fruitkate's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.0
judenoseinabook's review
4.0
I'm never quite sure why some Star trek novels are just ok and others grab me and I feel there's a bit more to them. The characters are all the same core of people and many of the situations are similar.
This is one of the later; lots happens and it paints the protagonists with a few more shades of light and dark.
This is one of the later; lots happens and it paints the protagonists with a few more shades of light and dark.
octavia_cade's review
3.0
Picard and company come across a lost colony of humans, who are being enslaved by a race of bird-like aliens. It sounds fairly straightforward, but it's more nuanced than it seems. The slaves are about to revolt, and their leader - who Riker warms to very quickly - turns out to be a far more ambiguous character. There's a desperation to the life of the slaves that justifies a lot of their actions, but how much can you exploit a child soldier before that justification runs out? The author's sympathy is clearly with the slaves, as is mine, but even so it's still a thoughtful exploration of the topic, and one that avoids a too simplistic analysis.
Most of the TNG characters get a decent role here too, which is nice. Doctor Crusher, particularly, stands out in her developing relationship with a child soldier who reminds her of her own son, happily off at the Academy and (even more happily) out of this story. Another stand-out character is one of the human overseers, a humanist very much of Picard's type, who is distrusted both by the slaves he is responsible for and by the aliens who essentially consider him to be a foreign degenerate.
All in all it's an enjoyable read that zips along at pace, although the conclusion is surprisingly abrupt... it reads very much as if the author suddenly ran out of room and had to wrap everything up in 15 pages.
Most of the TNG characters get a decent role here too, which is nice. Doctor Crusher, particularly, stands out in her developing relationship with a child soldier who reminds her of her own son, happily off at the Academy and (even more happily) out of this story. Another stand-out character is one of the human overseers, a humanist very much of Picard's type, who is distrusted both by the slaves he is responsible for and by the aliens who essentially consider him to be a foreign degenerate.
All in all it's an enjoyable read that zips along at pace, although the conclusion is surprisingly abrupt... it reads very much as if the author suddenly ran out of room and had to wrap everything up in 15 pages.
bdplume's review
4.0
Pretty good generic Trek plotline. The title is somewhat misleading, though it turns out to be appropriate.
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