Customer Reviews

Strike Zone (The Next Generation #5)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is a LOT different from other ST:TNG books I've read, and I'll tell you why: IT'S HILARIOUS! I like Star Trek books as a general rule, and obviously Star Trek isn't always meant to be knee-slapping funny, but I think it's neat to have at least one book that's willing to be playful with the Star Trek universe.

Okay, I admit the ending seemed to be a bit of a cop-out, but it is forgivable because of the style of the book. It is meant to be taken lightly--it's the kind of book you should read if you're having a bad day and you need something to cheer you up, or if you're just in the mood to laugh a whole lot.

The storyline is easy to follow, and even though the characters are often very funny, they are still well developed. I think any slight deviation from the characters' normal behavior (and there are a few instances) are forgivable for the sake of humor.

Granted, I wouldn't want every book I read to be like this one, but this is great for a change, and in fact I read it over and over again just because it's so funny.

I'm not sure what USSHawley was saying about TNG and DS9 being at different times, they are both in the same time frame (on the show anyway). At any rate, Peter David pumps out a book that doesn't quite live up to his standards but it still quite entertaining. He explores Wesley Crusher and the friends that Crusher would inevitably make and lose while on the ship and gaining perspective into Crusher's life has intrigued most Trek fans. I won't say this one is a "must buy," I reserve that for Imzadi, Qinlaw, Qsquared, and Vendetta. However, if you're looking for a very good book, that isn't quite "great" you can't go wrong with Strike Zone.

Of the all Star Trek novels I have read, this stands as one of my personal favorites. The other really good ones are also by Peter David, `Vendetta' and `Q-in-Law', the former being the Borg movie they should have made instead of that piece of trash, First Contact. Strike Zone deals very simply with the Federation rushing to settle a dispute between the Klingons and a new race known as the Kreel. For over a century the Kreel have been nipping at the heels of the Klingons, who see them as parasites. Except now the Kreel have found a stockpile of fearsome weapons and are now taking it to the Klingons. The Enterprise is ordered to intercede and act as mediators between the two waring nations before the rip themselves apart.

David has an uncanny grasp of the Next Generation characters and presents them as we enjoy them most. Picard is the stolid no-nonsense captain, Riker the dashing hero with a quick wit, Data as the often perplexed android. It also presents Next Generation's least liked character, Wesley Crusher, in a vulnerable light. Speaking for myself, I liked the character and it was the writers' fault that Wil Weaten became a casualty of the series. Strike Zone is decidedly light reading, and rarely serious. It also does something rare in anything Trek-the characters change, especially Wesley Crusher, and not the same person they were at the beginning of the story.

Keeping in mind that this was Peter David's first venture into the Star Trek universe, I thought this was a very good beginning for him. This is of course when one considers the prolific nature of how many Star Trek books this outstanding author has written. Peter David's style of writing, from this very first STNG novel of his to his latest, has always been quite fluid with superb plot detail and as always, a healthy amount of humor which other Star Trek novels sometimes lack. While I agree with other reviewers in that the conclusion to this novel is a bit off when compared to the rest of it, overall, this novel gave Star Trek readers but the first taste of many extraordinary adventures in Gene Roddenberry's universe by this author!

The premise:

This is also where Peter David first introduces the Kreel, a warlike race that he has briefly visited many times since. Here, the Kreel have happened upon powerful alien weapons and they decide to use these weapons on their blood enemies, everybody's favorite enemy, the Klingons.

Captain Picard and the Enterprise are called in to hopefully mediate a truce between these two bitter enemies and hopefully discover the nature of the powerful weapons discovered by the Kreel. What follows, is as I said above, an excellent first adventure in the twenty fourth century by one of Star Trek's premier authors, Peter David.

I highly recommend this novel to any and all fans of Star Trek and the Star Trek novels for you will certainly not be disappointed by this fine trek offering. {ssintrepid}

I first read this when I was young and stupid, and my reaction was something along the lines of 'Yeah, yeah. Next,' and little else. And, for a long while, that was how I left it, even when I began to reread the novels on a whim -- I mean, for crying out loud, let's face it. The 'description' of the plot on the back cover leaves a lot to be desired. So does the cover, for that matter. Thus it was only recently, when persuaded by my sister to give it another chance, that I at last discovered just how good this novel is.

