Customer Reviews

Resistance (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Star Trek: The Next Generation 'Resistance' is an okay novel. First, its strengths; finally, we get a TNG book that attempts to blend in elements and parts of the different shows into the plot. You have Worf dealing with his actions in "Deep Space Nine" and showing that he still hasn't gotten over the death of Jadzia Dax. You have Picard showing that even after 'First Contact', he still has issues with the Borg. The Enterprise is still reeling from the events of 'Nemesis' and trying to welcome in new officers, such as Counselor T'Lana who for me made this novel far more interesting than the premise set it up to be. Worf (as you can read from the premise) turning down a promotion. Picard 'losing it' which seems to be a theme with the whole 'A Time To ...' series. Crusher dealing with the events of Nemesis, the 'A Time To ...' series, and the novel 'Death in Winter.'

Another good point is that this really is an easy read. The tone of it is very much 'The Next Generation', even without Data, Riker and Troi, from start to finish, I felt as if I was reading and visualizing an episode of the show and it carried with it the feeling of 'Encounter at Farpoint' with the new crew members trying to blend in with officers (like Crusher, Picard, Worf and Geordi) who are already familiar with one another. Counselor T'Lana proves to be a point of conflict, not conforming or fitting in as Deanna Troi did. This was a welcome addition to the crew. But, it did feel as if she was a cookie-cutter Vulcan echoing Enterprise's T'Pol more than a truly original character. I actually enjoyed seeing Worf mature and grow with this novel. I was glad to see the Picard/Crusher relationship actually going somewhere. I enjoyed reading about Kathryn Janeway and Picard bumping heads after their rather friendly exchange from nowhere in "Nemseis".

What brought the novel down for me was the main conflict and premise. The Borg. I was waiting for something mind blowing, edgey, fresh, just as the premise promises. Yet, this felt like a continuation of "Best of Both Worlds" and "Star Trek: First Contact." By the end, I felt asif the plot was a let down. It's a rehash of dozens of episodes dealing with the Borg. Yes, the Borg and TNG go together nicely and it's an obvious choice to 'relaunch' TNG series, but really, it doesn't seem necessary. It seems dull, rushed, almost like a clip show. It was like reading a script for "Best of Both Worlds" with a footnote to Voyager's "End Game." There were parts when I felt it jumped the shark, from Picard having another "First Contact" moment and feeling as if he could hear and predict what they Borg were doing, to the entire crew except one person being in full support of him when as a reader it seemed like a very bad, reckless, "you can't be serious" idea. It doesn't come off as 'cool' or 'hip', it left me personally wishing they had chosen something original to launch this great series and characters on.

What was also distracting was the new host of characters. The plot is geared toward some and yet only works if you as a reader care for them or what happens with them. These aren't characters we've been following for 20 years. You really have no reason at all to care about them or 'feel' for them and so their actions and story arcs feel like a pointless, distracting plot. By the end, with the 'new people' plot intruding in the main plot, I kept yelling for the plot to go back to our main slew of heroes. Poor Geordi La Forge, yet again, is shafted in this novel, left with hardly anything at all to do or say. Thankfully, Crusher does get a beefed up plot, far better than that of "Death in Winter" or any TNG film besides "First Contact." Still, if you're expecting anything new with the Borg, don't set your hopes too high. It was a let down and, in my opinion, a waste of a novel. Like an 80s TNG episode, many of the problems are nice and cleanly wrapped up in the sum of 306 pages with predictable twists, cliches that'll make you cringe, leading you to pray the upcoming novels "Q&A" and "Before Dishonor" help this relaunch really take off.

Even with the rather unorignial plot, distracting extras, the feel of it being like professional fan-fic, many points that jump the shark, it's not a bomb and it was nice to read about the transition of what was to what will be 'The Next Generation' story and cast. Give it a read and be your own judge.

I was a HUGE ST:TNG fan in the early nineties, and - being an avid reader as well - really got into the books for a while. Death in Winter intrigued me (being a big Beverly Crusher fan; I'm also a redheaded female scientist), but it disappointed. I was looking forward to this book. The Borg cliffhanger is what got me hooked on the series to begin with, and I was anxious to see the Picard/Crusher relationship addressed.

After reading the reviews, I bought the book expecting disappointment. I got nothing of the sort. I really enjoyed this book. The central theme was emotion versus duty. It was reflected in: T'Lana/Wozniak, Worf/Jadzia, Picard/Crusher, and Lio/Sara. I found it a very good read.

This book has convinced me to start reading Star Trek novels again. I just love these characters too much to give them up!

