Chadzilla ROARS!!! (The Official Blog of Chadwick H. Saxelid, Writer)

The Making of Star Trek - by Stephen E. Whitfield

The primary reason that the story of The Making of Star Trek - from the genesis of the series, to its creator's struggle to fit his optimistic vision of the future into the constrained format of a weekly television series, and the battle to keep the show on the air - is so very well known to even the most passing fan of the science-fiction genre is due in very large part to Stephen E. Whitfield's almost hagiographic history of the original series creation and its production.

To this very day the original Star Trek remains one of the most beloved of high water marks for televised science-fiction, and The Making of Star Trek, first published in 1968, makes it very easy to understand why that is so.

Series creator Gene Roddenberry used a "Wagon Train to the Stars" style action-adventure series format sales pitch to sell a science-fiction series that would be unlike any other on television, at the time.  Roddenbery wanted to create a science-fiction series that was not only firmly rooted in believability, but that was also optimistic.  A vision that inferred that "we" (the entire human race) would eventually overcome our various tribal differences, unify, and reach out into the stars to meet and interact with new lifeforms and new civilizations.

Roddenberry wanted a series that explored and examined the nuances of the human condition with the honesty and insight that only a science-fiction series seemed capable of doing, once again, at the time.  To put it another way, and to paraphrase a comment that Rod Serling made about the social commentary that he managed to put into The Twilight Zone, "I could have a Martian say something on television that no human being would ever have been allowed to."

A wonderful idea, to be sure, but how does one create whole new worlds, entire civilizations and/or species within the constraints of a weekly television series production time and budget?  How do you deal with writers (science-fiction or not) that think they can write whatever they want, just because it is a genre show?  How do you populate a starship in the completely unified 23rd while producing the series in the racially segregated and blatantly sexist 20th century?

Hell, what is a 23rd century starship even supposed to look like?

Whitfield's book - despite a bit too many declarations of a certain individual's brilliance, and that certain individual is not just limited to "co-author" and Star Trek series creator Gene Roddenberry - answers each and every one of those questions (and many more a reader or fan might not even think of asking) in this copious-to-the-point-of-almost-becoming-boring detailing of every single level of Star Trek's production.  

Although there were quite a few sections that tried my patience, such as the detailing of every last costume, set, and prop design, or (to this 21st century reader) the biographical information of all the series characters and the actors that portrayed them, nonetheless the book was an excellent and fascinating study of all the painstaking and back breaking work that went into making the show.

There is not a Star Trek fan out there that needs to be told that this book is required reading for a fan of the show.  But if you aren't a fan and want to have some understanding of the whats and the whys that made (and continue to make) Star Trek so addictive to entire generations of fans, then this book is worth reading.

 

Star Trek: New Frontier #12: Being Human - by Peter David

The Excalibur may have been rebuilt, but its original crew remains fractured.  Shelby is now in command of her own ship, the Trident, and Ambassador Si Cwan has gone with her.  Xyon, the child of Burgoyne 172 and Dr. Selar, is up to amusing, albiet also irritating, rambunctiousness.

And Zak Kebron's suspicions regarding Mark McHenry's paranormal abilities, suspicions that were aroused when McHenry proved capable of warding off one of Q's pranks, are confirmed when the goddess Artemis, McHenry's one time childhood friend, and former lover, arrives to claim him.

It was bound to happen, eventually.  After gulping down eleven New Frontier adventures I finally read one where I felt completely lost.  The reasons for that are quite simple, really.  While I have, to date, only read the "numbered" books in the series, there have been several ancilliary and/or crossover adventures as well.  I have not read any of those books.  But the events in those unread books shade and color the decisions and actions of numerous characters and, because of that, like I said, for the first time I felt as if I had missed something important.  

Author Peter David did a good job of filling me in, making references to past events and such, but, nonetheless, my not having read the Captan's Table, Double Helix, or Gateways crossover books caused more than a bit of consternation and confusion for me.  So many new characters, and new conflicts between them, have sprung up out of "nowhere" for me that, as I said, twice before, I felt lost in the series for the first time since I started it.

Like a great many books in the series, Being Human reads like a chapter in a longer, ongoing work and not at all like a stand alone novel.  Many conflicts and confusions arise, or have arisen, but most, if not all of them, are not resolved in anything approaching a satisfying manner.  The TO BE CONTINUED tag makes it clear that any and all resolutions will be forthcoming in future installments of the New Frontier saga.

But that is not to say that the book is entirely without resolution.  Far from it.  All the various soap opera subplots orbit around a compelling and, to quote a famous Vulcan, fascinating central story.  The secret behind Mark McHenry's paranormal abilities is revealed, and that secret goes all the way back to an Original Series second season episode, Who Mourns for Adonais?

Because the very first New Frontier story that I read was the IDW comic book mini-series Turnaround, I knew that Mark McHenry was fated to undergo some rather interesting character development.  This development is nicely introduced and threaded throughout the entire Trek mythology with David's usual style, panache, and intelligence.  What makes the story work best is that David not once treats his characters as talking props, but as real beings with emotions and belief systems that, if not all that easy to relate to, are easy to understand.

So, despite my feeling of having missed an important episode or three, I still enjoyed and recommend the book.  I also, as always, am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Gods Above.

Star Trek New Frontier #11: Restoration [Excalibur Trilogy, Book Three] - by Peter David

On a primitive, isolated and arid world known as Yakaba, a mysterious and violent man in the grip of a feverish delirium staggers out of the desert and into the lives of Rheela and her son, Moke.  The strange man's name?  Mackenzie Calhoun.

In another section of the galaxy, Elizabeth "Eppy" Shelby has been promoted to Captain and given the command of the U.S.S. Exeter.  Her first assignment, however, shows that she has taken up the late Captain Calhoun's annoying habit of bending (or just flat out ignoring) the Prime Directive for the greater good.  Something that does not sit well with her by the book crew, and the irony of that fact does not go unnoticed by Captain Shelby.

I figured that the believed dead Captain Mackenzie Calhoun would have to rise from the dead at some point in the Excalibur trilogy, for I doubted that the popular series would give its central character what was tantamount to an off screen death.  The explosion that destroyed the original U.S.S. Excalibur occurred after the end of Dark Allies and well before the start of Requiem, and the details of that event were sketchy, at best.  But not for a moment did I ever truly believe that Calhoun was truly dead.

While Peter David gives Calhoun a rousing and action packed return worthy of his tough-as-nails and plays-by-his-own-rules character, Calhoun's return seems to have more in common with the novels of Louis L'Amour or the movies of Sergio Leone than with the 24th century set future of Star Trek.  Then again, the original series Star Trek was, far more often than not, pretty much a western set in outer space, and the genre story template boots still fit rather nicely this time around.

