Customer Reviews

Star Trek: Vanguard: Precipice (Star Trek: Vanguard (Unnumbered))

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you have read the first four Vanguard books, you've clearly already ordered this and are loving it, so I'm going to assume you saw this and clicked on it out of idle curiosity because you don't know what Vanguard is.

Well, you're about to be really happy you found this, because you're about to discover the best Trek books made these days... and I don't mean that lightly; Trek novels are the best they've ever been right now. But this series is clearly the cream of the crop.

The series is:

Harbinger (David Mack)
Summon The Thunder (Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore)
Reap The Whirlwind (David Mack)
Open Secrets (Dayton Ward)

and this book here.

This is Trek without rules; Trek that will kill people, fire people, demote people, deeply change people... destroy whole ships or planets or solar systems... surprise you with every twist and turn. It's a Trek that features notable characters completely outside the Trek paradigm (archaeology officers, intelligence operatives, crews of ships that only hold 20 people, mercenaries, reporters, gangsters, you name it). And it's all encompassed in a story that wraps around the TOS mythology, providing alternate perspectives that blend the whole original series together and make the union substantially stronger as a result.

It's awesome. It's like if HBO re-imagined the original Star Trek.

Should you start with this book, though? No. Go buy Harbinger, and experience this ride from the beginning. You'll be glad you did.

This book starts off great, and gets better. You need to read the first books to appreciate the charaters and story, but all in all, this book is better than the JJ abrams movie that jarred the ST timeline and added a dark chapter earlier this year. Had they let David Mack write and direct the series, Paramount may have salvaged what is left of a very good reputation.

Action, suspence, logic, intrigue...this novel has it all. The best ST book in a long time. Too bad Paramount has so mismanaged this franchise. This is an excellent story and book.

This is David's best Star Trek book to date and that is saying something because he is an excellent author whos stories never disappoint. Precipice is the latest chapter in the Vanguard series. It is one of those books when you start reading it you dont want to put it down. The plot is excellent and the characterizations are excellent. The book changes from scene to scene with ease and the action is expertly balanced with character development. Much of the book takes place off station. Im being vague because I dont want to give anything away. Its a must read for Star Trek fans. This book is on my top 20 list of favorite Star Trek books. I always know David's books will be a good read & I have never been disappointed. I dont think the average person realizes the time & effort it takes for an author to create a good story. I love to read & I appreciate... all the hard work and long hours authors put in for my enjoyment.

In David Mack's STAR TREK: VANGUARD: PRECIPICE, the struggle between the Federation, Klingons, Tholians, and Shedai for dominance over the mysterious Taurus Reach continues. The action is carried mainly by two unlikely couples: The first pair is skeezy trader Cervantes Quinn and former Sagittarius crew member Bridy Mac (Bridget McClellan), who have been tasked by Starfleet Intelligence to conduct a low-key search for Shedai artifacts. Quinn surprises everyone with an unexpected transformation from Cyrano Jones to Lawrence of Arabia, as he and Bridy Mac help a world resist Klingon occupation. The second pair is journalist Tim Pennington and AWOL security officer T'Prynn, who join together to resurrect T'Prynn's Starfleet career by sneaking off Vulcan and performing Good Works.

PRECIPICE has other surprises in store, including the not-dead-yet status of a character previously thought lost in space. It also features several secondary stories, including a determined effort by Councillor Gorkon--who we've seen on screen in "Star Trek VI" as Chancellor Gorkon--to find a path to peace; a new Ming Xiong discovery about artifacts associated with the Shedai; a dogged Starfleet criminal investigation that reveals ties between the Orions and the Klingons; and a new romance for JAG lawyer Rana Desai.

Nothing really grand happens in PRECIPICE, but that's OK. The novel is filled with enough action, intrigue, humor, and unexpected twists to make it an enjoyable read and a definite improvement on its tedious predecessor, OPEN SECRETS. It advances the Operation Vanguard story arc just a little, meaning that there are likely to be several more novels in the series, but few readers who've read this far into the series will be disappointed.

P.S. The VANGUARD authors have been dropping hints about the advent of the Organian Peace Treaty, which was forced on the Federation and the Klingons on Stardate 3198.4, shortly before the conclusion of PRECIPICE. While it's nice that the Trek gods thought to incorporate this important event into the VANGUARD story, they really don't do anything much with it, which is disappointing.

The last Vanguard book, "Open Secrets", left some characters in seemingly irresolvable situations. New characters were even introduced to replace them. Was the series moving on? Could the lives of the players we grew to love in the early books be salvaged from the inextricable boxes they'd been written into? I won't ruin anything with an answer, but only say it was handled much better than I thought it would be. Even the potentially disastrous wild pass Ward threw at the end of OS gets pulled in for a 60-yard gain by David Mack.

