Product Description
An archaeological outpost has suddenly stopped responding to repeated outside requests for information. When the "Enterprise" crew is sent to look into the matter, they discover a devastated outpost and a dying scientist, whose last words are: "The devil's heart has been found". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

The People here have lost their minds!!!!!
After the great reviews this book received from the readers here, i picked this book up and couldn't wait to read it.The story could have been a very good one but the characters were not protrayed correctly.Worf is way out of character, they have picard acting strangely but the rest of the crew never steps in to take control.For one example Riker and Data are talking on the bridge about taking the "Devil's heart" away from Picard because they can see it is causing him harm.Worf blurts out "Enough" and tell Riker and Data that Picard is the best one to keep it and being the Security officer he would not allow it to be taken by force.UHHHHH!!! the last time i checked Riker and Data both outrank Worf.Riker backs down like a little school girl and says does nothing to put worf in his place.RIker of the T.V. series would never have just let that go especially with Worf and their history.Like i said its not a complete waste of time to read this book but in my opinion when the crew says or does something that is so out of character it messes with the flow of the book.

How someone can say this is the best Star trek book they have ever read need to read more star trek books!!

IF you can pick this up cheap ....go ahead but don't think about paying full price.

De Re Rubrica
Carmen Carter advances the mysterious galactic voyages of our favorite Star Trek crew, not with an alien species, but with a beautiful gray rock that glows when held by the appointed one.

The Devil's Heart is a gem with a mission.It's powers are beyond comprehension, and it ends up in the hands of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.With what control does he wield the great power of Pagrashtak, the bloodstone, this Devil's Heart that can, and has, created and annihilated civilizations?

Pretty much nothing.Be prepared for a history lesson.Carter's tale isn't so much about what Picard does with the stone but, rather, how Picard learns, through an unrelenting amount of dreams, where the stone has come from, and its destiny.The cover of this book caught my attention: Picard with eyes glowing red.What a fantastic cover!Our beloved starship captain with powers not unlike what Riker once held as a gift from Q!

And, oh sure, Picard uses these powers, once.The possibilities of this book went straight down the drain.I find solace in reading adventures about our humble Federation crew, but this was not at all what I expected.Picard becomes neither demon nor saint, but somnambulist.

Fear not, for those of us who expect good writing get it anyway.Carter's sketches of Data's thought processes is so well-written that, if they still produce ST:TNG books, I hope she does one with Data as the lead.She writes every Enterprise character believably (nearly with the same internal descriptions as she does with Data), which is more than I can say about many other ST authors.

Great story read by Gates
Gates McFadden does an exemplary job of reading this interesting tale. The story concerns a mysterious stone that has effected numerous civilizations over many thousands of years. The USS Enterprise-D under the command of Captain Picard gets involved when Beverly is asked to diagnose and treat a Vulcan archeologist who may be suffering from Bendii Syndrome, a very rare disease with which she has some experience. That Vulcan may have information on the stone, AKA: The Devil's Heart. Picard, quite the archeologist himself, is particularly interested in the mission, perhaps too much!
McFadden does a great job of differentiating between characters and that helps the story move along at a fast pace. If you enjoy this audio-book, then I recommend another read by her: Star Trek TNG-Reunion.

"...the blood never stops flowing."
This said by the last bearer of the Ko N'ya as she dies aboard the Enterprise, and just after Picard has taken possession of a stone which throughout history has played major roles, and which has had turmoil, war, and bloodshed follow this relic through the universe.And now, Picard holds it on the eve of a prophesy which brings a number of the many races and cultures who have at one time held this Devil's Heart, and each wants to reclaim it.

As the mission moves on, the senior officers become concerned with thier captain's obcession with a stone which the Captain is rarely seen without, on the times that he is even seen.Captain Picard feels it is his duty to be a warden of this stone, and as he begins to understand the importance of the stone, learning from it, he begins to be tempted by the power it promises to bring him.

This is an enjoyable TNG book, well written with few faults.I'm reminded in a way of another great story about an ancient relic which is now recieving heightened interest after the three movies have been made, Lord of the Rings...even the name "Gem-bearer" is not far removed from "Ring-bearer" and the stone seems to have similar powers of corruption on whoever holds it.

