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STAR TREK - THE NEXT GENERATION 04Heroic

    Paperback: 368 pages
    Publisher: Cross Cult; Edition: 1st edition (March 2010)
    Language: German
    ISBN-10: 3941248642
    ISBN-13: 978-3941248649
An opponent who is so unyielding that you can not talk sense to him. The entire race thinks with one mind and strives toward a single goal: to acquire our biological characteristics and wipe out individuality, to make every living creature to Borg.
In over two decades, the Federation is no greater threat encountered. Twice Starfleet already sent numerous spacecraft to entgegenzustemmen to them. The Borg were stopped, the price paid in blood. Humanity breathed a sigh of relief and assumed that it was now safe. With the destruction of Transwarpverbindungen believed the Federation, the final blow to the Borg have done.
Driven to the brink of extinction, the Borg are now fighting for its very existence to their culture. The old rules and assumptions, should act as the collective no longer apply. Now it only kills and assimilated later. But her real plan is much larger. The cybernetic organisms seem unstoppable.
The Borg make an ultimatum: they demand the extradition of Jean-Luc Picard and Seven of Nine. Desperate, Picard orders the high command, to fly to the Sol system in order to surrender to the Borg. But he defied the order. He sees one last chance ... (Source: startrekromane.de)
CriticismThe TNG relaunch started for my taste, weaker than expected. The new characters were interchangeable, the stories boring and lacked any trace of the old flair. Reboot of TNG I would almost be stamped as a failure if I had not started with the first pages of a hero ...
What was there for a memorable moment, as the Borg in 'THE NEXT GENERATION' two-parter THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS celebrated their debut. How dangerous, mysterious and frightening was the race at that time. But with the increasing exploitation of the issue, the Borg lost their appeal. The mystery surrounding the collective were gradually released. The destruction of Transwarpverbindungen by Kathryn Janeway finally deprived the Borg of their strongest weapon. To get back to work as threatening as once had the Borg develop. They had to be powerful. And unpredictable. A teaser for Peter David - but he has mastered the task perfectly.
Already in the first chapters roll over the events. Despite the urgent warning of Q enters the Admiral Janeway in JM Dillard RESISTANCE placed hors de combat Borg cube. Using a new tactic succeeds in assimilating the collective Janeway and her body is abused as a new vessel for the Borg Queen. The fact that it is the worst enemy Borg as the newest speech organ is already deeply paradoxical. But the Borg have put up a gear. Not only has it in humanity, the collective, but also to the Q Continuum. That the machine being a hazard to be taken seriously for the Q shows the fact that the Borg are able to locate the Q and scan and analyze carefully. Q know about this danger can see, but even as too powerful to accept in order to appreciate the Borg as enemies. Like the Borg Queen pertinently remarks, that could someday be the worst mistake of the continuum. Q Should one ever be assimilated, the consequences for the known galaxy and beyond be catastrophic. Exactly the courage to put themselves against the Q, is what makes the Borg appear more dangerous. If even the omniscient Q are in danger - as it is only then the human race?
Good for the Borg, bad for everyone else, the Borg are also aware of the technologies that they have assimilated over the centuries. This ensures that the cube and all that is mysterious in conjunction with the Borg, and thus (as required) is unpredictable. The Federation does not know at this point that the Borg are back and still less has it any idea what power in the Borg dormant, just waiting to settle an old score with the earth. Seven of Nine, Starfleet warns strongly indeed, but no one answered. In desperation she turns to Captain Picard, who gives her faith, but not in a position to act accordingly. Instead of concentrating on fighting the Borg, Picard must fight against the Starfleet Administrative and his own command staff.
Led the ship through the internal resistance of the new officers Commander Kadohata, Counselor and Lieutenant L'Lana Leybenzon, all of which were introduced in the previous novels. The three fan favorite should not be so, but the new life they will bring so for me clear enriching factor Picard enjoyed over the years, the unconditional trust of his staff and therefore could always do as he pleased. That this also holds dangers, we saw impressive in FIRST CONTACT, where it took a civilian who bring Picard back to mind. Are the motives of Kadohata themselves against the Captain are taught to understand, so I may not condone their actions, but can understand. In contrast, Leybenzon who beats me completely out of line and therefore do not like so well. Otherwise, it succeeds Peter David but the characters brilliantly portray, even if he exaggerates slightly to the figures. For example, animal and Worf Seven cool and repellent than usual. Normally this would be a criticism, but in this particular case, the more distinctive characters are beneficial. It also symbolizes how even under enormous pressure the characters in this story are available. T'Lanas representation for some but might be too extreme. It can be good as a cross between a Vulcan and the ENTERPRISE-era Admiral Nechayev describe. This mixture is also due to the atmosphere is poisoned within the management team - more so than was the case with DS9 or Voyager. Even more: T'Lana is an absolute hate figure, the sows under the guise of logic discord and thus provides tension.
David reaches for his novel back on numerous characters from other series. Shall fill a key figure from TOS an important role. Also extremely pleased about the inclusion of a civil list, which shows the readers a different perspective of events and provides occasional laughter. The humor is generally sparse, given the serious subject matter, but all the more effective.
Hero is without a doubt a pure action-adventure. Without distracting plot holes The author succeeds in telling the story rapidly and especially varied. The pace is consistently at a high level, which ensures that the voltage curve rises quite early immeasurably. The book detached from the thought to be only a precursor of Destiny series. Instead of merely form the center piece of the Borg story arc, a hero could have easily also the glorious finale.
Amid all the praise, there are also a big downside: Star Trek was never about his own ideals distant than now. The value of space exploration and the discovery of new civilizations seem to forget. War and destruction are now at the center. Utopia becomes a theater of war, which ensures every few years for a new vehicle bodies. In the endnote to this point will work for me but not enough for the quality of a hero is just too high.
[MASSIVE SPOILERS - please read this paragraph only, if you've already read the novel or does not plan to read the story at all] The title of the novel is not without reason. An important hero is killed in the course of action. With their assimilation to the Borg Queen Janeway quickly drew suspicion upon himself and in fact, Admiral Kathryn Janeway heroic contests in her (now) last adventure. Her death may come as a surprise, but it represents one of the main characters of the 'Star Trek' universe ever dar. However, we have Trekkies have to learn in the past that in Star Trek, death is not necessarily an irreversible condition. And so have left this time the manager a back door open. Immediately after her death Janeway meets Lady Q, which could be an indication that the Q or Q in particular is not yet finished with her. But contrary to expectations, should be Janeway's final end, this would be deeply disappointed. Sun emotionless as her death is described, and this may not be everything. She deserves much more.