Customer Reviews

Reap the Whirlwind (Star Trek: Vanguard, Book 3)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With the 3rd volume of this Vanguard series now out Star Trek readers can safely state with approval what a good series this seems to be. I enjoy the new Vanguard series equally as much as the S.C.E. series as each is very distinct in it own way.

I'm impressed with the number of pages in these volumes: with the 2nd book being larger than the first, and now this third volume of equal length. And a fourth Vanguard volume is scheduled for future release.

If you read Star Trek books, you might want to give this Vanguard series a try, the books are impressive with their colorful art covers, and the first volume contains a very nice fold out.

Not too late to get into this series, as only 3 have appeared.

Better 'beam one up' today

Semper Fi.

It's difficult to keep up with a continuing series when the books come out a year apart. "Vanguard: Reap the Whirlwind" (published May 2007) is the third book in a series that started with "Vanguard: Harbinger" (published July 2005) and continued with "Vanguard: Summon the Thunderer" (published June 2006).

In the case of ordinary Star Trek books this perhaps wouldn't matter quite so much, everyone knows who Kirk, Spock and McCoy are, or Picard, Ricard and Data. But this series brings in a completely new cast of characters. Set in the period of The Original Series, it is placed on a space station in the distant Taurus Reach, an unexplored area contended for by the Federation, Tholians, and Klingons. It also contains a deep secret in the form of a massive genome left behind by a dormant, extremely ancient, and massively powerful people.

That said, there are a few characters from TOS, and in one case what might be a section of suspense isn't because anyone who has seen "The Wrath of Khan" knows a particular character is not about to die. But there's also a delightful surprise at the end when another character from that film suddenly appears.

Picking up "Reap the Whirlwind" a year after reading its predecessor, it takes a while to get up to speed. Author David Mack does a good job of reminding us who everyone is, and there is a very helpful "Vanguard Minipedia" in the back of the book, which unfortunately many readers may not discover until they get to the end of the book.

The story is good, many threads come together, and the book brings up interesting issues of ethics (or personal feelings) versus duty, or whether a potential threat to the survival of billions is worth a much more certain threat to thousands.

David Mack Is becoming one of my favorite authors and book 3 of the Vanguard series is the best in the series so far. You learn more about the storys lines of book 3 than both of the other books. If you have not read any star trek books you need to read this series.

Reap the Whitlwind is a great finale to the Vanguard series (but hopefully not the last). Without going into too much detail, all of the characters return to the third part to finish investigating the mystery, as well as fight both the Klingons and Tholians in the mysterious-but-deadly Taurus Reach. The secret behind the metagenome is FINALLY REVEALLED! It all ties together on page 387 and the "true mission" brought to light in a very, very clever way.

If you're a fan of Trek, and have seen the movies, I highly reccommend this series. If you're bored of the "same old-same old" Trek we've been reading/seeing for the past 20 years (ie all the same, recycled garbage), Vanguard serves as a breath of fresh air.

I have to say I really enjoy the Vanguard Series of books. I agree that with there being a year between books it took a bit to get back up to speed - but it didn't take long for me to remember all the characters. I'm looking forward to Book 4. Even if you're not a Star Trek fan - you'll like this book. And seeing where a character from the Wrath of Khan gets started is quite intriguing. Maybe that can be explored in later books - even if only as a subplot.

Enjoy the read.

I look forward to these books each time the come out. This one was hard to put down. Some books plod along, but Reap the Whirlwind just keeps on delivering one punch after another. The ending seems to have almost wiped the slate clean to start anew but the past still lingers and I cannot wait to see what the authors have in store for Reyes, T'Prynn, Quinn, Pennington etc.

An excellent continuation of the Star Trek Vanguard series. The plots, the characters and the stories are very compelling. I have to say that this is science fiction at its best while at the same time the interpersonal dialouge is first rate. The characters deal with real emotional issues which we can all relate to. The story has so many interesting ramifications for future novels.

Reap The Whirlwind is like a mighty pivot point or hinge upon which the entire Vanguard series turns. The plot laid out in the first two novels reach critical mass in RTW and the Vanguard universe is never the same again.

This novel spends more time with the aliens of the Taurus Reach and carefully makes their motives clear as well as giving them distinct personalities without sacrificing the feeling that we're seeing alien minds at work.

The cover art alone (some of Star Treks best) is worth buying the novel. Even better, the cover art actually ties in closely with the events inside.

The character of Diego Reyes is never more compelling than in Reap The Whirlwind, making the decisions he feels he has to make bold, understandable, and ultimately terribly, terribly sad.

Reap The Whirlwind is a great Star Trek novel and for that matter a great science fiction novel all on its own. It and other novels of the Vanguard series actually reminds one in some ways of David Weber's Honor Harrington series.

Absolutely loved the book. The series keeps getting better. I have a bunch of thoughts and comments that don't really string together so I'll just post them in the order I wrote them down.

I loved the interaction between Reyes and his ex. The inner turmoil in him is excellent. The scene itself is hilarious.

A very thorough description of the Archer class's interior layout in chapter 6; it is good enough someone could and should make a blueprint out of it. The chapter also does a good job summarizing the events of the first 2 books so a reader can get caught up.

In book 1, I thought it was meaningless background that Doctor M'Benga worked his residence at a Vulcan hospital. But here it comes in handy in helping him diagnose T'Prynn. Then soon after I read this, I was watching TOS, saw M'Benga treating Spock and realized how useful the back story was for the character in the book and TOS. I also loved it when the doctors diagnose a Caitian with a hairball and recommend he learn to use the sonic shower.

Enjoyed the extra development of Ganz's character; he reminds me of Garak but with power behind him. The Orion culture is fascinating and I liked how the relationship between him and his Orion woman employee who is also his controller; he has feelings and longings for her, seeing his softish side was nice. Ganz making a deal with Reyes was intriguing; I really want to know what was in that crate he sold to the Klingons that needed so much privacy, the body of Kahless perhaps?

Though I get frustrated reading about Federation politics between the politicians, I love watching/reading Sisko and Reyes making the hard amoral decisions as a station manager representing UFP interests.

Mack and Ward keep uping the ante for the next book.

book Arrived in good condition on time, cost very resonable indeed, only negative thing i could say, is that the packaging could have been a little more padded, but book still arrived undamaged, so no complaints, just suggest maybe in future a bubble wrap envelope might be a better idea. All in all very happy with my purchase.