Star Trek: Picard: No Man's Land: An Original Audio Drama
[{'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Excellent audio drama!\nSet right after the events of season 1, it gives some extra story to Raffi and Seven‘s relationship as we head in to season 2.\nWhile not absolutely necessary to listen to before watching season 2, I thought it gave some good depth to their story since season 2 starts after some time has past following season 1 finale. It allows the listeners to get more of the reasoning behind their actions/feelings as we begin season 2.\nMy only complaint is that it wasn’t longer lol but it told its story well and I understand why they didn’t drag it out any longer than it needed to be\nThis also has an amazing voice cast! Voices are clear and the sound effects were great, just like the radio dramas of the past.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I didn’t know what to expect before start listening to this but just in first 3 minutes I was hooked! This audio drama starts right after season 1 and Seven and Raffi are at Raffi’s trailer. They’re playing games and drinking just having a relaxed time until Seven’s Ranger buddies come up with a mission. Seven and Raffi getting to know each other, showing their own insecurities and fears were so well done! It was like reading a proper sapphic novels! And the adventure itself had great human stories with exciting actions.\n\nThis audio drama provided so much background character development and insight of Seven and Raffi and you won’t regret listening to it. It gets even better if you listen to it again after watching the second season of Picard. What Seven and Raffi goes through makes so much more sense. Both Jeri Ryan and Michelle Hurd did a fantastic job voicing Seven and Raffi. Their affection and vulnerability shone through. And other characters were played wonderfully too. Overall, an awesome short story to Picard world!'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': "STAR TREK: PICARD: NO MAN'S LAND is a audio drama that is about an hour and a half long as well as primarily done by Michelle Hurd alongside Jeri Ryan. There are plenty of other cast members, though, and it is written by Star Trek mainstay Kirsten Beyer. It is something I immediately bought despite not liking audio dramas generally and much-preferring the printed page or more traditional audiobooks.\n\nThis is because I'm fantastically in love with STAR TREK: PICARD's setting. Not necessarily the show itself but the world it envisioned for its first season. The Romulan star has exploded and a great star empire has fallen. The Neutral Zone has collapsed into chaos and there's now feuding warlords fighting it over territories without a unifying leader. There's the Fenris Rangers, Qwat Milat, seedy criminals, and a Federation that has absolutely no desire to get involved.\n\nMy reasons for loving this setting are basically the same as my reasons for loving an RPG setting: it is absolutely full of all manner of fun for characters to get into. It is dangerous, sexy, and interesting politically. There's no coincidence similar ideas were explored in STAR TREK ONLINE's Romulan campaign as well as the much-earlier STAR TREK: NEW FRONTIER novels that were a massive influence on my own Space Academy books.\n\nUnfortunately, for all my love of the setting, Star Trek: Picard doesn't spend much time in the former Neutral Zone. Instead, we deal with a couple of baddies and then it's off to deal with other problems. It's part of the reason I want a FENRIS RANGERS or STAR TREK: SEVEN'S NINE series set in the place. You could really get into the interesting politics and intrigue involved in a power vacuum and whether a tyranny is worse than anarchy.\n\nNo Man's Land is a pretty short story to cover all of this and I would have easily read a Kirsten Beyer-written novel about this subject. I'm still hoping for more information on the former Neutral Zone in the upcoming novel, Second Self. However, I should note this novel isn't actually the lengthy guide to the setting of Picard I wanted but primarily a short adventure (probably novella length) that primarily deals with Seven and Raffi's relationship.\n\nThis is arguably the best part of the novel because there's absolutely nothing obscure or hesitant about depicting Seven and Raffi's relationship. They are romantically interested in one another, want to pursue a serious relationship, and the only thing standing in their way is years of emotional baggage. They don't erase the fact both women are bisexuals either but portray that upfront while making it clear it's not an impediment to a long-term relationship as some queer-phobic media has.\n\nI like the depiction of the Fenris Rangers as a contrast to Starfleet. They're an all-volunteer force that is underpaid, underfunded, and do not have much in the way of equipment for their task. Nevertheless, they try to do the best they can and their primary goal is to protect refugees from the rampaging forces of the former Romulan military as well as aristocracy.\n\nEverything else is a kind of straightforward TOS or video game plot. There's an insane Romulan nobleman, a Maguffin that grants immortality, a madman who can lead the way, and a twist ending that was pretty telegraphed but still satisfying. The performances are great and we do get to see the Fenris Rangers in action. I also like the supporting cast, which adds a nice bunch of comic relief without being ridiculous. Sadly, I think the book could have been at least an hour or two longer without wearing out its welcome."}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-3 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Like the books that go with Disovery and Picard this audio book was designed to fill in a blank between seasons, while not being necessary to enjoy season 2 of Picard. It was nice to hear the real voices of the actors who play 7 and Raffi act in this story. That being said the story is pretty meh. I listened to it while doing some work and it didn\'t hold my interest very well. Maybe if I had listened to it in my car on a drive in the middle of Nevada where there\'s nothing but dirt and scrub it would have been more interesting. And they had to add an extra bit of "Gurl Power" by naming a Starfleet ship after one of the worst jurists in United States Supreme Court history. Even though I gave the audio book 3 stars I really don\'t recommend it. Too bad, because unlike Discovery, Picard is actually good.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Listen to it yourself. It is indeed audio drama from the real people.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I’m hoping this opens the door for other Star Trek series down the road. Interesting story'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-5 review-rating', 'review_body': 'Good character development. Excellent production values and great voice acting. What’s not to like? It’s well worth a listen for fans of the Picard series looking for good material that builds on the wonderful characters and relationships explored in the series.'}, {'review_meta': 'Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2022', 'review_star': 'a-icon a-icon-star a-star-4 review-rating', 'review_body': 'I bought this audio drama through a different platform.\n\nI enjoyed listening to this story. Raffi and Seven are my favorite characters in Picard. This style is a call back to radio dramas, with quality voice acting and background sounds and music. It lends itself well to listening to on a long drive, and I will add it to my drive time playlist.'}]