episode ?It's Only a Paper Moon.?

An avid fan of Canadian progressive-rock trio Rush, Mack has attended shows in all of their concert tours since 1982. Mack resides in New York City with his wife, Kara. Learn more about him and his work at www.infinitydog.com.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 258 KB
• Publisher: Pocket Books/Star Trek (May 1, 2004)
• Sold by: Simon and Schuster Digital Sales Inc
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000NY127I
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #200,382 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed most of the stories...but..., January 26, 2012

By 

Harold Tucker "Harold Tucker" (Alabama) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Grand Designs (Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers) (Paperback)

I enjoy most of the stories in the Corp of Engineers series, but I just could not get into 'Orphans'. I wanted to finish it, because I hate to just stop reading a story without completing it. It was choppy, it didn't flow. Some parts just didn't even make sense. I was so proud when I got to the last page.

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent except for the last story., July 19, 2011

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James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Grand Designs (Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers) (Paperback)

The Star Trek Corps of Engineers series is a series that follows the exploits of the USS da Vinci, a ship whose mission is, essentially, to find solutions to technical problems that are beyond the abilities of the engineering staffs of regular ships. There is a skeleton crew of command and security officers, but the majority of the crew of 40 are top-notch engineers.

The series has been told in chronologically consecutive short-story format, so each book in the series has had around 5 stories; this book is no exception. The stories have generally been of high quality, closer to classic science fiction than the usual Star Trek stories, with more emphasis on science in the plots than most. This book is no exception, and I would have rated it at five stars except for the last story, (Sargasso Sector) which on its own I would barely have rated a second star.

The story was entertaining enough, but far too much of it was simply implausible. (I realize that there is an argument to be made that when one is dealing with faster than light travel and matter transferrence as standard technology, plausibility is not terribly important, but what I'm talking about is INTERNAL plausibility within the Star Trek universe.) I'm aware that there is a counterargument to my complaint, but I've considered that argument and found it wanting. Unfortunately, in order to detail my complaints, acknowledge the counterargument, and explain why it failed to be sufficient rationalization for my tastes would involve giving multiple plot spoilers, and given that those spoilers would ruin the only positive that the story has going for it, I'm unwilling to do so. The only objection that I can give that would NOT be a plot spoiler, by itself, would seem trivial and picky. So I will simply say that the story did not at all work for me, and leave it at that. If you have less insistence on stories making internal sense than I do, you may enjoy it. In any case, it's just one story out of five.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good read., August 16, 2008

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B. Elazier (Detroit, MI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Grand Designs (Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers) (Paperback)

This is another entertaining tale of the Corps of Engineers. The new Tellerite second officer is a nice addition.