| Title | : | Star Trek: Year Five, Book 4: Experienced in Loss |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 168405852X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781684058525 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 168 |
| Publication | : | First published April 19, 2022 |
Star Trek: Year Five, Book 4: Experienced in Loss Reviews
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2.5 starts. Slightly better than the previous volume, but still plagued by outlandish and cryptic plot threads and lack of character authenticity.
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Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly are the biggest hack writers that I’ve ever read, and I’ll never read another book by them.
They are bad fanfiction level writers, this is set in the 5th year of the enterprise’s mission, they took Lt. Shaw the person who prosecuted Kirk in a TV episode and made her attorney general of the entire federation, it’s such mind boggling level stupid of promotion but it doesn’t end there, she then is a candidate for President of the Federation and the Current President (in 2270-2271 which would be year 5 of 5 year mission) Is Kurtwood Smith’s President from Star Trek 6 (2293) and we know there is a different president in Star Trek 4.
They turn fan favorite hero Gary Seven and Isis into the bad guys, they have no appreciation for the classic characters and write them so poorly only Bones seems true to form.
The pacing and plot are horrible the faithfulness to canon and characters are non existent.
But don’t just take my word for it, Good Reads has over 80 reviews for Volume 1, and now barely eeking past 20 for this volume 4, All goodwill of the fans has been squandered by Kelly and Lansing’s abomination. -
A pretty good conclusion to the Year Five series, bringing the characters on the paths we see them on by the time of The Motion Picture. It’s hard to say what my favorite telling of the end of the five-year mission is. In a way, this version doesn’t feel as “authentic” because there is some foreshadowing of some of the conflicts faced in much later series and films, stuff that would not have aired in the early 1970s. I will say that I do appreciate the introspective moments, especially when Kirk gets upset at Spock for not accepting a position in command, and Spock shows emotion in the elevator by punching the wall, regretting how the interaction went down. We also see Kirk deal with some romance at the beginning of this volume. And it was a nice surprise having Gary Seven in this, but on the other hand, I kinda wonder whether he needed a place in this final stretch.
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actually read all the separate issues, but figured it would be better to put a rating for the whole book together than them separate. Actually rather liked it.
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Captain Kirk faces up to the end of his five year mission with regret. Having seen the culmination of his life's goals in the Captain's Chair of the 'Enterprise', he is surprised and disappointed when Spock rejects his offer to nominate him as his replacement. Meanwhile Gary Seven continues on his crusade to revenge himself on Kirk and bring about intergalactic peace by instigating a war between the Federation and the Tholian Assembly.
This is a good end to the 'Year Five' saga, showing not only the doors closing on the Original Series era but also beginning to open the door on the Movie era. The artwork subtly changes as the issues continue so that the characters begin to look more as they do in 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' towards the end of the book, which is a nice touch. -
Just as gorgeous as all the others and a brilliant end to the series. Lots of loose threads from the original series were joined up, and as usual characterisations were excellent.
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The Star Trek: Year Five series concludes with a big showdown between the Federation and the Tholians orchestrated by Gary 7. It turns out all those Gary 7 appearances and the odd inclusion of Bright Eyes in every episode had a purpose! Maybe I should have been paying more attention.
Even though I never quite understood Gary 7's deal, Experienced in Loss hits the right notes in terms of action and pathos, so I enjoyed the heck out of it and am sad to see this series go. There's something to be said for smart sci-fi that prefers to puzzle out a solution rather than storm in guns a-blazin'.
Experienced in Loss also includes an odd issue outside of the timeline that offers a look at Kirk's love life. And a lengthy issue in which Spock time travels to a major event in Vulcan history. Wordy and heady, it's not the strongest portion of the volume, but does add to Spock's growth through the series. -
The series concludes perfectly. Six stars out of five. Now I want to go back and read the whole thing again!
