Customer Reviews

Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm a little disapointed with this one. I normally consume Trek books of any era, by any author with great delight. You don't even want to know how many copies of "How Much For Just The Planet" I have.

I don't regret buying this one, but I regret not buying it at a used book store for less.

One issue is perhaps unavoidable given the overall format. With the whole "Living History" idea, I expect some certain similarities in tone and format to World War Z. But on this one, there are a couple times when I can almost hear the rustle of pages from That Other Book in the background. Again, that could be simply because it's a "living history" about a massive war.

The other, greater issue is the author's clear and obvious choice to politicize the book. Between dedicating the book to a currently active politician, and making assorted thinly veiled references to policies of a Recent President Who Shall Not Be Named as well as current events, it gets pretty ham-handed.

Social commentary has always been an enriching element in Star Trek, but this work is somewhat tainted by it's level of current-day political commentary, enhanced by the "narrator's" penchant for wistfully sermonizing, sermons which become downright sticky and gooey sweet.

"Jake" ends up reducing the notional interviews from interviews to a socio-political soapbox for the author to use him to mumble from, a vehicle for his own commentary as opposed to focussing on the experiences and stories of his interview subjects. It's rarely a good thing when the focus of a documentary becomes the interviewer, and not the subjects or their stories. If I want to read an author's politicizing, I'll go to their homepage or blog. The digs at a recent administration and political faction become a wink at the camera that damages the immersion, and wastes type that could have been used telling a better story. (This being despite my personal dislike of said administration.)

Still, there are some good vignettes, some good bits of dialogue, but it's somewhat inferior to what I've come to expect in current Star Trek reading material.

Wow...

I walked into reading this book with pretty high expectations, mostly because I've had the experience of the universe it unveils via the Star Trek Online MMORPG that's been recently released. To me this book meant a way to grasp greater understanding for the twisted events that lead up to the fractured universe that prevails in the STO game, in some hope to comprehend how things could get "that much worse" for the Federation and its allies as players quickly discover in that universe. For the uninitiated, keep reading.

In terms of the goal of being an illuminating history? It does that quite well. You come to comprehend what has happened to Star Trek's universe that leaves things in so many shambles. It even explains the mindset that the game designers behind Star Trek Online went with rather than a more classical approach to Star Trek where peaceful exploration and diplomacy would take a far stronger mantle than they really do. So far that, bravo, this novel really leaves no question as to what is going on and why it's going on.

But that's about the only goal I feel this novel achieved. I've read literally dozens of other Trek novels. Some I've enjoyed, others I'm willing to admit having hated, and others were lukewarm. At the end of the day though, I've come to accept these novels as a reasonable and acceptable replacement for the disappearance of Star Trek's ongoing post Nemesis development from the air, film, or digital waves. It's with that sentiment that I came to the point where I wanted to put this book down and not finish it on countless occasions. The excruciating level to which this book goes to exclude practically every single DS9, Voyager or TNG novel covering the post tv-series era is enormous. It was only morbid curiosity for how the author would reconcile the exception of years of novel writing from other writers involved with Star Trek today, that got me through to the end.

I was rewarded with a rather solid explanation for my efforts. The narrative certainly helped. The choice of characters portrayed also kept me going. But this book stings like a scorpion tale. It's not terrible, but it's not great. It's the wannabe Star Trek XI of the 24th-25th century Star Trek era, and in much the same way Star Trek XI was hard to swallow due to how very much it changed everything on such a fundamental level (but okay, I came to accept and even enjoy it), this novel left me bereft of any hope that we would see any kind of rebirth of anything the original Star Trek timeline had held for its audiences. That wasn't its goal I would imagine. Its goal was likely to help bridge enormous gaps between the events of Star Trek X: Nemesis and the timeline being enacted in Star Trek Online. Again, it does that well, but be prepared to go out with a heavy feeling in your stomach, if you even manage to get to the end. For though the writing is good, I can't stop shaking my head at how contrary and wrong the overall "flipping the universe upside-down" feels.

I don't read a lot of fiction because it's usually not my thing. I do love Star Trek, and I'm a subscriber to STO (Star Trek Online) so I figured this was a no brainer for 8 bucks. Is it the most compelling book I've ever read? Not by a long shot, but that's not really the point, is it?

