This is a stand-alone prose novel, situated right after “Chain of Command” Parts One & Two episodes from ST-TBrilliant idea for a Star Trek novel!
This is a stand-alone prose novel, situated right after “Chain of Command” Parts One & Two episodes from ST-TNG and before “Emissary” from ST-DS9.
Captain’s Log:
The USS Enterprise-D is assigned to arbitrate the negotiations between the Cardassian Union and the Bajoran Provisional Government, after the unexpected annoucement by the Cardassian Civilian Detapa Council ordering to release the planet Bajor and all its population in that world and any other world in the Cardassian Union, along with retiring all military personnel. The diplomatic talks are celebrated at Terok Nor, an uridium ore processing space station orbiting Bajor.
The USS Oceanside, a California-class starship, is assigned to support assistance to the Enterprise-D in the additional mission of giving maintenance to the Terok Nor station and bringing medical help to the Bajoran population at the surface.
Senior Staff:
Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Commanding Officer) Cmdr. William T. Riker (First Officer) Lt. Cmdr. Data (Operations Manager & Second Officer) Lt. Cmdr. Deanna Troi (Ship’s Counselor) Lt. Worf (Chief Security Officer) Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge (Chief Engineering Officer) Dr. Beverly Crusher (Chief Medical Officer)
Capt. Tamiko Hayashio (Commanding Officer) Dr. Tropp (Chief Medical Officer) Cmdr. Sarah McDougall (Chief Engineering Officer)
Guest Stars:
Constable Odo (Terok Nor Chief Security Officer) Kira Nerys Garak
LOST CHAPTER
This is indeed a “lost chapter” since this prose novel gives a link between ST-TNG and the beginning of ST-DS9 since it’s situated right after Capt. Jean-Luc Picard was tortured by Gul Madred during the events of Chain of Command and before that Terok Nor would become a Starfleet administered station and be called Deep Space Nine, which I think it’s a great idea for a prose novel in the Star Trek universe.
Where you have the introductions of known characters of Deep Space Nine before of taking their roles, along with reading about the decision of Chief O’Brien of leaving the Enterprise-D but also old minor characters of The Next Generation will return doing priceless cameos, and even character from the “future” of expanded universe prose novels.
PEACE SOMETIMES IS MORE COMPLICATED THAN WAR
After the debacle at Minos Korva where a Cardassian fleet was stopped by the strategy of Capt. Edward Jellico (at that moment in command of the Enterprise-D) the Civilian Detapa Council in Cardassian gives a totally unexpected order of retiring all military presence of the Cardassian Union in the Bajoran system and liberating all Bajoran population in any other Cardassian sector…
…however that order isn’t comply as smooth as you could hope, since the Cardassian Central Command gives indications of damaging all possible Bajoran resources and any Cardassian technology left behind…
…but the worse is that there are secret labour camps in other planetary systems where the liberation order will be changed to extermination process.
It’s up to the Enterprise-D and Oceanside crews to do their best in repairing Terok Nor station, finding the source of a provoked decease in Bajor’s surface, but also finding out about one of those secret camps where an old friend of Ro Laren is kept captive along with many other Bajorans.
Capt. Picard will have his hands full not only dealing with Gul Dukat but also with the now Legate Madred, a very uncomfortable reunion right after their previous torturing meeting. I would wish to have more presence in the story by Ro Laren, and while she does pivotal things in the novel, still I’d love to have her in a more relevant role.
Also, while Garak is on the cover along with Picard, they didn't share any scene and Garak isn't doing really much in the story. (I'd prefer a photo art cover instead of this artistic representation that I guess they don't need to pay to the actors to use them in the cover)
This is a The Next Generation novel but you will have the birth of Deep Space Nine too. Highly recommended for fans of both spin-offs of Star Trek....more
This is a tie-in novel of the numbered books from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” prose novel seriesThe first steps to develop a great character!
This is a tie-in novel of the numbered books from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” prose novel series.
Captain’s Log:
The USS Enterprise-D is ordered to send First Officer Commander William Riker to an away mission to the planet known as “Paradise” due his familiarity with a scientist family assigned there and that they need assistance with a problem of dangerous animals. This coincides with the ordered posting of Commander Quintin Stone as temporary first officer, since he is a loose cannon, with disrespect to authority and no other starship captain is willing to take him.
Senior Staff:
Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Commanding Officer)
Cmdr. Quintin Stone (Temporary First Officer)
Cmdr. William Riker (away on a mission)
Lt. Cmdr. Data (Operations Manager & Second Officer)
Lt. Worf (Chief Security Officer)
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge (Chief Engineering Officer)
Dr. Beverly Crusher (Chief Medical Officer)
Wesley Crusher (Acting Ensign & Helmsman)
BEFORE MACKENZIE, THERE WAS QUINTIN
I wanted to read this novel since I was curious about the character of Quintin Stone since it’s clear that he was a prototype of the eventual Captain Mackenzie Calhoun of Star Trek: New Frontier, also created by Peter David.
And without a doubt, Quintin Stone was the first draft to the better defined and better developed Mackenzie Calhoun, even both have facial scars!
But, thankfully, Peter David did a better job with Calhoun, since Stone is interesting to read, I like better Calhoun.
FAIR ADVENTURE BUT NOT A GREAT MISSION
The book is a fair reading but nothing too awesome.
