Some points slightly exaggerated for comedy purposes (there are more than two enemies, they just don't use them often,) but yeah, I read the review and this is pretty much accurate. Hey IGN, maybe screen your reviewers for uncontrollable bias?

Also, I think the reviewer thinks Skinner Boxes are a good thing in and of themselves. Which should preclude them from ever writing about games ever.

#HarryPotter #HogwartsLegacy #Transphobia #ThisGameSucks

Have you ever wondered what #StarTrek would be like with capitalism, a broken public education system, and heaps of US nationalism?

It would be A Flag Full Of Stars!

I can't blame Brad Ferguson for this. Apparently this novel was one of several mutilated by Pocket Books and Paramount in the early 90s. The result: Bad pacing, bad setting, and bad characters.

It's a shame. Good #TOS writing shines through in moments. But only in moments.

My Grade: D

Troi is a counselor. Worf is a security chief. They fight crime.

That's the premise of #StarTrek #TNG: Contamination. The murder mystery at the heart has some flaws (The twist is obvious if you know your tropes and there's a massive exposition dump at the end,) but it's fun to see Troi and Worf interact. The novel correctly notes that villains have to go outside the Federation to make money. #Anticapitalism!

Grade: B. Enjoyable, but won't keep you guessing.

Previously I knew Barbara Hambly from her infamous #StarWars novels. Fans didn't like her romance novel style or Luke's girlfriend.

#StarTrek: Ghost-Walker shares a romance novel vibe, but #TOS Kirk's girlfriend starts out interesting. Then gets unfortunately damseled and sidelined because Kirk's been forced out of his body by an alien consciousness.

Hambly is a good writer, but it's a predictable story. Also, unnecessary body-swap sexual assault.

Grade: B-

#StarTrek #TNG: Fortune's Light by Michael Jan Friedman

This novel has an A plot and a B plot.

The A plot is Riker and his alien partner trying to solve a mystery by doing everything wrong, making it more frustrating than interesting.

The B plot is Data learning to love baseball.

Also, capitalism in Star Trek is always a fail. I'm tempted to read this as a critique of capitalism since the capitalists are terrible, but the author seems oblivious to this.

Grade: D

#StarTrek #TOS novel time: Home is the Hunter by Dana Kramer-Rolls

Dan Brown might have most famously used the "short chapters with cliffhangers" method of writing, but this novel proves it's not new. It's a quick read as a result, split between a standard "Enterprise meets god-like being" plot and crewmen sent back into Earth's past. Lots of pathos, not very much meaning. It almost feels like an Errand of Mercy AU fic. Kirk is at his most colonialist for plot purposes.

Grade: C

#StarTrek #TNG book review: Exiles by Howard Weinstein

I enjoyed it!

Pros: Interesting setup with a planet having to deal with the sins of its past, both legal and environmental. Good characterization of the main cast. Gave Troi and Crusher larger parts than they usually get.

Cons: Predictable plot. By the end of Act 1 I knew how everything was going to play out. Not much central conflict between the two main civilizations. Didn't pay off all its plot hooks.

Rating: Solid B