Sting: Ship Line (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Rating:
Summary: Audio adaption is solid, but unremarkable
Review: Author Carey tosses in a lot of material (time travel, Captain Morgan Bateson, Kirk, Klingons, Scotty, Cardassians, etc.) here, and it doesn't quite gel as well as it could. Being an abridged audio, I knew going in that some elements from the book may be compromised, but the adaption is faithful to the novel (for better and worse). The tapes have their ups and downs as the story develops, but I generally found myself looking forward to the next plot advancement. Note that Kevin Conway does a GREAT job with the narration--his voice is powerful and he captures the listener's attention. Having the well known actors from the Star Trek universe perform the readings never fails to bring the story alive for me. Overall, I found the story lingered with me (in a positive way) longer than I expected. SHIP OF THE LINE is a solid, yet unremarkable entry into the Star Trek audio universe.

Rating:
Summary: Ship of the Line - An exceptional Star Trek story!
Review: Capitalizing on the Star Trek The Next Generations fifth season episode "Cause and Effect" and the sixth season's episodes of "Chain of Command" parts I and II, Diane Carey deftly weaves another great STNG tale involving Captain Morgan Bateson and Gul Madred respectively in "Ship of the Line." Captain Morgan Bateson, seen only briefly in "Cause and Effect," is skillfully brought to life in this tale along with his crew. Gul Madred, the much hated Cardassian interrogator who tormented Captain Picard in "Chain of Command" parts I and II is revisited by Captain Picard. Along with these characters, the author also brings Captain Kirk and Spock into the mix as well.

Several Star Trek readers I've talked to in the past have complained of Diane Carey's injecting so much "naval" speak into her Star Trek novels, this is an opinion I do not share as I believe it gives her novels a distinctiveness all her own. I always have and continue to look forward to reading her novels as she is one of the top Star Trek authors.

The premise:

This outstanding STNG novel begins with the crew of the USS Bozeman in the year 2278 telling the events where Captain Morgan Bateson and his ship were engaged against a Klingon ship just prior to and leading up to the events in the STNG episode "Cause and Effect," where the USS Bozeman came through a temporal anomaly coming forward ninety years and "nearly" colliding with the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D.

The novel is now set in the timeframe of approximately five months after the events depicted in "Star Trek Generations," where the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D is lost. Captain Picard and the majority of his senior staff are at Starbase 12 awaiting their next assignment which is hopefully the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E, the beautiful Sovereign Class starship first seen in "Star Trek First Contact." Of course Worf at this time is on Deep Space Nine.

From this point the author takes the reader through a superb story where on one end, Captain Morgan Bateson is in charge of the shakedown cruise of the Enterprise-E and dealing with the same Klingon that forced him into the temporal anomaly and on the other end, Captain Picard is headed into Cardassian territory to deal with Gul Madred, his tormentor from "Chain of Command."

I highly recommend this Star Trek The Next Generation novel; it certainly deserved the hardback that it came in as it outclasses many of the Star Trek stories in print. {ssintrepid}

Rating:
Summary: Easily the best novel of Diane Carey's that I've read yet.
Review: Granted, she still tries to be too cute with the language, and generally fails miserably when she does, (for example, describing the ship "swaggering" under enemy phasers, rather than the more normal (and accurate) "staggering". Had anybody else written that, I'd have assumed that it was a typo, but given Diane Carey's history, I'm forced to assume that she meant to write that.) This is the only reason that I've rated this book at four rather than five stars; if you don't object to sloppy, incorrect use of the language on occasion, consider this a five-star rating.

But she does so far less frequently in this book than in almost any of her other books, and on balance, less egregiously, too.

Further, the plot and characterization are even better than she usually manages, and that's always been her strong suit. And as an extra added bonus, she manages to refer back to numerous episodes, something that I always enjoy, and generally only see in Peter David's work. And she does it quite well, too, always plausibly and (where one can check on it) accurately. I understand that some people don't care for that sort of thing; if you don't, consider this a three-star rating instead of four. But I consider it a definite plus.

