This book is a great tool for beginners as well as intermediate. Explains how things work in details and it's very easy to understand, the many images will help you visualize the tricks you want to learn. After reading this book I am in desperate need of snow. Snowboarding can be so addicting, this book will keep you fresh even if you have to wait until the next snowboarding season.

I thought the book is awesome. It contains many many tips from how to figure out your stance to how to repair your snowboard. It was fun and easy to read; it was written in layman's terms, and it contained numerous comic but helpful drawings. The author was rather "philosophical" in terms of his teaching technique which I thought was great. You could actually apply his philosophy or "learning how to learn advice" to any sport. Buy it! It's a very good reference book.

I got this book last September in anticipation of snowboarding season. I had already gone snowboarding a couple times last year and figured this might have some ways I could improve my riding. It did. This season (now long over) I was a lot better and tried many of the things listed in this book. Unfortunatly, I spent a lot of time grounded, it didn't snow much in NJ or the Poconos, and I only got to go riding twice. Still, the improvement from reading this book was great. However, as it says in the first (or maybe second) chapter you should still take a lesson if it's your first time out. Then, you'll be able to exploe some of the slightly more advanced techniques and have a better time.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a scary tall tale told in the quiet town of Sleepy Hollow. It all starts out when Ichabod Crane(an intelligent school teacher) goes to a party at the Van Tassel's house. At the party a mean guy named Brom Bones tells a scary tale, about a headless horseman from the Revolutionary War. It was told that he roamed the night looking for his head, which he lost in battle. That night Ichabod had to ride home, he was very frightened. Lets just say Ichabod was never seen again, the only thing found the next day was his hat.
The legend of Sleepy Hollow is a great thriller. You can tell the tale at night, when you have a sleepover, or around a campfire. The book has a good story line and can be easily followed. I hope you don't get too scared when you read about the Headless Horseman...

Will Moses' illustrated retelling of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow rivals Arthur Rackham's near century-old version as the best edition of the book ever published. The Rackham version, with its moody, archetypal illustrations, has the slight edge, as it contains Irving's full original text in addition to Rackham's spectacular artwork.

However, Moses's simplification of the narrative is masterfully executed, and the colorful, playful, and numerous paintings which adorn the book have a warm period charm of genuine Americana. Moses portrays the Hudson River Valley as a lush expansive valley not unlike the Garden of Eden on the first day of creation. Happy farmers, their wives and children, cows, geese, ducks and pigs frolic together amid fields of wheat and corn; galleons approach dramatically from the river; and the Catskill Mountains, sun, and sky suggested an infinite panorama and endless horizon full of promise.

The story tells us that the Dutch colonists were a superstitious lot, and that the Sleepy Hollow region itself was or seemed to be under a spell of some kind. The farmers and their wives suspected witchcraft; strange music was heard in the air; visions were seen; and the inhabitants themselves lived their lives in a kind of continuous dreamy revery. These tales and superstitions give rise to the legend of the headless horseman, said to be the ghost of a Hessian soldier who lost his head to a canon ball in the war, and now nightly prowling the region in search of it. Moses' nocturnal landscapes of the swamps, hills and the Old Dutch Cemetery under a bright harvest moon are particularly effective. Significantly, these stark, haunted landscapes do not violate the spirit of the book, but enrich its sense of wonder.

Moses' Ichabod is a cheerful but somewhat hapless fellow, confident and foolish in equal parts. His Katrina is a strong but innocent blond beauty, and a friend to children. Brom Bones is an appropriately square-shouldered, square-jawed hooligan, rowdy and full of mischief, if not absolute spite.

Anyone familiar with the tale knows that it is not a horror story but a folktale, a fireside spook story, and a 'legend' as Irving, writing here as Diedrich Knickerbocker, himself called it. This edition of the book is appropriate for children but is equally suitable for adults. Highly recommended.

Have you ever heard of the Headless Horseman? Have you ever heard the stories about him and how he attacks people in the woods? Have you ever wondered whether or not the story is real?

