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Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Second Decade #5
Greater Than the Sum
The "Starship Rhea" has discovered a cluster of carbon planets that seems to be the source of the quantum energies rippling through a section of space. A landing party finds unusual life-forms inhabiting one of the planets. One officer, Lieutenant T'Ryssa Chen -- a half-Vulcan -- makes a tenuous connection with them. But before any progress can be made, the "Rhea" comes under attack from the "Einstein" -- a Starfleet vessel now controlled by the Borg. The landing party can only listen in horror as their comrades are assimilated. The Borg descend to the planet, and just as Chen accepts that she will be assimilated, the lieutenant is whisked two thousand light-years away. A quantum slipstream -- instantaneous transportation -- is controlled by these beings in the cluster, and in the heart of the cluster there is now a Borg ship. Cut off from the rest of the Borg collective, the "Einstein" cannot be allowed to rejoin it. For the sake of humanity, the Borg cannot gain access to quantum slipstream technology.
Starfleet Command gives Captain Picard carte blanche: do whatever he must to help the beings in the cluster, and stop the "Einstein" no matter the cost.
Starfleet Command gives Captain Picard carte blanche: do whatever he must to help the beings in the cluster, and stop the "Einstein" no matter the cost.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 29, 2008
61 people are currently reading
592 people want to read
About the author
Christopher L. Bennett
69 books219 followersChristopher L. Bennett is a lifelong resident of Cincinnati, Ohio, with a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in History from the University of Cincinnati. A fan of science and science fiction since age five, he has spent the past two decades selling original short fiction to magazines such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact (home of his "Hub" series of comedy adventures), BuzzyMag, and Galaxy's Edge. Since 2003, he has been one of Pocket Books' most prolific and popular authors of Star Trek tie-in fiction, including the epic Next Generation prequel The Buried Age, the Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations series, and the Star Trek: Enterprise -- Rise of the Federation series. He has also written two Marvel Comics novels, X-Men: Watchers on the Walls and Spider-Man: Drowned in Thunder. His original novel Only Superhuman, perhaps the first hard science fiction superhero novel, was voted Library Journal's SF/Fantasy Debut of the Month for October 2012. Other tales in the same universe can be found in Among the Wild Cybers and the upcoming Arachne's Crime, both from eSpec Books. His Hub stories are available in two collections from Mystique Press.
Christopher's homepage, fiction annotations, and blog can be found at christopherlbennett.wordpress.com. His Patreon page with original fiction and reviews is at https://www.patreon.com/christopherlb..., and his Facebook author page is at www.facebook.com/ChristopherLBennettA....
Christopher's homepage, fiction annotations, and blog can be found at christopherlbennett.wordpress.com. His Patreon page with original fiction and reviews is at https://www.patreon.com/christopherlb..., and his Facebook author page is at www.facebook.com/ChristopherLBennettA....
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
February 26, 2016
Great Star Trek adventure!
HARD TO FIND GOOD EMPLOYEES
Captains aren’t the only people who count for something
Captain Jean-Luc Picard was lucky, was very lucky, when he selected his Command Crew, back then, when he got command of the USS Enterprise-D. Indeed, not only it was an excellent crew, a crew deserved to be in the Federation’s flagship, but they become not only his Command Crew, his most trusted officers, they become his family…
…but some of them are now in a different starship, and others died.
Now, commanding the Enterprise-E, Picard is still struggling to get back what he got, and it’s not easy.
Worf finally embraced his new position as First Officer, and Beverly and Geordi still are in their usual positions as Chief Medical Officer and Chief Engineer Officer, respectively. Picard is thankful for still having familiar faces around him, in fact Beverly became even more familiar since she is now his wife. However, an effective Command Crew needs more members, and the other key positions have been filled with people that for some reason or other, they weren’t just the right ones, they weren’t what Picard had in the past, and he knows that he is as good as his crew can be.
Captains aren’t islands and he needs the right people around him to keep the Enterprise-E as truly the Federation’s flagship.
And if that wasn’t enough, now Picard will engage against the Borg again!
The Einstein, a Federation’s science vessel, turned into a Borg ship during the events of Before Dishonor, is still on the loose and the USS Rhea had the bad luck of finding it, in a very special space cluster, where it seems that the Borg are on the brink to assimiliate relevant knowledge about slipstream travel mechanics. If so, nobody will be safe in the Federation!
Picard trusts that finally have a good Conn Officer with Joanna Faur, and after a stressing event with his Operations Manager, Miranda Kadohata, it seems that he will be able to keep working with her, but with a delicate mission involving the Borg, he is just testing new people is key positions like Security and Sciences, and with the additional burden, in the mission, to make first contact with a life form like no other before seen, Picard needs a really good Contact Specialist…
ENTER: T’RYSSA CHEN
We all learn at our own pace.
Lt. T’Ryssa Chen, 26 years old, with 4 years of experience in Starfleet, she is half Vulcan, half human, but if you think that you know what to expect from her…
…you don’t know T’Ryssa!
She hates to have Vulcan blood (even she hides, on purpose, her pointy ears with her long hair). She is more emotional than your average full human. She dislikes the military-like structure of Starfleet. Saying that she has family issues doesn’t cover it enough.
Picard isn’t sure if she is the right choice for his Contact Specialist, even he isn’t sure if she is the right material for the Enterprise, but she, unexpectedly developed, an unique bond with the new life form that they will meet and maybe T’Ryssa is the only one able to pull off the crucial mission with the safety of the Federation in the balance!
New life forms, new crewmembers, the Borg and the return of a popular recurring character! Greater than the Sum is indeed worthy of its title!
HARD TO FIND GOOD EMPLOYEES
Captains aren’t the only people who count for something
Captain Jean-Luc Picard was lucky, was very lucky, when he selected his Command Crew, back then, when he got command of the USS Enterprise-D. Indeed, not only it was an excellent crew, a crew deserved to be in the Federation’s flagship, but they become not only his Command Crew, his most trusted officers, they become his family…
…but some of them are now in a different starship, and others died.
Now, commanding the Enterprise-E, Picard is still struggling to get back what he got, and it’s not easy.
Worf finally embraced his new position as First Officer, and Beverly and Geordi still are in their usual positions as Chief Medical Officer and Chief Engineer Officer, respectively. Picard is thankful for still having familiar faces around him, in fact Beverly became even more familiar since she is now his wife. However, an effective Command Crew needs more members, and the other key positions have been filled with people that for some reason or other, they weren’t just the right ones, they weren’t what Picard had in the past, and he knows that he is as good as his crew can be.
Captains aren’t islands and he needs the right people around him to keep the Enterprise-E as truly the Federation’s flagship.
And if that wasn’t enough, now Picard will engage against the Borg again!
The Einstein, a Federation’s science vessel, turned into a Borg ship during the events of Before Dishonor, is still on the loose and the USS Rhea had the bad luck of finding it, in a very special space cluster, where it seems that the Borg are on the brink to assimiliate relevant knowledge about slipstream travel mechanics. If so, nobody will be safe in the Federation!
Picard trusts that finally have a good Conn Officer with Joanna Faur, and after a stressing event with his Operations Manager, Miranda Kadohata, it seems that he will be able to keep working with her, but with a delicate mission involving the Borg, he is just testing new people is key positions like Security and Sciences, and with the additional burden, in the mission, to make first contact with a life form like no other before seen, Picard needs a really good Contact Specialist…
ENTER: T’RYSSA CHEN
We all learn at our own pace.
Lt. T’Ryssa Chen, 26 years old, with 4 years of experience in Starfleet, she is half Vulcan, half human, but if you think that you know what to expect from her…
…you don’t know T’Ryssa!
She hates to have Vulcan blood (even she hides, on purpose, her pointy ears with her long hair). She is more emotional than your average full human. She dislikes the military-like structure of Starfleet. Saying that she has family issues doesn’t cover it enough.
Picard isn’t sure if she is the right choice for his Contact Specialist, even he isn’t sure if she is the right material for the Enterprise, but she, unexpectedly developed, an unique bond with the new life form that they will meet and maybe T’Ryssa is the only one able to pull off the crucial mission with the safety of the Federation in the balance!
New life forms, new crewmembers, the Borg and the return of a popular recurring character! Greater than the Sum is indeed worthy of its title!
August 5, 2008
Spoiler/rant alert!
First off, the general action part of the plot wasn't too bad. That said, this book read like **terribly** written fan fiction. No joke. It was sort of embarrassing that this made it to print.
The character development of T'Ryssa Chen was moderatly good, and she was an entertaining character. However, she was NOT someone who could likely ever make her way onto the Enterprise.
The rest of the characters were only marginally in character. Everyone was incredibly brooding and depressed, except Worf. He was pracitcally Mary freaking Poppins complared to his usual self. Picard was all over the emotional map. Certainly that has happened in previous events, but generally it doesn't interfere with his command decisions. Particularly not to the extent they did in this book. Also, his little breakdown about his 2 kids from his memories as Kalen was laughable.
