Robert Picardo Books

I bought the book as a gift for a friend. It arrived in good condition, although it took a little while to get here. It appears to be amusing for those who like Star Trek.

Able to remove an appendix with one hand tied behind his back, The Doctor is also able to write an engaging book with tongue firmly pressed into his holographic cheek. While more "truthful" than Leslie Nielson's A Liar's Autobiography, The Hologram's Handbook is similar in tone and manner, told by a person who is rarely able to look beyond the mirror. The Doctor tells us organics just how things really are, and how they should be. Everything we love about The Doctor is here - from the biting sarcasm to the Data-esque desire to experience humanity. If you're like me and think The Doctor was the best (and perhaps the only truly great) part of Voyager, then this one is a must read.

If your a fan of Voyager and you loved watching the episodes that pertained to the Doctor aboard then you will just love reading this book. It is funny, witty and just down right enjoyable. A must read for any Star Trek fan.

A brilliant and witty piece of Star Trek writing, possibly the wittiest piece of Star Trek writing I've ever read.

Robert Picardo catches the essence of Voyager's EMH, our beloved Doctor, in a way that only he could. Witty, insightful and thought provoking are all words that perfectly describe this book.

I couldn't put it down, Picardo's writing is so smooth it's like listening to the Doctor himself talking. And not only does he provide insightful views on his character, but also some views about life in general, which are recurrent themes throughout all the centuries portrayed on Star Trek.

And, unlike the show, this book gives equal credit to pre-Scorpion and post-Scorpion time periods, and the Doctor speaks of both Kes and Seven of Nine fondly.

However, the book wasn't perfect. While Picardo covers the Doctor's views on some of the major characters nicely, I felt that he failed to provide enough insight into his relationships with the other characters on Voyager, particularly Neelix and Harry Kim.

Another low point of the book me was his continued references to Lt. Joe Carey, a recurring guest star on Voyager. In one early episode, Carey was abrasive to the Doctor, and Picardo has played that out to the extreme here, often saying he didn't like Carey. I found that to be a little rough, Carey eventually died on an away mission for Voyager, and to speak ill of a dead crewmember like that doesn't cut it in my book.

I would also have liked to have read more about the Doctor's experiences in the Delta Quadrant, and not just about personal relationships. The Doctor remained active and onboard the ship during most of the alien takeovers, and more often than not entire episodes were devoted to his adventures. Wouldn't these sorts of experiences have shaped his views on life a little? He watched as Suder struggled to contain his violence, watched as the Hirogen tortured the bodies of Voyager crewmembers, and countless other such experiences. Wouldn't these sort have things changed him? Perhaps he held a grudge against the Hirogen? Or detested the way the Vidiians used their medical science to harm others? Little to no attention was paid to these in the book, and I didn't like that. Those sort of experiences deserved a chapter at least, but Picardo paid no attention to them.

But that being said, the book was excellent, and provided great insight into the Doctor's character.

A must read if you are a Voyager fan.

Robert Picardo opens his Foreword to the book asking "Do you often feel you are the only intelligent one in a universe of idiots?" Brannon Braga, one of the executive producers of "Star Trek: Voyager," has something else to say in his introduction, that the book is "a hundred page cry for help."

All joking aside though, "The Hologram's Handbook" is truly a revealing insight into the chacter of The Doctor from "Voyager." Robert Picardo goes completely in character to write this missive that includes information on everything from "the pros and cons of hololife" to "the program upgrade of kings."

Throughout, the book is written in The Doctor's style, assured of his own superiority and yet enriched for the experiences he has had with his friends and even family. The book provides the expected background on The Doctor as well as adventures that had never been previously be revealed. The book contains images from "Star Trek: Voyager" throughout, as well as cartoon caricatures which The Doctor seems to abhor, but says his publisher felt it would help him to not appear elitist.

If you wish to know more about The Doctor, then pick up "The Hologram's Handbook" today. Or, if you're a holographic reader who hopes to improve your well-being and social skills, simply download it onto the nearest padd and prepare to be enlightened.

This is just a novel form of the TV script. Unless you're really hooked on this story, move on to the Voyager books that are original.

After watching the pilot on televison, I saw this book a the grocery store. I wasn't a big trek fan, but Kate Mulgrew's "Girl Power" attitude hooked me to Voyager.

I read this book in a few days. There were a lot of details that I'd missed the first time I saw the show and lots of details that weren't even in the pilot.

I liked how it described in more detail how the crews attempt to mesh so they can use their combined resources to get home.

The 8 page photo insert would have been a lot better if it was in color, but it was a neat feature anyway.

Surprisingly enough, out of all of the Star Trek novels written by the LA Graf (Let's All Get Rich and Famous) writing team of Julia Ecklar and Karen Rose Cercone, this was the first one of theirs that I'd read. I found their writing style for this novelization of Voyager's lead off episode to be very well written and fast paced, easily accomplishing what novelizations are for. They deftly added several "between the scenes" scenes that weren't scene on screen and enhanced those scenes we did see with some very interesting personal dialogue.

The cover art for this novelization is nothing spectacular but it does serve well in what it was designed to do, give the fans a photo of the new and exciting crew!

As is custom with novelizations of Star Trek movies and pilot episodes, there is an eight page set of black & white photos included.

The premise:

The newly commissioned Intrepid class USS Voyager NCC-74656, commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway sets out on the mission to find a particular band of Maquis in the badlands. Here is where the novelization goes above and beyond the episode; the novelization begins with an excellent introspective opening sequence with Chakotay, a Maquis leader.

Voyager arrives at Deep Space Nine to pick up some additional crew members and then she heads out for the badlands with her crew to find the Maquis. Unbeknownst to them, an entity known as the Caretaker has spirited the Maquis raider some seventy thousand light years away, deep in the Delta Quadrant and they're heading for that same destiny.

Captain Janeway and her crew find themselves in the same situation; deep in the Delta Quadrant, several crew members dead or missing and those left alive being held captive by the Caretaker. In true Janeway fashion, she soon learns what must be done and has to make the ultimate decision that will leave her crew and the remaining crew of the Maquis raider stranded in the Delta Quadrant, looking at seventy years at maximum warp to get home to the Alpha Quadrant and the Federation.

Thus begins the wonderful seven year journey, where at many times, the series didn't quite live up to the expectations of many Star Trek fans but it was still some very decent Star Trek and a journey that I enjoyed watching.

I highly recommend this novel to those that can find a copy of it. It serves well as a beginning to the series of novels for Star Trek fiction readers! While several of the early Star Trek Voyager stories couldn't exactly be classified as "classics," it's worth it to read through them and this is the best place to start. {ssintrepid}

This novelization of the first episode of Voyager is really well done. It's not just a rehash of the episode, rather, it's a story that can stand on its own. It's nice hearing what characters are thinking, and it's very descriptive. The photos in the middle were a nice touch. I really enjoyed all the interweaving storylines and the introduction of all the characters. Excellent!

This book captures the events in the premier episode of the television series, "Star Trek: Voyager" quite well, yet one never has the feeling that one is reading a recap. The story flows quite well, the characterizations are excellent, and I can't think of any scenes from the episode that are left out of the book, yet there are many instances in which the book adds to the story, and none of them seem out of place.

The only objection I have is the treatment of the holographic doctor; he is portrayed much too mechanically. I realize that he IS mechanical, but the series never failed to present him as having a personality, even in this premier episode. I feel that his mechanical aspect was overplayed in this book. Otherwise, this is an excellent telling of an excellent story, and necessary background for anyone planning on reading other "Voyager" novels.