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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was my first time reading this book genre, based on a popular television series. I wanted to love it because I love Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, I found it difficult to engage with the narrative. The story felt forced, lacking the natural flow and excitement that I expected from a Star Trek adaptation. It seemed the author was not fully immersed in the world they were creating. What I love in film is not what I love in print. This is the case with books I have read, with few exceptions. I can think of one, though: Heartstopper. I loved the graphic novels and television series even more.
I understand that the powers of Star Trek want to move in a specific direction, but I don't like the direction. This book is a step in the direction ultimately leading to the new Picard series. Familiar and new characters are both here and the writing is solid. The story is good but no suprises and pacing is moderate. The book is worth reading if you are keeping up with Star Trek in general, but don't look for Next Generation type stories here. That has been abandoned in general in the change of canon tone for Star Trek books. I keep looking for the Gene Roddenberry ST universe, but have been disappointed for some time. Can't fault the writers for direction and the writing is good.
**As per all of my reviews, I like to preface by saying that I listened to this book in audiobook format. This does indeed slightly skew my rating. I have found that audiobooks, give me a better "relationship" with the characters if done well, but also kills the book for me if narrated poorly. Also due to the nature of listening to the text, names and places may be spelled incorrectly here as I often do not have the physical volume in front of me.
Also, I have written this review in a "rolling updates" style. In that I basically chronicle my reading as I progress. This may make for a jarring and spoilery review so be warned.**
So we're continuing on with this really interesting main core story in this ping pong story between the two authors David Mack and Dayton Ward. Both authors have entries into this story line that has pretty much started years and years ago with the book "Control". What I really like and hate at the same time is that the books have the story of Picard's decision and implications play out through years of books. This is something that is both quite a great way to keep the story drawn out, and keeping me interested and really wanting more... but then of course each book feels like it has to somehow jam in a second 'normal Trek" story line. This leads to some very boring, cliche stories that are packed into the novels that distsract from the main event. Since the novel Available Light, Picard is finally called out, and can no longer be shielded from the public eye. Section 31's existance and actions have come to public light, and because of the death of the former President and other actions, the criminal system must act.
We get some great scenes of Picard spending time with his wife Beverly Crusher as they make the trip back to Earth. There's the return of our characters that have now fleshed out the Enterprise, and I'm genuinely happy to see them still all here. The Enterprise deposits Picard to Starfleet headquarters and he even visits his old pal Riker. The description of Chateua Picard really makes me look foward to the Picard series.
This being said, my prior complaint about the "B plot" forcing itself into the story is present here as well. And this one seems to be pretty heavy handed, involving a band of Nausiccan pirates... They have a grudge against Starfleet ( everyone does...) for not coming to their aid when the Borg glassed their planet. Blaming StarFleet for the awakening of the Borg and then turning tail once they discovered how much of a threat they were.
Now with this story comes a very ...odd choice to switch the writing to First Person. And then...there's a new character also in the First Person tossed in. A quintessential smart ass, who literally talks his way into getting his ass kicked.
So back to the positives here. The court marshal stuff is really fascinating. I think David Mack may have now set the defacto standard for reference for Starfleet court room procedings. In the beginning, all of the magistrates and officials must declare everything on the record, that they have no ties to Jean-luc, and that they must state that they are fit to pursue this investigation... Really crunchy, stuff that I was hoping he wouldn't shy away from.
Picard right off the bat ignores literally the first piece of advice his lawyer gives him. He takes to the stand to willingly be examined. This is so Picard..showing that he's too proud, and honor bound to
Alright, so about halfway through, and a lot of my complaints are being quickly swept away. The plot with Thadiun Okona as a Section 31 op, or at the very least Starfleet Intelligence and being suberted by the Enterprise crew is pretty cool. I admittedly had no clue who Okona was and I had to retroactively look up his history, and to me it seems having him be S.I is a completely new idea and I like it. I really credit the authors who can take small, random characters and later give them someting more. The same was sort of done with NextGen's Doctor Pulaski. While she wasn't a random, small character, we didn't get a lot of her in Next Gen, so having one of the other books "Enigma Tales" feature her as well was neat. giving her a bit more depth.
