STARGATE SG-1 - ROSWELL

Fandemonium Books

Written by Sonny Whitelaw & Jennifer Fallon

Copyright 2007 Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer. All Rights Reserved.

Stargate SG-1's, Roswell has the Stargate team on a mission gone wrong and a future General Sam Carter sends the rest of SG-1 after them. After various incidents, they wind up back in the past in Roswell, New Mexico 1947 - where the original UFO and aliens crash-landed - as they search for a lost Asgard.

I happen to like time travel stories and considering that the Asgard look like the grey aliens from the Roswell incident, it was only a matter of time that a story would revolve around the Asgard and Roswell. With the ship SG-1 uses considered as a UFO, it was funny how the alien Teal'c is the expert on Roswell trivia as the United States military at the Roswell Army Air Field tries to deal with the Asgard and their technology and not a weather balloon. The book even deals with the alien autopsies. Since dealing with the Stargate, they deal with quantum theory. The book explores the consequences of have the timeline being changed by SG-1's actions as well as exploring predestination events like the Tunguska explosion with the engine of a Goa'uld ship exploding. Having SG-1 meet some famous figures like H.P. Lovecraft is rather fun as well. It is sad that changing the timeline causes Colonel Cameron Mitchell to become a Jaffa First Prime in order for him to survive. This puts the pressure on SG-1 to correct the timeline and go home as the Goa'uld invade New York City from space.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

STAR TREK - GATEWAYS - CHAINMAIL

POCKET BOOKS

Written by Diane Carey

Copyright 2001 by Paramount Pictures. All rights Reserved.




The second book of the Star Trek Gateways series is set amongst the Star Trek New Earth series. After encountering a derelict mausoleum ship in Belle Terre space, the U.S.S. Challenger, a hodgepodge of a Federation starship patrolling the Belle Terre colony sector, soon encounters the dangerous decendants of the derelict ship as they appear from one of the ancient Gateways. With the aliens, who were marooned on a metal planet with different physical laws - which gives a new meaning to the word metallica, Commander Nick Keller and the Challenger are hard put to defend themselves against the aliens who were on a quest for home.

The beginning of the book was a little hard to understand and relate to, especially if you are not familiar with Keller and the background of the Challenger crew - which combines Starfleet personel and the alien race the Blood. Once you are back on Challenger, then you are on familiar territory dealing with Star Trek concepts - even with the alliance with the Blood. When Blood first officer Shucorion comes across a missing ancestor, it becomes a very interesting story as to how he got there. Commander Keller becomes very determined to get control of the situation with a Blood strike on his ship because his best friend disobeyed orders and saved Shucorion's life, and the aliens trying to quarentine all the ships and the entire Federation. The book ends with a cliffhanger which leads to the last book, the Gateways anthology What Lay Beyond.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

TRANSFORMERS - THE VEILED THREAT

A Del Rey Mass Market Original

Written by Alan Dean Foster

Copyright 2009 by Hasbro



Set between Transformers  and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, in The Veiled Threat by Alan Dean Foster, captain Lennox and tech sergeant Epps are now part of the classified agency NEST and are in alliance with the Autobots in searching for Starscream and the Decepticons.

Based out of NEST headquarters, Lennox, Epps, and the Autobots - who have sworn to protect the humans - go around the world searching for Starscream and the Decepticons as the Decepticons search for various power sources. The question now is why do the Decepticons need the power?

The events from the book lead to the start of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. As more Autobots and Decepticons arrive on Earth from space, the battles between them are intense enough that there are losses of both Decepticons and Autobots. Although Lennox and Epps are major characters in the book, there is more characterization with Russian AI specialist Petr Andronov and Asian cyberneticist Kaminari Ishihara than with Lennox and Epps.

Pancho
All people smile in the same langauge.

STAR WARS - DARK NEST III - THE SWARM WAR

A Del Rey Mass Market Original
Written by Troy Denning

Copyright 2006 by Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpt from Star Wars: Republic Commando: Triple Zero copyright 2006 by Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

In The Swarm War, at the Chiss-Killik border space, the alien insect race Killiks are at war with the Chiss. The Jedi try to stop the war, although the Chiss do not like their interference while almost Joiners, Jedi Knights Jaina Solo and Zekk assist the Killiks. Meanwhile, Jacen Solo believes that in order to stop the Killiks, they need to kill their old friend Raynar Thul.