An excellent quest
This is a reverse quest in the tradition of the Lord of the Rings: Picard gains possession of an artefact that gives its wielder power over time, but will eventually betray him to his death, and every power in the Quadrant comes after the Enterprise to seize the artefact. In addition, we are shown how Trek ancient history has (supposedly) revolved around this artefact, including the rise and fall of the Iconians, Surak of Vulcan, the Romulan Empire, the Klingon Empire and the great plague on Andor. The tone of this book is quite sombre, but uniquely among Trek authors the book is still a very enjoyable read despite that. The quality of the writing is excellent. The descriptions and characterisations are very good, and the whole Enterprise cast has good roles in this. The book specific characters are well done also. There are many short sequences of people and action beyond the Enterprise and all are well done. The author captures the air of a truly epic quest, both in contemporary scope and through time. This is an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Picard and his comrades launch a journey through time to discover the Borg's deadliest secret when the deadly alien race threatens to assimilate the entire Federation.Movie tie-in. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

A wonderful novelization with valuable insight of its own
This is, of course, the novelization of the highly successful Star Trek: The Next Generation film of the same name.First Contact refers not to first contact with the Borg, for, six years later, Picard still bears the mental scars of his assimilation in the form of Locutus, but to Earth's first contact with an alien civilization.It is a story that had yet to be told, although Captain Kirk and his crew had met the extraordinarily old Zefram Cochrane, inventor of the warp drive, in an episode of the original series; additionally, there had been hints that this pivotal event in human history took place some time after a terrible Third World War on Earth.

As the story begins, the Borg have attacked the Federation, with one of their massive cube ships making a bee-line for Earth herself.Picard and the new Enterprise-E starship defy Starfleet orders and rush to the battle, after which they follow a small Borg ship through a time portal which takes them back to 21st-century Earth.The Borg plan is to destroy the Phoenix, the spacecraft which Zefram Cochrane launches and, by way of its successful warp drive test, captures the attention of a Federation scout ship.If that pivotal event does not happen, the Federation we all know and love will never come to be.While half of the senior staff is planet-side trying to make sure the Phoenix launch happens on schedule, the rest of the crew find themselves battling a Borg infestation onboard the Enterprise herself.Data is captured, Picard is in danger of letting his hatred of the Borg overrule logic and reason, and we get to meet the Borg Queen.Personally, I've always felt that the introduction of the Borg Queen was a disservice to the greatest Star Trek villains of them all.The Borg Queen is a complete contradiction that introduced a level of individual vulnerability into a collective that was, up until this time, faceless and seemingly invulnerable.

This is an impressive novelization of the film, making it a worthwhile read to those of us who are already familiar with the onscreen story.In particular, it provides a great deal of insight into the erratic nature of Zefram Cochrane himself; in the movie, he came across as basically a drunk, but the novelization does a much better job of explaining his behavior.That alone makes this novel a natural and extremely beneficial corollary to the movie.

Book and movie complement each other well.
"And you people...you're all astronauts on some kind of...star trek?"

That line, uttered by Dr. Zephram Cochrane in both movie and novelization, has to be my all time favorite from the Trek film series. The most interesting difference between movie and book, as far I am concerned, is that despite James Cromwell's fine performance I found the film's Zephram Cochrane incredibly annoying. I never developed a shred of sympathy for him, because the background the film gave me - the Third World War and its chaotic aftermath - wasn't sufficient to make me understand him. I don't know, not having seen the script from which J.M. Dillard worked, whether she added "Zef" Cochrane's tragic battle with bipolar disorder (a disease that before the War had an effective treatment), or if it was among the elements that inevitably got cut as the film took shape. But I do know that for me, it made all the difference in being able to care about this character and root for him.

The book follows the film with little filler added except for background on Lily Sloane and Zephram Cochrane, which gives it a similar pace. They complement each other well.

Excellent Star Trek Book
Star Trek First Contact by J.M. Dillard was an excellent book. it showed emotion, fear, dispair, and anger. IT was a well written book considering it was made after the movie. I encourage all Star Trek fans to read this book and watch the movie.

Excellent novelization.
As usual, J.M. Dillard does a fine job of remaining true to the source material, while still elaborating on it. The story is an excellent one, with plenty of action and plenty of interesting science-fiction concepts for the more thoughtful to consider. It gives us a bit more insight into the "future history" between the near-collapse of civilization and the beginning of the Federation that has been hinted at but rarely detailed in various episodes of Star Trek, in various generations of series.

The plot and characterization are both excellent and the writing is fluid and professional. The book is a pleasure to read.