I think that I just might have mixed some metaphors there.  So it goes.

Calhoun's adventure while marooned on Yakaba is indistinguishable from the type found in Shane or Pale Rider (which is pretty much a remake of Shane anyway) or High Plains Drifter.  A mysterious figure wanders into town and becomes embroiled in the conflicts that are simmering there.  Those conflicts revolve around Rheela, a woman gifted with an ability to create rain, and those in the nearby town that resent or want to exploit her power.  This all builds to a violent western style showdown right out of High Noon, where lasers and bodies both fly.

Shelby's side of the novel as her enthusiastically doing the Calhoun Maneuver around the Prime Directive to help a supposedly pacifistic society that is mulling over whether or not to join the Federation of Planets.  While Shelby's decisions and actions  make sense and work out in the long run (of course) the short term reactions to those decisions and actions cause friction with her crew.  It make for an interesting twist on the series formula.

My only complaint with the book was how long it took for the cliffhanger from the previous book was resolved.  Rather than weave that story line around the two primary ones, David instead waits until the well past the mid-section to pick up where the middle book of the trilogy left off and then rushes through those events in a surprisingly clumsy fashion.  Other than that minor narrative misstep, though, the book is a satisfying conclusion to the Excalibur trilogy.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996) - Music Composed and Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith

Here's Jerry Goldsmith's beautiful theme to Star Trek: First Contact:

Star Trek The Next Generation: The Child (Season 2, Episode 1 - 11/19/88)

"Counselor Troi is pregnant."

Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) is impregnated by an alien life form and gives birth while the Enterprise carries a deadly cargo of plague specimens to a medical research facility.

Call me old fashioned, but my first reaction to hearing that a woman has been impregnated while sound asleep is "date rape".  I also do not feel all that inclined to be trusting of an unknown life form that decides to shack up inside of a complete stranger's womb without even bothering to ask for permission first.

Then again, unlike the people of the 24th century, I have not only seen (and own copies of) Village of the Damned and its horrid remake, I have also read The Midwich Cuckoos, the excellent novel that inspired both films.  So I am automatically suspicious of any and all mysterious alien life forms that go around impregnating sleeping women.

As I watched The Child, I could not keep from wondering if John Carpenter, or someone close to him, had seen this episode.  The conference room sequence, wherein Troi psychically bonds with the gestating fetus, while the entire crew discuss whether or not to keep or abort the alien life form growing rapidly inside of her, plays very similar to a sequence in the 1995 remake, where the impregnated in their sleep mothers are all duped into keeping their unexpected pregnancies by the alien fetuses inside of them.  

Because this is a television episode from 1988, Troi decides to keep "the child" and, because this is the warm and fuzzy starship Enterprise, the rapidly aging child is allowed to roam around free after being born.  So why are these clowns trusted with carrying a super-duper deadly plasma plague?

Because the episode is in dire need of some kind of MacGuffin to generate suspense?  Did no one involved with this story appreciate the potential drama of Troi facing an unwanted and unexpected pregnancy?  Obviously not.  The nonsense about the super-duper deadly plasma plague, and the question as to whether or not Wesley Crusher will stay on board the Enterprise, are all just pointless distractions from what should be the show's true focus, Troi and her surprise child.

I'm guessing that I sound like I hated this episode, but I didn't.  I have just been so badly spoiled by episodes that got the concept right - such as season three's superlative exercise in tearjerking, The Offspring, and the classic season five episode, The Inner Light, both of which left me sniffling - that I was amazed by just how badly they got it wrong in this one.

Star Trek New Frontier #10: Renaissance [Excalibur Trilogy, Book Two] - by Peter David

The middle book of Peter David's Excalibur trilogy concerns itself with matters of the heart.

Selar leaves Burgoyne, taking their child, Xyon, back to Vulcan to raise him.  Burgoyne, however, refuses to give up on Selar and their child.  The Hermat fights for hir right to be there for hir child, and to be beside hir beloved mate.

Meanwhile, in another sector of the universe, Robin Lefler reluctantly agrees to go with her mother to a posh resort for some rest and relaxation and, the latter emphatically hopes, some much needed romance.

What they all forget is that it is best to be careful of what one wishes for; for you just might get it...

Although the action centers around emotional and domestic matters, Peter David keeps the pace brisk and the action (and yes, there is plenty of action) exciting.  Although the story seems, at first, to be light on the larger than life bombast that Star Trek fans expect, David does not disappoint.  Even better is how richly developed his cast of characters has become.  All of them, even those taken from the original series, seem like real people that are capable of living outside the confines of the printed page.  No matter which planet or culture the character may, may not, call home, each and every one acts in an easy to understand manner.  The reader may not agree with some of the decisions that are made, but there will be no confusion as to how or why those decisions came to be made.

Renaissance, like the book that came before it, can almost be read as a stand alone novel.  I say almost because this entry features a cliffhanger that is almost, but not quite, as explosive as the one that concluded Dark Allies.  There is also the unanswered question of what tragic fate might have befallen a particularly cherished original series character, one that shows up to make Morgan and Robin's vacation a tad more interesting.  That mystery is left unresolved, although I seriously doubt that Paramount would allow Peter David to kill the character off.  In books like this, it is the supporting cast of new and unfamiliar faced red shirts that need to worry about getting killed off, not the familiar faces that fans have come to know and love.  

Peter David both knows and understands this, which is why he treats his supporting cast of characters with the same amount of reverence and care as the series characters they are sharing the stage with.  That is what makes the New Frontier series so special.

Star Trek New Frontier #9: Requiem [Excalibur Trilogy, Book One] - by Peter David

Nothing ever goes as planned.

About midway to three quarters of the way through Requiem, I decided not to review the book as a stand alone novel.  I thought it would be better to read the Excalibur trilogy as if it were a single book, then review it as such.  My decision was based on my experiences reading the previous eight books in the New Frontier series, all of which had not read as stand alone novels, but as chapters in a much longer narrative.  I figured that the various plot lines that Peter David was threading through the novel would not be resolved in a satisfying manner, and that the book would end with a cliffhanger that would have me eager to crack open the next book in the series, A, S, A and P.

Well, I was half right.  The book did end in such a manner that - despite my longtime habit of cleansing my reading palate by reading something, or someone, very different from whatever it was that I had just finished reading - I immediately started reading Renaissance, the next novel in the New Frontier series.  But I was also somewhat surprised, and very pleased, in fact, to discover that the two primary stories in the book were complete and self-contained.  Requiem read like a stand alone novel.  After being strung along through eight books and what seemed like story lines that would never be resolved in a satisfying manner, it was quite refreshing.