This book for me summed up much of what is wrong with the Star Trek franchise right now. Offering nothing new or fresh, the book is merely a rewriting of plots from earlier episodes and films. I realize that there are only so many ideas out there, but come on. It was like someone was handed a one paragraph summary of each character and was told to remind readers at every opportunity of the show's past successes like First Contact (Make sure you work in that Ahab line!), Best Of Both Worlds (Make him Locutus again! The fans loved that!), and the already well covered Worf "I Miss My Dax" storyline of DS9 season 7 and every Worf appearance since then.

Picard's "daring" plan isn't shot down immediately, because nobody mentions how poorly the idea worked out when Voyager's crew tried it. Everybody knows who Seven of Nine is, but didn't read the reports on Voyager's attempt at this same thing when Tuvok and Janeway tried it? I guess they don't have Tivo on the Enterprise. Or mission reports. Or common sense.

If you have watched Unimatrix Zero, and the episodes and films mentioned above, you'll have about twelve pages of new material in this book. The Worf's promotion storyline, which I thought would help the later parts of the story, almost became an afterthought.

Nothing New. Nothing Compelling. This book is a cash grab and will only eat away at more of the loyalty of the Star Trek fanbase. Avoid it and save some of your wallet's goodwill for their next try.

By the way, I didn't like this book.

This book is without any redeeming points. Dillard is a horrible writer; I mean she is truly awful. She writes as if she were composing an encyclopedia, astutely cataloging every event and conversation as tersely as possible. Because she cannot write a conversation or action scene worth a damn, she spends three-quarters of the book using internal monologues that go on for pages, even when such monologues are ridiculous, e.g., Picard is in the bowels of the Borg Cube, and he decides to take a five-page jaunt through memory lane.

The characterization is horrible. Janeway becomes a total b!tch. One of the most innovative captains in Starfleet becomes a whining, over-bearing b!tch. Dillard must have issues with women, because, unless the women is petite, feminine, and subordinate, she is a b!tch.

The plot is pathetic. Just when will the Borg wake up and realize that a ship nearby, even though it has its shields and weapons powered down, may be trouble, because it is collecting information. One of the most important aspects of warfare is information. Countless armies have been defeated by their lesser opponents because the opponents had better information. After having their butts kicked repeatedly by the Federation, you'd think they'd have learned that by now, especially when their Super Cube can easily destroy the Enterprise, so why do they always let it pull up next to them and send people aboard to gather information and sabotage the ship.

Finally, Dillard contradicts her own characters. After spending pages learning about the new Vulcan counselor who has years of experience, is highly decorated, and is renowned for understanding and adapting to different cultures, she finally boards the Enterprise and begins to insult, undermine, contradict and denigrate the senior staff. Absolutely pathetic. So why was she so decorated?

This book should NEVER have gotten pass the editors. Don't buy it. Don't read it. Just let it die, and avoid Dillard's books at all costs.

If you loved The Best of Both Worlds and First Contact, but feel Voyager ruined the Borg as it tended to ruin everything about Star Trek, this is a strong return to form. As many fans had clamored for, Picard tries to promote Worf as his Number One, a much stronger choice than the average white dude from the Nemesis deleted scene. Worf is hesitant, however, for reasons that tie nicely back to his Deep Space Nine days. Also interesting is the addition of a new character, a Vulcan counselor who disapproves of nearly everything Picard does. A romantic subplot between minor characters gets a little too much page time, and the end is rather predictable, but it leaves room for follow up; see the also strong Seven of Nine-centric "Before Dishonor." I for one am glad to see that Picard and the Big E gang are still warping around the galaxy, exploring new worlds and saving the Federation's collective bacon. Give it a try if you still yearn for TNG. Take that, naysayers!

In the most recent Star Trek film, "Nemesis", the Enterprise was destroyed (or at least very badly damaged), Data was killed, and Riker and Troi were on their way to a new assignment. The latter has been the subject of a series of Star Trek books on the USS Titan. This is the continuation of Picard's mission on the rebuilt Enterprise.

He is joined by Beverly Crusher, now his lover, Worf, Geordi La Forge, a new counselor to replace Troi, and a handful of "redshirts" (that is, people we get to know just before they are killed off).

The enemy is an old one for Picard, the Borg. Defeated by him in the film "First Contact" and dealt what was thought to be a death blow by Kathryn Janeway at the end of the TV series "Voyager", the remaining drones in the Alpha Quadrant, cut off from the Borg elsewhere, are trying to create a new queen. The story, by Star Trek veteran J.M. Dillard, is perfectly adequate. This is a readable Star Trek novel, but certainly not a memorable or groundbreaking one.