Which leads me to another issue I had. Picard and Beverly getting pregnant? Really? For fuck's sake, they are in their 60s and 70s. Even in the longer-lived world of Star Trek that is just a Very Bad Idea(TM). My little shipper heart was excited in the books that preceded this one that they finally got together. I didn't even mind that they got married. But having a baby? After all the years of building Picard's personality quirks that make him not amenable to children? Or families on his ship? And now that he got married he suddenly wants babies of his own? It's just not plausible to me. It is too much of a change to be believable.
All in all, I honestly think TPTB are trying to run the Trek franchise into the ground. They killed Data. They are marrying off the logical couples (Riker and Troi, Picard and Crusher). They killed Kathryn Janeway (sob!). They are closing down the Trek Experience in Las Vegas. They are tying everything up in a nice little package with a bow on top. If they want to do that, that's fine. It's just not a particularly well wrapped gift. They need to do a much better job of it than this. This book seriously could have been written by a teen or young person who doesn't have a realistic grasp on adult relationships or emotions. It was really sad that this is the apparent quality of Trek now. It would have been better just to stop production of any new Trek books than to let this one make it to print.
I also recognize the irony in that I will likely read the next book in this series since now I want to see how much worse it can get. It's like a train wreck. You want to look away and just can't.
First off, the general action part of the plot wasn't too bad. That said, this book read like **terribly** written fan fiction. No joke. It was sort of embarrassing that this made it to print.
The character development of T'Ryssa Chen was moderatly good, and she was an entertaining character. However, she was NOT someone who could likely ever make her way onto the Enterprise.
The rest of the characters were only marginally in character. Everyone was incredibly brooding and depressed, except Worf. He was pracitcally Mary freaking Poppins complared to his usual self. Picard was all over the emotional map. Certainly that has happened in previous events, but generally it doesn't interfere with his command decisions. Particularly not to the extent they did in this book. Also, his little breakdown about his 2 kids from his memories as Kalen was laughable.
Which leads me to another issue I had. Picard and Beverly getting pregnant? Really? For fuck's sake, they are in their 60s and 70s. Even in the longer-lived world of Star Trek that is just a Very Bad Idea(TM). My little shipper heart was excited in the books that preceded this one that they finally got together. I didn't even mind that they got married. But having a baby? After all the years of building Picard's personality quirks that make him not amenable to children? Or families on his ship? And now that he got married he suddenly wants babies of his own? It's just not plausible to me. It is too much of a change to be believable.
All in all, I honestly think TPTB are trying to run the Trek franchise into the ground. They killed Data. They are marrying off the logical couples (Riker and Troi, Picard and Crusher). They killed Kathryn Janeway (sob!). They are closing down the Trek Experience in Las Vegas. They are tying everything up in a nice little package with a bow on top. If they want to do that, that's fine. It's just not a particularly well wrapped gift. They need to do a much better job of it than this. This book seriously could have been written by a teen or young person who doesn't have a realistic grasp on adult relationships or emotions. It was really sad that this is the apparent quality of Trek now. It would have been better just to stop production of any new Trek books than to let this one make it to print.
I also recognize the irony in that I will likely read the next book in this series since now I want to see how much worse it can get. It's like a train wreck. You want to look away and just can't.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2015
An exciting lead in to Destiny! A Borg centred story which introduces some fun new characters to the crew.
July 12, 2022
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Greater Than the Sum is a standalone novel written by Christopher L. Bennett and was released in August of 2008.
What makes this book so interesting is the frame of reference that it has. This book came out after a string of Borg related standalones like Resistance, Death in Winter, Homecoming/Farther Shore, and the ever climactic Before Dishonor. However, it is the prelude to the Destiny Trilogy, the trilogy billed as “The Beginning and the End of the Borg”. This would create a dilemma for Bennett, as his story would need to be really good to stand out in a crowded field. Thankfully, Bennett was up to the task, for this is an excellent book.
This isn’t a particularly big book in scope. The borg threat here is relatively small and is cut off from the collective. However, the stakes are still high, as our crew wrestles with many deep questions regarding morality, procreation, marriage, and violence. If you are interested in the Destiny Trilogy, this book excellently distills all the themes and ideas from that trilogy into one book, providing some interesting foreshadowing that makes me want to go back and reread the Destiny Trilogy again.
Where this book is at its best is its character moments. Jean Luc Picard is wonderfully portrayed as the newlywed husband who is now worried about the future. Picard lets his worry about the Borg seep into his worry about potentially becoming a father. Everyone else seems to understand it better than Picard, yet the audience can empathize with him.
The whole Picard storyline is meshed with the whole subplot about procreation. The Star Trek shows are not always known as a family show, as very rarely do Trek characters get married and have children (Kieko/O’Brian and B’Ellana/Tom being obvious exceptions). Yet here, Bennett provides really fascinating discussions about the importance of carrying on a family line, of the purpose behind life and why it is so intricately linked to procreation, and why families are so important to an individual's life purpose. This topic threads through the story in unique and interesting ways that I really enjoyed! It is so refreshing to read about these themes when so much of Science Fiction is about the futility of the future.
This book introduces the character of T’Ryssa Chen. If you’ve read any Post-Nemesis books after this, you’ll be familiar with the character. Here, she is introduced as a character meant to be brash, arrogant, a nonconformist, and an annoying brat, and boy does she come across as all of those things. I found myself really frustrated with her throughout the book. However, I also found myself laughing at a lot of her lines and became interested in her story. Other than Jean Luc, she became the character I was most interested in the story, and she’s not even a character from the shows.
This book also balances action with Star Trek elements of discovery. Star Trek cannot simply become an action series, nor can it only be about discovering new life forms, but it needs a balance of the two. Here, Bennett creates a story that starts in the first chapter and never lets up until the end.
If you like other characters from The Next Generation, you won’t be disappointed. Beverly Crusher, Worf, and Geordi La Forge all get some page time here. Crusher’s story is almost entirely related to Picards, but La Forge had several moments that made me really feel for his character.
I was not a huge fan of Bennetts “The Captain’s Oath”, which I thought was not at all a fun read and felt like a chore at times. I still think the story was good, but perhaps the way it was told was too convoluted. However, I think Bennett turned in a much better book here, demonstrating that he can be an excellent writer. I’d give this book a 4.5 out of 5! For a standalone book, this is most excellent indeed.
What makes this book so interesting is the frame of reference that it has. This book came out after a string of Borg related standalones like Resistance, Death in Winter, Homecoming/Farther Shore, and the ever climactic Before Dishonor. However, it is the prelude to the Destiny Trilogy, the trilogy billed as “The Beginning and the End of the Borg”. This would create a dilemma for Bennett, as his story would need to be really good to stand out in a crowded field. Thankfully, Bennett was up to the task, for this is an excellent book.
This isn’t a particularly big book in scope. The borg threat here is relatively small and is cut off from the collective. However, the stakes are still high, as our crew wrestles with many deep questions regarding morality, procreation, marriage, and violence. If you are interested in the Destiny Trilogy, this book excellently distills all the themes and ideas from that trilogy into one book, providing some interesting foreshadowing that makes me want to go back and reread the Destiny Trilogy again.
Where this book is at its best is its character moments. Jean Luc Picard is wonderfully portrayed as the newlywed husband who is now worried about the future. Picard lets his worry about the Borg seep into his worry about potentially becoming a father. Everyone else seems to understand it better than Picard, yet the audience can empathize with him.
The whole Picard storyline is meshed with the whole subplot about procreation. The Star Trek shows are not always known as a family show, as very rarely do Trek characters get married and have children (Kieko/O’Brian and B’Ellana/Tom being obvious exceptions). Yet here, Bennett provides really fascinating discussions about the importance of carrying on a family line, of the purpose behind life and why it is so intricately linked to procreation, and why families are so important to an individual's life purpose. This topic threads through the story in unique and interesting ways that I really enjoyed! It is so refreshing to read about these themes when so much of Science Fiction is about the futility of the future.
This book introduces the character of T’Ryssa Chen. If you’ve read any Post-Nemesis books after this, you’ll be familiar with the character. Here, she is introduced as a character meant to be brash, arrogant, a nonconformist, and an annoying brat, and boy does she come across as all of those things. I found myself really frustrated with her throughout the book. However, I also found myself laughing at a lot of her lines and became interested in her story. Other than Jean Luc, she became the character I was most interested in the story, and she’s not even a character from the shows.
This book also balances action with Star Trek elements of discovery. Star Trek cannot simply become an action series, nor can it only be about discovering new life forms, but it needs a balance of the two. Here, Bennett creates a story that starts in the first chapter and never lets up until the end.
If you like other characters from The Next Generation, you won’t be disappointed. Beverly Crusher, Worf, and Geordi La Forge all get some page time here. Crusher’s story is almost entirely related to Picards, but La Forge had several moments that made me really feel for his character.
