Date: 26 May 2014 03:21 Title: Forged
For me, Kamarag is one of my favorites of the minor characters from Treklore that you've fleshed out. So good to see his namesake here, and that he adheres to the morals, core values and sense of honor touted by his ancestor. Just loved this! :D
Author's Response: I kind figured that not only had the line not died out after Valdyr but that more Klingons joined post-war. They say that post-Dominion War the Klingon Empire was weak. Compared to Worf, he's a pussycat :)
Date: 26 May 2014 03:18 Title: Forged
You already know I love what you've done with Beverly, and Tennyson is a great OC. I hope this will spark enough interest for some readers to check out your BCI series if they want to learn more about Tennyson and his difficulties, and his relationship to/with Beverly.
Date: 24 May 2014 08:59 Title: Forged
Bravo for Kamarag for leading by example. Sometimes following orders isn't the right thing to do. Failing is one thing, you can take a test or a course again, but replacing a life is impossible.
Date: 24 May 2014 02:44 Title: Forged
A Klingon's honor will never be satisfied by being a coward. Great job encompassing the warrior's passion and belief.
Author's Response: thank you. Like Ronald D. Moore, I seem to have a thing for all things Klingon. Sort of the Worf/Picard moment reversed.
Date: 23 May 2014 23:49 Title: Forged
Way to go Kamarag. I like these cadet characters and looks like you're building to a big finish tomorrow. Nicely done!
Author's Response: thank you. Figure that it'd be the Klingon who would want to do something. The cowardly human who wouldn't :)
Date: 23 May 2014 21:29 Title: Forged
The blind lead the blind, it seems. But Kamarag's right; this stopped being a survival course and has turned into helping out people. Of course, if they succeed in doing so, I suspect they'll get full credit.
Date: 23 May 2014 20:54 Title: Forged
Another rousing chapter Mac. I can't wait to see where you take us on Day 7.
I want to know what happens next. :)
Date: 23 May 2014 20:41 Title: Forged
A nice follow up to the previous instalment and yay for Kamarang win (albeit an ancestor - and one working towards being a part of Starfleet at that!). Apart from being a nice follow up, it is also a neat little crucible situation where cadets face not just the ferocity of the Forge but also their inner will and in Kamarang's words tested so as 'not fail'. Very good piece, Mac.
Author's Response: thank ye. I figured that it'd be decent to have more Klingons in Starfleet, especially post-Dominion War. Also, it was a bit of a tongue in cheek to have a descendant of Kamarag :) Bit of Worf channelled into him but it was needed. My thanks again
Date: 21 May 2014 19:31 Title: Forged
Your Crusher series is on my bucket list for when I get a real internet connection back in June. This was a good entry, and even though it didn't focus on her you made her feel very alive. Tennyson is interesting and I can't wait to find out more about him as well, especially why he takes medication. This is a great tease into that world, I enjoyed it!
Author's Response: You doth make me blush. Bucket list...I hope there's more pressing matters :) Apparently I'm the Crusher guy here and seemingly have done more for her than the TNG writers but Tennyson...he needs a bit more. My thanks for reading, made my day :)
Date: 21 May 2014 09:04 Title: Forged
Aww...Love these characters, after reading your other BCI stories. And fun times in the Forge; you did a great job describing the conditions, even including the lightning. Though, I have to wonder, is the Forge a "normal" training exercise, or one for the cadets going to something insane like Spec Ops? I don't think I'd volunteer for this trip if I was given the choice, lol. Great job bud!
Author's Response: Thanks very much. I guess the Forge is best left alone for cadets at the moment.
Date: 21 May 2014 03:20 Title: Forged
I like the glimpse you've given us into this time--with Beverly and a new love interest of hers. I feel a little sorry for the Cadets, as it seems things have gotten bad enough that their training might be of little use to them. Nice work. Looking forward to reading more of your Beverly Crusher Investigates series.