The ghost in the background is Seven of Nine, through-out most of the book sent by Admiral Janeway to assist Picard, but never actually present. At the end of the story are the first few pages of the apparent sequel, "Before Dishonor", written by Peter David, another capable Star Trek veteran. That will apparently be a Janeway and Seven book, following up on the secrets in the cube discovered by Picard.

While not wonderful, this book is a good read, and sets us up for the continuation of the Enterprise's missions after "Nemesis". I sort of wish there had been more Geordi. The appearance of the Enterprise's Chief Engineer here is minimal. (And the name for the new 10-Forward is really lame.)

This is my second Star Trek novel and I have to say I enjoyed it quite a bit more than the previous one: 'Death from Within.' Where the latter felt like just another episode of TNG, this one felt like a continuation of the story and felt like it added more depth to the characters and to the Borg themselves.

In the TV shows and movies, the Borg are just a jumble of races controlled by cybernetic implants - not a race per se but just a group. For whatever reason, there is a queen who's an individual but also part of the whole and can be in more than one place at a time. Now, I love Star Trek and I call myself a trekkie but I never quite got all that. In this novel, as part of Dr. Crusher's research, they are described more like a group of humanoid insects where the assimilated are changed on a DNA level to become part of this race as well as part of the collective mind. It makes them much more understandable and makes them cooler as well.

In addition, I like the new characters brought into the Enterprise crew and treated as fully defined people and not just Red Shirts to become so much fodder. They have their own opinions, loves, likes, dislikes ... they're fully realized characters. And, it appears that all characters in this ensemble cast can be killed.

This book is a testament to books that make you grateful it wasn't a movie first. The book starts off well-enough. My main, and source of extreme confusion, problem is with the characterization of Picard in this "novel" - throughout the tv series (season 3 and on) and in First Contact Picard shows revulsion, pain, rage, and discomfort at the idea of even possibly being assimilated again. That being said, why in the you-know-what-this-is-replacing is he volunteering himself to be re-assimilated, even if it is only partial. It's ridiculous, and makes no sense as far as the development of the character.

Overall, this book was sub-par. Remotely fleshed-out characters that you're SUPPOSED to grow attached to only to watch them get killed is a cliche and the whole thing about B-4 and Data seemed to be just thrown in there. The development of T'Lana seems like it'll be interesting and Worf seems to be heading in a good direction.

If this is the beginning of a new series of books, let's hope the second one can manage to not fall over from the shaky foundation this book has laid out.

Imagine this - Picard starts hearing voices and quickly tells Admiral Janeway, she with the vast experience with the Borg, that they have to act fast to save Earth. Guess what Janeway, she with vast experience with the Borg, tells him - nope, don't do anything, I'm sending Seven of Nine to figure it all out. And oh by the way, that will take 4 days and don't do anything even though you are telling me Earth is at risk.

Can you believe this?

Nobody does. And yet, it is central to the plot and absolutely absurd. And as you can tell from the excerpt here on Amazon, not only does the new B-4 do absolutely nothing but they actually take him apart and ship him off, never to be heard from again!

Do you believe this?

Nobody does - at least, nobody who wanted a good novel.

And there are more 'whoopers' throughout this deeply flawed novel. On the bright side, it is easy enough to read, and a lot more interesting that the horrid Death in Winter disaster. Bottom line - where is Peter David when we need him?

My feeling for Star Trek Resistance fluctuated throughout the book, from high expectations due to the strong visual cover and title, to partial disappointment towards the end. The new counsellor is a strange choice. There is unnecessary plot development of minor crew who end up dying anyway. There are too many new characters. I must say it does move the Next Generation Universe forward in some unexpectedly positive ways though.

As you may have guessed by now, this book focuses on Picard and the return of the Borg (again). It's a bit long in the tooth as a concept now, and there are plot copies from TNG series 6 where Lore takes over a splinter group, and other previous movies. Suffice it to say that they get in over their heads, but somehow manage to grasp victory from defeat.

There were a few individual things which struck me in the book.

1. Data will be sorely missed. Not only was he a great character, but was actually central in defeating the Borg at least twice. I hope someone develops a plot twist to reinstall Data into his "brother" later on.

2. Janeway makes an excellent Admiral. Her promotion after Voyager's return as an intelligent and strong leader is a TNG plus.

3. The changing dynamics of interstellar politics allowed an interesting twist on the long standing Treaty of Algeron. I look forward to seeing how that progresses.

4. Picard and the crew show unusual individual initiative. Normally, the Enterprise would receive their orders from SF Command, be given orders (Strategic aspect), and Picard would go and carry them out his own way (Tactical aspect).

This time, Picard did everything on his own initiative and even went against Command. Is this a good thing? Only time will tell.

So do I recommend this book? Yes, but temper your expectations.