House of Cards

House of Cards is the first book in an 18-book Star Trek subseries that we started at book 12 (Being Human) -- this book makes a lot more sense and requires a lot less context than the first one we read. The plot, however, amounts only to "let's get all these characters introduced and onto a starship" -- so the book isn't worth reading unless you intend to read more books in the series. (You should read the series if the idea of reading lengthy Star Trek novelizations is exciting -- don't go out of your way, but definitely worth the time if this genre is your cuppa.)

Having read a later book and only half understood the characters, it was fantastic to have them introduced properly, get their backstories in one place, and learn all the show more monikers. Even so, a book that introduces about a dozen main characters without actually doing much with them might be hard to follow for someone who hadn't already engaged a story in this universe -- so your appreciation will likely vary based on your background and willingness to engage the series genre. show less

Its somewhat unfair to review this book before reading the one after it, since this is literally the first part of the story (the book ends on a cliffhanger with "To Be Continued..."). Some interesting characters are introduced here, and honestly, my biggest problem with this is the use of established characters like Spock and Picard. I especially felt that some of the Enterprise characters seemed a little off, and honestly, I didn't care about them as much as I did the new characters. I'm sure that the established characters were used to help launch this series, and I understand that, but they detract from the story to me. Of course, the second book may redeem this book and I may think more highly of this after reading that.