This is a good story, but the number of twists and turns reduces its credibility. The basic story is predictable from the title and the early introduction of the Maquis, but the details and the twists are not predictable. However, ignoring a few minor typos and inconsistencies, it is an entertaining story. See other reviews for parts of the plot.

Star Trek-The Next Generation: Rogue Saucer written by John Vornholt is an action-adventure novel spiced with a plot to steal an experimental new saucer section being fitted to the U.S.S. Enterprise.

As the U.S.S. Enterprise has its saucer section being refitted for damage and upgrading a new improved saucer section is being issued to replace the old section. Adniral Nechayev, Commander Riker, Data, Worf, and LaForge are on the new saucer section taking it out on a shake-down cruise when all of a sudden it's being hijacked by a group of loyal Maquis. The Maquis are a band of rebels that want to drive the Cardassians out of the homeland planets by any means possible.

Now, faced with a dilemma, Captain Jean-Luc Picard must choose between his friends lives aboard the saucer section and his orders from Admiral Nechayev to destroy the hijacked saucer section. This storyline has a lot of action-adventure and will keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat as Picard must resolve this dilemma.

The saucer section being hijacked is a newer model that can survive a re-entry and landing and be reused again. That is why the Maquis are so interested in obtaining this new ship for their on going fight with the Cardassians. Commander Fulton, Blue Moon, and Peacock are the Maquis who take over and hijack the new saucer section.

Picard must solve this and other twists and turns in the plot in order to resolve the situation before it gravely affects the Enterprise in an all out attack.

You won't be disappointed in this novel as there is intrigue, some mystery, but there is a lot of action-adventure as the U.S.S. Enterprise is divided and under attack.

Its a great book I loved reading it and now im gonna read it again.

I bought this for our science homeschool since it had a children's award and we just got a telescope. I was disappointed that the first page covers the Big Bang theory - an explosion formed the sun and earth - as well as on page 25. Then on pages 46-47 it covers extraterrestrials. It says "most people believe we are not alone", and "most of us would like to believe that we are not alone in this vast universe". Although he states there is no scientific evidence of alien life, he goes on to fantasize about what aliens could be like, ending with the statement that they would be so far ahead of us technologically, that they may have seen us and since we look primitive they decided not to contact us! I'm going to return the book. Although the other information is well written and the pictures are helpful, I find his big bang and alien assumptions improper food for the minds of my young. I feel sorry for the author, for he would not feel so alone in the universe if he realized there is a God.

This is a good introduction, and the pictures are great. However, it's dated now. "Jupiter will be below Pegasus in 1987". The stargazing sections give a useful, though basic, guide to the night sky for each season, taking the reader logically from one constellation to another. References to the locations of the planets span 1987 to 1999. Don't look to this book if you want to know where to see the planets tonight. Despite that, the book was worth buying as a first introduction to astronomy.

This wonderful book is the one that got me hooked onto astronomy when I was just an 8-year old boy. Now as I am in college and studying astronomy, this book even though old (written c. 1986), has not lost its charm and magic to me. The best part of this book is the beautifully rendered paintings of the night skies and other sights around the universe, which will leave you breathless and in awe of the majestic canvas of the skies. I give it a 2 thumbs up and many stars!

I've been a pretty active amateur astronomer for the past 34 years. I would agee with the first reviewer "The Sky Observer's Guide" is dated and in need of new material covering Catadioptric systems (Schmidt-Cassegrain,Maksutov)and the just as popular Dobsonian now so ubiquitous among those who like me build their own systems. This has not occured I believe because possibly all the original authors have passed on. But after saying that, if your just getting into astronomy, this is still one of best guides to getting started with a small telescope around. It tells you what you can observe, how to do it, and what to expect. You could easily buy a dozen other popular guides now on the market that won't cover as much material, as clearly, as the Mayalls, Jerome Wyckoff,and John Polgreen put into the 160 pages of this little book. I still have the 1965 edition I bought when I was 12 in 1966, and though I've gone way past the material covered, I've kept it as a sentimental favorite because I probobly learned as much from it early on as I have from any other single source since then. So Golden Guide, if your looking at these reviews, add something about the two telescope types I've mentioned above and maybe something about CCD cameras too, but please don't drop anything from this still great little book!

