More Star Trek Reads

Just a Geek by Wil Wheaton

Wil Wheaton is fun and sometimes deliciously humorous in this book. Although at times the book takes a serious turn, Wil never loses his optimism. He talks about his early acting years and his time on the set of Star Trek: TNG. I found that chapter to be highly entertaining, educational and enlightening. You never really know what goes on behind the set. Wil is one of those attainable celebrities (as attainable as they get in the age of the internet), and currently blogs, and has a flickr page as well where he shares pictures of the more interesting snippets of his life. In this book he talks about his geekness with a lightness of heart, although I don’t think he’s a geek at all. Wil is still a classy actor and a great author.

From Amazon:The stories in Just a Geek include:

- Wil's plunge from teen star to struggling actor
- Discovering the joys of HTML, blogging, Linux, and web design
- The struggle between Wesley Crusher, Starfleet ensign, and Wil Wheaton,
author and blogger
- Gut-wrenching reactions to the 9-11 disaster
- Moving tales of Wil's relationships with his wife, step-children, and
extended family
- The transition from a B-list actor to an A-list author
Wil Wheaton--celebrity, blogger, and geek--writes for the geek in all of us. Engaging, witty, and pleasantly self-deprecating, Just a Geek will surprise you and make you laugh. (Yes it will)

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The Valiant by Michael Jan Friedman



Interesting read. I like Star Trek books if they are well written. I really like the ones that look at the crews past and how they got their start in starfleet. Good backstory on this strong captain, some books should be written, this was one of them.

From Amazon:

The Stargazer is sent on a mission to investigate the tales of a pair of visitors proclaiming to be descendants of survivors of the Valiant, presumed lost in an attempt to cross the Galactic Barrier more than three hundred years earlier. On the edge of the galaxy, the Stargazer is ambushed by Nuyyad warships, leaving her second officer, Lieutenant Commander Jean-Luc Picard, with his first command, as his captain and first officer were casualties of the unexpected melee.

Now trapped on the wrong side of the Barrier, beyond hope of any help from Starfleet and the commanding officers he once served, Picard finds himself isolated and under siege, the crew's trust his to win or lose. He is caught between the suspicions of his mysterious charges and his bond with the stunningly beautiful and psychically gifted woman, which could be a bridge between the Federation's past and his singular future. The fate of his own crew and possibly all of Starfleet weightily seated upon his inexperienced shoulders, Picard wrestles with his dilemma. Can he trust her? Can he trust himself? Within such unforgiving fires, a future commander is forged.

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Boogeymen (Star Trek: The Next Generation, No. 17) by Mel Gilden



I tend to rate Star Trek books 4 stars or better, however, this one I cannot. I can only give it 2 out of 5 stars. I really didn't like it. There was an idea there and this is what intrigued me, but I found the story disjointed. I also found it didn't ring true. Picard even considering helping his friend at the expense of his crew is his nature. Picard would risk himself first. So yeah, not one of my favs.


From Amazon:
Eric Baldwin is the Federation's premier exologist, a specialist in all manner of alien life forms -- and one of Captain Picard's oldest, most trusted friends. But Baldwin's discoveries have made him enemies across the galaxy, and now he wants Picard to help him by erasing all traces of his existence.

But Picard soon finds himself with little time to worry about Baldwin's problems. For the U.S.S. Enterprise™. has suddenly become a strange and dangerous place -- a ship where assassins lurk in every corner, and even old trusted friends are not what they seem. Threats all masterminded by the strangest race of aliens Picard and his crew have yet encountered.