BotTalk Reviews

At Bozeman Montana; Benjamin Sisko, Beverly Crusher and Kahless steal The Phoenix, Zefram Cochrane's experimental warp ship.  Sisko intends to travel to the Bajoran Wormhole but after consulting a star chart, discovers it does not exist in this reality.  In space the Maquis attack Worf's fleet as Spock details how the Vulcans managed to overcome being assimilated by the Borg.  Lore becomes unhinged at the Vulcans constantly being a problem in every universe he creates and detonates a star in an attempt to defeat them.  The Maquis fleet is destroyed and Lore gives Worf a new mission, track down Ben Sisko.   Meanwhile, Hoshi Sato discovers T'Lir. This was a very busy issue.  With The Phoenix being stolen and a fleet battle between Worf's Starfleet and Spock's Borg.  His explanation of how the Vulcans managed to overcome the assimilation process was quite clever I thought.  At this point a lot of our characters, like Worf, are simply a corrupted exag...

In a new reality created by Lore, Benjamin Sisko works a menial job and is plagued by dreams of the reality we all know.  He is attacked by Kahless.  As they struggle his memories fully return.  Meanwhile Worf and Alexander track down and battle rogue elements opposed to Lore.  Elsewhere, Lore directs Data on the creation and continued maintenance of his new universe.  As Borg forces gather in the Delta Quadrant, Sisko and Kahless approach the Phoenix Warp Ship in Bozeman Montana.   This is the big crossover event story the two Star Trek ongoing books have been driving towards for months.  And... honestly it is a mess.  You have the familiar faces of both books scattered across the galaxy.  Some in familiar places, others completely out of place and seemingly out of character.  I have to assume at some point the two crews will come together, realize Lore is the enemy, and defeat him.  But this reality under Lore holds no interest fo...

Over the course of several years we witness the life of Helen Grosvenor.  The British digging up Egyptian artifacts and how her former childhood friends view her privileged status.  Bringing a boy she has a crush on to the dig site, Helen falls unconscious and finds a man standing before her on the dunes, covered in wrappings.  Later, in a mirror, Hellen sees what may be different aspects of herself.  Possible past lives.   This is... disappointing.  We spend so much time with Helen but she comes across as a modern, privileged teenager.   It is so pedestrian and cliche.  There is so little of the actual Mummy and the mythos of the various Universal Monsters versions of the Mummy here.  It is just the first issue so hopefully this will improve.   six out of ten.

Berlinghoff Rasmussen and Nymira Vondect run a snake oil scam.  With the grift completed they move on to the next and we see how the two came together.  Rasmussen saved her during the parasite space station debacle.  They are out in space having an argument when Lore begins breaking down reality.  The planet they were just on vanishes due to a space/time rift.  They fly through the rift and emerge near the Defiant.  As they try to explain the situation the shockwave entangles both ships. I have to say I never really cared for Nymira much.  I get that Defiant was/is a ship of rogues and renegades on a secret mission.  And what we've seen of her past fits that.  But I just never formed any attachment to the character.  To be honest when I saw her on the first page it was only then that I realized that she had been gone for multiple issues.  Also happening as a little vignette is the ongoing mine standoff which concerns Miles O'Brien. ...

Before Lore detonates the reality bomb, Kahless travels to Boreth, guided by a mysterious voice.  The monks refuse his request to restore his honor and soon, reality begins to unravel.  Kahless finds himself in the past, on the day he slew the traitor Molor.  He soon comes face to face with... himself.  The two battle.  In the end the clone defeats the original and after 'creating' the Sword of Kahless he speaks with The Sisko.  Sisko is the voice that guided him to Boreth, that spoke of restoring honor.  He tells Kahless that together they can kill a god... Lore. This issue plays with the idea of myth and legend vs reality.  Print the legend.  Kahless confronts his past self, or real self, and defeats him in battle.  The narrative has shifted from Sisko to Kahless, who was the driving force behind Day of Blood.  With this issue it seems one part of the story has ended, only for the next part to begin.  Lore War.  Given t...