I was not a huge fan of Bennetts “The Captain’s Oath”, which I thought was not at all a fun read and felt like a chore at times. I still think the story was good, but perhaps the way it was told was too convoluted. However, I think Bennett turned in a much better book here, demonstrating that he can be an excellent writer. I’d give this book a 4.5 out of 5! For a standalone book, this is most excellent indeed.
October 25, 2019
I really enjoyed Greater Than the Sum. Going into it, I thought "not the Borg AGAIN!," but this turned out to be a very thoughtful and compelling story, unlike Resistance and Before Dishonor, both of which were disappointments. Christopher L. Bennett gives us a unique take on the Borg, which is difficult at this point, and also sets the story up nicely for the apocalyptic events of Star Trek: Destiny. Top marks for this novel from me; Bennett delivers not only an action-filled thriller, but a perfect character-driven story that gets to heart of what it means to be human. What more can you ask for from Star Trek?
Full review: https://www.treklit.com/2019/10/great...
Full review: https://www.treklit.com/2019/10/great...
March 6, 2019
This is another great Borg read in a series of there books that tell the story. This is the 3rd installment.
October 9, 2019
Plodding and overly wordy. Prior to this, I'd just finished a great 1,000+ page book, so I don't mind lots of words if the words add to the story. In this case, there were too many times when I was thinking, "What's the point of this? Get on with it!"
Greater Than the Sum had interesting parts, but there were too many plodding sections.
Greater Than the Sum had interesting parts, but there were too many plodding sections.
May 15, 2025
One word- HUGH!
Yes, this book introduced many new Enterprise crew members (first contact officer Lt. T'ryssa Chen, senior science officer Lt. Dina Elfiki, security chief Lt. Jasminder Choudhury and senior counselor Dr. Hegol Den), introduced a new life form and gave us the final fate of the Borg assimilated ship Einstein, but for me, the main attraction was the return of the former Borg now called Hugh.
While investigating Lt. Chen's report of a Borg attack on her ship the Rhea in a far off region of space, the Enterprise encounters a group of former Borg drones led by Hugh, whom they liberated from the Collective years before. Together, the two groups strive to defeat the Einstein before it can assimilate whatever form of quantum slipstream an unknown entity used to spirit Lt. Chen away from the Borg attack on her away team and send her clear across the galaxy.
I enjoyed yet another throwback to the TV series- it's great to see the aftermath of some of the more interesting episodes, and given the current Borg storyline permeating the books, it made perfect sense to bring Hugh back into it. We also learned a bit about some of The Eighteen- the eighteen crewmen who were taken from the Enterprise when Q originally put the ship in Borg space. One of them, Lt. Rebecca Grabowski, was freed from the Collective and found a home with Hugh and the other ex-drones.
I was also glad to see Lt. Zelik Leybenzon transfer off the Enterprise. He clearly didn't fit in on the Enterprise- as an enlisted man who was given Starfleet rank in battle, he had a disdain for officers that bled through into his ability to get along with the rest of the senior staff. I was glad to see him in a posting where he didn't have that problem any longer, but h0rrified at how badly he screwed up in his new posting.
I understand that the upcoming Destiny series will deal with the fact that the Borg have declared war on the Federation (done at the end of this book)- and shed some light on their origins.
Yes, this book introduced many new Enterprise crew members (first contact officer Lt. T'ryssa Chen, senior science officer Lt. Dina Elfiki, security chief Lt. Jasminder Choudhury and senior counselor Dr. Hegol Den), introduced a new life form and gave us the final fate of the Borg assimilated ship Einstein, but for me, the main attraction was the return of the former Borg now called Hugh.
While investigating Lt. Chen's report of a Borg attack on her ship the Rhea in a far off region of space, the Enterprise encounters a group of former Borg drones led by Hugh, whom they liberated from the Collective years before. Together, the two groups strive to defeat the Einstein before it can assimilate whatever form of quantum slipstream an unknown entity used to spirit Lt. Chen away from the Borg attack on her away team and send her clear across the galaxy.
I enjoyed yet another throwback to the TV series- it's great to see the aftermath of some of the more interesting episodes, and given the current Borg storyline permeating the books, it made perfect sense to bring Hugh back into it. We also learned a bit about some of The Eighteen- the eighteen crewmen who were taken from the Enterprise when Q originally put the ship in Borg space. One of them, Lt. Rebecca Grabowski, was freed from the Collective and found a home with Hugh and the other ex-drones.
I was also glad to see Lt. Zelik Leybenzon transfer off the Enterprise. He clearly didn't fit in on the Enterprise- as an enlisted man who was given Starfleet rank in battle, he had a disdain for officers that bled through into his ability to get along with the rest of the senior staff. I was glad to see him in a posting where he didn't have that problem any longer, but h0rrified at how badly he screwed up in his new posting.
I understand that the upcoming Destiny series will deal with the fact that the Borg have declared war on the Federation (done at the end of this book)- and shed some light on their origins.
January 12, 2013
It starts off promisingly with an intriguing action sequence but then it starts to drag and I couldn't finish it. The main reason why it drags is that it focuses on a new character: a commissioned Star Fleet officer who speaks and acts like a mischievous, petulant, 10 year old child. This sort of comic relief character often works in anime to deflate the egos of the very serious regular characters. It even works in Star Trek, if the character is from an alien race where such behaviour is normal, like the Q. Even within Star Fleet, enlisted crewmen can be quite rough around the edges.
But the one thing we know about Star Fleet academy is that it is very very very difficult to get into. Even genius level characters like Picard and Crusher had to make multiple attempts to gain entry. We don't know how exactly how many students they admit, but we know it's less than 0.001% of those who apply. They are the Galaxy's absolute best. There is simply no way they would even admit this character, let alone let her graduate and become an officer. Therefore every time she opens her mouth it ruins the suspension of disbelief and takes the reader out of the story.
But the one thing we know about Star Fleet academy is that it is very very very difficult to get into. Even genius level characters like Picard and Crusher had to make multiple attempts to gain entry. We don't know how exactly how many students they admit, but we know it's less than 0.001% of those who apply. They are the Galaxy's absolute best. There is simply no way they would even admit this character, let alone let her graduate and become an officer. Therefore every time she opens her mouth it ruins the suspension of disbelief and takes the reader out of the story.
April 13, 2025
One of the novels written as part of the massive interconnected Star Trek litverse that carried us through the gap between Nemesis and Picard, this book was one of the ones I missed the first time around, but one I wanted to read as it introduced one of my all time favorite literary only Trek characters, T’ryssa Chen. A half Vulcan not at all raised with the discipline of logic, she has always stuck out to me as a unique character within the trek universe.
Set in what is now known as the First Splinter Timeline of the trek universe, this book takes place after the death of Admiral Janeway and several encounters with the Borg of that timeline. When the USS Rhea is sent to investigate a distant area of space, she encounters both the assimiliated USS Einstein (thereafter dubbed the Frankenstein), and life forms Chen comes to call ‘Noh Angels’. Following the vessel’s apparent assimiliation, Chen finds herself on the world of Maravel.
Taking place after the novel Before Dishonor, the story introduces the crew of the Enteprise E following the attack of the Borg ‘supercube’ under the command of Admiral Janeway, now assimilated by the Borg. Featuring legacy characters Captain Picard, Worf, Geordi, Guinan, and Dr. Crusher, they are joined by several literary only characters as well as coming to assume the final configuration of Picard’s command staff following the departure of Lieutenant Leybenzon and Counselor T’Lana. Most significant is the addition and debut of Lieutenant T’ryssa Chen. A character with a unique viewpoint and a great sense of humor, Chen is one of the few characters in trek I’ve encountered with the unique characteristic I like to call verbal diarrhea. Unable sometimes to keep anything that pops into her mind from coming out of her mouth, most often this is seen in quirky characters that tend to stand out, and such is the case with Chen.
Sent to investigate the reappearance of the USS Einstein, last seen assimilated by the Borg during the assault from the ‘supercube’, the Enterprise E returns to its last known location along with the only crewmember who survived the assault on the Rhea, T’ryssa Chen. Ordered to find and destroy the assimilated ship by any means necessary, they are issued the rare transphasic torpedoes and sent to prevent it from acquiring slipstream technology before it’s too late.
I was really eager to read this book, admittedly to see where T’ryssa Chen came from. Most of the time books about the Borg (and the majority of episodes) are guaranteed hits with me, but this book suffers slightly (from no fault of its own) from coming after some of these less than stellar entries in my personal opinion. Now while I didn’t care much for the preceding novel in which case I felt it was not in sync with the Borg or the trek litverse in general, I also didn’t enjoy the way Captain Janeway was killed off, which to me seemed just not fitting of the character. For that matter, her entire plot arc in the book just didn’t make sense to me.
But other than some early references to the last two Borg plotlines, the book improved steadily as it progressed. Having read some of Christopher Bennett’s work before, I knew enough to know I liked his writing style as well as his handling of Lieutenant Chen. Well written and focused, the novel brings back Guinan to the Enteprise E, as well as at least in my opinion, serving to correct things as a whole. The Enterprise E crew had long lacked the cohesion it had following Commander Riker’s departure and Data’s death, and it was this novel I feel it was restored.