The best Star Trek story ever
This is without doubt the best of all Star Trek stories, both in film and in print. It touches on many grand philosophical, scientific, and technological themes: machine intelligence (both in Commander Data and in the Borg), space-time engineering (the first time humanity has done this, via the efforts of Zefram Cochrane), the first contact from an alien civilization (the arrival of the Vulcans), the confrontation with true history (meeting Cochrane and finding out just who the man really was), and the ethics of highly advanced civilizations (the contrast between the Borg and humanity). This book and the film will without a doubt inspire many a young reader to take up the practice of science, and thus it will do the best job of all. Science fiction has the habit of coming true sometimes, but it also has the fault of underestimating. The future of humanity, as exemplified by the Star Trek crew of the year 2367, is a grand one to contemplate, but the true future will be much better: a world populated by humans and machines striving to be the best they can be; a future that is never static, for stagnation to intelligent life is an abomination. We will do genetic engineering of humans, to be the best we can be; we will do space-time engineering, to travel beyond any immediate confines; we will create intelligent machines, to be our friends and allies. All of these things we will do, and much more. Humans and all other lifeforms, organic or not, will be very different in the time frame set in this novel. But they will be restless, ambitious, and always yearning for more understanding, for more insight, for more knowledge: these traits will characterize the beings of the 24th century...and beyond. ... Read more

Product Description
Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Bob Knight, Gates Mcfadden, Jeffrey S. Medkeff, Ernest Angley, Mark Dawidziak, Robert Berdella, David O'karma, William Wetmore, Hanselman Sextuplets, George Thomas Washington, Edward Rowland Sill, John Jacobs, William G. Draper. Excerpt:Bob Knight Robert Montgomery "Bob" or "Bobby" Knight (born October 25, 1940) is a retired American basketball coach . Nicknamed "The General", Knight has won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, more than any other head coach. On January 1, 2007, he achieved his 880th victory, breaking the record held by Dean Smith . His 900th victory came on January 16, 2008. He was most recently the head men's basketball coach at Texas Tech before announcing his retirement on February 4, 2008. He was previously the head coach at Indiana University and at the United States Military Academy . From 1971 2000, Knight coached the Indiana Hoosiers , where he led his teams to three NCAA championships , one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship, and eleven Big Ten Conference championships. For his accomplishments, he received the National Coach of the Year honor four times and the Big Ten Coach of the Year honor six times. In 1984, he coached the USA men's Olympic team to a gold medal, becoming one of only three basketball coaches to win an NCAA title, NIT title, and an Olympic gold medal. Knight was one of college basketball's most controversial coaches. He threw a chair across the court during a game, was arrested for assault , and displayed a combative nature during encounters with members of the press. On the other hand, Knight has been praised for running clean programs (none of his teams have ever been sanctioned by the NCAA for recruiting violations) and graduating most of his players. Knight still commands a following among fans of ... ... Read more

Product Description
Past and present meet when Captain Jean-Luc Picard is reunited with the USS Stargazer to serve as an escort for Morgen, ruler of the Daa'vit Empire. An accident propels the starship into the heart of the Romulan Empire, and Picard learns of those who are determined to end their peaceful relations. ... Read more

Product Description
Before he commanded the Starship Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard was the captain of the deep space exploration vessel, the U.S.S. Stargazer, on an incredible twenty-two year voyage. Now Picard is reunited with his old crew for the first time in over a decade, on a mission to see his former first officer installed as ruler of the Daa'Vit Empire.

The reunion turns deadly when a ruthless assassin begins eliminating the U.S.S. Stargazer crew one by one. Picard's present and former shipmates must join forces to solve the mystery of the Captain's past, before the killer strikes again. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A well crafted, tightly wrapped story
As a consequence of one of them ascending the Daa'Vit throne, several members of Captain Picard's former crew aboard the Stargazer are on the Enterprise and traveling to the coronation. The Daa' Vit and Klingon Empires had been at war for some time before the interjection of the Federation caused a cessation of hostilities. Despite the years of peace, the hostility remains and it is very difficult for the Klingon Worf and the Daa' Vit Morgen to occupy the same room. All of their instincts are to fight to the death, yet Morgen is a Captain in Starfleet and a close friend of Picard so both of them must bury their instincts and learn to tolerate each other.
That tolerance must quickly be turned into a working relationship, as there is an assassin on board the Enterprise that is determine to kill Morgen. The assassin is extremely competent in the technical sense, able to reprogram a holodeck into a killing machine as well as reprogramming food synthesizers and also extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat. The situation is made even worse by the Enterprise inadvertently entering a subspace slipstream that moves them along at warp 9.5 and seems impenetrable. A secondary subplot is the effort that Dr. Crusher must make to keep her dead husband from her thoughts, for Jack Crusher served on the Stargazer and was killed rescuing the ship.
The action is fast, furious and consistent with the usual actions of the Next Generation crew. All perform admirably, Worf is the gruff Klingon that puts duty over personal feelings, Geordi is a miracle worker in engineering and Riker manages to woo and bed a female. Picard's former shipmates prove to be quite talkative to the point of insubordination yet in general they are all appealing, their conversations are much more open and honest, something that the Enterprise crew cannot do given their positions. Of course, the Enterprise is saved, the assassin discovered and disarmed and Morgen ascends the throne and galactic peace is preserved.
Some of the best stories are those where you know the literary destination beforehand yet the path there is so engaging that the foreknowledge is rendered irrelevant. This is one such story.

