Sean Randall reviewed Double Helix Omnibus by Dean Wesley Smith
Review of 'Double Helix Omnibus' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Of course I read the individual volumes making up this series in my teens and yes, I naturally reread them again for Goodreads. But never before have I come across an omnibus where I literally read them back to back without a transition, so I quite liked that.
The first book, Infection, is a pretty standard depiction of an early TNG novel. There’s a good lot of Klingon in there and some Will and Deanna, but it very much has the feel of an early season work.
Vectors, set on DS9 prior to its television debut, was a fascinating read originally because it took us away from the screen but showed us characters we already knew. It’s still quite an intriguing story, more so for the back story of Pulaski than anything else, although we do get quite a lot of Quark and his family and some of the simmering …
Of course I read the individual volumes making up this series in my teens and yes, I naturally reread them again for Goodreads. But never before have I come across an omnibus where I literally read them back to back without a transition, so I quite liked that.
The first book, Infection, is a pretty standard depiction of an early TNG novel. There’s a good lot of Klingon in there and some Will and Deanna, but it very much has the feel of an early season work.
Vectors, set on DS9 prior to its television debut, was a fascinating read originally because it took us away from the screen but showed us characters we already knew. It’s still quite an intriguing story, more so for the back story of Pulaski than anything else, although we do get quite a lot of Quark and his family and some of the simmering that’s trademark Kira and Odo.
Starting my favoured arc is Red sector, which alongside Quarantine and Double or Nothing are probably my favourite Trek Trilogy.Carey’s done a superb job in capturing not only a young Starfleet Ensign’s insecurities here, but also his overwhelming awe for Spock and McCoy, which is of course endemic to their generation. We also see a new class of ship here doing some very interesting work, and get a look into the lower ranks (which really worked well onscreen with both TNG and Voyager).
Quarantine takes advantage of the appearance of Tom Riker on The Next Generation whilst providing us another glimpse into events before they became televised. We follow Chakotay and his ragtag Maquis crew, Tuvok appears (of course), and we get a solid link between a TNG and DS9 episode into the bargain.
Peter David’sDouble or Nothing was my introduction to Calhoun and the Excalibre, and whilst he brought the series to a shatteringly powerful and explosive end, his irreverence took a little getting used to. I do enjoy his style of writing, and if the first book was plodding and formulaic, the formula was here too, but somehow the excitement managed to carry on as well.
And then after everything is all over, we go back with Friedman to the Stargazer, to see where it all began. Sadly Picard’s not really made much of here, but on the plus side we get a lot of Jack Crusher and Tuvok (again!) to add one more thread into this rich, complex tapestry of this interesting and overall very satisfying series.