Nearly everything in here is perfect. The alien 'menace,' the Kreel, are not seen on the TV series, but David brings them to life with a gleeful enthusiasm, painting them in a humorous light at first that makes them a little difficult to take seriously. As the book goes on, however, we see that these aliens aren't just your typical ignorant phaser-toting race, and things begin to take on a darker tone as one particular Kreel begins to lay his plans.

I'm sure we're all aware here of the general populace's famously publicized despisal of Wesley Crusher, something to which I never personally subscribed. David doesn't seem to, either, and he uses this book to show us a very different side of Wesley. When he learns that a close friend is dying of a brutally painful, irreversible disease, Wesley begins his own 'search for the cure,' refusing to believe that it's hopeless. I know that many of us out there who have lost loved ones to cancer or other incurable diseases know just how it feels. But Wesley's search degenerates into an obsessive compulsion, robbing him of much more than sleep as he pours more and more of himself into what others see as a hopeless cause. All of you out there who sneer at this character because he's so perfect, so smart, all of you need to read this book. Wesley literally begins to come apart at the seams. It was in this characterization that I felt Peter David touched the threshold of brilliance.

The final scene, where Picard gently confronts Wesley about his role in the affairs that have unfolded, is nothing short of incredible. You can see the thread of Wesley's sanity unravelling almost before your eyes, and his exchange with Picard leads to a breakdown the likes of which you have never seen. Overwhelmingly emotional, and very tenderly handled by David, who finishes off this marvelous effort with one last wink in the reader's direction.

Absolutely outstanding.

The Enterprise is sent to ferry parties from two races who hate each other's guts (the Klingons and the Kreel) to the source of their dispute, a mysterious planet. This planet (temporarily named DQN1196) is chock-full of extremely powerful weapons, which the less technologically advanced Kreel have used to attack the Klingons. Sent to negotiate a treaty that would be satisfactory to both races is the Honourable Kobry, a legendary Klingon ambassador. He arrives with his aide, the beautiful Gava, who takes an interest in Lieutenant Worf.

But the real story, the heart and soul of this book, revolves around Wesley and his Selelvian best friend, Jaan. Jaan has developed an extremely rare genetic disease unique to his race, for which no cure has been found, so Wesley becomes determined to find one. However, his determination soon turns to obsession. He shuts himself in his cabin, working around the clock, forgetting to eat and refusing to rest. By the end of the book, Wesley is a physical and emotional wreck, leading to a positively explosive climax. I could go on and on about this, but to tell more would spoil the ending.

This is one of The Best TNG's ever written, and of all the dramatic Star Trek novels, this is my favourite. Peter David has a talent for writing characters, the likes of which I have not seen in any other author of TNG books.
I am unashamed to say that Wesley is my favourite Star Trek character ever, and David's sympathetic portrayal of him impressed me very much. Wesley is an extremely fascinating character, but most of the time, he is underused and unexplored (not to mention decidedly unapppreciated, by too many people) In this book, he is given the story he deserves. Probably the best scene in the entire book is the one at the very end. I LOVE this scene, and would give an arm to see it on screen! If they had filmed this as an episode, even the most ardent of Wesley-haters would find it hard not to like him. I won't spoil it for anyone, but suffice it to say that reading it was the most memorable experience a Star Trek novel has ever given me(and that is saying quite a lot). This is a must-read for all who call themselves fans of Star Trek, and even if you don't like Wesley, after reading this book, you may find that you have changed your mind. If five were not the maximum number of stars allowed, I would give it many, many more.

This is Peter David's first Next Generation book, and it is very enjoyable. The plot involves a "backwards" race called the Kreel (very reminiscent of the Vogons from Hitchhiker's Guide), who stumble across some extremely powerful technology and weaponry. The Kreel use this weaponry to terrorize their mortal enemies, the Klingons. The Federation is asked to mediate between these two races before full scale war erupts, and the Enterprise is chosen to transport representatives from each to the planet of discovery for negotiations.

As would be expected there is conflict and posturing by both races along the way, plus the opportunity for some very humorous exchanges. There is also a secondary plot dealing with Wesley Crusher trying to find a cure for a genectically transmitted disease that's killing one of his friends. This story line is not played for laughs.

