The omnipotent being called "Q" has been testing and meddling with the Enterprise and her crew since their first mission. When Q shows up again while the Enterprise is investigating the planet Gorsach, the Captain Picard tells the crew to simply ignore Q. But Q is there to tell them that the end of the whole universe is approaching. And that they're the cause.

Bouncing back and forth between post-Nemesis timeframe and different times amongst the Q Continuum began a bit confusingly. But we soon discover that the scenes with the Q are instances just before each time Q visits the Enterprise, starting with Encounter at Farpoint and leading up to the "present day."

The majority of the novel is a lot of build up to "the end of the universe" that was somewhat anti-climatic. And the whole mystery behind Gorsach wasn't explained enough to my liking. But we do get a deeper look into the Q Continuum and the background behind each of Q's encounters, leading up to this cataclysmic event. And as Q is one of my all-time favorite characters from the Star Trek universe, I thoroughly enjoyed reading a Trek novel that revolved around Q rather than the seemingly ever-present Borg. Q&A is humorous, fun and a refreshingly light-hearted break from some of the latest darker and heavier Trek novels. ( )

A very satisfying read for a Trek fan. Getting deja vu experiences all over. ( )

Not nearly as much fun as a Q book usually is. It relied too heavily on Next Gen epis, many of which I haven't seen ever or for a long time. Instead of filling in the information, he assumed readers would have instant recall. And Q was just not his usual fun self. ( )

I honestly didn't really have expectations for this book going in, so I was pleasantly blown away by it. The best of the (so far) three books in the "TNG relaunch" by a long shot. Keith, as usual, nails all of the show's regular characters perfectly, and all of the new characters are intriguing in their own rights as well. I look forward to hearing more from all of them. As everyone has said, the best part of the novel is Q himself-- Keith gets De Lancie's portrayal down on the page perfectly, a feat that only Peter David has also managed, and he also manages to make a coherent story out of everything that Q has ever done to annoy the Heroes of our various shows. If there's any flaw, it's that nothing happens for half the book, but I admit I did not even notice this until I was doing a mental recap of the "story so far". An easy candidate for the best Trek novel of the year. (originally written November 2007)

I read this book in a single 3-hour session. You know from Page 1 exactly how the book is going to end, and yet you can't put it down -- this book is the Gold Standard by which all other non-epic Star Trek books should be judged. Period.

This book reads like it was written by the ultimate Star Trek book fan. DeCandido researched every last detail of the book, as enumerated in a pages-long appendix, and it shows. I've read a majority of the Q-related books, every last one of which is referenced and tied in with the plot in this one. Yes, even the Lwaxana tryst from "Q-in-Law" is mentioned.

Flashbacks to each of Q's television appearances are interwoven with the primary narrative, each putting a little spin on what you thought had been Q's true motives. Better yet, unlike some retconning jobs which shoehorn themselves barbarically into established canon just for a hope of legitimacy, none of the additions in this book feel forced or ridiculous.

Okay, yeah, the plot about the universe ending is goofy and, as I said, you'll know how it is going to end, but you won't care -- the adventure along the way is excellent and worth every minute.

But the best thing? There's just about zero "deus ex technobabble". ( )