leland_hw's review
2.0
I really like the concept of these books. The captain goes into a magical bar and tells a story. That's great, but ultimately the stories that they tell are not satisfying. I don't turn to Star Trek books for fine literature and I wouldn't judge these books by that standard, so I don't really expect a whole lot. I do expect a solid story possibly along the lines of an episode but sometimes these Starlequins get to feeling a little sloppy and 'churned out'.
eaterofworlds's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
dina_s's review
2.75
Very surprised I liked the picard one more than this one. DS9 is in my top 3 favorite star trek series but this book didnt hit as hard as I hoped.
I do love the captain's table series a lot and I am looking forward to the next one :)
I do love the captain's table series a lot and I am looking forward to the next one :)
bory's review
1.0
I really need to start learning from my mistakes.
At this point, I've read several of Dean Wesley Smith's Trek novels. The Escape was horrendous, Shadows was passable, and I legitimately liked Echoes, though he did work with two other authors on that one. I'm sad to say, The Mist, very much like The Escape, is atrocious.
I knew I was in for a rough ride when right off the bat we start with a very glaring mistake - the Bajoran wormhole is not between the Alpha Quadrant and the Delta Quadrant, but between the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants. It might appear a small thing to err on, but it shows a gross lack of attention to detail, and the fact that the mistake was made multiple times shows that it was not just a type in the beginning. Hell, we get a minor, unnamed cameo from Janeway at the very end of the book. Wouldn't she have loved to know that she could have just taken the wormhole and gotten her ship back home, instead of trekking through the Delta quadrant for seven years?
The story is nonsensical- it's not only a bad Trek story, but even a bad generic sci-fi story. The characters are poorly written. Sisko is the only character that gets any real "screen" time, and everyone else is just there for the dialogue. Hell, Odo only gets named dropped once, as does Quark. Even though Jadzia, O'Brien, Bashir, Worf, and Nog are part of the crew of the Defiant, they might as well have been completely different characters, for all they had in common with their show counterparts.
And do not get me started on the constant, unnecessary, infuriating interruptions. The constant shift between the in-story story and the bar scene was stupid and frustrating, and, worst of all, served no damn purpose. Diane Carey's Fire Ship, the follow up Captain's Table, was by no means a great book, but at least it didn't constantly yank you out of the story for irrelevant check ins with Janeway drinking and eating in the bar.
I'm done. This book is trash. I'm never picking up anything by this author again. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice - your books get delighted to the bottom of the compost pile.
At this point, I've read several of Dean Wesley Smith's Trek novels. The Escape was horrendous, Shadows was passable, and I legitimately liked Echoes, though he did work with two other authors on that one. I'm sad to say, The Mist, very much like The Escape, is atrocious.
I knew I was in for a rough ride when right off the bat we start with a very glaring mistake - the Bajoran wormhole is not between the Alpha Quadrant and the Delta Quadrant, but between the Alpha and Gamma Quadrants. It might appear a small thing to err on, but it shows a gross lack of attention to detail, and the fact that the mistake was made multiple times shows that it was not just a type in the beginning. Hell, we get a minor, unnamed cameo from Janeway at the very end of the book. Wouldn't she have loved to know that she could have just taken the wormhole and gotten her ship back home, instead of trekking through the Delta quadrant for seven years?
The story is nonsensical- it's not only a bad Trek story, but even a bad generic sci-fi story. The characters are poorly written. Sisko is the only character that gets any real "screen" time, and everyone else is just there for the dialogue. Hell, Odo only gets named dropped once, as does Quark. Even though Jadzia, O'Brien, Bashir, Worf, and Nog are part of the crew of the Defiant, they might as well have been completely different characters, for all they had in common with their show counterparts.
And do not get me started on the constant, unnecessary, infuriating interruptions. The constant shift between the in-story story and the bar scene was stupid and frustrating, and, worst of all, served no damn purpose. Diane Carey's Fire Ship, the follow up Captain's Table, was by no means a great book, but at least it didn't constantly yank you out of the story for irrelevant check ins with Janeway drinking and eating in the bar.
I'm done. This book is trash. I'm never picking up anything by this author again. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice - your books get delighted to the bottom of the compost pile.
polywogg's review
3.0
PLOT OR PREMISE:
This is the third in the series dealing with the bar called "The Captain's Table", a bar only for Captains across time and space. Sisko is in need of some rest, so he visits Bajor and finds the bar. And finds that the interesting aspect of the bar is that everyone gets to tell a tale. His tale is of a group known as The Mist. Centuries before, the Mist shifted themselves and their worlds out of normal space into a phased sub-space. Having left normal space behind, they have been excluded from the trials and tribulations of the Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulans and the Cardassians. However, they lure Sisko into their space to help them fight an apparent revolt by subversives who are going to phase-shift DS9 and use it in Mist space to attack other worlds.
.
WHAT I LIKED:
The story is interesting enough, particularly some of the new-to-the-Star-Trek-universe characters, and good involvement of the Klingons.
.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The story jumps back to "normal" time too often to show the bar, when the story Sisko is telling is far more interesting. The characters and Klingon involvement are good, but are either not well-integrated in the main plot or just not developed enough. Plus, Kira comes off as some cartoonish clone of her real character.
.
BOTTOM-LINE:
Worth a read but not a "must read"
.
DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the authors, but I do follow her on social media.
This is the third in the series dealing with the bar called "The Captain's Table", a bar only for Captains across time and space. Sisko is in need of some rest, so he visits Bajor and finds the bar. And finds that the interesting aspect of the bar is that everyone gets to tell a tale. His tale is of a group known as The Mist. Centuries before, the Mist shifted themselves and their worlds out of normal space into a phased sub-space. Having left normal space behind, they have been excluded from the trials and tribulations of the Federation, the Klingon Empire, the Romulans and the Cardassians. However, they lure Sisko into their space to help them fight an apparent revolt by subversives who are going to phase-shift DS9 and use it in Mist space to attack other worlds.
.
WHAT I LIKED:
The story is interesting enough, particularly some of the new-to-the-Star-Trek-universe characters, and good involvement of the Klingons.
.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
The story jumps back to "normal" time too often to show the bar, when the story Sisko is telling is far more interesting. The characters and Klingon involvement are good, but are either not well-integrated in the main plot or just not developed enough. Plus, Kira comes off as some cartoonish clone of her real character.
.
BOTTOM-LINE:
Worth a read but not a "must read"
.
DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the authors, but I do follow her on social media.
bdplume's review
4.0
I enjoyed the Captain's Table, sort of interesting to read the fiction of a fictional universe. DS9 has the deepest characters, so this was one of my favorites.
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