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This was a truly wonderful final arc to wrap up the final year and final voyage of the U.S.S Enterprise and the original crew under Captain James T. Kirk. If you've seen my reviews for this whole series led by crew captain Jackson Lanzing, then you know that I have had naught but high praise for the great story-telling choices and some excellent characterisation across the board. Of course, the art team continues from the previous volumes and they do a great job bringing it to life.
This final arc see's some of the most dramatic events in the tenure of this crew during their Five-Year Mission as challenges new and old come neck and neck to vex our heroes and things hurtle toward oblivion (almost literally) for not just the Federation, but for the Galaxy as a whole!
The first part of this finale follows our crew preparing for the end of their mission and a return to Earth and Starfleet Headquarters, only for Spock to have been pulled out of their present time to the far distant past of Vulcan, where he is faced with the birth of the Vulcan race as we know it - the transition and war-like period when those who pushed for purging emotion in favour of logic, were faced with resistance from those who felt this was suppressing who they were as a people. This sojourn pushes Spock in ways he never would have considered and makes him face his inner turmoil about his half-Human, half-Vulcan heritage in a way he couldn't have expected; all this while his crew-mates try to stay alive and find a way to bring him back.
Past this sojourn for Spock, we come back to the main story: The series started with a bang when the Enterprise came to a Tholian world that had been completely decimated and rescued a Tholian child who became a loved part of the crew (informally) and came to be called Bright Eyes; it is this storyline from all the way in issue #1 that comes full circle as the plans of the Tholians comes into effect with the stakes literally being EVERYTHING. Simultaneously, the machinations of Gary Seven and his masters, The Aegis, start to make themselves known - what we the reader know from the previous volume but the crew doesn't, is that the Aegis are seeking to save everyone and everything by benevolently using the Tholians to freeze everything in crystalline, unchanging perfection so nothing bad can ever happen. Yes, it's special levels of creepy.
To top it all off, Gary Seven is now extra-pissed-off because his "best friend" and handler, the shape-shifting feline Isis, has been shuffled loose of her mortal coil and the targets for his vengeance? Who else but the Enterprise and James Tiberius Kirk. So that is where we find ourselves: a crew facing their own uncertain future in every direction, war for the fate of the galaxy and beyond approaching and enemies at every gate. It truly does feel like the darkest hour for our heroes.
In the midst of all this, have to say that I could almost see the growing comfort of the entire art team as they've hit a groove in the last volume and this one that was really pleasing! From the intricacies of the characters and their expressions to the alien life, the space sequences and quite strikingly, the brightly lit and colourful vibe of it all really made every single page "pop!" and I loved it all!
The crafting of the story was everything I wanted from this tale and in fact was reminiscent of an aspect I love in the new Star Trek: Strange New Worlds tv series, i.e, it is modern, it is culturally evolved, it is creative and carries forward the very best of what Star Trek TOS was while tweaking it just enough to brush away those smaller less-desirable elements (like the odd racist/sexist/etc moments that are functions of the era in which any show is made) and given us a wonderfully distilled blend of what makes Star Trek great and brought us a sensibility that hits the nostalgic bullseye while still giving us something new and fun.
There are many moments and many highs and lows as our crew faces down and fights through all the above, but it is handled with a deft touch to balance the high-octane action - be it a space fight or a punch-up - alongside the diplomacy, dialogue and the emotional and personal moments that truly define and showcase the ethos and spirit of the Star Trek franchise. To me this volume and the ones before it make me feel that the team crafting it all had an understanding and love for Star Trek and the philosophies and ideas that define it; this is clearest when we reach the final chapter, i.e, issue #25 which is entirely an epilogue that is not "needed" to finish the last story arc, but it is very much needed to close out this whole series as well as (in my humble opinion) the Five Year Mission, to boldly go where no man has gone before!