The book has gone one and deeper into the trial, and i'm surprised in a good way about how far it's dived into the legal battle. Surely something I figured Mack would give us the 64,000 foot view of, but no, we're getting like the day by day proceedings which is great. The back and forth seems very natural. And it's moments like this that prove how much thought went into this story. I say that because from a writing perspective, for a court battle, legal prosecution has to be very thorough. It has to nit pick and be precise and have all the details lined up. Likewise the defense has to have logical arguments and all bases covered. If I...a random guy, can think of a 'plot hole' or argument that isn't brought up, then that's a problem with the writing. But no, in this proceeding, any attack that the prosectuion makes, I can fully see. Likewise any counter point that I thought of was indeed atleast touched on by Picards defense.
Inbetween the Court Marshal scenes, we get the story with Agent Thadiun Okona. Worf and Lt. Smernova seem to be the standout characters here that are trying to track him down. Pretty much he's been tasked in wiping out a contingent of Nausicans that are trying to get revenge of the Federation. (A rather familiar and repetitive narrative in Star Trek). So Okona, an S.I agent is trying to stop them...by killing them all. He's technically just following orders...and the outcome is to save possible billions of lives. Of course Worf feels this is a dishonourable method and they go to stop Okona from carrying out his orders.
The book is wrapping up, and it's been quite a ride. After all this build up, years of writing to make this all climax...I will say that the general decision to let Picard off with a slap on the wrist..perhaps is a tad of a let down? I don't want to phrase it like that, because it implies I would have wanted to see Picard have the book thrown at him. But I feel the conclusion was a it speedy. At the end we just got a tidy summary of "Well..after one night of thinking, that's it, he's cleared." It was so sudden it didn't really lend itself to the fact that we've been building up to this for years now. Of course besides that point, the decision itself, and the surrounding stories were all very facsinating. The Nausican appeasement by Worf was great. And speaking of which, Worf really stepped into his own. He's been in command before, and this shows his prowess not only in combat situations, but also and more importantly, in situations that require a lot of tact and diplomacy. The Nausicans who felt so slighted, and disrespected by Starfleet, Worf played into this and came up with the idea of giving the Nausicans what they actually valued the most...remnants of their culture. I'm not sure how, perhaps I missed it, but the Federation, through data spheres, etc, have a large amount of Naussican history and stored on their files. Overall this book was 100% a win. It started off a bit shaky in that I was taken off guard by the shifting perspective. Switching from the first and 3rd narrative.. So as I enjoyed this book alot it's structure is pretty much identical to the other Trek books in this series. And that's not an insult, but it's just something that I wish they didn't feel like they *had* to do...just having the book focus on the trial of Picard would have been really great, but it seems like it's required to get a Trek book published for it to have an alien war/alien discovery subplot. I know this is sort of baked into the DNA of Trek, but it's not a requirement for every single book. especially a book that's tackling such a major, pivotal plot such as Picard perhaps being sent to prison. Both narratives were interesting, I can't lie and say that I didn't enjoy any of the alien stuff, and having Okona as a S.I op was really fun, but it seems like the two stories could have stood apart.
Also, I have written this review in a "rolling updates" style. In that I basically chronicle my reading as I progress. This may make for a jarring and spoilery review so be warned.**
So we're continuing on with this really interesting main core story in this ping pong story between the two authors David Mack and Dayton Ward. Both authors have entries into this story line that has pretty much started years and years ago with the book "Control". What I really like and hate at the same time is that the books have the story of Picard's decision and implications play out through years of books. This is something that is both quite a great way to keep the story drawn out, and keeping me interested and really wanting more... but then of course each book feels like it has to somehow jam in a second 'normal Trek" story line. This leads to some very boring, cliche stories that are packed into the novels that distsract from the main event. Since the novel Available Light, Picard is finally called out, and can no longer be shielded from the public eye. Section 31's existance and actions have come to public light, and because of the death of the former President and other actions, the criminal system must act.
We get some great scenes of Picard spending time with his wife Beverly Crusher as they make the trip back to Earth. There's the return of our characters that have now fleshed out the Enterprise, and I'm genuinely happy to see them still all here. The Enterprise deposits Picard to Starfleet headquarters and he even visits his old pal Riker. The description of Chateua Picard really makes me look foward to the Picard series.
This being said, my prior complaint about the "B plot" forcing itself into the story is present here as well. And this one seems to be pretty heavy handed, involving a band of Nausiccan pirates... They have a grudge against Starfleet ( everyone does...) for not coming to their aid when the Borg glassed their planet. Blaming StarFleet for the awakening of the Borg and then turning tail once they discovered how much of a threat they were.