The 1st Entry in the Stargazer Series!
Reunion teams Picard with his former Stargazer crew to solve a murder mystery.One of the crew is picking off Enterprise crew members one by one.Picard and his staff must discover who the culprit is before the Enterprise is destroyed.Star Trek is hardly the place for a mystery.However MJF makes the book work with solid pacing and characterization.This book sets Friedman's Stargazer series into motion.We get to see interesting characters, prior to the Next Generation.I wish Friedman were still writing Trek fiction because his characters were always true to their TV roots.

In the new fiction all the interesting characters are gone! B4, Riker,Troi, are no longer part of the crew.They were replaced by characters that aren't quite as compelling to read.

McFadden does a great job
Gates McFadden does such a great job reading this fine story that some time after hearing it, I was almost cetain that it was one of TNG's TV episodes, I could picture it so clearly in my mind. This is a "fill-in-the-blanks" type story in which we learn a bit about Picard's command of the Stargazer when his old senior staff joins him on the Enterprise-D. It's a great mystery as well, what with someone apparently trying to kill off Jean-Luc's old friends. Enjoy!

ST: TNG Reunion
Star Trek:The Next GenerationReunion written by Michael Jan Friedman is a Captain Jean-Luc Picard who-done-it mystery with flashbacks to his U.S.S. Stargazer days.

The author does a really good job at blending in the Stargazer part of the book to the general theme of the book. Long before Captain Jean-Luc Picard was Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise he was the Captain of the legendary deep space exploration vessel the U.S.S. Stargazer.For an incredible twenty-two years the Stargazer was on an exploration mission."Reunion" is an excellent adjunct for the for the author's Stargazer series of books ("The Valiant, Double Helix #6, Gauntlet, and Progenitor").

Friedman works his storytelling magic with Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Commander Rike, and Lt.Commander Data with the rest of the Enterprise crew together with the Stargazer to join forces to solve a murder.I found the book full of action-adventure and the prose moved with a fast-paced style.The character development is well-thought out and so is the plot.The ending is typical for a Freidman novel... that's all I'm going to say so I won't spoil it.

Past and present come together in this book and I'd recommend reading this book along with the others I mentioned above giving the reader a more rounded experience with the U.S.S. Stargazer characters.This is an excellent read and I would recommend it.

A great look at Captain Picard's past!
Reunion was the first look in novel form at Captain Picard's past, intermixed with his current life aboard the Enterprise.While I'm not especially into murder mysteries, the author does a wonderful job.We see here, many of the characters aboard the USS Stargazer that he continues to use in later works.The characters, in keeping with the authors style, are all very well thought out.In minor agreement with other reviewer's, I would have to say that the villain's motivations were not really well detailed.The story does move along very well and it has an excellent ending to it.Overall a very good book and I would suggest reading this one prior to reading the other Stargazer books.Thank you to the author for a very good read. ... Read more

Product Description
Starring: Leonard Nimoy, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton, Meagan Fay, Jerry Hardin, Dwight Schultz, Armin Shimerman, and Tom Virtue.

63 Minutes on 1 CD

Join actors from STAR TREK and STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION as they recreate this classic radio thriller. The breathless pace and convincing details make it clear why the 1938 broadcast of an "eyewitness report" of an invasion from Mars caused a nationwide panic in 1938. Originally performed by Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of the Air, WAR OF THE WORLDS is truly the mother of all space invasions, offering a rare combination of chills, thrills and great literature.

About the publisher:L.A. Theatre Works, founded in 1974, produces the world's finest audio theatre. Our catalogue features the largest collection of classic and contemporary plays, recorded in state-of-the-art sound quality, starring today's most popular and acclaimed actors. Your selection is packed in durable vinyl cases with colorful, attractive covers. These handsome editions are perfect for personal collections, schools and libraries. Our catalogue features many award-winning plays, musicals, docudramas and novels that let your imagination soar! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

war of the worlds CD
I am a trekkie from way back and the cast of Star Trek does the voices on this H.G Wells classic.I love it!I would recommend it to anyone who likes books on CD.

