Date: 04 Jun 2012 23:00 Title: Chapter 25
Whenever Q shows up it is a bad omen, I guess Icheb is going to be in a very nasty situation some chapters away...
Date: 04 Jun 2012 22:52 Title: Chapter 24
More plotting and intrigue from that mission advisory board, though it seems Mario and Almen are on Adele's side. Though I get the feeling Beckley knows this, that man seems to know everything on board the Tesseract...
Date: 04 Jun 2012 22:42 Title: Chapter 23
I really like the Icheb/Maren plot. To me it produces the same vibe and feel I get from the Kira/Odo pairing. What's great is how Icheb and Maren are slowly getting used to each other, and each scene which develops this teases the reader in two ways: 1. whether Icheb and Maren will resolve their differences, 2. what is Icheb's secret and why did he leave Maren? Good drama stuff, which is just as riveting (if not more so) than the main plot of investigating the Borg.
Date: 09 May 2012 01:07 Title: Chapter 21
Beckley is one crazy old man! Eavesdropping on conversations, bugging rooms... No wonder he keeps to himself, he can just listen (and or watch) in the comfort and privacy of his office.
Date: 09 May 2012 00:40 Title: Chapter 18
Ho ho! More evidence that the Borg are back. I hope this secret thing that caused Icheb and Maren to split up is good, because you're definitely stretching it out here. I really hope whatever it is will not be an anticlimax...
Date: 21 Apr 2012 00:25 Title: Chapter 17
This Admiral Beckley guy is one weird dude. Why do I get the impression he is somehow connected to Section 31. Plus I'm surprised by how tacky and cut-throat Eleanor is. I would have thought such things were pretty much gone in 24th century 'evolved' humanity, unless Eleanor is in the small minority of bad apples of course...
Author's Response: Eleanor is a scared little girl acting like a bigshot to cover it up. I never bought the line about "evolved" humanity. We may have solved some of our problems by the 24th century, but human nature isn't going anywhere.
As for Admiral Beckley ... it remains to be seen who he is really working for.
Date: 21 Apr 2012 00:17 Title: Chapter 16
Wow! Amazing; this is like a cross between DS9/VOY and a soap opera. All these main characters, Adela, Icheb, Maren... They generate strong feelings from the writing and in the reader. Plus I like Adele's hands on approach to the professional/personal balance a Starfleet officer faces.
Author's Response: Thank you! I really tried to make it emotionally compelling. I'm glad that for you, it succeeded!
Date: 21 Apr 2012 00:03 Title: Chapter 15
Nice little piece about Maren, and I like your use of swear words in the dialogue. Really adds some punch!
Author's Response: Where there is JQ, there is potty mouth. He is what he is. :)
Date: 20 Apr 2012 23:53 Title: Chapter 14
Woah! Harry got a promotion! OMG! So at last we are off!
Author's Response: I had to. The poor guy!
Date: 08 Apr 2012 23:30 Title: Chapter 9
So it seems Icheb's secret is about to be revealed, or not if Icheb is a smooth talker... Gripping stuff.
Date: 08 Apr 2012 23:21 Title: Chapter 8
Ha ha ha! 'mind-rape the ship's computers'!!! That is insane! I laughed so hard at this I cried! Now that is original humour! Plus you've also won over this 9er's heart with introducing Bashir!
Author's Response: You are the third person to tell me he/she cried reading this story, but the first to have done so from laughing. ;-) Glad you liked!
Date: 08 Apr 2012 23:12 Title: Chapter 7
So the Borg have somehow arrived in the Alpha Quadrant, but something messed them up; thus the plot begins (and thickens). Two somewhat disconcerting things for me was one, that scene change (maybe space it out with a divider to clearly differentiate it) and two, the multiple perspectives from different characters. I don't mind strict 3rd or a loose 3rd that doesn't precisely tell one particular character's feelings and thoughts. But jumping around from three (could have been more) was a little disorientating, plus a little annoying.
Author's Response: Thanks for the feedback. I think that chapter was the worst in terms of headhopping. I think (hope!) I got better later, but you're right, that was awkwardly written.
Date: 08 Apr 2012 22:51 Title: Chapter 5
God I'm a sucker for lovey-dovey stuff! But what really interested me is Icheb's secret. No doubt it must be he can't access his higher emotional/cortical functions, the same thing that afflicted Seven, due to some sort of implant. Which could explain why he left Maren... Intriguing stuff and I bet I have to read through seven or more chapters before either Icheb or Maren spills the beans on Icheb's secret!
Date: 08 Apr 2012 00:02 Title: Chapter 3
So the Icheb/Maren backstory is being fleshed out, I am very intrigued by those two. I have to say normally most Star Trek stories stumble around in the first few chapters introducing the main characters, however with your story it is totally the opposite. You've cleverly gotten over the whole coolness of the Tesseract ship, and your Trekkie reader doesn't really see your stereotypical starship but something else. What that something is lies in the writing, but it tells me you have created something unique. Very intriguing method and what a way to start off a story...