Now with this story comes a very ...odd choice to switch the writing to First Person. And then...there's a new character also in the First Person tossed in. A quintessential smart ass, who literally talks his way into getting his ass kicked.
So back to the positives here. The court marshal stuff is really fascinating. I think David Mack may have now set the defacto standard for reference for Starfleet court room procedings. In the beginning, all of the magistrates and officials must declare everything on the record, that they have no ties to Jean-luc, and that they must state that they are fit to pursue this investigation... Really crunchy, stuff that I was hoping he wouldn't shy away from.
Picard right off the bat ignores literally the first piece of advice his lawyer gives him. He takes to the stand to willingly be examined. This is so Picard..showing that he's too proud, and honor bound to
Alright, so about halfway through, and a lot of my complaints are being quickly swept away. The plot with Thadiun Okona as a Section 31 op, or at the very least Starfleet Intelligence and being suberted by the Enterprise crew is pretty cool. I admittedly had no clue who Okona was and I had to retroactively look up his history, and to me it seems having him be S.I is a completely new idea and I like it. I really credit the authors who can take small, random characters and later give them someting more. The same was sort of done with NextGen's Doctor Pulaski. While she wasn't a random, small character, we didn't get a lot of her in Next Gen, so having one of the other books "Enigma Tales" feature her as well was neat. giving her a bit more depth.
The book has gone one and deeper into the trial, and i'm surprised in a good way about how far it's dived into the legal battle. Surely something I figured Mack would give us the 64,000 foot view of, but no, we're getting like the day by day proceedings which is great. The back and forth seems very natural. And it's moments like this that prove how much thought went into this story. I say that because from a writing perspective, for a court battle, legal prosecution has to be very thorough. It has to nit pick and be precise and have all the details lined up. Likewise the defense has to have logical arguments and all bases covered. If I...a random guy, can think of a 'plot hole' or argument that isn't brought up, then that's a problem with the writing. But no, in this proceeding, any attack that the prosectuion makes, I can fully see. Likewise any counter point that I thought of was indeed atleast touched on by Picards defense.
Inbetween the Court Marshal scenes, we get the story with Agent Thadiun Okona. Worf and Lt. Smernova seem to be the standout characters here that are trying to track him down. Pretty much he's been tasked in wiping out a contingent of Nausicans that are trying to get revenge of the Federation. (A rather familiar and repetitive narrative in Star Trek). So Okona, an S.I agent is trying to stop them...by killing them all. He's technically just following orders...and the outcome is to save possible billions of lives. Of course Worf feels this is a dishonourable method and they go to stop Okona from carrying out his orders.
The book is wrapping up, and it's been quite a ride. After all this build up, years of writing to make this all climax...I will say that the general decision to let Picard off with a slap on the wrist..perhaps is a tad of a let down? I don't want to phrase it like that, because it implies I would have wanted to see Picard have the book thrown at him. But I feel the conclusion was a it speedy. At the end we just got a tidy summary of "Well..after one night of thinking, that's it, he's cleared." It was so sudden it didn't really lend itself to the fact that we've been building up to this for years now. Of course besides that point, the decision itself, and the surrounding stories were all very facsinating. The Nausican appeasement by Worf was great. And speaking of which, Worf really stepped into his own. He's been in command before, and this shows his prowess not only in combat situations, but also and more importantly, in situations that require a lot of tact and diplomacy. The Nausicans who felt so slighted, and disrespected by Starfleet, Worf played into this and came up with the idea of giving the Nausicans what they actually valued the most...remnants of their culture. I'm not sure how, perhaps I missed it, but the Federation, through data spheres, etc, have a large amount of Naussican history and stored on their files. Overall this book was 100% a win. It started off a bit shaky in that I was taken off guard by the shifting perspective. Switching from the first and 3rd narrative.. So as I enjoyed this book alot it's structure is pretty much identical to the other Trek books in this series. And that's not an insult, but it's just something that I wish they didn't feel like they *had* to do...just having the book focus on the trial of Picard would have been really great, but it seems like it's required to get a Trek book published for it to have an alien war/alien discovery subplot. I know this is sort of baked into the DNA of Trek, but it's not a requirement for every single book. especially a book that's tackling such a major, pivotal plot such as Picard perhaps being sent to prison. Both narratives were interesting, I can't lie and say that I didn't enjoy any of the alien stuff, and having Okona as a S.I op was really fun, but it seems like the two stories could have stood apart.
