Customer Reviews

A Time to Be Born (Star Trek The Next Generation)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

First off, let me start by saying that "A Time to Be Born" cannot be reviewed merely as a stand-alone; it is half of a story continued in "A Time to Die," and those who lambaste it for being either too rushed or too slow obviously have not finished the second half. With that out of the way, on to the review.

Simply put, if this is what the "A Time to..." series is going to be like, then we are certainly in for a treat. Vornholt probes deeply into the psyches of the "Enterprise" crew, giving even the little-used (but known) characters of Perim and Vale face time. Empathy is key in "Born," as we see in the opening chapters when the Traveler (Wesley Crusher, completing his training) comforts the old woman. We see the possibility of "Enterprise" self-destructing, alone in space, and feel the horror, pain, and shock Wesley feels watching his home explode. He feels helpless and decides to go against his Traveler training to help his former comrades.

And then the action begins. "Enterprise" is sent to assist with the recovery efforts in the Rashanar sector, working in tandem with "Juno" and the Ontailians, a superstitious race whose fear of Rashanar borders on devotional. Quickly we learn the politics and dangers of Rashanar; Picard, Data, and LaForge are ambushed on the hulk of a dead starship, and the result is the theft of the captain's yacht, "Calypso" (really, there is no luck with these captain's yachts). The Androssi are the culprits (for those who have not read the S.C.E. e-books, where we have the first mention of this pirate/foraging race, there is background information, so all is not totally new) and become the catalyst for the novel.

Something is haunting Rashanar, a sort of vampiric ship that feeds of antimatter, causing chaos, confusion, and conflict; it is Starfleet Captain versus Starfleet Captain in a battle of wills and wits. All is not what it seems in Rashanar, and Vornholt pulls off the destruction of the "Juno" and her crew so quickly, efficiently, and shockingly that the reprecussions resonate well after completing the novel.

After "Juno's" destruction, action returns to Earth, where Picard is forced to face a tribunal (Admirals Ross, Nakamuru, and Paris) defended by Vornholt's favorite admiral, Necheyev. With her is an indistinct, unnoticable ensign named Brewster, a young man with years of experience and a hidden agenda. Picard is railroaded, Riker is put in command, and Rashanar is still a bloodbath. With Picard under the ministrations of Starfleet Mental Health and Counsellor Colleen Cabot, Vornholt leaves the reader desiring the answers to the biggest question of them all: what is the secret of Rashanar?

In all, this was a great read and a welcome return to focus of the Next Generation crew. It is somewhat sobering to realize that this is what will set them on the road to their ultimate fate, but in the end, this is a great first step, and one that answers a few questions...but raises more.

This is a two-part story. In the first half the Enterprise is operating in a "haunted" battle site with some strange new Federation allies. The second half is a legal drama story, as Starfleet Command hangs Picard out to dry to appease those new allies. The second half of the book must be the main story for the second book as it got all of the writer's attention. The descriptions in the first half are flat and boring. The actions and speech of the Enterprise crew are written the same way. Other characters are well-written, making for a bad contrast with the crew. Then suddenly everything changes. We get a vivid description of a very dramatic scene, and an equally vivid and compelling emotional reaction from an Enterprise crewmember. With a rather nasty irony, it's Data and his artificially generated emotions. After that, the descriptions are vivid and interesting and the Enterprise crew suddenly have personalities again. However, for me at least, it's now the plot that becomes irritating. First off, it is explicitly stated to Picard - who astonishingly raises no objections - that his trial will be determined solely on how it affects the Federation's relationship with the new aliens. Truth is irrelevant. Second, we are told the Federation is disintegrating as members leave because `they feel the Federation cannot defend them.' The Federation defeated the Borg and the Dominion and made an alliance with the Romulans, and planetary governments feel threatened *now*? If that is the central theme of the "A Time to..." series than I am not going to enjoy it as it makes no sense to me. For this book in particular, perhaps the best summary is to say that I want to find out the solutions to the aliens' behaviour and the ship graveyard, but I don't really want to read the next book to do so.

After reading Vornolt's first three Star Trek novels, I skipped everything else he's written because I couldn't stand his awful characterizations and his bad writing style. I picked up "A Time to be Born" from the library hoping that he may have learned something from writing more than ten novels, but unfortunately, he's just as bad as he's always been.

I should say first off that he plots well. I picked up his first three books because the plots sounded interesting. They still do. He's got great ideas.

However, trying to read his writing is quite difficult due to how overly flowery it is. In the first chapter, Wesley's dialogue reads like bad Tolkein fanfic. Also, he hasn't learned how to use the word "said" or how to use only one or two names for a character. For example, in the same chapter, Wesley is referred to as: Wesley, the former Starfleet Officer, the human, the newly born Traveler, and the young man. Usually he won't use the same name twice in a row, which makes for very stilted reading.

If his writing style doesn't put you off, and you want to see what could have happened to the Star Trek TNG crew between Insurrection and Nemesis, then pick it up, you might enjoy it. But I can't get past his bad writing enough to actually be able to like the book much.

