Available Light

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Available Light by Dayton Ward
Release date: April 9^th 2019
Read April 11^th 2019

Previous book (The Next Generation): Hearts and Minds
Next book (The Next Generation): Collateral Damage

Purchase:
Trade paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Publisher's description:

Section 31, the covert organization which has operated without accountability in the shadows for more than two centuries, has been exposed. Throughout the Federation, the rogue group’s agents and leaders are being taken into custody as the sheer scope of its misdeeds comes to light. Now Starfleet Command must decide the consequences for numerous officers caught up in the scandal — including Admirals William Ross, Edward Jellico, Alynna Nechayev, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard who, along with many others, are implicated in the forced removal of a Federation president.

Meanwhile, deep in the distant, unexplored region of space known as the Odyssean Pass, Picard and the crew of the Starship Enterprise must put aside personal feelings and political concerns as they investigate a massive mysterious spacecraft. Adrift for centuries in the void, the ship is vital to the survival of an endangered civilization which has spent generations searching for a world to sustain what remains of its people. Complicating matters is a band of marauders who have their own designs on the ancient ship, with only the Enterprise standing in their way....

My thoughts:

Click here to watch my video review of The Next Generation: Available Light, or click play on the embedded video below!

Final thoughts:

A strong continuation of the on-going story post-Nemesis, drawing a lot from the previous novels going all the way back to the A Time To series. Very excited to see this story continue, and the personal stakes for Picard continue to mount. The main part of the story, involving the exploration of a seemingly-derelict ship, is a lot of fun with some interesting scientific concepts involved. I love the role that T'Ryssa Chen gets to play in this story, and the secondary characters introduced in this novel are quite interesting. Definitely a solid entry in the on-going Star Trek novel-verse!

More about Available Light:

• TrekBBS Review and Discussion Thread
• Podcast: Literary Treks 266: Bringing the Truth Out of the Shadows - Exclusive interview with author Dayton Ward

Also by Dayton Ward:

• Star Trek: S.C.E. #4: Interphase, Part One with Kevin Dilmore (2001)
• Star Trek: S.C.E. #5: Interphase, Part Two with Kevin Dilmore (2001)
• Star Trek #97: In the Name of Honor (2002)
• Star Trek: A Time to Sow with Kevin Dilmore (2004)
• Star Trek: A Time to Harvest with Kevin Dilmore (2004)
• Star Trek: Mere Anarchy, Book 1: Things Fall Apart with Kevin Dilmore (2006)
• Star Trek: Vanguard: Open Secrets (2009)
• "Almost Tomorrow" from Star Trek: Vanguard: Declassified (2011)
• Star Trek: Vanguard: What Judgments Come with Kevin Dilmore (2011)
• Star Trek: That Which Divides (2012)
• Star Trek: Vanguard: In Tempest's Wake (2012)
• Star Trek: The Original Series: From History's Shadow (2013)
• Star Trek: The Fall: Peaceable Kingdoms (2014)
• Star Trek: Seekers #2: Point of Divergence with Kevin Dilmore (2014)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Armageddon's Arrow (2015)
• Star Trek: Seekers #4: All That's Left with Kevin Dilmore (2015)
• Star Trek: The Original Series: Elusive Salvation (2016)
• Star Trek: Legacies, Book 3: Purgatory's Key with Kevin Dilmore (2016)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Headlong Flight (2017)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hearts and Minds (2017)
• Hidden Universe Travel Guide to The Klingon Empire (2017)
• Star Trek: Discovery: Drastic Measures (2018)

Next time on Trek Lit Reviews:

My next review is for the TNG novel Resistance by J.M. Dillard.