I liked the fast-moving pace of the story, even Picard's court room scenes, but I particularly loved the way Worf gets to shine in this tale.
A fun, fast-paced story that connects back to a few key moments in Picard’s life: the inquiry into what happened to one of Picard’s previous ships, the Stargazer, Wolf359 and his brother’s death. And to his many years as a Captain and a mentor to Worf. There’s also a connection to Voyager and one of its former crew members who gave birth to a daughter during then7-year trip back home. So, you it helped if you were familiar with these things when reading this book.
There are two major initiating events in this story:
-An new inquiry/court case is launched by the Federation Attorney General into evidence that has surfaced linking Picard to a coup some years previous against a Prime Minister of another planet. The conspirators were Starfleet Admirals and Section 31, a covert part of Starfleet Intelligence.
-A remnant of a species called the Nausicaans, whose planet was destroyed by the Borg on their way to Earth, begin stealing tech for some unknown purpose, one of which had been used for a sting by a Section 31 operative, Okona. Okona loses this to the Nausicaans, and begins chasing the Nausicaans around Federation space. The Nausicaans also hit and critically damage a station during the theft of some highly proprietary tech, which brings the Enterprise, with Acting Captain Worf (in Picard’s absence) to the rescue. Worf sends engineering personnel to the station, among them Geordie.
Okona, while hot on the Nausicans’ trail, is picked up by the Enterprise. His personality and his evasiveness rub everyone the wrong way, until Starfleet Intelligence forces the Enterprise to let Okona go.
So, there are multiple situations at play here, with Picard’s future and many lives at stake. Picard could face imprisonment, if found guilty, Geordie and everyone on the station could all die without critical repairs to the station. And Worf and the Enterprise are finding it hard to capture the Nausicaans and the stolen tech, while Section 31 is in the background muddying up the Enterprise’s ability to accomplish anything.
The action is pretty fast, there’s humour and peril, and I liked Picard’s characterization, while he answers difficult questions on the stand about a mission he had not realized had been twisted.
Geordie is his usual really smart and enthusiastic and positive self, doing his damnedest to solve problems and prevent deaths.
I think the character who really shone in his story is Worf. He’s really grown and learned from his many assignments and responsibilities, and gets a chance to resolve a terrible situation in a distinctly mature and thoughtful way. Yay for a character I always thought got short shrift on the tv show.
This story was a solid 4 stars for me right till the one sour note right at the end. The story loses a star for this.
Merged review:
I liked the fast-moving pace of the story, even Picard's court room scenes, but I particularly loved the way Worf gets to shine in this tale.
A fun, fast-paced story that connects back to a few key moments in Picard’s life: the inquiry into what happened to one of Picard’s previous ships, the Stargazer, Wolf359 and his brother’s death. And to his many years as a Captain and a mentor to Worf. There’s also a connection to Voyager and one of its former crew members who gave birth to a daughter during then7-year trip back home. So, you it helped if you were familiar with these things when reading this book.
There are two major initiating events in this story:
-An new inquiry/court case is launched by the Federation Attorney General into evidence that has surfaced linking Picard to a coup some years previous against a Prime Minister of another planet. The conspirators were Starfleet Admirals and Section 31, a covert part of Starfleet Intelligence.
-A remnant of a species called the Nausicaans, whose planet was destroyed by the Borg on their way to Earth, begin stealing tech for some unknown purpose, one of which had been used for a sting by a Section 31 operative, Okona. Okona loses this to the Nausicaans, and begins chasing the Nausicaans around Federation space. The Nausicaans also hit and critically damage a station during the theft of some highly proprietary tech, which brings the Enterprise, with Acting Captain Worf (in Picard’s absence) to the rescue. Worf sends engineering personnel to the station, among them Geordie.
Okona, while hot on the Nausicans’ trail, is picked up by the Enterprise. His personality and his evasiveness rub everyone the wrong way, until Starfleet Intelligence forces the Enterprise to let Okona go.
So, there are multiple situations at play here, with Picard’s future and many lives at stake. Picard could face imprisonment, if found guilty, Geordie and everyone on the station could all die without critical repairs to the station. And Worf and the Enterprise are finding it hard to capture the Nausicaans and the stolen tech, while Section 31 is in the background muddying up the Enterprise’s ability to accomplish anything.
