A review by octavia_cade
Imbalance by V.E. Mitchell

3.0

Picard and company are in negotiations with an insectoid race who is considering joining the Federation, and initially things seem to be going better than expected, which is always a portent of disaster. The Jarada are subject to a medical condition which is inexorably sending them all insane, and the away team is split up and forced to deal with a society consisting of individuals who are increasingly unbalanced and increasingly dangerous. It's an enjoyable read, with focus split between a number of characters, which I always like, and it's good to see Keiko get a starring role for once... if only the focus had stayed on her botanical skill, and there'd been less of the squabbling with her husband. I like O'Brien, but he was an unmitigated arse here and I didn't enjoy the implications that Keiko was equally to blame because she wasn't. That is a small quibble, though, and I'm prepared to put up with the tedious marital squabbling if it means I get more Keiko working with plants.

A rather larger quibble - although one that didn't much interfere with my enjoyment, as it was really only there in the last ten percent or so of the book - was the solution to the Jarada insanity. I don't want to give too much away, but for a space-faring race to be so limited in their basic science is just not very believable. Environmental factors should have been one of the first things tested for, and that it wasn't just isn't credible.