What do you think?
Rate this book
The enigmatic entity known as Q remains one of the greatest mysteries in the universe, yet no one, perhaps, understands Q as well as actor John de Lancie, who has played Q on television for more than a decade. Now de Lancie and Peter David, the bestselling author of such acclaimed novels as Q-in-Law and Q-Squared, have joined forces to send Q on an unforgettable cosmic odyssey, told from the mischievous trickster's own unique point of view.
The Maelstrom, a metaphysical whirlpool of apocalyptic proportions, is pulling all of reality into its maw, devouring the totality of time and space while bringing together people and places from throughout the universe. The Q Continuum pronounces that the end of everything has come, but Q refuses to meekly accept the end of all he has known. Defying the judgment of the Continuum, he sets out to derail doomsday—at whatever the cost.
Q has been everywhere and done everything, but now he's in for a cosmic thrill ride beyond even his own astonishingly unlimited imagination. Old friends and adversaries wait in unexpected places, transcendent hazards abound, and the multiverse's most unlikely savior encounters wonders and dangers enough to render Q himself speechless. Almost.
Can even Q, reluctantly assisted by Jean Luc Picard, prevent the Universe as We Know It from literally going down the drain? I, Q is a wild and witty voyage through the secret soul of creation—as only Q can tell it!
The Maelstrom, a metaphysical whirlpool of apocalyptic proportions, is pulling all of reality into its maw, devouring the totality of time and space while bringing together people and places from throughout the universe. The Q Continuum pronounces that the end of everything has come, but Q refuses to meekly accept the end of all he has known. Defying the judgment of the Continuum, he sets out to derail doomsday—at whatever the cost.
Q has been everywhere and done everything, but now he's in for a cosmic thrill ride beyond even his own astonishingly unlimited imagination. Old friends and adversaries wait in unexpected places, transcendent hazards abound, and the multiverse's most unlikely savior encounters wonders and dangers enough to render Q himself speechless. Almost.
Can even Q, reluctantly assisted by Jean Luc Picard, prevent the Universe as We Know It from literally going down the drain? I, Q is a wild and witty voyage through the secret soul of creation—as only Q can tell it!
249 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
April 13, 2011
Disclaimer right up front: if you like Q, you'll love this book. If you read Star Trek novels for lengthy sci-fi gibberish and prose with multiple serious mentions of the Prime Directive, look elsewhere. Q's voice is captured so perfectly, it's ridiculously easy to imagine John de Lancie sitting next to you, reading it aloud. The attention to detail is what really makes the story, though, as the worlds Q visits are so populated with small, easy-to-visualize details, and it makes the fantasy world believable. (The humor helps a lot, too - I still think about certain lines whenever I write sci-fi.)
April 10, 2023
So, I hadn’t realized this was an abridged version. But honestly, I don’t know if it would have been much better. It was fun in places, but it was pretty disjointed and stuffed full of Q anecdotes, which while amusing, didn’t do much to advance the plot.
The audio production, while it included ambient sounds and music, which were nice, the levels were off and you could barely hear the narration above the sounds. A shame.
I hate to say it too, but I found De Lancie’s narration boring. He did not try at all to modulate his voice or accent to reflect other characters than himself. He sounded a bit like he was phoning it in.
In short, the print book is probably much better.
The audio production, while it included ambient sounds and music, which were nice, the levels were off and you could barely hear the narration above the sounds. A shame.
I hate to say it too, but I found De Lancie’s narration boring. He did not try at all to modulate his voice or accent to reflect other characters than himself. He sounded a bit like he was phoning it in.
In short, the print book is probably much better.
January 8, 2022
I, Q is, in many ways, Douglas Adams meets Gene Roddenberry. Although several beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation characters appear in this novel, Q's humorous narration is stylistically similar to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I've never really watched any of the Star Trek TV shows, but I have read several novels about Q, including both the ones by Peter David and the Q Continuum trilogy by Greg Cox, so I know how his character is, and this seems to be pretty true to form. Star Trek fans will really enjoy this one, but you probably won't understand it if you have no idea who Q is.
EDIT: If you have the option, I suggest getting the print version of this, whether hardcover or paperback. There's a certain moment I won't give away here that doesn't work as well in the ebook version; at least, not the one I read.
EDIT: If you have the option, I suggest getting the print version of this, whether hardcover or paperback. There's a certain moment I won't give away here that doesn't work as well in the ebook version; at least, not the one I read.
October 27, 2019
Q is accompanied by Picard and Data on a journey of sorts to save the universe, which is an idea with great potential, however the first half of the story drags with a succession of uninteresting digressions and attempts at humor mostly falling flat. There is some payoff as the end comes into sight, which I did find satisfying. The better parts of the story center around the dialog among the three, with Q's smug attitude and repartee with Picard in fine form. John de Lancie's audio narration is fantastic.
September 4, 2015
This is a ridiculous novel.
Not because it is science fiction, but because of...actually for all kinds of reasons, but mainly because it has no idea what it wants to be.
-Is it a Star Trek: TNG novel? Perhaps in the sense that fan-fiction novels are, because that's how this reads-like 8th or 9th grade sci-fi geeks got together and wrote this in stages over their summer weekends when they had no homework to get in the way.
That means that there are references to a million and one characters from all over the Star Trek universe, even if they have no bearing on the plot. That means that the characters that do have something to do with the alleged plot, in this case Picard, Data, and of course Q are written more to satisfy the author's sense of "wouldn't it be great if..." instead of trying to capture the essence of the characters from the show, which of course is the reason we read TNG books. All three are so stupidly out of character in most of what they say and do that it feels more like a stand alone novel written outside of Star Trek that was shoe-horned into the Trek universe at last minute.
And what nerdy, poorly constructed fan-fiction would be complete without "witty" cross-references to other nerdy passions, like The Princess Bride. (One of the most referenced movies, perhaps in all of everything.)
Then again, it also gives the impression that it was written by people who had never seen the show. Data asking if he was still technically earning a "salary"?? Salary?? There is no money in Starfleet...nobody gets paid for their services!
-Is it for children? It seems at times that it's supposed to be, with puns and double-entendre so strained and witless that it woudl have caused Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner and John De Lancie to leave the show had they been forced to enact any of it. Yet then at times one is forced to wonder...
-Is it for teens or adults? Yes, when you consider Q's references to Yar's potential never being "as developed as she was" or wondering if Jadzia Dax ever "shaved." Shaved what, exactly? I'm not certain, but I think we are supposed to answer that question however we like.
Then there is the appearance of mild swearing not permitted in the TV show, and occurring only a handful of times in the movies.
-Is it an Athiest manifesto? Damn near. It's probably closer to that than anything else on this list. Q mentions just how absurd, stupid, pathetic it is to believe in any god approximately every two pages.
-Is it Deepak Chopra? Technically of course, no. But far more time is spent on examine spiritual-but-not-religious thought and perspectives on the world, and the ability to shape the universe as we desire that one could be forgiven for thinking Chopra was an adviser on the manuscript.
-Is it Forrest Gump: TNG? Some parts...Q being responsible for half the things that ever happened on earth has that quality to it.
-Is it a stoner novel in disguise? Perhaps, given all of the cheap, shallow discourse held forth on complex deep issues between bizarre images inspired to make one go "the colors! the colors!" I can't be sure though, as I have never been stoned.
I'm sure there are other types of books one could mistake this one for. Or maybe it wouldn't be a mistake; perhaps it is a juvenile mishmash of all of the above and more, with De Lancie's name and picture attached to make it just remotely worth the financial risk of publishing it. Who knows? Someone must. Who cares?
I, Ty, do not. And all this coming from someone who has willingly watched every episode of TNG multiple times. I am, if not a Treker, than in the very least an avid fan of the TNG part of the franchise. Have always been, and will always be. That is why this, my first foray into reading a TNG novel, felt more like being sucked into a drain consuming the multiverse.
Not because it is science fiction, but because of...actually for all kinds of reasons, but mainly because it has no idea what it wants to be.
-Is it a Star Trek: TNG novel? Perhaps in the sense that fan-fiction novels are, because that's how this reads-like 8th or 9th grade sci-fi geeks got together and wrote this in stages over their summer weekends when they had no homework to get in the way.
That means that there are references to a million and one characters from all over the Star Trek universe, even if they have no bearing on the plot. That means that the characters that do have something to do with the alleged plot, in this case Picard, Data, and of course Q are written more to satisfy the author's sense of "wouldn't it be great if..." instead of trying to capture the essence of the characters from the show, which of course is the reason we read TNG books. All three are so stupidly out of character in most of what they say and do that it feels more like a stand alone novel written outside of Star Trek that was shoe-horned into the Trek universe at last minute.
And what nerdy, poorly constructed fan-fiction would be complete without "witty" cross-references to other nerdy passions, like The Princess Bride. (One of the most referenced movies, perhaps in all of everything.)
Then again, it also gives the impression that it was written by people who had never seen the show. Data asking if he was still technically earning a "salary"?? Salary?? There is no money in Starfleet...nobody gets paid for their services!
-Is it for children? It seems at times that it's supposed to be, with puns and double-entendre so strained and witless that it woudl have caused Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner and John De Lancie to leave the show had they been forced to enact any of it. Yet then at times one is forced to wonder...
-Is it for teens or adults? Yes, when you consider Q's references to Yar's potential never being "as developed as she was" or wondering if Jadzia Dax ever "shaved." Shaved what, exactly? I'm not certain, but I think we are supposed to answer that question however we like.
Then there is the appearance of mild swearing not permitted in the TV show, and occurring only a handful of times in the movies.
-Is it an Athiest manifesto? Damn near. It's probably closer to that than anything else on this list. Q mentions just how absurd, stupid, pathetic it is to believe in any god approximately every two pages.
-Is it Deepak Chopra? Technically of course, no. But far more time is spent on examine spiritual-but-not-religious thought and perspectives on the world, and the ability to shape the universe as we desire that one could be forgiven for thinking Chopra was an adviser on the manuscript.
-Is it Forrest Gump: TNG? Some parts...Q being responsible for half the things that ever happened on earth has that quality to it.
-Is it a stoner novel in disguise? Perhaps, given all of the cheap, shallow discourse held forth on complex deep issues between bizarre images inspired to make one go "the colors! the colors!" I can't be sure though, as I have never been stoned.
I'm sure there are other types of books one could mistake this one for. Or maybe it wouldn't be a mistake; perhaps it is a juvenile mishmash of all of the above and more, with De Lancie's name and picture attached to make it just remotely worth the financial risk of publishing it. Who knows? Someone must. Who cares?
I, Ty, do not. And all this coming from someone who has willingly watched every episode of TNG multiple times. I am, if not a Treker, than in the very least an avid fan of the TNG part of the franchise. Have always been, and will always be. That is why this, my first foray into reading a TNG novel, felt more like being sucked into a drain consuming the multiverse.
December 30, 2019
“Star Trek: The Next Generation: IQ (Star Trek: The Next Generation)” reminds me that while I enjoy the company of my straight friends on road trips, as a group we’re not doing so well finding non-lesfic books to listen to in the car.
This story is really dull, and we endured it until the 63% point. DNF’d so 2*
This story is really dull, and we endured it until the 63% point. DNF’d so 2*
January 8, 2016
Opens with a cliche, a note in a bottle written by Q. Q is not well thought out and the word choice is horrible. Tells versus shows.
February 20, 2013
"Think of the letter 'Q.' The symbol of our Continuum. You start at the lower right, and you proceed around it counterclockwise. You travel around and eventually you wind up right back where you started...at which point you simply trail off."
There's double punctuation, emboldened paragraphs, and giant fonts...but it's Q.
There are bad jokes, puns, and lengthy asides to the reader...but it's Q.
Existence itself is coming to an end, and the Continuum will prevent anybody from interfering with these welcome affairs...but it's Q!
I love when the actor (John De Lancie) shares in the writing duties in books about the character they played. I thought this had the same flair as A Stitch in Time by Andrew J. Robinson, who played Garak on DS9. I can really hear the voice of the characters, and it's almost biographical--you'll get insights you would not have without them. This book is one cool read, filled with existential blues, and designed so the pages can be flipped really fast.
There's double punctuation, emboldened paragraphs, and giant fonts...but it's Q.
There are bad jokes, puns, and lengthy asides to the reader...but it's Q.
Existence itself is coming to an end, and the Continuum will prevent anybody from interfering with these welcome affairs...but it's Q!
I love when the actor (John De Lancie) shares in the writing duties in books about the character they played. I thought this had the same flair as A Stitch in Time by Andrew J. Robinson, who played Garak on DS9. I can really hear the voice of the characters, and it's almost biographical--you'll get insights you would not have without them. This book is one cool read, filled with existential blues, and designed so the pages can be flipped really fast.
February 28, 2020
My first fiction read in many years. I loved watching TNG and was curious to see if i could get the feel from a novel based on TNG. I think i struck gold with this one, it's very self contained and feels like an extra long Q episode. Many times during this book i kept thinking "this should have been a movie". The writing captures the characters perfectly. I will say, if you don't like the character Q, then you may not enjoy this. But it's a fun and frightening adventure featuring Q, Picard, and Data who are some of the strongest characters in the franchise.
September 8, 2019
As an inferior being whose only skill is the judgement of others, I shouldn't comment, but this book is written in a way that makes it extremely boring.
It starts with a random unexplained situation and then keeps moving to different ones. There is no sense of plot building or of anything of importance happening. It's just words you are reading because the author wrote them down. Like this book is a gift to humanity and we should all enjoy it because it EXISTS.
The author should try and make the reader care about the story, or at least have a story to tell. Not just random stuff. I am not going to read through the random part to get to the HOPEFULLY interesting story at the end.
There are other books on the Earth. Goodbye!
P.s. I blame Peter David, not the actor who played Q on tv for making this book dull.
It starts with a random unexplained situation and then keeps moving to different ones. There is no sense of plot building or of anything of importance happening. It's just words you are reading because the author wrote them down. Like this book is a gift to humanity and we should all enjoy it because it EXISTS.
The author should try and make the reader care about the story, or at least have a story to tell. Not just random stuff. I am not going to read through the random part to get to the HOPEFULLY interesting story at the end.
There are other books on the Earth. Goodbye!
P.s. I blame Peter David, not the actor who played Q on tv for making this book dull.
February 13, 2009
I find Star Trek’s “Q” one of science fiction’s most enjoyable characters. I, Q is an entire story told through the words and actions of Q himself! If you enjoy Q you will find this story very informative, however, if you dislike Q, you may want to skip this book. It is above all else 249 pages of Q, and he never stops talking!
September 2, 2008
Ehh.. I wanted good things from this book.. but it seemed hurried and was written mostly in the first person. I like first person, but the pacing is totally offrhythm. It was so-so, but I would not recommend it personally. =)
May 4, 2011
This is bad. Rambling and out-of-character, Q comes across like a man who grew up in a western civilization on earth during the late 20th Century.
January 19, 2020
This book is a glorious dumpster fire of nonsense and I love it.
The story is written by Q and told in first person, from Q's perspective. Q is the very definition of an unreliable narrator - constantly interrupting himself to wax philosophical, going off on tangents, making bad jokes, occasionally outright lying, and complaining nonstop. For better or worse, this is an extremely accurate representation of Q in all his annoying, cloying, selfish, vain, and arrogant glory.
While this book has all the elements of a standard Star Trek adventure book, it's very different from others of its ilk. If you're looking for something more like the tv show, I'd recommend "Q Squared" or "Q-in-Law." If what you're looking for is a B-list stand up routine told in Q's voice, this is definitely your book and you'll probably love it.
~~ Spoilers ~~
The story starts out on the shores of a beach somewhere at the end of everything. A lone entity finds that she has grown bored with creation and has decided that it is time to end it. As she strolls along the beach, she happens upon a glass bottle. Inside is a manuscript titled "I,Q". With nothing else to do, she puts off the end of everything in order to read the manuscript.
The audience reads along with her.
Q introduces himself first, explaining who and what he is before seguing into a scene where Picard and Data are fishing on the holodeck. Q isn't in this scene but, being omnipotent, Q can describe what is going on without having to be there himself. The timeframe is a little vague, but Data has his emotion chip, meaning this takes place after the TNG series. A whirlpool opens up on the holodeck and pulls both Picard and Data in.
Meanwhile, Q is also fishing. Only he's fishing deep underwater on an alien planet with his family. q is still a young child, so this takes place before "Q2".
While Q is messing around, showing off to try and make Lady Q and q laugh, he's pulled away by a gigantic alien fish. He hears a scream and rushes back to discover that a whirlpool has taken Lady Q and q away. While he doesn't arrive in time to save them, he does spot Picard and Data (along with thousands of other people and vessels) being sucked down the whirlpool and manages to pluck them away from danger.
Picard blames Q immediately (because like obvs) but realizes Q has nothing to do with it when he notices he's upset about the loss of his mate and child. The three agree to work together to solve the mystery and hopefully find Q's family and Q teleports them to the Q-Continuum. They find that the Q in the Continuum are very excited to have the entire multiverse ending (like the entity at the beginning and Quinn in Deathwish, they're insufferably bored) and none of them seem interested in putting a stop to it. When they discover that Q, Picard, and Data intend to try and stop it, they imprison Q in a statue.
A sympathetic Q (from TNG "Deja Q") releases Q and they manage to escape, agreeing to try and venture down in the whirlpool, the only place where they are certain the Q won't look.
From here, the book follows a more standard adventure pattern. Since there wouldn't be much for Data or Picard to do as long as Q had his powers, his powers are confiscated as soon as they enter the whirlpool. The trio arrives at a train station where everyone seems to be in denial about what is happening. They search the boxcars for Q's family, but come up empty-handed and are forced to fight Locutous of Borg before jumping from the train into a river.
From there, Q emerges to find himself near a city that is perpetually at war. He's taken captive by a member of the M-Continuum (a warring faction with the Q) and put on trial. Like Picard, M blames Q for what is happening, but Data manages to convince the onlookers that this isn't true and the tide quickly turns against M. The other people on this level are filled with anger and they rip her apart while the ground breaks up. Q & Co fall deeper, landing in what appears to be a flea market.
At this point Data notes that they seem to be falling through the stages of Grief. Each level represents a stage. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Despair, and Acceptance. In my opinion, the decision to have Data recognize what is happening gives the game away a little too soon and from here you should be able to guess how the rest of the story is going to go (if you couldn't already).
In Bargaining, Q manages to recover q but not without angering the entity on that level. They're sent down to Despair, where he tries and fails to save Lady Q. Trapped in an inescapable room where the walls are slowly closing in, Picard tries to rally with Q with a speech, but Q's too depressed. As he accepts that he will die, the walls crush Picard and Data, but a door appears in time to eject Q and q. They arrive in the Continuum as the clock is counting down to the final moments of existence.
Having lost Lady Q, Picard, and Data, and now faced with being unable to save his child, Q is furious and as everything is suctioned away into nothingness, he alone resists. He creates a glass bottle, willing into it an account of what has happened thus far titled "I,Q". Then wings the bottle into the vortex.
Reaching the end of the manuscript, the entity at the beginning begins to laugh, noting that it's the first time she's laughed in thousands of years, and realizing that she should have known the Trickster would be the one to make her. This is enough to cause her to call off the End of Everything.
Everyone is transported back where they began and the entity leaves a returning message in the bottle, simply saying "Let There Be Light".
I found this book very entertaining despite the fact that it often strayed from the point. Picard is somewhat underutilized with bits that should be his for some reason tending to go to Data. However, he and Q have good chemistry as always and their back-and-forths are some of the better parts of the story. My biggest criticism would be that the story becomes a bit predictable around the middle, but this isn't too distracting as the characters are still fun and interesting.
I'd recommend this to fans who really like (and who have a high tolerance for) Q and are looking for something a little different than a standard Star Trek adventure book.
The story is written by Q and told in first person, from Q's perspective. Q is the very definition of an unreliable narrator - constantly interrupting himself to wax philosophical, going off on tangents, making bad jokes, occasionally outright lying, and complaining nonstop. For better or worse, this is an extremely accurate representation of Q in all his annoying, cloying, selfish, vain, and arrogant glory.
While this book has all the elements of a standard Star Trek adventure book, it's very different from others of its ilk. If you're looking for something more like the tv show, I'd recommend "Q Squared" or "Q-in-Law." If what you're looking for is a B-list stand up routine told in Q's voice, this is definitely your book and you'll probably love it.
~~ Spoilers ~~
The story starts out on the shores of a beach somewhere at the end of everything. A lone entity finds that she has grown bored with creation and has decided that it is time to end it. As she strolls along the beach, she happens upon a glass bottle. Inside is a manuscript titled "I,Q". With nothing else to do, she puts off the end of everything in order to read the manuscript.
The audience reads along with her.
Q introduces himself first, explaining who and what he is before seguing into a scene where Picard and Data are fishing on the holodeck. Q isn't in this scene but, being omnipotent, Q can describe what is going on without having to be there himself. The timeframe is a little vague, but Data has his emotion chip, meaning this takes place after the TNG series. A whirlpool opens up on the holodeck and pulls both Picard and Data in.
Meanwhile, Q is also fishing. Only he's fishing deep underwater on an alien planet with his family. q is still a young child, so this takes place before "Q2".
While Q is messing around, showing off to try and make Lady Q and q laugh, he's pulled away by a gigantic alien fish. He hears a scream and rushes back to discover that a whirlpool has taken Lady Q and q away. While he doesn't arrive in time to save them, he does spot Picard and Data (along with thousands of other people and vessels) being sucked down the whirlpool and manages to pluck them away from danger.
Picard blames Q immediately (because like obvs) but realizes Q has nothing to do with it when he notices he's upset about the loss of his mate and child. The three agree to work together to solve the mystery and hopefully find Q's family and Q teleports them to the Q-Continuum. They find that the Q in the Continuum are very excited to have the entire multiverse ending (like the entity at the beginning and Quinn in Deathwish, they're insufferably bored) and none of them seem interested in putting a stop to it. When they discover that Q, Picard, and Data intend to try and stop it, they imprison Q in a statue.
A sympathetic Q (from TNG "Deja Q") releases Q and they manage to escape, agreeing to try and venture down in the whirlpool, the only place where they are certain the Q won't look.
From here, the book follows a more standard adventure pattern. Since there wouldn't be much for Data or Picard to do as long as Q had his powers, his powers are confiscated as soon as they enter the whirlpool. The trio arrives at a train station where everyone seems to be in denial about what is happening. They search the boxcars for Q's family, but come up empty-handed and are forced to fight Locutous of Borg before jumping from the train into a river.
From there, Q emerges to find himself near a city that is perpetually at war. He's taken captive by a member of the M-Continuum (a warring faction with the Q) and put on trial. Like Picard, M blames Q for what is happening, but Data manages to convince the onlookers that this isn't true and the tide quickly turns against M. The other people on this level are filled with anger and they rip her apart while the ground breaks up. Q & Co fall deeper, landing in what appears to be a flea market.
At this point Data notes that they seem to be falling through the stages of Grief. Each level represents a stage. Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Despair, and Acceptance. In my opinion, the decision to have Data recognize what is happening gives the game away a little too soon and from here you should be able to guess how the rest of the story is going to go (if you couldn't already).
In Bargaining, Q manages to recover q but not without angering the entity on that level. They're sent down to Despair, where he tries and fails to save Lady Q. Trapped in an inescapable room where the walls are slowly closing in, Picard tries to rally with Q with a speech, but Q's too depressed. As he accepts that he will die, the walls crush Picard and Data, but a door appears in time to eject Q and q. They arrive in the Continuum as the clock is counting down to the final moments of existence.
Having lost Lady Q, Picard, and Data, and now faced with being unable to save his child, Q is furious and as everything is suctioned away into nothingness, he alone resists. He creates a glass bottle, willing into it an account of what has happened thus far titled "I,Q". Then wings the bottle into the vortex.
Reaching the end of the manuscript, the entity at the beginning begins to laugh, noting that it's the first time she's laughed in thousands of years, and realizing that she should have known the Trickster would be the one to make her. This is enough to cause her to call off the End of Everything.
Everyone is transported back where they began and the entity leaves a returning message in the bottle, simply saying "Let There Be Light".
I found this book very entertaining despite the fact that it often strayed from the point. Picard is somewhat underutilized with bits that should be his for some reason tending to go to Data. However, he and Q have good chemistry as always and their back-and-forths are some of the better parts of the story. My biggest criticism would be that the story becomes a bit predictable around the middle, but this isn't too distracting as the characters are still fun and interesting.
I'd recommend this to fans who really like (and who have a high tolerance for) Q and are looking for something a little different than a standard Star Trek adventure book.
December 11, 2020
This is an ok book, not wholly terrible but not exactly great. John de Lancie does a stunning job jn capturing Q’s witty and sarcastic voice. The banter with Picard and Data is charming, but the humor oscillates between good, tolerable, and outright bad. Q’s facetiousness and whimsy are distracting when situation demands a serious tone. The opening of the book is cliche and the last half of it drags on. The novel misses the opportunities to explore mythology and religious themes and instead opts to be a fun but ultimately jejune adventure with familiar Star Trek characters. What’s still good about this book is that it offers a nice depiction of Q as a narcissistic trickster with godlike powers who actually has some heart in him after all.
December 9, 2020
Enjoyed this one immensely. Q is an annoying character, and you either love him or hate him. I happen to love Q a lot, regardless of how he can be, and he is one of my favorite characters from the Star Trek series. You'll enjoy this book thoroughly if you enjoy Q, but even if you don't you may, just be forewarned, this book captured Q in a nutshell and to the tee.
September 4, 2022
This was a very quick read. Entertaining, witty, and probably a four star read for really great fans of Star Trek.
March 16, 2023
Bit of a bizarre fever dream that was difficult to follow at times, the audiobook may be abridged, but Q is a fun character and John did a good job narrating.
Read
August 19, 2019I didn't expect John de Lancie (Q, Star Trek, The Next Generation) to be able to write a novel based on his own character the way he did, but I have to admit this particular work was quite entertaining. What de Lancie lacks in flourish he makes up for with whimsy, as Q resets with on-again, off-again adventures with Captain Jean-Luc Picard in an often funny, sometimes inane, traipse across the galaxy in search of solving a problem. In this case, Q himself realizes that life is the problem, and, without going into a torrent of philoso-babble, the book has a semi-satisfying ending. Typical Q, exceptional de Lancie, and a fun read when you have time.
February 22, 2013
The first time I read this book was about ten years ago, in a string of TNG books, so I sort of combined it in my mind with another Q book. Q-Squared, I think. I own that one, so I was going to reread it to see, but I discovered it's not in Q's POV so I got all disinterested.
Because I loved Q's POV. At times, for a line or two, he'd remind me of Vlad from Steven Brust's Taltos series. And some of his asides were just right-on-the-money awesome. And I loved the way Q tells a story.
I saw a review around here that had the term "out-of-character" in it. I had to stare at that. It's so not "out-of-character"---it's just so much more in-depth than the series could go. And that was awesome.
There were lines and philosophies in here that made me go, "See! I think like an omniscient being!" Or, at least, "I think like a guy who played an omniscient being on TV!"
Heh.
I can't even express how elated I was to find as many jewels in here as I did. "Debauchery by an individual is deplorable. Debauchery en masse is a party."
Dude, there's even an off-the-cuff, under-the-table, flat-out The Princess Bride reference. C'mon, now, how am I not gonna love that?
I don't mind that so many of Q's references center around Earth, especially history your average reader would know. Most of the time, that'd be something to raise a brow at, but with Q, it makes sense---because he's obsessed with Humanity and because it just felt like he was going out of his way to make it relatable to a human. Maybe without even really noticing he was doing it. Or, at least, not acknowledging it. Oh, layers.
Another cool thing was that I remembered scenes as I read them, from my previous reading, but I didn't remember reading them; I remembered seeing them. As if I'd seen an episode of TNG with these scenes in it. (I haven't met my quota for using the word "awesome" yet, have I? Because that's just awesome.)
In honor of the fact that Steven sent me this book for my birthday, and thereby reunited me with this book I didn't even know I really needed to reread, I'm going to end with a favorite passage:
" 'Then make it so,' said Picard. I love that expression! [...] He was someone who routinely believed in shaping reality to his needs. 'Make it so' basically translated to, 'Make reality into what I wish it to be.' "
Oh, and one more:
" 'The simplest explanation is generally the correct one.'
'Occam's Razor,' said Data.
The Vulcan raised an eyebrow. 'Sutak's Fifth Principle.'
'Beethoven's Ninth,' I chimed in."
How is it I didn't even remember until just now about the multiple ending puncuation marks?!? Because I hate those!? I kept trying to make myself feel like Q was messing with me by using them, but I couldn't quite convince myself. Still, not nearly enough to ruin the experience.
Because I loved Q's POV. At times, for a line or two, he'd remind me of Vlad from Steven Brust's Taltos series. And some of his asides were just right-on-the-money awesome. And I loved the way Q tells a story.
I saw a review around here that had the term "out-of-character" in it. I had to stare at that. It's so not "out-of-character"---it's just so much more in-depth than the series could go. And that was awesome.
There were lines and philosophies in here that made me go, "See! I think like an omniscient being!" Or, at least, "I think like a guy who played an omniscient being on TV!"
Heh.
I can't even express how elated I was to find as many jewels in here as I did. "Debauchery by an individual is deplorable. Debauchery en masse is a party."
Dude, there's even an off-the-cuff, under-the-table, flat-out The Princess Bride reference. C'mon, now, how am I not gonna love that?
I don't mind that so many of Q's references center around Earth, especially history your average reader would know. Most of the time, that'd be something to raise a brow at, but with Q, it makes sense---because he's obsessed with Humanity and because it just felt like he was going out of his way to make it relatable to a human. Maybe without even really noticing he was doing it. Or, at least, not acknowledging it. Oh, layers.
Another cool thing was that I remembered scenes as I read them, from my previous reading, but I didn't remember reading them; I remembered seeing them. As if I'd seen an episode of TNG with these scenes in it. (I haven't met my quota for using the word "awesome" yet, have I? Because that's just awesome.)
In honor of the fact that Steven sent me this book for my birthday, and thereby reunited me with this book I didn't even know I really needed to reread, I'm going to end with a favorite passage:
" 'Then make it so,' said Picard. I love that expression! [...] He was someone who routinely believed in shaping reality to his needs. 'Make it so' basically translated to, 'Make reality into what I wish it to be.' "
Oh, and one more:
" 'The simplest explanation is generally the correct one.'
'Occam's Razor,' said Data.
The Vulcan raised an eyebrow. 'Sutak's Fifth Principle.'
'Beethoven's Ninth,' I chimed in."
How is it I didn't even remember until just now about the multiple ending puncuation marks?!? Because I hate those!? I kept trying to make myself feel like Q was messing with me by using them, but I couldn't quite convince myself. Still, not nearly enough to ruin the experience.
January 2, 2022
Faced with the imminent End of the Universe, Q seeks the assistance of Captain Picard and Data to decipher what is behind the dramatic turn of events as he tries to put a stop to it while at the same time rescuing his family.
I can see why I, Q is marmite to so many of the reviewers here on Goodreads. I found myself swinging between excitement and despair as the novel careened through its series of increasingly implausible plot points. The story is told from a first-person perspective as Q recounts his experiences during the End of Everything.
Once the story settles into a rhythm, our intrepid trio - Q, Picard and Data - are forced to negotiate physical manifestations of the Five Stages of Grief, as laid out in the Kübler-Ross model (totally a real thing - check it out, it's pretty interesting!). At times, these stages feel like a Disney Amusement Park ride, as the characters lurch from one death-defying stage to another. Like any good amusement park ride, you have a nice splash of peril (trains on course for a pit of fire, falling over the edge of a waterfall, escaping from a vicious God trying to smite you) with a sprinkling of familiar faces (Jadzia Dax, Locutus of Borg, the Grand Nagus) to enchant you along the way. These work with limited amounts of success, largely because so much of this novel just seems so... silly.
Therein lies the problem with I, Q. Q is, by his nature, a trickster, a joker. Whether it's miniaturizing Voyager to fit on a Christmas tree or going several rounds with Ben Sisko in a boxing ring - he is the King of implausible, daft and silly situations. If you hold on to that core tenet of the character, as I tried to do, you will probably get a decent amount of enjoyment from this book. De Lancie's fingerprints are all over the dialogue here, and he captures Q's voice very well. For this reader, however, things fall down when trying to drape the jocularity of Q over something so serious as the end of the universe and the potential death of his family. It's jarring, and makes me wonder if it was a case of oil and water subject themes - never the two should mix.
My review would probably have scraped through with three stars, were it not for the rushed and contrived ending. Those readers hoping for a satisfactory conclusion to such a question as "Who would want to End the Universe? Why? and How?" should look elsewhere. The capricious and arbitrary nature of lifeforms like Q is used as a means to paper over any meaningful answers to the motivation behind I, Q's plot. A solid two stars.
I can see why I, Q is marmite to so many of the reviewers here on Goodreads. I found myself swinging between excitement and despair as the novel careened through its series of increasingly implausible plot points. The story is told from a first-person perspective as Q recounts his experiences during the End of Everything.
Once the story settles into a rhythm, our intrepid trio - Q, Picard and Data - are forced to negotiate physical manifestations of the Five Stages of Grief, as laid out in the Kübler-Ross model (totally a real thing - check it out, it's pretty interesting!). At times, these stages feel like a Disney Amusement Park ride, as the characters lurch from one death-defying stage to another. Like any good amusement park ride, you have a nice splash of peril (trains on course for a pit of fire, falling over the edge of a waterfall, escaping from a vicious God trying to smite you) with a sprinkling of familiar faces (Jadzia Dax, Locutus of Borg, the Grand Nagus) to enchant you along the way. These work with limited amounts of success, largely because so much of this novel just seems so... silly.
Therein lies the problem with I, Q. Q is, by his nature, a trickster, a joker. Whether it's miniaturizing Voyager to fit on a Christmas tree or going several rounds with Ben Sisko in a boxing ring - he is the King of implausible, daft and silly situations. If you hold on to that core tenet of the character, as I tried to do, you will probably get a decent amount of enjoyment from this book. De Lancie's fingerprints are all over the dialogue here, and he captures Q's voice very well. For this reader, however, things fall down when trying to drape the jocularity of Q over something so serious as the end of the universe and the potential death of his family. It's jarring, and makes me wonder if it was a case of oil and water subject themes - never the two should mix.
My review would probably have scraped through with three stars, were it not for the rushed and contrived ending. Those readers hoping for a satisfactory conclusion to such a question as "Who would want to End the Universe? Why? and How?" should look elsewhere. The capricious and arbitrary nature of lifeforms like Q is used as a means to paper over any meaningful answers to the motivation behind I, Q's plot. A solid two stars.
May 8, 2020
I am seriously shocked at how much I didn’t like this book... because believe me, I wanted to.
Q ranks among my top five all-time favorite Star Trek characters. I squeal with glee when I recognize the start of an episode as a “Q episode”. I figured with the amazing talent of John de Lancie involved in the writing of this book, what could go wrong?
Apparently everything.
I don’t even know who to blame, Lancie, or Peter David, the actual “novelist” involved with it.
The whole novel reads like a fan fiction written by a teenage boy that just recently read Douglas Adams’ masterful work and is delusional enough to think he can be just as clever.
Picard and Data are walking plot devices that speak like cardboard cutouts of their true selves. Whether that was intentional because it’s told from Q’s perspective is debatable, but I feel it’s more a lack of awareness on the author’s part. Exploring Data’s emotional chip results in basically a cartoonish display of anger and all of Picard’s dialog sounds NOTHING like him.
Q’s intriguingly arrogant, loner, mischief-maker characteristics are completely washed away by the inclusion and plot line of him having a family and going to rescue them. You have a character like Q and you give him the most basic, formulaic quest in all of storytelling history?!?! Any part in the story referencing his established characteristics on the shows is in flashbacks, stories Q tells you about “this one time”. Then there’s stolen lines from works of literature that are MUCH better. They legit stole the “Inconceivable” bit from Princess Bride in an insanely unfunny and uncreative way.
I despise the ending.
