Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Firewall

Star Trek: Picard
Firewall by David Mack
Release date: February 27, 2024
Read February 18th 2024

Previous book (Picard): Second Self
Next book (Picard): 


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

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!

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.

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.

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:

Next time on Trek Lit Reviews:

Next review is for book 3 of the Star Trek: Voyager: String Theory trilogy: Evolution by Heather Jarman.


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Wednesday, June 12, 2024

Fusion

Star Trek: Voyager
String Theory, Book 2
 Fusion by Kirsten Beyer
Published November 2005
Read May 27th 2020

Previous book (published order): Distant Shores
Previous book (String Theory): String Theory, Book 1: Cohesion
Next book: String Theory, Book 3: Evolution

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

Spoilers ahead for Fusion!

 From the back cover:
As the Cosmos Unravels 
The disruption in the space-time continuum caused by the creation of the "Blue Eye" singularity continues: Thread by thread, the fabric slowly frays and peels away, breaking down barriers between dimensions. As the lines between realities blur, the consequences cascade. 
A Sleeping City Awakes 
Voyager pursues Tuvok to a long-dormant space station, a place of astonishing grandeur and wonder. Ancient almost beyond imagining, the city seduces the crew with the promise that their greatest aspirations might be realized. Such promise requires sacrifice, however, and the price of fulfilling them will be high for Voyager. 
A Mysterious Power Stirs 
Unseen sentries, alarmed by Voyager's meddling in the Monohoran system, send emissaries to ascertain Janeway's intentions. Unbeknownst to the captain, she is being tested and must persuade her evaluators that their contention -- that Voyager poses a threat to the delicate web of cosmic ecology -- is baseless. And failure to vindicate her choices will bring certain retribution to her crew.

 My thoughts:

Continuing the String Theory trilogy which began in James Swallow's Cohesion, Fusion almost feels like a spooky ghost ship-type story as the tale of this mysterious region of space is picked up by author Kirsten Beyer. Many Star Trek book fans will know Kirsten as the author of the amazing run of post-finale Star Trek: Voyager novels that began with Full Circle back in 2009 and culminated in 2020's To Lose the Earth. Her career has of course now expanded into the television arena, as she works as a writer and producer on a few of the new Star Trek series under Alex Kurtzman.

Interestingly, Fusion is Kirsten Beyer's first Star Trek novel, and signs of the great stories she will tell over the course of her career thus far are apparent in its pages. Beyer obviously has a great affinity and knowledge of the characters, and she deftly writes them in such a way that their voices come through very clearly.

Voyager encounters an array, much like the Caretaker's or Susperia's.

The story itself is an interesting one, full of strange scientific mysteries and anomalous occurrences which are part and parcel of Voyager's style of storytelling. Tuvok, who disappeared at the end of the previous novel, is taken aboard a mysterious space station. This station is referred to as an "array," for reasons that soon become apparent as we learn that it is linked to the Nacene, the creators of the Caretaker's "array" as seen in the premiere episode of Star Trek: Voyager, as well as Susperia's "array" in the episode "Cold Fire."

One of my favorite subplots of this novel is an attempt to infiltrate Voyager by a Nacene who impersonates Kathryn Janeway's sister, Phoebe. This Nacene is able to accomplish this by altering the memories of the crew, making them believe that Phoebe had accompanied the ship on the mission to the Badlands and become stranded with the rest of the crew when they were thrown into the Delta Quadrant. The means by which this deception was uncovered was quite clever, as Beyer makes use of the fact that Harry Kim and Naomi Wildman are not natives of the same universe as the rest of the Voyager crew; fans might remember that they were both replaced by their counterparts from an adjacent reality in the episode "Deadlock." This made them slightly out-of-phase with the rest of the crew, making "Phoebe's" attempts to alter their memories ineffective.

The fact that Harry Kim and Naomi Wildman come from a slightly different universe comes into play in this novel.