Faced with the renewed threat of the Borg, the ship is sent after an isolated vessel that is seeking slipstream capability, the newest and nearly limitless transportation technology that would make the collective practically unstoppable. While not a new plotline even to the litverse, they managed to find enough ways to make it plausible placing it in a difficult to traverse and isolated area of space.
At the same time, the crew is trying to learn to adjust to the latest changes in the command structure, including the newest addition for the mission at hand, Lieutenant Chen. With a tendency to blurt out off color observations and talk when she’s nervous, she comes across to some of the crew as undisciplined and not Enterprise material, but Captain Picard sees something in her that brings him to keep her on board, at least enough to give her a chance as the ship’s contact specialist.
As the mission progresses, Chen becomes a part of the crew, learning how to mesh with the rest of the characters as her unique nature brings a breath of fresh air to the crew. I really liked the way the author handled both her dual nature as a half Vulcan and the way people’s expectations of your race can color what they think of you whether it’s fair or not for that to be the case. Probably the least Vulcan like of any character in trek, she has the genes, but was never raised on Vulcan and it really just takes an approach that Star Trek has really not often taken with characters having Vulcan heritage with the possible exception of Sybok.
This book is also notable for bringing back the character of Hugh, which has not been seen since TNG’s “Descent, Part I and II”. Superceded by the events of Picard it was definitely one of the events that no longer meshed with the new canon, but it was nice to see the character again, and having seen him on Picard gave me a mental picture of what he looks like now so it really helped the story in my mind.
What I didn’t know at the time was that the book is also the novel immediately preceding the Star Trek Destiny trilogy, definitely the finest trek books ever written, at least if you ask me. A story of the all out attack by the Borg, it was the Avengers Infinity War and Endgame of the Star Trek universe, so it was nice to see how all that was set into motion.
In conclusion, definitely a book I was glad to have gone back and read.
Set in what is now known as the First Splinter Timeline of the trek universe, this book takes place after the death of Admiral Janeway and several encounters with the Borg of that timeline. When the USS Rhea is sent to investigate a distant area of space, she encounters both the assimiliated USS Einstein (thereafter dubbed the Frankenstein), and life forms Chen comes to call ‘Noh Angels’. Following the vessel’s apparent assimiliation, Chen finds herself on the world of Maravel.
Taking place after the novel Before Dishonor, the story introduces the crew of the Enteprise E following the attack of the Borg ‘supercube’ under the command of Admiral Janeway, now assimilated by the Borg. Featuring legacy characters Captain Picard, Worf, Geordi, Guinan, and Dr. Crusher, they are joined by several literary only characters as well as coming to assume the final configuration of Picard’s command staff following the departure of Lieutenant Leybenzon and Counselor T’Lana. Most significant is the addition and debut of Lieutenant T’ryssa Chen. A character with a unique viewpoint and a great sense of humor, Chen is one of the few characters in trek I’ve encountered with the unique characteristic I like to call verbal diarrhea. Unable sometimes to keep anything that pops into her mind from coming out of her mouth, most often this is seen in quirky characters that tend to stand out, and such is the case with Chen.
Sent to investigate the reappearance of the USS Einstein, last seen assimilated by the Borg during the assault from the ‘supercube’, the Enterprise E returns to its last known location along with the only crewmember who survived the assault on the Rhea, T’ryssa Chen. Ordered to find and destroy the assimilated ship by any means necessary, they are issued the rare transphasic torpedoes and sent to prevent it from acquiring slipstream technology before it’s too late.
I was really eager to read this book, admittedly to see where T’ryssa Chen came from. Most of the time books about the Borg (and the majority of episodes) are guaranteed hits with me, but this book suffers slightly (from no fault of its own) from coming after some of these less than stellar entries in my personal opinion. Now while I didn’t care much for the preceding novel in which case I felt it was not in sync with the Borg or the trek litverse in general, I also didn’t enjoy the way Captain Janeway was killed off, which to me seemed just not fitting of the character. For that matter, her entire plot arc in the book just didn’t make sense to me.
But other than some early references to the last two Borg plotlines, the book improved steadily as it progressed. Having read some of Christopher Bennett’s work before, I knew enough to know I liked his writing style as well as his handling of Lieutenant Chen. Well written and focused, the novel brings back Guinan to the Enteprise E, as well as at least in my opinion, serving to correct things as a whole. The Enterprise E crew had long lacked the cohesion it had following Commander Riker’s departure and Data’s death, and it was this novel I feel it was restored.
Faced with the renewed threat of the Borg, the ship is sent after an isolated vessel that is seeking slipstream capability, the newest and nearly limitless transportation technology that would make the collective practically unstoppable. While not a new plotline even to the litverse, they managed to find enough ways to make it plausible placing it in a difficult to traverse and isolated area of space.
At the same time, the crew is trying to learn to adjust to the latest changes in the command structure, including the newest addition for the mission at hand, Lieutenant Chen. With a tendency to blurt out off color observations and talk when she’s nervous, she comes across to some of the crew as undisciplined and not Enterprise material, but Captain Picard sees something in her that brings him to keep her on board, at least enough to give her a chance as the ship’s contact specialist.
As the mission progresses, Chen becomes a part of the crew, learning how to mesh with the rest of the characters as her unique nature brings a breath of fresh air to the crew. I really liked the way the author handled both her dual nature as a half Vulcan and the way people’s expectations of your race can color what they think of you whether it’s fair or not for that to be the case. Probably the least Vulcan like of any character in trek, she has the genes, but was never raised on Vulcan and it really just takes an approach that Star Trek has really not often taken with characters having Vulcan heritage with the possible exception of Sybok.
This book is also notable for bringing back the character of Hugh, which has not been seen since TNG’s “Descent, Part I and II”. Superceded by the events of Picard it was definitely one of the events that no longer meshed with the new canon, but it was nice to see the character again, and having seen him on Picard gave me a mental picture of what he looks like now so it really helped the story in my mind.
What I didn’t know at the time was that the book is also the novel immediately preceding the Star Trek Destiny trilogy, definitely the finest trek books ever written, at least if you ask me. A story of the all out attack by the Borg, it was the Avengers Infinity War and Endgame of the Star Trek universe, so it was nice to see how all that was set into motion.
In conclusion, definitely a book I was glad to have gone back and read.
January 7, 2025
I hadn't read a Trek book in a while and I somehow missed this one when it came out.
This spent a lot of time playing catch up from previous novels, movies, and television episodes. When it finally does get going, it's fairly entertaining. I enjoyed the new crew member T'Ryrssa Chen, who's not as annoying as she starts out. The Borg are the big bads, once again, and it does come across as a bit of Borg OD, but by the time the climax came about I was happy.
I wasn't thrilled with Picard pondering fatherhood with wife Beverly, which seemed to pad out the book. I was happy to see the supporting star from a previous series in the beginning of this book, as well as a famous guest star from two episodes of Next Gen. Both of these characters are appearing in Picard, so it was neat to read about them in this.
If you have a Trek itch, this will soothe it. There are better books and there are much worse. An average Trek novel.
This spent a lot of time playing catch up from previous novels, movies, and television episodes. When it finally does get going, it's fairly entertaining. I enjoyed the new crew member T'Ryrssa Chen, who's not as annoying as she starts out. The Borg are the big bads, once again, and it does come across as a bit of Borg OD, but by the time the climax came about I was happy.
I wasn't thrilled with Picard pondering fatherhood with wife Beverly, which seemed to pad out the book. I was happy to see the supporting star from a previous series in the beginning of this book, as well as a famous guest star from two episodes of Next Gen. Both of these characters are appearing in Picard, so it was neat to read about them in this.
If you have a Trek itch, this will soothe it. There are better books and there are much worse. An average Trek novel.
January 22, 2015
I was pleasantly surprised at how well written this book is. I occasionally read Star Trek novels as a diversion from my usual love of mysteries. I have found that some of the ST books have good stories but average writing. This story made me feel the emotions of even the more minor characters. Well known characters like Picard and Guinin were developed in ways that let me see them differently.
This book is part of a series, and I haven't read the previous books. Like any well written novel, I was able to follow the story without the backstory. That is hard to achieve, especially in sci fi. I would recommend this book, yet I would have not read it out of order had I realized it was part of a series. I happen to REALLY like reading a series in order. LOL
This book is part of a series, and I haven't read the previous books. Like any well written novel, I was able to follow the story without the backstory. That is hard to achieve, especially in sci fi. I would recommend this book, yet I would have not read it out of order had I realized it was part of a series. I happen to REALLY like reading a series in order. LOL
April 12, 2024
GREATER THAN THE SUM is a book I bought in paperback and then bought in Kindle format because I enjoyed reading it twice. It's definitely a book that benefits from reading BEFORE DISHONOR first, though I enjoyed it both before I read the latter and just moreso afterward. It deals with some of the fallout of that book and the scenes resonate better if you've read it first. Do I wish that T'Lana and Zelik Leybenzon had stayed on the Enterprise? Yes. Probably unrealistic given what happened in Before Dishonor but I would have enjoyed them dealing with the crew. I understand this wasn't Christopher Bennett's choice, though, but something dictated from on high.