Requiem picks up a short time after the cliffhanger ending of Dark Allies, which had the starship Excalibur exploding.  No explanation is given as to how the entire crew of the Excalibur, with the  lone exception of the Captain, managed to escape the explosion, or even what caused it.  The primary characters just show up at a San Francisco bar to pay their final respects and say their final good-byes (yeah, right) to each other and to the respected (if not beloved) memory of the believed to be dead Captain Mackenzie Calhoun. 

Last good-byes said, the crew breaks apart and goes their separate ways, to begin their separate adventures:

The emotionally and intellectually conflicted Soleta returns to Vulcan to visit with her father, only to learn that she must hunt down the Romulan that had raped and impregnated her mother.  Because the Romulan that Soleta refuses to think of as her father has sent a message.  One that may or may not be a threat.

Zak Kebron and Mark McHenry go undercover to learn who, or what, has been tormenting and abducting the inhabitants of a technologically primitive planet.

A secondary story has Si Cwan's sister Kalinda, who is still very much in tune with the souls of the departed, receiving a horrifying vision that sends a revenge thirsty Si Cwan hunting for a ruthless murderer.

Peter David keeps the pace brisk, throwing out numerous plot twists and cliffhangers to grip the reader's attention and keep said reader turning the pages quickly.  There is also plenty of humor, just to keep the situations from becoming too dour.  The end result is an entertaining and satisfying read in what has become my favorite book series.

Star Trek New Frontier #8: Dark Allies - by Peter David

The old justification "the enemy of my enemy is my ally," which is a saying far too often used to justify partnering up with undesirable, or outright despicable, allies in battle, is put to good use in the eighth book in Peter David’s popular Star Trek New Frontier series, Dark Allies.

A seemingly indestructible and unstoppable planet and star gobbling entity known only as the Black Mass is heading to the home world of the Redeemers, the mass murdering sect that has caused the crew of the Excalibur no end of grief. Knowing that simply asking Captain Mackenzie Calhoun for help is not enough, the Redeemers hold an entire planet hostage in order to make certain that Calhoun and his crew do everything in their power to stop the Black Mass from destroying the Redeemers.

Peter David uses that blackmail to wring some fine moments of dramatic tension between Calhoun and the Redeemers, but that is not the only conflict making the book an exciting and entertaining read. Xyon, the son of Mackenzie Calhoun, and Kalinda, the sister of Ambassador Si Cwan, two characters introduced in the equally exciting and entertaining book that proceeded Dark Allies, The Quiet Place, are having difficulties of their own, albeit those of a more intimate and far less life threatening kind (until Si Cwan discovers them, that is).

And since things (both good and bad) seem to like to come in threes, Burgoyne 172 and Dr. Selar are having a very difficult time handling the physical and emotional discomforts brought upon by the rapidly approaching birth of their child.

That is a lot of story activity to juggle and David does it with illusive ease. He keeps the action and revelations moving at a brisk clip and it all builds to a satisfying conclusion, albeit one with yet another cliffhanger that insures my picking up the next book in this fun and addictive series.

Star Trek New Frontier #7: The Quiet Place - by Peter David

TO BE CONTINUED?!?!  I cry foul!

After tearing through The Quiet Place, eager to find out what would happen next and what it will all mean to the characters in the story, I am "treated" to an anti-climax that resolves nothing that has come before it and then handed a jaw-dropper of a cliffhanger that, somehow, left me begging for more?  I must be some kind of glutton for literary punishment. 

Or maybe I just like some good storytelling.  The Quiet Place, despite its frustrating to the point of almost being infuriating non-ending, is one the best I have yet to read in the New Frontier series.  It moves at a gallop and there is not a moment of narrative waste to fatten it up and slow it down.

Si Cwan is dispatched to a backwater planet named Montos in the former Thallonian Empire on a diplomatic mission.  He arrives just in time to witness an attack by the dreaded Dogs of War, a pack of genetically engineered were-warriors.  The Dogs seek someone on Montos that is plagued by sanity challenging dreams and visions of something called The Quiet Place.  Both the mysterious seer and the even more mysterious Quiet Place are linked to Si Cwan's past.

While the Dogs of War seem like an almost cartoonish threat at first, they show their villainous chops (literally as well as figuratively) shortly after their first appearance and they make for a memorable and fearsome villain.  As cruel and bloodthirsty as the Dogs are, they are no match for the returning danger of the religious sect known as the Redeemers.  Something that is brutally illustrated in the delight that the Redeemers Overlord takes in the needless torture of one particular character.

Recalling that particular piece of nastiness, I think that is what was I found most disappointing about the novel's anti-climax ending.  There was no pouring out of some industrial grade whoop ass by Si Cwan, Zak Kebron, and newcomer Xyon upon those that most deserved it.  Whether or not that pouring out is waiting in what is no doubt this story's second half in Dark Allies, book eight of this oh-so-addicting space opera series, remains to be seen.

All I know is that I will be reading it... very, very soon.

A Moment of LOL (Special "I bought an iPad today" Edition)

see more Very Demotivational

Star Trek New Frontier Book Six: Fire on High - by Peter David

Fire on High picks up pretty much where Martyr left off, with the crew of the starship Excalibur still struggling with the aftermath of the previous story's events even as new problems come crashing down on them.

The two biggest surprises are the discovery of a strange and apparently sentient machine hidden beneath the soil of Ontear's cave and a message from another world that reveals to Lieutenant Robin Lefler that the mother she has long believed to be dead is, in fact, very much alive, and running from something.  Although no one knows it, both of these discoveries are linked.  The machine beneath Ontear's cave is one very similar to the powerful, and quite seductive, super weapon that Morgan Primus, Robin Lefler's believed to be dead mother, is unwittingly tracking down.

But there is more, as should be expected with a series with such a large ensemble cast as New Frontier has.  Dr. Selar and Lieutenant Burgoyne 172 have far more emotional, not to mention physical, baggage from their Pon farr induced affair than both had originally anticipated, and the question of what is causing the strange power fluctuations in the warp drive is answered in a nightmarish fashion.

That's a lot of story for only 272 pages, but author Peter David fits it all in by keeping the pace quick, the plot nuances direct and to the point, and the banter light and witty.  Although there are some dramatic moments sprinkled throughout, for the most part the novel's sole purpose is to entertain, and that it does.  Quite well.

The View from the Bridge: Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood - by Nicholas Meyer

Nicholas Meyer’s memoir The View From the Bridge is my kind of Hollywood insider reading: light to non-existent on the celebrity dirt, but heavy on the nuts and bolts of the artistic process and candid about the creative power struggles that can not only save or ruin a movie, but also begin or end a lasting friendship.

