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Trek: The Next Generation Companion by Larry Nemecek check out website: www.simonsays.co.uk and www.startrek.com
If, like
me, your marbles are being lost at an exponential rate, a reference book of this
nature can be of great assistance.
Quality? Not very good, I'm afraid. While there are plenty of photographs they're all b&w with varying degrees of clarity. TNG was, now correct me if I'm wrong, shot in colour so shouldn't any reference work be in colour too, unless of course they're going for dubious cheapness! Some photographs are actually quite poor in definition and certainly
shouldn't be in any book offered for sale to the public. The paper
is rubbish too! It's cheap pulp stuff which tarnishes very easily
and has a funny smell. Looking through information about episodes and characters, sometimes there
was a lack of depth and clarity. There were cases where my recollection of events
and the descriptions given didn't quite tally but maybe my mind was playing tricks.
It was, however, sad to see actors now shuffled off their mortal coil without
an obituary or even a deceased date. There's quite a lot of trivia here which is OK if you like trivia. Personally, I can't be bothered with most of it. Also, in reading this reference book, I'm not able to tell you where the mistakes appear. In the first instance, my knowledge of 'Star Trek: TNG' isn't sufficiently detailed to find the mistakes and even if it were, I'm not
of the nit-picking brigade who assiduously examine every word looking for something
out of place, something incongruous. 'Aaahh!' I hear one shout with glee. 'On
page 275 it should be...'. Get a life, would be my advice. Overall,
the information is well presented and entertaining. It's obvious to see that a
lot of work has been expended in an attempt to make this an 'across the board'
reference work which has something for everyone. However, when all's
said and done, what's this volume for? I don't think many would sit down to read
it from cover to cover. It's a reference book which can be used for ordinary amusement
or the writing of articles. This is where the book lets itself down because of
the poor quality paper, lifetime as a reference source will be extremely limited.
I can see pages getting torn, detached or stained. Before long it'll be a complete
mess suitable only for recycling. The obvious answer to this is to produce the volume as a CD-ROM. Think how easier references would be! Think of the colour photographs instead of b&w! Think of the durability, portability and accessibility it would then have. There would also be room for sound and movie clips. Altogether,
it would be a much better product and if the other Star Trek companion books were
to be made in the same format, so much the better. I would also suggest that the
CD-ROM may be cheaper. It's my guess that updated versions
are being planned or are in production. If not, I would urge the publishers to
scrap these archaic, trashy paper volumes and bring out the information on a format
much more suited to the content and purpose of the initial concept. Rod
MacDonald
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OTHER REVIEWS - November 2003
Told By The Dead by Ramsay Campbell The Sandman: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman Robota by Doug Chaing and Orson Scott Card Grass For His Pillow by Lian Hearn Darker Than You Think by Jack Williamson The World Jones Made by Philip K. Dick All My Sins Remembered by Joe Haldeman Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion by Larry Nemecek The Year's Best Fantasy And Horror The Binder's Road by Terry McGarry Project Orion - The Atomic Spaceship by George Dyson The Word And The Void by Terry Brooks Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine April/May 2003 Time Out Of Joint by Philip K. Dick Buffy the Vampire Slayer Soundtrack Smallville Soundtrack (The Talon Mix) Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days by Alastair Reynolds Crossroads Of Twilight by Robert Jordan Mediations On Middle-Earth by Karen Haber and John Howe
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What's
this, I can hear you comment? Not another 'Star Trek' book? The
answer is...yes and it's reasonably good, especially if you've watched
all of the seven seasons of TNG and wish to be reminded of the details
of the episodes.
While
the information seems relatively comprehensive, some say it lacks
the depth and intensity of the DS9 Bible which has over eight hundred
pages of data, and that's with two episodes and four movies less
to write about. On the other hand, some say the same DS9 work represents
overkill.
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