Find out for yourself by reading Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I enjoyed reading this book and i think anyone who has a liking for mysterious legends and superstitions should read this book beacause of the interesting legend the town believes in. There are few characters to keep track of and the story is not hard to follow. The book is long but the reading goes quickly.

The story is set in the late 18th century in a town in New York called Sleepy Hollow. The town believes in a legend of a headless horseman who rides through the woods at night anf attacks people. The main character is a man named Ichabod Crane who is a schoolteacher from Connecticut. He moves to Sleepy Hollow in search of work and ends up going from home to home working as a tutor. One of his students is 18 year old Katrina Van Tassel who comes from a wealthy family. Ichabod gets the idea that he will try to marry Katrina in order to obtain the family's wealth. However, Katrina's boyrfriend Abraham "Brom Bones" Brut has other plans for Ichabod. As the tension rises, Ichabod continues trying to win Katrina until a breathtaking surprise appearance by the town's legend creates as mysterious an ending as they come.

The book has many strengths and few weaknesses. The author manages to create a mood in the book that keeps you always on th edge of your seat waiting for the legend of the Headless Horseman to come into play. The story is simple and easy to follow but is still very interesting. The characters are developed well and have personalities that you can understand and relate to. One such character is Brom Bones who is easily seen as an arrogant egotist. The only weakness of the book was one based on my personal opinion. The end of the story leaves too much to be concluded for my liking.

All in all, this book was a great story. The author wrote the characters in such a way that you had definite feelings towards each one of them. Also, the story line was definitely not without surprise. But if you want to discover what surprises I am talking about then I suggest you read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Here There Be Dragons is, like most good Trek novels, a quick and painless read with some memorable moments. The plot is in some ways reminiscent of A Call to Darkness, with Enterprise crewmembers enslaved in a medieval setting. There's simply not much more to say about the book than that . . . .

John Peel did an excellent job with this story! The book takes the crew of the Enterprise to a world set in medieval Germany. To get to this world, they use the services of a Federation Security Agent who knows the way through a secret tunnel that traverses a tachyon-full nebula. Apparently, the planet's occupants were put there by the Preservers...and is also home to dragons. Picard and his crew find out that trophy hunters are after these dragons and must stop them from breaking the Prime Directive. Of course, the away team gets into trouble while seeking out these criminals. Picard and security officer Miles are sold into slavery while Ro is taken to a castle to serve the duke and his weird ways. Meanwhile, Riker and Deanna get into trouble as well with the local black magician.

If you like action and humor, Star Trek style, read this book. I consider it one of the best of the first 30 Star Trek:TNG books. Peel involves all characters and while the away team is on the planet's surface, the Enterprise gets attacked. So read it already!

Star Trek - The Next Generations: Here There Be Dragons written by John Peel is a well-written action-adventure novel written about a Preserver developing world that is hidden inside a tachyon cloud, where the only access is through a tunnel generated by Preserver technology, that is being exploited by a group of interplanetary trophy hunters. The events in this story take place before the sixth-season episode "Rascals."

This planet is right out of Earth's 13th-century Germany where they believe in the force of arms, ritual combat, honor, and glory. And because of the Prime Directive, now, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Starship Enterprise have to set things right. This book takes you on an adventurous read where Captain Picard, Data, Ro and a member of a security detail beam to the surface of the planet and investigate. Of course things do NOT go as planned and this adds to the mystery and intrigue of the story. After a while, William Riker and Deanna Troi also beam down to the planet's surface where they follow-up leads as to the whereabouts of the smugglers.

The book goes back and forth between two main storylines with the addmixture of some minor storylines until you get all the main characters involved into the story proper. When reading this book you'll tend to think ahead of the story, but be careful the Enterprise and her crew experience some major roadblocks and impediments along the way making this story a complete adventure.