If you just want a working knowledge of Astronomy, and you want it quickly and easily, read this book first. I think you'll be impressed with how much information is there, and how understandable it is. I know I am!

If you want comprehensive up-to-date coverage of the meterial, you can find other sources later.

When my children have a question about the sky, this is where we go. We were driving home one night and my son asked me if I had ever seen a shooting star. Actually, I was surprised he HADN'T ever seen one. I explained about Meteor Showers and asked if he wanted to know when the next one was. We got out this book and looked it up. He was so interested he read the entire book, and now I catch him explaining things to his brothers and sisters. This book has a TON of information.

I first read this book at the age of 13, just getting into astronomy. I would agree that the book could use a little updating: sections on catadioptrics, newer eyepieces, apochromats, and Dobsonians would be helpful. However, the core of the book -- how to navigate the night sky with a telescope and actually see stuff -- remains a very thorough and classic work. I re-read my dog-eared copy probably twice a year just to review the fundamentals. You really can't find as concise a introductory text to amateur astronomy anywhere.

I think that this book would be about 2 kids that fight giant bugs. Yes,the book was what I Expected It to be. I still feel the same about this book. Nothing about this book has changed.
Thi9s book is about these kids who go to this planet called
''Sk'rrr'' and one of the kids accidently kills a bug. The main characters are:Zak,Tash,and Hoole.The setting is at the Sikadian
Garden. The Book was actually about 3 kids that go to a planet called''sk'rrr''and one of them kills a shreev and it upsets the swarm of bugs.This book is Fiction.The author is John Whitman.
I like this book because it has fighting in the book and it
has adventure striving in it. I would rate this book 4 stars. The
headline for this book is:The Sikadian Garden on Sk'rrr has many
beautiful plants and flowers.

I usually steer clear of kid's books, but my sister had and I only read this book because it had Grand Admiral Thrawn in it. It wasn't bad, for a kid's book, pretty interesting in some parts. I felt Thrawn should have gotten a better role in the book. Other than that, it's pretty good.

I only read this book because it had Grand Admiral Thrawn in it. It wasn't bad, for a kid's book, pretty interesting in some parts. I felt Thrawn should have gotten a better role in the book. Other than that, it's pretty good.

Where to start? This is almost a wordless book filled with 145 glamour shots from the "Golden Age" of Hollywood. I would say that the book is a work of "art" and contains the work of many masters of still photography of the era. Some of the photos are truly stunning an deserve to be shown in the top Museums in world. The book uses high quality, acid-free paper and strong binding that enhances the book as a collectable. It would make a nice piece to anyone's collection of art books and you will page through it every so often. The reason that I did not give the book a higher rating is because it is quite short, it's a paperback and does contain many average works (in my opinion).

My personal favs were: Carole Lombard, Jean Harlow and Louise Brooks.

thank you for your time, David

Here is a beautiful book with some breathtaking photos of some the hottest Hollywood film stars of the golden era. The quality of the first and oldest photos are not the best, but one can see an improvement as the years go by. What makes these photos so special are the talented actors who can portray just about any emotion the photographer calls for and his ability to capture it on film. The best ones at this is Joan Crawford and Marlene Dietrich.

My favorite is one of Catrole Lombard on page 40. It will knock your socks off. I too wish these books came in hardcover, but then it wouldn't be as affordable. A wonderful addition to your library and for anyone who loves the old movie stars.

I am glad I have this book and it's a must-have. The collection of photos are wonderfully dramatic. I only wish it was a hardbound book.

What I see, and have always seen in Trek, is a basically clean series with noble and good characters. I'm fourteen, and I need influences like that. What I found in this book was that a favorite character of mine has an affair with an alien woman, who has a child, and THEN it turns out that other immoral stuff has happened. I won't spoil it for those of you who will read the book. But what I want to know about a book before reading it is this: Is it good, is it clean, will I enjoy it? While I enjoyed most of the book, (it IS well written) it wasn't very moral. I just want you to know that before you pick it up.

This book has great merit in that it gives you a look at a rather tender side of McCoy that you know is there but seldom see. This is especially apparent as he fights to save a daughter he didn't know he had. He is thrown on an emotional roller coaster in the first few chapters and it doesn't get any easier by the end of the book. My only problem was that the ending just left me hanging. I wanted to know what happens to Anna. Even so, this book is definitely worth reading. I would also highly recommend Weinstein's book Deep Domain.

If you love the trio, and wonder about McCoy's past, then this book is a must! Watch Spock and McCoy battle with the words they use so well, while Kirk is unusually confussed. See McCoy do as any father would to protect his little girl, who just happens not to be so little anymore. And see the dynamic trio come together in the face of danger with surprising skill as only they can, while supporting their valued friend.

This book is a must for those who love to see the trio in action within another secret that becomes news. I laughed throughout the whole book while getting insight into McCoy's past.

I am one of those who was really ticked off when first they killed chewy, then they kill Anakin. I was hoping for more from this comic about chewy. I did not review this before because I was disappointed that they decided to kill chewy. Then I read Star by Star and was staggered by the mind set that would set up us for this kill the way they did. Now, I have re-read Chewbacca.

CHEWY. Some of it was warm and wonderful. But you can't get past the mediocre stories that were written. MASTADGE is no Lucas studge but he gives this 5 stars? What were you looking at? McInerney gets it about right. Handofthrawn must be an heir to the dark horse fortune. He often gives 5 stars to mediocre comic book works.

The stories are closer to mediocre, bad, choppy or stupid than to call them clever or well crafted. To bad. There was a lot of potential that was wasted here.

After Chewie's death in Vector Prime, it's nice to see that he receives a fitting eulogy. Quite a few famous SW characters take some time to remember Chewbacca as the fierce warrior, loyal family member, and lifelong friend that he was. Good artwork (poor Luke looks absolutely haggard) lends to the idea that while Chewie may be gone, the war against the Vong continues with no abatement. It's kinda pricy for its size, but again, it's a nice rememberance of our favorite Wookie.

This kind of makes up for the terrible way Chewie dies in Vector Prime, but not quite. the only thing I personally HATE about this comic book is the way the author makes Princess Leia sound like a selfish brat.

It's amazing how much of an aura of mystery the obscure Boba Fett has acquired in the Star Wars mythos. In the films, this character has about a half dozen lines tops, but the mysterious armor, demeanor and standing as one of the greatest bounty hunters in the galaxy piqued fans' interest.

In "Enemy of the Empire," we see Fett's first encounter with Darth Vader. Writer John Wagner takes a humorous look at some of the denizens of the Star Wars galaxy and we get to find out how Fett received that odd dent in his helmet that appears in both Episodes V and VI.

"Enemy" didn't win any Eisners (comics' highest award), but it had solid storytelling and art (even if the latter was somewhat cartoony). A nice, light read featuring that mysterious bounty hunter on an adventure that fits quite nicely in the Star Wars epic.

While working one's way through the arts of bartering for souls, a person has to be careful who they choose to align themselves with. This holds true for anyone wanting to make their way out of a deal alive, from the lowliest of traders to the mightiest of bounty hunters. In Enemy of the Empire, Boba Fett learns just that, finding out that perhaps Darth Vader isn't an individual to be bartered with and that something worthy of his attention has to be profitable as well as dangerous in order for him to thrive. He is sent to find a certain someone that has an item in their possession, one that can tell the future in ways that some species would find disturbing, and that can even bring a player like Vader himself hunting for your head.

The storyline that is presented in this TPB is really a good one, brimming with some odd species, a bit of intrigue, and the art of bounty hunting that makes people seek out Boba Fett. It touches on a little of the methods on how to track someone, how your armor can sometimes get an array of ugly reminders of why you should or shouldn't be wary of dealing with anyone, what to do if you are attacked by one of the most dangerous forces in the universe, and how truly messed up some people's abilities can be. The problem in the book is that its art doesn't hold a candle to the interesting worlds involved in the storyline and that, despite the attempts to seem somewhat humorous at times, it fails to evoke laughter from myself. Instead, it seems to take away from some of the faces involved, especially when you are dealing with Vader and his boss, not to mention the rank and file that happen to make up the universe's shady characters. It took me a long time to get past this little portion of the book and, were it not for the fact that Fett was involved, I would have perhaps skipped past it completely.

This isn't to say that the read is worthy, because it is. You simply have to be ready for something of a disappoint in the art department - which I was a little prepared for but not to the extent that it laid out here. Also included in this is "Boba Fett's Salvage (or Boba Fett 1/2), which isn't that bad of a story and that is not the most fun piece to find by itself, making it a better by and something that friends of the hunting class might want to look into. Just remember to bring an open mind to the table because, well, mixed results sometimes anger the viewing mind.

The world of 'Star Wars' comics has been able to achieve heights of drama in expeceptional works such as 'In the Empire's Service', 'Outlander', and 'Mandatory Retirement.' This is not anywhere near that list. Then again, its not supposed to be.
It's for entertainment value, plain and simple. The art and writing are somewhat silly while still having an elemnt of drama and reality to them. John Nadeau of the XWRS fame has a very different art style here, one far less dramatic and far more silly.
Then end is good, especially regarding the fight between Fett and Vader and the fate of the Pessimists. (I love irony.) Overall, while its by no means the best SW comics out there, its a fun, quick read and reccomended as such.

Battleground: Tatooine is the third story arc of the X-wing Rogue Squadron comic series, and the second to see publication in TPB collected form. Picking up not too long after The Phantom Affair ended, this adequate sequel delivers the goods. While the art's not quite as good as the previous volume, and the story's a little more basic, there are more characters, just as much great dialogue, and many classic scenes -- plus, of couse, all the obligatory action scenes of a Rogue Squadron story.

In this volume, the Rogues must travel to Tatooine to reconnoiter the place and hopefully find a hidden Imperial super-ship and weapons cache. Unfortunately, a Twi'lek who's been conspiring with Bib Fortuna's brain has found out about these too, and is also after this prize, knowing that if he finds it he'll be the ultimate power on Tatooine. When he goes rabbit, taking with him the location of the stuff, the Rogue must follow him to Ryloth, where, you guessed it, the Imperials are also headed trying to get the information.

This book brings back Winter, whose character was somewhat mangled in The Rebel Opposition, and fixes her up some, while putting her and Tycho together some. It also gives us a ton of secondary characters who we'll meet later in the novels -- Huff Darklighter, Kapp Dendo, and Sixtus, not to mention some Twi'leks, familiar and new. Also, this collection has a two-page written intro by Tim Zahn, which is amusing and somewhat enlightening to the Star Wars afficionado.

Overall, while this book isn't quite as good as The Phantom Affair, it is still a very amusing and emminently readable addition to the series. Recommended.

Battleground: Tatooine was the first X-Wing comic I had read after reading the X-Wing novels, and I was not disappointed. The art and coloring could be just a little better, but overall, it's a strong style that works well with the story.

The story itself is about the Rogues going to Tatooine to support Winter as she searches for a weapon cache that could place whoever finds it as the ultimate power on Tatooine. They do some running around chasing Imperials, and it has great fight scenes. The action is pretty consistant and evenly spread along the course of the story, so it definately isn't boring. My favorite thing about this graphic novel is that it begins Tycho and Winter's relationship. The artwork is the only thing that detracts from the rating of this story, and it's definately made up for in the strength of the plot.

I really enjoyed reading this story, especially since it actually develops each of the characters. For instance, in most of the books, Winter is something like a cyborg: no feelings, just there with the perfect memory. In this she actually seems to have feeling and love. Another great plus is the abundance of action, both off the ground and on. It's great that they have more space fighter action than in Phantom Affair. Overall a great comic/story, with interesting plot twists. Plus for people who've read Tales from Jabba's Palace, good old Bib Fortuna comes back. So far, I've loved every X-Wing book and comic I've touched and read them again and again.

Incident at Arbuk was an average book. The plot: Crew finds weird sensor readings. Crew finds big superweapon. Crew finds an alien. Crew finds trouble. Crew finds more trouble. Crew finds solution. It's mostly one big cliché. But it was fairly interesting, just not engrossing. The Sperians were pretty cool aliens, but that's about all that caught my attention. Just a quick, slightly amusing read.

Incident At Arbuk is a good book.It started out slow, but picked up at the end. It's about the voyager crew finding a deadly weapon, more powerful than any starfleet vessel. Inside a shuttle, they find a Sperian unconcious. Could the Sperian be a link to the weapon? Can they make him concious again? If you want to find out more, I suggest you to read it.

Excelent book, the mind melding of vulcans is discussed in a very interesting and descriptive way, the alliens physiology is also a new flavor. I would recommend it to any trekky.