Highly, highly recommended for fans of the Star Trek and for fans of TOS! Kudos to the whole team for putting this together the way they did and while you can't please everyone, at least this reviewer thinks that this is a worthy entry in the franchise and a great close to this chapter of this crews' journey. -
93%
"Fear of the unknown is a poison one can only feed oneself."
*wonderful conclusion to the series! I was moved by the stories and was filled with nostalgia - it felt very true to the OS vibe
"I never wanted to be trapped in a cage...in defying the cage the world built for me...but whether from grief...or fear...or drive...or stubbornness...most of all, stubbornness...I made my own. So I didn't have to imagine what lay beyond."
"I remember the first time I saw her from orbit, Earth made everything I'd known look so small. I marveled to understand how the vast plains and shining cities could fit all on that globe, surrounded by empty nothing. But now I've ventured into the nothing and learned that is anything but empty. And that those things that once gelt enormous and vast...they were always small." -
Well, we come to the wrap-up of Year Five and the Tholians and Gary Seven are still a big part of things. It used to surprise me a bit, but by now it's clear that it was really a core part of the overall arc for this title.
I appreciated the look at the end of Kirk's captaincy and a lot of his thoughts before becoming an admiral. We even provided potentially more context for Spock's decision to resign his commission and return to Vulcan to purge his emotions.
This wasn't the strongest volume in the series, but it was certainly a solid wrap-up for the whole story and I appreciated the journey. -
A nice conclusion to the final mission of the Starship Enterprise. It ties up the various loose ends that have been introduced over the past few books and works as a nice transitional piece between the end of the original series and the films.
Overall the artwork is pretty great, all of the characters are easily recognisable and I like some of the redesigns we see here of familiar ships.
I like that this was a relatively short series, it was nice that everything was wrapped up in four volumes instead of dragging on endlessly. -
The five year missions finally ends. There is an over-the top plot line here, but our heroes handle it.
This was a fin series that I stumbled upon but then read right through. Nice to see the show and the characters get some closure. And the readers, too. A nice blast from the past, informed but the current day! -
An appropriate ending to this series with the Tholians and Gary 7. I'm not at all down with Gary 7's whole deal but I really liked Bright Eyes and how they affected the Tholians. That last issue was pretty terrific as well.
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A very enjoyable ride, which bridges the orig television show with the Motion Picture franchise.
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The standout issue/chapter is when McCoy figures out how to cure a deadly virus and saves everyone. He also says “dammit” a lot which I always enjoy.
Gary Seven turns out to be the main antagonist in this series and it’s not what I expected. It has some good moments and Kirk and Spock really do all the heavy lifting in this volume, but I mean really, who was gonna save everyone—-Chekov?! ::pshhhhhh:: -
Lanzing et al wrap up the loose threads of the Five Year Mission and set the stage for Star Trek: The Motion Picture with exciting stories and strong insight into the characters.
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DNF
I just lost interest in this... -
The Star Trek You Need
If you are missing the feel of classic Star Trek, please give this a read. Everything about this reminds of the besr Star Trek. -
I don't know it this is canon or not, and I don't really care. Good stories. Some even poignant. Good stuff to read.
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Three and a half. Star Trek Continues did a better job at wrapping up TOS while also tackling modern issues in a style that feels true to the TV show.
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The Year Five storyline is a little overly ambitious, forcing Experienced in Loss to feel a bit rushed in order to wrap everything up. The creative team would have benefited from more pages or a slightly less grand story. Otherwise, Experienced in Loss is an excellent conclusion to a series I have enjoyed very much. Very much reminiscent of the original series without the curse of rampant misogyny and gives supporting characters more significant roles.
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Lots of threads to follow this volume, but I think this was a good return to form after the needless wokeness in the middle part. The characters are true to their well-established roots, but are shown in new lights as well (Kirk’s promotion chaffing him, Spock’s inner conflict with emotions, Scotty and Uhura….go man!). The setup for the first movie feels very natural, not forced. Nice art that respects the actors. 4.5 stars