Rating:
Summary: Mrs. Carey needs to do some research...
Review: I think if you're going to write a book based on an established series, then it should be common sense to do a little research on the subject... with HEAVY emphasis on the timeline. I'm only on page 122 out of 320, and already its so far off course, it might as well be in the Delta Quadrant with Voyager. I'll give you a breakdown:

The Bozeman came through the temporal anomaly into the causality loop (TNG Season 5, Ep. 218 "Cause and Effect") where it encounters the Enterprise-D. Expanding that story seems like a good book... but the timeline for "Ship of the Line" is totally incorrect. Mrs. Carey says the Enterprise-E was built 3 years later. Wrong. The events of Generations didn't even occur until 3 years after the Bozeman came into the year 2368. Secondly, the Bozeman was recommissioned shortly after its arrival into the 24th century and was active during the events of Generations and First Contact... not stripped down and set up as a monument at Starbase 12. "In 2371," (during the events in Generations) " the Bozeman was forced to make a course correction due to gravitational changes caused by the destruction of the Amargosa star. This minor fact helped Picard realize that Dr. Soren's reason for destroying that star was to alter the trajectory of the nexus energy ribbon." (www.startrek.com) Also... "In 2373, the Bozeman returned to the Typhon sector to join the Starfleet armada mobilizing against the invading Borg cube heading toward Earth. At one point, the Bozeman and the U.S.S. Defiant were ordered to fall back to 'mobile position one.'" (www.startrek.com) That would be the same Borg cube the Enterprise-E engaged in First Contact.

And some facts about the Enterprise-E:

"New Sovereign-class starship, registry NCC-1701-E, commanded by Jean-Luc Picard since its launch (NOT by Morgan Bateson on some maiden voyage before Picard took command) on stardate 49827.5 (Sun. Oct 29, 2372 8:45:36PM UTC... NOT in "late 2371" as stated in the book) from the San Francisco Yards (NOT Starbase 12) over Earth.

With 24 decks, it was equipped with the latest in equipment and defenses, including quantum torpedoes. It did not go into full service immediately, even for shakedowns. By stardate 50893.5 (Fri. Nov 23, 2373 3:03:36AM UTC) the ship had only been in space and fully crewed for nearly a year." (www.startrek.com)

So, the story is ruined by incorrect time placement before you flip to page 1. And to make matters worse, NONE of the characters are portrayed correctly... Geordi acts like a giddy schoolgirl, Riker like a wimpy butler to Picard, Data as a brainless robot and is referred to as "Lieutenant Data" when he first appears in the book, which should be either "Commander Data" (which she used after the introduction of the android) or "Lieutenant Commander Data", because both are used frequently in the series and the TNG movies... just a few errors out of many that poison the 320 pages of this "book". There's no familiar feel to ANY of the TNG crew in this book, as is strongly present in other ST:TNG books, such as "Star Trek: The Next Generation #64: Immortal Coil" by Jeffery Lang, "Star Trek: The Next Generation #45: Intellivore" by Diane Duane, and "Star Trek: The Next Generation #39: Rogue Saucer" by John Vornholt. (All 3 highly recommended over this one by leaps and bounds.)

Being an avid ST:TNG fan, I can't believe this book even made it to the printing press. Take my advice and skip this one...

(NOTE: Stardate Converter provided by http://steve.pugh.net/fleet/stardate.html ... normally, UTC times are displayed by the 24-hour clock, but I prefer the 12-hour AM/PM. All background information on the USS Bozeman, USS Enterprise NCC 1701-E, and the TNG Episode "Cause and Effect", that should have been a priority for Mrs. Carey, was found on www.startrek.com .)

Rating:
Summary: Simply awful
Review: It's been about a year since I read a Star Trek novel. It was Peter David's deplorable "I, Q." After reading the equally regeattable "Ship of the Line" I think I'll wait another year. My love of the original cast is as deep as anyone's but KIRK IS DEAD! Let him rest. No holodeck recreations, no reincarnations, no nothing. I was also put off by the hurried nature of the ending.
"Hey, did you catch the saboteur that's been mentioned every other chapter?"
"Oh yeah, it was just some dude."
And that's it.
I've only read two other Star Trek/Diane Carey books ("Final Frontier" and "Dreadnought") and they were infinitely superior to this slop of a novel.