HG Wells by Star Trek Stars
This is a wonderful unique piece of theater performed by accomplished television stars from Star Trek. It is not around a lot but if you get a chance to hear this, you can enjoy the fine work of HG Wells' classic sci- fi story and the talents of the skilled voices of the Trek crew. A keeper for Trekkies and theater buffs.

a fantastic interpretation of the war of the worlds!
in this cassette there is a fantastic interpretation of the war of the worlds, although you can't see anything, the actors are so good that you feel yourself in another strange world...

Glad to buy it once again...
A few years ago I purchased the cassette tape version of this play and enjoyed it a lot. Unfortunately, I lost my copy and have wanted to listen to this play many times since then. I'm glad I purchased this item again and look forward to hearing it again.

Great one hour summary with special sound effects ...
After purchasing this audio novel I was initially upset because it was only an hour long. I much prefer my audio novels to be at least 2 hours long.With a foul mode in place I began to listen to the tape.In a few short minutes I was quickly swept up into the story, recogizing my favorite Star Trek actors as they played their parts.The audio novel although short has an excellant production quality. The story is concise and easy to follow.I would like to thank John DeLancie for directing this project and for the participaction of the other actors. I would not hesitate to recommend this audio novel and look forward to others from John DeLancy, Lenard Nimoy and the rest of the Star Trek gang. (The RAMA science fiction series would be great.) Please make them at least 2 hours though. ... Read more

Product Description
Put your earphones on and let the Sound Travel Audio Guides do the talking, while you do the walking, through some of the most historic and enchanting cities in Europe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Very Helpful Easy to Use
Would highly reccomend this to anyone wanting to walk around Paris - which RALLY is the BEST way to see it!!!
We used this book a couple of times while we were there and it was very helpful and informative.

Outstanding guide.

This book has been one of the many reasons I fell in love with Paris.

In fact, it taught me how to explore Paris on my own during the 5 years I lived there. Beginning with this book, I learned how much history and cultural wealth is hidden in every corner of the city, ready to be discovered. I learned to explore the building façades, their inner patios that sometimes hide gardens, statues and even centuries old temples. I have explored parkings for outstanding discoveries (like the medieval wall on the underground parking on rue Mazarine), etc.

I learned enough of the city history to get me curious and start reading on my own about the kings of France, the history of Paris architecture, and so much more.

I have both an older edition and the audio guide, which is excelent for use when walking alone. However, I noticed that on the latest edition, the walk on rue Moufetard is gone (at least that's how it seems from the index here on Amazon"). Pitty, because I loved the region and the walk itself.

The only danger is that if you go to Paris with this book, you may never want to leave again, like I did.

Excellent
I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a much earlier edition of this wonderful little guide to the Paris these authors obviously love.The distaff side of the Landes clan has a keen eye for detail and a sharp nose for the unexpected tidbits that make visiting any city a delight.

Directly as a result of following one of the walks I have found a club that is now, years later, a regular stop anytime I am in Paris.Everyone who has an interest in the quiter, more intimate details of Paris should take these walks.The authors' love of the city and their simple love of city life shines through in each of them.

This latest edition is, if possible, an improvement on the previous ones; adding the perspective of a new co-author has improved the product.

Don't walk Paris without it!
This is a terrific "off the beaten path" type tour guide. These tours take you to areas that other tourists just pass through on their way to the Eifel Tower and Louvre. With this book you experience the real Paris, not the tourist's Paris.

At the beginning of each tour (allow one per day), find a bench in one of the many small parks and read the introduction to the tour. While you take in the sights, smells and sounds of the area, you'll learn a bit of history to set the stage for the tour. The walks are slow and intend for you to really look at your surroundings as you read about the history, architecture and people. I wish there were guides like this for every city!

A "Must Have"ÿ
I've taken this book to Paris three times.Our local library discarded the book and I was so upset.It's wonderful to use in Paris or to remember my trips.I was so excited to find in newly published.I have already got one, which I passed on to a friend going to Paris, now I'm orderinganother. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The perfect way to see Paris!
Loved using this series in Italy and it was perfect for Paris as well. Walking through the streets with an audio guide and maps in hand, after listening to the accompaning language CD was great. Highly recommend this program. ... Read more