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I liked the Sword of Damocles. This is the first book of Thorne I have read. While the plot may not have been the best of the Star Trek: Titan series, I may have been the best written. If I had read it years ago, I probably would have hated it, as the story is not linear. For example, the first chapter is the Epilogue. I was upset originally because I thought the author/editor was an idiot, it was only several chapters later that I realized that the "epilogue" took place well after Chapter 1 (though not actually after chapter 16). Similarly, it ended with a prologue. Quite a bit of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff. I felt like I finally am starting to get a hold of who all these new characters are, mostly by Thorne writing most of the story from their perspective, with Riker and Troi being mostly background characters. I particularly fell in love with Commander Jaza, and I kept hoping for something more from him, but alas...

I never understood why it was titled Sword of Damocles.

Submitted Interlibrary loan request so I'll have it for my trip

Submitted Interlibrary loan request so I'll have it for my trip.

Most movies based on books are not as good as the book. This is why I usually recommend watching the movie first so that you can enjoy both of them. I have no idea how many times I have seen the 1978 animated film released by the Australian wing of Hanna-Barbara. It was a childhood favorite and I have grown to share it with my own kids, who were less than impressed. Perhaps it was just the shear number of times that ingrained its version such that listening to the original tale seemed lacking. I kept waiting for parts of the story that never actually came up, whether they were completely made up for the movie (if you can even call a 48 minutes VHS tape a movie) or were combinations of a number of the stories from the book into one separate story, to the point that I don't think I actually gave the proper chance to enjoy the expanded narrative this audio-book needed. Also what the book usually called the "check reign" the movie called the "bearing reign."

My own weird history aside the book is good. A 19th century story of "the autobiography of a horse" the story of one of England's finest ponies told from his colt-hood to the end of his life, nearly 15 years over the course of 5 audio discs. Each chapter was a more-or-less stand alone story, which would make it great for a few weeks of bed time stories, probably for kids age seven and up.

Black Beauty is famous for being a tale of animal welfare that inspired English kids to seek out better treatment of their parents' horses. It also was a story promoting teatoling and care of the working-class, particularly England's horse-drawn cab drivers.

All in all I recommend it, but maybe read the book first this time. 🤷‍♀️