Thus far, there have been only two ways to get the story for STO: Read the unbelievably dry path to 2409 (which is in the book's appendix) or play the game. And having done both of those myself, I still didn't "get it". The story seemed to be a series of unrelated events, and while I got the gist of path of the Federation and its enemies/allies, recognized recurring characters and such, I didn't feel connected to the universe. I felt like I was flying along earning points and getting snippets of a larger picture I just wasn't grasping.

However, this book as changed that quite a bit, and I think that's what it is for. In order to bring the average Star Trek guy up to speed they needed to bring a multitude of characters in, located in disparate and sometimes not directly interlocking stories. In short, they needed to bring this universe alive by giving it a background. With Jake Sisko as a journalist, interviewing people, it gives you deeper snapshots of pivotal parts of the Undine War. Having read this book I feel like I actually have a flipping clue what's going on now. The game is less a series of missions to be completed and more a story that needs resolution.

The Point:
For $8, if you're a regular STO player then you need to pick this up. If you're a regular Star Trek book reader (of which I am not) and you don't play STO then you probably should go elsewhere.

I suppose I should start by saying that unlike most books of this genre, published for MMO's, this one is not a novel. It is a fictional book, obviously, but the purpose of the book is less to take the reader through a traditional Star Trek story, and more to formally inform them of events that have transpired.

I'll happily admit that the book is a fascinating little read about the political and scientific developments that have occurred since we last left the Next Generation/Deep Space Nine/Voyager era of Star Trek, to now. If you took the opportunity to read the Star Trek: Countdown comic book, then you're already somewhat familiar with the ongoing destinies of some of our characters, as Jean-Luc Picard has moved on to become Ambassador to Vulcan, Worf has become a General in the Klingon Empire, Data has become Captain of the Enterprise-E, and Geordi La Forge has moved on to build his own starships, while spending some time with the Soong Foundation.
Star Trek: The Needs of the Many expands on what we already know in the Path to 2409, with personal interviews with many of the well-known (and not-so-well-known) characters, as well as military reports, all detailing personal experiences and transgressions over the last several years.

The dominant topic is the Undine War, painting a clearer picture of the way Starfleet Officers, as well as MACO's, were personally affected by the widespread paranoia that ensued in nearly every diplomatic system in and around the Federation. There is considerable discussion regarding the United Federation of Planets, Gorn Hegemony, Klingon Empire, Cardassian Union, and other political structures that were affected by the war, or had a hand in it.

Among those most-notably interviewed by Jake Sisko are Garak, Quark, Admiral Kathryn Janeway, General Worf, Bruce Maddox, Kassidy Yates, Vic Fontaine, Captain Geordi La Forge, and one Rene Picard.

All in all, I'd highly recommend the book to anyone playing Star Trek Online, as it provides an in-depth better look at the storyline than we're privy to in the game. It explains many of the occurrences that have happened during and since the Undine War, and explains implications of how they affect every member of Starfleet today. The book does an excellent job of staying true to continuity (with one small exception; see below) and expanding on what we already know with entirely new information, while giving us the honor and privilege of "catching up with old friends."

The book is incredibly well-written, and I honestly hope to see more of them in the near and distant future. If you're looking for a place to purchase the book, Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many, is available for purchase through Amazon in paperback, as well as Kindle e-book format.

This was a really great book. It gave a variety of perspectives from the Unidine War. From the MACO grunts boarding a Unidine Ship, to Star Fleet Intelligence, to Star Fleet Department of Temporal Investigations, to the UFP Saurian president. This was easy to follow and gave a great insight to an intruiging conflict. Worth the money.

If you have read or followed any of the other potential story lines or "Universes" out there this one is a disappointing outing in the Star Trek literary line up. The style is interesting enough but when you consider the fact this book was solely written to promote STO (Star Trek Online) it shows as you go through it. Enjoy with caution and an Open Mind.

Needs of the Many bridges the gap between the story of Star Trek Online (STO), a massively multiplayer online role-playing game set in 2409, and the rest of the Star Trek universe.