Kahless struggles with his current lot in life after his defeat.  He eats rats and can not even get a simple job.  Begging for food, willing to barter his sword away, he comes face to face with Worf and Alexander.  After some words he begins to battle Alexander, who eventually gets the upper hand.  But he can not kill Kahless and he forces him to admit the truth, that he does not know who he truly is and that he is afraid.  With this Worf and Alexander leave.  He has completed the Errand of Vengeance and with his honor restored Worf embraces him.  Meanwhile, Kahless is left to contemplate his future while eating his charred rat. I have to say I really enjoyed this arc and its conclusion here.  Neither Alexander nor Kahless die during the Errand of Vengeance, and as Alexander himself points out there was no actual vengeance to be had.  This was a good blend of established Klingon lore from across the multiple series and also doing something ne...

Through the ages Sisko attempts to find a way back.  He shifts the entire society of Bajor into orbit, into the caste system, into trying to reconstruct the Wormhole.  He sees Jake... or does he.  Finally, in a small ship he enters the Wormhole and confronts his Mother.  He has past their final test and can remain... but, in their roundabout logic, they tell him they can not bring back that which does not exist.  The reality he once knew does not exist.  Will not exist.  Refusing to accept this he breaks the Celestial Temple and leaves it to Kahless to continue his work... I don't know exactly what I was expecting... but it wasn't this.  Sisko's single minded determination to bring back his crew bends the entire planet of Bajor to his will.  We've seen him refuse to give up before but even with reality on the line this seems a bit much.  The confrontation with his mother has been long expected and we get a bit of it here.  But then...

Worf takes Alexander to the Archanis Sector.  There he encounters Martok and the two get into a fight.  It is part of his challenge, a part he passes in standing up to the Klingon High Chancellor.  Meanwhile, on the Defiant, O'Brien is taken hostage by a Cardassian but he manages to escape.  Later, Worf, Martok and Alexander engage in a brief battle and free the prisoners who were scheduled for execution.  Alexander challenges and defeats the overlord.  Proud of him for coming thus far, Worf tells Alexander his final test will be to face Kahless.   This is a perfectly fine issue.  Fine.  But predictable.  Alexander overcomes all his obstacles with help from his father and Martok.  I expect nothing less, but I somehow expected more.  Something more spiritual perhaps.  Maybe that will prove to be the basis of the final challenge?  The Defiant interlude, though, does little to advance its story.  With a Cardassian t...

Sisko arrives on ancient Bajor.  Eventually he is taken in and learns the language.  And over the course of years becomes a respected advisor and a source of fear as well.  He is a source of wisdom and tries to guide the Bajorans and begins to see things, perhaps, as the Prophets see them.   This is an interesting issue.  I have to say I'm not crazy about the idea of Sisko having such an effect on the history of Bajor. You could say that time is a circle to the Prophets and Sisko, so it ends at the beginning and begins at the end.  And I usually enjoy such storytelling.  But I'm not especially crazy about it here.  We'll see where this goes as the story continues.   six out of ten.

As B'Elanna Torres grapples with her new position as Captain of the Defiant, O'Brien approaches her about destroying the self-replicating mines he created several years ago.  Meanwhile, Worf strips his son of his honor and sets him on a course to restore it.  He must complete three tasks.  He faces a member of the house of Martok and his aunt, defending their attacks but unable to retaliate as part of the ritual.  The Defiant begins to destroy the mines over Karemma when a Section 31 ship intervenes.   I appreciate this book coming back to Alexander and trying to undo some of the damage done to his character during the Day of Blood event. Of course, he must undertake a complicated Klingon ritual to restore his honor.  Karemma is a planet we've seen before on DS9.  The Defiant story I'm curious to see where it takes us.  The self-replicating mines have been on O'Brien's mind since his introduction in this book.  It is something I still take i...

Sisko is called to the bridge.  Although the crew arrived in their proper universe nothing remains.  Only a black void... except for the Bajoran Wormhole.  At the very edge of what used to be the Milky Way Galaxy it remains.  Using the last of their failing Dilithium Crystals they set course.  En route, Sisko serves up a lavish meal for the senior staff.  Much later, the Theseus enters the Wormhole... and Sisko seemingly arrives on ancient Bajor. At the end of the universe the crew is, oddly enough, given some much needed down time.  Some drink and think of better times.  Sparks of love ignite.  Miral chases Spot around.  Sisko and Crusher discuss what it is like to lose the love of their life.  You could say little happens in this issue.  And in a sense, you would be correct.  But I very much enjoyed this issue.  As I said, it is much needed.  Though the Kelvin crossover was fun it is nice to see the crew inter...

