I don't know, David, I used to complain that ST Lit wasn't hard Sci-Fi enough. This was much more hard Sci-Fi than we normally get. Overall, it's a good trilogy. Some great moments, our characters change and develop, it's Sci-Fi, and now we find the Federation in a place it's never been in... the underdog. Once the OS defined who are heroes were actually working for, it was a pretty powerful organization. That held true throughout the TNG serials. Even in the wake of Wolf 359 and the Dominion War, they were still the power. Let's hope they're not for awhile. Let's see how they cope.
In the end, a good read.