There is only one fight seen with the indiginous dragon species on the planet involving Captain Picard and it is well-written. These beasties are huge, eighteen feet tall and sixty feet long, with long talons equiped with claws that can cut prey in half with one pass and... if that isn't enough these dragon-lizards have armored hide with large sharp saw-edged teeth.

The story has an ending that has a few surprises and the reader will be engrosed in the story till the ending. All in all, the story is a solid 5 stars and this book is a keeper that you'll want to read again at a later time.

The Wishbone series,I thought ,was one of those nice, quick reads.I am captivated by his elegant and lively writing.
The story is about a little white-with-brown-and-black-spots dog,Wishbone and his friend,Joe,Sam and David help to save the missing history of Oakdale together .The saving action Starts after they found out the card of LINDSAY GROVES(the relief pitcher for the Oakdale Oaks baseball team),and discovered the records of 1933 Oakdale Oaks baseball team has hidden ,even being erase.As a result,the 3 kids and Wishbone try their best to cover up the truth of the Oakdale's history.Eventually,the 1933 National Champion,the Oakdale Oaks gets their right to keep record on their victorious pass ,so the Oakdale's heroes will never been forgotten!!It is a nice work,I loved the lovely Wishbone,the enthusiastic,funny dogs which always think of pepper onion chesse Italian pizza!
It is a worthy piece of work to read.Don't miss the chance to enter the adventurous world with WISHBONE!!!Read the book!

"sitting on the back of the car,waving to the crowd, was Lindsay Groves.....in his original Oakdale Oaks baseball uniform....... On the sign of the car,a sign read LINDSAY GROVES----RELIEF PITCHER FOR THE OAKDALE OAKS, NEGRO LEAGUE NATIONAL CHAMPS,1933......"The truth of Oakdale's past will never be hidden again,because of the little dogs,Wishbone and his friend.It is really a worth book to read. If you want to know more about the secret from Oakdale's past,read this book, you will have great fun by this....

I loved this book because I was always wondering what was going to happen next. Wishbone, Joe, Sam, and David want to find out more about the Oakdale baseball team, the Oakdale Oaks. But the books, newspaper articles, and everything else about the Oaks has mysteriously dissapeared. They try to figure out why someone would do that. Then they learn that years and years ago, something really bad happened in Oakdale. I thought this book was very exciting. Some people who wrote reviews about this book, I won't say who, said it was confusing, and not mysterious, YA RIGHT! They're WRONG! It's not confusing, and it is mysterious so HA! It's not confusing, because I read it, and it's a really great book!

First off let me say that I did enjoy this book, but to me it was a bit of a disappointment when compared to the first two. Basically this book is just one long battle - with an emphasis on the word "long" - and if it wasn't for the link back to the Klingon heritage probably would have been called "The Seige of Starbase 42" !!! Gone is the complex story and character development of the first two books, replaced by one endless phaser battle after another - was this story written for the Playstation generation or what ?!! Also as with book two, the number of technical flaws in the plot are enough to pilot a starship through. However probably the weakest aspect of this book is that "Kell", who was the driving force behind this trilogy, seems to become just a footnote here. He appears briefly at the beginning, sporadically during the running battles on the starbase, and then at the end meets a decidedly predictable fate. Again I have to put this flaw in the story structure down to the author's lack of literary skills. This just isn't a good way to write a plot, i.e. where the writer loses sight of the main character, but on the up side one can still enjoy the action and sheer pace of this novel. Ironically this story telling flaw has one obvious advantage to an Original Series fan like me in that it allows Captain Kirk to take a much more active role in the adventure. Overall this has been an excellent trilogy which I thoroughly enjoyed and would reccomend to any serious Star Trek fan, but it is a shame that the last book in this series, which was the climax and therefore should have been the highlight, proved to be weakest of the three.