The action is pretty fast, there’s humour and peril, and I liked Picard’s characterization, while he answers difficult questions on the stand about a mission he had not realized had been twisted.
Geordie is his usual really smart and enthusiastic and positive self, doing his damnedest to solve problems and prevent deaths.
I think the character who really shone in his story is Worf. He’s really grown and learned from his many assignments and responsibilities, and gets a chance to resolve a terrible situation in a distinctly mature and thoughtful way. Yay for a character I always thought got short shrift on the tv show.
This story was a solid 4 stars for me right till the one sour note right at the end. The story loses a star for this.
A fun, fast-paced story that connects back to a few key moments in Picard’s life: the inquiry into what happened to one of Picard’s previous ships, the Stargazer, Wolf359 and his brother’s death. And to his many years as a Captain and a mentor to Worf. There’s also a connection to Voyager and one of its former crew members who gave birth to a daughter during then7-year trip back home. So, you it helped if you were familiar with these things when reading this book.
There are two major initiating events in this story:
-An new inquiry/court case is launched by the Federation Attorney General into evidence that has surfaced linking Picard to a coup some years previous against a Prime Minister of another planet. The conspirators were Starfleet Admirals and Section 31, a covert part of Starfleet Intelligence.
-A remnant of a species called the Nausicaans, whose planet was destroyed by the Borg on their way to Earth, begin stealing tech for some unknown purpose, one of which had been used for a sting by a Section 31 operative, Okona. Okona loses this to the Nausicaans, and begins chasing the Nausicaans around Federation space. The Nausicaans also hit and critically damage a station during the theft of some highly proprietary tech, which brings the Enterprise, with Acting Captain Worf (in Picard’s absence) to the rescue. Worf sends engineering personnel to the station, among them Geordie.
Okona, while hot on the Nausicans’ trail, is picked up by the Enterprise. His personality and his evasiveness rub everyone the wrong way, until Starfleet Intelligence forces the Enterprise to let Okona go.
So, there are multiple situations at play here, with Picard’s future and many lives at stake. Picard could face imprisonment, if found guilty, Geordie and everyone on the station could all die without critical repairs to the station. And Worf and the Enterprise are finding it hard to capture the Nausicaans and the stolen tech, while Section 31 is in the background muddying up the Enterprise’s ability to accomplish anything.
The action is pretty fast, there’s humour and peril, and I liked Picard’s characterization, while he answers difficult questions on the stand about a mission he had not realized had been twisted.
Geordie is his usual really smart and enthusiastic and positive self, doing his damnedest to solve problems and prevent deaths.
I think the character who really shone in his story is Worf. He’s really grown and learned from his many assignments and responsibilities, and gets a chance to resolve a terrible situation in a distinctly mature and thoughtful way. Yay for a character I always thought got short shrift on the tv show.
This story was a solid 4 stars for me right till the one sour note right at the end.
Spoiler
To have Lieutenant Aneta Šmrhová and Okona sleep together felt totally wrong. This did not work for her character, considering her revulsion for his attitude and behaviour. Also, all of Okona's interactions with Šmrhová felt sometimes borderline to actually harassing, as he never listened to her refuse any kind of relationship with him. The scene was insulting to what was a really interesting character, and feels like a major writing misstep by the author.Merged review:
I liked the fast-moving pace of the story, even Picard's court room scenes, but I particularly loved the way Worf gets to shine in this tale.
A fun, fast-paced story that connects back to a few key moments in Picard’s life: the inquiry into what happened to one of Picard’s previous ships, the Stargazer, Wolf359 and his brother’s death. And to his many years as a Captain and a mentor to Worf. There’s also a connection to Voyager and one of its former crew members who gave birth to a daughter during then7-year trip back home. So, you it helped if you were familiar with these things when reading this book.
There are two major initiating events in this story:
-An new inquiry/court case is launched by the Federation Attorney General into evidence that has surfaced linking Picard to a coup some years previous against a Prime Minister of another planet. The conspirators were Starfleet Admirals and Section 31, a covert part of Starfleet Intelligence.
