Customer Reviews

The Q Continuum (Star Trek)

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I distinctly remember looking at the original trilogy of Star Trek The Next Generation novels 47-49, "Q-Space," "Q-Zone" and "Q-Strike" with a great amount of excitement and anticipation. The only "minor" trepidation that I had at that time was that prior to Greg Cox tackling a story with Q in it, only Peter David had done so and quite successfully. This was a very minor thing though considering Greg Cox's previous Star Trek titles and knowing just how well he writes. As expected, this trepidation was quickly dissipated because Greg Cox can definitely write Q with ease!

Contained within the pages of this extraordinarily well written and beautifully reprinted Signature Edition is most certainly one of the best trilogies to have ever been written for Star Trek. Greg Cox knows Star Trek, inside and out, and unlike other author's attempts to throw in little tidbits of Trek trivia, where it comes out rather dull and trite, he deftly adds to his current story, using that which has already been established.

Included with this Signature Edition is an excellent interview with Greg Cox by Kevin Dilmore, one of Star Trek's up and coming authors. The cover art for this Signature Edition novel serves the story quite well.

The premise:

Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise have been entrusted with the mission of ferrying a brilliant Federation scientist to the great barrier which encompasses the Milky Way galaxy where he intends to prove his theoretical way to breach it. Unfortunately for Picard and crew and quite fortunate for us the readers, Q makes an appearance and he takes Picard with him, leaving behind his "wife" and "child," much to the chagrin of Riker and the rest of the crew who're stuck with them.

What follows from there is an extraordinary, fast pace and highly intriguing tale in the mythos that is Star Trek where Q takes Picard throughout history, to include visits to the Tkon Empire and the inside of a star and many other exotic settings for a Star Trek novel.

I highly recommend this Signature Edition version of The Q Continuum or the three paperback novels, STNG #'s 47-49 to any and all fans of the genre. You will soon learn that novels written by Greg Cox are not to be missed. {ssintrepid}

The Starship Enterprise-E had been given a new scientific mission, to transport a famous physicist to the galactic barrier, and create a wormhole to effectively breach the barrier. However, when Q shows up and orders Captain Picard to abandon the mission, it at least should give the crew something to think about. It doesn't, and the mission continues. But, when Q kidnaps the Captain, it throws everything in an uproar.

There's a story to be told about the galactic barrier, and the only way to tell it is to show the Captain what happened so long ago, when Q was young and foolish, and made friends with some rather unsavory characters. But, will the crew of the Enterprise survive long enough for the story to be told?

This book is actually a collection of all three books of a trilogy into one package. Overall, I found this to be an OK trilogy - good, but not the great story it could have been, and indeed should have been. The story drags along, especially in the middle, giving the reader the feeling that the author tried to stretch a duology into a trilogy. Indeed, I do believe that that is exactly what happened. In the interview with the author at the end of the book, he remarks that he did not think that he had nine hundred pages in him, "Spreading it out over three books was a challenge." Perhaps it was too much of a challenge, a bridge too far.

And to make matters worse, what I always loved about Q was his irrepressible quirkiness. And that, sad to say, is almost entirely missing in this book, leaving Q to seem to be just a human writ a little large (yep, just a little).

So, let me just sum up by saying that if you want a really good Q story, read Q-Squared by Peter David. If you want a good, solid Star Trek story that explains a few things from the past, then you might like this book as well.

Although I agree that the middle drags a bit, I found this novel to otherwise be outstanding. The characterizations were dead on and I actually enjoyed receiving an explanation for the Calamarain's interest in Q, even if it is not officially a part of Star Trek canon. I highly recommend this book to anyone craving an in-depth experience with Q and Q Q...

I'll say right away that I rolled my eyes at some of the many legacy Star Trek references scattered through the novel, but none more than the premise that Q accidentally killed the dinosaurs on Earth. At least we know now why Q cared about humans. In fact, whatever you can think of just may have been the responsibility of Q or some other super-being.

That being said, Greg Cox has integrated themes, characters, and events from the Star Trek canon into a big idea, with plenty of action (surprisingly violent) and a snappy last section. After a long setup, the mystery becomes how the "bad guy" will escape and how exactly good will triumph over evil in the end.

Picard and Q act out their standard roles after Q plucks Picard from the bridge for a trek through Q's past, going over key events that led to the present dilemma. Q is the wise-cracking know-it-all, except for the major errors he shows to Picard on their journey, and Picard is the annoyed and baffled human, fascinated by the opportunity to learn about events otherwise lost in time. The reader may pick up on what's happening faster than Jean-Luc.

Eventually Q and Picard return to the present to merge the two story lines and resolve the crisis. Q even gets to demonstrate a little heroism himself. Maybe having your life threatened (whatever that means to a Q) can bring out the best even in super-beings.

The thread involving Q's "wife" and baby Q provides entertaining moments and fodder for contemplation, and the female Q distinguishes herself more than Q at key points in the past. It's a wonder she had anything to do with our favorite rogue. Then again, the Continuum may not have many residents. Ultimately, the thread isn't essential beyond some fun and giving other characters something to do.