Oh, and did I mention that I love the fact that she's an admiral.
Author's Response: thank you indeed. I've got to figure out about the Forge training thing. I guess in some respects it's a Kobyashi Maru preliminary.
I figure if someone's head of something like Starfleet Medical admiral is the rank to go with :)
Date: 21 May 2014 00:02 Title: Forged
Some Love for Big Red is overdue. Nice scene and written with your usual skill. I did love that last line.
Author's Response: thank you FB. She needed her moment in the sun.
Date: 20 May 2014 23:23 Title: Forged
Wow, what a great scene. Can't say I'm up to speed on your Beverly Crusher Investigates series but you did a good job of providing enough context to understand what was going on. I like the idea of Admiral Crusher and this relationship with Tennyson as well. You nicely showed what combat does to veterans and the idea of someone going against their meds and ignoring advice rang entirely true. Well done!
Author's Response: You're not missing much (I jest). It's cliche to have two characters coming together in a time of duress but with these two it might just work. My thanks for reading.
Date: 20 May 2014 23:20 Title: Forged
Aw, what a sweet ficlet Mac. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Thanks for sharing and I cannot wait to see what you have in store for Day 4.
Author's Response: thank you.
Date: 20 May 2014 22:03 Title: Forged
Sweet scene between the two of them. If they're having trouble, though, what about the cadets? I'm worried for them!
Author's Response: Cadets? I'm working on that. The dots will be joined. :)
Date: 20 May 2014 21:50 Title: Forged
New love for Beverly!? What? Oh that's great. That makes me happy (there's hope for me yet!). And I like that the scene played out in the Forge. Love the atmosphere of that.
Author's Response: if you ask LBD I'm sure she'll say it's been a time coming.
Date: 20 May 2014 21:44 Title: Forged
Awww. A sweet scene of a moment here between these two. Sometimes telling the one's we love a hard truth is the hardest thing of all, and it seems Dick's relcutance to tell Beverly about his relapses falls under this category.
Date: 20 May 2014 21:34 Title: Forged
Oh, that was lovely and unexpected.
Date: 28 Dec 2013 17:14 Title: Beverly Crusher Investigates#2 "The Class of '50"
I was most definitely not expecting that kind of an ending. You put a bunch of characters in this and I kept saying "oh, it's this one!" "No, it's this guy!" That was a lot of fun to read (that seems so morbid a thing to say). It was very well thought out, wonderful descriptions, so very tragic for Crusher. I really enjoyed reading this, good job bud!
Author's Response: thanks very much. I don't often get a plot down right, at least a whodunnit. But it paid off a little in the end, thanks again :)
Date: 16 Dec 2013 12:06 Title: Beverly Crusher Investigates#2 "The Class of '50"
I can't remember what's in chapter 1 now because the ending of chapter 2 was just...wow. That's just evil. It's bad enough losing a friend but to know it was something that cruel and probably painful is just heart-wrenching.
It's also good to see the level of support Horn has from his old crew. It can't be easy for any of them - their family just got told to leave behind one of their own for a stupid reason. It's never easy when a crew that close is pulled apart.
Date: 16 Dec 2013 10:47 Title: Beverly Crusher Investigates#2 "The Class of '50"
Wow...what a rough day for Beverly. And that really is a very vague message...I don't like that at all.
Rule number 1 when killing someone; don't send their doctor friend a vague message about a bogus cause of death. They WILL give their second opinion.
Date: 01 Jun 2013 16:05 Title: Beverly Crusher Investigates#1The Death on the Kobayashi Maru
Mac, you already know I love this series. And I see I have been remiss yet again - I was certain I'd already reviewed this but I see that's not the case. The curse of the beta, Im afraid - providing feedback all during production, and somehow in my brain that translates to haven given feedback in this public venue.
Again, your deft handling of Beverly here continues to amaze and delight me. Here she is older, wiser, more seasoned and saddled with a boring, safe ground assignment. NOT!!