As usual with Peter David, the book is well-written, there is a lot of humor in the story and the story moves along at a brisk pace. This book is significant for a couple of things. It is the first Next Generation book to deal with Dr. Crusher leaving the ship in the 2nd season, and it is the first book to feature Dr. Pulaski. While "Survivors" dealt with Tasha's death at the end of the story, this is the first book to have Worf as security chief. Finally, this is also the first Next Generation book to deal sympathetically with Wesley Crusher, and it gives a better reason for his staying on the Enterprise after his mother has left than any of the 2nd season storylines ever did.

As many of the reviewers before have stated the book's ending is a bit of a let-down after the big build-up. Many of the characters act atypically as well, especially Worf. However, the bottom line is that this is a very entertaining book and if you enjoy Star Trek the Next Generation, you should find this a fast and fun read.

I was fully expecting to give this book a five star rating; it was one of the most enjoyable reads of all the Next Generation books I've yet read. Unfortunately, the ending was rather weak, and somewhat out of sync with the rest of the story; a story as lighthearted as this one shouldn't have had such a downer of an ending. But the ending wasn't terrible; it just didn't live up to the rest of the story, and cost it one star. It's still an excellent story, even with a less-than stellar ending.
In general, this story was somewhat reminiscent in style of some of the best of the Original Series episodes, like "Trouble With Tribbles", "A Piece Of The Action", and "Shore Leave", in which a significant amount of humor is added to the mix, without sacrificing any of the action or drama of the storyline. The plot moves well, is not implausible, and the characterizations are handled with a deft touch. A very enjoyable book.

I was thoroughly entertained by this novel. It was fast moving, fun and action packed! What more could you ask for in a Star Trek The Next Generation novel? Well, maybe a better ending, but I'll get to that later.

Warning: Minor spoilers

The novel starts by introducing us to the Kreel, an unattractive alien race who are depicted as technology scavengers. They stumble across advance weapon technology on a deserted planet they consider within their territory. Now the Kreel have a century worth of animosity with the Klingons (who in return HATE the Kreel - they even spit whenever they say the name), who also stake a claim on the "deserted" planet (and the technology). Even though the Klingons are technologically superior to the Kreel, the Kreel manage to figure out some of the weapons and seem to have an upper hand against the Klingons.

In order to solve this problem, the Klingons and Kreel decide to meet and come to a resolution and of course the Enterprise must be the vessel to facilitate this meeting.

Meanwhile, our favorite 16 year old acting ensign Wesley Crusher (can you hear the sarcasm in my voice) is whining away that everyone calls him the "Brain Trust" and hates the fact that everyone views him as a genius. Sigh. But our boy wonder has a best friend name Jaal (who happens to be a beautiful elf like alien). It is revealed that Jaal has a genetic disease which gives him 6-12 months to live which causes Wesley to go crazy with this news and he vows to discover a cure.

As the novel continues, we deal with major clashes between the Kreel (I began to hate them more and more as the novel went on), Worf gets a love interest (because we know humans can't take the "lovin'" that is Klingon), Data and Dr. Pulaski bicker over her unease with androids, and I get even more annoyed with Wesley.

The author's writing style flows easily and his use of humor caused me to laugh out loud more than once. The story does play out as a typical TNG episode but with more subplots and the typical ending which leaves you asking, "Really? That's what is behind all of this?"

I just loved this book! It was funny, witty, clever, intriguing, intense, insightful, and just plain fun! It was also a grand representation of the television series.


In this installment, fairly early in the series, the Enterprise must deal with a planet which houses in its depths powerful weaponry more advanced than anything the Enterprise has encountered. Also to be dealt with are two races that are, if not *at* war, then very close to it. The Enterprise is sought to aid in a diplomatic intervention between the Kreel and the Klingons before interplanetary warfare breaks out. Much to Picard's dismay, leaders from both races are to be brought aboard the Enterprise -- a ship filled with civilians, and that has a Klingon as the head of security.

Added to all this is Wesley (aka The Brain Trust) Crusher and his desire to help his "Elvin" friend Jaan, who suffers from a fatal disease.

All this aligns for a fantastic book that I definitely got 5 stars of enjoyment out of. Sure, if I'm being picky, for all the delightful humor, it's true that, some of the characters were more humorous than they were on the series (but, other than that, the characters were illustrated very accurately!) And yes, there might have been a few very slight things that needed better clarification, but the overall story and the characters were fantastic. Definitely highly recommended!!