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andypickwell's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
summerinohio79's review against another edition
2.0
Horrible follow up to Q&A. Everyone was so out of character.
summerinohio's review against another edition
2.0
Horrible follow up to Q&A. Everyone was so out of character.
lori85's review against another edition
2.0
Hahaha, I get it. This wasn't really Peter David! It was doubtlessly the same ghost-writing imposter who butchered Blood Canticle, a mockery of the Vampire Chronicles supposedly written by Anne Rice. At least, I hope it was.
Because honestly, there's not much I can say about this, which is frustrating because I was so incredibly let down. Peter David's Vendetta is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi novels, right up there with Dan Simmons's Hyperion. So when I heard that there was a sequel, I was thrilled! Actually, Before Dishonor also follows J.M. Dillard's Resistance, but David was bringing back the planet-killer and I didn't think I'd have the patience to sit through Resistance first. I do not, however, believe that affected my reaction to David's book, which tragically deserves its one-star rating on StarTrek.com. My issues were poor writing, not plot. The story is so rushed that it feels like David just polished the whole thing off in about three hours. It also lacks any subtlety whatsoever. Yes Mr. David, I understand that there is sometimes a conflict between fate and free will. You didn't have to beat me over the head with it.
But worst of all is the fact that they apparently didn't even have the decency!
Because honestly, there's not much I can say about this, which is frustrating because I was so incredibly let down. Peter David's Vendetta is one of my all-time favorite sci-fi novels, right up there with Dan Simmons's Hyperion. So when I heard that there was a sequel, I was thrilled! Actually, Before Dishonor also follows J.M. Dillard's Resistance, but David was bringing back the planet-killer and I didn't think I'd have the patience to sit through Resistance first. I do not, however, believe that affected my reaction to David's book, which tragically deserves its one-star rating on StarTrek.com. My issues were poor writing, not plot. The story is so rushed that it feels like David just polished the whole thing off in about three hours. It also lacks any subtlety whatsoever. Yes Mr. David, I understand that there is sometimes a conflict between fate and free will. You didn't have to beat me over the head with it.
But worst of all is the fact that they apparently didn't even have the decency
Spoiler
to kill off Admiral Janeway in a GOOD bookstarwarrior91's review against another edition
4.0
As crazy as I remembered. Before Dishonor is a Star Trek adventure epic in scope, but with a couple of elements that border on the ridiculous. Thankfully you have Peter David crafting the story so it works, but including the Doomsday Machine from TOS and having a borg cube literally gobble up Pluto wouldn’t be anything other than silly if this was a canon story. I first read this ten years ago and only a few years ago did I find out that Janeway does in fact return. I had thought this was her last hurrah. I guess I should’ve known better
graff_fuller's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I loved the tension that was baked into this story. The Borg are not an enemy to scoff at...and the idea of a NEW type of Borg...is everything scary. Yikes.
I loved the secondary characters that have been introduced within The Second Decade series.
T'Lana, Leybenson and Kadohata have been so well written, and even though they are new, I've really been attached to them. Well...in this story, they take a stand...and I'm not happy with them. Not one bit. Ugh.
Vargo was a nice addition, too. His interactions with Seven of Nine were priceless.
Star Trek admirals are most often jerks, so that tradition is extended within this story (unfortunately). Man, I cannot stand Jellico. No thank you.
Ambassador Spock was also a welcome addition to the story...and stood his own, even at his age. Still has it.
I love how this story evovled and revealed callbacks, but also advanced the overall story. Very impressive.
Not sure how I liked the ending, but then...again, I'm binging the series...so it doesn't hurt too much. I will find out the cliffhanger, in a day or two.
I loved the secondary characters that have been introduced within The Second Decade series.
T'Lana, Leybenson and Kadohata have been so well written, and even though they are new, I've really been attached to them. Well...in this story, they take a stand...and I'm not happy with them. Not one bit. Ugh.
Vargo was a nice addition, too. His interactions with Seven of Nine were priceless.
Star Trek admirals are most often jerks, so that tradition is extended within this story (unfortunately). Man, I cannot stand Jellico. No thank you.
Ambassador Spock was also a welcome addition to the story...and stood his own, even at his age. Still has it.
I love how this story evovled and revealed callbacks, but also advanced the overall story. Very impressive.
Not sure how I liked the ending, but then...again, I'm binging the series...so it doesn't hurt too much. I will find out the cliffhanger, in a day or two.
artbookshelfodyssey's review against another edition
5.0
Peter David continues to be, far and away, The Best Writer of Star Trek Novels. In the early days, there wasn't much competition in my opinion. But the so-called relaunch novels have been fantastic, like they are having the authors actually take the time to write a good story. And it seems like they have had some freedom now that they don't have to stay tied down to a tv series (by which I mean going beyond the movie/tv shows timelines and not staying within it) they can pretty much do what they want - which is a huge boast to creativity.
Hence the ending of this book and what happened to Janeway's character - WHICH I LOVE. Thank you Peter for your great writing! Keep it up!
Hence the ending of this book and what happened to Janeway's character - WHICH I LOVE. Thank you Peter for your great writing! Keep it up!
vingilot's review against another edition
1.0
I am not going to beat around the bush, this is a very poor book, likely the worst long form Star Trek book I have ever read. The saddest part is, it didn't have to be....
