I finished this last night and while normally I feel John Vornholt is able to deliver a very good story there are some specifics about this book I found lacking. Not to say there weren't some good parts, but I found the Genesis Wave books and Masks a level above this one.
The Battle of Rashanar concept was really cool. The back story of it being the biggest battle during the Dominion War was believable and the odd properties of space described don't seem that far out. I mean, "Yesterday's Enterprise" had weapons fire from four Romulan ships and the Enterprise-C which created conditions where time travel was possible, so that which is described in A Time To Be Born did not seem unrealistic. I do have a problem with the emphasis StarFleet was putting on the project. If the Battle of Rashanar was the largest of the war there would be hundreds of hulks just floating around....and they have one ship, the Juno, involved in body recovery and cleanup? I know the implication is that the closest UFP member, the Ontailians, also had many ships we never see (and a few we do) involved with salvage operations, but only having Juno and Enterprise involved for Starfleet just seemed too designed....
I did find the time the Enterprise spent inside the battle area interesting, especially with all of the other races trying to scavenge what they can from the destroyed ships. The Androssi, the Pakled, and others would go out of their way to take what they could.
I found the concept of Picard being charged for the destruction of the Vuxhul to be extremely blah to read. I know this is the lead up to "Nemesis" but the admirals being in a courtroom situation where they could take Picard's command just wasn't that interesting. We already know that things will be fine when he gets to "Nemesis", so it wasn't dramatic. I liked the pairing of Nechayev and Picard. I would agree as written there seems to be enough evidence to question what happened in the Rashanar battle area. However, exploring this idea here just doesn't work.
Isn't this type of plot exploration better for just after "The Best of Both Worlds"? Picard was involved in the destruction of 39 ships and we never see Starfleet wanting to get ride of him, (that I can recall) then he's involved with the destruction of one Ontailian ship, and he's removed from command? Perhaps Vornholt was attempting to establish a sense of everything that has happened to Picard over the years has just adding up, but even if he was, it didn't convince me.
The return of Wes was interesting and well done. I never disliked the character as much as most people, and it is good to see how he is doing.
This review is not to be taken as totally negative, as even with the material I disagreed with or found unbelievable there was enough to keep me interested. I liked the implication of a continuing romantic relationship between Picard and Crusher, too.
Just my 2 cents. I know the events of this book lead into the rest of the "A Time To" series, and I have heard some great things about a few of the books. Looking forward to the rest of them.
The Battle of Rashanar concept was really cool. The back story of it being the biggest battle during the Dominion War was believable and the odd properties of space described don't seem that far out. I mean, "Yesterday's Enterprise" had weapons fire from four Romulan ships and the Enterprise-C which created conditions where time travel was possible, so that which is described in A Time To Be Born did not seem unrealistic. I do have a problem with the emphasis StarFleet was putting on the project. If the Battle of Rashanar was the largest of the war there would be hundreds of hulks just floating around....and they have one ship, the Juno, involved in body recovery and cleanup? I know the implication is that the closest UFP member, the Ontailians, also had many ships we never see (and a few we do) involved with salvage operations, but only having Juno and Enterprise involved for Starfleet just seemed too designed....
I did find the time the Enterprise spent inside the battle area interesting, especially with all of the other races trying to scavenge what they can from the destroyed ships. The Androssi, the Pakled, and others would go out of their way to take what they could.
I found the concept of Picard being charged for the destruction of the Vuxhul to be extremely blah to read. I know this is the lead up to "Nemesis" but the admirals being in a courtroom situation where they could take Picard's command just wasn't that interesting. We already know that things will be fine when he gets to "Nemesis", so it wasn't dramatic. I liked the pairing of Nechayev and Picard. I would agree as written there seems to be enough evidence to question what happened in the Rashanar battle area. However, exploring this idea here just doesn't work.
Isn't this type of plot exploration better for just after "The Best of Both Worlds"? Picard was involved in the destruction of 39 ships and we never see Starfleet wanting to get ride of him, (that I can recall) then he's involved with the destruction of one Ontailian ship, and he's removed from command? Perhaps Vornholt was attempting to establish a sense of everything that has happened to Picard over the years has just adding up, but even if he was, it didn't convince me.
The return of Wes was interesting and well done. I never disliked the character as much as most people, and it is good to see how he is doing.
This review is not to be taken as totally negative, as even with the material I disagreed with or found unbelievable there was enough to keep me interested. I liked the implication of a continuing romantic relationship between Picard and Crusher, too.
Just my 2 cents. I know the events of this book lead into the rest of the "A Time To" series, and I have heard some great things about a few of the books. Looking forward to the rest of them.