I also enjoyed the outcome of Tuvok's part in the story. He is presented with the opportunity to realize his deepest, most profound desire. Ultimately, however, he gives up this chance in order to help another, in a stunning display of self-sacrifice. This revelation of Tuvok's deepest feelings reminded me of a line that always resonated with me, from the season six episode "Muse." An alien playwright tries to explain to one of his actors the nature of Vulcans when the actor is unable to understand the Tuvok character's motivation, telling him that "beneath your unfeeling exterior is a heart that's breaking, silently, and in more pain than any of us can possibly understand, because that's what it is to be Vulcan."

If I have one major complaint about this novel, it's that there is a great deal happening in it, with much of it being somewhat confusing. The story does tend to get bogged down in the minutia of what is happening, and again, there is just so much of it that it is quite easy to get lost. However, a lot of that is mitigated by Beyer's deft handling of the characters, which is what I really connected to. Her firm grasp of these individuals and their motivations was the lifeline I clung to when trying to make sense of some of the complexities of the plot.

Like Book 1 with the fate of Tuvok left in the air at the end, Fusion ends with Tom and Harry missing, and the Doctor seemingly in the extradimensional realm referred to as "Exosia." We will, of course, have to wait until Book 3, Evolution, to pick up these plot threads.

Final thoughts:

I enjoyed Fusion for the most part, despite the overly-complex and often confusing plot. Though this is Kirsten Beyer's first Star Trek novel, one can see why she would go on to make the Voyager "relaunch" novels so compelling. Her grasp of the characters that she so obviously loves to write is impressive, and was the hook I needed to bring me along on the journey of this novel. There is also a great deal of cleverness in the story, with Beyer using past lore from Star Trek: Voyager to great effect. A competent and enjoyable middle entry in the String Theory trilogy.

 More about Fusion:


Star Trek: Voyager: String Theory:

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Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Cohesion

Star Trek: Voyager
String Theory, Book 1
 Cohesion by Jeffrey Lang
Published July 2005
Read May 13th 2020

Previous book: Spirit Walk, Book 2: Enemy of My Enemy
Next book (published order): Distant Shores
Next book (String Theory): String Theory, Book 2: Fusion
Purchase:
Mass-market paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Spoilers ahead for Cohesion!

 From the back cover:
Spirits unbroken by the failed promise of the USS Dauntless, Captain Kathryn Janeway’s indefatigable crew continues their odyssey of discovery through an enigmatic region of the Delta Quadrant, encountering a system inhabited by a species that, according to known physical laws, shouldn't exist.

These unusual beings, the Monorhans, hover near the edge of extinction; technology from the USS Voyager promises life. Janeway, compelled by the aliens’ plight, dispatches Seven of Nine and Lieutenant B’Elanna Torres to the Monorhan homeworld. But an unexpected shock wave crashes the shuttle carrying Torres and Seven, catapulting Voyager into a place beyond the fabric of space-time.

As B'Elanna and Seven wage an interpersonal war, Voyager struggles to prevail on an extradimensional battleground against an indefinable enemy. But fate has determined that one is inexorably linked to the other: the insurmountable chasm separating Voyager from her lost crew members must be bridged...or all will perish.

 My thoughts:

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Star Trek: Voyager, Pocket Books decided to release a trilogy of novels set during the series' run. The first novel of the String Theory trilogy, Cohesion, establishes that this story is set in the period between seasons four and five. This was an ideal place to set the trilogy, as it was one of the few season breaks of Voyager to not feature a cliffhanger.

The end of season 4 gave us the episode "Hope and Fear," in which the crew was presented with a vessel, seemingly of Starfleet manufacture, equipped with a quantum slipstream drive. The entire thing turned out to be a ruse intended to deliver the Voyager crew to the Borg, leaving our Voyager heroes still stranded in the Delta Quadrant, but with a renewed determination to get home.

The events of the season 4 finale, "Hope and Fear," have taken their toll on the Voyager crew.

This story does a good job of using the situation between seasons 4 and 5 to craft a unique story. There are some nice touchstones to remind us of where we are in Voyager's journey without seeming forced or heavy-handed. For example, in the course of this novel, Tom Paris is working on creating his Captain Proton holo-adventure, which we see on-screen for the first time in the season 5 premiere, "Night."

