Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 14 Dec 2020 15:25 Title: Part 2 - Shattered: 22

Always a lot of fun for non-telepaths to have to overcome their queasiness about telepathy to participate. And for good reason. It's not always wise to allow a vulcan to root about inside your head. But Xylion is a man who has loved and lost so to speak, so he might be more receptive to Hopkins that she might suspect. 

Very interesting psychic appearance by G7 - I'm really looking forward to more interaction with him. Totally enjoyable blast from the past. 

Thanks!! rbs

Author's Response: Yeah, I'm with Nora on this too. I wouldn't want people, even those I know and trust, playing around within my mind. That's disturbing stuff. But as was pointed out in an earlier chapter: It's just the fate of countless lives that are at stake. So no pressure. Glad you're enjoying this.

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 30 Nov 2020 14:12 Title: Part 2 - Shattered: 20

The return of Gary Seven!! One of my favorite mystery characters from TOS - I had fogotten all about him. And his occasionally feline companion.

Excellent blast from the past - both figuratively and literally...

I am definitely looking forward to this.

Thanks!! rbs

Author's Response: Yeah, Gary Seven was an intriguing character. A bit of a shame they were never able to develop his appearance into a spin-off TV show as originally planned. The character has made some other appearances in the shared universe I write in but don't worry, there'll be more of him here too.

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 16 Nov 2020 13:36 Title: Part 2 - Shattered: 18

Garla has a point - there is nothing that appears to require her to prefer her original universe over the one she's landed in. That said, Lif is very probably right about his counter-part and the fact that Garla doesn't see that immediately is rather unhealthy.

Fairly certain she will end up high-tailing it back home (or to the next reality version) once Lif Beta starts to really come unglued.

Quite enjoying this storyline - particularly the many lives of Lif.

Thanks!! rbs

Author's Response: Lif clearly has some unresolved issues (don't we all) but Garla's may be far more prominent considering her ambitious plans which involved nothing less than changing the course of her people's entire society. No wonder she is trying to find new meaning in her life and this might just be an opportunity to good for her to pass up, no matter how suspicious it appears. Glad you're enjoying this storyline and thanks for the review.

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 19 Oct 2020 12:35 Title: Part 2 - Shattered: 16

Reminds me of the old adage that the optimist believes we live in the best of all possible worlds and the pessimist fears this is true. No doubt Lif will come out with a much greater appreciation for his own path - assuming, of course that he makes it out of this... Very interested to see what Garla will learn from all this. Much harder to learn when you're carrying a lot of assumptions.

Also interesting to see the difference between Garla and alt-Lif-2 in their skills as sentinals.

This is a very fun exploration into the garden of forking paths/sliders scenario. And very much a page turner.

 

Thanks!! rbs

Author's Response: It kinda sucks being Lif Culsten at the moment. I guess he's going through a bit of a gauntlet at the moment. Sure there is the physical part but more than that, what it does to his psychological well-being to be constantly faced by versions of himself that are dangerously disappointing. Glad you keep enjoying it and thanks again for the great reviews.

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 05 Oct 2020 12:43 Title: Part 2 - Shattered: 14

Great closing line - what I call a stinger.

So the krellonians are getting their business handed to them by what was in Lif's universe a minor power. And it appears Star Fleet has given Lif some very useful leadership lessons his more powerful counterparts would have greatly benefitted from. Perhaps he is the best possible Lif after all.

I'm a fan of short, pithy chapters and this one definitely counts.

Thanks!! rbs

 

Author's Response: Yeah, Lif has some experience with tough situations. In Eagle 3 "Cry Havoc" (available at StarEagleAdventures.com) he faced his own no-win scenario. Maybe you're right, and he's the best of all worlds, as it were. Time will tell. Thanks for the great review, glad you liked this chapter.

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 21 Sep 2020 13:48 Title: Part 2 - Shattered: 12

Evidently overconfidence is not exclusively a human weakness. Planetary based weapons don't have the size and energy limitations that ships have. Interesting tactical situation.

The local politics are equally interesting - romulans as puppets to the nybarite. Now that's interesting.

And another cliffhanger..

Author's Response: Sentinel Culsten clearly has some major shortcomings. The Nyberrites clearly are a formidable enemy if they have the proud Romulans in their pocket. Same goes for the Klingons and many other races. Think of them like the Borg minus the cybernetics.

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 07 Sep 2020 12:33 Title: Part 2 - Shattered: 10

Having aliens mangle our human aphorisms never fails as a comic device. A good quick transitional chapter reintroducing and recapping the subspace ring/particle collider, ender of universes and reinforcing some of the ideas about the structure's purpose.

With a classic mysterious cliff hanger.

Thanks!! rbs

Author's Response: I just cannot help myself with these cliffhangers, as you no doubt have been able to tell.

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 24 Aug 2020 01:28 Title: Part 2 - Shattered: 8

Now this is an interesting wrinkle.. It looks kind of like something that was the Federation isn't and something that wasn't the Federation is - if only a little. 

It's interesting that Lif has such admiration for her and perhaps underestimates himself. It looks like he has a lot to learn about his own potential from this new version of Lif (and in retrospect from the previous one.)

And Garla is making another rash decision. Even as she has realized how easily she had been deceived by the subspace aliens, it doesn't seem she has learned much from that yet. The young learn quickly and the old are often slower to learn...

Very interesting chapter and even moreso because there isn't a single human in it. Something Star Trek rarely did but that made Babylon 5 pop pretty much every time they did it.

Thanks!! rbs

Author's Response: The fact about no humans is an interesting one I hadn't consciously considered, probably because the Krellonians are clearly an analogy for humans. But it does bother me a bit that Trek is always so human-centric considering that the Federation has supposed to be over 150 members in 24th century. I understand why it is made that way, and I often fall into that trap as well when writing, but in an age were diversity has become such an important part of our society, I feel Trek has missed a trick in that regard.

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 09 Aug 2020 01:18 Title: Part 2 - Shattered: 6

And why do I have a feeling that the Lifs being together isn't going to end well...

Definitely keeping the mystery going and a good setup for some very interesting scenes to come. 

I like Lif's concern about a jinx. I also like the other Lif's quick and accurate assessment of the situation. He is a nicely ambiguous character and nicely intelligent. Much better than an antagonist.

Thanks!! rbs

Author's Response: Thanks for that. Yeah, bad omens abound here, for sure.

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 27 Jul 2020 18:04 Title: Part 2 - Shattered: 4

Oooh the plot thickens and a great cliff-hanger. Classic ending line.

Whoever the imposter(s) are, it seems they know an astounding amount about the situation on the Eagle. At the moment, I'm blaming Jarik. This is just the kind of dirty tricks SAI makes their stock in trade.

Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean it's our Jarik... Going to be interesting to see where you take this.

Thanks!! rbs

Author's Response: This is certainly going to complicate matters for Owens & company. Glad you are still enjoying this strange trip through the multi-verse.

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 13 Jul 2020 15:07 Title: Part 2 - Shattered: 2

This seems like a far more subtle and nuanced Lif Culsten than the two we've gotten to know. That is a really interesting feature. I'm interested to see how Lif prime is affected by exposure to alternative Lifs... 

You have definitely outdone me in the destructiveness area - I have a character order the destruction of a world, but you've got an entire universe going up in smoke... Wish I had thought of that...

It looks like this timeline Federation hasn't fared so well.

Thanks!! rbs

Author's Response: Yeah, this will definitely have an noticeable impact on the young helmsman throughout the story. I think I went as big as one can with the idea of wiping out a universe. But then again, it's like that old saying goes. Kill m/billions and its a statistic, kill one and its a tragedy... Glad your still following this and enjoying the story. Also appreciate you going back and reading some of my older stuff. That's really cool.

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 04 Jul 2020 17:43 Title: Part 1 - Splintered: 30

And nothing like a sacrifice ploy to conclude a hopeless battle... I remember liking this scene on the first read through. I liked the commentary about space battles rarely being fast and frenetic right before a fast, frenetic space battle. Space battles are particularly difficult to write. There difficult enough to bring to the screen. For the writer, just keeping the relative orientation clear is a challenge. Here it's easy to picture where each of the centers of action are and plot it out in 3 dimensions.

 

Thanks! rbs

Reviewer: Robert Bruce Scott Signed [Report This]
Date: 04 Jul 2020 00:15 Title: Part 1 - Splintered: 26

Katanga is a particualrly fun character - every encounter with him pops. Also an interesting continuation in the complicated relationship between Jon and Jarik.

Thanks!! rbs