The book starts off with a bang. The Battle of Maxia and the preceding court martial are incredibly intense. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Christopher was a lawyer. Both sides of the court martial were well presented. I really felt for Picard after he was betrayed by Phillipa. That was some hateful dialogue she spouted. Likewise, I felt really bad for Miliani when Picard broke her heart.
I was hoping for a perfect universe where Picard and Ariel could be together forever and live happily. It really seemed like he deserved it at this point in his life. Even though I knew that was never going to happen, I still had a little wishful thinking.
The discovery of the first Manraloth statis field is truly one of the most exciting scenes I've ever read in a Star Trek book. I probably held my breath for a few seconds. Having Janeway in the novel seemed forced at first, but then I remembered that they seemed pretty familiar with each other in Nemesis, so this was probably just as good of a first meeting story as possible. When other characters started showing up (Data, Troi, Yar, etc.) I finally admitted that it was kind of cool to have all these cameos and see how Picard personally picked his bridge crew for the Enterprise-D.
The science is prevalent, but not overwhelming like some hard sci-fi novels. There is a nice balance of astronomy and physics throughout the novel that is thought-provoking and easy to understand.
Mentioning Thomas Halloway as being the captain picked for the command of the Enterprise at first was a great touch. Especially since he just popped up in a brief cameo as recently (kind of) as Q&A. Also Picard being referred to as Scrooge and saying "Bah Humbug - hilarious. It sounds pretty juvenile while I'm writing it, but it was funny when I read it.
Even though the second half seems to flow a little less smoothly than the first half, The Buried Age is a still a fantastic read and the definitive Jean-Luc Picard novel. Highly recommended for those of you who are also a few years late to the party.
I was hoping for a perfect universe where Picard and Ariel could be together forever and live happily. It really seemed like he deserved it at this point in his life. Even though I knew that was never going to happen, I still had a little wishful thinking.
The discovery of the first Manraloth statis field is truly one of the most exciting scenes I've ever read in a Star Trek book. I probably held my breath for a few seconds. Having Janeway in the novel seemed forced at first, but then I remembered that they seemed pretty familiar with each other in Nemesis, so this was probably just as good of a first meeting story as possible. When other characters started showing up (Data, Troi, Yar, etc.) I finally admitted that it was kind of cool to have all these cameos and see how Picard personally picked his bridge crew for the Enterprise-D.
The science is prevalent, but not overwhelming like some hard sci-fi novels. There is a nice balance of astronomy and physics throughout the novel that is thought-provoking and easy to understand.
Mentioning Thomas Halloway as being the captain picked for the command of the Enterprise at first was a great touch. Especially since he just popped up in a brief cameo as recently (kind of) as Q&A. Also Picard being referred to as Scrooge and saying "Bah Humbug - hilarious. It sounds pretty juvenile while I'm writing it, but it was funny when I read it.
Even though the second half seems to flow a little less smoothly than the first half, The Buried Age is a still a fantastic read and the definitive Jean-Luc Picard novel. Highly recommended for those of you who are also a few years late to the party.
