Book Review | Star Trek: The Next Generation: Bloopers Of The Borg.

“Yet again, Hero Collector has created an amusing book that will tax Star Trek: The Next Generation fans’ brains to the max!”

“The Star Trek: The Next Generation: Bloopers Of The Borg NERD SEARCH has arrived to engage…your brain!”

Hero Collector has made quite a good name for itself over the years. Especially when it comes to their books based on various franchises. And none more so than their ‘find the mistakes’ books. You see, far from being easy to solve, throwaway books, they are actually quite difficult to solve. Many a time I’ve found myself tearing what’s left of my hair out trying to solve one. Their ‘Ghostbusters‘ one had me stumped for days on end. But now, they are at it again. This time, they have released a ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation.’ edition. And have titled it ‘Bloopers Of The Borg.’ When I say it is a dream for the Trek nerds out there, I mean it. To solve every puzzle in the book, you will need a good knowledge of the show and the episodes.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION: BLOOPERS OF THE BORG BY HERO COLLECTOR

As is common with the books in the range, a scorecard is included inside the book. Here you can write down what you spot what is wrong with the various illustrated pictures the book contains. There are four types of puzzles in the book. You have ‘Catch The Cube’ where the reader must spot the Borg Chaos Cube before it does too much damage. ‘Nerd Alert’ features five continuity errors in the puzzle for the reader to discover. ‘The Artifact Anomaly’ features ten elements from episodes in the series. They are all themed so they are easier to spot and are based on a particular episode. And then we have ‘Super Quibbles’. You’ll need to be a real Trek nerd to solve this one! This puzzle is a special talking point that only the true fans will know about. It could be an item that was mentioned but never seen. Or it could be some behind-the-scenes knowledge. Hard-core fans will know it when they see it.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Bloopers Of The Borg

EIGHT PUZZLES FOR THE HARDCORE FAN TO SOLVE

In total, there are eight puzzles for the reader to solve. Each one is based on a single episode with the exception of one. This is the final puzzle and is for the very first and the very last episodes of the series. ‘Encounter At Farpoint’, and ‘All Good Things.’ Here, the reader will need to know both episodes inside and out to solve the riddles that litter the pages. The best episode of the show ever produced, ‘The Best Of Both Worlds’ gets its own puzzles, as it should. I actually noticed three mistakes almost instantly, that’s how much I love the two-part episode. And the number of times I have seen it. But don’t let that fool you, it is still a hard puzzle to solve.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Bloopers Of The Borg

THE SOLUTIONS

Of course, the back of the book contains all the solutions to the puzzles. If the reader wants to simply give up, all they need to know is located at the rear end. Or if someone just wants to cheat their way through the book. Where’s the fun in that, though? For the hardcore fans, after they have attempted the eight puzzles, it will allow them to see if they were right. And to confirm if their knowledge is complete or has gaps. But there are hours of fun to be had even attempting to solve the puzzles. And will keep the reader occupied for what could be days on end.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Yet again, Hero Collector has created an amusing book that will tax the fans’ brains to the max! They could so easily have just made a basic puzzle book for fans and left it at that. But no, they have put great thought and time into creating something that will bring hours of joy, frustration, and headaches for all who attempt the challenges. And that is what makes the book so good. The illustrations are enjoyable and amusing while keeping the reader on their toes. I will admit that I attempted the puzzles and failed miserably. And I’m a HUGE ‘Star Trek’ fan! This will certainly give many fans a great time and has great potential. Just remember as to what the book says:

‘The Mistakes Must Go-Make It So!’