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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A nice start,
By A Customer
This review is from: Wagon Train to the Stars (Star Trek No 89, New Earth Book One of Six) (Mass Market Paperback)
Well, it's summer time and that can only mean one thing--the beginning of a new, multi-novel Star Trek saga, courtesy of Pocket Books. Last year's Double Helix series was a hit-or-miss affair that dealt with events in the TNG universe. This summer, Pocket treats us to the long-awaited classic Trek crossover series. And first up, is Diane Carey's "Wagon Train to the Stars." All in all, I've got to say this is a good start to the series. What really works is that Carey plunks us down in the middle of the story and fills in details via flashbacks and the characters interacting. The series takes place between the events seen in The Motion Picture and Wrath of Khan and finds Kirk, having temporarily taken a reduction in rank to Captain, leading a fleet of colonists to a new world that is nine months away. The first novel sets up the secondary characters and establishes the mood and the scene. It also sets into place the fact that the planet our heroes are headed for isn't what it seems (frustratingly enough, one of the characters knows what is going on but refuses to tell any one or give any hints....oh well, I guess it is a six-part series and we'll find out soon enough). Before you know it, Kirk is up to his ears in squabbles, disputes and egos other than his. It's interesting look at Kirk as he tries to deal with leading a group of people that aren't in Starfleet and don't necessarily want or have to follow his orders. There's internal intrigue as well as an external threat or two (the planet the colonists are heading for is at the center of two, ancient warring races and the Orions aren't far behind--seeing the colonists as potential profit in the slave trade). Carey balances a lot of elements to make an entertaining novel and one that sets up events well. The stage is set for the next five books and there's enough mysteries involved to keep me curious as what's to come next. My only fear is that we won't find out the planet's myterious secret until book six and the other four books will be a holding pattern of sorts. Also, minor characters are being set up to be in conflict and you can see some of Kirk's headahces that are ahead. I only hope Carey and the rest of the authors will take some chances and not give into a standard, cliched Trek storyline. All that said, I will say that Wagon Train to the Stars is a good start. It's an enjoyable summer Trek read--not too heavy, but not too light. I'm definitely interested to see what happens next.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
ST #89 Wagon Train to the Stars - Poor balance and pacing!,
By K. Wyatt "ssintrepid" (Cape Girardeau, MO United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Wagon Train to the Stars (Star Trek No 89, New Earth Book One of Six) (Mass Market Paperback)
Star Trek #89 "Wagon Train to the Stars" is the first book in the New Earth series. The concept behind this six book series is Captain Kirk, who, after the events depicted in "Star Trek The Motion Picture" has given up his Admiral's rank to Captain the Enterprise as she leads an "armada" of over sixty thousand would be colonists who are on their way to Belle Terre to begin a new life.At the core of this concept is a very solid and interesting premise. To see the stalwart hero of Star Trek leading an enormous group of civilians who don't exactly have to bide by the rules of Starfleet on an extraordinarily long trek (pun intended) through space, out of Federation space, into the unknown to settle a tame but raw M (Munshara) class planet and begin a new life. The colonists and their governor, Evan Pardonnet is seeking to not only start a new colony, but they also wish to be almost entirely independent from the Federation. With that very basic concept laid out, concept creator and author Diane Carey leads off this series of books with "A Wagon Train to the Stars." From the beginning I found this concept to have been an interesting one and was looking forward to getting to these books, despite the generally lackluster reviews and ratings for the majority of the books in this series; wishing to judge for myself upon reading them. If time devoted to reading a particular book is any indicator of how well a book was written, this novel doesn't score too well because I found that I just couldn't relate to it very well based on its pacing. I've been reading Star Trek fiction for years now and I'm not normally one to critique Star Trek novels too harshly based on continuity and pacing problems generally because the majority of the novels are just entertaining and quick reads that equivocate to a good Star Trek "fix," if you will. I found "A Wagon Train to the Stars" to be a contradiction to many of Diane Carey's past stories in that at times, it seemed to be disjointed or more or less she would just skip over certain parts that needed to be there, assuming that the reader was still with her. I don't know if this was spawned from her original manuscript or poor editing on the part of the publisher. I've found that many Star Trek fiction readers have complained of Diane Carey's adding her extensive knowledge of naval terminology into the twenty third and twenty fourth century terminology of Starfleet to be distracting. I don't particularly agree with this point of view; while such terminology is not canon to the series, it just gives her novels a distinct flavor all her own and I've found it to be interesting. The cover art for this first book in the New Earth series can be counted among the best in the Star Trek fiction genre. It is certainly very rare indeed that this much effort is put into one of these covers. The premise: I've already covered the "basic" premise to this first novel in the series. Along with that, Captain Kirk finds himself, leading this armada of colony ships to Belle Terre, but along the way he finds that he must deal with a criminal named Billy Maidenshore who he'd personally arrested not too long before this mission began. Somehow, Maidenshore worked the legal system and didn't stay behind bars very long and has worked his way into to this colony and has sworn to cause as many problems for Captain Kirk and company as he can. Combining that aspect and the general problems that Captain Kirk finds himself dealing with as the "imposed" leader of this expedition and the sixty thousand plus colonists makes for some interesting but not well executed plot between himself and several different leading characters. He soon finds that he must find a way to earn the trust and confidence of these colonists in order to more efficiently lead this colony on its trip or they will most certainly fail and perish. The one saving grace for this novel is the extremely well executed conclusion to it, where Diane Carey pulled some of her better writing abilities out of the proverbial hat and put it on the page, so to speak! In conclusion, being a devout Star Trek fiction reader, I'd recommend this novel as it is the first in the series and gives the basics for the rest of the books, I would have to say that this is not the best novel Diane Carey has put on the shelves, but it is most certainly not the worst in the world of Star Trek fiction. If this is or was the first Diane Carey Star Trek novel you've read or are reading, I implore you not to take the position that this is what all of her novels are like. The good majority of her novels can be categorized as among the best in Star Trek fiction that are completely enjoyable reads. {ssintrepid}
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Story, but a Little Slow-Moving,
By
This review is from: Wagon Train to the Stars (Star Trek No 89, New Earth Book One of Six) (Mass Market Paperback)
I'm the type that has to be hooked in the first chapter, and while this was by no means a bad book, it took me three tries to finish it. It genuinely surprises me that a book written by Diane Carey didn't have me staying up all night to read it. I say these things in comparison to the other novels in the New Earth series - I was pleasantly surprised by the next book in the series, Belle Terre. It starts off with a bang and just keeps going! So please read these books, I think they are worth the effort it took to get through Wagon Train to the Stars. The New Earth concept is quite interesting in spite of the fact that bookstores are flooded with so many crossover series and multi-novel series that I might be too old to read by the time I get them all!
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