You have the Enterprise-D dealing with the reckless personality of Quintin Stone, and even sometimes I feel odd that the crew was so hostile to him keeping saying him in his face how good is Riker and how he would do the things better than Stone. I don’t think that the civilized and respectful crew of The Next Generation would act like that.
The other part of the story is Riker travelling to “Paradise” planet where a scientist family that he knows from his home at Alaska, and discovering that they were experimenting creating wild animals that become a menace to the research lab.
So, it’s well written (Peter David is my favorite Star Trek authot) but in this novel, there isn’t much exciting or epic challenges, resulting in a fair reading but nothing much spectacular.
Still, definitely it’s a relevant book, since it’s obvious that it was key to Peter David to play with the idea of the character and making the right adjustments for making it to work perfectly as Mackenzie Calhoun.
This book is a tie-in prose novel of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”.
CANON OR NOT CANON
Always there is a gray area about the tie-iBajorans clash!
This book is a tie-in prose novel of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”.
CANON OR NOT CANON
Always there is a gray area about the tie-in novels in a franchise if those are canon or not, since at best what they do is writing stories that basically don’t contradict anything showed in the films or TV series, however, the problem arises when after being written the novel, something is developed in the films or TV series and it’s impossible to keep valid what was written in the tie-in novel. And even there is the situation when they make canon prose novels (or comics) and something written there complicates the continuity of some past tie-in novel.
AND believe it or not, it can also happen that a new film or TV series leaves some prose canon works, giving back the continuity of a past tie-in novel.
Hard to follow, right?
Well, there is the case of this very tie-in novel, due the situation of using a major guest character to Ro Laren (first introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation, as a Starfleet officer and later she decides to join the Maquis, a rebel group against the Cardassians) that the initial plans were that the character will pass to then incoming Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and serving as first officer of the space station, but Michelle Forbes (the actress who portrayed the character) didn’t accept the offer and then the character of Kira Nerys was created to substitute her.
But the temptation of having Ro Laren in DS9 was quite a lot and this tie-in novel appears and everything goes well, until the “Relaunch” novels (DS9 novels then accepted as CANON in the future after the ending of the TV series, and there, they eventually put Ro Laren (again a Starfleet officer and now a captain) as commanding officer of DS9, but then it was stated that it was the first time that Ro Laren and Kira Nerys meet, therefore leaving this very novel as totally non-canon…
…BUT!!!…
…in Star Trek: Lower Decks was established that Kira Nerys is still commanding officer of DS9 and in Star Trek: Picard was established that Ro Laren is again a Starfleet officer, so the Relaunch novels were changed to be considered an alternate universe and THIS VERY NOVEL return to the merry gray area of tie-in novels that they aren’t totally canon but nothing there contradicts it… once again.
DESPERATE TIMES MADE UNUSUAL ALLIANCES
Bajor is attacked with a contagious plague that Bajorans soon enough started to call “The Wrath of the Prophets” and Kai Winn ask for help to Captain Sisko and the crew of DS9.
Then, while Dr. Bashir is quite busy trying to find a cure, a couple of unusual alliances are forged to find clues to the origin of the plague (that it was established that came to Bajor through infected generic matter to be used in tampered replicators)…
…Captain Sisko uneasly joins Quark to go to Orion space aboard the Defiant and find the illegal vendor who provides the matter and replicators…
…while Kira Nerys reluctanly joins forces with Ro Laren, on the surface of Bajor through old mates of Kira during the Cardassian occupation, to find the clues of whom bought the so-called compromised matter and tampered replicators which originates the deadly plague on Bajor.
Initially the plague was only affecting Bajorans but Morn (the usual client at Quark’s) is presenting the illness, provoking a new level of threat, one, not only Bajorans are susceptible to the virus, and two, DS9 isn’t quaratined anymore to the plague, leaving no place safe to go.
Ro Laren is one of my favorite Star Trek characters, therefore it was a really cool reading!...more
This is a novelization of the serial of the same title.
WHO
The Doctor:
The Third Doctor
CompanioEntertaining reading, just nothing extraordinary.
This is a novelization of the serial of the same title.
WHO
The Doctor:
The Third Doctor
Companion:
Jo Grant
WHERE & WHEN
Planet Spiridon. Exact date is not mentioned.
WHAT
The Doctor is injured due events of the previous adventure (he was shot by The Master in Frontier in Space) and he is in a kind of coma, so the Time Lords seemed to direct the TARDIS to the planet Spiridon (why the heck sending the TARDIS to a freaking world full of Daleks instead of bringing it back to Gallifrey, I just have no clue. I think that they could have better luck if Jo just pull some control randomly and landing anywhere else) which is a world conquered by the Daleks looking for the means to become invisible which is something that indigenous race learned to do.
Since the Doctor is out of commision at first, bravely Jo looks for help, finding a group of Thals (the first native species of Skaro before the creation of the Daleks), that they went there supposedly to deal with a small advance exploratory squad of Daleks but soon enough they realize that instead it was a vast army of ten thousand Daleks.
The Doctor wakes up (it’s curious that while the injure seemed to be quite serious, he was able to heal instead of just activating a regeneration) and since he found out that Jo went alone to look for help, he went too to look for her.
