World Famous Comics: The Sky's the Limit (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
The Sky's the Limit (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
From: Star Trek Publisher: Star Trek Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Star Trek Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 400 Publication Date: October 16, 2007
Product Description: Taking its title from the final words spoken by Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the series finale, The Sky's the Limit is a collection of brand new original stories spanning and celebrating the entire twenty-year history of the most popular and successful Trek series of all. Stories by a variety of authors -- some old favourites, some new -- set during the events of the television series give the authentic feel of a newly discovered 'missing season' of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Satisfying. Enjoyable. Perfect Anniversary Book. I gave this one 5 stars, first with the hope it will raise the overall rating, and second because, well, I felt the book deserved it. Seriously, I don't know what readers were expecting from an anthology celebrating the twentieth anniversary of The Next Generation, but from where I sat, this book hit the mark and then some. It contains 14 stories by authors both known and unknown, and in doing so created a wonderful mix of the familiar and the brand new. What better way to celebrate twenty years?
The stories varied from thought-provoking (the bookends, "Meet with Triumph and Disaster" and "Trust Yourself When All Men Doubt You") to downright hysterical ("Thinking of You"), from compelling ("Friends with the Sparrows") to, er, "CATastic" ("On the Spot"). IMNSHO, even the weakest story ("Ordinary Days") had merit, if for no other reason than we met someone who would actually *marry* Wesley, even if it was in an AU. Oh, har-de-har-har.
So, if you're a Next Gen fan, as well as a fan of the pro writers, you just can't go wrong with this book.
And, of course, let's not forget my fetish for good cover art. Kudos to artist Stephan Martiniere for his absolutely fabulous cover - and thanks Pocket Books for listing his name on the inside page. Well done!
As to the manga excerpt in the very back: eh. I suppose it's great for those who like it, but I'm not one of 'em. Plus I thought it was kinda strange to have a classic Trek comic in a Next Gen anniversary anthology, but I suspect that was just an advertising decision, based more on the timing of publication than fan interest. I can deal.
One Great story, two good ones, and a whole lot of other writing Given what you are paying for this collection, I'd call it an improvement over most recent ST:NG novels and worth your currency, but it helps to have low expectations coming in.
Spoilers Galore coming:
The book itself is 392 pages long with dense print and an oversized binding. Contains 14 stories at 20 to 40 pages each. The stories run the gamut from before the series to shortly after the last movie. Some are entirely new adventures, some continuations of previous episodes. Personally, I could do without the manga (glorified comic book) attached at the end of the book and wish instead Pocket Books had an introductory piece instead. But to each his own, and it shouldn't impact your purchase decision.
So here goes a brief story run-down, ranked either 1 star (blah) to 4 stars (excellent). These are personal opinions of course, so everyone might see these differently, but I'm basically looking for three elements in these stories: 1) entertainment value, 2) uniqueness, and/or 3) something new about the same old thing.
1. Meet with Triumph & Disaster (1.5 stars). There as the Enterprise is being launched with someone other than Picard. Essentially a partial story, it serves as an effective if bland piece to launch the book. The title is a reach!
2. Acts of Compassion (unrated). Beverly and Yar on a mission mercy. I found the story far too formulistic and predictable, similar to the story these same authors penned in the in the Original Series Constellation anthology. These authors seem competent enough but I wish they would go beyond paint-by-number plots, especially in an anthology titled "The Sky's the Limit"!
3. Redshift (2.5 stars). Pulaski and La Forge handle an emergency situation. The author captures Pulaski perfectly and the beaming drills are both interesting (so they actually do drill in Medical too?) and integral to the plot. Not to belabor the point, but if the plot is slim (rescue ala story 2), there must be some other hook to grab the reader's attention.
4. Among the Clouds (3 stars). Airships in the clouds. A genuinely interesting story with wonderful character moments and a hard science feel. Nicely done and very unique.
5. Thinking of You (2.5 stars). Barclay, Loren, and Lwaxana - together! Humorous stories in the Star Trek universe can be a tough sell but this one is genuinely funny at times though the woman-in-peril plot moves this down a half star.
6. Turncoats (2 stars). Redemption for a former traitor. The story is actually exceptionally well-written but I think it suffers from an outsider's perspective and an unfortunate choice of the ship's survival hinging on newcomer's presence - which seems really unlikely.
7. Ordinary Days (1 stars). Wesley does the alternative life thing. Ho-hum. Done far too many times before. Written nicely enough, but the idea is old hat.
8. Twould Ring the Bells of Heaven (2 stars). Losing Data's head! Almost a great story, the beginning is weighed down by long speeches which make it tough to get beyond the starting point.
9. Friends with Sparrows (4 stars). The killer story in the book, and perhaps worth the price of admission by itself. Data and his emotion chip mixed with the Children of Tama. Exceptionally well-written, unique, and a powerful fusion of two disparate concepts. I love this one and probably ought to seek out some of Bennett's other stuff if this is any indication.
10. Suicide Note (3 stars). A Romulan postscript. Proof that slight stories can still be good stories. Nicely done with sensitivity and realism.
11. Four Lights (1 star). This one has been addressed in a previous review and I agree 100% with his comments.
12. Til Death (2.5 stars). Dealing with a hole in your body. Rather goofy in the extreme with mindless action and a Tellarite too but enjoyable enough.
13. On the Spot (3 stars). Cat people rejoice. I gave it 3 stars just because it made Spot a focus of the story and while this isn't in the league with Friends the story gave me a smile.
14. Trust Yourself (1.5 stars). An ending piece to go along with story 1. Look on the bright side - cumulatively, the first and last stories rate 3 starts, and this last one serves as an effective enough conclusion.
Average rating - 2 stars out of 4. Eh....
"Four Lights" **Warning: Spoilers for the story "Four Lights".***
What is wrong with "Four Lights", by Keith DeCandido? It doesn't stay true to the characters. It portrays Gul Madred as a completely nasty, self-serving Cardassian who is utterly self-confident and able to get the best of Picard again after all these years. The idea of revisiting the effects that the TNG episode "Chain of Command" had on Captain Picard is an intriguing one, but deserves better treatment that it receives in this work. When trying to think how exactly to put my objections into words, I went back to the original TNG episode itself. In Chain of Command, Picard is tortured by Gul Madred and later admits to Counselor Troi, "I actually believed that I could see five lights." (When in fact there were only four.) This suggests that Madred's torture had a profound effect on Picard. However, what about the effect that Picard had on Madred?
During the episode there are at least two, and I'll argue for three, times when Gul Madred is "thrown" or changed--call it what you will--by Captain Picard. The first time is when Picard brings up the subject of Madred's daughter, causing the torturer to lose control and slap Picard before resuming his "job". The second, and most obvious time, is when Picard uses knowledge of Madred's childhood to expose potential weakness in him. And the final time is at the end, when Picard screams, "THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS" before leaving Madred for the final time. I would contend that Madred's expression leaves open the possibility of self-doubt and perhaps even...respect...for a certain Federation Captain.
And that is where "Four Lights" rubbed me completely wrong. It portrayed instead a smug, manipulating Gul Madred with no hints of humanity and a firm belief in his dominance over Picard. And it portrayed a weak, shaken Picard, self-righteous and assured in his ability to handle everything while still seemingly unable to fight against the Cardassian at all. As I said before, I thought the premise behind the story was brilliant, and was really looking forward to reading it, but ultimately it fell way short.
The rest of the stories in this anthology were a mixed bag, some good, some bad. Overall it was a decent read that I would recommend to a Next Generation fan.
Anything Goes Trivia
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