This book is not formatted like your normal novel. Written from the perspective of a mature Jake Sisko, it is mainly comprised of interviews between him and various personalities from Star Trek that discuss the various aspects of the Federation's struggle against the Undine, which is the self-proclaimed name of Species 8472. This period of time, known as The Long War, is distant enough from Star Trek Nemesis that it realistically engenders whole different vibe, but is close enough that many of the TNG, DS9, and VOY characters are still around in one capacity or another.

Fans of both STO and post-Nemesis literature know that the two cannot be on the same timeline, evinced by the differing role of the Borg in each. As one of these dual followers, I was pleasantly surprised at how Michael A. Martin was able to subtly offer an explanation in a truly creative manner. These kind of connections brought a smile to my face.

And yet, I believe that the multitude of connections, or "touchstones" as some STO fans like to say, might be the Achilles Heel of this book. Needs of the Many covers such a wide range of the Star Trek universe that it virtually requires its reader to have an extensive knowledge of the TV shows, the books based on the shows, and the story of STO. If any of these are not fulfilled, Needs of the Many may not to make any sense at all.

While the scope of this novel is huge, its depth is quite shallow. Transcriptions of interviews only go so far in describing the rich and textured world that we know Star Trek to be. Though the characters' voices were true to form, the Q&A is not enough to make this book stand on its own two feet.

Thus, Needs of the Many gets a mediocre three stars. Its format is unique and it does a great job of pulling together all sectors of Star Trek lore. However, the content falls flat, and it just isn't compelling enough outside of the context of STO.

I can understand some people not loving this book, but for my money it's the best Star Trek novel in YEARS. It is meandering by nature of the concept(reports as written by Jake Sisko), but I love the pacing, the characterizations, and the chance to find out what happened to our beloved Next Gen and DS9 crews post Star Trek: Countdown, which I also loved (and yes, Janeway and Seven are touched on too, puke). I haven't had the time or money to check out the game, but this is not just some cheap marketing tie-in; real thought went into this, and a timeline provided at the end is quite illuminating. And no, it doesn't follow the continuity of the ambitious but ultimately cheesy Star Trek: Destiny trilogy.

This is a horrible book. They tried to make it a collection of interviews, complete with interviewer and interviewee. I started this book before I went to an eReader, and now carry it in my bag as the 'when you can't use ereader on plane book' because I can't get engrossed in it and I can easily throw it down to read what I really want to read on my Nook.

I hate the format. The content and stories they could have told in the form of maybe a short story anthology would have been so much better than Jake Sisko, Intrepid reporter completely with Starfleet Intelligence reductions.

I really hoped it'd bridge the novels to the online game too, but no, it just makes you want to poke your eyes out to stop reading.

I'm glad they've not come out with any more.

I'm really not sure what I expected of this book. It's a book "based on" the game "Star Trek Online "but, then it's not.

I originally believed this would be a novelization based on a story line in the online game itself. As I read it, I discovered it was more of a history book containing interviews with various characters set several years after the "Long War" with the Undine (Species 8472).

I'm not sure how this book relates to the online game itself, since most of the information I've seen doesn't point to any such scenario. The game itself puts you in command of your own ship and you play your way through "episode" games.

Anyway, the book is written and narrated by Jake Sisko. It's set some twenty years or so after the end of the "Long War". There is some basic "historical" references as related by Jake, but most of the book is interviews with various characters involved: Bruce Maddox, Seven of Nine, Kassidy Yates Sisko, Garak, Vic Fontaine, Geordi La Forge, Worf and even Dulmer and Lucsly (Department of Temporal Investigations).

The history seems to be a bit off if you've been reading the Star Trek novel series since the end of each of the respective shows. In it, the Borg are still a threat, Seven of Nine still has her Borg implants, Voyager never returned to the Delta Quadrant, and Admiral Kathryn Janeway is still alive (although Dulmer remembers differently).

Romulus and Remus were destroyed just as related in the events leading up to the latest Star Trek movie (2010), but it's hinted that Nero still apparently exists in this timeline.

Some might find the book a little confusing with the historical differences as well as the lack of history over the "Long War" with the Undine. It might have been a better idea to write a story or two about that occurrence first (based in the Star Trek Online universe) before publishing this one. I would have much rather read a story about the actual war.