Breakdowns

Breakdowns (2005) Scott Ciencin, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Kevin Dilmore, Heather Jarman, Dayton Ward Pocket Books / ISBN: 1416503269 / Condition: Used (systems failing, story core intact) Welcome to Breakdowns , a Star Trek: S.C.E. (Starfleet Corps of Engineers) omnibus in which the galaxy?s premier fixer-upper squad rushes around space tightening bolts on the universe while everything?ships, stations, people, plans?cheerfully falls apart. Think: interstellar IT support meets emergency call-out engineers, except with more warp cores and fewer polite helpdesk emails. This particular copy staggered into Crappy Old Books after one or more previous tours of duty, which means it is gloriously, unapologetically Used . Not ?collector mint.? More ?has been read during lunch breaks, on trains, and at least once while someone was meant to be working.? Inside, you?re getting multiple adventures from a whole crew of authors and characters, including: Hyper-competent engineers desperately trying to prevent catastrophic systems failure while the universe loudly insists on a full reboot. Captains who call S.C.E. in only after pressing all the buttons marked ?temporary workaround? and ?ignore warning.? Alien tech that absolutely does not come with documentation, yet somehow still gets plugged into the main power grid. The ongoing proof that in Starfleet, engineers are basically the difference between ?noble crew exploring the stars? and ?spontaneous debris field.? Inside this copy, lovingly retailed by Crappy Old Books, you may also find: A creased spine, like a stress fracture acquired during multiple high-tension away missions (or just years of being opened a lot). Corners that are slightly blunted, as though the book has bounced around in the bottom of a rucksack with keys, receipts, and a half-melted chocolate bar. Pages that have mellowed from shiny fresh white to a dignified ?starship-operations-manual beige,? giving it that authentic ?issued long before Stardate whatever? feel. A faint sense that at least one previous reader muttered ?reroute power to the plot? under their breath at some point. This is not austere, chin-stroking sci-fi. This is problem-of-the-week, fix-it-with-a-spanner-and-technobabble storytelling: If something can explode, overload, short-out, or phase out of normal space, it probably will. If a solution involves improvising with parts that definitely weren?t designed for that, someone on the S.C.E. team will try it anyway. And if a situation appears calm, that simply means the proximity alarms haven?t caught up yet. Perfect for: Star Trek fans who secretly know the real heroes are the engineers keeping the pretty ships in one piece. Readers who like brisk, pulpy, episodic adventures stacked back-to-back in one satisfyingly chunky volume. Anyone who?s ever worked in tech support and felt, deep in their soul, that they belong in Starfleet. People who prefer their paperbacks slightly scuffed, as if they?ve already been through at least one temporal anomaly and a coffee spill. Is this copy mint? Absolutely not. You?re shopping at Crappy Old Books , where ?mint condition? is treated with the same suspicion as experimental alien hardware plugged into a perfectly good warp core. What you are getting is a battle-tested, comfortably worn, fully readable omnibus of Starfleet calamities and clever fixes?ready to be deployed to your sofa, your bedside table, or your ?I?ll totally just read one more section? reading nook. Adopt this used copy of Breakdowns . Let the Starfleet Corps of Engineers reassure you that whatever breakdowns you?re dealing with?printer, Wi-Fi, life?they could be worse. You could be doing repairs outside a starship. In hard vacuum. On a deadline.…