Product Description

The enigmatic entity known as Q remains one of the great mysteries in the universe. Now actor John de Lancie, who has played Q on television for more than a decade, joins Peter David, the bestselling author of such acclained novels as Q-in-Law and Q-Squared, to send Q on an unforgettable cosmic odyssey told from the mischievous trickster's unique point of view.

The Maelstrom, a metaphysical whirlpool of apocalyptic proportions, is pulling all of reality into its maw, devouring time and space while bringing together people and places from throughout the universe. The Q Continuum pronounces that the end of everything has come, but Q refuses to meekly accept the end of all he has known. Defying the judgement of the Continuum, he sets out to derail doomsday -- whatever the cost.

Q has been everywhere and done everything, but now he's in for a cosmic thrill ride beyond even his own astonishingly unlimited imagination. Reluctantly assisted by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, can even Q prevent the Universe As We Know It from going literally down the drain? I, Q is a wild and witty voyage through the secret soul of creation -- as only Q can tell it!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #235891 in Books
• Published on: 2000-12-01
• Released on: 2000-11-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 249 pages

Amazon.com Review
As fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation know, Q is the omnipotent extradimensional entity who so often causes whimsical havoc on the Starship Enterprise and elsewhere--for example, by helpfully introducing Captain Picard and his crew to the menacing Borg collective. Now this petulant demigod's first-person story is told by John de Lancie, the actor who plays Q, and Peter David, author of successful Star Trek novels. It's an irreverent romp through one bizarre scenario after another, as not only Star Trek's Federation universe but the entire multiverse of alternative timelines looks set to gurgle down a metaphysical plughole. Q's own wife and son vanish into the maelstrom, and his "Q Continuum" colleagues blither about calmly accepting apocalypse as a change from eternal tedium. Only Picard and Data the android accompany the questing Q, whose monstrous egotism and complaints that Picard never genuflects to him are barely affected when he loses his godlike powers and realizes that he may need mere humans. En route to the end of all things, they encounter other Federation characters, including Romulans, Klingons, Ferengi, and our captain's dread cyborg alter-ego, Locutus of Borg. After a fast-moving sequence of fights, wisecracks, insults, old jokes, and ultimate despair, the fate of the multiverse is ... but that would be telling. Frothy entertainment. --David Langford

From Publishers Weekly
There are very few things that Q, a member of the Q continuum, can't handle, so he isn't going to let a little thing like the end of the multiverse get the better of him. Under normal circumstances, he might have gone along with the rest of the Qs in celebrating the End as the biggest party of all time, but these are not normal circumstances: the fates of Q's wife and child are at stake, and Q, usually omnipotent and omniscient, in not in control. Powerless, he needs the help of his erstwhile tormentee, Jean-Luc PicardAwho is convinced that some being even more powerful than Q is causing this sudden universal decline. There are plenty of such entities to choose from, including the M continuum, a being called god and a mysterious female presence who puts the cosmos on hold as she reads a peculiar message in a bottle. Considering that Q is one of the most beloved characters in the Star Trek universe, De Lancie (who plays him on the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series, and who's here aided by veteran Trek mass-market novelist David) is sure to gain a wide readership even though Q's egotistical ramblings, which work so well on screen, can drag on here. The narrative, which presents an almost mythological universal manifestation of the five stages of grief, will take readers on a wild and unique ride, though it leads to a predictable conclusion. As for the quest to make Q a more prominent character in the world of Star Trek books? Fans will say, "Make it so." (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Publishers Weekly"

A wild and unique ride.

Customer Reviews

Ominpotent Hit and Miss
When I first picked up this book, I was expecting a good story about Q, as only John De Lancie can tell it. Unfortunatly, I was greatly disappointed in the final product. On the cover of inside jacket, it basically says that Q will be fighting against the end of the Universe with the help of the Next Generation crew. However, the entire book ends up as nothing more than a tour of the stages of death. Q does nothing except whine and attempt to make himself look brave, and Picard and Data, the only members of the enterprise to actually show up, are used even less, often disappearing for no apparent reason. Finally, Q's amazing powers, which could have saved the book and made it somewhat interesting, are immeditaly 'nullified' as soon as he enters the land of death. As a result, he simply bumbles through to the end of the book, which is a simple, contrite ending, written simply to end the book and satisfy the reader. All in all, this book is a serious blemish on an otherwise amazing character.

something to stretch your mind around
Did you ever notice the bad reviews never seem to have names? Anyway. The makings of a good story: Tight concise plot, focused narration, great conclusion. Introduce characters, building action, climax and denoument.

If this is an unbreakable law to you, do not pick up this book.

If you can, however, stretch your mind around something different, to new places, challange yourself to allow something OTHER than the ordinary, pick it up.

Consequently, if you suffer from accute attention deficit disorder, you love it, too.

What you have here is a narrative put forth by that omnipotent, omniscent, trickster, Q, chronicling his attempts to save the universe and his family, with Jean Luc Picard and Data by his side. The narrative jumps from one place to another, and often completely OFF story as Q digresses into some farflung largle irrelevant, but always entertaining, story from his past. And in the end, well...lets just say in the end you may or may not be sure what to make of it.

And that is the books greatest strenght, for which most will damn it. It leaves you not knowing what to expect from one minute to the next, not entirely sure how to grasp what you're reading. It's always challenging, always involving, and, as told by Peter David (writer of stuff) and John De Lancie (Q, himself) always entertaining...well worth the trip it takes to get there.

The one minor flaw is that much of the book seems too familiar, too humanizing, though, that too is explained in the pages.

So, give it a chance. Or, if you've already purchased it, give it another one. Allow your mind into new possibilities and see where they take you...after all, isn't that what Trek's been about all along?

Q transcends a bad story.
God becomes bored and decides that she will end the multiverse. Q sets out to rescue everything, and finds himself repeatedly bumping into Picard and Data. The storyline is confused and confusing, and the characters are pitiable caricatures of themselves.

After this outpouring of scorn let me say that somehow the authors succeeded in keeping me turning the pages. There is one thing (and only one) that makes this book worth reading and that is Q himself. Peter David and John De Lancie succeed in producing a Q at his quirky best. Therefore, if you want a good story don't stop here, but if you love Q then this book is one you should check out. [Q-Squared is much better.]