In his thirty plus years in the business they call "Show" as a novelist (The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, The West End Horror, etc.) a screenwriter (Elegy, The Human Stain, Star Trek II, IV & VI, etc) and director (Time After Time, Star Trek II & VI, The Day After and more) Nicholas Meyer has experienced or witnessed first hand every one of the above listed permutations of the film making process. He shares those experiences in a conversational and oft times humble narrative voice that makes his book a joy to read. Just as long as you are not the most avid fan of Star Trek.

Some of the comments that Meyer (who has been far from secretive about NOT having been a fan of the original series) makes regarding the beloved franchise will undoubtedly irritate some readers (as some of the grumbling reviews at Amazon have shown). But it was precisely that outsider's point of reference that allowed Meyer to "step back" and concoct what many consider to be not only the best of the Star Trek films, but also one of the best Space Operas of all time. (That would be Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, although I think that Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is almost as good.)

Another thing that some might (and have) grumbled about is Meyer’s focusing on his non-Trek career. Many forget (and some, sad to say, do not care) that Meyer distinguished himself with the Sherlock Holmes bestseller The Seven-Per-Cent Solution and the cult time travel adventure film Time After Time before stepping onto the bridge of the Enterprise. He also dared to make radically different films afterward (the controversial The Day After arguably being the most well known) and has written (and occasionally directed) some stellar non-genre films (Elegy, based on Philip Roth’s The Dying Animal, being a personal favorite of mine).

The irony that Meyer will, more than likely, be best remembered for his contributions to a series that he had no genuine interest in, or admiration for, is not lost on him. Nor will it be lost on the reader. An entertaining read for "forgiving" Star Trek fans (i.e. those that can take the franchise being criticized) as well as movie buffs with a greater interest in movies than celebrity dirt dishing.

Star Trek New Frontier Book Five: Martyr - by Peter David

Martyr is the first self-contained novel in the still ongoing Star Trek New Frontier series and it is an entertaining and exciting read, albeit a tad darker and more violent one than I have become accustomed to in regards to the Trek franchise.

Picking up shortly after the finale of End Game, Martyr has the increasingly tall tales describing how the Thallonian Empire’s home planet cracked apart and was destroyed during the birthing of the mythic being know as The Great Bird of the Galaxy and the U.S.S. Excalibur’s short battle with it spreading rapidly. These events just so happen to coincide with the prophecies of an ancient planet and Captain Mackenzie Calhoun is believed to be their Savior. Their Messiah.

But there is another religion in the region that will accept no other Savior/Messiah than theirs, so the assassination of Captain Calhoun is ordered.

Although the planet(s) might be different and the names of the religions have been changed, it is easy to see the comparisons author Peter David makes to Christianity/Catholicism, Islam, and Judaism in Martyr. Not content to reenact the Israel/Palestine conflict within the context of a space opera plot, David also tosses in a metaphor for the Crusades, just for some additional seasoning. While it might not add up to the most subtle of socio-theological commentary (this is a Star Trek novel, after all) David does keep it from becoming too heavy handed. While there is clearly a serious undercurrent to all the symbolic intrigue and derring do, David keeps the pace quick and the comedic banter between the various characters (one of Peter David’s authorial trademarks) helps to lighten the novel’s overall dark mood.

The end result is a quick and satisfying read that also gives you something to think about when all the fighting is done.

Star Trek The Next Generation: Schisms (Season 6, Episode 5 - 10/17/1992)

After several nights of non-restful and stress inducing sleep, Commander Riker seeks medical attention.  When that course of action proves fruitless, Riker speaks with Counselor Troi, who informs him that several other crew members have come to her and complained of non-restful and stress inducing sleep.  Their collective investigation uncovers a disturbing and malevolent truth...

Schisms, which takes very clear inspiration from both "alien abduction" mythology and The X-Files, is just plain creepy.  Writer Brannon Braga did such an excellent job of combining the story elements "borrowed" from The X-Files ("It's not a rip-off, it's a homage.") with the standard Trek techno-babble mystery template that I did not even realize what the story had been building up to, until I got there.  In fact, it was not until I checked the episode's original air date that I made the now obvious to see X-Files connection.  Even with it staring me in the face, I did not see it.  That is just plain good storytelling.

Regardless of its source of inspiration, Schisms works exceptionally well.  The clues are introduced with subtlety.  Each reveal builds logically on the one before it, but not in an obvious or predictable way, and the gradual increase in tension leads to both a satisfying payoff and an ominous denouement observation from Riker.  Because its story is so very well constructed, making it seem that there is far more to it than its simple "Gotcha!" ending, Schisms holds up fairly well to repeat viewing.

Star Trek The Next Generation: The Space Between #4: Light of the Day

LaForge, Ro, and Worf become stranded on a barren ice planet and seek shelter inside a remote, and apparently deserted, monastery.  But they soon learn that the solar flare that rendered their shuttlecraft inoperable has awakened something in the monastery's drinking water.  Something that has turned the once peaceful monks that live there into a deadly threat.

Writer David Tischman has, once again, scripted a tale that could very well have been an actual episode of the long running Next Generation television series.  One that, thanks to its Gothic Horror trappings, would have made for quite a delicious viewing treat around Halloween.  The infected monks are truly creepy and the monastery itself is cloaked with an atmosphere straight out of a Hammer horror picture.  All this issue needs is a part for someone like Christopher Lee (or the late Peter Cushing) to play; and there is!

When the stranded trio are not at their assigned rendezvous point, the crew of the Enterprise begins a search. One that has a very strict time limit, as the Enterprise has to return a wanted political criminal within a certain time frame so that he can be put on trial for his crimes.  Although the former despot claims to have undergone a religious conversion, Picard has his doubts.  Those doubts are challenged when the criminal makes a charitable offer to help find the Enterprise's missing crew members, so that he may arrive on time for his trial.

Is his offer sincere, or is he simply going to manipulate the situation in order to escape justice?  Although this subplot is not in the slightest bit horrific, it does have a nice, if a tad heavy handed, connection to the events that befall the stranded crew members.

While this one-shot story in The Space Between mini-series is comprised of several excellent parts, they do not add up to a satisfactory whole.  Tischman simply does not have the story space necessary to properly set up and play out the reveal of the mutagenic algae in the monastery water (so much wasted opportunity there).  But that does not keep it from being a very entertaining, not to mention somewhat thought provoking, read.

Star Trek The Next Generation: The Space Between #3: Strategy

Strategy is a distinct improvement over Captain's Pleasure and is the best story in The Space Between mini-series to date.

While mapping the Bandor system, a remote area that has just become a part of the Federation, the Enterprise comes under surprise attack by a strange warship of unknown origin.  (It appears to be pieced together from various different ships, but the engine that powers it is of Romulan origin.)  While the attack and counterattack are exciting and suspenseful, the story's real strength is the love triangle of Lieutenant Worf, Counselor Troi, and Commander Riker.  My favorite part is how the tension that results from Worf's being reprimanded by Picard for ignoring a director order from Riker (although Worf's doing so saves Troi's life) is followed through and resolved nicely in a later battle.  That resolution is both to true the characters and the spirit of Trek itself, as well as dramatically satisfying.  Unlike Captain's Pleasure, there is not a moment in Strategy that reads like unnecessary padding.