The biggest thing I love about this book is T'Ryssa Chen and she is easily my favorite character from the original TrekLit characters. Yes, that beats out the cast of NEW FRONTIER, VANGUARD, and even the Picard novels. She's a bubbly, exuberant human-choosing Vulcan that reminds me of a number of more fondly remembered ex-girlfriends who just so happened to have all been Trekkies themselves. If I had to vote for any of the TrekLit characters to come back then I'd definitely choose her and hope she gets revived in the Nu Expanded Universe at some point.
I think there's a lot to like about T'Ryssa Chen beyond the fact I'd love to see her in live action too (Jessica Henwick?). She's a character that shows a wonderful to contrast with Spock with him choosing Vulcan and her choosing human. The specter of Spock must also hang over her as the ultimate example of a half-human/half-Vulcan in Starfleet. However, she's more like B'Elanna Torres in that just makes her even more likely to reject her alien heritage. Picard helping her accept her Vulcan side without rejecting her human was good too.
More likeable characters are created with Choudhury, who is the kind of peaceful warrior that Jedi should aspire to being (while also being entirely based in real life spiritual/cultural practices) and seems to be the only security officer trained in conflict de-escalation until (of all people) Shanx. I also like Elfika even if it's only the humor that poor Geordi, the most sexually frustrated of TNG's crew, gets assumed to be uninterested in her because he's blind. That was a very relatable moment and just Geordi's luck.
The book is another Borg story and that's probably inevitable given it is a lead-in for the controversial but very enjoyable "Destiny" universe tales. Basically, I feel like the Borg work best in small doses and they were somewhat overexposed by this time (even if I feel like S3 Picard confirming they're all dead was a waste). Christopher Bennett does a good job combining your typical Borg story with a V'Ger/Nomad-esque, "we encounter something utterly beyond our understanding" sort of tale.
It reminds me of how he handled the aftermath of TMP with EX MACHINA and I think it is a very good "Clarke-ian" sort of sci-fi. Which is the best term I can put for this sort of Trek tale and works better than the Borg themselves. I would have enjoyed it even if it was trying to keep the Klingons, Romulans, or whoever from getting the alien planet's power. It didn't need to be the Borg but the fact it is the Borg works well as Christopher takes advantage of it to incorporate Hugh into the story.
It's interesting to contrast this version of Hugh with Picard Season 1's and I think I like both of them about equally. Hugh continues to lead the Liberated Borg and wants to, err, well, make himself capable of procreation again--which is a nicely direct way of addressing what we could all guess was going on down there. I also appreciate the book addresses the idiotic statement the Borg didn't procreate in VOY and just assimilated other species (how inefficient). I actually was more interested in Captain Picard meeting one of his original lost crewmen from "The Best of Both Worlds" and how she had begun a relationship with Hugh.
I admit I was confused about her final decision as Hugh willingly sacrifices his life so she can go visit her daughter and then she decides...not to. Ouch. Way to render another person's sacrifice meaningless--I get her reasoning but I think I'd have at least said I was going to keep in touch with her--it also makes me wonder if Rebekah ascended with the caeliar and abandoned her daughter completely. I do also give props for CB causally mentioning her daughter was in a relationship with another woman and not being at all noteworthy by her mother except for how happy it made Rebekah. I recall that was still a bit of a push in Star Trek at the time.
I can't say I was really all that into Picard and Beverly Crusher's storyline regarding whether or not to have a family or not, but I think it was handled better here than a similar one in P2 and 3. Another prop is the fact that reproductive science in the 24th century means that it's not any sort of issue over whether or not she can have a child, though. They never developed uterine replicators in the 24th century like, say, the Vorkosigan Saga but you certainly would like to see progress there.
Any other issues? Hmmm. I feel ending Hugh's story here was something of a waste, especially with the culture built up in the book (and which is gone by Destiny). but as deaths go, he died for the woman he loved knowing fully he was going to do it. Few of us get as honorable a way to go. I also feel Kadohata got off too easy. She's there standing beside T'Ryssa, judging her as unprofessional and not Enterprise material, when she just got off on a failed mutiny. I'm surprised T'Ryssa didn't throw it back in her face.
Fantastic book.
The biggest thing I love about this book is T'Ryssa Chen and she is easily my favorite character from the original TrekLit characters. Yes, that beats out the cast of NEW FRONTIER, VANGUARD, and even the Picard novels. She's a bubbly, exuberant human-choosing Vulcan that reminds me of a number of more fondly remembered ex-girlfriends who just so happened to have all been Trekkies themselves. If I had to vote for any of the TrekLit characters to come back then I'd definitely choose her and hope she gets revived in the Nu Expanded Universe at some point.
I think there's a lot to like about T'Ryssa Chen beyond the fact I'd love to see her in live action too (Jessica Henwick?). She's a character that shows a wonderful to contrast with Spock with him choosing Vulcan and her choosing human. The specter of Spock must also hang over her as the ultimate example of a half-human/half-Vulcan in Starfleet. However, she's more like B'Elanna Torres in that just makes her even more likely to reject her alien heritage. Picard helping her accept her Vulcan side without rejecting her human was good too.
More likeable characters are created with Choudhury, who is the kind of peaceful warrior that Jedi should aspire to being (while also being entirely based in real life spiritual/cultural practices) and seems to be the only security officer trained in conflict de-escalation until (of all people) Shanx. I also like Elfika even if it's only the humor that poor Geordi, the most sexually frustrated of TNG's crew, gets assumed to be uninterested in her because he's blind. That was a very relatable moment and just Geordi's luck.
The book is another Borg story and that's probably inevitable given it is a lead-in for the controversial but very enjoyable "Destiny" universe tales. Basically, I feel like the Borg work best in small doses and they were somewhat overexposed by this time (even if I feel like S3 Picard confirming they're all dead was a waste). Christopher Bennett does a good job combining your typical Borg story with a V'Ger/Nomad-esque, "we encounter something utterly beyond our understanding" sort of tale.
It reminds me of how he handled the aftermath of TMP with EX MACHINA and I think it is a very good "Clarke-ian" sort of sci-fi. Which is the best term I can put for this sort of Trek tale and works better than the Borg themselves. I would have enjoyed it even if it was trying to keep the Klingons, Romulans, or whoever from getting the alien planet's power. It didn't need to be the Borg but the fact it is the Borg works well as Christopher takes advantage of it to incorporate Hugh into the story.
It's interesting to contrast this version of Hugh with Picard Season 1's and I think I like both of them about equally. Hugh continues to lead the Liberated Borg and wants to, err, well, make himself capable of procreation again--which is a nicely direct way of addressing what we could all guess was going on down there. I also appreciate the book addresses the idiotic statement the Borg didn't procreate in VOY and just assimilated other species (how inefficient). I actually was more interested in Captain Picard meeting one of his original lost crewmen from "The Best of Both Worlds" and how she had begun a relationship with Hugh.
I admit I was confused about her final decision as Hugh willingly sacrifices his life so she can go visit her daughter and then she decides...not to. Ouch. Way to render another person's sacrifice meaningless--I get her reasoning but I think I'd have at least said I was going to keep in touch with her--it also makes me wonder if Rebekah ascended with the caeliar and abandoned her daughter completely. I do also give props for CB causally mentioning her daughter was in a relationship with another woman and not being at all noteworthy by her mother except for how happy it made Rebekah. I recall that was still a bit of a push in Star Trek at the time.
I can't say I was really all that into Picard and Beverly Crusher's storyline regarding whether or not to have a family or not, but I think it was handled better here than a similar one in P2 and 3. Another prop is the fact that reproductive science in the 24th century means that it's not any sort of issue over whether or not she can have a child, though. They never developed uterine replicators in the 24th century like, say, the Vorkosigan Saga but you certainly would like to see progress there.
Any other issues? Hmmm. I feel ending Hugh's story here was something of a waste, especially with the culture built up in the book (and which is gone by Destiny). but as deaths go, he died for the woman he loved knowing fully he was going to do it. Few of us get as honorable a way to go. I also feel Kadohata got off too easy. She's there standing beside T'Ryssa, judging her as unprofessional and not Enterprise material, when she just got off on a failed mutiny. I'm surprised T'Ryssa didn't throw it back in her face.
Fantastic book.
October 13, 2008
Wasn't as bad as the previous TNG outing (Before Dishonor) - although it seems like the writers are always getting The Borg involved. ALWAYS. Why?
February 4, 2017
One of the best Star Trek books I've read in a long time. I don't know how I missed this when it first came out.
