Review: Star Trek: Picard: Rogue Elements (Star Trek: Picard #3), by John Jackson Miller, 2021

Rogue Elements by John Jackson Miller
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Star Trek: Picard: Rogue Elements (Star Trek: Picard #3), by John Jackson Miller, 2021

Synopsis:

Starfleet was everything for Cristóbal Rios—until one horrible, inexplicable day when it all went wrong. Aimless and adrift, he grasps at a chance for a future as an independent freighter captain in an area betrayed by the Federation, the border region with the former Romulan Empire. His greatest desire: to be left alone.

But solitude isn’t in the cards for the captain of La Sirena, who falls into debt to a roving gang of hoodlums from a planet whose society is based on Prohibition-era Earth. Teamed against his will with Ledger, his conniving overseer, Rios begins an odyssey that brings him into conflict with outlaws and fortune seekers, with power brokers and relic hunters across the stars.

Exotic loves and locales await—as well as dangers galore—and Rios learns the hard way that good crewmembers are hard to find, even when you can create your own. And while his meeting with Jean-Luc Picard is years away, Rios finds himself drawing on the Starfleet legend’s experiences when he discovers a mystery that began on one of the galaxy’s most important days…

 

Review:

What a dump-truck-on-fire of a novel this was. I tried hard to like the book, and I even almost abandoned it several times, but I had to plow through it because I wanted to get to know more of Rios' backstory and how he came to be the captain of his starship of La Sirena. Considering these novels in the Picard book trilogy are to be regarded as canon, I had a certain level of expectation. But this author did the character Rios and the Star Trek franchise some grave disservice. 

The author reduced Rios into a wise bumbling fool who can't catch a break and is always a victim of circumstance. Such a shame and waste of opportunity to bring Rios to life with a rich backstory. Instead, we get the one-trick pony slapstick humor repeatedly throughout the book, minor characters with no dimensions who we will probably never hear of again, and the Iotians.

I rate this book 1.5 star out of 5.

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Review: Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders, 2017

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders, 2017

2017 Booker Prize winner Lincoln in the Bardo is a story about Abraham Lincoln and his 11-year-old son Willie Lincoln. While in the Bardo, a place between life and death, the consciousness of the deceased can still apprehend words and prayers spoken on its behalf, which can help it to navigate through its confusion and move on. Willie, who succumbed to typhoid fever, is visited by the grief-stricken Abraham Lincoln at the crypt. The supernatural characters attempt to maneuver Lincoln in a way to convince Willie to move on from the Bardo.

The book follows an experimental structure and form in how it is told. The author intersperses facts and almost-facts cited from books and news accounts in a type of pastiche dialog that tells the story. It was hard to follow at first, but once I got used to the writing style, I enjoyed the story very much. Well, at least up to halfway through the book. The second half of the book I found hard to follow. There were many ghostly characters introduced, and I often wondered who was "talking" and questioned how what was being discussed fit into the narrative as a whole.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Experimental literature, Magical Realism, Biographical Fiction

I give this book a 3.5 out of 5.

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Review: The Dark Veil (Star Trek: Picard #2), by James Swallow, 2021

The Dark Veil by James Swallow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Dark Veil (Star Trek: Picard #2), by James Swallow, 2021

Taking place after the Synth revolt on Mars Shipyard but before the Romulan Star supernova, this second installment in this series isn't a direct sequel but could have easily been a standalone novel. The book follows the adventure of the USS Titan, captained by Will Riker. Here we learn more about the secret Tal Shiar subcompartment Zhat Vash their plottings mired in paranoia and subterfuge by way of how the story's adventure unfolds.

I feel as though the point of this book is to give weight and provenance to the Zhat Vash threat, who are introduced in the television show Picard season 1. Perhaps reading this book first before watching the first season of Picard might have eased stalwart Star Trek viewers into the existence of a credible threat that underpinned the entire show. Much of what happens in the book doesn't really move Star Trek lore forward, as most things that occur are sealed in a bubble of confidentiality, never to be shared with anyone else nor put in any Starfleet reports.

Overall, the book moved at a decent pace, became engaging about a quarter of the way in, and was a fun read.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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Review: Taste: My Life Through Food, by Stanley Tucci, 2021

Taste: My Life through Food by Stanley Tucci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Taste: My Life Through Food, by Stanley Tucci, 2021

Witty, charming, and relatable-- all things I did not expect to find from a celebrity memoir. The book is as delicious as the dishes described within the chapters of Stanley Tucci's life. And if that is not enough, you also get recipes for good measure.

Here are a few things I learned while listening to this audiobook. Mr. Tucci is a witty writer as he is on television. He will always offer you a drink whenever you are invited over. He is close friends with Ryan Reynolds. His writing style is such that it engenders the sense that you know him and are in his presence. And importantly, Martini isn't shaken nor stirred as Fleming would have you believe.

There are many witticisms I can quote, but my favorite is the one about Fettucine Alfredo, as I have a penchant for them.   "Over the years, in many restaurants, the sublimely simple combination of butter and cheese [in fettuccine Alfredo] has been altered to satisfy American palates. Cream has crept its way in (unnecessary), as well as chicken (yuck), broccoli (why?), and turkey (really? Fuck off.)"

If you are looking for something light, fun, and ready for a chortle here and there, then this audiobook might be for you.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

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