Writer David Tischman really delivered this time and Casey Maloney's art brings the rough and tumble action sequences to vibrant life.  So, let me repeat my short version opening paragraph: Strategy is the best story in The Space Between mini-series to date.  I can only hope that the ominous note that is struck at the story's end means that the villain of this tale will be returning at some point, in a future story.

Star Trek The Next Generation: The Space Between #2: Captain's Pleasure

Captain Picard decides to take a week off and assist an old friend, Dr. Marjorie Devarona, at an archaeological site on Rajatha Prime.  The expedition takes a turn for the deadly when the wreckage of a centuries old Federation shuttle pod is discovered in the ruins, and a fortune in diamonds is found in the craft's cargo hold.

Can you say The Treasure of the Sierra Madre?  I thought you could.

My feelings on this issue's story are rather mixed.  On one hand, it is a fine Next Gen story; one that would make for a crackling good episode, if done properly.  On the other, it is not done properly, at all.

Writer David Tischman speeds through his narrative so quickly that his story feels perfunctory, and his plot "twists" do not come across as such.  They read as nothing more than the tired cliches of the "greed destroys all" morality play that they are.  The killer is easy to identify, the red herrings are introduced with casual disinterest and then underdeveloped, and the subplot involving Beverly Crusher disco dancing on the holodeck is pointless.

Yet, there was a part of me that liked it.  As poorly told as the story was, it was the kind of morality play that Trek excelled at.  What this issue needed was a stronger mystery (as I said before, the identity of the killer is easy to figure out), better developed characters in the supporting cast, and a greater focus on Picard's isolation from the Enterprise crew and the ever growing danger to him.  The story would have had space for all that if it had only cut out the parts where Beverly and Troi go disco dancing.

Disco dancing!?!  In the 24th century!?! 

Star Trek New Frontier Book Four: End Game - by Peter David

Thanks in large part to DVD and Tivo, I can watch a fair amount of TV shows without suffering the hassles of having to watch broadcast TV.  I can also pick and choose when to watch an episode of a show, according to my own personal schedule, rather than having to adjust my schedule to catch an episode of a show that I do not want to miss.  I am also old enough of a show to remember even those pre-VCR days, when, if you missed an episode of a show, you could really and truly miss it; for it might not be rebroadcast, much less released for syndicated reruns.

While these changes in technology are a distinct improvement over my viewing options of old, I can still fall behind and miss out on "my shows," losing track of the serial threads running through the various characters and story arcs.  Which is what I discovered to have happened when I started tearing through End Game, the concluding chapter in Peter David's four part serial introduction to his popular, and ongoing, Star Trek TNG tie-in spin-off series, New Frontier. There were moments when I was just lost amongst all the political backstabbing and skullduggery, for I had allowed far too much reading time to elapse between installments. This really is a series that would be best enjoyed as one book, not as four separate ones.

The definite highlights in this chapter were the scenes involving Si Cwan and Zak Kebron in captivity.  I must admit that Kebron the Brikar has become my favorite character in the series.  The low points were the tiresome arguments over that pesky Prime Directive of non-interference (and the non-surprise that whether or not it should be invoked as a reason NOT taking action is an entirely subjective one, rather than an objective one) and the rushed and oversimplified manner in which the hostage situation that was The Two Front War's cliffhanger was resolved.

Then again, the book's climax features what appears to be a giant Anti-Matter Space Buzzard.  Something that David dubs The Great Bird Bird of the Galaxy.  It is impossible for me to dislike, and thus not recommend, a book that features a one-two in-joke.  Although I doubt that Peter David intended to make any reference to The Giant Claw. Or did he?

Star Trek New Frontier Book Three: The Two-Front War - by Peter David

Si Cwan and Zak Kebron fight to escape the deadly snare that has entrapped them.  Calhoun is distrustful of the generous offer made by a scavenging species.  Dr. Selar demands a special favor from Soleta.

The third part of the four book set that launched Peter David's popular Star Trek New Frontier series bubbles with action, excitement, and healthy doses of the author's trademark humor.  It's terrific reading, if taken as part of a larger whole, which it is.  But the book is as far removed from a stand alone novel as it could get.  So any and all newcomers to the series will be hopelessly lost if s/he should choose The Two-Front War as the book to start the series with.  Stuff happens, you know?

That having been said, David breaks in some of his supporting cast members with some rousing action set pieces (the Si Cwan/Zak Kebron section) and more than a few intense emotional fireworks displays (the Dr. Selar/Soleta section).  The former, as entertaining as it is, is pretty much your average buddy action movie arc.  Si Cwan and Kebron dislike each other intensely, but eventually learn to work together and even manage to bond...a little bit.  Although he has not, to my somewhat limited Trek knowledge, appeared in any "canonical" Trek adventure (i.e. in an actual episode or film) Zak Kebron is fast becoming one of my all time favorite Star Trek characters.  The dude is awesome.

Then there is the emotional journey that Dr. Selar and Soleta undertake.  For all of their supposed unemotional aloofness, Vulcans always seem to be struggling with some serious repressed emotional issues.  Still waters running deep, I guess.  Deep and murky.

It all "ends" with yet another series of life and death cliffhangers for Calhoun and his crew.  Come now, you didn't think that any plot threads would be tied up just yet, did you?  There is still one more book to go.

I should be cracking it open in a week, perhaps two.

Star Trek New Frontier Book Two: Into the Void - by Peter David

Captain Calhoun and the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur embark upon their humanitarian mission of mercy into the void left by the collapse of the Thallonian Empire.

If I tried to write anymore detailed of a plot synopsis than the above sentence it would probably take me more time to do so than it took me to actually read the book.  House of Cards, the first novel in the New Frontier spin-off series, was all introduction and set-up, climaxing with a rather frustrating cliffhanger.  Because the story seemed to have finally gotten started when the book "ended."

Into the Void introduces several more characters and set-ups plenty of dramatic conflict, but this time all the exposition unfolds in a fast moving storyline that ends on yet another cliffhanger.  The difference  between the two is that the first one felt like a chapter break cliffhanger, while this one is a stronger section break cliffhanger.  The kind that usually caps the ending of a Book One or Book Two section, not just a chapter break in a far larger and complex story.  Void's "How the hell will they survive long enough to get themselves out of this mess?" closing curtain had me charging over to my bookcase to place Book Three of the series (The Two Front War) at the top of my Next On Deck short stack.