As three novellas combined into one book, the result is a little long. Perhaps I was over-thinking: if Q is billions of years old, how is it that Q aged from a callow young adult to the 40-ish (human terms) Q we know in a mere million years or so? I can understand why the Q in Next Gen wanted to commit suicide after billions of years of having done everything and been anywhere. Or maybe that's why the "0" character and the others cause such trouble, including the destruction of an entire advanced civilization. Boredom.

When I originally began reading The Q Continuum, it was to find out about a small part of the Star Trek Universe, but what I found in the story easily overshadowed anything I had expected to find. The Q Continuum, though not perfect, is an entirely enjoyable book, and should be read by anyone who wishes to know more about Q's ageless life.

This book takes us far deeper into the Q continuim than the TV series. I have only read a few of the Star Trek books, none concerned with the Q, so I cannot comment on the comparisons as the other reviewers have. I have, however, been a fan of both Next Gen and Voyager for years and can safely say that this book is free of any inconsistencies and definitely treads on new territory.

The novel begins on Enterprise, where a scientist bent on breaking through the galactic barrier comes on board to test his methods. Q quickly shows up, trying to prevent this. Picard refuses to stop the expedition, and is whisked away.

The rest of the novel switches between the situation on the Enterprise, which is complicated by an attack by the sophisticated Calimarain (it has been several months seen I read this so I can no longer remember the spelling, it anyone wants to call me on it.) and the time travel experienced by Picard at the whim of Q.

Q shows Picard his life in painstaking detail, ending with the reason why the barrier should not be broken. And for once he is right. To reveal the rest, I'm afraid, would spoil the ending. Definitely a good read. Keep me up a few nights.

The Q Continuum is definitely worth reading for the "Q" fan, though if you are just starting out, "I,Q" and "Q-squared" are superior novels you should read first. Greg Cox has done a decent job here, but this trilogy disappoints on several levels.

(a) Timelines -> we are told that the Q aged 7 billion years was a youth, but the Q of our times is only 1 million years older. That makes him 7.001 billion years old, yet we are told that he is a lot grown up now.

(b) Content - the story drags on a little, I think it was stretched to make a trilogy. It would have been a much more gripping read with 75% of the length. There were sections I skimmed through, they could have been taken out altogether.

(c) General issues -> there are lots of little things like the female Q asking Dr. Crusher whether there are children on board the ship. Does a Q really need to ask this question? You will encounter such "carelessness" in many places.

On the positive side I must say the ending is strong. The climax where Q finally beats 0 was well done.

Any fan of the Q books by Peter David will like this one. While it's written by another fan favorite; Greg Cox, I have to say I did enjoy the verbal arguments that both Picard and Q were in. Greg handles them quite well. I never got to see Greg at a convention; however after seeing an interview on one of the Star Trek DVD's, he impressed me. I liked him because he's a true Star Trek fan. He's not pretentious or arrogant like some authors are. If you read this book you won't be disappointed. Also included is an interview especially written for this edition.

...instead of buying this book, go and get a copy of the Star Trek Encyclopedia. Get one of those yellow Post-It notes and stick it one the cover. On this Post-It write: Q is responsible for everything in the Star Trek universe.

There. You pretty much have Greg Cox's Q Continuum trilogy in a nutshell.

To say this novel is bogged down in Trek continuity would be a ghastly understatement, it collapses under it's own gravity, forming a sort of Star Trek black hole from which no enjoyment may be experienced. I'd almost recommend making a drinking game out of all the Orignal Series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager references the author tries to shoe horn into this book but you would most likely die of alcohol poisoning before the first book is halfway through, so please don't try it. It's a very good thing that Star Trek:Enterprise wasn't around yet when this book was written or the page count would have increased by at LEAST 300 more pages.

If you think I'm exaggerating then by all means give this mess a try. It's your life, with all those priceless minutes that you will lose forever by wasting your time with this. Don't say I didn't warn you.

To summarize: this book was dismal and should be avoided at all costs.

The book is worth it simply because it's Q, but beyond that, I can't really recommend it. If you want a really good Q book, look up Peter David.

The thing that struck me most as unbelievable, and very annoying, is how the author characterized Picard. In these books, Picard really is as stupid as Q accuses him of being.

Q takes Picard on a journey through Q's younger years and the poor decisions he's made with the 0, the nemesis of the book. Even though Q has repeatedly told Picard that this trip down memory lane is for the purpose of observing him and 0, Picard can't seem to grasp that concept. He constantly wonders what the purpose is for what Q is doing, thinking that the lower life forms that they observe along the way have something to do with it all. I wasn't halfway through the book before I found myself wishing Q would just blast him into oblivion for his stupidity and start over with someone a little more intelligent and competent. After "All Good Things..." you'd think he'd be able to grasp the fundamentals of some of this stuff, but the author has made him into an idiot.

I won't even go into all of the other little plot holes and issues, as other reviewers have mentioned them.