Author's Response: It's good that you find them intriguing, because they'll be around a lot. :) Thank you for the kind words!
Date: 07 Apr 2012 23:53 Title: Chapter 2
A Starfleet-like Borg cube, a seven year mission to the Delta Quadrant, and Icheb/Maren. Inspired stuff. The paragraph about the Tesseract being sort of like a Borg cube, Starfleet style, really astounded me and totally sucked me into this story.
Author's Response: Glad you like!
Date: 07 Apr 2012 23:46 Title: Chapter 1
Now that is the way to introduce a chief medical officer (er... is Irina the chief medical officer onboard the Tesseract?)! Really funny as well being that Irina is a maneater, nice one!
Author's Response: Nope, she's not the CMO. We'll meet him later. ;-)
Date: 07 Apr 2012 23:40 Title: Prologue
I really dig the whole premise of investigating what happened to the Borg, and Icheb is a commander now? That young lad most certainly has been busy... I just hope he is more socially attune then when we last saw him on VOY. I also like the notion of Janeway sort of personally tutoring/mentoring(?) captain Adele. Good stuff.
Author's Response: Icheb? Socially attuned? Not really. He can put on a good show, but he's still as clueless as ever in a lot of ways.
Glad you like the premise!
Date: 10 Nov 2010 14:02 Title: Acknowledgements
So here I am. Yes, I have read the acknowledgements too :)
I should have known that the admiral works for Section 31, but somehow it didn't occur to me. Silly me ;)
Wow, J.Q. faces big decisions much earlier than I expected. Does Sheila like him? I wish he noticed her and "heal" from his hopeless feelings for Maren, as there's such a small chance for her to return them, and date a nice girl, like Sheila.
Hmmm... You've left me with more questions than answers at the end of the story. But I'm lucky, I don't have to wait weeks to start reading part II--there are chapters waiting for me already :D
Author's Response:
Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about who the Admiral is working for. ;-)
JQ notices girls all the time. :) He dates them, too. It just never works out. It's hard to make a relationship work when you are secretly pining for someone else. As for Sheila, she might like him, she might not ... but she's not blind. Even if she was interested, it's pretty clear he's emotionally unavailable right now. (Not to mention busy commanding a broken ship!)
I'm so glad you liked the story enough to continue on to Part II! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
[Report This]Date: 06 Nov 2010 16:09 Title: Chapter 43
Seems like Captain Oyugo's got a very young crew and now pays the price for it. Secrets, lies, emotional and unprofessional decisions, drinking parties, oh my, she needs to make them grow up faster or the ship is going to be doomed ;)
Maren strikes me as emotionally unstable - she is shaken, crying, doesn't control her impulses and genius engineer or not genius engineer - I don't think she should be the head of the department. She may know everything about the slipstream and the ship, but she is unstable and she's too weak to make important decisions. I am told by other characters how brilliant she is, but I see little proof of it - she whines most of the time. I don't think I like this character (I mean the character=the person, not your writing :)).
I like Quigley. Impulsive and also not yet ready to be a chief of anything (but with huge ambitions, not doubt :D) but no one forces him to be one. However something tells me that with all dangers that await them he will have to grow fast to be an effective and good security officer. And I think he is going to. Go, John! :)
Oddly, I like the admiral. I wondered if he had some Cardassian style training (to shield his mind from Betazoid/telepathic probing plus his clearly powerful memorising technique), or if he is part Ferengi (small enough not to be obvious, big enough not to be read), and with some tiny piece of information I have now I think he had had some special intelligence training.
I like the captain too. She's got difficult job to do and has a bunch of people looking over her shoulder. It would make everyone nervous, but she handles them well.
Author's Response:
Yep. This is a young crew. It's a seven year mission, so they skew toward the young and (legally) unattached. There are only 40something children on board (on a ship of about 1500), so that shows how few "families" there really are.
As for Maren, I can totally see why you don't like her, and I kind of like that you don't -- not everyone likes real people, so if I've written a character that most people like a lot, but you don't ... I guess that makes her seem more realistic. The fact is, she IS emotionally unstable right now. She's carrying a lot of emotional trauma that she hasn't really dealt with ... just sort of shoved it all down inside, and the whole situation with Icheb brought it all to the surface again in a really ugly, public way. So there are a lot of people on the Tesseract (including, possibly, her captain) who feel the exact same way about her that you do. She's got a lot of work to do to repair her reputation after this ... not to mention to actually deal with her issues.
I love your assessment of Quigley, and yeah, you'll see him thrust into some situations that force him to grow later on.
I will let you speculate to your heart's content on the Admiral. ;-) I confirm nothing.
Glad you like Adele ... some people do, some people don't. She's trying the best she can in a really dynamic, weird situation, and it's only going to get worse for her.