What can I say? Mr. Ryan has done it again whith his third book in the "Errand of Vengeance" trilogy. I won't go into plot summaries or anything like that (there are plenty of those in other reviews), but I will say that if you've started the trilogy, you'll love the ending. And I'll say this again, if you're a hardcore ST fan, Mr. Ryan won't dissapoint. There are plenty of hidden gems in all three books (other than the wonderful stories themselves) to feed any Trekkie's or Trekker's appetite.

I really enjoyed these books and hope Mr. Ryan writes many more.

Star Trek-The Original Series: River of Blood: Errand of Vengeance written by Kevin Ryan is the third installment of this trilogy (The Edge of the Sword, Killing Blow, and River of Blood). This trilogy is a Klingon based story, a story of cunning, deception, vengeance, murder, intrigue, and Kahless's truth and honor.

This third book takes up where the second book left off and add a great deal of richness to the story plot. The plot being to kill Captain James T. Kirk by a surgically altered Klingon infiltrator Kell/Jon Anderson. Sworn to destroy the enemies of the Empire... even at the cost of their own honor, Kell/ Jon Anderson is having second thoughts. Why, you say? Well it seems that the propaganda mill of the Klingon Empire is working overtime, and an honorable Klingon does NOT go to war... especially if there is no honor in it, according to Kahless.

We read a lot about honor and truth, but there is guile, cunningness, and knavery also. As the Klingons prepare for a war with the Federation, they need Starship Grade dilithium crystals. A planet is found by the Orions, not too far from the Federation/Klingon boarder on the third planet in Systen 7348, but this planet in inhabited by a pre-warp society... a Klingon-like society.

What I liked about this book is that even though Kirk was to be killed, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy were not the focus of this series... the focus was on how Kell/ Jon Anderson evolved and had second thoughts... a good fleshing out of the character as he and Parrish have a romantic involvement, but Kell/Jon Anderson pulls away as his mission becomes a burden.

There is another interesting subplot in this book and that is Kell's brother Karel as he learns the truth about the war with the Federation. Karel is on a Klingon warship and is a follower of Kahless. Honor and truth are what Karel leads his life by, but there are challanges along the way. There are many roads to Sto-Vor-Kar but only one path as both Kell and Karel learn.

If you like Klingon based stories this is your cup of Bloodwine. This is a fast paced, well-written story and is enlightening about Klingons.

The next series of books to arrive is the Star Trek-Deep Space Nine Mission Gamma. This has four book in the series, (Twilight, This Gray Spirit, Cathedral and Lesser Evil). If you haven't been keeping up with DS-9, might I recommend that you read Avatar Book One and Two by S.D. Perry, Section 31: Abyss by David Weddle and Jeffrey Lang, Gateways: Demons of Air and Darkness by Keith R.A. DeCandido, and Horn and Ivory fron the Gateways: What Lay Beyond. You'll need some background material as the first book in the series draws from these books

S...

The second book in this trilogy is even more action packed than book one, with more exciting battles and heroic deeds, but the cracks also begin to show. While the continuity with the first book is maintained there are more technical and historical flaws in this work which to me weakens the plot slightly (*that's the trouble when you are an obsessed, nit-picking fan like me !!!). The Star Trek regulars are present but only Kirk and Spock make any significant contribution to the story, and there are fewer references to the original series events. The main character "Kell", is starting to lose his appeal which I suspect is to set up his end in the last book. It is ironic that as he becomes more "human" he becomes less interesting !!! However the thing that bothers me about this novel is the breakdown of logical storytelling elements, as this suggests the plot is being stretched too far. I have however rated this book the same as book one because although the first one had a more solid story base, this one pumps up the action to an even higher level. So if you're into Star Trek that gets the old pulse racing, this one is for you !!!

