Tim Jones (8)

Despite all my expectations to the contrary, I enjoyed the recent Star Trek film immensely, so when a friend and coworker recommended this prequel graphic-novel, and offered to lend me his copy, I jumped at the chance! How glad I am that I did, even if reading Star Trek: Countdown cost me my dinner. Yes, I was so engrossed in my reading yesterday evening, that I left my grocery bag behind me, when switching subways! Still, it could always be worse, no? I mean, a demented Romulan could be show more intent on destroying my home planet...

Consisting of four comic-book length entries, each of which sets out a chapter of the history between Spock and Captain Nero, this Star Trek prequel is set a few decades after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. Which sounds impossible of course, given that the new film occurs in the 23rd century, and the events of Nemesis occur in the 24th. Then again, it is Star Trek, so time travel and alternate realities are practically de rigueur!

If you watched the film and wondered: Why do the Romulans have tattoos that make them look more like Remans? Why does Nero blame Spock personally for the destruction of all he loves? How does a "simple" mining vessel gain such advanced weaponry? Then you should probably locate a copy of this book. More to the point, if you want to gain a better insight into the character of Nero, then this is for you. Nothing could make his epic quest for vengeance anything but insanely irrational, but Star Trek: Countdown does give it true pathos. As such, it can only deepen the fan's appreciation of the film - and of Star Trek! show less

I enjoyed this prequel, which provides a great deal of back story for the villain Nero of the 2009 Star Trek movie franchise reboot. As the screenwriters say in their brief afterward, this prequel is more a love letter to some of their favorite characters from Star Trek: The Next Generation than anything else. That's the real highlight here: seeing TNG favorites like Picard, Data, LaForge, and Worf in their later lives. Each is woven believably and seamlessly into the Spock/Nero show more Vulcan/Romluan storyline. If you're a fan of TNG (as I am) you'll relish these characters in their new roles. (And you'll be happy to see they quickly undo Data's lame "return to innocence" from Star Trek: Nemesis.)

The weakest part of the story is consequently the weakest part of the entertaining new Star Trek movie; Nero's motivation to destroy Vulcan and just about everyone else in the universe is tenuous at best. Why exactly is it Spock's fault that Romulus was destroyed, when he seemed to be the only one trying to stop it? Well, the Romulans have never been logical, and neither is that part of the story. I'll let it pass. More interesting to me is that all the nutty, unexplained details in the movie--Nero's tattoos, his pointy staff, his almost omnipotent and clearly alien ship, and more--are given plausible, even entertaining explanations here.

An enlightening and enjoyable companion to the blockbuster movie. show less

This is the official prequel to the new Star Trek film, showing the 24th-century events that lead up to Spock and Nero's journeys back in time. "Ridiculous" is probably the best way to sum up this book, sometimes in a good way (the Enterprise-E with Captain Data in command shows up to save Nero from Remans), sometimes in a bad way (Worf is a general in the Klingon Empire now... and also an idiot). Weirdly, Vulcan seems to have withdrawn from the Federation by the time of this story, but such show more a development is apparently not worth explaining or exploring. This book's biggest successes are giving Nero a reasonably interesting backstory (he's still no Khan, though) and showing a Geordi La Forge who is actually doing something with his life. Oh, and David Messina's art, of course. show less

This story fills in the gap between Nero's arrival in the 23rd century and his attack on Vulcan twenty-five years later. What was he doing all that time? Well, he was in Klingon prison a lot, which makes sense, since the film establishes he busted up some Klingon ships and a prison planet before getting to Vulcan. This comic, however, establishes that he actually escaped from the planet some time before the film, then tootled around a bit, then came back and blew up the Klingons. Which isn't show more exactly elegant, but I suppose writers who think having Nero 1) develop telepathic powers and 2) merge with V'Ger are good ideas are also writers who couldn't get an interesting story out of a guy being in prison for twenty-five years. Plus, decompressed storytelling abounds, with 3-4 panels on most pages, so even less happens than this book's meager 90 pages imply. show less