The Doctor is captured by the Daleks, and Jo is able to avoid capture thanks to the helps of one of the Thals. Once both heroes eventually find each other, they join forces with the remaining Thals and a rebel force of Spiridons to find a way to stop the Daleks.
The story is entertained and while it’s not one of the finest adventures of Doctor Who, you have several good things like counting with the charm and wit of the Third Doctor, the bravery of Jo, and the fact that any story with Daleks on it, well, it will be something cool to read....more
This book is a tie-in prose novel of “Star Trek: The Original Series”.
GOOD BOOK BUT PREDICTABLE MYSTERY
This is a Star TElementary, Dear McCoy!
This book is a tie-in prose novel of “Star Trek: The Original Series”.
GOOD BOOK BUT PREDICTABLE MYSTERY
This is a Star Trek story but using a detective angle since Captain Kirk must investigate a couple of murders in not other than the Vulcan Academy Hospital…
…and the clock is ticking since Spock’s mother can be the next victim!
I enjoyed a lot reading this novel but since the beginning my prime suspect was at the end the real culprit (no, I won’t spoil it) and it’s not like I am such great detective but I guess that after reading Sherlock Holmes and Hercules Poirot, a murder mystery at Star Trek wasn’t the challenge that I expected.
However, as I told you, this a very well written book, where you can appreciate it as a “sequel” to the events of the classic episode “Journey to Babel” and “Amok Time” where you can enjoy to read how Sarek is already comfortable with Spock’s decision to go to Starfleet but also how Kirk and T’Pau can understand each other after their lastest clash. Also it’s cool to have Dr. M’Benga at least as a minor character here (that since his cast role in Strange New Worlds, he became a popular character) interacting a bit with Dr. McCoy.
An Enterprise crewmember is mortally wounded and his only option is an experimental medical procedure at the Vulcan Academy Hospital and since the Enterprise will be on repairs for several weeks, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy take the crewmember to be attended there, but soon enough patients are starting to die at the Hospital and the unthinkable is happening…
…murders at Planet Vulcan!
And since Vulcan society isn’t used to have such violent crimes anymore, there isn’t any police force able to handle such kind of investigation, so Captain Kirk needs to become a detective.
This book is a tie-in work and the first original prose novel of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”.
GOOD The human adventure…continues once again!
This book is a tie-in work and the first original prose novel of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”.
GOOD POINT TO SET THE STORY
The story is set during of the first season of the TV series, between the episodes The Serene Squall and The Elysian Kingdom, which I think it’s a great point to locate the book since it’s almost at the end of the season, therefore the characters have been already well developed and their interconnections have been well established, moreover the whole crew (main and recurrent) doesn’t have any change in its status quo yet, so all of them are available to be used in the story.
A STRANGE NEW WORLD INDEED
If you want a story to exemplify the title of the spin-off TV series, well, you couldn’t ask for a better one since the world in the story is without a doubt a “character” for the story to work, not just someplace where the characters landed, also it’s a new one since it’s a planet never used before and certainly it’s one of the most strange worlds to be created in the franchise (and that’s to say a lot).
And the coolest thing is that the world is the conception of the Skagarans, an alien species appearing in North Star, an episode of the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise. I always liked when an author finds a cool way to call back a species already used in the franchise but not exploited enough or in this case, only appearing once previously. Moreover, John Jackson Miller (a good sci-fi author with already other works in this franchise but also in Star Wars too) showed a good knowledge of the lore of the franchise using nods to other stuff in the franchise like movies but even making connections to his previous prose novels in the franchise which I always liked when an author made that.
TECHNOLOGY…NO MORE!
A key element in the Star Trek franchise always has been the technology, therefore when the USS Enterprise meet a world where the technology just doesn’t work, you can bet that the challenge to success will be high and quite complicated.
A landing party, made of Captain Pike, First Officer Una, Mr. Spock and Cadet Uhura, crashlanded and got separated, and they have to employ all their survival training but specially knowledge of the past when technology wasn’t so attached to the everyday life, to make their own journeys through a patchwork hostile world, to find themselves once again.
Moreover, the rest of the crew desperately need to find a way to help their lost crewmates, with the crutial dificulty that the starship can’t get near to the planet of they may suffer the same fate of the crashlanded shuttlecraft.
I think that, since I am not too fond about stories where the cast is separated, and one of the things that I love about Star Trek franchise is how the crews work together while trying to solve a problem, could be reasons to make me difficult to enjoy to the fullest this cool first prose novel of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, oddly enough once they got reunited again, I think that the story should be solved more quickly and it’s like lasting more than it should at the “climax”, but definitely is a really great book that a Trekker can enjoy fairly enough.
This softcover TPB edition collects “Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” #1-5.
Creative Team:
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Illustrator:It’s kaiju time!
This softcover TPB edition collects “Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” #1-5.
Creative Team:
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Illustrator: Freddie E. Williams II
LOST IN TRANSLATION
Before I have read several Power Rangers comic book stories but so far, it has been thanks that my brother lent me his comic books, but this one is my first Power Rangers material that I bought for my own comic book collection.
I am fan of Godzilla since I was a kid and recently I became Power Rangers fan, so it was logical to get this story involving both franchises.
I think that while Godzilla is well managed in the story, you lose some impact of it since it’s a comic book and not a live-action film where you can hear his roar and watching moving the monster, because since it’s a kaiju that you don’t know what he is really thinking or hearing his thoughts, watching him in a comic book is quite less impacting.