Rating:
Summary: Bottom Line: A good read
Review: Most Star Trek novels are not known for their literary prowess or exceptionally profound storylines. This book is no exception. However, I did find it a quite enjoyable read, with an interesting premise and exciting action sequences. I do take issue with some of Ms. Carey's characterizations and use of dialogue (for example Morgan Bateson's fascination with Gabe Bush's accent -- what was that all about?), but overall she does write a good story. This first part of the novel plods along, but once you get to the second half, the story does improve significantly. If you're looking for a good read over a lazy weekend or a day on the beach, this book comes highly recommended. Three stars out of five because it isn't great, but it is entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: ST-TNG: Ship of the Line
Review: Star Trek - The Next Generation written by Diane Carey is a book of many facets involving the Star Trek genre. This book adds to the history of several different television episodes like one that I can think of "Cause and Effect" and the book Star Trek: First Contact is just beginning at the end of his book.

Like I mentioned, this book seems to tie some lose ends together. There are two main themes in this book that seem to be rather seperated, but later on in the book become apparent that they do interplay. The first is the U.S.S. Bozeman after fighting the Klingon's 70 years earlier is now in their future and we find out what they were up to then as it affects what is going on now. Another time warp anomaly mixing the twenty-third and the twenty-fourth century's timelines. Well, the U.S.S. Bozeman and her Captain, Morgan Bateson are now in their relative future. Bateson pulls rank on Picard and takes the new Starship Enterprise 1701-E on a shakedown, but that's not all as Bateson believes the Klingon Empire is building it's forces and is preparing to strike the Federation. Now the newly minted Enterprise is on a mission to thwart the threat. Secondly, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is sent on a mission to release Federation prisioners held by the Cardassians. As Gul Madred and Picard work out the details for the release Picard hears about what Bateson is upto.

From the book "Relics" Scotty is onboard the new Entrprise as are via holodeck James T. Kirk and others. As Picard works out logistics with Kirk. Captain Bateson is not without enemies and of course the Klingons will oblige with Kozara who has been nursing a grudge for decades.

Now, Captain Jean-Luc Picard has to decide... choose whether to take back command or let Bateson continue. This book pits present Star Trek with past Star Trek as Carey tries to blend it all together. The book moves quickly and the narrative is lively enough to keep your interest... and the out come is in doubt till close to the end of the story.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing against the Writer but...
Review: This book just doesn't (I say doesn't because I'm struggling with trying to finish it) feel like a Star Trek Novel to me as far as the characters are concerned. Riker, La Forge, Troi and Data all seem alittle drippy and too over emotional when faced with having to deal with Bates as the Captain.

I think the author in trying to deal with somekind of demon of her own brought on by some tradedy at sea she's possibly expierenced she tries to bring in the old sad salior routine of ships lost at sea.

Data I can understand being a little sentamental due still dealing with and working out the bugs of the emotion chip, however Riker Troi La Forge are all seasoned Star Fleet and just don't seem to act that way in this book.

I don't know what the rest of the book has in store nor am I sure if I will finish it but for those looking for a good Star Trek read try something like Spocks World or Sarek or anything else before this one.

Rating:
Summary: This one is GREAT!
Review: This book ties in greatly with the series, as we see Captain Bateson, Captain Scott, and a bunch of pissed off Klingons! I always wondered what happened to Captain Bateson after the TV episode where he and his crew were freed from the time loop. Well, unknown to me until now, he had a major part in the new Enterprise E! Whoda thunkit?

Rating:
Summary: It almost hit the spot
Review: This is one of the better Star Trek books I've ever read, and it is good to see work that covers over the gaps left between movies. Diane Carey is a good author, but she is definitely better at Original Series books than Next Generation ones. The character of Morgan Bateson is very accurate, and his dialogue is so well written that it actually sounds like Kelsey Grammer (Frasier)talking. However, Bateson is the only really developed character in the book, and his crew, including his drunkard first officer are merely cutouts, with none of the depth of Picard and company. Carey has however not studied Trek history well enough, and several inconsistencies throughout make the book heavy going in places. Also, according to Star Trek lore, the Enterprise-E was built in Earth Orbit, not at the obscure Starbase 12. The Klingon characters are good enough, but they too are flat, and often seem too stupid to be the warrior crew of a Starship. However, all the scenes with Bateson and Kirk and Scotty are welcome, and help iron over the obscure Cardassian connection, and the fact that the Klingons and the Federation actually do get along in the 24th Century, not hate each other as indicated in the story.

This is a good continuation of Bateson's adventures, but not quite as I imagined it. And does anyone know the Starship class of the new Bozeman. I think its the sistership to the Enterprise E.