I really can't give the book a higher compliment than that.

Star Trek The Next Generation: Encounter at Farpoint - by David Gerrold, based on the teleplay by D.C. Fontana and Gene Roddenberry

As the crew of the USS Enterprise-D begin their very first mission, they are confronted by a seemingly omnipotent alien that calls itself Q.  Q believes the human species to be barbaric, unfit to spread throughout the known and unknown galaxies.  The opinion of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew differ.  Q decides to give them a test.  They will be allowed to reach Farpoint Station, where the remaining new crew members await the Enterprise's arrival, and be allowed to complete their first mission, the negotiating of diplomatic and trade ties with the Bandi people.  During that time they will have to make a critical decision.  Choose correctly and humanity will be allowed to continue space exploration.  Choose incorrectly and all of humanity must cease space exploration and return to Earth and stay there.

And they're off!  An all new crew.  All new adventures.  New worlds.  New voyages.  An entirely different tone from the original series.  I think it was that last one that caught everyone off guard, because the Next Generation was an older, wiser kind of show than the pulpy adventurism of the original series.  Picard and his crew were far more apt to engage in tense talks than the kind of raucous fisticuffs that Kirk and the gang were famous for.

Not that there wasn't a lot of phaser shooting, photon torpedo blasting, and fist punching fun to be had; but from adventure one, words and wits were clearly to be the weapons of primary choice for the Next Generation.

If setting the dramatic tone for the series weren't enough of a chore, Fontana, Roddenberry and Gerrold also have to introduce the crew of the new Enterprise, and it's a far larger one than that of the original series.  They're an interesting bunch, albeit a rather stiff one.  But they have yet to be broken in and, I think, the wisest decision was to have not a single one be the descendant of an original series crew member.

Although the above commentary could be copied and pasted into a review of the long running series first episode/pilot, and I just might do that very thing at some point in the future, when I start reviewing individual episodes again, how does the novelization of it by the legendary Star Trek writer David Gerrold (The Trouble With Tribbles) actually read?

Gerrold does a good job of translating the episode into an entertaining, if a tad slight, novel.  There were no interesting additions to (i.e. cut scenes and/or trimmed or altered dialog) or stylistic digressions from the finished episode that I could see.  Gerrold simply typed up a scene for scene, word for word translation of the episode into the novel format.  While it isn't a bad book, if you have already seen the episode, then there really isn't a reason for you to waste your time reading it.  Unless you're a novelization junkie like me, that is...

Star Trek Alien Spotlight: The Gorn - by Scott & David Tipton (writers) and David Messina (art)

"They appear...cold blooded."

Captain Clark Terrell, along with his first officer Pavel Chekov and a medical relief team, crash land on an outer rim planetoid.  One inhabited by the Gorn.

The Gorn, the bad ass guest alien from the original series first season episode Arena, make a welcome return appearance in this short, simple and very fun to read adventure.

While I have always been quite the Star Trek fan, I have never been what you would call a "Trekker," or a "Trekkie," if you were feeling particularly mean-spirited or are simply pop culturally insensitive, that is.  But I do love me some Trek and this issue had me from the cover.  Scott and David Tipton's story wisely chooses to avoid a simple retread of Arena (the way the primary conflict is resolved and the story's closing joke are vintage Trek) and also offers some interesting insights into Gorn culture.  The Gorn may be cold blooded and ruthless, but they also appear to have a sizable noble streak and are far from cold hearted.  They are kind of like Klingons, but with somewhat softer hearts.  Come to think of it, I would totally love to see some Klingons and Gorn duke it out in a no holds barred barroom brawl.  I think that the Gorn would take the Klingons.

David Messina's artwork flows nicely and the Gorn are beautifully rendered, despite their not looking all that much like that rubber suited stunt man that lumbered after Captain James T. Kirk.  These reptilians look like they have been pumping some serious iron.  These Gorn could easily bench press a Sherman Tank.

Trek fans will need no convincing to pick this issue up.  In fact, I am fairly certain that many already have the complete Alien Spotlight series run and, if any are reading this, are wondering why it took me so damn long to write a review.  Life happens, okay?

The Trouble With Tribbles - by David Gerrold

Author David Gerrold describes how the classic second season Star Trek episode The Trouble With Tribbles, which he wrote, came into being.

When I purchased The Trouble with Tribbles at my local used bookstore the cashier was both eager and delighted to point out that Gerrold's book had once been used as a textbook for College/University television writing classes.  After finishing it the other day, I can see why.  Gerrold's narrative offers a blunt and unvarnished look at the nuts and bolts of writing for episodic television.  Judging from some of the commentary I have read on Lee Goldberg's blog over the years, I think I can say that Gerrold's book has not aged a day and is just as timely as when it was first published, back in 1973.  I will leave to your personal consideration on whether or not that is a good thing.

You do not have to be a fan of either Science-Fiction in general or Star Trek in particular to enjoy reading The Trouble with Tribbles, but it will certainly help.  Gerrold is clearly a fan of both and the early sections of his narrative read like every fan's fantasy of getting to work on his or her favorite show of all time.  (FYI - my Fan Fantasy would have to be me getting the chance to be a writer for Kolchak: The Night Stalker, although I was all of eight years old when the show debuted and actually getting that chance would involve some serious warping of the Space/Time Continuum.)   There were passages where Gerrold could have been describing me - reading a book a day, (although the list of authors I guzzled leaned heavily to dark fantasy and horror: Stephen King, Peter Straub, James Herbert, John Saul, Charles L. Grant, and Ramsey Campbell, to name but a few) dragging his father to see some of the worst genre dreck ever to be splayed across the silver screen, (I still have not been forgiven for "forcing" my family to sit through The Swarm and The Car) watching countless hours of television, (again, heavy on the genre offerings) and collecting all manner of comics, magazines, books, posters, and models (although he does not mention the binge and purge habit that I had - Oh, to have the stuff I so callously discarded so long ago).  Throughout the book there was a feeling of "That could be me!  I could do that!" that may or may not be shared by other readers.  But one thing I can assure you can and will be shared: Gerrold's joy in being able to create and, even more important in the great scheme of things, to be a part of one of the most popular episodes of what is most likely broadcast television's most popular science-fiction series of all time.

Star Trek New Frontier Book One: House of Cards - by Peter David

The Thallonian Empire has collapsed and the worlds it once ruled with an iron fist are in chaos.  Refugees from the former Empire flood the Federation outpost Deep Space Five and the U.S.S. Enterprise, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, has been ordered into the region to both assist in the care of the refugees and to help facilitate the bare beginnings of peace neogiations.

