This book was just, well...not very good.

I did not enjoy reading this book, or the first one in this series. Poor characterizations, disjointed action, plodding plotlines, and a lack of flow in the writing style made me feel like I had to work hard just to get through these books.

While I was glad to see Wesley get some play time, I couldn't figure out the Colleen Cabot character at all. Not only did she feel fake, not a genuine person, but she also did some odd things for an intelligent female - the way she started her relationship with Wesley, for example, just rang false. Dr. Crusher's reactions to the return of Wesley also didn't ring true. The author has some difficulty writing female characters.

After getting through the first book in the "A Time To..." series, I read the second only so that I could read on in the series, simply as background. I did not enjoy Vornholt's style of writing. I've heard the other books are better, so I plodded through this one. The characterizations were just, well, not very good.

Two stars because I've read worse Star Trek (See "A Hard Rain" to know what I mean!)

Much more enjoyable than the first book.

After A Time to Be Born I had rather low expectations for this book, and thankfully they were exceeded. The descriptions are good if not as spectacular as Vornholt can do. The characterisations are good, if slightly shallow. Kell Perim and Christina Vale not only get "face time", in this book they actually have personalities. Wesley Crusher is the major character of this book, and his sections are well done. Vornholt did a very good job integrating his abilities with the rest of the crew. They change the dynamic of how the crew operates, but they don't push the rest of the crew into the background. With that said, Colleen Cabot was overused and it was too much of a shift from her character in the first book. Also, she and Wesley basically meet, then jump in the sack. Their 'relationship' has no emotional depth to interest the reader. Finally, the beginning of the book, dealing with politics and Starfleet Command, really disturbed me. An Admiral basically orders Cabot to prepare to program Picard, and her only objection is that she likes him. Also, at the end, I was left with the impression that Command wants Picard destroyed, and their efforts will be a major subplot of the series. I wish they would drop that. Too late now, I guess.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It is a good mystery and adventure story. It could certainly have been better, but unlike A Time to Be Born, this was actually worth reading.

Does anyone who liked this book watch Star Trek TNG?

I can't begin to tell you how shocked I was at the reviews for this book. Not only does the author have trouble representing the characters truthfully (I mean he only has seven years of TV episodes and four movies to study), but the writing was horrendous, just like every other book I've read by this author.

But overall, I was most disappointed with the characterizations. I didn't see the crew I love, which was what I was hoping for. If you want to see a Star Trek crew back in action where the books read so clearly that you can actually see the story as if it were an episode, go get the DS9 relaunch.

I pray that the other authors in this series show me the TNG crew, because this author couldn't find them.

Oh, one last thing: It is not 'witty' or 'inventive' to rehash dialogue directly from episodes or movies.