If you love Garak, you'll love this novel. After Garak's many lies throughout DS9, even if they were as true as Garak claims they were, it's nice to get the boldfaced truth from him. Or is it true?? To be, it feels that way. It's an autobiography sent to Julian Bashir. And if it's the truth, then by god is this intimate. Also reccomend for Garashir fans, as it gives more insight to Elim.

If you recognize the name Andrew Robinson, that's because that's Garak himself! From my brief research (reading his wiki page) he doesn't seem to be a professional writer. I think there are fleeting moments when this is clear. BUT it doesn't detract over all, and the number of wonderful passages and dialogue wholly trumps any occasionaly awkward phrasing. I'm not an art critic --- my work is flawed, feel free to read it heheheh --- and honestly I think it adds overall to the story.  I should mention I have difficulty reading sometimes and any "problems" actually only exist in my head.....

My only "complaint" is that Andrew Robinson is famously pro-queer Garak and in this novel, there's nothing overt. He's moved by art, he loves to garden, he's a simple tailor. I say this... BUT...:

1. he often refers to his relationships with women as friends, despite whatever emotional and/or romantic and/or sexual feelings he has.  The good doctor is also his friend.
2. while he has his woman friends, its Julian who he's giving this autobiography to. And from a man of secrets? That is intimate. (he's also cranky and jealous that Julian is hanging out with o'brien and the holosuite more than him. so take that as you will.)
3. there's a part where Garak gets beat up and interrogated by a man and he feels pleasure. because of the wire. but like....  hm........... and chokes him to death/kills him in very close quarters ... a very intimate kind of death, yeah? ..... hmmm...

anyways. its not explicitly stated but when youre married to secrecy and you write an autobiography and send it to the guy you want to fuck. well. thats romance i think. now i need to listen to the audio book ver because that HAS to add another layer to it. im sure for tje same reasons Garak couldnt be queer in the show is the same reason its not more overt here. glares at rick berman. its ok . i picked up on it. i need to read it again to absorb it.

I REALLY LIKED THE BOOK GUYS READ A STITCH IN TIME NOOOOWWWWW!!!!!!!

sulus response to being asked who his one true love is... was chocolate. mccoy said " im a doctor, not a gardener". chekov is there. chekov and spock are hanging out. underrated duo. spock said the loch ness monster was real. uses the phrase "data cassettes" lol. lmao even. reference to mccoy's rainy day quote. reference to sulu's swordfighting stuff. very good TOS crew characterization! love them to death.

oppressive government stories are always interesting to me. i like the alien characters. i like the dilemma presented. i like the nuance and the radicalization of "neutral" parties. it reminds me of the "First they came..." poem a bit (not 1:1 but! its cool). I like mccoy being more charming than Kirk, and Kirk is all business because he wants his husband first officer and chekov safely returned to him.

the ending took me by surprise. i wonder if the next novel chronologically will continue this "idea" or if each book is it's own episodic tale (despite the implications).

very classic trek experience, would reccomend.

first person pov of lieutenant Piper (that's her on the cover, hai piper!), second person to fuck with the kobayashi maru. at first the pov threw me off, but i didn't mind it after a while. We see Piper's thinking, which was fun when she thought Kirk was SHORT and his voice was SOFT.

"Girl, we warped out of the Sol system twenty minutes ago!" (thank you scanner)

There are some cool new characters! I love Vulcan characters, especially ones who dont fit the mold (see: my mindverse star trek au. hai gordon ^_^) so Sarda, a vulcan whos interest in weapons got him shunned from his Vulcan peers, is so interesting! We've seen the problem with Vulcan culture, its rigidness and ableism, so I always look foward to a good cultural deep dive into Vulcan. idk. i just find the new cast charming. and piper picked up the spirk aura.

I liked the plot! it hits close to home. its important to remember even the high and mighty starfleet can still be space racist and in the wrong and corrupted, just like any other government when run by the wrong people. overall, good book! enjoyable read. i read most of it in a single sitting because i just really got hooked.

it's a bit cheesy and i've seen another review of it call piper mary sue-ish, but, imo? it's not bad. piper is likeable and charming enough to get away with the plot armor. and honestly star trek doesn't have the best track record for writing and giving screentime to women characters (sans Voy, DS9, and nutrek), so seeing a competant lady be knowledgeable and well rounded and still funny and down to earth is... well. i liked it. maybe its not for everyone. but i liked it. and this is MY review. so . yeah! i liked the book.

The start of a trilogy. No clue what I was getting myself into, but...! Calling all Q fans, this one is for you. It takes place after Voy's Q civil war, and Q and Q and little q are all characters in this book.

Q makes a month python and the holy grail reference i THINK? the EMH is there for a page. There's a bunch of fun callbacks, you can tell the author knew their stuff. really enjoyable TNG crew characterization. Q and Picard. Qcard. Lady Q gets some moments I like. Data is based. Picard gets some sick burns against Q and his high horse. it was very satisfying. BARCLAY IS HERE. i love barclay. and... there's mention of the progenitors (using DISCO terms here)! Which was fun, since i JUST finished disco. and the calamarain from the Q human episode!

this was a delight to read. the chapters are paced very well. POVs are shuffled around, mostly sticking to Picard and Riker, but it's not limited to them. As tension and the act picks up, the chapters get shorter, so you get a little bit of everyone. i cant help but admire the craftmenship of this book. it is really well done. I'm excited to read the next one!

Holy crap. This was... really good. Through the eyes of Picard, you watch a civilization die due to Q's "meddling." Not really HIS meddling, but this happened because of him. It's enough to almost bring Picard to tears. It's really well executed. There are familiar godly entities in this book, though I had to read the wiki to remember their canon misgivings.

And the villian is scary.

i read this book so fast that I didn't even take notes in my notes app like i usually do. it was so hard to put down, and with how tech addicted I am, that's saying something. Gorgeous, vivid descriptions. Sickening implications. This was a horror book. It makes you feel scared. It makes you feel disgusted. It makes you feel hollow and sick. It makes you mad.

I changed the formula --- usually the quotes I put up top are the last lines in the book, but not this time. No, this one stuck with me. I think it always will, just as she would've wanted.

Wowow! This trilogy fucking ruled! I WISH it was adapted into a movie or something. IT IS THAT GOOD. It's really... wow. ok. That was fire.

There were some great Q lines in this one. He knows Autolycus and said he was a "man after his own heart", and also called William Shakespear "Willie". Some great Qcard moments too like goodlird. Q may be a married man but monogamy is such an outdated, primitive concept.

Great character moments all around. I really really REALLLY like the Calamarain. Also, while not wholly in depth, the snippet of child neglect and what it can do to a child and how it can be used to manipulate a child is... wow. And I was expecting that plotline to end out differently; but not everyone gets happy endings. I wish the best for Milo and his sister.

This trilogy was FIRE.I totally reccomend reading it if you ever get the chance, especially if you're a Q fan, or a Calamarain fan, or a fan of super beings and entities, or if you just like Star Trek.