Should I read the "A Time to..." series?

[chris32482]

OK, I'm in need of some advice from those wiser than myself (regarding trek lit anyway): I've just recently started reading the post-Nemesis novels after spending that last several months reading the DS9-R. I already finished Death in Winter, which I very much enjoyed, and am almost done with Titan: Taking Wing. The thing is, I never read any of the A Time to... books, and it seems like an awfully lot of cool stuff happened that I'm missing out on. Would I be better off to just go back and read that series now before continuing with the post-Nem books? Is the series good? I mean, I'm sure some books are better than others, but, as a whole would it be worth the time to read all nine books?

Any opinions on this will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Sci]

OK, I'm in need of some advice from those wiser than myself (regarding trek lit anyway): I've just recently started reading the post-Nemesis novels after spending that last several months reading the DS9-R. I already finished Death in Winter, which I very much enjoyed, and am almost done with Titan: Taking Wing. The thing is, I never read any of the A Time to... books, and it seems like an awfully lot of cool stuff happened that I'm missing out on. Would I be better off to just go back and read that series now before continuing with the post-Nem books? Is the series good? I mean, I'm sure some books are better than others, but, as a whole would it be worth the time to read all nine books?

Any opinions on this will be greatly appreciated!

The only ATT novels I ever read were the last three:

1. A Time to Kill by David Mack
2. A Time to Heal by David Mack
3. A Time for War, A Time for Peace by Keith R.A. DeCandido

I never felt like I missed out on anything by not reading the rest.

 

[William Leisner]

Would I be better off to just go back and read that series now before continuing with the post-Nem books?

Define "better off." If you've enjoyed the post-ATT books thus far, there's no compelling reason to go back at this point.

On the other hand... if you want to better understand the references to Riker's imprisonment on Tezwa, do read ... Kill and ... Heal, or if you want to see what led Crusher to initially decide to take the position at Starfleet Medical, do read War/Peace. But that's entirely a choice, neither really better or worse.

Is the series good? I mean, I'm sure some books are better than others, but, as a whole would it be worth the time to read all nine books?

On the whole, it's an entertaining series, and if you have a nine-novel-sized gap in your free time, it's a fine choice.

 

[Thrawn]

If you're a completist, hit up all of them, they're all pretty solid. If you're not, but you're trying to hit all the treklit high points, read the last three, they're definitely worth your time.

 

[Paris]

I've just read #7 and #8, by David Mack, on the advice of other posters, and i've really enjoyed them. I can't wait to get #9 so i'll get the whole picture. Plus I read and enjoyed KRAD's AotF, and it looks like Peace & War is a good precursor to it as well as the beginning of Titan.

 

[trekkerguy]

Read the first two and the final book of the series, they were great.
Wish I would have been able to afford the books inbetween while they
were being published new, hopefully I'll gather em all up eventually.

 

[Paris]

Read the first two and the final book of the series, they were great.
Wish I would have been able to afford the books inbetween while they
were being published new, hopefully I'll gather em all up eventually.

I'm still missing #4-6, but I found the rest on ebay for way less than cover price...if you're looking

 

[trekkerguy]

Nice, thanks for the tip.

 

[RonG]

loved the last three books. First two (bu Vornholt) were pnly OK IMO.
still trying to get 3-6 (as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts..) but I can't find A Time to Hate (reasonabely priced that is...)

 

[KRAD]

For some reason, A Time to Hate is impossible to find for under $20....

 

[RonG]

For some reason, A Time to Hate is impossible to find for under $20....

yep..

...but the fact you went ahead and looked for it is still very much appreciated, KRAD

 

[captcalhoun]

YES, read ATT. i enjoyed all of them.

Spoiler: ATT and AOTF

(although there is a bit of repititious plotting between Sow/Harvest, Love/Hate and AOTF with 3 different stories about species being dependent on local environment to survive.)

someone really should've done something about that...

 

[donners22]

I did not enjoy the series at all. They were written by different authors and had different storylines, so it's impossible to make a blanket statement as to what I found wrong with them, but many scenes and characters just did not feel like Trek to me, and some seemed to want to whack me with a sledgehammer to get their analogy across. It was a real struggle to get through.

