Book Review: ‘Takedown’ by John Jackson Miller

April 13, 2021 at 1:00 am | Posted in Books, Reviews, Sci-Fi, Star Trek | Leave a comment
Tags: , ,

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Takedown is a standalone novel featuring the crews of the Titan, Aventine, and Enterprise-E, written by John Jackson Miller, and released in February of 2015. 

I’ll start out by saying that this was the first Star Trek I ever read back in 2017. I had watched some of the shows, but didn’t know where to start in the literature. I’ve been a longtime fan of John Jackson Miller’s Star Wars novels, and I listened to an interview (here on Roqoo Depot of all places) where he discussed how he makes every book he writes introductory. He knows that every book is someone’s first, so he actively tries to give them the relevant information to start. I always admired that and thought I’d jump in. This truly is an excellent place to jump in, and it’s had me hooked on Trek literature ever sense.

Continue Reading Book Review: ‘Takedown’ by John Jackson Miller…

Our Celebration Anaheim Interview with John Jackson Miller

May 5, 2015 at 12:05 am | Posted in Books, Celebration, Conventions, Events, Interview, Sci-Fi, Star Trek, Star Wars, Star Wars Books, Star Wars Rebels, Television | Leave a comment
Tags: , , , , ,

While at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, we had the chance to interview Star Wars author John Jackson Miller. We talked about not just Star Wars, but also his recent work with Star Trek and his work in his original sci-fi setting Overdraft.

This may be taboo but I’d like to ask you first about your latest novel Star Trek: The Next Generation: Takedown. What kind of prep work did you have to do for this novel?

Well I certainly needed to be aware of where the characters were relative to the other novels that Pocket Books had out. I also needed to get some sense of the specs of Enterprise relative to Aventine, which is the ship that they’re chasing throughout the book. I also got out my copy of Star Trek Star Charts and got a good idea of where all of the locations were in my story. So basically ever place that they go is some place they could reasonably get to.

Character voices can be hard to capture, but Senator Bretorious really leaps off of the page. How did he come about?

Well I think the notion was that I wanted to show that for a Romulan it was…it’s common for Romulans to have to try to claw over each other to become at the top level of their society. With Bretorious I wanted to show someone who had very limited prospects who had advanced as far as he was going to go and was on the way down. I wanted to show particularly, as the events of the story unfold, what happens when somebody of his limited abilities is put into the position that the opportunities of the book provide him. It’s difficult to get too much into this book without revealing some of the secrets, but certainly pitting Riker against Picard, they’re certain friends, but they’re on opposite sides of the situation. Riker, now being an admiral in the book chronology, provides some interesting story opportunities. Then of course pitting Riker against Bretorious, we got to see their two different personalities clashing there, too. I had a lot of fun with the book and it was very well received. Continue Reading Our Celebration Anaheim Interview with John Jackson Miller…

Podcasts in Review

April 9, 2015 at 12:00 am | Posted in Celebration, Interview, Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Television | Leave a comment
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Assembly of Geeks: “Movies The Ruin Childhoods” kicks off with Amy’s report from Paleyfest including stuff on Outlander, Flash, Arrow and Tron. As an aside, I’m kinda surprised by how apathetic they were toward Tron: Legacy. Scott hasn’t seen it, Jeff didn’t like it, and Amy is the only one who did enjoy it. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed the new Tron. Beyond that, they also talk about Guardians of the Galaxy and Groot’s aversion to dancing in front of Drax, Agent Carter comments about the future, J.J. Abrams’ comments, the 20 new books for Journey To Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Aftermath, and the female Ghostbuster movie. Their main discussion is on whether movies can ruin your childhood and the use of phrase as of late, which is an interesting topic. They also touch on whether or not we’re heading for a superhero burnout.

“Our Very Own Marvel Civil War” starts off with a discussion of Pixels and the recently released trailer before heading into a March Madness tournament discussion for Marvel characters. They start out with a bunch of character, have them face off against each other, then each hosts/guest says which one should win. Whoever gets the most votes proceeds to the next round until there’s an ultimate victor. I have to be honest, it runs a bit long. At first it was neat, but as it dragged on, the discussion struggled to keep my interest. I think it might have worked better as a smaller segment spread out over several episodes rather than doing it all at once.

“Fish’s End, Leia’s Story & Supergirl’s Costume” begins with some discussion on the new Avengers trailer, the Groot comic, and thoughts on Gotham and Toy Story 4. Then they have guest Jenna Busch on to talk about Princess Leia #1, and guests Andy Behbakht (The Flash Podcast) and Rebecca Johnson (Supergirl Radio) to talk and speculate about The Flash television show and the upcoming Supergirl show. I didn’t enjoy this episode as much. For starters, Princess Leia #1 was one of the worst Star Wars comics I’ve read in a while so there was a disconnect there. That in turn wasn’t helped too much by their next guests as I haven’t watched The Flash. Wasn’t a whole lot for me to connect with on this episode. However, if you enjoyed Princess Leia #1 and are a fan of The Flash, you’ll probably enjoy it. Continue Reading Podcasts in Review…

Podcasts in Review

March 26, 2015 at 12:00 am | Posted in Celebration, Interview, Movies, Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Star Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Television | Leave a comment
Tags: , , , , , ,

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Bombad Radio: Episode 190 features an interview with writer and editor Stuart Moore who talks about E.G.O.S., Zodiac and Marvel’s Civil War. I really liked the comments he had about Zodiac and what it was like working with Stan Lee on that project. Very cool interview.

Episode 191 kicks off with some Star Wars news, then heads into their Star Wars Rebels discussion as they talk about the their initial thoughts heading into the show, their thoughts on season one, and how it compares to The Clone Wars. They do delve into spoilers, but I think most fans at this point have already watched all of season one, so enjoy.

Fangirls Going Rogue: Episode #17 starts with a Star Wars Rebels season finale discussion, dives into some listener feedback, features a quick Oscar discussion, and some more fashion tips from Amy Ratcliffe on customizing accessories. They also have an interview with Jennifer Landa about her Star Wars wedding, and this episode’s character discussion focuses on Leia. Great episode as always, with a really nice balance of topics in this one. Continue Reading Podcasts in Review…

Podcasts in Review

March 5, 2015 at 12:05 am | Posted in Books, Disney, Interview, Podcasts, Podcasts in Review, Regular Feature, Reviews, Sci-Fi, Star Trek, Star Wars, Star Wars Rebels, Television, Toys & Collectibles | Leave a comment
Tags: , , , , , ,

Here is this week’s Podcasts in Review.

Assembly of Geeks: “Failing X-Men, Reviving Spider-Man & Missing The Goonies” has lots of the usual geeky discussion. They talk about movies that should have ended sooner, they have a review of Kingsmen: The Secret Service, they cover some news topics like Harry Potter Funko items, and the conundrum of Marvel being a comic book company or a movie company. They also tackle the movie The Goonies and whether that type of movie works any more or whether child adventure movies have changed into something else. Lots of interesting topics and fun discussion.

Coffee With Kenobi: Rebels Reactions “Call to Action” episode features Tarkin voice actor Stephen Stanton who adds some excellent behind the scenes insight to the episode as he talks about his character and the show. They also talk some about Star Wars: The Clone Wars and James Luceno’s book Tarkin. Excellent episode and one you’ll definitely want to catch.

Disney Vault Talk: “Top Ten Live Action Films” features Steve, Teresa and Greg as they cover listener feedback then go over their top ten live action Disney films. Their choices cover a lot of time periods, from modern to classics, and they all weigh in with different choices and the reasons behind their picks. Continue Reading Podcasts in Review…

Around the Web

February 27, 2015 at 12:00 am | Posted in Around the Web, Conventions, Events, Movies, News, Regular Feature, Star Wars, Toys & Collectibles | Leave a comment
Tags: , , , , ,

Here is this week’s Around the Web news roundup of Star Wars and beyond.

Book News

  • Del Rey posted an audio excerpt from Heir to the Jedi you can listen to. Note that this excerpt is from the audiobook which will be out next Tuesday.

Convention & Event News

  • Con Nooga is February 27 to March 1 in Chattanooga, TN. Star Wars guests include Timothy Zahn.
  • Culture Shock is February 27 to March 1 in Indianapolis, IN. Star Wars guests include Alan Harris, Daniel Logan, Cathy Monroe, John Mortan, Chris Parsons.
  • Pensacon is February 27 to March 1 in Pensacola, FL. Star Wars guests include Kevin J. Anderson, Jeremy Bulloch, Olivia d’Abo, Dave Dorman, Julian Glover, Barbara Goodson, John Hudgens, Felix Silla, Carel Struycken, David Warner.
  • The Scandinavian Sci-Fi, Game & Film Convention is February 28 to March 1 in Malmo, Sweden. Star Wars guests include Ray Park.

Continue Reading Around the Web…

Book Review: ‘Takedown’ by John Jackson Miller

February 10, 2015 at 12:01 am | Posted in Books, Reviews, Sci-Fi, Star Trek | Leave a comment
Tags: ,

For Star Wars fans who have no issues crossing franchises, John Jackson Miller’s first Star Trek novel is worth checking out. Takedown features Riker, Picard and Dax as they race across space in a mysterious series of attacks crippling communications arrays and sowing chaos. Great characters, great pacing and a fun story makes this a hard book to put down. Click here to read our full review.

Reviewed By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.

New Release: ‘Takedown’ by John Jackson Miller

January 27, 2015 at 12:01 am | Posted in Books, Sci-Fi, Star Trek | Leave a comment
Tags: , ,

John Jackson Miller’s new Star Trek: The Next Generation novel is out today. Takedown is available in paperback and digital formats from Pocket Books. You can check Simon & Schuster’s main page for all the purchase links. You can also check out Amazon for an excerpt from the book.

An all-new novel of Star Trek: The Next Generation—one of the most popular Star Trek series of all-time, featuring the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise!

When renegade Federation starships begin wreaking destruction across the Alpha Quadrant, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise are shocked to discover that the mastermind behind this sudden threat is none other than Picard’s protégé and friend: Admiral William T. Riker. The newly minted admiral is on board the U.S.S. Aventine as part of a special assignment, even as the mystery deepens behind his involvement in the growing crisis. But the Aventine is helmed by Captain Ezri Dax—someone who is no stranger to breaking Starfleet regulations—and her starship is by far the faster vessel…and Riker cannot yield even to his former mentor. It’s a battle of tactical geniuses and a race against time as Picard struggles to find answers before the quadrant’s great powers violently retaliate against the Federation…

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.

Our Interview with John Jackson Miller

September 2, 2014 at 12:05 am | Posted in Books, Interview, Random House, Star Trek, Star Wars, Star Wars Books, Star Wars Rebels, Television | Leave a comment
Tags: , , , ,

In celebration of the new release of A New Dawn, we sat down with author John Jackson Miller to talk about the book, the characters, and the new state of canon. John also talked about his upcoming novel Star Trek: The Next Generation – Takedown and his new Overdraft short story that will be featured in the anthology Apollo’s Daughters.

Click here to download and listen.

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.

‘Star Trek: The Next Generation – Takedown’ by John Jackson Miller

July 21, 2014 at 6:55 am | Posted in Books, Sci-Fi, Star Trek | Leave a comment
Tags: ,

john-jackson-millerJohn Jackson Miller’s upcoming Star Trek novel now has a title and is up for pre-orders. Star Trek: The Next Generation – Takedown is slated for a January 27, 2015 release in paperback. You can put your pre-orders in here on Amazon or Barnes & Noble and check out the blurb below.

An all-new novel of Star Trek: The Next Generation—one of the most popular Star Trek series of all-time, featuring the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise!

When renegade starships wreak destruction across the quadrant, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise are shocked to discover the mastermind behind this sudden threat: none other than Picard’s protégé and friend, Admiral William T. Riker. The newly minted admiral is on special assignment aboard the U.S.S. Aventine, helmed by Captain Ezri Dax—someone who is no stranger to breaking Starfleet regulations. Her starship is by far the faster vessel…and Riker cannot yield, even to his former mentor. It’s a battle of tactical geniuses and a race against time as Picard struggles to find answers before the quadrant’s great powers violently plunge into total war…

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.

 

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.
Entries and comments feeds.