A WORLD WITHOUT POWER RANGERS…BUT…
Rita Repulsa, archnemesis of the Power Rangers got a gemstone called the “Multiversal Focus”, letting her to go to any alternate reality that she wants, and obviously she is seeking for an universe without the existence of the Power Rangers…
…BUT...
…she got a world where Godzilla exists!
I don’t know you, but I would prefer to stay in the universe where she only has to deal with Power Rangers and not with the King of Monsters!
In the story, the creative team cleverly uses the Xilliens that they are an enemy alien race featured in the Japanese live-action film Godzilla: Final Wars and it’s indeed a great idea, since they are an alien race able to conjure kaijus to cause havok for their world conquering goals.
However, the Xilliens can’t control what the kaijus would do, and that’s something that Rita Repulsa finds quite inneficient once she makes a forced alliance, since obviously her monsters, small or big, always are under her control.
Obviously at the beginning of the story, it’s the usual crossover clash where heroes don’t know each other, so the Power Rangers asume that Godzilla was just another enemy monster to beat, and Godzilla thinks that the Power Rangers’ Zords are just other kaijus to smash.
This book is the second one in the “Coda” trilogy. Each book is written by a different author.
LITERARY CLOThe end of an era… finally concludes!
This book is the second one in the “Coda” trilogy. Each book is written by a different author.
LITERARY CLOSURE
In this Coda trilogy, three different authors, Dayton Ward, James Swallow and David Mack wrote each a book, and without a question they are part of the best authors of expanded universe in Star Trek, however in my personal taste, it was a bummer that Peter David didn’t write any of those three entries, since he is my favorite Star Trek author, where easily five of my personal top ten favorite Star Trek novels were written by him, curiously the odd numbers if I define them in order or preference, but also I understand that Peter David has been too focused on his own Star Trek spin-off New Frontier, so it’s quite logic to select authors more involved in the big picture of the expanded universe of Star Trek that it’s given a closure in this Coda trilogy.
As I already commented in previous reviews of the first two books, I am truly glad that the Star Trek expanded universe didn’t lose totally its canon status but technically deviate to a reality happened in an alternate timeline, that honestly is a better option than turned them into “legends” as happened with the expanded universe novels of Star Wars, since “legends” sound like something that didn’t occured per se.
ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
Many heroes have fallen (no, I won’t spoil which ones) and many others are falling here in this final entry, and nobody is safe since the crews of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine (there are very few characters of Voyager due the way that that spin-off ended in its own expanded universe saga) come to the grimm conclusion that their reality isn’t meant to continue that there is a “prime reality” with bette chance to survive, therefore, they will do anything in their power to save that “prime reality” even if that means that they won’t continue to expand anymore (certainly a powerful and creative way to give sense why the new TV series have different events than the ones evolved in the expanded universe novels).
They will die to give a chance to survive to the TV & Film timeline.
However, the Devidians are insidious enemies and it won’t be easy to find a way to defeat them, since now they aren’t the only foes to be worry about but also…
…THE BORG!!!
Since, they find out that their “literary” timeline “expanded” due the events on Star Trek: First Contact, where the events after that in Insurrections and Nemesis plus the active TV series back then happened relatively the same, but obviously right after Nemesis, the “prime” TV & Film reality and the literary expanded reality started to deviate in huge proportions and now only the TV & Film reality is the one with a fair chance to survive.
Obviously, in the book they don’t refer those realities as “TV & Film” of “literary”, I am choosing to refer to them in that way, since it’s a lot easier to understand. I am truly glad that William Riker is “cured” and getting back as a hero instead of an antagonist, since he is one of my favorite characters and I wouldn’t enjoy to have him as foe in the final book of the expanded universe.
What I find sad is that the USS Enterprise-E didn’t play a role in this third book since, again, it’s the final entry of the expanded universe, so having Captain Jean-Luc Picard using another starships is kinda bummer.
However, in general, it’s an exciting book that gives (along with the other two novels in the trilogy) a respecful closure to the awesome expanded universe that many outstanding authors wrote giving to the universe of Star Trek an amazing bunch of adventures meanwhile there wasn’t any project on air during those many years.
This is the fourth book of four, part of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer – The Lost Slayer” book event, This is a prose novel that itThe final chapter!
This is the fourth book of four, part of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer – The Lost Slayer” book event, This is a prose novel that it was published in four separate parts to sell them in a lower price each. Later it was re-published in an omnibus edition.
The story is set at the beginning of Buffy’s freshman year at UC Sunnydale. (Season 4)
THE BOOK EVENT COMES TO AN END
Buffy Summers has been 5 years in the future dealing a dark scenario where Giles is king of the vampires controling all Sunnydale and several of her friends and allies are no more, even the supposed main villain Camaztoz, the Mayan god of the bats has fallen against this Vampire King Giles.
Vampire King Giles is by far, one of the best villains ever conceived in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, therefore, maybe my only complain in this final part of the story is that the heroes will be dealing with him like in the second act of three, where the climax would be getting back with Camazotz again in the present, obviously is something logical, but nevertheless this “god of the bats” not matter how powerful is and not matter how enhanced are his minions, a new kind of vampires, faster and more vicious, you can’t avoid to feel that once the arc of Vampire King Giles is resolved (I won’t say how), the hype of reading falls a lot since the “cool” threat was Vampire King and Camazotz is like a second banana compared to a Giles turned evil.
