Star Trek: Picard
Firewall by David Mack
Release date: February 27, 2024
Read February 18th 2024
Previous book (Picard): Second Self
Next book (Picard):
Publisher's description:
A thrilling prequel adventure based on the acclaimed TV series Star Trek: Picard!
Two years after the USS Voyager’s return from the Delta Quadrant, Seven of Nine finds herself rejected for a position in Starfleet…and instead finds a new home with the interstellar rogue law enforcement corps known as the Fenris Rangers. The Rangers seem like an ideal fit for Seven—but to embrace this new destiny, she must leave behind all she’s ever known, and risk losing the most important thing in her life: her friendship with Admiral Kathryn Janeway.
My thoughts:
When Seven of Nine first showed up on Star Trek: Picard at the end of the episode "Absolute Candor," many Star Trek fans were left wondering about her backstory. What happened to her in the aftermath of Voyager's return to the Alpha Quadrant? Why was she not in Starfleet? And how had she come to join the Fenris Rangers? While some aspects of those questions have been addressed on-screen in the years since, the vast majority of Seven's time from the end of Voyager to where we see her in Star Trek: Picard still remained a mystery. Until now!
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| The surprise appearance of Seven of Nine in season one of Star Trek: Picard left many viewers wondering what happened to her in the intervening years since the end of Star Trek: Voyager. |
In David Mack's Firewall, the author brings us up to speed, showing the "lost years" of Seven's backstory. While some fan reactions I've seen online take issue with how Mack has characterized Seven's development during this time, I take a very different stance. Remember, when Seven of Nine was first introduced on Voyager, the character was freshly liberated from the Borg Collective, having been assimilated when she was a very young child. For all intents and purposes, she was going through her own childhood as she learned to be an individual and exist separate from the Collective. Combine that with the artificial environment of a ship of only about 150 people, isolated from the rest of human society, it becomes clear that Seven never really had the chance to fully explore who she is as an adult.
One thing Voyager had going for it, however, was that it was generally a positive environment in which Seven could grow. She was surrounded by mostly sympathetic people who had her best interests at heart. Upon returning to the Alpha Quadrant, however, Seven was forced to confront a society that distrusted and hated the Borg. Not knowing her as the crew of Voyager does, it's only natural that there would be a great deal of pushback against her. This is not to excuse the behavior of those around her; certainly, it would be ideal if the people of the Federation would understand that individual drones are just as much victims of the Borg Collective as the targets they attack.
Seven's poor treatment by the citizens of the Federation is frustrating, if somewhat understandable, but her treatment by the Federation government itself is appalling. She is rejected in her application to Starfleet Academy, but even more egregious than that, she is denied Federation citizenship! Ostensibly this is because she refuses to go by the name in her official records, Annika Hansen, preferring to go by Seven of Nine. There is a clear allegory to the issue of dead-naming and the trans experience, and David Mack does a great job in upholding the Trek tradition of shining a light on social issues through the lens of science fiction. Similarly, Seven's exploration of her queer identity was a welcome aspect of the novel. I found myself seeing a lot of parallels between what Seven goes though in Firewall and the experiences of one who has come out as gay or bisexual later in life.
Eventually, Seven finds herself working with the Fenris Rangers, a law enforcement agency that has, in recent years, found itself operating outside of the law due to the fact that the governments that contracted the Rangers no longer exist. The group continues to maintain a semblance of law and order on nearby worlds, but the various planets continue to slip into lawlessness and anarchy thanks to the efforts of bad players working to destabilize the region. Additionally, NGOs that used to provide needed relief have recently pulled out to assist with the humanitarian crisis generated by the impending Romulan supernova. However, Seven's work with the Rangers isn't entirely of her own volition; a supposed Federation Intelligence operative has recruited her to infiltrate the Rangers and report on their activities. It becomes clear fairly early on that this "agent," Arastoo Mardani, isn't exactly on the up-and-up. His real name turns out to be Erol Tazgül, and he is a former Federation spymaster who (according to Starfleet Intelligence) has turned entrepreneur, sponsoring warlords in the Qiris sector to further his own ambitions.
The villains of the piece, Tazgül and his warlord beneficiary, General Kohgish, make for some great antagonists mostly due to how believable their motivations are. Kohgish wants to acquire as much capital as possible to solidify his stranglehold on the Qiris sector, while Erol Tazgül's aims are rooted in the extreme political stance he takes. Both felt like they could have been ripped from today's headlines, making this story resonate for any readers who happen to be students of modern history or politics. By the end of the novel, it's still somewhat unclear if Tazgül is truly working on his own, or still at the behest of Starfleet Intelligence, a question that leaves the reader shuddering at its implications. I will say that I was glad the author didn't use the shorthand that is commonly done and say that Tazgül is working for Section 31, as I feel that is a well visited far too often these days.