June 15, 2018
The Borg are back in the form of the heavily Borgified and added to USS Einstein currently dubbed the Frankenstein due to its added to status! :D The USS Rhea encounters them under the command of the Captain Bazel a long time friend of Picard's in in area of space the seems to suffer spacial anomalies in abundance in addition to having a preponderance of Carbon plants that are unusually to say the least! :D Needless to point out things go a little badly initially for the Rhea resulting in only one crew member Lt. T'Ryssa who is somewhat of an oddball! :D She finds herself on the planet Maravel where after being retrieved by Starfleet ends up on the Enterprise which is setting out to investigate and take on the Borg once again! :D
Greater Than the Sum that the sum has an earnest feel to it as it is busily setting up the Borg crisis but it does it with cool style! :D T'Ryssa is a crazy character who definitely puts into a spin every character that she encounters for good or bad and her ability to talk to Qinqy takes the book off in different directions even allowing for Elves for have a strange resemblance to Vulcan's......! :D Lol Picard though is confronted with the Borg and his greatest fear of children which gives the book more clever emotional wallops as we see Picard resulting with what it would be not to mention the dagger looks for Crusher! :D We also get to catch up with Hugh of Borg who has grown into the Leader of the Liberated which consists of a group of Borg that are liberated or having developed their own personalties after being liberated from such liberation successes such as Unimatrix Zero! :D We also rediscover one the of the Enterprise D's former Lieutenant's that of Rebekah Grabowski which puts a clever spin on things as through her and Hugh you learn that the Liberated are trying to become a society and this neatly dovetails with Crusher and Picard's family plans giving each scene resonance the really shows of the characters and how much they have been growing brilliantly and at the same neatly tying things into past events and setting up things for future books! :D The idea of a Liberated society is extremely clever as they could seriously develop in unexpected ways perhaps even having a culture like Ensign Torvig from Choblik on Titan and with a little guidance not down the Borg/ Terminator route! :D We also get an interlude with the USS Bhutto and catch up with Lt Leybenzon and needless to point he is having a career problems induced by the Borg that neatly set things up for upcoming events!
Greater Than the Sum sees the crew not only battling the Borg but at the same time actually getting some bona-fide exploring and first contact in as well and during the process of the book we get to see the crew gelling as well as the Admiralty getting along with Picard, Nechayev inviting Picard for tea and sandwiches is a neat playback and wink to what he had done for her in the past, and at the same time this enables Picard's to clean house and to have a totally committed and loyal crew! :D This gives the books a very different feel and with T'Ryssa making sure that no one gets complacent ! :D The natural computer intelligence Qinqy is cleverly designed as well and the way that it is so different is excellently done with the crew desperate to get across what they mean to it, with the Borg breathing down their necks really gives that action a desperate sense as it continues to ramp up throughout the book! :D The battle are epic as are the personal stakes throughout and the ending of the book really sets up things for future books both on a galaxy wide scale but also on personal level for our characters as the Borg seem to ramming things up for total war setting the stage for a confrontation on the epic scale! :D
Greater Than the Sum sums up it's title brilliantly both on a personal level for the characters and how they work better together but on a galaxy wide level in how people are and species are better standing together than apart and this rammed home spectacularly throughout with all the characters living up to this ideal in true fashion! D Greater Than the Sum is clever, witty, a complete turn around, brilliant fun and action packed! :D Crisp high five! :D Make sure you have the next one! :D
Greater Than the Sum that the sum has an earnest feel to it as it is busily setting up the Borg crisis but it does it with cool style! :D T'Ryssa is a crazy character who definitely puts into a spin every character that she encounters for good or bad and her ability to talk to Qinqy takes the book off in different directions even allowing for Elves for have a strange resemblance to Vulcan's......! :D Lol Picard though is confronted with the Borg and his greatest fear of children which gives the book more clever emotional wallops as we see Picard resulting with what it would be not to mention the dagger looks for Crusher! :D We also get to catch up with Hugh of Borg who has grown into the Leader of the Liberated which consists of a group of Borg that are liberated or having developed their own personalties after being liberated from such liberation successes such as Unimatrix Zero! :D We also rediscover one the of the Enterprise D's former Lieutenant's that of Rebekah Grabowski which puts a clever spin on things as through her and Hugh you learn that the Liberated are trying to become a society and this neatly dovetails with Crusher and Picard's family plans giving each scene resonance the really shows of the characters and how much they have been growing brilliantly and at the same neatly tying things into past events and setting up things for future books! :D The idea of a Liberated society is extremely clever as they could seriously develop in unexpected ways perhaps even having a culture like Ensign Torvig from Choblik on Titan and with a little guidance not down the Borg/ Terminator route! :D We also get an interlude with the USS Bhutto and catch up with Lt Leybenzon and needless to point he is having a career problems induced by the Borg that neatly set things up for upcoming events!
Greater Than the Sum sees the crew not only battling the Borg but at the same time actually getting some bona-fide exploring and first contact in as well and during the process of the book we get to see the crew gelling as well as the Admiralty getting along with Picard, Nechayev inviting Picard for tea and sandwiches is a neat playback and wink to what he had done for her in the past, and at the same time this enables Picard's to clean house and to have a totally committed and loyal crew! :D This gives the books a very different feel and with T'Ryssa making sure that no one gets complacent ! :D The natural computer intelligence Qinqy is cleverly designed as well and the way that it is so different is excellently done with the crew desperate to get across what they mean to it, with the Borg breathing down their necks really gives that action a desperate sense as it continues to ramp up throughout the book! :D The battle are epic as are the personal stakes throughout and the ending of the book really sets up things for future books both on a galaxy wide scale but also on personal level for our characters as the Borg seem to ramming things up for total war setting the stage for a confrontation on the epic scale! :D
Greater Than the Sum sums up it's title brilliantly both on a personal level for the characters and how they work better together but on a galaxy wide level in how people are and species are better standing together than apart and this rammed home spectacularly throughout with all the characters living up to this ideal in true fashion! D Greater Than the Sum is clever, witty, a complete turn around, brilliant fun and action packed! :D Crisp high five! :D Make sure you have the next one! :D
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2024
Star Trek: TNG - Greater Than the Sum by Christopher L. Bennett - Fifth book in The Second Decade series...and part of the Trek-Lit Flowchart Reading
Adventurous, challenging, emotional, funny,
hopeful, inspiring, reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25 Stars
This was a true TENSION build story. Being the fifth book, and at the outset, not knowing HOW big the Borg were going to be involved...and also making the Borg even MORE menacing than they already are. Jeesh.
The characters within this series and individual books are so well written. One author initiates us into the character's mind/story, but then another author carries it to the next story, then another author...it is so good. We grow to either, love or hate them (sometimes both). This series is doing an amazing job with the ancillary characters that support the main crew of the Enterprise.
I really liked T'Ryssa Chen, being the person that she is (upending expectations) about her race and her character. She's not the model for Starfleet, but she's a character that is used REALLY well in this story. She is OUR eyes/ears, and we believe it, BECAUSE of her natural responses...and there were a number of laugh out loud moments in this book. I had fun with her. Not to say she wasn't frustrating. We know the mold of Starfleet, and she's truly unconventional/unorthodox, for sure.
Security Chief Leybenzon's arc was a surprise, but then also NOT. I grew to like him, and then dislike him, but not wanting him to die (or anything), but I understand his frustrations, too.
Jasminder Choudhury was a good character for the story, and one that could often be overlooked. She definitely has an interesting view on how she "attacks" her job, but one that makes you rethink "how could it be any different" and she shows you how...and that it works...for a reason.
Glad that Miranda Kadohata is back in this story. With what happened in the last book, I had my doubts. Glad that she stuck it out, and her character built upon that previous failure...and is better for it, for her career and for us readers...learning from her struggle. So good.
Interesting new counselor, and the the rank/position is different. Thought that was fixing an "error" of the past, but also making the crew more effective.
Now the main characters from the crew...obviously Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher...and their ongoing struggles were fun to see develop (or not). Their internal dynamics are fun to read about...and also their strengths and insecurities. So well revealed in this story.
Worf and LaForge had two arcs that I enjoyed. Poor Geordi, his love life/work balance is out of skue, that's for sure. Worf, having to deal with a co-worker that "seems" to have a COMPLETELY different view on his former job/position, but how that was resolved was fun to read, too.
The Borg are the main bad guys, obviously...but there's also an added development in this story about the "creatures" that are "in their way", that makes this story interesting and complex.
Not a fan of cliffhangers, but less so...since I am practically binge reading this series.
Not sure WHEN I'll pick up this thread, for I am going back a few steps and reading Taking WIng, #1 in the Titan series. This is a good point to make this transition. I will come back to THIS thread in a bit.
Adventurous, challenging, emotional, funny,
hopeful, inspiring, reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25 Stars
This was a true TENSION build story. Being the fifth book, and at the outset, not knowing HOW big the Borg were going to be involved...and also making the Borg even MORE menacing than they already are. Jeesh.
The characters within this series and individual books are so well written. One author initiates us into the character's mind/story, but then another author carries it to the next story, then another author...it is so good. We grow to either, love or hate them (sometimes both). This series is doing an amazing job with the ancillary characters that support the main crew of the Enterprise.