One of my favorite aspects of this novel is how well Jeffrey Lang captured the voices of the characters. As someone who generally found the character development in the Voyager television series lacking, what little we got in the show was very much welcome. The tempestuous relationship between Seven of Nine and B'Elanna Torres, for example, was something that rang very true to me. In Cohesion, Lang explores that relationship quite well, giving us situations between the two of them that fit right alongside encounters between the two characters on the show. Adding in a plot contrivance that allows the two of them to see into each other's mind gives each of them a greater understanding of the other's perspective, which was especially interesting given the usual relationship between them.

The antagonism between B'Elanna Torres and Seven of Nine takes center stage in Cohesion.

The story itself is reminiscent of the Voyager tendency to encounter strange anomalies that push the boundaries of "weird space stuff." It works well for this story, however, and certainly will make Voyager fans feel right at home. The "aliens of the week," the Monorhans, are definitely interesting, and I'm curious to see where the story goes with them in the next two installments. 

Of course, given that this is book one of three, Cohesion leaves off with a cliffhanger ending, which is always a little frustrating. However, the story is well-written enough that I am engaged throughout, and invested to learn what comes next. 

 Final thoughts:

An enjoyable start to the String Theory trilogy. At the heart of the story is the antagonistic relationship between Seven of Nine and B'Elanna Torres, which gets some fascinating evolution thanks to the events of this novel. Cohesion definitely grabbed my interest and has me curious to see how the story continues in the next book.


Star Trek: Voyager: String Theory

Also by Jeffrey Lang:

 My next read:

Next up is book 2 of the String Theory trilogy: Fusion by Kirsten Beyer.

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Wednesday, February 14, 2024

The Unsettling Stars

Star Trek (Kelvin Timeline)
The Unsettling Stars by Alan Dean Foster
Release date: April 14th 2020
Read April 27th 2020

Previous book (Kelvin Timeline): Star Trek Into Darkness
Next book (Kelvin Timeline): More Beautiful Than Death


Purchase The Unsettling Stars:
Trade Paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-Book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk


 Publisher's description:
Taking place in an alternate timeline created when the Starship Kelvin was destroyed by a Romulan invader from the future, this bold new novel follows Captain James T. Kirk and an inexperienced crew commandeering a repaired U.S.S. Enterprise out of spacedock for a simple shakedown cruise. When a distress call comes in, the Enterprise must aid a large colony ship of alien refugees known as the Perenorean, who are under siege by an unknown enemy. But Kirk and his crew will find that the situation with the peaceful Perenorean is far more complicated than they bargained for, and the answers as to why they were attacked in the first place unfold in the most insidious of ways…

My thoughts:

This novel was a long time coming. Originally written around the time of the first "Kelvin Timeline" film, Star Trek (2009), the publication of this and three other novels were delayed indefinitely. The reason for the delay? According to the powers that be, there was concern that events depicted in the novels might contradict future plans for films set in the Kelvin Timeline. Then, a decade later, two of the shelved novels were resurrected, and apparently the prior concerns were no longer an issue. This one, by Alan Dean Foster, was originally titled Refugees. The novel was given a name change, and according to the author, a small part of the ending was revised, but other than that, The Unsettling Stars is relatively unchanged from the original draft that was turned in a decade earlier.

The original solicitation cover for this novel, back when it was first announced in 2009.

So, after waiting a decade of waiting to actually read the book, how is it?

The plot of the novel centers around a group of refugees, the Perenoreans, whose situation has special resonance for Spock. Remember that in this reality, the surviving members of the Vulcan species are also refugees, their homeworld having been destroyed in Star Trek (2009). It was interesting to see Spock relate to the Perenoreans and their plight from his unique perspective. The Perenoreans themselves are fascinating; they are highly advanced technologically, with an innate desire to be extremely helpful.

A second species, inhabitants of the planet SiBor, offer their moon to the Perenoreans to settle. In response, the grateful Perenoreans offer their advanced technology to aid in solving all manner of problems and difficulties, a situation that is initially very enticing. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that having all of your issues "magically" solved isn't always the best thing. Eventually, the Perenoreans prove to be so helpful that the SiBorians themselves end up seeming superfluous and unnecessary on their own world. As the plot unfolds, the reader continually expects the Perenoreans to have some sort of villainous motive behind their actions, but the truth of the matter is that it is simply their penchant for being overly helpful that fuels the conflict. This makes for a very interesting dilemma to focus the plot of the novel around.