Disguised through surgery as a human Starfleet security officer on board USS ENTERPRISE, Kell maintains the secrecy of his true Klingon nature. However, he is conflicted about his covert mission. Captain James T. Kirk has long been a foe of the Klingon Empire, marked for death on more than one occasion, yet somehow surviving through-what the Klingon Empire has insisted-cowardly ways. During his tenure aboard ENTERPRISE, though, Kell has found the abrasive young captain to be anything but cowardly. In fact, Kirk embodies the teachings of honor of Kahless the Warrior. Striking such a man down from behind, as the Klingon Empire has charged Kell to do, would be a supreme act of cowardice and leave the young Klingon warrior bereft of honor himself. In addition to the unsettling realization about Kirk, Kell has also fallen in love with Leslie Parrish, a human security officer also assigned to ENTERPRISE. Kell's friendship with Benitez, another starship security officer, also pulls at him. Even as he's struggling with what he's supposed to do, Kell goes on a mission that reveals some of the underhanded play the Klingon Empire has been promoting. Meanwhile, on the Klingon battle cruiser D'K TAHG, Kell's brother Karel has his own problems with promoting from within and getting caught up in a major bid for captaincy aboardship. Back on Earth, Lieutenant West pursues his research for some way to settle the coming war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, a war which all resources say the Federation may well lose and that will definitely see a huge number of losses.

Kevin Ryan had co-authored two Star Trek novels before the ERRAND OF VENGEANCE trilogy for the original Star Trek series. In addition, he was an editor on the line for a number of years. Next year will see the publication of two ROSWELL novels he has authored.

With a sure hand and a deep working knowledge of the Star Trek universe(s), Kevin Ryan has skillfully engineered another Star Trek novel that will keep readers glued to the pages. The overall punch of the ERRAND OF VENGEANCE trilogy is awesome, combining the history of the Klingons tightly interwoven with the Star Trek history diehard fans are so familiar with. The pacing of the novel, like the previous one, feels very much like an episode of the television series, never dwelling too long on any one character or situation, then moving on quickly to another set of characters. Ryan also manages to pull off a romance that is realistic and touching, yet never slow the pace of the stories that he's unfolding. His actions scenes are real grabbers, reaching out and pulling the readers into the battle. The bar fight was great and set up the tragedy at the end very well.

The only things that jarred in this novel were the remembrances of Lieutenant Justman (Admiral Justman) that happened in the past. Those sequences kept running through on-going action encountered by the other characters. Perhaps if they had been framed differently, or if a header had been placed in the text to warn the reader of the impending time jump, they would have gone more smoothly. Still, the scenes and story were interesting and showed more history of the Klingon interaction with the Federation as well as Justman's own motivation.

As the second novel in the ERRAND OF VENGEANCE trilogy, KILLING BLOW doesn't stand on its own. It shouldn't. The novel is a piece of an intricate whole that is a mesmerizing tale. Editor John Ordover's vision in creating Star Trek TOS novels that weave new tales through the known mythos from the eyes of regular crewmen rather the more traditional viewpoints of the stars is a grand experiment that is succeeding. The concept brings freshness to the series that is fun and plays fast and loose because anything can happen-and probably will-to the primary characters outside of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Anyone looking for a really well done Star Trek trilogy or well-done space opera in general should put these three novels on the required reading list.

Mr. Ryan has continued his fine saga in this book. A very good read, and if you're a hardcore Trek fan (and I can't stress this enough) the entire series is a MUST READ. Mr. Ryan masterfully ties in many stories from many original series episodes and characters. Trek fans always love a familiar reference, and Mr. Ryan passes out plenty. But more importanly, they're neatly giftwrapped in an extremely well-written book and finely crafted story lines.

The book was very interesting and used the concept of Time very well. Although the novel is based on a TV script, the way he explains and emphasizes Picard being in the past, present, and future all at the same time is excellent. By far the best Star Trek novel I have ever read!

Star Trek: The Next Generation; All Good Things... novelization by Michael Jan Friedman based on All Good Things... Written By Ronald D. Moore & Brannon Braga is base on the television episode by the same name.

What you found in the television episode is covered in this book, but the leaps in logic and continuity are better covered in this novel. What I found very inteesting was the author's way of coveying time... past, present, and future. It was smooth and integrated in the storyline making for a logical progression.