With the situation rapidly deteriorating in the former Empire - tribal hatreds causing civil wars on some planets, confused leaders arguing to the point of deadlock on others, and numerous would be tyrants brutally attempting to seize control on the rest - the Federation representatives reluctantly agree that a starship, but only a single starship, should be sent into the wreckage of the former Empire to investigate, report, offer humanitarian aid where needed, and, if requested, assist in the rebuilding process via peaceful means.

The only question remaining is who will command this starship?  Captain Picard believes he knows the perfect man for the job..

The first book in Peter David's long running New Frontier series is all set-up and no payoff.  The book does not end, it just stops, tacking a somewhat irritating To Be Continued tag at the bottom of the closing cliffhanger.  It's also a book best suited for those with solid knowledge of the Star Trek universe; something I do not, so I felt lost for short stretches of time.  But none of those complaints can keep me from looking forward to cracking open the next book in the series.  Peter David is not only a gifted storyteller, but he also has the enviable gift of being able to bring characters that are not his own to three dimensional life.  I just wish that Pocket books had released the first few books in the series as one novel, rather than as a smash and grab serial.  It would have made for more satisfying reading, I think.

Star Trek The Lost Era: 2360: Catalyst of Sorrows - By Margaret Wander Bonanno

Catalyst of Sorrows is set in the year 2360, sixty-seven years after the presumed death of Captain James T. Kirk aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-B in Star Trek - Generations, and four years before the launch of the Enterprise-D in Encounter at Farpoint.

Admiral Nyota Uhura, former senior communications officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise-B and now head of Starfleet Intelligence, receives a cryptic message from beyond the Neutral Zone.  An unidentified virus with a 100% mortality rate is killing Romulans and Federationists alike along the Neutral Zone.  Racing against time and an unknown and lethal enemy, Uhura dispatches a covert away team consisting of Lieutenant Benjamin Sisko, Lieutenant Tuvok, Dr. Selar and Zetha, the Romulan street urchin that first alerted Admiral Uhura to the viral killer that will come to be called Catalyst.

The gang is certainly all here in this final entry in the bestselling Lost Era series that bridges the seventy plus year gap between the 23rd century set original series and the 24th century placed Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager spin-offs.  Uhura and Dr. Leonard McCoy (TOS), Dr. Beverly Crusher and her son Wesley (Next Gen), Benjamin Sisko (DS9), Tuvok and Selar (Voyager) and a handful of cameos from various episodes and films that contain elements or plot lines that are relevant to Margaret Wander Bonanno's futurist spy story.  Those looking for epic space battles and lots of fisticuff action should look elsewhere, Catalyst of Sorrows is a mystery rooted in the Cold War era storytelling style of John Le Carre.  Bonanno not only states such in the Acknowledgments section, she also makes a direct reference to Le Carre's Cold War classic The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and starts off the book with a quote taken from A Perfect Spy.  It makes for a refreshing change of pace.

While the story is a good one, I don't know if it's a good fit for Star Trek.  I had a hard time seeing the young Benjamin Sisko in the novel growing into the Captain of Deep Space Nine.  I also had a hard time buying Uhura has the head of Starfleet Intelligence.  But far stranger things have happened in the Trekverse.  The only series characters that felt right to me were McCoy, Crusher and Tuvok.  Then again I am not what you could call the most avid of Trek fans.  A couple of episodes every few months or so and the occasional media novel to pass the time are adequate for my needs.  Catalyst of Sorrows met them quite nicely.

Star Trek: Klingons #s 1 & 2: Blood Will Tell #s 1 & 2 (of 2)

"Not exactly a warrior race, are they?"

Faced with the possibility of casting the deciding vote for the future of the Klingon Empire, an elderly member of the High Council looks to his influential family's past for the answer to the troubling question of what direction the Empire must take to survive.

I love stories that take a convoluted, confusing and contradictory back story and try to tie it all together into something that resembles logic, especially when they are done well and Blood Will Tell is done very well.  (Although when these kinds of stories are poorly done the results can be a furrowed brow, a shake of the head, and a whispered "What the frak were they thinking when they wrote this?  Or where they even thinking?")  This two parter story (and I hope that more will be forthcoming) unravels the numerous confusing knots of Klingon history, because it was all made-up-as-they-went-along, and does an entertaining job of unraveling and then reweaving them through the story lines of two classic original series episodes, Errand of Mercy and The Trouble With Tribbles, as seen from the perspective of the Klingon Empire itself.  It's on a par with John Ford's excellent tie-in novel The Final Reflection.

Although the exact nature of the decision facing the smooth headed Klingon in the wraparound segment isn't explained in any great detail, the mentioning of Chancellor Gorkon's "other way" clearly places it at the very beginning of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.  Also threaded into the first issue are the human/Klingon genetic experiments introduced during the run of the maligned Enterprise, as a needless answer to the burning question of what the hell was up with those Klingon foreheads.  This also lays the foundation for what I think could be a nifty Let That Be Your Last Battlefield story, only done Klingon style.  I can only hope that will be a story I can read some day.

But it was the redressing of Errand's conclusion as having directly influenced the events in Tribbles (which, in turn, seems to be played as the seed of the assassination conspiracy in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) that really won me over.  It was a brilliant piece of reinvention that just worked beautifully.  Writers Scott & David Tipton have done an excellent job.  This is worthwhile reading for Trek fans in general and for Klingon aficionados in particular.

Star Trek The Next Generation: The Naked Now (Season 1, Episode 3 - 10/3/1987)

 A virus that impairs judgment infects the crew of the starship Enterprise

This first season Star Trek The Next Generation adventure (the first hour long episode of the series, in fact) is an awkward affair.  The freshman cast looks uncomfortable in their roles (something that isn't surprising, since they haven't had time to break them in) and D.C. Fontana's script is more a rewrite of the original series episode The Naked Time (an episode that I watched just last week) than it is sequel, which is what it's supposed to be.  Of all the characters infected, only Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) and Lt. Data (Brent Spiner) truly cut lose, the rest just sweat and, well, act uncomfortable; as if they didn't know how their characters were supposed to cut lose.  What this episode really needed was for someone to go all Sulu on someone else.  If you have seen The Naked Time, then you know precisely what I mean.  But the "wild" behavior of the infected is limited to the female characters making sexual advances to the male characters, and Wesley Crusher's little stunt in the engine room is a very poor substitute for the over the top antics of Lt. Kevin Riley (Bruce Hyde) in the original series version.

Although this was a clumsy start for the series, Star Trek The Next Generation would quickly hit its stride and take its crew on far better adventures.

Star Trek: The Doomsday Machine (Season 2, Episode 6 - 10/20/1967)

"They say there's no Devil, Jim.  But there is, straight out of Hell, I saw it!"

