Five for Friday: Gearing up for Expanded Sci-Fi/Fantasy Month!

Over at the “Little Red Reviewer,” “Redhead” has been posting a “Five for Friday” feature on five random books from her shelves to discuss and encouraging others to do so. So here, I go. Following (directly, as quoted in the link)  her rules:

The only things these books have in common are:
-they were on my bookshelf
-I’m interested in your thoughts on them

April 26, 2019- Gearing Up for Expanded Sci-Fi/Fantasy Month

Expanded Sci-Fi/Fantasy Month is May! The whole month, dedicate at least some of your reading to tie-in novels related to your favorite universes. Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr. Who, Pathfinder–you name it! This month, I’m featuring four books I’m planning to read in May alongside a nonfiction book I’m going through.

Warhammer 40K: Carcharodons: Red Tithe by Robbie MicNiven

Look, it’s about Space Marines who are themed after giant sharks, apparently with some Hawaiian vibes. What is there to dislike here? Correct Answer: Nothing. Anyone else read WH40K books?

Star Wars: The Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly

I have resolved to continue my Star Wars Expanded Universe read-through, which I left for a while as I dived down the Star Trek novel rabbit hole. I remember being really weirded out by this book when I first read it more than a decade ago, but that was as a kid. I wonder how it will hold up on a re-read. I know the EU books are pretty uneven, so we’ll see how this one turned out.

Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus by Reggie L. Williams

I love Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and he’s already shown up once on this feature. This one is about Bonhoeffer’s time in New York and, particularly, how he was influenced by Harlem churches and the Harlem Renaissance.

Firefly: Legacy Edition Book One

I know, I cheated. This one has been featured already but I finally started it and am loving reconnecting with the characters from Serenity. Definitely a tie-in I can enjoy. Admit it: you miss the show, too.

Star Trek: New Frontier – Gods Above by Peter David

The New Frontier books are what got me into Star Trek novels, and I’m itching to dive back into this excellent series. It’s like reading books that have all the best episodes of a non-existent show featured for you. They’re great. What are some of your favorite Star Trek novels?

 

Microview: “Star Trek: New Frontier” Books 1-4

The collection of four books of Star Trek: New Frontier is a great way to kick off an offshoot series. It starts slowly as the first book is really just collecting the crew members and providing a bit of background for each. Finally, in the second book, readers begin to get the real payoff of the development of the characters in the first and the ride doesn’t let up from there. These read like a single book instead of a collection of four and the adventure is rip-roaring, often stretches the imagination, and is backed by strong characterization.

Each book will take you about the time to read it that it would take to watch an episode of the TV show. They move quickly, and each kind of feels like an episode as well, but with (much) more continuity of story than the TV shows demonstrate at points.

In other words, it feels exactly like a Star Trek book should read. I quite enjoyed these books (apart from what seemed like a drag in the first one as there was little payoff until the second) and I plan on reading the next ones when I get the chance. I recommend it for fans of the Star Trek universe.

I do recommend these books to fans of Trek and would read them again.

The Good

-Rip-roaring, good fun
-Compelling characters and development
-Uses the Star Trek universe perfectly
-Feels like episodes of a Star Trek series you never got to experience

The Bad

-Slow to get going
-Disconnected at first
-At times it feels rushed

The Verdict

Grade: B

If you enjoy Star Trek, do yourself a favor and start reading the “New Frontier” novels.

Links

J.W. Wartick- Always Have a Reason– Check out my “main site” which talks about philosophy of religion, theology, and Christian apologetics (among other random topics). I love science fiction so that comes up integrated with theology fairly frequently as well. I’d love to have you follow there, too!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for discussion of posts, links to other pages of interest, random talk about theology/philosophy/apologetics/movies/scifi/sports and more!

Star Trek: TNG– For more episode reviews, follow this site and also click this link to read more (scroll down as needed)! Drop me a comment to let me know what you thought!

Microview– Read more microviews to discover more materials to experience! (Scroll down for more)

SDG.