The story of The Unsettling Stars is, overall, very cerebral. The dilemma presented to our heroes is unique, and is quite relevant given what is happening in society today. More and more, we are seeing artificial intelligence inhabiting spaces that are typically filled by human labor and creativity. But what happens if AI turns out to be much better than us at writing, for example? We're already seeing AI-generated writing in advertisements and other written works. Like the SiBorians in this novel, we humans may soon become superfluous in the face of superior artificial intelligence.

Seeing the Kelvin Timeline crew in novel form was a fun change, and I'm glad this novel finally saw the light of day.

For the most part, I was impressed by The Unsettling Stars. The voices of the characters are familiar, and would fit in well with the Prime timeline, but with just enough of a flavor of the Kelvin timeline to distinctly be those versions of the characters. The Perenoreans, as the drivers of the primary conflict of the novel, aren't your typical "bad guys." The species themselves are truly alien, both in how they are described physically, and in the way they think and view the universe. They are sympathetic in some ways, while unsympathetic in others, remaining refreshingly unpredictable throughout the story.

Final thoughts:

A worthy entry in the ever-expanding Star Trek literary universe. It was nice to finally get to experience the "Kelvin Timeline" crew in novel form, and Alan Dean Foster does a great job of capturing their unique voices, setting them apart from their Prime universe counterparts. The dilemma at the heart of the story is a unique problem that resonates with issues we are dealing with today. I fear the story of The Unsettling Stars will only become more relevant as the years go by.

 More about The Unsettling Stars:



Also by Alan Dean Foster:

Next time on Trek Lit Reviews:

Next up: Star Trek: Voyager: String Theory, Book I: Cohesion by Jeffrey Lang.


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Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Seven of Nine

Star Trek: Voyager #16
Seven of Nine by Christie Golden
Published September 1998
Read April 14th 2020

Previous book (Published order): Pathways
Previous book (Numbered): #15: Echoes
Next book (Numbered): #17: Death of a Neutron Star
Purchase:
Mass-market paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Spoilers ahead for Seven of Nine!

 From the back cover:
Once she was Annika Hansen, an innocent child assimilated by the fearsome, all-conquering Borg. Now she is Seven of Nine, a unique mixture of human biology and Borg technology. Cut off from the collective that has been her only reality for most of her existence, and forced to join the crew of the Starship Voyager, she must come to grips with her surprising new environment -- and her own lost individuality. 
Seven of Nine has already captured the imagination of fans all over the world. Now the most sensational new character of the twenty-fourth century stars in her first full-length novel. Resistance is futile.

 My thoughts:

Going into this novel, I had a few expectations. First, given the title, I think I expected the story to be an origin story, or a biography, of Seven of Nine. Even the publisher's description on the back cover would seem to be written to make you think that this will be the definitive Seven of Nine story. It definitely isn't that, but is rather a fairly straightforward Voyager adventure, albeit with Seven as the primary character. I suppose when the novel first came out, it made a lot of sense to title it Seven of Nine. At the time, Seven was a brand-new breakout character, and there was likely a lot of thought given about how to capitalize on that. This was the first introduction of Seven of Nine into the Trek literary world, and the title would likely have meant greater sales. However, 26 years after publication, the title makes a lot less sense.

Having said that, we do learn a lot about Seven of Nine in this book, and the story does a good job of developing her character. Due to the unique circumstances she is presented with, we get to see a bit of Annika Hansen, Seven of Nine's identity pre-assimilation. This gives us an interesting juxtaposition between the two versions of her character. Seven of Nine, especially at this early point in her development as an individual, is cold and distant, keeping the rest of the Voyager crew at arm's length. In contrast, young Annika Hansen is warm, friendly, and open to the people around her. This makes Annika Hansen the person that Seven of Nine believes the Voyager crew would want her to be.

We learn more about Seven of Nine pre-assimilation, when she was Annika Hansen.

