Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Slings and Arrows, Book VI
Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment by Keith R.A. DeCandido
An e-book exclusive novella
Published March 2008
Read February 21^st 2015

Previous book (Slings and Arrows): A Weary Life

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

Spoilers ahead for Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment and the rest of the Slings and Arrows series!

From the back cover:

A new Federation President has been elected, and his first order of business is to attempt to restore the alliance with the Klingon Empire. To that end, he sends Captain Picard to Deep Space 9, in the hopes that Picard's relationship with Chancellor Gowron might lead to a normalization of relations.

At first, things go well, as Gowron agrees to meet with Picard and Captain Sisko of DS9 on a neutral planet -- but when their runabout is shot down, it's up to Commanders Worf and Data to find out the truth before their captains are killed!

My thoughts:

Here we are: the final entry in the Slings and Arrows e-book series. This sixth book is written by the series' editor, Keith R.A. DeCandido, a long-time staple in the Trek fiction world. So, how does he fare in wrapping up this series? Read on to find out!

First of all, a true Deep Space Nine/The Next Generation crossover was something that I always wanted to see, especially during the two seasons that both series overlapped each other. Sure, we got a few cameo appearances in the TNG episodes "Birthright, Part I" and "Firstborn," but we never got to see the two crews working together during a mission. In Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment, we see both crews working together to complete a mission given to them by the new Federation President: convince Chancellor Gowron to re-sign the Khitomer Accords and end the war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.

Throughout this series, I have lauded the authors' attempts to bring the TNG cast into the political intrigue and conflict that marked this period of Trek history. Enterprises does this quite well by involving Picard and company in the Klingon war story. It makes a great deal of sense, given the history between Gowron and Picard.

Picard's capture and assimilation by the Borg leads to a strained history between him and Captain Sisko.

I enjoyed a lot of the character work that DeCandido does in this story, especially with regards to the relationship between Captains Sisko and Picard. In DS9's premiere episode, "Emissary," we discover that Sisko lost his wife at the battle of Wolf 359. As Locutus of Borg, Picard unwillingly led the Borg during that battle, and Sisko harbors a great deal of resentment towards him. While Picard wasn't personally responsible for his actions as Locutus, Sisko's feelings are certainly understandable.

In First Contact, Worf commands the Defiant. Why not Sisko?

In this story, Picard and Sisko come face to face once again and must work together despite the mutual discomfort they feel in each others' presence. By the end of the story, the two become much more comfortable with one another, and even share a certain amount of admiration and respect. Finally, when Admiral Hayes orders Picard to keep the Enterprise out of the battle with the Borg (Star Trek: First Contact), we see another way in which Picard and Sisko can relate to one another. You may recall that the U.S.S. Defiant took part in that battle, but was under the command of Worf instead of Sisko. I remember not giving much thought to that when watching the film (after all, they wanted Worf in the TNG movies, and why should Sisko be there?), but DeCandido provides a great explanation for Sisko's absence in the battle. Just as Hayes had qualms about Picard's history with the Borg, he felt that Sisko's experiences at Wolf 359 disqualified him taking part in the current battle. In this shared sidelining, Picard and Sisko have reason to sympathize with one another.

Final thoughts:

The character moments between Sisko and Picard are the true shining gems in this story by the always on-point Keith DeCandido. An excellent wrap-up to what has been a pretty good series for the most part. I have been reading a lot of DeCandido's work lately, and this is a writer who needs to have more new Trek fiction published. Come on Pocket Books, give this guy a contract for a new Star Trek novel already! I'm missing my dose of DeCandido awesomeness!