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| General Kohgish is an Antican warlord who hopes to control the Qiris sector. |
The characters that Seven comes to call colleagues and friends in the Fenris Rangers were some of my favorite things about this novel. Her mentor, Keon Harper, is an older Ranger who has been doing this for a long time. This makes him somewhat jaded, but also never losing the idealism that brought him to the Fenris Rangers in the first place. His mentorship of Seven, and the effect that Seven has on him in return, was a true pleasure to read. Seven's other fellow rangers are a fun cast of characters, but one stand out in particular is someone I truly hope we see more of in the future: Ellory Kayd and Seven eventually strike up a romantic relationship, and it is truly heart-warming to see Seven finding somewhere to belong and someone to belong with. We of course know that the relationship doesn't last far into the future, leading me to wonder if there is a story there to pick up on at some point.
Finally, a major throughline in this novel and, indeed, in Seven of Nine's life, is the role of Admiral Kathryn Janeway. Seven's original mentor and parent-figure, Janeway has always had a vested interest in Seven, and went to bat for her when she was rejected from the Academy. Her perspective on Seven's experiences throughout the story is an interesting one. There are times in this novel when Janeway's view of the situation in the Qiris sector is frankly naive, but I think this was a great choice on the part of the author. She is not there in the thick of it with Seven, and only knows what the Federation news sources are saying about this situation. I think this says something interesting about where we get our information and serves as a warning to be on guard for bias in our sources of news. Regardless, the love that Janeway has for Seven (and that Seven has for Janeway) is always apparent, even when they are on opposing sides of an issue.
I also appreciated the elements from Star Trek: Prodigy that were used in the novel. David Mack worked as a consultant on season one of Prodigy, and I personally know how much he loves that series. Elements such as the U.S.S. Dauntless and her crew were very welcome to see, as were the oblique references to plot elements from Prodigy.
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| Admiral Janeway's ship from Star Trek: Prodigy, the U.S.S. Dauntless, makes an appearance in Firewall. |
For some, the darker tone of Firewall may be off-putting, but in all fairness it does match the state of the Star Trek universe as seen in Star Trek: Picard. The action in this novel takes place far away from the gleaming egalitarian cities of Earth, and the desperate situations that people find themselves in are a stark reminder that not everyone in the Star Trek universe can live only to better themselves and the rest of sentient-kind.
Final thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed
Firewall, and appreciated the exploration of Seven of Nine's life between the end of
Voyager and her appearances in
Picard. David Mack's worldbuilding of the planets in the Qiris sector and the environment in which the Fenris Rangers operate gave some much-need context for what we saw in
Star Trek: Picard. I especially enjoyed the original characters populating this novel, a number of whom I hope we see again in a future story. The allegories to queer and trans experiences as well as the "ripped from the headlines" situations place this novel in the best tradition of
Star Trek stories that highlight social issues from today. Top marks for this novel, one of my favorites in recent years.
More about Firewall:
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Also by David Mack:
- Star Trek: S.C.E. #7: Invincible, Part One of Two with Keith R.A. DeCandido (2001)
- Star Trek: S.C.E. #8: Invincible, Part Two of Two with Keith R.A. DeCandido (2001)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Time to Kill (2004)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Time to Heal (2004)
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Warpath (2006)
- Star Trek: Vanguard: Reap the Whirlwind (2007)
- Star Trek: Destiny, Book I: Gods of Night (2008)
- Star Trek: Destiny, Book II: Mere Mortals (2008)
- Star Trek: Destiny, Book III: Lost Souls (2008)
- Star Trek: Vanguard: Precipice (2009)
- Star Trek: Mirror Universe: The Sorrows of Empire, expanded edition (2010)
- "The Stars Look Down" from Star Trek: Vanguard: Declassified (2011)
- Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Rise Like Lions (2011)
- Star Trek: Vanguard: Storming Heaven (2012)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: Cold Equations, Book I: The Persistence of Memory (2012)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: Cold Equations, Book II: Silent Weapons (2012)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: Cold Equations, Book III: The Body Electric (2013)
- Star Trek: The Fall: A Ceremony of Losses (2013)
- Star Trek: Seekers #1: Second Nature (2014)
- Star Trek: Section 31: Disavowed (2014)
- Star Trek: Seekers #3: Long Shot (2015)
- Star Trek: Legacies, Book 2 of 3: Best Defense (2016)
- Star Trek: Section 31: Control (2017)
- Star Trek: Discovery: Desperate Hours (2017)
- Star Trek: Titan: Fortune of War (2017)
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: Collateral Damage (2019)
Next time on Trek Lit Reviews:
Next review is for book 3 of the
Star Trek: Voyager: String Theory trilogy:
Evolution by Heather Jarman.