Refering to the whole story, the four parts, definitely is very cool novel, totally recommended to any Buffy, the Vampire Slayer fan where you have a dark future tale (someting always cool in any series) where familiar character like Willow and Xander are portraited having to deal with roles that aren’t typical of them but required to the story and where is really awesome to read about them.
Also, the story shows how important is the friendship of Buffy and Willow, where they are stronger together and where they argue for small things is where a mistake can be made causing fearsome repercusions.
Even, you’ll have a new Slayer around that I won’t say much but always a new girl answering the call of the Slayer is something cool to have in any Buffy story.
This is the third book of four, part of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer – The Lost Slayer” book event, This is a prose novel that itThe darkest future!
This is the third book of four, part of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer – The Lost Slayer” book event, This is a prose novel that it was published in four separate parts to sell them in a lower price each. Later it was re-published in an ómnibus edition.
The story is set at the beginning of Buffy’s freshman year at UC Sunnydale.
THE MOST FEARSOME ENEMY
Buffy Summers never faced such terrible villain, so far she had faced enemies such as The Master, Spike & Dru, Angelus and the Mayor…
…BUT…
…she never thought to have to face her own mentor!
In the previous two parts, Buffy and gang met a new kind a vampires, stronger and more vicious, led by Camazotz, known by the Mayans as “the god of the bats”. While they posed certainly a new level of threat, Buffy trusted to find a way to deal with these new vampires, however she is ambushed and Giles is captured. Buffy guessed that he was used as bait or hostage but Camazotz had other plans for the watcher, turning him into a vampire!…
…BUT…
…it was a terrible miscalculation by Camazotz since Giles resulted in the most cunning vampire ever, and soon Giles took control of Camazotz’s clan, meanwhile Buffy met an entity known as The Prophet that took her consciousness into her ownself five years in the future, finding out that she has been prisoner in a cell during all those five years, in a future where Giles is king of the vampires, reuniting a vast army of regular vampires along with the new kind of vampires, having total control of Sunnydale and beginning now to make moves to do the same on Los Angeles city.
Willow had to take lead of the gang along with new allies during those five years where close friends and allies fell or got missing.
Now, Buffy needs to find a way to stop this dark future if possible, along to get back her mind to her present.
This review is bilingual. You will find first the review in English and after that, you will find the review in Spanish.
Esta críGotta read it all!
This review is bilingual. You will find first the review in English and after that, you will find the review in Spanish.
Esta crítica es bilingüe. Usted encontrará primero la crítica en Inglés y luego de esta, usted encontrará la crítica en Español.
REVIEW IN ENGLISH
I've watched all the Pokemon movies but I haven't managed to watch all the seasons of the TV series, so I found this guide to be a great option to learn details about the TV series that I hadn't been able to watch.
The encyclopedia is totally full color illustrated and printed in prestige paper, it covers from the beginning of the TV series in the Kanto region to the Galar region, which is the season that was broadcast in 2021 (according to the United States), so only the season known as "Ultimate Journeys" would be missing (2022), of course without counting the present miniseries "Aim to Become a Pokemon Master" that is currently starting in Japan (2023) to cover the entire saga of Ash Ketchum and his pokemon friend Pikachu. However, it is the most updated option that you will be able to find at the moment and although I thought about waiting for another update of the book covering the rest of Ash Ketchum’s journey, I did not want to risk that it wouldn’t be another updated edition and being left with nothing.
The encyclopedia shows you the visual evolution of Ash Ketchum's character, from how he looked like in the first seasons to the most recent ones, all the pokemon he managed to catch, and a tour that takes you from region to region, showing the friends he met, the duels he did, as well as which pokemon are seen in each region, including legendary pokemon that were only seen in movies, but they do not go into detail about the events of the films, but for me that is not a problem, since it is the TV series from which I require the most information and the book manages to give it in plenty.
I think the only detail to mention is that since it is a book translated in Spain, it turns out that in that country, the first three seasons of the series kept the names of the characters as they were named in the American version (and that is how they were used in Latin America too) but from the fourth season they started to change some names (including one region) which is a bit confusing.
But overall, definitely, this "encyclopedia" is easily the most comprehensive option you can find on the "Pokemon" TV series.
CRITICA EN ESPAÑOL
He visto todas las películas de Pokemon pero no he logrado ver todas las temporadas de la serie de televisión, por lo que encontré que esta guía era una excelente opción para enterarme de detalles sobre la serie de televisión que no había logrado ver.
La enciclopedia es totalmente ilustrada a color e impresa en papel prestige, la cual cubre desde el inicio de la serie en la región de Kanto hasta la región de Galar, que es la temporada que se transmitió en 2021 (de acuerdo a Estados Unidos), por lo que solo faltaría la temporada conocida como “Ultimate Journeys” (2022), claro sin contar la presente miniserie “Aim to Become a Pokemon Master” que actualmente está iniciando en Japón (2023) para cubrir toda la saga de Ash Ketchum y su amigo pokemón Pikachu. Sin embargo es lo más actualizado que van a poder encontrar en estos momentos y aunque medité en esperarme a una actualización del libro cubriendo el resto del viaje de Ash Ketchum, no quise arriesgarme que no sacaron una nueva edición actualizada y quedarme sin nada.