More about this book:

• Podcast: Literary Treks 94: I'm Getting Too Old For This Bleep - Keith DeCandido Interview

Also by Keith R.A. DeCandido:

• Star Trek: S.C.E. #2: Fatal Error (2000)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation #61: Diplomatic Implausibility (2001)
• Star Trek: S.C.E. #6: Cold Fusion (2001)
• Star Trek: S.C.E. #7: Invincible, Part One of Two with David Mack (2001)
• Star Trek: S.C.E. #8: Invincible, Part Two of Two with David Mack (2001)
• Gateways, Book Four: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Demons of Air and Darkness (2001)
• "Horn and Ivory" from Star Trek: Gateways, Book Seven: What Lay Beyond (2001)
• Star Trek: S.C.E. #10: Here There Be Monsters (2001)
• Star Trek: I.K.S. Gorkon, Book One: A Good Day to Die (2003)
• Star Trek: I.K.S. Gorkon, Book Two: Honor Bound (2003)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Time for War, A Time for Peace (2004)
• Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Ferenginar: Satisfaction Is Not Guaranteed (2005)
• Star Trek: I.K.S. Gorkon, Book Three: Enemy Territory (2005)
• Star Trek: Articles of the Federation (2005)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Q & A (2007)
• Star Trek: Klingon Empire: A Burning House (2008)
• Star Trek: A Singular Destiny (2009)
• The Klingon Art of War (2014)

My next read:

In two weeks, look for my review of Dayton Ward's new release, The Next Generation: Armageddon's Arrow. In the meantime, I'm off on vacation to Iceland! Cheers, and LLAP!

A Weary Life

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Slings and Arrows, Book V
A Weary Life by Robert Greenberger
An e-book exclusive novella
Published February 2008
Read January 11^th 2015

Previous book (Slings and Arrows): That Sleep of Death
Next book (Slings and Arrows): Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment

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

Spoilers ahead for A Weary Life and the rest of the Slings and Arrows series!

From the back cover:

A team from the Enterprise -- Riker, La Forge, and Daniels -- are sent to deal with the latest threat from the Maquis. For La Forge and Daniels, it's just another mission, but Riker must face the spectre of his transporter twin Tom Riker, who left Starfleet to join the Maquis.

When the Enterprise team is caught between the Maquis and the Cardassians, Riker finds himself with an important decision to make -- one that may affect his future in Starfleet...

My thoughts:

The Thomas Riker storyline is one that has always intrigued me. From his introduction in TNG's "Second Chances" to his surprise appearance on Deep Space Nine in the episode "Defiant," Tom has presented an interesting complication in the lives of the characters. It is also clear that Jonathan Frakes enjoyed playing the character. There is an exuberance that he displays whenever he is on screen that makes it apparent that the character was a joy to play. Therefore, you can imagine that I was very happy to see him on the cover of this e-book. A story about Tom Riker? I'm in!

Starting A Weary Life, I was expecting a story featuring Will and Tom Riker facing off against one another, but I was surprised to discover that Tom doesn't actually appear in the story.

Unfortunately, I had gotten a little ahead of myself. While the "spectre" of Tom Riker looms heavily in this novella, the character himself never actually appears. The story is still a strong one with a lot of emotional resonance, but I would still have liked to have an appearance by the transporter twin. However, this only takes a small bit away from what is a pretty good story.

There were a few story and language choices that took me out of the story at times. For example, Greenberger's description of some of the actions taken by the characters caused me to raise an eyebrow. Perhaps this is overly nitpicky, but on more than one occasion, Geordi is described as using his "beloved" toolkit, or similar language. Sometimes the language seems overly flowery or padded out. However, these were minor stumbles that I experienced while reading the story.

One problem I had with the plot was how quickly Riker sided with the Maquis and took arms against the Cardassians in the initial encounter. Given the current state of relations between Cardassia and the Federation, and the status of the Maquis at this point, I found it strange that Riker would so quickly fire on the Cardassian vessels. I do understand that these actions were taken in the service of the overall mission, but I find it odd that there would be no repercussions. Also, the plot requires the characters to be less than intelligent at times. Their entire mission is to recover the mysterious "cargo" the Maquis possess, but at no time does Starfleet inform the team what the cargo is, nor do any of our characters check the crate they recover to see if what they captured is indeed the correct cargo. In order for the plot to continue forward, we have to accept these oversights, something that I have difficulty with.