The book is about Captain Jean-Luc Picard's fight to save the human race from the ravages of the "Q." The verdict is in, and humanity must be destroyed. As Picard makes his case for humanity, "Q" takes Picard on trips to the past and future making for an interesting read.

As Picard looks "Q" in the eye and stoically asks "Q" having reached a verdict... have you decided upon a sentence? "Q" replies that he has... It's time to end your trek through the stars... and make room for a more worthy species. "Q" has wrapped up humanity's fate... You're to be denied existence... you will be destroyed.

Knowing this, Picard makes a valent attempt to save all humanity. This is a Picard/"Q" book and it is very well-written, intriguing and is the novelization of the classic final episode of The Next Generation's television journey. A very fast read as Picard in his effort to save humanity, must sacrifice himself and all those he holds dear... perhaps more than once as this has a time travel theme to it... and if Picard fails... Mankind is doomed.

This book is an excellent read. I love MJF and have followed his work for a while now. This novel is well witten and much better than the tv version. An excellent read for any Star Trek fan.

I bought this book at the suggestion of the manager of the local bookstore to keep me occupied during an unwanted month-long trip to Poland. I normally don't read Star Trek novels, because Paramount doesn't recognize them as canon. That means that they never happened. They're basically authorized fan fiction. In fact, this is the first Star Trek novel that I've read all the way through. It's actually pretty good. In fact, I read so much of it at a time that I had nothing to do to relieve my boredom for the rest of the vacation. It's written by William Shatner. Who better to write a Captain Kirk story than James T. Kirk himself? This story is Kirk in his own words. It takes place between the end of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" and Kirk's apparent death in the opening scenes of "Star Trek: Generations". Kirk joins a young woman on a journey to save her homeworld and, perhaps, recapture his youth and be young forever. Sure, we know that he won't be young again. Sure, we know that he'll survive the events of the novel. It's still fun and exciting to read, though. Don't let "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" fool you. Shatner can write. The only complaints that I have are a few typos and Shatner's writing style. He often omits the word "and" in compound sentences, and he often uses incomplete sentences lacking subjects. He also writes a lot of the characters' thoughts into the narrative itself, which is supposed to be neutral. It's as if the narrator knows what the characters are thinking and agrees with them. Other than these things, which you can get used to, it's a good book. Shatner even references events in numerous TOS episodes and all of the TOS movies except for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (which really didn't need to be referenced anyway). The story is bookended with scenes of Spock, standing over Kirk's grave on Veridian III, thinking about his late friend. Some historical notes are contradicted, such as when phasers were invented ("Enterprise") and the time period of Cochrane's first warp flight ("Star Trek: First Contact"), by later canon material, but the main story itself can still fit into the canon. The ending sets up Shatner's next Star Trek novel, "The Return". Overall, "The Ashes of Eden" is a good story and worth your time to read. It IS James T. Kirk.