I read Articles of the Federation before this series, and was not too lost.

 

[ronny]

I had issues with the first duo in the series but thought the rest of the series was pretty solid.

 

[Steve Roby]

I had issues with the first duo in the series but thought the rest of the series was pretty solid.

I had serious issues with the first duo (I've liked some of Vornholt's books, but with these two, it was if he'd forgotten everything he ever knew about the English language, science, and the characters of TNG).

The other concern: the books were published monthly, not all at once, and if you read them in a row the material that's there to help remind readers of what came before may seem a bit too repetitive.

The good news: everything after the first two books is good, solid storytelling, well worth your time and money, and the last three books are unmissable.

 

[Bob Greenberger]

Well, I'm prejudiced but do think the nine books are worth your time and attention. I'd certainly try for all nine but the consensus seems to be that the final five or final three are essential for both dramatic moments for the characters and just some fine reading.

 

[JD]

I read 3-9, and I found them all pretty enjoyable. I really thought that they got better with each storyline. They start out Ok, but by the last three books they are amazing.

 

[LightningStorm]

I think the series is great. To offer a differing viewpoint from what seems to be the consensus here... I think A Time to Be Born is the 4th best book of the nine, while A Time to Die was a bit on the ridiculous side. But taken together I think those two were better (in general) than Sow/Harvest and Love/Hate. If I were to rank them each they go (best to worst): Kill, Heal, War/Peace, Be Born, Love, Hate, Harvest, Sow, Die.

Also I do agree that if read together the recaps of the previous ones become tedious.

 

[Cut]

The "A Time To Series..." as far as I had read them, nearly killed Star Trek (Trek fiction at the very least) for me. I disliked the first 5 to six books big time and moved away from Star Trek altogether for a while, having been estranged from my favorite setting (TNG) by the books and the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. And I came back to Trek only recently and by accident.

Concerning the series:
The writers came up with storylines that in my humble oppinion weren't at all fitting for TNG and the atmosphere of the series. Especially the character development was not to my liking and didn't seem right. As has been said before in this thread I have had a lot problems with the work of John Vornholt. That is extremely sad, as my all-time favorite Trek novel to this day remains Mr. Vornholt's TNG book 'Masks'.

It has been stated that the last three books of the series are way better. That may be true, I have never touched them. A shame really, but I never had a Star Trek book I didn't finish, before I bought the first 6 titles of the "A Time To..." series. I didn't complete them til today and managed to understand the so called second decade TNG books just fine so far, as well as the 'Star Trek: Titan' series.

I am reading 'Death In Winter' right now, and have read 'Greater Than The Sum' as well as the first two Destiny books by David Mack. (It wasn't possible to read them in the right order, as I have been given my copies in a rather erratic order, and had to read something ).

It worked well, so I'd probably advice you to spare yourself the first books of the "A Time To..."-series and decide for yourself if you want to give those books by David Mack a try, on which I can't personally comment. Hope you're happy with whatever decision you make.

Anyway, just my thoughts on the subject, but since you asked for it...

 

[Trent Roman]

The other concern: the books were published monthly, not all at once, and if you read them in a row the material that's there to help remind readers of what came before may seem a bit too repetitive.

Heck, even read a month apart I thought the recapping was excessive, particularly in the first hundred-or-so pages of Harvest, which had me wondering why I had even read the first instalment if it was simply to be incorporated wholesale into the second.

I thought the first book in the series was a strong set-up, but the follow-up crashed and burned, degenerating into some really trite stuff. The next four instalments, with all due apologies to Wardilmore and Bob, failed to stimulate my interest; it felt as though we were treading water, better quality-wise than the initial duology but a step down in terms of scope and import. It also didn't help that these four, unlike Born/Die and Kill/Heal which had distinct storylines for each book, suffered from 'split-book syndrome', like something that could easily have been dealt with in one book but got split in half. Kill, Heal, and War/Peace, however, are all distinct varieties of awesome, and end the series strongly.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman