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Star Trek: The Next Generation
Planet X
On the planet Xhaldia, ordinary men and women are mutating into bizarre creatures with extraordinary powers. But is this a momentous evolutionary leap or an unparalleled catastrophe? The very fabric of Xhaldian society is threatened as fear and prejudice divide the transformed from their own kin. Dispatched to cope with the growing crisis, Captain Picard and the crew of the Starship Enterprise receive some unexpected visitors from another reality, in the form of a group of mutant heroes known as the uncanny X-Men. Storm, leader of the team, offers her help in resolving a situation that is agonizingly similar to the human/mutant conflicts of their own time and space. But when hostile aliens appear in orbit around Xhaldia to try and abduct the transformed for use as superpowered weapons in an attack on the Federation, even the combined forces of the crew of Starfleet and the X-Men may be unable to prevent an inferno of death and destruction. Starfleet's finest crew and Earth's greatest mutant heroes will need all their powers and abilities to save the Xhaldia people and stop a deadly threat to the Federation.
265 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1998
About the author
Michael Jan Friedman
382 books202 followersMichael Jan Friedman is an author of more than seventy books of fiction and nonfiction, half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Eleven of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. Friedman has also written for network and cable television and radio, and scripted nearly 200 comic books, including his original DC superhero series, the Darkstars.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
January 28, 2011
What something named Star Trek: The Next Generation -- X-Men:Planet X might be, in increasing levels of amazingness:
1. A three-page comic drawn on lined paper during a 1991 study hall
2. A Patrick-Stewart-on-Patrick-Stewart slashfic solely with internet distribution
3. A '90s 'zine that featured avant pop poetry
4. A graphic novel
5. A small cult located on the Southwestern boarder of Nevada that got wiped out by the ATF after making a NevadaCon too awkward
6. A novel
7. A good novel
I congratulate this book for making it all the way to 6.
1. A three-page comic drawn on lined paper during a 1991 study hall
2. A Patrick-Stewart-on-Patrick-Stewart slashfic solely with internet distribution
3. A '90s 'zine that featured avant pop poetry
4. A graphic novel
5. A small cult located on the Southwestern boarder of Nevada that got wiped out by the ATF after making a NevadaCon too awkward
6. A novel
7. A good novel
I congratulate this book for making it all the way to 6.
May 26, 2023
As expected . . . so cheesy, so groanfully bad. Of course everyone reading this is hoping for some Patrick-Stewart-as-Professor-X/Patrick-Stewart-as-Captain-Picard slash fiction . . .
. . . but despite the glowing green disembodied head on the cover art, Professor X does not appear in this novel. Or does he?
The two properties have mashed up before, in comic book form, first with the ST:TOS crew in Star Trek/X-Men and then with ST:TNG in Star Trek/X-Men: Second Contact #1, for which this novel is a fairly direct sequel. It's been a year since the crew of the Enterprise-E first met the X-Men, but only moments for the latter, because of technobabble. It's convenient that they rejoin forces at this particular time and space (ha!) because by sheer coincidence a nearby planet is having their own emerging mutant crisis, one which the X-Men are uniquely positioned to help guide their population through, a solution which the X-Men don't actually do in the least.
What the X-Men do accomplish is to act like sugared-up toddlers and drop some truly awful written dialect (I'm looking at you, Wolverine).
No one picks up a licensed IP novel, a.k.a. authorized fanfiction with copy editing, with great expectations. I read dozens of Star Trek novels in my teens but I haven't put any on my GR shelves because I can't be positive which ones I did and didn't read. That's how memorable they are. The one thing I remember clearly was one book relating that Data and Tasha Yar continued their sexual relationship after the events of ST:TNG season 1, episode 3, The Naked Now. That kind of thing sticks in a teen boy's head, I guess. Anyway, this book is no exception. Written with basic competence and familiarity with the source material, it's naturally still filled with continuity errors, completely unbelievable character actions, and an utter lack of tension because, as canon, the reader is firmly aware that nothing of lasting significance can happen to any pre-existing character or technology.
Pretty much every scene left me groaning internally, and sometimes audibly. It might have been the painful dialogue, the overnarrated actions, the screenplay-like direction, the silly character behaviour, or just the basic setup of the moment. At least it was consistent! There are many easter eggs for TV and comic fans (and natually no one else should ever consider reading this), like the random Starfleet security officers Ditko and Kirby, who outlive their fellow redshirt.
An fun ironic read, and fortunately impossible not to know what you're getting into.
. . . but despite the glowing green disembodied head on the cover art, Professor X does not appear in this novel. Or does he?
The two properties have mashed up before, in comic book form, first with the ST:TOS crew in Star Trek/X-Men and then with ST:TNG in Star Trek/X-Men: Second Contact #1, for which this novel is a fairly direct sequel. It's been a year since the crew of the Enterprise-E first met the X-Men, but only moments for the latter, because of technobabble. It's convenient that they rejoin forces at this particular time and space (ha!) because by sheer coincidence a nearby planet is having their own emerging mutant crisis, one which the X-Men are uniquely positioned to help guide their population through, a solution which the X-Men don't actually do in the least.
What the X-Men do accomplish is to act like sugared-up toddlers and drop some truly awful written dialect (I'm looking at you, Wolverine).
No one picks up a licensed IP novel, a.k.a. authorized fanfiction with copy editing, with great expectations. I read dozens of Star Trek novels in my teens but I haven't put any on my GR shelves because I can't be positive which ones I did and didn't read. That's how memorable they are. The one thing I remember clearly was one book relating that Data and Tasha Yar continued their sexual relationship after the events of ST:TNG season 1, episode 3, The Naked Now. That kind of thing sticks in a teen boy's head, I guess. Anyway, this book is no exception. Written with basic competence and familiarity with the source material, it's naturally still filled with continuity errors, completely unbelievable character actions, and an utter lack of tension because, as canon, the reader is firmly aware that nothing of lasting significance can happen to any pre-existing character or technology.
Pretty much every scene left me groaning internally, and sometimes audibly. It might have been the painful dialogue, the overnarrated actions, the screenplay-like direction, the silly character behaviour, or just the basic setup of the moment. At least it was consistent! There are many easter eggs for TV and comic fans (and natually no one else should ever consider reading this), like the random Starfleet security officers Ditko and Kirby, who outlive their fellow redshirt.
An fun ironic read, and fortunately impossible not to know what you're getting into.
April 6, 2007
This is perhaps the most gloriously awful book I have ever read.
May 23, 2019
Let’s get one thing out of the way: This book is not a masterwork of literature. But it is a delight.
I was surprised to discover that this is a sequel, to a comic called Second Contact in which the crew of the Enterprise and the x-men meet. For the Enterprise, a year has passed - but for the X-Men, they tried to leave the 24th century and ended up right back in it, where they proceed to annoy everyone they meet. Coincidentally (or is it?!), a nearby planet is having a mutant crisis of its own, and the x-men intervene, though not really in the way you might expect.
Why is Wolverine saying “darn tootin’” and drinking prune juice? Why is Picard so horny for Storm? How is the body count so high and yet the emotional impact so low? Truly, this book presents some mysteries of the universe. But it has all the silly joy of a crossover fanfic and I tore through it. Heck, I’d read another.
I was surprised to discover that this is a sequel, to a comic called Second Contact in which the crew of the Enterprise and the x-men meet. For the Enterprise, a year has passed - but for the X-Men, they tried to leave the 24th century and ended up right back in it, where they proceed to annoy everyone they meet. Coincidentally (or is it?!), a nearby planet is having a mutant crisis of its own, and the x-men intervene, though not really in the way you might expect.
Why is Wolverine saying “darn tootin’” and drinking prune juice? Why is Picard so horny for Storm? How is the body count so high and yet the emotional impact so low? Truly, this book presents some mysteries of the universe. But it has all the silly joy of a crossover fanfic and I tore through it. Heck, I’d read another.
January 14, 2012
In the star trek: the next generation universe, some aliens suddenly become mutants. Meanwhile the enterprise is surprised to suddenly find the X-men on board, but not too surprised mostly because they have fought besides them before (? Any idea where?) Cue the X-men interacting with the NTTG crew in weird ways, like Worf and Wolverine running sims in the Danger Room-wait the Holodeck, Storm and Picard having some weird romantic tension, and Archangel getting chewed out for flying around in the halls. From there, you can get a decent idea of what will happen.
I wanted to give this -4 for writing, and 5 for sheer audacity, so I ended up with a 1. The writing...well, even by Star Trek standards, it's bad. We are talking fan fiction novel level, possibly published only because the author has a amazing 30+ books to his credit, and lets face it. Sheer geek appeal will ensure some of these get bought. Other than that it's meandering, wasting tremendous amounts of time on the nondescript aliens that become mutants, has a silly plot, clunky prose, and probably will infuriate fans of either show.
But for the fact that this being published gives hope to all struggling writers everywhere, and that a writer obviously got to write a dream crossover, I have to give him props. That this book exists at all is an achievement, even if a notorious one.
I wanted to give this -4 for writing, and 5 for sheer audacity, so I ended up with a 1. The writing...well, even by Star Trek standards, it's bad. We are talking fan fiction novel level, possibly published only because the author has a amazing 30+ books to his credit, and lets face it. Sheer geek appeal will ensure some of these get bought. Other than that it's meandering, wasting tremendous amounts of time on the nondescript aliens that become mutants, has a silly plot, clunky prose, and probably will infuriate fans of either show.
But for the fact that this being published gives hope to all struggling writers everywhere, and that a writer obviously got to write a dream crossover, I have to give him props. That this book exists at all is an achievement, even if a notorious one.
March 28, 2022
So, this one is a Star Trek: The Next Generation novel featuring the X-Men. Yep. My inner geek was so incredibly stoked when I picked this treasure off the bookstore book shelves. I was, like, awesome! ST:TNG meets the X-Men! How sweet is that!
As it turns out, not that sweet. Kinda dumb, actually. It's one of those books that is much better as a concept than an actual book. Actually, it's not even a good concept. In my geek-boy mind, though, it made a pretty awesome movie... Michael Jan Friedman may be a decent writer, but this book did not reflect that.
I'm gonna go eat some Doritos and watch a zombie movie now, just to wash this book from memory...
As it turns out, not that sweet. Kinda dumb, actually. It's one of those books that is much better as a concept than an actual book. Actually, it's not even a good concept. In my geek-boy mind, though, it made a pretty awesome movie... Michael Jan Friedman may be a decent writer, but this book did not reflect that.
I'm gonna go eat some Doritos and watch a zombie movie now, just to wash this book from memory...
Want to read
January 27, 2008X-Men and Star Trek in the same book? Together? Shields up! My nerd brain's gonna go supernova!
August 31, 2012
Although I enjoyed parts of this book I just couldn't give it 3 stars due to its awful writing. I've never read anything with so many sentences that start with "But" and "And". Friedman uses excessive description not for world building but for needless reasons such as describing where characters are in relation to each other. I'm not a writer so I have a hard time describing the problems with the writing, but if you go down a few reviews there's a good example of the wordiness. If you're a fan of X-Men and Star Trek: TNG I would recommend this to you as a silly read. When I saw it on the bookshelf I had to buy it because of the absurdness of it. Although if you're a big fan maybe it's not a good idea to read it because Friedman makes a lot of the characters pretty cheesy. This is a book not to be taken seriously. Hopefully the Doctor Who/Star Trek: TNG crossover is better than this.
January 8, 2010
Well it isn't exactly 5 star writing. It's a bit hackneyed in places and full of obvious shoutouts. The majority of doomed security officers (redshirts!) have the names of famous comic book creators. However as a proud nerd this book hilariously and excitingly manages to distill the essence of what makes both franchises great. I imagine it might be unreadable for noobs as it demands a great deal of foreknowledge of both series. If you have the science fiction background for it though this is so much awesome you're surprised it can fit in one book.
October 25, 2007
How can you pass this book on a bookshelf and not buy it? Don't judge me, it was like 2 bucks! Actually, it's kinda silly but at least they tried. We get the requisite Star Trek team chumming it up with the X-Men on the Enterprise (where they mysteriously teleported) and get this! They've met before! Anyways, after the stretch Wolverine chatting it up with Worf as long as possible, they move to a planet where a population of mutants is being persecuted, OMG just like the X-men are used to. The majority of the rest of the book revolves aroun the new mutant uprisings and their all new characters with occaisional cameos by the famous folk giving sage tolerance advice. The sci-fi plot, stripped of X-men and Star Trek is actually decent, thus the high rating.
May 12, 2020
why is so little of this book actually about characters from X-Men and/or Star Trek??? it's a book, don't tell me the actors were unavail
http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers...
http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers...
May 3, 2017
This was underwhelming...
After having wanted to read this crossover book for years, it was quite a disappointment. I've read better Star Trek books and X-men.
It's basically about how people are becoming mutants on a random planet and being persecuted. Because this is Star Trek though there also has to be an alien invasion thrown in. The X-Men show up to help.
That's about it.
The writing is very wordy. If half the words were chopped out we would still have the entire story and more then enough fun stuff.
So overall three stars, but I'm mentally giving it five because reading the epilogue is so worth it. In fact if you have the chance, just read the epilogue.
After having wanted to read this crossover book for years, it was quite a disappointment. I've read better Star Trek books and X-men.
It's basically about how people are becoming mutants on a random planet and being persecuted. Because this is Star Trek though there also has to be an alien invasion thrown in. The X-Men show up to help.
That's about it.
The writing is very wordy. If half the words were chopped out we would still have the entire story and more then enough fun stuff.
So overall three stars, but I'm mentally giving it five because reading the epilogue is so worth it. In fact if you have the chance, just read the epilogue.
April 4, 2013
X-Men and Star Trek: The Next Generation; it makes for an enjoyable book if you don't try to take it too seriously.
This is actually the sequel to a short comic entitled "Second Contact", which has the hilarious premise of the crew of the Enterprise and the X-men teaming up to defeat a time traveling villain and setting right the time paradoxes he's created. If you've ever wanted to see Nightcrawler and Wolverine tear into some Borg, I'd suggest tracking down the comic as it's very entertaining with very nice art! But it is not necessary to read it to enjoy the book.
Overall the book itself is enjoyable. The flimsy excuse of an obscure planet suddenly having a mutant problem is just that- a flimsy excuse to write this really fun book. The writing is well rounded, even if a few of the characters come off a little flat, and while the plotline is predictable, it's still interesting. If you like either TNG, or the X-men, or just want to drive your geekiness level to the extreme, this is good read!
This is actually the sequel to a short comic entitled "Second Contact", which has the hilarious premise of the crew of the Enterprise and the X-men teaming up to defeat a time traveling villain and setting right the time paradoxes he's created. If you've ever wanted to see Nightcrawler and Wolverine tear into some Borg, I'd suggest tracking down the comic as it's very entertaining with very nice art! But it is not necessary to read it to enjoy the book.
Overall the book itself is enjoyable. The flimsy excuse of an obscure planet suddenly having a mutant problem is just that- a flimsy excuse to write this really fun book. The writing is well rounded, even if a few of the characters come off a little flat, and while the plotline is predictable, it's still interesting. If you like either TNG, or the X-men, or just want to drive your geekiness level to the extreme, this is good read!
May 29, 2022
X-Men / Star Trek: Planet X By Michael Jan Friedman, is a media tie-in novel based of the Marvel comic’s X-Men comic franchise and Star Trek: The Next Generation TV show.
the story opens on the planet, Xhaldia, where inexplicable transformations begin erupting amongst the populace. Dozens of young adults begin developing superpowers, to which the planet's government promptly rounds them all up and imprisons them until they can find out the cause of their mutations--inciting backlash and resistance from "the transformed". Meanwhile, the X-Men (consisting of Storm, Wolverine, Banshee, Colossus, Archangel, Shadowcat, and Nightcrawler) suddenly and unexpectedly are teleported from their own dimension to a starbase in "Star Trek's" dimension. They're reunited with the Enterprise crew soon after, and when the situation on Xhaldia reaches a breaking point, the Enterprise is called in to assist. With the X-Men along for the ride, our heroes have their work cut out for them. Can the X-Men trust this alternate dimension where everyone is seemingly accepted for what they are? Why are the people on Xhaldia mutating? Why is this unknown, violent race of aliens trying to capture the transformed? And will the X-Men ever get home?
This book plays out like a professionally published fan fiction, and the author clearly loved both Star Trek and X-Men, as there's definitely a keen eye for little details that remind us fans why we love these characters to begin with. Unlike the two previous comics, which were operating under page limits, and therefore, had to constantly keep the action and plot moving, because this is a written novel, both fandoms are given much more time to interact with each other and draw comparisons between the two. Picard and Storm clearly catch each other's eye, and are the stalwart leaders of their respective teams--offering insight into how their respective universes operate. Worf and Wolverine are entertaining as all heck---loving and respecting one another's "warrior" lifestyles and taking every opportunity to fight alongside each other. And Dr. Crusher takes the creative route and conjures up the likeness of Professor Xavier in the holodeck so as to get a helping hand in figuring out the problem on Xhaldia---treating us to a scene of the Professor and Picard interacting (and making me laugh at the sheer ironic foreshadowing to Patrick Stewart's future film career).
About the only thing that bothers me is that the ending is a bit rushed. The full on action doesn't really pick up until the last third of the book, and the entire plot and its explanation of what exactly is going on and why is just wrapped up a bit too neatly and in just a chapter or two. The villains don't really get any development at all, and almost seem like a last minute addition to give the heroes something tangible to fight. Most of the rest of the page length is spent with the characters interacting, but honestly, I don't mind at all, as each X-man and Enterprise crewmember that's paired up makes complete sense. Every character has something to do, and the things they talk about give plenty of food for thought. It almost makes me kind of sad when the X-Men have to return to their own dimension, as the Star Trek world is clearly more kind, considerate, and accepting towards them.
All in all, X-Men/Star Trek: Planet X is Exciting, entertaining, and interesting, if you're a fan of Trek or Marvel, then this is the book for you. Hopefully, maybe someday, these two universes that aren't so different from each other can meet up again.
the story opens on the planet, Xhaldia, where inexplicable transformations begin erupting amongst the populace. Dozens of young adults begin developing superpowers, to which the planet's government promptly rounds them all up and imprisons them until they can find out the cause of their mutations--inciting backlash and resistance from "the transformed". Meanwhile, the X-Men (consisting of Storm, Wolverine, Banshee, Colossus, Archangel, Shadowcat, and Nightcrawler) suddenly and unexpectedly are teleported from their own dimension to a starbase in "Star Trek's" dimension. They're reunited with the Enterprise crew soon after, and when the situation on Xhaldia reaches a breaking point, the Enterprise is called in to assist. With the X-Men along for the ride, our heroes have their work cut out for them. Can the X-Men trust this alternate dimension where everyone is seemingly accepted for what they are? Why are the people on Xhaldia mutating? Why is this unknown, violent race of aliens trying to capture the transformed? And will the X-Men ever get home?
This book plays out like a professionally published fan fiction, and the author clearly loved both Star Trek and X-Men, as there's definitely a keen eye for little details that remind us fans why we love these characters to begin with. Unlike the two previous comics, which were operating under page limits, and therefore, had to constantly keep the action and plot moving, because this is a written novel, both fandoms are given much more time to interact with each other and draw comparisons between the two. Picard and Storm clearly catch each other's eye, and are the stalwart leaders of their respective teams--offering insight into how their respective universes operate. Worf and Wolverine are entertaining as all heck---loving and respecting one another's "warrior" lifestyles and taking every opportunity to fight alongside each other. And Dr. Crusher takes the creative route and conjures up the likeness of Professor Xavier in the holodeck so as to get a helping hand in figuring out the problem on Xhaldia---treating us to a scene of the Professor and Picard interacting (and making me laugh at the sheer ironic foreshadowing to Patrick Stewart's future film career).
About the only thing that bothers me is that the ending is a bit rushed. The full on action doesn't really pick up until the last third of the book, and the entire plot and its explanation of what exactly is going on and why is just wrapped up a bit too neatly and in just a chapter or two. The villains don't really get any development at all, and almost seem like a last minute addition to give the heroes something tangible to fight. Most of the rest of the page length is spent with the characters interacting, but honestly, I don't mind at all, as each X-man and Enterprise crewmember that's paired up makes complete sense. Every character has something to do, and the things they talk about give plenty of food for thought. It almost makes me kind of sad when the X-Men have to return to their own dimension, as the Star Trek world is clearly more kind, considerate, and accepting towards them.
All in all, X-Men/Star Trek: Planet X is Exciting, entertaining, and interesting, if you're a fan of Trek or Marvel, then this is the book for you. Hopefully, maybe someday, these two universes that aren't so different from each other can meet up again.
April 29, 2023
Far from perfect, but a decent read nonetheless, this serves as the finale to the Star Trek/X-Men crossover trilogy. The first two entries were in comic book form, whereas this conclusion was written as a whole novel. Yes, a conclusion, so be sure to check out the two that came before this!
The first in the series was Star Trek/X-Men (with the 1966 crew). The second was called Star Trek: the Next Generation/X-Men: Second Contact (a play on the great Next Generation film's title, Star Trek: First Contact, directed by Riker himself, Jonathan Frakes).
Writer Michael Jan Friedman writes all of the characters pretty well and their interactions with eachother--especially Worf and Wolverine--were done with enough care to make a fan smile. I believe Mr. Friedman wrote a few other Trek-centered novels back in the day, too. I wouldn't call this one an essential Star Trek novel, but if you just want a quick, fun read you can turn your brain off for, this is the one for you. That, or if you're a sucker for crossovers like myself, then definitely check this one out!
The first in the series was Star Trek/X-Men (with the 1966 crew). The second was called Star Trek: the Next Generation/X-Men: Second Contact (a play on the great Next Generation film's title, Star Trek: First Contact, directed by Riker himself, Jonathan Frakes).
Writer Michael Jan Friedman writes all of the characters pretty well and their interactions with eachother--especially Worf and Wolverine--were done with enough care to make a fan smile. I believe Mr. Friedman wrote a few other Trek-centered novels back in the day, too. I wouldn't call this one an essential Star Trek novel, but if you just want a quick, fun read you can turn your brain off for, this is the one for you. That, or if you're a sucker for crossovers like myself, then definitely check this one out!
October 24, 2018
Absolutely loved loved it every character was near and dear to my hear...
This book was recommended to me by Good reads and thak god i it did coz i wouldn't have picked up this book with this cover..
Any i loved picard he is strong , sensible man.
I love storm she is perfect leader ... I love ve every character in this book... I miss them already.. I can read hundred books about them
The more i like this book cuz i reminded me of the flash ... With unique character and the sci-fi i loved loved it... Storm was like flash to me...
And every character was my favorite i wanted to protect every character... I wanted to hug every one of them...
Maybe it doesn't take much to impress me
This book was recommended to me by Good reads and thak god i it did coz i wouldn't have picked up this book with this cover..
Any i loved picard he is strong , sensible man.
I love storm she is perfect leader ... I love ve every character in this book... I miss them already.. I can read hundred books about them
The more i like this book cuz i reminded me of the flash ... With unique character and the sci-fi i loved loved it... Storm was like flash to me...
And every character was my favorite i wanted to protect every character... I wanted to hug every one of them...
Maybe it doesn't take much to impress me
February 2, 2021
I've read good Trek fiction. I've read good superhero fiction. This was neither. It was entertaining in a "let's put the Enterprise and the X-Men together and see what happens" way, but it wasn't very good. Also, as others have pointed out in their reviews, it spent very little time with the crew of the Enterprise OR the X-Men; it felt like half the book was dedicated to setting up the characters and relationships of the transformed on Xhaldia, only to not do anything at all with those relationships as they did their big comic-book finale. At least it was a reasonably quick read.
September 11, 2022
2.5.
An entertaining bit of crossover fluff when the characters from both franchises are interacting and getting to know each other, a generic slog when the back half devolves into endless melodramatic fighting of bland, mustache twirling bad guys.
An entertaining bit of crossover fluff when the characters from both franchises are interacting and getting to know each other, a generic slog when the back half devolves into endless melodramatic fighting of bland, mustache twirling bad guys.
February 22, 2021
I mean, yeah, the plot was kinda dumb. But I wanted a story about the x-men and star trek. I got exactly that.
January 3, 2022
2022 is the year of having fun only.
April 5, 2020
This book is not good but extra an extra star for all the Prof X and Captain Picard comparisons. 😂
July 6, 2012
This is the kind of book you really *can* judge by its cover; If you think it's going to be really silly, you're right, but if you think it's going to be AWESOME, you're right, too!
Star Trek and X-Men fans will get their money's worth, here. There's a bit of fun fanservice, the characters do what you expect them to do, and the bad guys are big gross lizard people. Boom, novel.
The book also takes an enjoyably TNG-esque plot arc - The first half is full of dull (but well crafted) one-on-one dialogues and peppered with hinted-at-but-never-realized fanboy-approved romances, just like an episode of TNG. The last half is lasers. Just like an episode of TNG.
Ulitmately, a Trek/X-Men fan will enjoy this book, but don't expect it to make a convert out of a non-believer.
Star Trek and X-Men fans will get their money's worth, here. There's a bit of fun fanservice, the characters do what you expect them to do, and the bad guys are big gross lizard people. Boom, novel.
The book also takes an enjoyably TNG-esque plot arc - The first half is full of dull (but well crafted) one-on-one dialogues and peppered with hinted-at-but-never-realized fanboy-approved romances, just like an episode of TNG. The last half is lasers. Just like an episode of TNG.
Ulitmately, a Trek/X-Men fan will enjoy this book, but don't expect it to make a convert out of a non-believer.
October 18, 2012
This book was exactly what you would expect for a clash of two different worlds. The writing was mediocre but not horrible. It got the story along and the story itself made sense in the way that Star Trek: Next Generation and X-Men stories do. In short, this was a fun piece to read if you really want to get your nerd on, then pick it up lol. But I would recommend not investing too terribly much into this book, and if you expect something horrible, you'll be pleasantly surprised. If you expect something fantastic, forget it lol. There is only so much one can do when mixing two worlds together and making it an epic story is a rare thing. Consider this a filler episode and just call it good :) That is what I did.
July 28, 2015
I tend to be very forgiving of genre fiction (particularly "Franchise" fiction), but this book was just BAD. (Especially in light of some of the actual good Trek fiction out there over the last few decades!)
You would think by taking 2 franchises I like, you would double the enjoyment factor, but not quite so much in this case.
I found this book to be poorly plotted and tedious, and the characters were barely recognizable as themselves in order to service the laughable "plot.".
I'd give this a recommended "Miss", and refer you over the some of assorted other Trek fiction out there (like the"Corps of Engineers" series, the "IKS Gorkon" series, or the DS9 relaunch titles such as "A Stich in Time".)
You would think by taking 2 franchises I like, you would double the enjoyment factor, but not quite so much in this case.
I found this book to be poorly plotted and tedious, and the characters were barely recognizable as themselves in order to service the laughable "plot.".
I'd give this a recommended "Miss", and refer you over the some of assorted other Trek fiction out there (like the"Corps of Engineers" series, the "IKS Gorkon" series, or the DS9 relaunch titles such as "A Stich in Time".)
June 19, 2009
My friend showed me this book and a feeling of nerdy obligation floated through my brain. I don't really read star trek books. This was the first and quite probably the last. It wasn't terrible, just a pleasantly decent stab at the meta human genre with a star trek twist. The only annoying thing about it was how much effort the author spent showing a best buddy friendship between the characters of Worf and Wolverine. Because the both like violence. For all the sense that makes. I would have loved to see an alpha male-type struggle for dominance between the two. That would have been vastly preferable to the instantaneous brothers-in-stab dynamic in the book.
August 4, 2011
The author definitely knows Star Trek a lot better then the X-Men (even has trouble keeping track of how many claws Wolverine has) and it also takes place during Wolverine's regrettable bone claw phase. Not bad over all though even if it does read like well written fan-fiction as did the comic book prequel. Too many characters to really go into depth with any of them especially in 260 some pages, but that's not necessarily a bad thing as it's generally not a good idea to try to get too deep with somebody else's characters in this kind of work. I have to say Q was pretty out of character in his cameo, for the TV series anyway, he does tend to come off brighter and more subtle in the books.
September 3, 2017
It's official: I've hit the highest level of nerd. And I have no shame in my game.
So thanks to someone (we all know who, let's be honest. I should've guessed it, but I didn't), the X-Men minus Prof X are in the ST:NG universe and apparently have met the main NG characters before (?? I want that story). While looking for a way back to their universe, the X-Men help the Enterprise crew deal with a planet that has exploded with mutants.
Logan and Worf have the best friendship and I love it. No annoying Troi/Riker moments and I really appreciated that.
Recommended 12+ for some language and violence.
So thanks to someone (we all know who, let's be honest. I should've guessed it, but I didn't), the X-Men minus Prof X are in the ST:NG universe and apparently have met the main NG characters before (?? I want that story). While looking for a way back to their universe, the X-Men help the Enterprise crew deal with a planet that has exploded with mutants.
Logan and Worf have the best friendship and I love it. No annoying Troi/Riker moments and I really appreciated that.
Recommended 12+ for some language and violence.
December 18, 2008
I wish I could give it both 1 star and 5 stars at the same time. The book is absolutely horrible. Just the thought of a crossover between these two franchises is absurd. However thats just what makes this so much fun to read. Akin to watching a bad horror movie where you laugh instead of scream; Planet X, from the very get-go is just one absurd scene after another. If you're a fan of either franchise, or particularly a fan of both, read it for fun. Just dont expect anything amazing.
August 21, 2010
A Star Trek/X-Men crossover? Yes, they really did such a thing! It actually wasn't too horrible, either. One of the most amusing moments was when one of the X-Men mentioned that Picard and Professor X looked similar. This was years before Patrick Stewart was cast as Prof. X, so it's either a great coincidence or Michael Jan Friedman can see into the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2011
I love both the X-Men and the Next Generation. But mixing them? I didn't think it could be done. I was wrong. Michael Jan Friedman manages to do it in this book. Now I'm curious about the meeting between the X-Men and the Original Crew that exidently happened in a comic book somewhere.
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