Where the story shines, however, is in the exploration of Riker's emotional state and his reaction to his "brother's" actions. A Weary Life explores the idea of mirror images and how different choices affect who we are, and does it in a much better way than, say, Star Trek Nemesis. We really get the feeling that Tom and Will are the same person except for a few life experiences, and if Will were in Tom's place, it's possible that he might have made the same choices and may now be in a Cardassian prison instead of his brother. While we do of course know that Will won't disobey his orders and join the Maquis, it's a very interesting introspective journey he takes in this story.

Final thoughts:

A strong introspective story about Riker, marred only by a few questionable language and plot choices by the author. It's nice to get a good Riker-centric story, as they sometimes feel few and far between. A solid three out of five story with some good character moments, but far from the best story of this series. Also, however, very far from being the worst.

More about this book:

• Podcast: Literary Treks 89: Elephant in the Room

Also by Robert Greenberger:

• Gateways, Book Three: Star Trek: The Next Generation: Doors Into Chaos (2001)
• "The Other Side" from Star Trek: Gateways, Book Seven: What Lay Beyond (2001)
• Star Trek: S.C.E. #15: Past Life (2002)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Time to Love (2004)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Time to Hate (2004)

My next read:

Next week: The exciting conclusion to the Slings and Arrows series: Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment by Keith R.A. DeCandido!

That Sleep of Death

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Slings and Arrows, Book Four of Six
That Sleep of Death by Terri Osborne
An e-book exclusive novella
Published January 2008
Read April 19^th 2015

Previous book (Slings and Arrows): The Insolence of Office
Next book (Slings and Arrows): A Weary Life

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

Spoilers ahead for That Sleep of Death and the rest of the Slings and Arrows series!

From the back cover:

In the wake of increased concern over the Dominion threat, Dr. Beverly Crusher has attempted to improve morale on the Enterprise by starting up her theatre company -- starting with a production of A Christmas Carol. But before opening night, a devastating malady starts striking down the crew.

Forced to rely on a piece of technology she despises -- the Emergency Medical Hologram -- Dr. Crusher must find a cure before it's too late!

My thoughts:

Slings and Arrows has been a generally entertaining series. The first three books have been fascinating insights into the characters, both primary and secondary, and have given us some interesting glimpses into the reasons behind many of the changes between Star Trek: Generations and First Contact. I enjoyed learning more about Lieutenants Hawk and Daniels, and witnessing the series of events that led to Geordi transitioning from his VISOR to the ocular implants he wears in the later TNG films.

However, with this novella, the series takes a bit of a downward turn. For one thing, it's short. Really short. Don't get me wrong, I understand that all of the books in this series are only novellas and are all somewhat short, but this one, coming in at approximately 43 printed pages, is by far the shortest. This serves to undermine the story quite a bit, in my opinion. The main crisis of the story barely gets off the ground before it is solved in a very anticlimactic way.

There are a couple of positives worth noting, however. One of the biggest disappointments of the TNG films was how divorced they are from the television series. Much of the time, the characters feel very different and the general atmosphere feels quite separate from the day-to-day reality of TNG. In That Sleep of Death, Terri Osborne takes steps to rectify that by introducing some elements from the television series, most notably Dr. Crusher's theatre company. These little touches would have been very welcome in the TNG films, rather than much of the action schlock that we got. Additionally, Barclay is a favorite character of mine, and I was pleased that he had a role to play in this story.

Dr. Crusher's theatre group makes a welcome return in That Sleep of Death.

Also, I have to compliment this book on the cover art, something that has been lacking in this series. This cover is by far the best, and a marked improvement over the somewhat disturbing cover on the last installment!

Final thoughts:

The first true disappointment of the Slings and Arrows series. An overly rushed setup and payoff meant that I felt no sense of the stakes or danger in this story. A quick resolution to the plot that was barely explained left me scratching my head at the end of the book. However, small touches such as the return of Dr. Crusher's theatre company from the TNG series make the TNG film era a little more palatable.