The main plot of the novel involves a species called the Skedans who live under the rule of an emperor named Beytek. Recently, a number of Skedans became victims of the Borg, assimilated and killed by the relentless cybernetic horde. Rather than being protected by their emperor, the Skedans were left to fend for themselves, and a small group of survivors have come aboard Voyager with what seems to be a plot against the emperor. While the crew of Voyager suspects that the Skedans' plot is an attack meant to kill the emperor using an orb they have brought aboard as a bomb, the truth is more poignant: the orb contains the memories of the dead and assimilated Skedans. When it is smashed at the feet of the emperor, he and the gathered crowd hear their final moments, an event that is far more meaningful than a physical attack would have been.

Throughout the novel, Seven is experiencing the memories of people she has assimilated over the years thanks to telepathic interference by the Skedans. This leads to a sort of dissociative identity disorder whereby Seven actually manifests the personalities of her prior victims. While the cause is different, this is very much reminiscent of a fifth season Star Trek: Voyager episode: "Infinite Regress." The similarity of the plots might lead one to think that one influenced the other; however, this novel was published in September of 1998, while "Infinite Regress" aired just two months later in November. It's likely that this is simply a case of two writers coming up with similar ideas around the same time.

Seven experiences a similar condition in this novel as she would in the season 5 Voyager episode "Infinite Regress."

For the most part, I enjoyed Seven of Nine. The author, Christie Golden, has a very good handle on the voices of the Voyager crew, and wrote the character of Seven of Nine deftly, especially considering she was such a new character at this point. This novel works as a great companion piece to another Voyager episode in which we learn a lot about Seven: season four's "The Raven." Thematically, there is much that is shared between these two stories, and if you're a Seven of Nine fan, this is one you don't want to skip. Again, however, don't expect a biography. This is something different.

 Final thoughts:

In writing this review, I found myself having to travel back in time in my mind to the first introduction of Seven of Nine. At the time this novel was written, she was a very new character, and no one knew in which directions she might develop. Reading Seven of Nine, however, one can marvel at how much of a handle Christie Golden had on her character in those early days. Now, 26 years later, the character has grown so far past her origins in season four of Star Trek: Voyager (even more so in the Star Trek: Picard series and attendant novels), and one can see the seeds of that growth in this novel. While it is not the origin story for Seven that the title might imply, it is still a great foundational work for an exceptional and crucial character.
More about Seven of Nine:


Also by Christie Golden:

 My next read:

The next catch-up review is for the Kelvin Timeline novel The Unsettling Stars by Alan Dean Foster.

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Tuesday, January 23, 2024

The Higher Frontier

Star Trek: The Original Series
The Higher Frontier by Christopher L. Bennett
Release date: March 10th 2020
Read April 2nd 2020

Previous book (The Original Series): The Motion Picture: 40th Anniversary Edition
Next book (The Original Series): Agents of Influence
Purchase:
Trade Paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

 Publisher's description:
Investigating the massacre of a telepathic minority, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise confront a terrifying new threat: faceless, armored hunters whose extradimensional technology makes them seemingly unstoppable. Kirk must team with the powerful telepath Miranda Jones and the enigmatic Medusans to take on these merciless killers in an epic battle that will reveal the true faces of both enemy and ally!

My thoughts:

Christopher L. Bennett is a Star Trek author whom I have long admired. During his years of writing for the Star Trek IP, he has become known for a number of things: stories set during the Star Trek: The Motion Picture time period, and stories that tie up various, disparate pieces of Trek continuity. In both of these respects, The Higher Frontier is the quintessential Christopher L. Bennett Star Trek novel.

The Aenar were first introduced in season four of Star Trek: Enterprise. A subspecies of the Andorians, the Aenar are blind, but with highly developed telepathic skills. It is these abilities that cause them to be the target of a massacre that sets off the events of this novel. At the time of this novel's writing, the Aenar had never been seen outside of Enterprise, and the decimation of their population here might go some way to explaining why. This was, of course, before we met Lieutenant Hemmer, chief engineer of the U.S.S. Enterprise in season one of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Still, given the reclusiveness of the Aenar as well as their abhorrence of anything approaching violence, it makes sense that they wouldn't be a regular fixture of the wider Trek universe. Heck, we rarely even saw Andorians in the years between TOS and Enterprise.