I love the mystery and suspense you create here. It feels like on of the detective shows from the 1970's. Elements of Quincy, M.E, Murder She Wrote and Dragnet, et. al. all rolled into one.
The addition of Tennyson is pure genius. Like Beverly he is damaged (far more than she is we come to learn), haunted by his time in space - the friends he lost and the things he saw - but determined to push past all of that and still work to make a difference; to lend his talents wherever they are needed to serve the greater good. The sad thing here is he doesn't realize just how damaged he is, and that getting help and getting healthy again will not only benefit him, but the people around him as well.
I like this because we see the many sides of Beverly - the doctor, the psychiatrist, the forensics expert, the detective, the grieving friend and spouse, the mother, and the woman who is starting to feel her years.
I love the way you keep us guessing as to the culprit, and the end scene with the fight in the dark amidst a lightning storm was a pulse-pounding conclusion. I hope that through this review hunt this series will gain the exposure it is due among the readers here at Ad Astra. This is quite the gem, and unlike anything else I've come across here. So for all the Beverly-haters out there: Read this and get to know her as Mac knows her. You might find that you like her. Would that she had been written with anything near this depth and TLC for the series and TNG movies. If she had, she'd rank right up there with Bones as one of Trek's favorite doctors. :D
Author's Response: Strewth and my gosh, you do me a misservice...of all the reviews this one is the one whose doors have blown off. You're most kind. I remain indebted to your help. I only wish the review hunt had worked for this juggernaut.
Date: 27 May 2013 15:38 Title: Beverly Crusher Investigates#1The Death on the Kobayashi Maru
This was surprisingly a rather good story about Beverly Crusher and while the who-dun-it part of story was like something from CSI with the various twists and turns, and false leads (by that I mean characters who you may suspect of being the killer) for large parts it was engaging and had just enough suspense to keep the story moving forward.
For such a small story, it did not feel that rushed and you had time to reflect on Beverly's age and her later years. There was that small bit about her knees creaking, and during that final confrontation you made that very clear that Beverly is not exactly in her prime. Since this was all about Beverly, and any other characters were there to complement this aim of your story, this story worked well and you fleshed out some aspects of her character which TNG kind of overlooked or bypassed: her regrets from the past, her connection with the San Francisco area, and finally the experience and wisdom she picked up over the many years serving with Starfleet.
I think the most interesting character you created was Tennyson. A person still suffering from the Dominion war, and at times his distressed state almost implied he was the murderer, though it did seem a bit of stretch that Tennyson was still on duty given how emotionally distraught he was. Perhaps Beverly should have relieved him of duty, or ordered him to take a period of leave, giving his state immediately after cadet Michaels was attacked. At times I almost thought there was a faint hint of a possible romance between Tennyson and Beverly, though that could have been my imagination!
I also like the cameo appearances of Julian Bashir and admiral Janeway! They definitely did not detract from the story and if anything their inclusion was like sprinkling salt on a very tasty dish.
In conclusion, this was an effective story which works well for those who are familiar with TNG Beverly Crusher and you can delve right into it even if one has not read your previous works concerning Beverly. The pacing was efficient while this story never dragged thanks to it mainly being driven by a lot of dialogue. My only slight grudge are those times when you switched POVs in a handful of scenes and that kind of made it a little confusing given all the dialogue.
All in all I would give this story four stars out of five. It's a solid story but it feels very much like a stand-alone piece, so unless this is part of a bigger series, I'm not sure whether I would read it again. But you totally sold the idea of Beverly Crusher an investigator of crimes and murder. That main point I could totally accept, so in that regard your story is a success.
Date: 27 May 2013 15:17 Title: Beverly Crusher Investigates#1The Death on the Kobayashi Maru
So it wasn't Tennyson, oh well... As for Hoert, she's the craziest cadet I have ever seen! I'm surprised no one didn't pick up on her disturbing behaviour though.