[Report This]Date: 03 Nov 2010 23:41 Title: Chapter 16
Ah, that's where I have arrived within the first day of reading :)
Seems like their main mission didn't start yet but their hands are full already. Past relationships, current relationships, mysterious accident at Aris 4 (something tells me it's not the last time we hear about it).
I like Icheb, I think you caught his personality quite well :) I was surprised (positively surprised) to see Bashir. Your characters are lively and have very distinct personalities; there is something to tell about each of them.
I like it!
Author's Response:
Wow, thanks, Gul Rejal! I'm so pleased to see you've checked Tesseract out, and totally excited that you like it. It's always such a treat to get a new reader ... I hope you continue to enjoy the characters and the story. :)
Date: 06 Jul 2010 20:37 Title: Chapter 25
Interesting visit from Q and Q-Junior. The narrative nicely illustrates that the Q's conception of time is just as confusing as the Prophets'
Author's Response:
Hehe, it is, isn't it? Thanks for reading and continuing to review. :) I expect Q and son will be making occasional appearances in this series. After all, like Q said, every time he turns his back for a second, Junior runs off to find his friend.
Date: 30 Apr 2010 02:03 Title: Chapter 15
Amusing little scene there. Now that I think of it, maybe Tuvok is still on the Titan deep in the Beta Quadrant... not that fan-fiction writers completely go along with the Pocket Books novels.
Author's Response:
This story is pretty disconnected from the Pocket Books novels because I haven't read them. I've heard rumors about what happens (i.e. Janeway's end and the Borg disappearing), but that's about it. Glad to see you're still reading. Thanks for the review!
Date: 25 Apr 2010 11:23 Title: Chapter 52
A classic cliffhanger ending to your opening tome!
Now, not only has Tesseract stirred up the proverbial hornet’s nest in the Delta Quadrant, the ship’s civilian dependants are in peril and the Federation now finds itself under the looming shadow of a potential full-scale Borg offensive.
Tense much?!
Phenomenal work, and I’ll be Jonesing for the continuation of your marvelous series.
Author's Response:
Thanks for the kind compliment, Gibraltar! Yes, things are tense. I imagine they'll continue to be so. We'll see what happens ... glad to hear you'll be along for the ride. :)
Date: 21 Apr 2010 18:49 Title: Acknowledgements
Best acknowledgements ever!
Seriously, thanks for the thanks, but to anyone else reading it I did nothing. This was all you kes7! I loved every minute of reading it and being a sometimes ear for you. It totally rocked as a read. Brilliant characterisation with complex relationships that swung about and had me shipping characters - something I had never done before! Terrific stuff. Loved the concept and the mission and the assembled characters. I can't wait for more. Especially as this book is probably the more difficult set up to the universe you have created. Congratulations on finsihing Book 1. Your first ever book ever and so bloody awesome. In truth, you sicken me. You'll be getting no more help from me! LOL. Seriously, congrats, well done, super job. Just Book 2 to worry about now!
Date: 21 Apr 2010 18:43 Title: Chapter 52
I had a bad feeling about this from the beginning, and I was right.
Well said John. I too had a bad feeling about the Sol and Luna heading off. I just hadn't banked on it being so bad and so chaotic! What a gloroius WTF moment there to throw us into after the warning about the Borg are coming! Question is: will they make it out of this? Who is attacking - is it the Borg? Or are you playing with us? Is the tractor beam salvation or worse? And that's more than one question ... oops!
Then we jump to Lieutenant Commander Emily Theriaultat at DS5, who admits she is a bitch and a fuck-up and has Daddy bailing her out! Within one paragraph you have me wanting to know more about this character. Alas her role here is to discover and pass on the dire news from the Tesseract.
Again, we come full circle. It began with Adele and Janeway and the passing of the torch as such. The pairing of Icheb and Adele mirrors in a way that of Janeway and Chakotay, two people very different learning to trust one another. It mirrors too the relationship between Janeway and Seven as well. Trust being a big part of it. We go back now to Janeway and I love the way you wrote this scene between her and Seven. I could feel the canon characters coming through and still feel they had made a progression and had some growth since the series end. It seems fitting that we should end with Janeway and indeed on her runmination wondering what will come of them all in the aftermath of future Janeway's actions. Full Circle indeed. Glorious stuff. I eagerly await Book 2.
Author's Response:
Ha! John is happy someone approves of SOMETHING he's said and/or done in the last twenty chapters! Even a small thing such as an internal monologue!
Who attacked them? Guess you'll have to read book two. Um. You know. When I write it. (Not like you can run out and do it right now!)
With any luck, you'll be learning more about Emily Theriault soonish. We should be seeing more of the folks from DS5, both in the Tesseract story and on their own ...
I'm very, very glad you think I did a good job with the primary canon characters. Always hard to capture someone else's characters' voices. I enjoyed writing them and we'll be seeing more of them in book two, as well. They won't be the primary focus, but of course they'll be involved. (This, after all, is the war they started.)
Thanks again for everything, the reading and support and commentary. I so appreciate it, and I definitely hope you'll stick around for book two!