Following a trail of destroyed solar systems, the crew of the starship Enterprise discovers the disabled and abandoned starship Constellation.  Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and a repair crew beam aboard to investigate.  The only surviving crew member is the ship's commander, Commodore Matt Decker (William Windom).  Decker, like Kirk, had followed the trail of destroyed solar systems, finding that a huge machine was blasting apart planets and then "digesting" them for fuel.  When engaged in combat, the machine proved too powerful for the Constellation, knocking out its engines and draining its life support systems of power.  Decker ordered his crew to abandon ship, beaming all 400 down to the third planet.

"There is no third planet," Kirk tells Decker.

"Don't you think I know that?" Decker replies tearfully.  "There was, but not anymore!"

The Doomsday Machine is my favorite original series Trek episode.  It's like Jaws in space, with Decker as Quint, Kirk as Brody, and Spock, McCoy, and Scotty filling in for Hooper when needed.  Hell, even the Machine's pulsating theme sounds a lot like the shark's famous theme music.  (Yes, I know that this episode predates Jaws by eight years, so that means Spielberg and Benchley totally ripped this episode off.  Or maybe they both just ripped off Moby-Dick.  Who cares.)

Doomsday's title character, a sugar cone shaped behemoth with a glowing center, is an impressive and quite formidable opponent for Kirk.  (Being a monster fan, I was a bit disappointed, in my youth, that the Doomsday Machine didn't turn out to be some kind of alien creature.)  Running interference in this battle is the driven-almost-mad-with-guilt Commodore Decker, brilliantly played by Windom.  Although Decker's shock and grief makes him behave irrationally (he seizes control of the Enterprise at one point and forces it on a suicide attack against the machine), there are a few moments where the remnants of the strong commander Decker had once been can be glimpsed.  The show is also spiced with some humor, Kirk gets off a few good zingers, but Spock's "assuming we survive" crack to Decker gets my vote for the episode's best joke in show.

Star Trek: Charlie X (Season 1, Episode 2 - 9/15/1966)

"I'm trying to make people like me.  I want them to like me."

The Enterprise picks up a young man named Charlie Evans (Robert Walker), the sole survivor of a shuttle crash on an uninhabited planet, to escort him to a nearby colony, so that he can be reunited with his family.  Having lived alone since the age of three, Charlie, who is now seventeen, has no social skills whatsoever and little to no control of his temper.  He also has a devastating psychic power capable of destroying every life on the Enterprise, as well as the ship itself.

Charlie X could have been just another "evil kid" story, but writer D.C. Fontana (expanding on Gene Roddenberry's idea) crafts an extremely sympathetic figure in the hopelessly confused and uncertain teenager Charlie Evans.  Also helping is guest actor Robert Walker's beautifully textured performance in the title role.  Charlie is eager to please and/or impress those around him, desperate to make friends, and, like many a teenager, he is incapable of controlling his temper and quick to blame others for his own mistakes.  What separates him from other teens is the incredible psychic power he wields, which makes him capable of punishing those who anger, or just irritate him, with impunity. 

Walker's performance hints that Charlie doesn't really enjoy wielding his power all that much and, since he is incapable of understanding the many complexities of human interaction, that he, more often than not, lashes out and "punishes" others before they can hurt him; or if he is just resentful of some slight, be it real or imagined.  Fontana's script also explores the emotional turmoil of Charlie's clear need, and obvious resentment of that need, for a father figure.  It is a role that Kirk at first refuses, then reluctantly accepts because Charlie has obviously, and aggressively, latched onto him.  Charlie X is an early, excellent example of just how satisfying Trek could be when it simply focused on its dynamic characters.  (I also feel compelled to suggest that one view the Next Gen episode True Q after watching Charlie X, just for the story and character comparison fun to be had in doing so.)

Star Trek The Next Generation #1: The Space Between Part 1: History Lesson

"There must be some mistake..."

The Enterprise has come to the planet Tigan to begin formal negotiations with its traditionally isolationist inhabitants.  But when Riker, Data, and Tasha Yar beam down to the planet, they arrive on a world that is very different from the one they had been expecting.

After taking a rather lengthy hiatus from all things Star Trek, I'm finally returning to the continuing voyages of the starship Enterprise (as well as those of Voyager and Deep Space Nine) with a renewed appreciation for the 40+ year old franchise.  While there might not be anything "new" to watch, at the moment, there are still plenty of episodes to get caught up on and, thanks to IDW, there looks to be a brand new comic book series to satiate my renewed hunger for Star Trek.

Having recently binged on several TNG episodes, I was pleased with how well writer David Tischman captured both the feel of the show and the nature of the characters that inhabit it.  History Lesson is such an effective commentary driven story, albeit one with more than a few plot holes, that I felt as if I were reading an adaptation of an actual episode.  (If I was, then I have revealed just how ignorant I have become of all things Trek.)  Less impressive is Casey Maloney's art.  While it isn't bad, it does fall short in the likeness department.  But that shortcoming could very well be the result of not having the authorization to use the performers likeness in the book.  It's only a minor distraction, and it does not keep me from looking forward to the next issue, should one be forthcoming.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Imzadi - by Peter David

Admiral William Riker has never recovered from the sudden, unexpected death of Deanna Troi.  When Riker, now in his seventies and in self-imposed exile, returns to Deanna's home planet of Betazed, to take care of Lwaxana Troi's estate, his visit stirs up the bittersweet memory of how he first met, then bonded with, his cherished Imzadi.

But that story is only the beginning.  Commodore Data shares with Riker a stunning development he had witnessed at Forever World, the home planet of the Guardian of Forever.  It seems that Deanna Troi's death has created two separate time lines.  Riker is convinced that Deanna Troi was never meant to die, that she had been murdered by someone wishing to create a far different future.  Riker becomes determined to go back in time and save his Imzadi...

Peter David's Imzadi is the fourth Star Trek the Next Generation novel that I have read.  I think that this creates a rather unique milestone, for I believe that I have now read more Star Trek the Next Generation novels than I have seen actual episodes of the show itself.  That will change, in time, of course.

Imzadi seems to be a rather highly regarded Star Trek the Next Generation novel by both fans of its writer, Peter David, and of the show itself.  All I can say about that is that the book certainly lived up to its hype.  Imzadi works both as a potent love story and as a Trek adventure that crackles with action packed excitement.  Every moment in the doomed relationship, from when Riker first sees Deanna Troi, up to the sad ending of their romantic relationship, rings true emotionally.  The race between Riker and Data to either save Deanna Troi, or to ensure that the established time line is not tampered with, gave the book a nail biter of a conclusion.  I could not tell if Riker would be successful in his queat, or if he would fail.  The other thing that impressed me was how David was able to present the pre-existing characters as real people, with real emotions.  Even though I have read a lot of tie-ins and novelizations for various franchises, I have seldom come across one that is as emotionally powerful as Imzadi.