Category Archives: Star Trek: The Next Generation

STTNG: Immortal Coil by Jeffrey Lang

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by: Jeffry Lang
published by: Pocket Books
published: February 2002

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I originally read Immortal Coil in eBook format on my laptop, sometime last year (I think), but somehow that format just doesn’t do it for me, so when I saw a copy of the actual paperback at Half Price Books, I had to grab it. After all, it’s an EmotionChip!Data story, and there aren’t many of those outside of fanfic.

While I’m not old enough to have watched the ORIGINAL Star Trek in first run, the re-runs were the only show that was allowed to routinely break the “no television before 5 PM” rule in my house, and since my mother was anti-television, I used to watch them on our old black-and-white after school when I was nine and ten. As I write this, I am suddenly remembering an add for a convention in 1979 or 80, in Denver. I was too young, at the time, to know what a con was, or I’m sure I’d have pestered my mother to take me.

I mention this because while, on the surface, this is a TNG story, Immortal Coil is also a sort of quasi-sequel to the TOS episodes “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” and “Requiem for Methuselah,” and while familiarity with them is not totally required in order to enjoy this story, it definitely helps. A lot.

This novel is all about android rights and the definition of sentience, and, more specifically, the distinction between artificial intelligence and artificial consciousness. It opens with Data returning to the Enterprise with the body of his deceased “mother,” Julianna Tainer, whom we know to be an android. He is dealing with overwhelming emotions, and Picard’s suggestion that turning off the chip would be a bad idea, when a call is received from Admiral Haftel – there’s been an issue at Galor IV, and the ship, and specifically Data, are needed.

What follows is part murder mystery (who tried to kill Maddox, who caused the disappearance of another, legendary and somewhat hermit-ish, cyberneticist?) and part romance (new Enterprise security officer Rhea McAdams has the hots for our Mr. Data, it seems) with a good bit of space epic thrown in.

At times cheesy, at other times sweet, it’s a satisfying romp through the Trekiverse, which wraps up several loose ends in Data’s life.

The first time I read this, I went into it with some skepticism, because a Data romance is a very tricky thing – fanfic authors I respect have argued that he cannot have a plausible relationship. I disagree, but as much as I enjoyed this book for entertainment value, I find that the relationship between Rhea and Data was contrived, and the way Data was written didn’t…fee right.

Goes well with a glass of milk and thin mint cookies.

Tales from the Captain’s Table

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edited by Keith R. A. DeCandido

Easing back into the SEO world of cpm and cpa, and various other acronyms, after ten days of beachy bliss was difficult, so I did what every avid reader does: I bought some comfort books. One of these was a Star Trek book: Tales from the Captain’s Table. It’s a collection of short stories from various ship captains in the Trek-verse – Picard, Riker, Demora Sulu, and others, and they’re tied together by the fact that they’re all told in the Captain’s Table, a special bar with entrances from many worlds, where only ship captains are welcome.

Cap, the bartender, is glimpsed in small interludes, and the bar itself reforms to the specifications of whatever a given patron expects. I like storytelling, and I like the concept of the neighborhood cafe / bar / pub, so this book appeals to me on many levels.

While I don’t always like short stories, in this format, they’re the logical choice.

After reading this book, I felt much more at home inside my head.

STTNG: Q & A

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Star Trek: The Next Generation - Q & A

by Keith R. A. DeCandido

The thing about Star Trek novels, for me, is that they’re sort of like Caribbean cruises: you get a taste of the exotic, but you do so from a safe, comfortable environment.

Keith R. A. DeCandido’s Q & A, his latest addition to the Star Trek: the Next Generation collection is no exception. In fact, it’s like the part of the cruise that involves fruity drinks with cute umbrellas and dancing into the night, and that, really, is how it should be.

In this novel, we see a different side of Q, the part that actually has a purpose, and a motivation beyond just having fun – though fun is never ignored if it comes up – but we also get to have some emotional closure for the loss of Data in Nemesis, as Geordi warms to the woman who has his friend’s old job, and some story swapping and healthy reminiscing goes on. We have Picard and Beverly Crusher in an actual, healthy relationship, and we have the usual saving the universe story, and all that is wonderful.

But then DeCandido transcends wonderful, by mixing in references not just to every single appearance by Q in the television canon – EVER – but also by relating the plot to key moments from the show that many of us would never have expected.

If you’re any kind of fan, you’ll appreciate the in-jokes. If you’re not, you’ll still enjoy the story. Either way, for a good time, read Star Trek the Next Generation: Q & A as soon as you can.

STTNG: Immortal Coil

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Star Trek: The Next Generation #64: Immortal Coil

Jeffrey Lang

I bought the eBook version of this because I was desperate for instant-gratification in the form of mind-candy, and Trek books always qualify. This one is the only novel that features EmotionChip!Data, and it’s also the only full-fledged Data-romance.

A fanfic author I respect once said that she didn’t think it was possible to write a credible romance for Data. I disagreed at the time, but after reading this, and finding that many of the scenarios were more than a bit contrived, I’ve changed my mind.

Still, it was enjoyable, in a guilty-pleasure sort of way.

STTNG: A Time for War, A Time for Peace

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A Time for War, A Time for Peace (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Keith R. A. DeCandido

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This last installment in the A Time To… series is my favorite. Not only does it wrap up all the lose ends in the series itself, but it also ties in nicely with Nemesis.

Even better, it shows us that the Federation isn’t limited to Starfleet, by showing us the politics of the presidency.

To describe the plot would be to spoil it – just go read it.

STTNG: A Time to Kill & A Time to Heal

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A Time to Kill (Star Trek The Next Generation) A Time to Heal (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

David Mack

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The seventh and eighth books in this series bring in more and more political intrigue, giving a minor taste of TNG meets The West Wing, with the Tezwa and their illegal Federation-supplied defense system, and rumblings from the Klingons.

Worf is part of the action once more, acting as the Klingon ambassador, and Riker and Troi are finally engaged. There could be more Data – but then I always think that – and most of his best moments are overshadowed by other things – but it’s interesting that Riker uses Data’s position as one of his reasons for accepting command of the Titan.

The more I read of this series, the more I loved it, and I really have to go back and re-read a lot of it.

STTNG: A Time to Love & A Time to Hate

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Star Trek: The Next Generation #5: A Time to Love A Time to Hate (Star Trek The Next Generation)

Robert Greenberger

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The fifth and sixth volumes in the A Time to… series re-introduce us to Kyle Riker, and the flawed relationship he has with his son Will.

It also involves a dispute between rival factions who mysteriously became peaceful when they colonized a specific planet, never realizing that the environment itself was drugging them – interesting questions of medical ethics are brought up, as Beverly Crusher tries to find a cure that doesn’t end in a brutal war.

And of course, the set-up of Nemesis continues….

STTNG: A Time to Die

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A Time to Die (Star Trek The Next Generation)

John Vornholt
Book two in the “To Every Season” series was a bit darker than book one, but enjoyable nonetheless. Again, I read it in eBook format, which means I have to sit and read on purpose, and not in the bathroom.

I thought it would delve more into Data reacting to no longer having his emotion chip (after all, he’s on the cover), but instead it was a Wesley story. If they had filmed this sort of wrap-up, I think people might have hated Wesley less.

Or not.

Anyway, it’s still brain-candy, but it’s fun brain candy.