Engines of Destiny

-Spoilers- The book is well written as it focuses and actually stays focused on the storyline. The subplots of the Narisians were a good addition as it molded seemlessly into the main plot. It's always a good thing to see an element early in a book and to be reminded of it as it gains importance later in the book. The ideas and portrayal of the Borg are close to what TNG portrayed, in fact, it seems to further that portrayal of the cold, faceless Borg. The negative side, though, is that some of the characters don't seem to be in line with what TNG portrayed them as. For instance, I personally don't like the way they portrayed Guinan's "Intuition", however DeWeese does present a reason towards the end of the book as to why Guinan's intuitions were portrayed that way. It was a personal disagreement. The writer has a tendancy to get lost in referenced and technobabble, but not so where you are totally lost. I usually just skipped the paragraph and it brought it back to the plot. The other problem I had was the building up of the story for 3/4s of the book, only to be resolved in 1/4. I think if the writer had more time, the book could have been longer, and covered more. The book certainly keeps you interested, and the ideas of a Borg Invasion of Earth and Alliance of other races is interesting and definitely a new take on the alternate universe thing. Worth a read.

I was pleasantly surprised when I started this book because the author has captured the way hard core engineers feel about their work and how they go about it. Even better it is not part of a series so you don't have to worry about missing something critical in a prior book. It's harder and harder to write new things about the Star Trek universe but this author has done it.

I have LOTS of Star Trek books, among them some written by Gene DeWeese. He's one of the very best Trek authors out there, with a great feel for the characters. Engines is well-paced, the descriptions vivid and smooth. The book tugs you along, so read it when you have some time on your hands. You'll not want to put it down.

I was a bit reticent when I first read about the story behind this formerly "lost" book; I mean, really, how could one man become such a catalyst as to cause the Borg to be "everywhere" (to paraphrase the TNG episode "Parallels")? I was expecting a Kirk/Picard narrative, and I was grateful when my expectations were quickly proven wrong. DeWeese has written a thought-provoking, temporal-shifting, character-driven novel that builds upon the notion of the Borg in first contact; that they are indeed a force to be reckoned with, not some laughable nuiscance pillaging the Delta Quadrant. At the heart of the story are Guinan, Scotty, and Sarek; it was these three characters with whom I thought DeWeese developed extremely well. Guinan must wrestle with the knowledge that repairing the timeline will restore the Federation (and Earth)--but cost her her homeworld of El Auria, which was overlooked by the Borg on their conquest of Earth. It was a rare treat to see two Guinans in one universe, and even though some of Guinan's mystique is explained in the epilogue, it did more to further develop her character and raise many more questions Scotty was a bit broken at the beginning (it was, though, nice to meet Ensign Frankling) but he did come to the fore and live up to his title of miracle worker. "Engines..." sets the stage for Scotty to head up the SCE and make an even greater difference to Starfleet. Sarek and the Romulans were, in my opinion, not in the novel as much as they could have been; I would have loved to have seen more of Koval and the always tragic Commander Tal. The crew of "Enterprise" was not terribly drawn-out in terms of characterization and we saw only a few of them briefly, but this was a strength of the novel; we know plenty about these characters, and as such can see their reactions and actions in our minds, not needing it spelled out. At its heart, "Engines of Destiny" was a novel about coming to terms with the past and mistakes, and, ultimately, what it takes to be human.

Picard, Kirk, Sarek, Borg, time travel ! How can you go wrong? This was an excellent, gripping book. Kept me on the edge of my seat all the time I was reading it. I thought it was one of the best Trek books of recent years and like I said - It's not a series.