A GREAT book. TERRIBLE abridgement/performance.

I read the dead tree version of this book back in the late 90s. It takes an alternate view of the founding of both the federation and warp drive. Also, the fist cross over between the TNG and TOS crews. It is sort of a alternate version of the TNG movies "Generations" and "First Contact." Really, I think the book does a better job of both of those event than the movies. I LOVED the book.

Here's the rub though, I HATED this audio book. The worst part was the abridgment. I normally steer clear of abridged books and this is a great example of why. Whoever made the cuts didn't stop when he hit bone. Things feel rushed and don't make much since after the abridgment. Also, the production is horrible. They try to do some sound effects. If they were done well, that might help the book along. In this case, they just sound cheesy and cheep. They accomplish nothing but periodically remind you that you are listening to a book. It is like an annoying person poking you every once in a while to take you out of the moment (what few the abridgment author decided to leave in).

Overall, this version is a major pass for me. If Audible ever releases an unabridged version with toned down production, I'll be all over it. But this version is really worse than not having the story at all. Skip!

8 people found this helpful

AAABBRIDGEDDD!!

Was okay until told this was abridged. Abridged books are not the author's book. There.

1 person found this helpful

Poor Abridgement

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The story is interesting, and you get into it, but the abridgment is very obvious and poorly done

1 person found this helpful

Cool overall plot but feels rushed

Overall, it's a cool story that involves 3 generations of Star Trek lore, but it's a strangely paced story (perhaps due to being abridged?). It starts out plodding along then rushes along at the end. It's plot driven with little characterization. But still, it's a fun, satisfying read, just lacking any kind of depth. Dispensible fun.

1 person found this helpful

Wow

This is quit possibaly the best Star Trek novel/audiobook avaible. this is a Star Trek Story with alot of heart and action. Well worth your time and money, also it's good reason to buy a Platinum membership with Auduble; if you havn't already. In short this Star Trek Novel won't disappoint.

1 person found this helpful

Good. Not great, but good just the same

The story was good, but the ending was a bit of a let down. I would definately recommend it to Star Trek fans. Well worth a listen..

1 person found this helpful

A good book that's been chopped up

This abridged version is questionable. I wish they had gone through the effort of narrating the entire book. Also, the audio mix is strange, fading in and out of volume at times, and the effects and character voices make the lines hard to understand at times.

wonderfully read but choppy story

This is the first Star Trek book I have either read or listened to on Audible. The book was wonderfully read by Mark Leonard, but the story was choppy without character development, scene development, motivations, etc. it seemed like an action story written for a forth grader who was already a Trekie and would know the characters from TOS and TNG. Based on the poor construct of the story, I thought the ending was relatively satisfying.

Then I realized this is an abridged version. It's an extremely abridged version and gives somewhat of an outline of the story. The full book is overwhelmingly better than this version. I will never listen to an abridged version again.

An interesting story

I want to state firs that Mark Lenard is doing a fine job voice acting. I don't think he perfectly delivers different character voices and there are parts I was confused with who was speaking but they were only for a moment or two. Sadly the audio quality is a little older and there are some effect noises that overwhelm at times. Not terrible but sometimes difficult and needing a rewind.

The concept behind this book sold me on it as it is in some ways a tale bridging different eras of Trek from the time before the federation to Kirk's era to Picard's era. It claims to tell the story of the forming of the Federation and the two captains dealing with an old threat from before the Federation's founding. As the book was written in 1994 a lot of movies and tv shows have changed this story and rehashed it a lot. Still a lot of fans remember this book fondly and I had a good time with it even though I found it flawed.

The story itself I found to be a little haphazard and jumped around a lot. It is more a collection of vignettes that captures the feeling of the Original Series and Next Generation. I did not find it bad just a little hard to see the narrative thread connecting the parts outside of one character reoccurring in each of the parts. The ending however is almost sweet and the parts aren't bad. I was entertained.

Great Crossover Story! Great Prequel/Sequel!

This review is for the audible version. I was surprised. This book would make a great movie. It’s a great sequel to one of TOS’s best episodes. And, a good prequel story for the “real, original” Star Trek universe. This puts to shame any of the crazy reboot stories. It’s fun to listen and “watch” a Star Trek movie in my mind. That’s what this was like. Any fan should be able to do so.

The narrator (Mark Leonard) does a good job of changing from one character to the next. That name should be recognized by any Star Trek fan. It’s also easy to picture the characters and the settings if you’ve watched enough of TOS & TNG.

Great Book! Recommended!