Starting with this book, Willam Shatner has proven how much he knows about and truly loves Star Trek and its characters. Along with the help of the Reeves-Stevens (They also deserve a high salute as well), Shatner adds some much needed depth to the cheap "death" of Kirk in Star Trek: Generations. He also takes care of some hanging continuity threads from the past movies as well. Gosh! Is it more than satisfying or what to finally see the resolution and evolution of some key questions and themes! The interesting thing here, while reading this, is that word has it Shatner proposed this story for the next Star Trek film. 6 was a great way to go out, but if they would have come back for one more, this would have been it. This story would have merited it, and I gurantee you everyone would have been leaving that theater with tears in their eyes and their fist in the air in victory. All sorts of juicy details are touched upon, including how and why The Genesis Project failed and more about David Marcus's death and everything else. I, too, had a little bit of a struggle seeing the young Teilani go after Kirk. I realize he IS Kirk, but come one, he is 60 years old now. (This is rectified in the following books in the series when Kirk is in the 24th century and Teilani is more his age) Whatever reputation Shatner may have, there is one thing no one should dispute: He knows and loves Star Trek like the back of his hand. It's too bad; as awesome as his books in this series have been, I wish he and Nimoy would take over the reign of control over the Star Trek franchise. I would DIE to see the saga Shatner had portrayed in these books on the big screen. For me, his books are what the movies used to be. Star Trek has become so cheapened, watered down, and politically correct, that when I finally ran across these books, I finally had REAL Star Trek again. Not some soap opera like what it has become. Go ahead: Compare these books to anything Star Trek in the past several years. The difference will make you weep. Here is the difference between love and the almighty dollar.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, William Shatner has written what I would proclaim as a piece of fine science fiction and Star Trek literature. The story begins with a great mysterious/emotional awe as it opens with Spock at the grave of his fallen friend James T. Kirk. Then, the story sky rockets as Mr. Spock recalls their last adventure in the final days of the beloved James Kirks life! The story starts with Kirk reliving a simulation on Tycho VI where he lost his girl friend and relives a challenging moment with arch-villian Androwar Drake. In the end Kirk awakes from a simulation and drags on his last day virtually hopeless until a new young lady enters his life. A half Romulan/Klingon hybrid she leads Kirk and virtually gives a desperate Kirk hungary for a last piece of action hope. Kirk's friends think he is crazy but Kirk does not listen. Instead he gets involved with the young women and leaves Starfleet to aide her in defense of her planet Chal. This young woman named Telani gives him the Enterprise after Kirk learns his arch-enemy Androwar Drake becomes the CiC of the Fleet and plans to blow the ship to dust. So, Kirk returns with the Enterprise and old friends Scott to the planet! But that is one half. Meanwhile Checkov and Uhura go on a mission to find out Klingon's are selling weapons of mass destruction. While there both Checkov and Uhura run into a rogue agent of Star Fleet Intell and get ditched and left to die until Captain Sulu rescues them. Then the crew goes to the new CiC and the old gang along with Spock and McCoy are assigned to hunt down Kirk! Well, in the end the two sides meet in epic battle that only the reader will have to find out! Shatner blows the fans away with a great book! Long life James T. Kirk!

Star Trek-The Next Generation: THe Devil's Heart written by Carmen Carter is a book when read carefully gives you an impression the "Lord of the Rings" but with a Star Trek twist.

I've read this book for a second time and realize that it was one of the books used for the "Gateways" series of books that has transended to whole of the Star Trek genre. As this book tells of a Gateway chamber in the prologue, and the demise of Iconia through a nova of its sun.

Yes, Iconia was dead, but her legacy will remain as the Federation and its resources are always finding relics that relate to the once glorious Iconian culture. This book uses one of those found relics as the basis for a story of mystery, intrigue, morality, bloodlust, and truth. Could the dispairy in technologies trigger an unsettling of other races, just by the knowledge of Iconian superiority, could it foster fear and distrust?

This book fills all of these themes as Jean-Luc Picard is going to go through a true test of his own morality as "The Devil's Heart" a left over icon of the Iconian culture, a legendary object of unsurpassed power and mystery, is found.

This book moves quickly and is extremely engrossing as the Devil's Heart enables its possessor to control minds and amass countless wealth and can control the passage of time as well.

Romulans, Ferengi, and Klingons bring a spice of the TREK universe to this book as our hero Jean-Luc Picard trys to deal with the power and consequenses that are the Devil's Heart gifts. I must say I really enjoyed this book and it lays a foundation to other TREK books that will follow.

This is a very powerful novel, well-written and well-plotted. At first, I thought that it was going to bear too much resemblance to Original Series Novel #30, J.M. Dillard's "Demons" (Vulcan archaologist finds relic that proves dangerous, and leads to much death and devastation) but that is the extent of the similarities between the two; this book is much better written, and has a much more evolved plot. Then I thought that it was too close in concept to "The Lord of the Rings" (mystical item possesses its bearer, making him reluctant to let anyone else touch it, or to put it down, and becoming his "precious" to the detriment of his health, both physical and mental.) But there are enough differences to pass the "original concept" test, although if the book were not so well-written, I might be less tolerant on this score.