-A remnant of a species called the Nausicaans, whose planet was destroyed by the Borg on their way to Earth, begin stealing tech for some unknown purpose, one of which had been used for a sting by a Section 31 operative, Okona. Okona loses this to the Nausicaans, and begins chasing the Nausicaans around Federation space. The Nausicaans also hit and critically damage a station during the theft of some highly proprietary tech, which brings the Enterprise, with Acting Captain Worf (in Picard’s absence) to the rescue. Worf sends engineering personnel to the station, among them Geordie.
Okona, while hot on the Nausicans’ trail, is picked up by the Enterprise. His personality and his evasiveness rub everyone the wrong way, until Starfleet Intelligence forces the Enterprise to let Okona go.
So, there are multiple situations at play here, with Picard’s future and many lives at stake. Picard could face imprisonment, if found guilty, Geordie and everyone on the station could all die without critical repairs to the station. And Worf and the Enterprise are finding it hard to capture the Nausicaans and the stolen tech, while Section 31 is in the background muddying up the Enterprise’s ability to accomplish anything.
The action is pretty fast, there’s humour and peril, and I liked Picard’s characterization, while he answers difficult questions on the stand about a mission he had not realized had been twisted.
Geordie is his usual really smart and enthusiastic and positive self, doing his damnedest to solve problems and prevent deaths.
I think the character who really shone in his story is Worf. He’s really grown and learned from his many assignments and responsibilities, and gets a chance to resolve a terrible situation in a distinctly mature and thoughtful way. Yay for a character I always thought got short shrift on the tv show.
This story was a solid 4 stars for me right till the one sour note right at the end.
Spoiler
To have Lieutenant Aneta Šmrhová and Okona sleep together felt totally wrong. This did not work for her character, considering her revulsion for his attitude and behaviour. Also, all of Okona's interactions with Šmrhová felt sometimes borderline to actually harassing, as he never listened to her refuse any kind of relationship with him. The scene was insulting to what was a really interesting character, and feels like a major writing misstep by the author.
This novel does a good job of tying up the Picard story that began way back in the “Time to...” series. There’s some really great courtroom drama. Unfortunately, Picard himself is a bit passive. Most of the drama comes from the lawyers.
The B-plot is very complicated but it’s an important Worf story. Worf is maybe the character that has grown the most in these post-Nemesis novels. Here, he relies on his experience as an ambassador, as well as lessons learned from Picard over the years to demonstrate that he has become a really effective Starfleet commander.
Ultimately, all the TNG characters have something interesting to do, except Data and Troi who are mentioned, but absent.
I think I was expecting something a bit more grand for this finale, but as I take time to digest it, I think this book does what it needs to do. Mack brings things full circle for these books and we now look forward to where the Picard TV series will take us in the canon universe.
The B-plot is very complicated but it’s an important Worf story. Worf is maybe the character that has grown the most in these post-Nemesis novels. Here, he relies on his experience as an ambassador, as well as lessons learned from Picard over the years to demonstrate that he has become a really effective Starfleet commander.
Ultimately, all the TNG characters have something interesting to do, except Data and Troi who are mentioned, but absent.
I think I was expecting something a bit more grand for this finale, but as I take time to digest it, I think this book does what it needs to do. Mack brings things full circle for these books and we now look forward to where the Picard TV series will take us in the canon universe.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Collateral Damage by David Mack is a novel in the stable of books for Star Trek: The Next Generation. The story has two narratives taking place in the same book. The first centres around a legal hearing of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, featuring the shady and convert Section 31 and the organisation's downfall with resulted in the forced removal and death of a Federation President.
Alongside this is the story of Agonist, and his handler, Expositor, who is in the middle of selling a super-weapon, when he is surprised by a band of Nausicaa's. The U.S.S. Enterprise, under the leadership of Commander Worf, arrests Agonist, which results in a mission to save an outlying community when they are attacked by the Nausicaa's, who lost their land during the Borg invasion, and want someone to pay.
I borrowed a copy of this novel from my local library and listened to it on Spotify. I read this for prompt 36, has futuristic technology, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.
Alongside this is the story of Agonist, and his handler, Expositor, who is in the middle of selling a super-weapon, when he is surprised by a band of Nausicaa's. The U.S.S. Enterprise, under the leadership of Commander Worf, arrests Agonist, which results in a mission to save an outlying community when they are attacked by the Nausicaa's, who lost their land during the Borg invasion, and want someone to pay.
I borrowed a copy of this novel from my local library and listened to it on Spotify. I read this for prompt 36, has futuristic technology, for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.