Peter David simply doesn't get some basic stuff, one of the things he doesn't understand is the larger Star Trek Canon. What he gets, and what he writes masterfully is TOS style Star Trek, with all the campiness, and over the top stories that come along with that. He also succeeds well in making that believable, if he has characters that work for this, or characters he himself created, see the excellent New Frontier series for what I mean. However even New Frontier feels very different from the TNG era story telling.
Another thing he doesn't get is Starfleet, and the Federation, nor does he seem to like either. It is from little things like him insisting that the federation uses a currency, even though it is well established that they do not, to him portraying Starfleet as an authoritarian organisation limiting the freedoms of federation citizens at every turn.
Finally he doesn't get the secularity that has always been a part of Star Trek, putting multiple entirely extemporaneous religious references in this work, coming from the two least like characters to make them in the entire Trek canon. Namely Janeway and Seven of Nine. It is incredibly frustrating, especially coupled with this author's clear libertarian streak.
Alright on to the book, it could have been pretty good. It is the final big Borg story before the upcoming Destiny Trilogy. It is billed as a TNG novel, however I would say the main character is in fact Seven of Nine, and Janeway as a second. In fact this book *Spoiler Alert* “kills” her off *Spoiler Alert*.
I have noticed Peter David's love for rogue characters before, but this time he takes it even further. He not only creates a new rogue character with a grudge against Starfleet, he has nearly every single character in this book rebel against someone, often for no real narrative purpose beyond libertarian fantasies. None of the existing characters sound like themselves. Janeway, Seven, Spock, and Picard being the clearest examples. They do, say, and thing things that are completely against their established characters. There's a crisis of faith in several characters that simply doesn't make any sense. There's constant questioning of the existence of souls, and a god, that does nothing to further the plot beyond setting up a single page ending scene that didn't need to be set up. I have to wonder about the author's own religious views, because he seems to think Logic is a faith based position as well, when it is the antithesis.
I would have thrown this book out of the window long before, if I didn't know that it was as pivotal for books to come. I knew I had to get through it, so I rushed it and finished it about twice as fast as I usually would. I didn't savour it, or in anyway enjoyed it. If this book had to be written it should have been given to an author that actually likes the characters it pretends to describe. Kirsten Beyer should have written this, since it is a direct set up for her Voyager novels.
Unless you are into this kind of thing I would recommend skipping this one. Read the memory beta synopsis, you will save yourself a lot of time and frustrations...
Peter David simply doesn't get some basic stuff, one of the things he doesn't understand is the larger Star Trek Canon. What he gets, and what he writes masterfully is TOS style Star Trek, with all the campiness, and over the top stories that come along with that. He also succeeds well in making that believable, if he has characters that work for this, or characters he himself created, see the excellent New Frontier series for what I mean. However even New Frontier feels very different from the TNG era story telling.
Another thing he doesn't get is Starfleet, and the Federation, nor does he seem to like either. It is from little things like him insisting that the federation uses a currency, even though it is well established that they do not, to him portraying Starfleet as an authoritarian organisation limiting the freedoms of federation citizens at every turn.
Finally he doesn't get the secularity that has always been a part of Star Trek, putting multiple entirely extemporaneous religious references in this work, coming from the two least like characters to make them in the entire Trek canon. Namely Janeway and Seven of Nine. It is incredibly frustrating, especially coupled with this author's clear libertarian streak.
Alright on to the book, it could have been pretty good. It is the final big Borg story before the upcoming Destiny Trilogy. It is billed as a TNG novel, however I would say the main character is in fact Seven of Nine, and Janeway as a second. In fact this book *Spoiler Alert* “kills” her off *Spoiler Alert*.
I have noticed Peter David's love for rogue characters before, but this time he takes it even further. He not only creates a new rogue character with a grudge against Starfleet, he has nearly every single character in this book rebel against someone, often for no real narrative purpose beyond libertarian fantasies. None of the existing characters sound like themselves. Janeway, Seven, Spock, and Picard being the clearest examples. They do, say, and thing things that are completely against their established characters. There's a crisis of faith in several characters that simply doesn't make any sense. There's constant questioning of the existence of souls, and a god, that does nothing to further the plot beyond setting up a single page ending scene that didn't need to be set up. I have to wonder about the author's own religious views, because he seems to think Logic is a faith based position as well, when it is the antithesis.
I would have thrown this book out of the window long before, if I didn't know that it was as pivotal for books to come. I knew I had to get through it, so I rushed it and finished it about twice as fast as I usually would. I didn't savour it, or in anyway enjoyed it. If this book had to be written it should have been given to an author that actually likes the characters it pretends to describe. Kirsten Beyer should have written this, since it is a direct set up for her Voyager novels.
Unless you are into this kind of thing I would recommend skipping this one. Read the memory beta synopsis, you will save yourself a lot of time and frustrations...
jecamp86's review against another edition
1.0
This book felt like a bad cartoon. I’m really not sure what the author was going for other then trying to make light of a serious threat. Kind of felt like everything dived off of the deep end where anything is “possible” no matter how ridiculous and add on a slice of a stupid joke.