At first I was severely critical of this book—are you really going to bring back Magna Roma? Magna Roma, from "Bread and Circuses," one of the cheesiest and silliest TOS episodes?—but I actually ended up really liking it, and feeling that it would have been a great episode (if only it were possible to show feline aliens in the 1980s on screen without having them look completely dopey). I really enjoyed the elements of culture clash and the multiple different martial cultures represented.

Overall a good story. Enjoyed the plot and the use of secondary characters. Was interesting to have a hostile world from the original series now being part of the Federation. Two things which made me roll my eyes in disbelief. First, when two star ships are working to protect a planet wouldn't one of them automatically be subordinate to another, especially when one of them is the flagship of the Federation? Yet it is not until over half way through the book that Picard tells the other captain, regretfully as well, that Star Fleet has put him in charge. Second (and this one is nit-picky I admit), why did it take Worf 30 minutes to locate Riker on the planets surface? There was no natural or unnatural interference on or around the planet told in the story so shouldn't Riker have only been a com signal away? ( )