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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Peter David strikes again., December 12, 2001
This review is from: Imzadi (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Mass Market Paperback)
Let's be up-front about one thing: for the first 50 pages or so, I expected to hate this book; I read it only because I have a compulsive desire to read every Star Trek book out there. I've never been overly fond of the character of Will Riker, I'm even less fond of the character of Deanna Troi, I hate stories about love at first sight between intrinsically incompatible people, and telepathic "soul mates", and I'm very dubious about time-travel stories, especially stories in which time travel is used to interfere with the time stream to make things better. This book contains all those things. In spite of myself, I liked it; partly, that is because Peter David does an excellent job of handling the details of characterization and has a facility for the language that makes a story move well. But partly it is also because, much to my amazement, he actually manages to make many of the weaknesses in concept work: the relationship may be a spiritual, "love-at-first-sight" thing, but that doesn't help it to work out such that they are able to magically "live happily ever after"; their relationship still needs to be worked at, and goes through ups and downs and many stages, in spite of the "spiritual connection"; their conflicts do not end as soon as they both acknowledge the attraction. The time-travel angle is handled much better than I thought possible, being a correction of an interference, rather than a new interference. And in spite of my innate disinterest in (verging on hostility towards) the main characters, I found myself drawn into their challenges and trials. As always, Mr. David handles the story with a deft and surprisingly lighthearted touch; he is capable of injecting a touch of humor into the most intensely dramatic situations, without giving the impression of "playing for laughs". I've read Star Trek novels that I enjoyed more, but not many of them. And given that this book started with two and a half strikes against it in basic concept, that it managed to climb up past "okay" to "extremely good" is nothing short of astounding. If you actually LIKE the characters of Will Riker or Deanna Troi, or enjoy stories about love at first sight or time travel, you'll undoubtedly find this book spectacular. Read anything by Peter David; the man could make a workable plot and an enjoyable read out of a recipe for tapioca pudding.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
True Love, Star Trek Style, July 16, 2002
This review is from: Imzadi (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Mass Market Paperback)
This is a story of what you will do to save the life of the one you love, or, what love is capable of. It has got to be one of the best STTNG books I've ever read (see my review of Time's Enemy to see the BEST ST book of all time), and it is the only book I have ever read that shows, once and for all, what real love is all about. The book opens with a completely demoralized, elderly Admiral Riker grumpily running Starbase 86, with a nervous lieutenant looking after him. The lieutenant tells him there is a message from Betazed: Luaxana Troi is dying, she wants him to come to Betazed. He gets there, and she doesn't die until she impresses upon him that it's his fault that her daughter, Deanna, is dead. That's okay, Admiral Riker's life has deteriorated because he believes it, too. Then Data tells him that it may not be true, that in another timeline, Deanna lives. He explains that in this timeline, not only did she live, but she stopped a peace treaty with the Sindareen, a warrior race that is similar to the Ferengi in that they will trade with anyone...but their trade is based on terrorizing worlds and stealing everything they sell. When Riker hears the story of how Deanna didn't die, he immediately sets out to go back in time and save her from her fate. Data decides to stop him at all costs, in keeping with the Temporal Prime Directive. Riker cannot live without trying to prevent Deanna's death, and Data cannot live with allowing Riker to stop it. Not to give away too much of the ending, BUT in the end, Riker turns out to be right and Data is wrong. This is true love, fellow readers. That's all that this book is about. I cannot stress it enough: this is the story of how one person can change your life permanently, and without them, you are lost. It's about the lengths one will go to to save the one they love, and, in the end, how love can be the strength you draw from when you have nothing left.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's one Riker's beginning and another's Omega., November 5, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Imzadi (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Mass Market Paperback)
IMZADI is an exciting, well written novel that plays with the chronological aspect of a story. I haven't read any Star Trek books before, but I intend to read more now! For any Treky that cares, it goes back and explains the mysterious history behind Riker and Troy, and it shows us what the scars of time can turn us into. The characters interact realistically together, and every page is relevant and entertaining. The story begins with the future William Riker, a disgrunteled old man with unresolved issues. Forty years prior, his Imzadi (Deanna Troy) mysteriously fell ill and died. "Imzadi" is a Betazoid term describing the strong psychological bond they share, and Riker falls deep into a perpetual state of depression when he looses what he describes as, "the greater half of himself." When Lwaxana Troy (Deanna's mother) calls Riker to her death bed, old ghosts start popping out at him from his past, forcing him to remember, and he tries to remember back to a time when he felt no pain. From there, the story is told of how they came to know eachother, after which interisting plot twists and timeline jumps keep you on the edge of your seat. This book is realistically written, with an entertaining story line and well dedigned characters; one of them, whom the uncaring streams of time have forced into an intollerable universe, decides he wants to change his own destiny. And maybe he can-if he can get to the Guardian of Forever...
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