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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Average At Best: A Review [Spoiler Free], August 27, 2007
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read, September 29, 2007
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!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Resist Buying, September 11, 2007
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.
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