Definitely one of the better Star Trek books, good enough to be worth a look from non-Trek fans.

Devil's Heart, in my opinion, is clearly one of the best Star Trek novels written to date! Throughout the book, the reader is taken all over history in delightful and intriguing ways. The author truly captured Picard's spirit and his love for archaeology. This novel has everything a Star Trek fan is looking for in a book, action, intrigue, mythology and a little mystery. The author set's an extremely well thought out plot and put's it in place extraordinarily well. This is one of the few books that I've actually read a couple times. It is easy to immerse yourself in this story. In reference to the audio tape read by Gates McFadden, she truly brings the story alive. I've listened to it countless times on the highway. The only unfortunate thing about the audio tape is that it's abridged. If there's ever a Star Trek book to recommend to somebody, this is the one. If you've not read this one, pick it up in any format you can. Thank you very much to the author for this one.

While the white wolf system is usually thoroughly enjoyable, I have found that the Mage characters start off fairly weak, easy pray for any others. The book itself was fairly easy to follow, but a little too much game specific information that newbies would not understand. I have also found the combat system to be a bit clunky at best.

The play section was misorganized (Character creation should come before playing rules) and the whole 5 pages that explain the rules do a poor job.

If you want a game to melt your mind, pick up Mage. This is the third of five lines of game books in the World of Darkness, and the one with the most hope. In Vampire, Werewold, and Wraith, you play the monster. In Changling, you play the doomed to die crazy hero. In Mage you wrestle with Reality. Your views shape the world around you. You are fighting other views, that clash with yours, to the point where your magic can be harmful to you. Overall, this is a great game. The layout is average, the system is standard White Wolf. The philosophy is fantastic. The world is what you make it. Literally. Things exist and happen because people believe they do. Your job is to change or survive people's beliefs. On the negative, the index is one of the worst I've seen. 1st Edition Mage had a much better index. The index is too short and not nearly complete enough. It even lacks the normal page framing, making it look like the authors forgot to do it before sending it to the printers, and just whipped something together. If you use this book and this game, make sure to use sticky notes for your most common rules...

Let me start my review by saying that I view all White Wolf games (at least the 5 main games) as being equal. That's right, I'm not going to promote one book over another. The beauty of all White Wolf games is the "Golden Rule:" The game is up to the storyteller and players. If you don't like an idea, change it or ignore it completely. This works quite well with small groups if you feel comfortable with table top or LARP. However, when you get to larger groups (esp. roleplaying online) it's more difficult to decide on which rules are practical and which ones aren't.

This edition of Mage *does* have a slight problem with clear definition of rules and systems, and I've yet to see any of White Wolf's books completely cover the systems as they pertain to other games (for example, can a hedge wizard be discovered as such using the gift "Scent of the Trueform?"). As with all of White Wolf games, I think this is a game best played with a small group of close friends.

Now a little more about White Wolf and specifically Mage. I don't know how many have noticed this, but all of these games probably seem like they're shaped after Myths or other real-world beliefs (no matter how obscure). The reasoning for this: They are! Take a look through the bibliography of a White Wolf book and marvel at the resources. This is one area where I would promote Mage above the other books (although I said I wouldn't) because in reading through this you get a small glimpse at the beliefs of so many other cultures. What's even scarier - notice how people of different cultures seem like they live in "another world?" If you really think about it, the Mage concept isn't hard to follow at all. We see this in everyday life. We believe things to be one way, and that's true for us. Others believe differently, and that makes their reality. What happens when the two collide? Disagreements, fights, all-out wars (think of the Inquisition)... It's really a great game to get into, but if you're not all that much of a roleplaying fan it's just nice to read and ponder the concept. Great little quotes and mini-stories, too!