When Jaina and Zekk refuse to return home to the Jedi Academy when Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker calls them, you know they are basically Joiners and you are concerned for them as they are in the trenches fighting with the Killiks. Luke wants the Jedi to be focused on committing to put the Jedi Order first instead of being distracted by other concerns which is driving the Jedi apart. Jacen being so cold blooded as to wanting to kill the leader of the Killiks, his old friend and former Jedi Raynar Thul, shows Jacen's slow path to the Dark Side of the Force. Luke, of course, disapproves and would rather search for another way, as killing is a last resort to the Jedi. Although Raynar has been unknowingly influenced by the Dark Jedi Queen Lomi Plo to control the Killiks for her own agenda, Raynar's stubbornness and forceful will is annoying and you almost agree that the only way to stop him and the Killiks is by killing Raynar.

The excerpt of Triple Zero by Karen Traviss shows Kal Skirata first encountering the Null clones children on Kamino and his basically adopting them away from the Kaminoans clonemasters who want to destroy them for being defective. It is rather touching to see mercenary Skirata's heart breaking as he sees these determined children protecting each other in order to survive.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

Star Trek

Pocket Books

A novel by
Alan Dean Foster

Written by Robert Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Based upon "Star Trek" created by Gene Roddenberry

Copyright 2009 by Paramount Pictures Corporation. Copyright 2009 CBS Studios Inc. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.



The novelization to the movie Star Trek is about the launching of the new crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise in an alternate universe from the original TV series Star Trek. After a bitter Romulan miner from an alternate universe destroys the planet Vulcan with Red Matter - in revenge for the destruction of his own home world of Romulus, the Enterprise is the sole surviving starship to stop him as he targets Earth.

This novelization by Alan Dean Foster is a good companion to the movie, whose prose adds more depth to the movie and the gathering of the crew of the Enterprise - including Doctor McCoy, asian helmsman Sulu, and Communications officer Uhura. You see a rebellious young James T. Kirk trying to live up to his late father's name, who once commanded a starship for 12 minutes before the ship was destroyed by the Romulan miner Nero in deep space of twenty years before. Starfleet cadet Kirk in turn becomes the captain of the Enterprise when captain Pike becomes a prisoner of Nero. An alternate universe explains outcomes that are different than what we have known before. With the original Spock as a link between the original universe and the new alternate universe, the concept seems more acceptable than having a totally re imagining of Star Trek. You look forward to a face-to-face meeting with both the mature and young Spock.

See the movie review of Star Trek.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

Mission Earth 3 - The Enemy Within

Galaxy Press

Written by L. Ron Hubbard

Copyright: 1986, 1988, 2005 L. Ron Hubbard Library

Cover Art: Gerry Grace

Cover artwork: copyright 1988 L. Ron Hubbard Library.

All rights reserved.

The Enemy Within, part of the 10 book Mission Earth series, continues the adventures of alien combat engineer Jettero Heller who was sent to Earth from Apparatus space to study the planet. Heller is also being hampered to the point of attempted assassination by Soltan Gris, the Apparatus government officer in charge of Earth, who Heller believes is really working with him as the Apparatus government prepares to invade Earth.

In this satire about politics and intelligence gathering, it is fun to see the seemingly innocent Heller try to learn more about Earth and make things better for the planet while Gris frantically searches for a way to get a revealing communications message recording from Heller to preserve Gris's status quo as well as trying to kill Heller. Gris is totally clueless to the fact that his new sweet girlfriend is actually a tramp just using him while being so innocent. In the meantime, Gris works with the leaders of the political underworld to stop Heller from becoming famous.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

STAR TREK - THE Q CONTINUUM - Q-ZONE

An Original Publication of POCKET BOOKS

Written by Greg Cox

Copyright 1998 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

In Q-Zone, the second book in The Q Continuum, the Enterprise battles some cosmozoans near the Galactic Barrier space, the high energy field beyond the edge of the galaxy first seen in the Star Trek episode Where No Man Has Gone Before, while Q takes Captain Picard back in time to observe the younger Q as they witness the destruction of the Tkon Empire.

While the illness of the Betazoid scientist, who brought the Enterprise to the Barrier for an experiment, might make you sympathetic to him, his obsession with penetrating the Galactic Barrier with no apologies is very annoying amidst the safety of the ship and crew as they battle the cosmozoans. He makes you want to make the Enterprise crew beat him around some as the Enterprise comes under attack. His lack of concern for his son and daughter, whose craving for their fater makes the son become more mature than he should as he takes care of his little sister, makes the scientist even more despicable as the Enterprise crew has the grace of trying to protect him. The super beings that the young Q pals around with are some of the most famous evil super beings in the Trek universe and you get to see their influence in the destruction of the Tkon Empire.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.