The story is fast paced with plenty of action, stylistically hearkening to "Reap the Whirlwind". At 330 pages it's also the shortest Vanguard book, making a pretty quick read. For a series that felt spent after book 3, book 5 makes everything feel fresh.

If you love the Trek universe and don't need Kirk, Picard or other onscreen personages to carry you, this is the series to be reading. Although it's always best to start with the first book in a series, I'd say it's ok to start here if you wanted to. This one's engaging with much that's new or easy to pick up on, and any info needed from prior books is effortlessly woven into the story.

To date, the Vanguard series has been marked by a vast archaeological and scientific mystery, but as its matured, the implications of the Taurus Reach discoveries have been taking precedent. We saw this in Open Secrets, where the political situation between the Federation and Klingon empires deteriorated to the point of war, and it continues here. Although the setting is the Vanguard series, most of the action takes place off-station following various characters from the series as they work to prevent future catastrophes. Concerned that the Klingons are looking to weaponize the remnants of the Shedai technology, Starfleet is attempting to undermine their efforts through clandestine means. Meanwhile, the disgraced T'Pyrnn has fled Starfleet custody and is hoping to redeem herself by discovering the means with which the Klingons are carrying out their own cloak-and-dagger enterprises against Vanguard. Multiple plotlines converge to great success.

This is a series carried by its strong characters, and that trend continues here -- magnificently. I've been fascinated by the interplay between former intelligent officer T'Pyrnn and her journalistic adversary-turned-ally, Timothy Pennington, and it's done no better than here, where the two cooperate to spy on gangsters and Kingons in hopes to saving Vanguard. Perhaps the finest contributions of this book were the appearance of Gorkon -- a Klingon official whose political views will lead to the greatest peace in the galaxy and his own assassination -- and the reappearance of a Vanguard character thought dead. I'd hoped for for this character's return, and am eagerly looking forward to what becomes of the Vanguard crew in future books.

I consider Vanguard in all the books of the series to be a fine view of the lesser side of the Federation. Seeing Star fleet through the crew of Endeavor instead of Enterprise. seeing new adventures on other starships or stations is what keep's Star Trek fresh. When I was younger I was very particular to the like's of the Doomsday Machine, ultimate Computer, Tholian Web etc, any episode which had another starship in it. So when DS9 and Voyager came out I enjoyed them too. But being a 23rd-22nd century sort of person. vanguard is right up my alley. I will continue to by this series of books till the end.

Great book. I find it amazing how as I've read these I keep getting more drawn in. It is almost like Mack and Ward are dueling as they write the books and keep raising the bar for the next. I'm so glad I just started/finished reading the series because this 2 year gap would have been killer much the same as the NF and VOY gaps have left me in agony.

I love the twists and background in Precipice with the development of Quinn, the involvement of Gorkon, and many others. I especially loved Pennington posing as the husband of the lesbian Vulcan who brought down his entire life. In classic TOS style, the two reconcile, learn to respect each other, and become friends. This was really Quinn's book though; I understand now why Mack loves this character so much and am glad he turned his life around. I enjoyed watching Quinn interact at dinner with the matriarchal women, his passes at Bridy Mac, and how he finally got the upper hand on Zett. Zett was a superb villain; he will be missed but he was at least given a properly dramatic exit.

I was saddened when Reyes was dethroned but I like how he is being evolved into a different role in future books. He always had an interesting relationship with Ganz; now "things certainly have gotten a bit more interesting." I just hope Rana will go back to her man even though he is an outlaw. My favorite Reyes moment in the book was when he was flinging gagh into a forcefield to cook it.

And the ending, oh man the ending was like the final sip of a fine wine. Satisfying but leaving you wanting more. As I wait for the new books, I wish I could do more to bring more fans to Vanguard. Abrams did well but Mack and Ward are the true masters of the 23rd century.

I've been reading this series now over the past several months and have really grown attached to it. As much as I love Trek, the universe is bigger than the Enterprise and this is an excellent addition. The writing and pacing were good and kept my attention. I'm waiting for the next one in the series now.

This is one of my favorite Star Trek series and David Mack is my favorite author. He has the ability to really capture that Star Trek "feel" to the series and I love the way he tells a great story. I enjoy every page and tear through the book. This is another great book in a fantastic series. If you have not purchased any of the Vanguard series, do yourself a favor and buy them all. This one is great from the start and builds up to an exciting climax. I just wish they would publish the next book in the series right now!