The first in the "A Time To..." series, "Be Born" recounts events that took place between the TNG movies "Insurrection" and "Nemesis." It starts out pretty good; the Enterprise has been dispatched to one of the battle sites from the Dominion War to help keep looters away and recover bodies, only to find something dangerous lurking inside. So, we start off with a good premise, but John Vornholt's writing just doesn't stand up to other Trek authors such as David Mack or Keith R.A. DeCandido. And that was my major problem with the book: the writing. After seven seasons and four movies, you get a certain feel for how the TNG crew acts and talks, and I thought that Vornholt could have done a much better job nailing that. That aside, it is enjoyable to be back with the Next Generation crew, and it's nice to have the blanks between the ninth and tenth films filled in. If you plan on reading other books in the "A Time To..." series, I would read this one as well. That way you're not lost when references are made in later books.

I made the mistake of ordering seven of the series at once, and I can't even make it through the first book! Vornholt obviously has no idea who these characters are and how they interacted with each other on the show. It's irritating when someone tries to write characters they know nothing about. If you don't watch much TNG or don't care about dialogue, the plot will keep you reading, but I can't get over how bad the writing is, so I'm done with this author.

I'm through the first 6 books of this series - over 1,700 pages - and there's no slowing down. This series has made me an voracious reader. I can't put them down. I just preordered the last two books.

I want to encourage readers to give the various writers some room to take the characters in directions that may seem unusual. Some reviews have complained that these books don't conform to the characters they know. The fact is that people change. Every experience the crew has, and especially these intense stories... personal stories, will affect they way they act and work.

The main difference from these stories and previous books is the focus placed on how the missions affect the characters. They are not just about the crew coming to the rescue or solving the mystery. There are serious changes and decision happening across the whole series that are exciting to follow and watch develop.

These books, this SERIES, should be looked upon as a journey. It was specifically designed to bridge the distance between the movies Insurrection to Nemesis. With each book you read, more of the puzzle is filled in, and you start to really understand why family is such an important concept in The Next Generation universe.

Sure you can critique each writer's style and choices, and yes, some books are slower than others, but really, the first book in each pair is really only half of the story, so it's bound to be slower, building towards more action and the resolution. Stick with it and you will be pleased.

This novel, while containing a good premise, suffers deplorably from one of Vornholt's most noted issues: familiarity with established characters and poor writing.

Readers familiar with the characters of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" may find themselves wondering, based on the dialogue and actions of his characters, if Vornholt has ever actually seen the characters in action on a television screen. The two simply do not match.

Added to this is an excessivly florid writing style that attempts to describe but ultimately annoys, and a failure to understand that using the word "said" is actually okay.

The sum total of the novel, despite the interesting premise, is not enough to make it a worthy read unless you really haven't got anything else to read at all.

John Vornholt has been among the most consistent writers of good Star Trek fiction, but alas he falls a bit short in "Star Trek: A Time To Be Born". This book will appeal only to those diehard Star Trek fans who are interested in finding out what happened to Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise after the film "Star Trek: Insurrection". Vornholt presents a very intriguing premise in his depiction of the Rashanar Sector's interstellar graveyard of warships left over from the epic Battle of Rashanar during the Dominion War. However, it is a premise marred frequently by poor writing and inconsistent plotting. At best this was an inexpensive, mildly entertaining read.

I'm sorry, but this book is, simply put, not good. The writing level is extremely elementary and the dialogue is robotic and completely unrealistic. The plot line contained potential that was never explored and the entire time the story spends in Rashanar is a garbled mess of ridiculous occurrences. I rarely give books less than three stars but I was very disappointed with A Time to be Born. The only reason why I spent time finishing it was because I had paid for it and continued to hope that it would get better. It didn't. I have been a Star Trek fanatic since I was 5 and this ranks as my least favorite Star Trek book I have read.

The book starts with the inclusion of Wesley Crusher into a group know as "Travellers," although he doesn't re-enter the story till near the end. The story mainly concerns the crew of the Enterprise and their mission to assist in the protection of the site of the Dominian War so bodies can be retrieved and fend off those trying to profit by stealing components from destroyed ships. But as things go wrong, Captain Picard is accused of negligence in his duties for allowing his personal cruiser to be stolen, and then firing upon a friendly ship resulting in more death and destruction. This book is only a beginning for others to continue the story.

This is the first Star Trek book I've read. While I enjoy watching "Next Generation" on TV occasionally, I'm not exactly a fan. But I found the book enjoyable, and although somewhat slow-moving, it was interesting and having seen many episodes I was able to visualize the characters. In all, it felt like I was reading the story of an episode, although significantly longer. My biggest disappointment was that the story wasn't resolved, and realizing there are quite a few other books in this "series."

Overall, kinda fun to read, but I'm not sure I'll become a fan of the books. (I read the electronic version on my PDA).