More about this book:

• Podcast: Literary Treks 75: So THAT'S Why Beverly Hates the EMH?

My next read:

Next week, look for my review of the final story in the Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series: The Dominion: Olympus Descending by David R. George III!

The Insolence of Office

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Slings and Arrows, Book III
The Insolence of Office by William Leisner
An e-book exclusive novella
Published December 2007
Read March 22^nd 2015

Previous book (Slings and Arrows): The Oppressor's Wrong
Next book (Slings and Arrows): That Sleep of Death

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

Spoilers ahead for The Insolence of Office and the rest of the Slings and Arrows series!

From the back cover:

A major turning point in the lives of two of the Enterprise crew! Newly promoted Admiral Hayes gives La Forge an ultimatum: his VISOR is a security risk, and he must either have it replaced with ocular implants or be transferred to a less sensitive post.

Meanwhile, Troi has some issues of her own. Though she knows that her mother Lwaxana recently remarried to the Tavnian Jeyal, she was unaware of the subsequent pregnancy -- and now Lwaxana is about to give birth. To make matters worse, the Tavnian government has decided that, even though Lwaxana and Jeyal are now divorced, the child still belongs to them.

My thoughts:

The 2007 e-book series chronicling the first year of service of the Enterprise-E continues in book three: The Insolence of Office. In this installment, we learn about a couple of developments during that period: Geordi transitioning from his VISOR to ocular implants and the birth of Deanna Troi's new sibling.

In the Deep Space Nine episode "The Muse," a pregnant Lwaxana Troi turns up at the station seeking Odo's protection. She is fleeing her Tavnian husband, Jeyal, who wishes to take the male child from Lwaxana once he is born. In the end, Odo ends up marrying Lwaxana, even going so far as convincing Jeyal that their love is genuine. As we find out in this novella, however, the Tavnian government is not entirely convinced. A representative arrives on Betazed to take the child into custody just as Lwaxana goes into labor. Deanna Troi, who is visiting, must keep him at bay while her little brother is delivered.

Jeyal, the father of Lwaxana's son.

Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, Geordi LaForge receives a disturbing ultimatum: he must either replace his VISOR unit with ocular implants, or be reassigned from the Enterprise to a "less sensitive" posting. Trek fans will recall that Geordi's VISOR has presented a security risk on a number of occasions, the most recent of which contributed to the loss of the Enterprise-D in Star Trek: Generations. Faced with the decision to either acquiesce to Admiral Hayes' order or resign from Starfleet, LaForge isn't sure what course to take.

The Insolence of Office explains Geordi's transition from VISOR to ocular implants.

I like that both of these stories get some attention in this miniseries, especially with regards to Lwaxana's pregnancy. I always found it bothersome that Deanna played no part in the story when it happened on Deep Space Nine, and it was nice to find out why that was. I also enjoyed the examination of Lwaxana's character and her choices of potential mates over the years. The story came to some interesting conclusions regarding her outlook on life.

With regards to Geordi's story, I never really found it necessary to explain why he changed from the VISOR to the implants, but William Leisner was able to craft a fascinating story out of the change. I was worried that this story would forever color LaForge's change to the implants negatively, not allowing me to see them without thinking about the terrible choice that he had to face. However, the end of the story makes it clear that it is actually his decision and that he makes it freely, which was a really good way to resolve the situation. Regardless, the story asks some difficult questions about security versus freedom. These are questions that have a great deal of relevance in today's world, and any time fiction can examine these issues in a mature manner, I'm on board.

Final thoughts:

I found The Insolence of Office to be a very worthwhile read, but I do have to say, the cover art is somewhat... questionable. First of all, Lwaxana's bedroom (where she gives birth to her son) looks an awful lot like Voyager's sickbay for some reason. And second, the stylistic choices are a little troublesome. I often set my cell phone background picture as the cover art of the next review I have to work on, so for a week I was subjected to this whenever I picked up my phone:

Needless to say, the picture of Lwaxana in the midst of her labor was somewhat... disturbing!