David Mack does it again! Maybe for the last time?
This could be it, the last book in the novel continuity. New series are coming out post nemesis, and they will change everything. And while we knew this could happen, some of us never thought it would after Enterprise got canceled.
New books will be written yes, but we will likely never again see the total freedom that the book universe had to write their own story as we have seen the last 15 years, and what a journey it has been. The books gave us the climax to all the borg build up the shows never gave us. It gave us fantastic new characters like President Nannieta Bacco, and extensions of existing characters like Dulmur and Lucksly of the Department of Temporal Investigations. It gave us the Typhon pact, finally a real counterpart to the federation. One that was not even just an evil version, but a real alternative. Arguably all this started in the A Time To Series, and it ends here.
It is quite a tale, after the disclosure and disbanding of Section 31 in Control, the federation faces a crisis of conscience. The paradise it made was seemingly held up by a nightmare. This will have repercussions for all its citizens, even some of our favourite ones. Like Picard, who is standing trial for his apparent involvement in this conspiracy, the tension is actually there. While I do not think any reader would think he was actually going to be locked up, however with the continuity being rapped up he surely could end up in forced retirement. The trial is believable, unlike some portrayed on screen. It kept me on the edge of my seat, even though it is technically the B plot.
The A plot is about a species that is oft forgotten, the Nausicans. The novels do what hey do best again, expand on the lore. No longer are they mindless brutes, they have a legitimate grievance with the federation. Their world was destroyed by the Borg, and the federation never bothered to look into them... Now with very few Nausicans left, there is an extremist faction fighting for a new place to call home. I cannot blame them for their struggle, but the means they use are problematic to say the least. It is incredibly interesting to find yourself sympathetic with a race that was before just treated as mindless brutes.
This book could serve as the perfect capstone of the novel continuity, I say could because it is not absolutely clear if it will. There is one more book announced in this continuity, but it is a voyager book, and barring timeskips that will take place years before this one. Beyond that there are also rumors about something else being in the works, I trust the source since it is one of the authors, but it could be canceled.
regardless, this book's ending deliberately mirrors another ending, and it was done remarkably well. I believe this was written as a probable ending, but I certainly would not complain if we get more wrap up later on. In short, an excellent read!
This could be it, the last book in the novel continuity. New series are coming out post nemesis, and they will change everything. And while we knew this could happen, some of us never thought it would after Enterprise got canceled.
New books will be written yes, but we will likely never again see the total freedom that the book universe had to write their own story as we have seen the last 15 years, and what a journey it has been. The books gave us the climax to all the borg build up the shows never gave us. It gave us fantastic new characters like President Nannieta Bacco, and extensions of existing characters like Dulmur and Lucksly of the Department of Temporal Investigations. It gave us the Typhon pact, finally a real counterpart to the federation. One that was not even just an evil version, but a real alternative. Arguably all this started in the A Time To Series, and it ends here.
It is quite a tale, after the disclosure and disbanding of Section 31 in Control, the federation faces a crisis of conscience. The paradise it made was seemingly held up by a nightmare. This will have repercussions for all its citizens, even some of our favourite ones. Like Picard, who is standing trial for his apparent involvement in this conspiracy, the tension is actually there. While I do not think any reader would think he was actually going to be locked up, however with the continuity being rapped up he surely could end up in forced retirement. The trial is believable, unlike some portrayed on screen. It kept me on the edge of my seat, even though it is technically the B plot.
The A plot is about a species that is oft forgotten, the Nausicans. The novels do what hey do best again, expand on the lore. No longer are they mindless brutes, they have a legitimate grievance with the federation. Their world was destroyed by the Borg, and the federation never bothered to look into them... Now with very few Nausicans left, there is an extremist faction fighting for a new place to call home. I cannot blame them for their struggle, but the means they use are problematic to say the least. It is incredibly interesting to find yourself sympathetic with a race that was before just treated as mindless brutes.
This book could serve as the perfect capstone of the novel continuity, I say could because it is not absolutely clear if it will. There is one more book announced in this continuity, but it is a voyager book, and barring timeskips that will take place years before this one. Beyond that there are also rumors about something else being in the works, I trust the source since it is one of the authors, but it could be canceled.
regardless, this book's ending deliberately mirrors another ending, and it was done remarkably well. I believe this was written as a probable ending, but I certainly would not complain if we get more wrap up later on. In short, an excellent read!