I really liked T'Ryssa Chen, being the person that she is (upending expectations) about her race and her character. She's not the model for Starfleet, but she's a character that is used REALLY well in this story. She is OUR eyes/ears, and we believe it, BECAUSE of her natural responses...and there were a number of laugh out loud moments in this book. I had fun with her. Not to say she wasn't frustrating. We know the mold of Starfleet, and she's truly unconventional/unorthodox, for sure.
Security Chief Leybenzon's arc was a surprise, but then also NOT. I grew to like him, and then dislike him, but not wanting him to die (or anything), but I understand his frustrations, too.
Jasminder Choudhury was a good character for the story, and one that could often be overlooked. She definitely has an interesting view on how she "attacks" her job, but one that makes you rethink "how could it be any different" and she shows you how...and that it works...for a reason.
Glad that Miranda Kadohata is back in this story. With what happened in the last book, I had my doubts. Glad that she stuck it out, and her character built upon that previous failure...and is better for it, for her career and for us readers...learning from her struggle. So good.
Interesting new counselor, and the the rank/position is different. Thought that was fixing an "error" of the past, but also making the crew more effective.
Now the main characters from the crew...obviously Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher...and their ongoing struggles were fun to see develop (or not). Their internal dynamics are fun to read about...and also their strengths and insecurities. So well revealed in this story.
Worf and LaForge had two arcs that I enjoyed. Poor Geordi, his love life/work balance is out of skue, that's for sure. Worf, having to deal with a co-worker that "seems" to have a COMPLETELY different view on his former job/position, but how that was resolved was fun to read, too.
The Borg are the main bad guys, obviously...but there's also an added development in this story about the "creatures" that are "in their way", that makes this story interesting and complex.
Not a fan of cliffhangers, but less so...since I am practically binge reading this series.
Not sure WHEN I'll pick up this thread, for I am going back a few steps and reading Taking WIng, #1 in the Titan series. This is a good point to make this transition. I will come back to THIS thread in a bit.
May 16, 2024
Across the table, Worf was still being Word. "A junior lieutenant with a history of discipline problems walks out of the woods naked and tells us the Borg are coming," the Klingon asked, "and we are supposed to believe her?"
3.5 stars. This book caught my interest early on in how T'Ryssa was seemingly transported somewhere completely different just like that and ended up warning about the Borg. That gave for some funny moments as well. It was also interesting overall involving new beings so different from anything else that I just wanted to know more about them, and then there were the Borg thrown into the mix and the risk of them getting their hands on the pretty much instant transportation these beings have. That sums it all up pretty well and gave an interesting story to be told as the Enterprise fights to once again stop the Borg.
He clasped her hand in both of his. "I... I understand, Beverly. But it's still difficult. Thinking about this... it makes me vulnerable. Unsure of myself. Literally - it dredges up memories of another life, another self. I can't deal with that now, Beverly. With the Borg coming, I have to be... bloody, bold and resolute. I have to be a soldier, a commander. I can't afford this vulnerability."
What I feel like I perhaps enjoyed the most, though, was the crew coming together and how they interacted with each other. To me there was some good character development here, and I especially liked some of the scenes with Picard and Crusher. It was good writing and vulnerability as Picard's other life as Kamin so long ago (remember the episode The Inner Light?) and how that was still affecting him. T'Ryssa felt a bit childish to me as a character as I started out, though, but in time even she started growing on me somewhat.
"Unless the knowledge was lost. They may not even know where they came from. Like you say, they're slaves to the program. And they're driven to go forward. Why would they even look into their past? I bet there's a ton about the Borg's origins that even they don't know."
This part made me long even more for the Destiny trilogy starting with Gods of Night that I plan to read sometime during the summer. It's been a lot of Borg lately, but I feel like their origin is something that haven't really been touched upon from what I can remember. Definitely not much, if even at all. So this is something that I really look forward to and this being mentioned here heightens my interest in the Borg again.
May 4, 2023
This is yet another Borg-related novel in the post-Nemesis TNG relaunch series. By this point, Picard and Beverly are married. More details of this are written in the much later published Q Are Cordially Uninvited. Having read that a year ago, I jumped into Greater Than the Sum after finishing Before Dishonor. While Before Dishonor had a lot of really short chapters, Greater Than the Sum has a dozen long chapters, though it is quite easy to get through them.
I can't really explain why, but it feels weird that Picard is debating whether or not he and Beverly should have a child. He wants to continue the Picard legacy, but I kind of feel like that's a selfish reason to consider having a child. However, he keeps thinking duty should come first and that he and Beverly should put a pin in it while the universe does not feel safe enough with the Borg around. It's fascinating to compare and contrast all this with how things are in Star Trek: Picard. It's also really creepy when there's an entity that wants to observe how humans procreate. And I sometimes feel like this story rubs me the wrong way at points where it feels like it's saying procreating is the thing that matters most.
There are a couple other odd things here and there. Worf feels classic Worf (not in a good way) when he says he feels outnumbered now that there are more women than men on the bridge. Geordi points out how there are two of them now and there was a time when Troi and Crusher were the only two women on the bridge, so he sees it as fair. Then Worf says something like, "No wonder you've never had luck with women." Um...what? And then Worf tells a newer character about how much he's grown over the years. It almost feels like there are two different writers for Worf in this book.
Speaking of Geordi, there’s a moment where he mentions that B-4 is at the Daystrom Institute and that it will be decided whether he is a sentient being. Having read Articles of the Federation, I felt rewarded for having read what he’s referencing. He also feels bad for finding B-4 annoying and resenting him for essentially replacing his friend. It all feels very organic for him to have all these confusing feelings, wondering whether he’s a terrible person.
While this is my least favorite of these Borg-related novels, there is some interesting stuff done with the Borg. Hugh himself gets his time in the spotlight for this book. Without spoiling, there are some emotional moments toward the end of this. And it looks like things are set up for the Destiny trilogy. I suppose I'll read Titan: Sword of Damocles before I get to that. (Perhaps not so coincidentally, the phrase "Borg of Damocles" is uttered in Greater Than the Sum.)
I can't really explain why, but it feels weird that Picard is debating whether or not he and Beverly should have a child. He wants to continue the Picard legacy, but I kind of feel like that's a selfish reason to consider having a child. However, he keeps thinking duty should come first and that he and Beverly should put a pin in it while the universe does not feel safe enough with the Borg around. It's fascinating to compare and contrast all this with how things are in Star Trek: Picard. It's also really creepy when there's an entity that wants to observe how humans procreate. And I sometimes feel like this story rubs me the wrong way at points where it feels like it's saying procreating is the thing that matters most.
There are a couple other odd things here and there. Worf feels classic Worf (not in a good way) when he says he feels outnumbered now that there are more women than men on the bridge. Geordi points out how there are two of them now and there was a time when Troi and Crusher were the only two women on the bridge, so he sees it as fair. Then Worf says something like, "No wonder you've never had luck with women." Um...what? And then Worf tells a newer character about how much he's grown over the years. It almost feels like there are two different writers for Worf in this book.
Speaking of Geordi, there’s a moment where he mentions that B-4 is at the Daystrom Institute and that it will be decided whether he is a sentient being. Having read Articles of the Federation, I felt rewarded for having read what he’s referencing. He also feels bad for finding B-4 annoying and resenting him for essentially replacing his friend. It all feels very organic for him to have all these confusing feelings, wondering whether he’s a terrible person.
While this is my least favorite of these Borg-related novels, there is some interesting stuff done with the Borg. Hugh himself gets his time in the spotlight for this book. Without spoiling, there are some emotional moments toward the end of this. And it looks like things are set up for the Destiny trilogy. I suppose I'll read Titan: Sword of Damocles before I get to that. (Perhaps not so coincidentally, the phrase "Borg of Damocles" is uttered in Greater Than the Sum.)
July 6, 2017
Naturally following the events of "Before Dishonor" is this effort by Christopher L. Bennett, in which Picard and crew take on a Borg-assimilated Federation starship that was part of the Borg's attempt to attack Earth.
Unfortunately, the book just didn't live up to its prequel. It was yet another slog filled with pages of character musing and backstory, and comparatively little relevant story. A problem with many Trek authors, and especially Bennett, is the use of narrative voice to give pages of character background and story filler. Readers are not interested in what "had" happened; if you're going to talk about those things, tell them to us in the present tense!
Of particular interest is the character of T'Ryssa Chen, a sort of unlikely hero in the story given her checkered past. What purpose does this character serve? Her disciplinary issues, such as failing to think before speaking, do little to endear her to me, the reader, as perhaps Bennett intended. But of course, Picard selects her as a "diplomatic officer" of sorts despite tons of worthy applicants he had on file for the job. The reason Picard needs her is because she can communicate with a powerful entity and perhaps convince it to allow Enterprise to destroy the Borg (the entity abhors violence). Why dance around the obvious solution of taking her on as a "specialist" and hiring a real, qualified officer to fill the vacancy? This character was mostly an annoyance that could have been written much better.
