A Time To Hate

A Time to Hate (2004) by Robert Greenberger — Pocket Books
ISBN: 0743462890
Condition: Used (strategically scuffed, emotionally volatile, fully readable)
Offered with raised shields by Crappy Old Books

There’s a time to explore, a time to reason, a time to talk it out like civilised Federation citizens… and then there’s A Time to Hate, where all that noble diplomacy has gone for a walk and left raw, ugly emotion in charge.

In this slice of Star Trek drama, Robert Greenberger takes one of the franchise’s favourite themes — understanding and tolerance — and flips it round to ask an awkward question: what happens when whole worlds decide they are absolutely done being reasonable? Spoiler: it’s not group therapy.

Inside this book you’ll find:

• Old wounds that never quite healed, now being enthusiastically poked with a stick,

• Cultures who can recite historic grievances like other people recite song lyrics,

• Starfleet officers stuck in the middle, trying to hold everything together with principles, protocol, and sheer stubbornness.

This is Trek at its “oh no, we’ve made things worse” best: political tension, simmering resentment, and the dawning realisation that hatred is much easier to ignite than to extinguish — even in a century that’s supposed to have moved beyond all that.

This particular copy, plucked from the slightly war-torn sector of the Crappy Old Books shelves, is proudly Used. That means:

• The cover may show light scuffs, edge wear, and faint signs of having survived at least one backpack, bedside table, or overstuffed book box.

• The spine almost certainly has a crease or two — those pale lines that say, “Someone blew off sleep to see how this diplomatic disaster plays out.”

• The pages may be gently tanned and softened at the edges, carrying that reassuring “I’ve been through some things and I’m still here” energy.

Cosmetically, it’s not a mint-condition museum piece. Narratively, the phasers are charged.

Perfect for:

• Star Trek fans who like their idealism stress-tested under maximum pressure,

• Readers who enjoy political and emotional fallout with their starships,

• Anyone who knows that “we don’t hate anymore in the future” was always going to be… optimistic.

Set this Used copy of A Time to Hate on your shelf and your guests will know you’re not just here for the shiny optimism — you’re here for the messy parts too: the prejudice, the anger, the grudges, and the attempt to rise above them all anyway.

Take it home, crack it open, and watch as Starfleet tries to do the impossible: navigate a universe where hatred is stubborn, history is heavy, and somehow, against the odds, people are still trying to be better than they were yesterday.

It’s not pretty. It is, however, very readable.

Keep browsing: See more Science-Fiction books Other books by Robert Greenberger