Chekov's Challenge by Walter Koenig and Chris Mcauley In the aftermath of The Wrath of Khan the Enterprise is attacked by Orion Pirates.  During the space battle the Enterprise is boarded and the Orions intend to raid the ship and then destroy it by placing explosives on the Warp Core.  Chekov and his security team manage to defeat the invaders while Sulu performs a daring maneuver that overcomes and destroys the Orion Pirates.    As a story this is... fine.  It adds very little in my opinion.  We get the sense Chekov is in a state of shock, not only from the death of Spock but from his experiences with Khan.  Placing the story between Star Trek II and III is interesting.  There is a very small amount of time one could just about wedge a small story.  There are a few references sprinkled in the story but as a story written by Chekov himself I expected something more substantial.  I think I would have liked it better if you removed the sp...

The infamous scene of the monster throwing little Maria into the lake plays out.  As the villagers search for the monster Henry discovers it.  They briefly struggle, with the monster victorious.  Taking refuge at an old windmill the monster tosses Henry to the ground.  The enraged villagers set fire to it and the monster seemingly dies in the inferno.   Maria's death is beautifully illustrated this issue.  The Monster smiling and flowers fluttering as she falls.  Great sequence.  The final ending that plays out here is lifted from the 1931 James Whale film, not the novel.  In the novel Henry searches for the monster after the death of his fiancé.  Their final encounter is in an arctic wasteland.  I have no problem with the movie ending being played out here.  Overall this is a fine adaption of Frankenstein that honours both the novel and the most famous incarnation of it put to film.   eight out of ten.

Sela breaks her shackles and attacks her father.  She eventually gets a knife in the back as Spock simply observes.  With Sela seemingly down, her father turns his attention to Spock, only for Sela to deliver the killing blow to her own father.  Spock is allowed to leave in peace and later Sela sends a message to all Romulan forces naming a new Praetor.  Later, Worf turns command of the Defiant over to B'Elanna Torres, saying he has been called away.  Some time later Spock and Worf have a discussion and Alexander appears saying that he is ready to reclaim his honor. A lot going on this issue.  We see Spock placed in a position that will lead him to the opening moments of the first Abrams film.  Sela, instead of proclaiming herself Praetor, simply gives that power to another.  Her evolution over this series has been very interesting.  I will say that the inclusion of O'Brien and Julian still feels like an afterthought.  While it was fun t...

The Kelvin Universe Enterprise crew and the Defiant crew get to know each other. Spock... the Prime Spock, warned Kirk about certain future events, hence why the Enterprise was waiting for Sisko and crew.  Eventually, Kirk and Sisko approach Starfleet about working together to stop the reality shockwave unleashed by Lore.  Starfleet agrees and a large fleet of ships is gathered.  The assembled fleet is useless though, as the shockwave hits and annihilates everything.  The Enterprise and Defiant manage to survive, though the Enterprise is eventually overtaken by the shockwave as Defiant escapes. The Defiant has returned to its own time/space continuum but everything is gone.  No stars, no life signs, only the black void of space. Lots of nice moments in this issue.  The Enterprise and Defiant crews geek out over each other and compare notes.  0718, a very underutilized character from the Kelvin films, takes it upon himself to build Data a new body. ...

Julian tries to talk Chief O'Brien out of helping Worf and his crew.  Meanwhile, the Romulan ground forces beam down and eventually surround Worf.  In space, B'Elanna Torres is about to sacrifice herself when the Defiant shows up.  Worf continues his battle with the Romulan ground forces commander until he is shot and killed by B'Elanna.  The Romulan Praetor Neral is killed by one of the Antarans Worf trained.  In Romulan Space, Spock is confronted by Sela's father.  He executes the scientist who knew of the instability in the Romulan sun and then aims his disruptor at his daughter.   This is, I think, the first time Miles O'Brien goes into detail about his experiences during Setlik III.  It has been brought up multiple times in TNG and DS9 and is a key piece of his backstory.  This issue feels very messy though.  A lot of jumping around to different POVs.  Which, is to be expected I suppose.  This is the culmination of several...