La enciclopedia te muestra la evolución visual del personaje de Ash Ketchum, de cómo lucía en las primeras temporadas hasta las más recientes, todos los pokemón que logró atrapar, y un recorrido que te lleva de región en región, mostrando los amigos que fue conociendo, los duelos que hizo, así como cuales pokemón son vistos en cada región, incluyendo pokemón legendarios que sólo se vieron en películas, pero no profundizan en detalle sobre los eventos de los filmes, pero para mí eso no es problema, ya que es la serie de televisión de la que requiero la mayor información y el libro logra darla en amplitud.
Creo que el único detalle a mencionar es que como es un libro traducido en España, resulta que en dicho país, las primeras tres temporadas de la serie mantuvieron los nombres de los personajes como fueron nombrados en la versión Estadounidense (y es como en Latinoamérica se hizo también) pero a partir de la cuarta temporada empezaron a cambiar algunos nombres (incluyendo una región) lo cual resulta un poco confuso.
Pero en general, definitivamente, esta “enciclopedia” es fácilmente la opción más completa que pueden encontrar sobre la serie de televisión de “Pokemón”....more
This book is the second one in the “Coda” trilogy. Each book is written by a different author.
EVERYBODY IS INVITEDThe end of an era… continues!
This book is the second one in the “Coda” trilogy. Each book is written by a different author.
EVERYBODY IS INVITED!
The saga giving a closure to the Star Trek expanded universe continues.
Certainly this trilogy is offering a better way to deal with the “canon” topic of prose novels to the Star Trek franchise than the decision made with Star Wars where they just relegated its prose novels (not all of them) to a status of “legends” leaving them totally non-canon, however in Star Trek cleverly they are using this very saga to explain that they exist in a different parallel universe, at least the books about the 24th century set after the events of the ending of the previous TV series and films, since nowadays with the existence of Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Prodigy, even Star Trek: Lower Decks (in the case of Star Trek: Discovery isn´t affecting so far), the lives of characters like Jean-Luc Picard, Kathryn Janeway, Benjamin Sisko and their crews are now totally different in comparison with their adventures during the so-called “expanded universe”.
Another cool thing is that everybody is invited to this closure since in this second novel you get references not only to Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager but also to Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Enterprise, along with even Star Trek: Lower Decks. Some elements are widely exposed, others are some brief reference, but all of them are there.
THE STAKES IS HIGHER AND HIGHER
The Devidians, villains that appeared in ST:TNG in the two-parter episode “Time’s Arrow” are proving to be one of the most dangerous threats ever faced by any Star Trek crew, since they are putting at risk the very existence of not only this literary universe at hand but also multiple parallel universes, even time-manipulating races like the Krenim aren’t able to stop the Devidians.
Captain Picard and Wesley Crusher aren’t getting the assistance expected from Starfleet Command so they are leaving with not other choice than dealing the menace of the Devidians themselves, becoming renegades, with the support of a small group of friends and allies, including Captain Sisko and his former crew…
…BUT…
…William Riker isn’t one of those friends or allies! Maybe this is the only one thing that I didn’t enjoy in this second book, since while there is an explanation of why Riker is acting that way, still I am not thrilled with the concept of having Riker as an antagonist in the story (not a villain, but certainly a fearsome antagonist).
Since this is the ending of the so-called “expanded universe”, in the first book many characters died, most of them were literary characters created during the expanded universe but there was one truly big and important of the characters from the TV series, and in this second book, the deaths continue, where you have even more characters from TV series dying and not limiting to characters but also iconic elements of the franchise are no more.
The stakes are higher and higher since this the end of a (literary) era!
This is the screenplay of the film of the same title, which is the third entry in the saga.
TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY THE BOOK
I willCould be better!
This is the screenplay of the film of the same title, which is the third entry in the saga.
TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY THE BOOK
I will saying kinda several elements from the movie since after all, this isn’t a novelization of the story but basically the screenplay of the film.
I wasn’t sure to buy the book since the movie didn’t impress me much but since it isn’t clear if Fantastic Beasts will continue as film saga and this could be the last entry of it, well, I already had all the previous books of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts, it could be odd to miss the very last book. I really do hope that the saga would go on, but if not, at least I have all the books so far.
I had to wait quite a bit to buy it since at least in my country, Costa Rica, the book didn’t arrive until several months after its release, and even so, the Spanish translated edition arrived first, and I had to wait a lot that the English edition would be available here (since I have on English all the previous books).
I am grateful that at least this screeplay includes some additional value having several sketches of costumes, scenarios and props of the movie, along with insight comments from key people of the production like David Heyman, David Yates, Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Mads Mikkelsen, etc…
...therefore I am not just reading the dialogues of a movie that I already watched but having interesting information giving some extra context to the story and characters.
ELECTED BY AN ANIMAL?
I think that something that mainly bothers me about the story was that while there is an election with votes by people, at the end, the preference of an animal would be recognized to appoint the new leader of the whole wizarding world community.
It’s illogical that a race that even practice slavery (domestic elves) would respect that an animal would know the kind of leader that he or she would rule over them.
I understand that since this second saga of the Wizarding World is about Fantastic Beasts, J.K. Rowling need to include animals on relevants roles in the story, but having one “electing” the leader of all the magical world is indeed absurd.
