Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #775585 in Books
• Published on: 1996-12-02
• Format: Audiobook
• Binding: Audio Cassette

Synopsis
A tie-in with the "First Contact" film in which Captain Pickard, Commander Riker, Lieutenant Commander Data and the rest of the crew must face their greatest foe, the half-organic, half-mechanical Borg.

Customer Reviews

A wonderful novelization with valuable insight of its own
This is, of course, the novelization of the highly successful Star Trek: The Next Generation film of the same name. First Contact refers not to first contact with the Borg, for, six years later, Picard still bears the mental scars of his assimilation in the form of Locutus, but to Earth's first contact with an alien civilization. It is a story that had yet to be told, although Captain Kirk and his crew had met the extraordinarily old Zefram Cochrane, inventor of the warp drive, in an episode of the original series; additionally, there had been hints that this pivotal event in human history took place some time after a terrible Third World War on Earth.

As the story begins, the Borg have attacked the Federation, with one of their massive cube ships making a bee-line for Earth herself. Picard and the new Enterprise-E starship defy Starfleet orders and rush to the battle, after which they follow a small Borg ship through a time portal which takes them back to 21st-century Earth. The Borg plan is to destroy the Phoenix, the spacecraft which Zefram Cochrane launches and, by way of its successful warp drive test, captures the attention of a Federation scout ship. If that pivotal event does not happen, the Federation we all know and love will never come to be. While half of the senior staff is planet-side trying to make sure the Phoenix launch happens on schedule, the rest of the crew find themselves battling a Borg infestation onboard the Enterprise herself. Data is captured, Picard is in danger of letting his hatred of the Borg overrule logic and reason, and we get to meet the Borg Queen. Personally, I've always felt that the introduction of the Borg Queen was a disservice to the greatest Star Trek villains of them all. The Borg Queen is a complete contradiction that introduced a level of individual vulnerability into a collective that was, up until this time, faceless and seemingly invulnerable.

This is an impressive novelization of the film, making it a worthwhile read to those of us who are already familiar with the onscreen story. In particular, it provides a great deal of insight into the erratic nature of Zefram Cochrane himself; in the movie, he came across as basically a drunk, but the novelization does a much better job of explaining his behavior. That alone makes this novel a natural and extremely beneficial corollary to the movie.

The Greatest Story Ever Told
How do you top the greatest Star Trek movie of all time? You write a book about it of course! And what a book it is too! Written by the wonderful J.M. Dillard (author of the novelisations of Star Treks 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9) this book not only builds on the tremendous action of the film, but also engages the reader in a way only she can. Here the Borg have a purpose made even more deadly because WE want to be in on it, the Queen offers the READER the chance for immortality through assimilation. The humour is made funnier; the savagery of an unstoppable menace more frightening; the battles more devastating; all the while holding us in a grip more potent than one of the Enterprise's tractor beams!

In all, one of the greatest film-to-book adaptations of all time!

Excellent!

This is Great Book!! Better than the Movie
the book seems to me to have more detail, like any book, to have more detail than its movie. this stands true for first contact. when i read this book i couldn't put it down. the vivid descriptions of the borg gave me chills and picard's obsessions with wanting to kill them made me want to cheer. this is a book for all next generation fans who like adventure and revenge. i recommend this book highly. bring the borg on board and enjoy the story. then if you were impressed, try the film.