Further resources:

• Podcast: Literary Treks 51: The VISOR of Danger

Also by William Leisner:

• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Losing the Peace (2009)
• Star Trek: The Original Series: The Shocks of Adversity (2013)

My next read:

This coming week, I am hoping to do a marathon of reviews for four stories in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers e-book series: the four novellas that comprise the omnibus Some Assembly Required. Check back here on Monday when the first of these reviews should be published: Aaron Rosenberg's The Riddled Post!

The Oppressor's Wrong

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Slings and Arrows, Book Two of Six
The Oppressor's Wrong by Phaedra M. Weldon
An e-book exclusive novella
Published November 2007
Read February 19^th 2015

Previous book (Slings and Arrows): A Sea of Troubles
Next book (Slings and Arrows): The Insolence of Office

E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca

Spoilers ahead for The Oppressor's Wrong and the rest of the Slings and Arrows series!

From the back cover:

The Enterprise is assigned to ferry demolition experts from Deep Space 9 to Starbase 375, but just as they arrive, Admiral Leyton declares martial law on Earth and the Federation is put in a state of emergency. On the Starbase, Admiral Hahn has gone missing, and there are several unexplained events -- and one of the demolitions experts, Lieutenant Daniels, isn't convinced that it's necessarily Dominion treachery.

Picard and the Enterprise crew must learn the truth -- about what happened to Admiral Hahn and about the truth beyond the martial law declaration -- before the Enterprise herself becomes the next casualty...

My thoughts:

The Oppressor's Wrong is the second book in the six-part series chronicling the first year of service of the Enterprise-E, edited by Keith R.A. DeCandido. As this series takes place concurrently with some of the huge socio-political happenings on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it makes sense that we see the TNG crew coping with some of these events. In this case, we see some of the effects and consequences of Admiral Leyton's attempted military coup in the DS9 episodes "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost."

If book one, A Sea of Troubles, was about the threat of an outside agent to Starfleet's security and values, then The Oppressor's Wrong is about the opposite: what happens when our own fear and paranoia get the better of us. As both the DS9 episodes and this story teach us, we are often our own worst enemy.

Leyton, Star Trek's ultimate "badmiral."

In this story, we learn that Leyton's coup has much farther-reaching intended consequences than we saw in the two-parter episode. More than any other flag officer we've seen on Star Trek, Leyton is deserving of the term "Badmiral," a title coined on the Literary Treks podcast! The Enterprise and her crew become embroiled in one of Leyton's plots at Starbase 375, and with the help of Padraig Daniels, Picard and his people must get to the bottom of it.

We get some much-needed insight into the character of Lieutenant Daniels, seen in First Contact and Insurrection.

I really appreciate that these stories flesh out the new characters we see in the TNG films. In the last book, it was Sean Hawk, and in this story, we learn a lot more about Lieutenant Daniels and how he came to be security chief aboard the Enterprise. A somewhat down-to-earth, "every man" sort of character, Daniels makes for an interesting addition to the Enterprise's senior staff.

Another interesting aspect of the story was Data's development following the installation of his emotion chip in Star Trek: Generations. While a lot of his behavior didn't ring exactly true to me, it makes sense that he would have a long period of difficulty adjusting to the integration of emotions into his life. In the films, we see his initial difficulties in Generations, while the consequences of these new emotions are largely ignored in the subsequent movies. In this story, we finally get a welcome insight into that initial adjustment period.

Final thoughts:

A solid entry in the Slings and Arrows series. Not spectacular, but it achieves its purpose of showcasing the Enterprise crew dealing with one of the biggest crises the Federation faces during the year prior to Star Trek: First Contact. It was fun to have the TNG and DS9 crews interacting somewhat, and it was especially good to learn more about the criminally-underused security chief from First Contact and Insurrection. I mean, this is a man who wasn't even invited to the staff meeting when Picard briefs his crew about a current Borg invasion of the Federation! I bet he was really happy when Worf just waltzed onto the bridge and took over tactical...