Even more absurd if you think that that animal almost “elected” a character that he’s one of the most popular characters in the whole franchise, but hardly I’d think that he is pure of heart, since he has done questionable things here and there, maybe for the good reasons but still I don’t think that he is pure of heart, but…
…I do think that he could be a great world leader, so that helps me to question if a person pure of heart can be the best choice to be a leader, since obviously can’t be a malignant character but the leader of many people will have to make hard choices here and there, so I don’t know if a person of true pure of heart would be able to make those hard choices.
In any case, that “electing system” of the wizarding world doesn’t work, at least from my point of view.
THE SAGA IS ON FREE FALLING
It doesn’t help to the story that Newt Scamander doesn’t have at hand his case, therefore, he only has two fantastic beasts with him (already too exposed in the two previous movies) during the most of the plot.
The first movie was really good but it’s clear that it was like a stand-alone experiment without expecting to be expanded into a multiple entries saga, and while the second one wasn’t that good, at least I was entertained a lot and even I understood that J.K. Rowling needed that second movie to make the foundation to be developed in the rest of the second saga, but here, when I was expecting more content, more evolution, the story is quite simple and even absurd, where…
…isn’t helping the big loss of Tina Goldstein in the story (I don’t know if there was some agenda problem with the actress but I don’t care, I needed Tina in the movie) for not saying the change of casting in Grindelwald (don’t get me wrong, I like Mads Mikkelsen and he did a good job but I didn’t like the re-cast was only because Warner was afraid that the legal problems at the moment with Johnny Depp would alienate the audience (that at the end resulted in positive light to him) (even more illogical since it seems that Warner still plans to premiere The Flash with Ezra Miller who is still a lot more polemic).
However, not matter the recast of someone and the missing of another, still the story isn’t that good and the saga seems to be drowing at the point that there isn’t any clear plans to make a fourth entry, which I found sad and losing the opportunity of watching the wizarding world involved in WWII and the rise of Voldemort, just to mention a couple of cool things to explore…
…for not saying that I was hoping that Jacob Kowalski and Queenie Goldstein could be resulting past relatives of some character of the original saga.
BUT…
…in a positive light I can say that new characters like Lally and having more exposition of Bunty was something that I enjoyed a lot, since certainly J.K. Rowling knows how to create charming characters that helps to balance the lack of a better solid story.
I think that we, readers, have at least one of those books…
…those books that we found in a shelf of a bookIt was about time!
ONE OF THOSE BOOKS
I think that we, readers, have at least one of those books…
…those books that we found in a shelf of a bookstore, we had it in the hands, we considered to buy it…
…but…
…for some reason, we didn’t buy it…
…BUT…
…that book stuck in our minds since then, we remember the cover, we remember the title, we never forget the book and we kinda regret not getting it and wonder if it was any good.
Well…
…this book was my example of those books. I had it in my hands and considered to buy it but at the end I didn’t and since then I never forget it.
And since 1993, this book stuck in my mind.
Luckily, I was able to get it recently and since Quantum Leap is trending again thanks to the sequel TV series, I thought that it was a perfect…
…time…
…to leap and vanish into reading it.
QUANTUM READ
In this story, Dr. Sam Beckett leaps into a person too close for confort of a little younger version of Admiral Al Calavicci, before of his involvement in the Quantum Leap project and the interaction with this Al can be put into danger the very project causing a paradox of grave consequences.
The mission of the leap isn’t that exciting since it didn’t involve the “past” Al but a person around that Sam needs to avoid her participation in a robbery.
Still, it was a cool reading since you get a lot of conversations of Sam and Al (the “present” Al) and Al and Ziggy (the Quantum Leap project computer) analyzing and explaining how the Quantum Leap project works and its implications in the flux of time, and everything discussed is consistent to the exposed along the run of the original TV series.
So, I am glad of finally “un-stuck” this book from my mind and being able to read it.
This harcover TPB edition contains “Batman ‘89” #1 - 6.
Creative Team
Writer: Sam Hamm
Illustrator: Roberto Quiñones
BATMANIA
BaBatmania is back!!!
This harcover TPB edition contains “Batman ‘89” #1 - 6.
Creative Team
Writer: Sam Hamm
Illustrator: Roberto Quiñones
BATMANIA
Batman from 1989 was a pop culture revolution that year, people made lines to buy a t-shirt with Batman logo and certainly was the most popular movie then. People read articles in newspapers, months before its premiere, telling about the development of the film.
Polemic risen about if Michael Keaton should portrait Batman…
…and then the movie opened…
…and the polemic died and a pop culture icon was born.
I was lucky to watch that movie at theaters twice in a week. A friend got me from USA, the original soundtrack in cassette (yes, I still have it) and eventually I got the 90s Batman’s film collection first on DVD and later on blu-ray.
When I bought this TPB I thought that it was a following from the first film only, but it resulted that Batman Returns also ocurred, so the graphic novel is set after the events of the first two films giving an alternative continuation keeping Michael Keaton as Batman and Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent/Two-Face.
In the case of Pat Hingle’s James Gordon, you’ll find a dramatic change, showing a haircut and moustache to make him to look more like a comic book James Gordon. I would preferred having him to look more like in the live-action films, after all, the whole idea reading this kind of comic book projects is to watch the characters to look like their movie counterparts.