The Aenar, a subspecies of Andorians, are targeted by hunters.

Another welcome follow-up in this novel is the union between Dr. Miranda Jones and the Medusan ambassador Kollos from the TOS episode "Is There in Truth No Beauty?." Their telepathic bond is the focus of a lot of this novel, and I appreciated the deep dive into Medusans. This is an area, again, that modern Trek has mined from, with the character of Zero in Star Trek: Prodigy. I enjoyed the exploration of the bond between Dr. Jones and Kollos, and was very pleased with the fact that the book acknowledged the very poor treatment of Jones in her appearance in TOS. I love when authors go back to sort of "clean up" some of the more problematic parts of past Trek, and Christopher Bennett is a master at it.

Dr. Miranda Jones and her link to Ambassador Kollos is explored in The Higher Frontier.

Another aspect of the novel that I enjoyed was the exploration of characters other than the "big three" (Kirk, Spock, and Bones). In particular, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov get some much-needed attention, and I very much appreciated the time spent with these characters. In one particularly amusing moment, the three of them discuss the "dramatizations" of their previous missions that have been broadcast back on Earth. Comments are made about the unrealistic special effects, the overly-dramatic acting, and even the ridiculousness of Chekov's hair! It's a nice send-up of Star Trek: The Original Series, implying that what we watched may just have been an in-universe reenactment of the actual events, rather than the sacrosanct "historical documents" that many fans would claim them to be.

Finally, I very much enjoyed Christopher Bennett's exploration of the "New Human" phenomenon, an aspect of Star Trek's depiction of humanity that was first introduced by Gene Roddenberry in his novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This is another piece of Trek lore that seems like it would be difficult to square with what we have seen of humanity's future in the Star Trek produced since 1979, but once again Bennett has found a way to (mostly) seamlessly weave these disparate bits of continuity together. One aspect of this is an explanation for telepathic abilities among humans, as shown in the second TOS pilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." Humans who exhibited "extra-sensory perception" were referred to as "espers," and this concept was never really explored outside of that episode. A satisfactory and fascinating explanation for the existence of telepathy among humans is given in The Higher Frontier, and as someone who loves diving into the the minutiae of Star Trek, I love that we finally got it.

The Higher Frontier offers an explanation for human "espers" such as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner and Gary Mitchell from "Where No Man Has Gone Before."

Final thoughts:

As we have come to expect from Christopher L. Bennett, The Higher Frontier serves to weave together bits of disparate Star Trek continuity in ways that are both surprising and entertaining. Add to that strong character work for both major and minor characters and a story that takes place in a unique period of Star Trek history, and the result is another terrific story from an author whose work is always a joy to read.

 More about The Higher Frontier:



Also by Christopher L. Bennett:

Next time on Trek Lit Reviews:

Next on my catch-up list is a Star Trek: Voyager novel: Seven of Nine by Christie Golden.


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Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Losing the Peace

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Losing the Peace by William Leisner
Published July 2009
Read March 19th 2020

Previous book (Post-Nemesis Continuity): Titan: Over a Torrent Sea
Next book (Post-Nemesis Continuity): Titan: Synthesis
Purchase:
Mass-market paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Spoilers ahead for Losing the Peace!

 From the back cover:
Fortune has smiled on Lieutenant Jasminder Choudhury, chief of security on the U.S.S. Enterprise. She has survived. But her homeworld, Deneva, one of the planets targeted in the massive Borg invasion, has not. The entire surface has been wiped clean of everything, killing anyone who did not evacuate and rendering the planet uninhabitable. Choudhury is left to wonder whether her family was one of the displaced. Or are they all gone forever? 
The Enterprise is just one ship, and Jasminder Choudhury is just one officer, yet her story is being repeated over and over across the galaxy. Hundreds of thousands of displaced persons haunt the space ways, seeking comfort, looking for someplace safe, somewhere, anywhere to find solace. Captain Jean-Luc Picard is ordered to do everything he can to rescue and if need be to recover the lost souls from the Borg invasion. 
For the first time in generations, citizens of the Federation know want, uncertainty, and fear. Bloodied yet unbowed, the Federation stands on the edge of a precipice. The captain of the Enterprise finds himself in the unenviable position of wondering whether it is true that those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace. 