Then there is the climax, in which Picard gives the alien entity one of his eloquent speeches in Chen's "mind palace." This scene reads like a 1st or 2nd season TNG episode. All this buildup for an exciting SPEECH! Well, the action that follows, in which the Enterprise engages the Borg for the last time, isn't half bad. But it still wasn't worth the wait.
Just another mundane, agenda-driven installment in Treklit. Moving along....
Unfortunately, the book just didn't live up to its prequel. It was yet another slog filled with pages of character musing and backstory, and comparatively little relevant story. A problem with many Trek authors, and especially Bennett, is the use of narrative voice to give pages of character background and story filler. Readers are not interested in what "had" happened; if you're going to talk about those things, tell them to us in the present tense!
Of particular interest is the character of T'Ryssa Chen, a sort of unlikely hero in the story given her checkered past. What purpose does this character serve? Her disciplinary issues, such as failing to think before speaking, do little to endear her to me, the reader, as perhaps Bennett intended. But of course, Picard selects her as a "diplomatic officer" of sorts despite tons of worthy applicants he had on file for the job. The reason Picard needs her is because she can communicate with a powerful entity and perhaps convince it to allow Enterprise to destroy the Borg (the entity abhors violence). Why dance around the obvious solution of taking her on as a "specialist" and hiring a real, qualified officer to fill the vacancy? This character was mostly an annoyance that could have been written much better.
Then there is the climax, in which Picard gives the alien entity one of his eloquent speeches in Chen's "mind palace." This scene reads like a 1st or 2nd season TNG episode. All this buildup for an exciting SPEECH! Well, the action that follows, in which the Enterprise engages the Borg for the last time, isn't half bad. But it still wasn't worth the wait.
Just another mundane, agenda-driven installment in Treklit. Moving along....
February 5, 2025
I'm always somewhat amused by authors correcting what they perceive to be errors in earlier installments by other writers. Here, Christopher L. Bennett shakes up the crew of the Enterprise, and comments on a few moments in earlier books where it seems like characters were acting out of character. I don't know if that was deliberate or just his way of evolving the characters, but it did make me laugh. And I have a few issues with "Before Dishonor" the previous novel, so I'm fine with it.
I enjoyed Bennett's "Enteprise" relaunch novels a lot, he is clearly a big fan of the franchise and always does a great job of incorporating obscure lore into his novels. I did enjoy this one for the character work, particularly regarding Picard and Crusher, and the weird aliens but I'm so over the Borg. Once again they take centre stage as the big baddies and while they're slightly different sort of Borg, they're still the same unstoppable force... that our heroes constantly stop.
If it had been about literally any other enemy I would have been more invested but I was a little checked out because it feels like we've done all this so many times before. I know it's all leading up to a big crossover but my heart sank when I realised that also must heavily feature the Borg.
I enjoyed Bennett's "Enteprise" relaunch novels a lot, he is clearly a big fan of the franchise and always does a great job of incorporating obscure lore into his novels. I did enjoy this one for the character work, particularly regarding Picard and Crusher, and the weird aliens but I'm so over the Borg. Once again they take centre stage as the big baddies and while they're slightly different sort of Borg, they're still the same unstoppable force... that our heroes constantly stop.
If it had been about literally any other enemy I would have been more invested but I was a little checked out because it feels like we've done all this so many times before. I know it's all leading up to a big crossover but my heart sank when I realised that also must heavily feature the Borg.
September 11, 2018
I read the Destiny trilogy earlier this year so I was pleasantly surprised to discover the existence of a prequel (thanks to a good friend with a stellar Trek collection.) It sounds like there are some other books out there as well that lay the ground work for this story, but I thought there was enough explained or at least touched on that I didn't feel lost.
I enjoyed getting to see Guinan show some vulnerability, seeing the return of Hugh, and Jasminder Choudhury. I also enjoyed seeing Picard and Crusher discuss the events of TNG's "The Inner Light." Based on the comments left by other readers here, I know T'ryssa Chen was not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed her sass/sense of humor.
The plot wasn't as fast-paced as I would have liked it to be, but it was still a decent read.
3 1/2 Stars
I enjoyed getting to see Guinan show some vulnerability, seeing the return of Hugh, and Jasminder Choudhury. I also enjoyed seeing Picard and Crusher discuss the events of TNG's "The Inner Light." Based on the comments left by other readers here, I know T'ryssa Chen was not everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoyed her sass/sense of humor.
The plot wasn't as fast-paced as I would have liked it to be, but it was still a decent read.
3 1/2 Stars
April 19, 2020
3.75. I was excited to read this book, because I really liked the authors other Star Trek book The Buried Age. This one wasn't as good as that, but it was close. Once again 3 new main characters are introduced. Tbh, I'm getting kind of tired of the revolving door effect for the senior staff. I really hope these characters stay. I like the character of T'Ryssa, but don't care for the other two. I liked how the author seamlessly picked up the story where the last few books left off and filled in some holes. I also like his references to many episodes from the past.
I'm really excited to read the Destiny Trilogy that is next in the series! I've heard a lot about it, and I've been reading all the prerequisites for years, and this was finally the last one! I hope it lives up to the hype.
I'm really excited to read the Destiny Trilogy that is next in the series! I've heard a lot about it, and I've been reading all the prerequisites for years, and this was finally the last one! I hope it lives up to the hype.
September 6, 2022
Started to get fatigued with all the Borg stories post-Nemesis, though the story kept me engaged through most of it. I enjoyed Picards arc for starting a family and the general theme of reproduction. And it was great to see Hugh back! His sacrifice was a marginally better exit than Picard but it was such a shame to bring him back only to be used so Picard didn’t have to be the sacrifice. All in all I feel like it trod on old ground, the new aliens were interesting but not a huge part of the story as much as they could have been and just generally an okay story which lays on the theme a little too much.
And it looks like there’s more Borg as post-nemesis continues…
And it looks like there’s more Borg as post-nemesis continues…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2021
Här introduceras en karaktär som troligen kommer att vara med i TNG-böckerna, T'Ryssa Chen. Hon är en skakig karaktär som skakar om personerna runtomkring henne, särskilt kommendör Jean-Luc Picard, och som därför är ett välkommet tillskott till en annars välordnad (och ibland lite tråkig) befälsstruktur. Boken är en nagelbitare, som så ofta med borg-böcker, och introduktionen av flera nya varelser är oerhört spännande. Ni som gillar SCE-romaner kommer dessutom säkert även att gilla denna bok. Boken rekommenderas verkligen!
April 23, 2023
other than a nice discussion about family (that was repeated 10x until it became extremely repetitive), and a couple new characters, (and old characters returned), this book felt like a bit of a waste. until the excellent epilogue. i love that leybenzon came back just to wreck everything one last time XD
“Maybe he had wanted to die. Maybe he hadn’t felt there was a life for him in a peaceful society like the Federation, not after the crucible of the Dominion War. He could accept that.
But he might have just killed the entire Federation along with him.”
“Maybe he had wanted to die. Maybe he hadn’t felt there was a life for him in a peaceful society like the Federation, not after the crucible of the Dominion War. He could accept that.
But he might have just killed the entire Federation along with him.”
May 30, 2019
1st...I’m so tired of the Borg.
This novel did move well. The Borg was mostly background. I loved the sciences (real science). The comedy of the Picard/Crusher team was gone. Instead the author gave us Picard/Chen comedy team.
The characters new and old were fleshed considerably. I appreciate that. Unfortunately I saw all the Borg stuff coming even the build up for the next novel.
On to the next one.
This novel did move well. The Borg was mostly background. I loved the sciences (real science). The comedy of the Picard/Crusher team was gone. Instead the author gave us Picard/Chen comedy team.
The characters new and old were fleshed considerably. I appreciate that. Unfortunately I saw all the Borg stuff coming even the build up for the next novel.
On to the next one.
December 3, 2019
Read this mostly because it's considered the main "prequel" to the Destiny Trilogy. It's a solid Trek book overall. The middle third gets a tad too talky for me as if the author needed to fill pages before the climax. Picard's "daddy" issues drag on a little too much too. The alien entity was cool and very much an out of the box idea that Trek can be very good at. Overall a fun read for Trek/TNG fans
May 25, 2021
Star Trek fans criticised previous relaunch books for their inconsistencies in tone, character, and direction. Can Christopher L. Bennett tie it together, set up the forthcoming Destiny trilogy, and save the litverse from ruin?
Read the full review here on Star Trek Relaunch Book Club
Read the full review here on Star Trek Relaunch Book Club
August 2, 2023
Meh. The new nasty Borg are wonderful, and I liked that Hugh made a reappearance. But the whole Picard-Crusher marriage thing is lame. Check that: it's hyper-lame. Picard has turned into a wuss. Crusher has turned into Capt. Marvel. Sheesh. I don't care for that. And that T'Ryssa is one of the most annoying characters ever created. I hoped she'd die, I really did, but alas... Maybe not as annoying as Neelix or Barclay, but right up there on the cringe scale.
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