HOLY ROADS NOT TAKEN, BATMAN!
A real treat for this story is having Sam Hamm as writer since he was the screenwriter of precisely the first two Batman films, and he wrote this graphic novel adapting ideas that he discussed with the very Tim Burton and those ideas could be indeed a third movie if Tim Burton would remain as director, so this TPB is a priceless chance to read what may looked like.
In this story is introduced an adult Barbara Gordon who is a GCPD Sergeant Detective (that at least in my opinion she has the lookalike of Sean Young (who was initially casted as Vicky Vale for the first movie but she had to quit due an accident while filming an early scene)) but it seems that the thought model for the character was Winona Ryder. I don’t know, the drawing for me still it looks like more like Sean Young.
Also, you have Robin, but it’s a new character named Drake Winston and drawn to look like a young Marlon Wayans. I think that if they were creating a new Robin, they should think in a whole different name (like Miles Morales in the case of Marvel’s Spider-Man). Tim Drake is the comics’ third Robin and even he was created in 1989. I don’t know, maybe, just maybe, it was initially a joint project, but since Robin didn’t get to appear in the first Tim Burton film at the final cut, the two ideas took different paths.
At the end, this TPB is highly recommend to all fans of Batman films since it’s a priceless opportunity to read an elseworld scenario of how may looked like a third Batman film if Michael Keaton and Tim Burton would remain for a third entry in the film saga.
This harcover TPB edition contains “Superman ‘78” #1 - 6.
Creative Team:
Writer: Robert Venditti
IllustratoYou’ll believe that a man can fly…again!!!
This harcover TPB edition contains “Superman ‘78” #1 - 6.
Creative Team:
Writer: Robert Venditti
Illustrator: Wilfredo Torres
MY FAVORITE MOVIE
Good stories are never behind you, Jimmy! They’re out front!
Superman the movie is the film that I watched always on my birthday (at least always since I got it on DVD and later on Blu-ray) and definitely is the movie that impacted me as a child since I was lucky of being able to watch it on theater when I was like 6 years old, and since I was a kid in an age where there weren’t much special effects movies around, my experience wasn’t to watch an actor performing a role in the middle of a fx scene, oh no, when I watch Superman for the first time in live-action, I was convinced that I was watching a man flying able to catch with ONE HAND a freakin’ helicopter while having rescued a woman with the other hand…
…for a 6 years old, you can’t give him something better than that.
I kept loving the movie during my childhood, and when I became adult I was able to appreciate his final speech to the prison warden showing a priceless moment of humility, which is Superman’s best trademark.
After all that, it was obvious that I was going to read this TPB.
The events are after of Superman the movie but taking a different path where next adventure of Superman isn’t battling against thee three super-villains from Kryptong but facing the menace of Brainiac which is cool since he’s one of the major villains of Superman but still lack of a live-action appearance in theatric films (not matter of having appeared on TV at least in Smallville and Krypton)…
…and while I enjoyed a lot the story in this TPB…
…I would love even more, if this concept of introducing Brainiac to the Christopher Reeve’s Superman could be made after the events of Superman II and instead of Superman III (since after all that film was about a super computer anyway) but also doing what it was originally meant where Helen Slater’s Supergirl would be introduced in the third film of Superman original saga…
…Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater together in the same movie…
…could be the only thing to be better than the first two movies of Superman,… still the story is cool and interesting and a fair divergent road after the first film of Superman.
However the artwork could be way better (at least it wasn’t something that I particularly liked) since while the characters are drawn showing recognizable enough facial features of the live-action actors, still looks like a tie-in comic book adaptation from the 80s or 90s, that it could be acceptable in those decades but in the new millenium one is used to have better artwork in this kind of tie-in illustrated adaptations.
BRAINS V. STRENGHT: DAWN OF DOUBLE MORALITY
Harm’s way is what I do.
I always find ridiculous that people never doubt that Lex Luthor or Brainiac are certainly super-smart but Superman is only about strength and physical power…
…sorry but Superman has the scientific acumen and the knowledge of dozens of worlds in the 28 known galaxies…
…in the movie he was educated while he was traveling as a baby aboard of the rocket ship and even if that all information kept dormant while he was a kid and teenager, certainly all that knowledge was re-activated during his 12 years on the Fortress of Solitude preparing him for his adult life.
I don’t know compared to Brainiac, but easily Superman should be far better instructed than Lex Luthor. Even Luthor not matter he was kept telling about brains over strenght, he admited that only he was able to have smart talks with Superman.
However, writers kept showing other characters like Brainiac and Lex Luthor (and here, there is another surprise character) that they are the smart ones and not Superman. I guess that people can’t deal with someone who can be as good in the physical area than in the brains area…
…but amusingly that seems to apply only with Superman since it seems that nobody finds objectionable that situation with Batman, since everybody loves that the Dark Knight is as intelligent than an Olympic-level athlete but when it’s about Superman is like people is terrified of that scenario. (and don't get mistaken, I am fan of Batman too (I have a shelf with action figures of Superman and Batman) but I can't ignore the irony about it)
At the end, not matter that I could love to have Helen Slater’s Supergirl in the story and also I would prefer a better illustrator for the comic, I definitely recommend this TPB to any fan of the Christopher Reeve’s film run of Superman....more
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