 My thoughts:

The galaxy is in turmoil. The recent Borg invasion has devastated many worlds throughout the Federation and the surrounding powers. Billions of lives have been lost, and the traumatic effects are keenly felt by both governments and individuals. With all that has transpired, it would be foolish to think that everything would be back to normal for the Federation simply because the Borg threat has been neutralized. Losing the Peace is about picking up the pieces and licking the wounds inflicted by the Borg conflict. While it would not serve the overall story to remain mired in the post-invasion doldrums forever, it is necessary to take a breath and address the massive damage inflicted on the Federation. Ultimately, Losing the Peace is the first step in moving forward from Destiny, and the story rightfully takes its time in doing so.

The Federation is hurting, and part of the Enterprise's assignment is to relieve some of those pains. The state of the Federation mirrors that of the characters in the novel, such as Jasminder Choudhury. Her family was lost in the Borg invasion, and she is understandably suffering. She is but one of countless people whose lives have been completely upended by the invasion, not to mention the billions who are now displaced due to the loss of their homeworlds. I appreciated the time the book takes with Choudhury's story, as well as the role Worf plays in it. As has been a hallmark of this period of Trek literature, Worf is shown to be much more than the hot-headed security chief he was often portrayed as during the TNG days. A thoughtful and caring partner for Choudhury is a role that is fitting for the man Worf has become.

Worf has experienced a great deal of growth since his early days aboard the Enterprise-D.

The best Star Trek (in my opinion) deals with issues that resonate with the current day, and Losing the Peace is no exception. The refugee crisis experienced by the Federation has obvious parallels to the ongoing and worsening refugee crises we are going through here in the 21st century. Many of us can't imagine experiencing something that completely upends our way of life (although the events of recent years may have done a bit to disabuse some of that notion). Most refugees from war-torn regions or victims of environmental disasters likely didn't imagine that they would find themselves in that situation either, but end up in horrible circumstances through no fault of their own. Written back in 2009, with each passing year, the message of Losing the Peace becomes more and more relevant.

Leading the charge to assist the refugees on the planet Pacifica is Dr. Beverly Crusher. I appreciated the novel's focus on her character, as oftentimes she is relegated to background status, especially in the TNG films. In Losing the Peace, she works alongside Miranda Kadohata assisting the refugees with their medical needs, and ultimately advocating for them in the face of a hostile populace. We even get a few flashbacks to earlier in her career, fleshing out her character in ways I wasn't expecting. 

Dr. Crusher coordinates relief efforts on Pacifica, and we get more insight into her character than I anticipated.

The other main plot in the novel has Captain Picard dealing with the president of Alpha Centauri, who is threatening to withdraw his world from the Federation over the refugee issue. Picard's solution is one that I desperately wish would work in the real world. He essentially kidnaps the president, bringing him aboard the Enterprise to witness first-hand the plight of displaced Federation citizens. This causes the president to have a change of heart and open his world to the refugees. If only compassion were able to be elicited from world leaders in this way today!

Final thoughts:

Much like Keith DeCandido's A Singular Destiny, Losing the Peace by William Leisner serves as connective tissue between the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy and what comes next. Readers may be disappointed that there are no huge battles, no amazing feats of Starfleet derring-do, but to me, this is a strength of Losing the Peace. With a focus on the characters and their trauma, this novel is a thoughtful and poignant look at issues that are relevant to today's world. I feel like it would be easy for Losing the Peace to be forgotten among the larger "event" novels, but dismissing this story would be a mistake. The novel has a lot to say, and does a very good job of crafting a tale that becomes more relevant with each passing year.

More about Losing the Peace:


Also by William Leisner:

 My next read:

From 2020: Christopher L. Bennett's Star Trek: The Original Series: The Higher Frontier.

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