Further resources:

• Podcast: Literary Treks 46: Drama Droid!

My next read:

Next week, look for my review of Bajor: Fragments and Omens by J. Noah Kym, the next story in my on-going Deep Space Nine retrospective re-read.

A Sea of Troubles

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Slings and Arrows, Book I
A Sea of Troubles by J. Steven York & Christina F. York
An e-book exclusive novella
Published October 2007
Read January 18^th 2015

Next book (Slings and Arrows): The Oppressor's Wrong

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

Spoilers ahead for A Sea of Troubles and the rest of the Slings and Arrows series!

Publisher's description:

The USS Enterprise-E has launched, with Captain Jean-Luc Picard in command. In addition to many familiar faces, the new ship also has some new crew members -- among them, conn officer Sean Hawk and security chief Linda Addison.

But soon Picard is devastated to learn that there's a saboteur on board -- in the form of a changeling infiltrator from the Dominion! Picard and his crew must learn who the changeling replaced and stop it before it destroys the fleet's finest ship...

My thoughts:

Slings and Arrows is a six-part e-novella series, released in 2007 as part of Simon & Schuster's celebration of the 20th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Edited by veteran Trek author Keith R.A. DeCandido, the series gives us our earliest glimpse at the Enterprise-E and her crew. You may recall that in Star Trek: First Contact, Geordi mentions that the Enterprise-E has been in space for nearly a year. Personally, I have always wondered what the Enterprise crew was up to for much of that year. Finally, in Slings and Arrows, we find out!

This first instalment, A Sea of Troubles, introduces a new character whom we first canonically met in First Contact: Lieutenant Sean Hawk, the conn officer in that film. I really enjoyed the brief appearance of Hawk in First Contact, and I felt that Neal McDonough brought a lot to the character with only a few small scenes. While his stint in canon Trek was short-lived, we get a few much-needed insights into his character in this novella.

We see Lieutenant Hawk's introduction to the Enterprise in A Sea of Troubles.

Some of the character work with the antagonist of the piece, a Changeling infiltrator aboard the Enterprise, was very interesting. It was fun to get into the mind of one of the Founders and find that (she?) is not exactly what we expected. Granted, much of the interaction between Picard and the Changeling was an attempt by both parties to engage in subterfuge and deception, but it was still interesting to hear the thoughts of one of the Founders beyond the usual "solids are chaotic, we must impose control" rhetoric we usually get.

The year prior to First Contact is one that is full to the brim with political intrigue and huge changes for the Federation. A war with the Klingons, rising tensions with the Maquis, and the fear of Dominion infiltration and attack are only a few of the events that this period of Trek history faced. The Slings and Arrows series finally gives us a chance to see what the flagship of the Federation was up to during this period. and with so much happening, there is surely a lot to draw upon for the writers. I very much look forward to the other books in this series tackling the weighty issues that face the Federation at this time.

Final thoughts:

A solid first entry in the series, A Sea of Troubles was a fascinating story showcasing a Changeling infiltration of the Enterprise. The story truly reflects the tension that was inherent during this period of "cold war" leading up to open warfare with the Dominion. We get a strong introduction to one of my favorite "minor" characters, Lieutenant Hawk, and some insight into an enemy that we were not really provided with before.

As many of you know, I recently began co-hosting the Literary Treks podcast with Matthew Rushing over on Trek.fm. That podcast has been doing regular features on the Slings and Arrows series. Look below for a link to the episode in which Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones discuss A Sea of Troubles. As I make my way through this series on Trek Lit Reviews, I will post links to the appropriate episodes of Literary Treks. Give them a listen, and be sure to check each week for new episodes, which I will also post here at Trek Lit Reviews!


Further resources:

• Podcast: Literary Treks 44: I'll Have the Truffles She's Having - Dicussion of Slings and Arrows Book I: A Sea of Troubles.

My next read:

Next week, my Deep Space Nine relaunch re-read continues with Worlds of Deep Space Nine, Volume Two: Trill: Unjoined by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels. Until next time!