One of the things I always loved about Star Trek was that any supreme being they came across, claiming to be a god, etc. was shown to be either a fake, or a being with the knowledge that it most certainly was not actually the end all, be all.
This book? This book strips away all that and boom, there’s a god, or goddess, and the worst part? Q “prays” to her in the end.
Q.
Prays.
...
The only reason I didn’t give it one star, is because I finished it and it wasn’t as bad as The Dog Master, the worst book I’ve ever read, ever.
Q ranks among my top five all-time favorite Star Trek characters. I squeal with glee when I recognize the start of an episode as a “Q episode”. I figured with the amazing talent of John de Lancie involved in the writing of this book, what could go wrong?
Apparently everything.
I don’t even know who to blame, Lancie, or Peter David, the actual “novelist” involved with it.
The whole novel reads like a fan fiction written by a teenage boy that just recently read Douglas Adams’ masterful work and is delusional enough to think he can be just as clever.
Picard and Data are walking plot devices that speak like cardboard cutouts of their true selves. Whether that was intentional because it’s told from Q’s perspective is debatable, but I feel it’s more a lack of awareness on the author’s part. Exploring Data’s emotional chip results in basically a cartoonish display of anger and all of Picard’s dialog sounds NOTHING like him.
Q’s intriguingly arrogant, loner, mischief-maker characteristics are completely washed away by the inclusion and plot line of him having a family and going to rescue them. You have a character like Q and you give him the most basic, formulaic quest in all of storytelling history?!?! Any part in the story referencing his established characteristics on the shows is in flashbacks, stories Q tells you about “this one time”. Then there’s stolen lines from works of literature that are MUCH better. They legit stole the “Inconceivable” bit from Princess Bride in an insanely unfunny and uncreative way.
I despise the ending.
One of the things I always loved about Star Trek was that any supreme being they came across, claiming to be a god, etc. was shown to be either a fake, or a being with the knowledge that it most certainly was not actually the end all, be all.
This book? This book strips away all that and boom, there’s a god, or goddess, and the worst part? Q “prays” to her in the end.
Q.
Prays.
...
The only reason I didn’t give it one star, is because I finished it and it wasn’t as bad as The Dog Master, the worst book I’ve ever read, ever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2021
Delightful read.
Loved de Lancie's voice as Q shining through the text. He and Peter David did a nice job balancing voice and storytelling. You feel the rhythms of his intonations and the way his dialogue pops.
This is a different kind of Star Trek novel, but very true to the character of Q.
It's a playful voice-driven character adventure reminiscent of Dante's Inferno and chock full of wry humor.
Also rises above itself in a mature kind of emotional uplift that is neither overwrought nor fully explained.
It's an honest quest worthy of an omnipotent being without relying on his powers to solve the story problems. In that way this is a really mature nugget and treasure of a book, worth re-reading as a stormy-day book to not only divert and entertain but reflect and uplift.
Loved de Lancie's voice as Q shining through the text. He and Peter David did a nice job balancing voice and storytelling. You feel the rhythms of his intonations and the way his dialogue pops.
This is a different kind of Star Trek novel, but very true to the character of Q.
It's a playful voice-driven character adventure reminiscent of Dante's Inferno and chock full of wry humor.
Also rises above itself in a mature kind of emotional uplift that is neither overwrought nor fully explained.
It's an honest quest worthy of an omnipotent being without relying on his powers to solve the story problems. In that way this is a really mature nugget and treasure of a book, worth re-reading as a stormy-day book to not only divert and entertain but reflect and uplift.
April 27, 2014
Decent Star Trek book primarily focused on the TNG characters of the series. This is the second Star Trek book I have read that is penned (or partially penned) by the actor who portrayed the character from the show. The book was co-authored by the great Peter David. I, Q gives a first person narrative by Q, on events and his activities as the universe is ending. Supporting characters include his wife, son, Picard, and Data. Other characters who appear include Dax, the Grand Nagus, albeit both briefly. de Lancie (and David) did a great job of nailing Q and his mannerisms. There were even quiet a few jokes that were very funny. I, Q was very enjoyable and I would recommend it to any fan of Q.
February 18, 2008
As it promises, it's one of the funniest and wittiest Star Trek novels of all time. I dare to compare it to "How much for just this Planet?". Written by John DeLancie (Q), it bears the (way better) English title "I, Q". Also some other members of the Q-Continuum appear in this book, for example q. If I ever want to read a Star Trek novel again, this should be my choice (I hope I'll remember)...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
July 12, 2021I will never regret saving this book from the dumpster. It was a good laugh and something to think about. Actually I am not so familiar with Star Trek Universe, but I kind of pick up the most important things.
March 23, 2022
this book is goofy and all over the place and yknow what, i kinda loved it. i had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook and that’s how it should be experienced imo, delancie is a national treasure
March 25, 2022
I listened to this audiobook while working on an art project - it’s narrated by John DeLancie and was extremely entertaining! If you enjoy the character of Q, what better way to enjoy a book about Q than to have it read to you by Q himself!
May 25, 2022
I heart-warming look into Q and his relationships with those around him. Quite a short book, but amusing, emotional and with a sense of drama all in good measure. Some of the dialogue reminded me of parts of 'the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy', but in a good way.
May 15, 2009
I thought this book was crap. And I'm a Star Trek nerd.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews