BOOK REVIEWS -------------- STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION 2 - THE PEACEKEEPERS by Gene Deweese ннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннн Reviewed by Alex Kerr ннннннннннннннннннннн "The Peacekeepers" is the second of the paperback Next Generation novel series and, therefore, readers (those who read the series in order, anyway) will base their expectations of the rest of the series on how this and the other first three or four books shape up. Luckily, "The Peacekeepers" should do a lot to alay any fears you may have had. I found it to be a great book - the first chapter grabs your attention and the rest of the story keeps hold of it until the final page. We initially find the Enterprise heading through open space on course for the nearest Starbase. This journey is interrupted though by the sensor's alert to an `artifact' drifting nearby - an artifact with no life-forms and a single power-source in operation. Scans indicate great age - ten thousand years, and a lack of atmosphere but what turns out to be a derelict ship hides any secrets very well, for nothing else about it appears unusual. However, when an away-team is routinely beamed aboard to investigate they trigger an explosive anti-matter device and a rush to return them to the Enterprise and the device to well away from the derelict ensues. Lt. LaForge and Lt. Commander Data now beam over to investigate further. Suddenly, the derelict reveals its "true colours" and Geordi and Data are beamed to a similar derelict light years distant. Worse still, they find themselves captured by a fearful and suspicious people with no means of communication to the Enterprise. Naturally, the alarmed crew of the Enterprise has no idea what has happened to them. Further investigation follows and an anxious Picard initiates wide sweeping sensor scans of the surrounding space... The initial chapters are certainly gripping and exciting - you can almost imagine the action-packed scenes if this were a film. After a while though, the pace slows down a little although more action does follow at certain points in the storyline. Gene Deweese has a good appreciation of the main characters and it is nice to see Geordi and Data `out of context', as it were, - in a situation where they can't rely on fellow members of the bridge crew. This allows the reader to focus more clearly on them - in fact, having read all the novels up to the current one (No.18) I would expect someone would have had a chance to see all the main characters of the series in greater depth - more so than someone who just watches the TV series. There is only one point I'd like to make on the down side and this is that at times in later sections of the novel, you feel that the pace has slowed down a little too much. There is the odd occasion when you feel that part of the story needs to be quickened a little or given a little more interest. Having said that, this doesn't occur often and does not noticeably detract from the appeal of the novel on the whole. Overall, this is worth buying - certainly one of the better books in the series. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION 3 - THE CHILDREN OF HAMLIN by Carmen Carter нннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннн Reviewed by Alex Kerr ннннннннннннннннннннн Carmen Carter had her first in-depth contact with the crew of NCC-1701D while writing this book. What do I mean by that? Well, even she implies at the front of the book that she was unfamiliar with the crew of the new Enterprise prior to starting work on the novel, and unfortunately it shows. She is also the author of a Classic Trek novel, "Dreams of the Raven" and I fear that she should, at least until she becomes more educated on TNG characters, have stuck to writing Classic Trek. The storyline is not particularly spectacular - though for a first TNG novel I suppose it's not bad. Events take place almost entirely in space, and this does make a (refreshing?) change to having a planet to associate with while reading the book. The Enterprise is ferrying a group of people known as the Farmers to a new home on a newly terraformed planet. An agriculturally based population of humans, they are wary and suspicious of new technology and thus dislike the use of the Enterprise's technological comforts. However, this quickly forms a subplot to the main storyline which concerns the Federation's (via the Enterprise) trade in hostages with the Choraii, an alien race who carried out the infamous Hamlin Massacre fifty years before - killing all the adults and abducting the children. The Federation plans to bargain with the Choraii for the return of the children (now adults) with precious metals which the Choraii require. An ambassador and his translator beam aboard the Enterprise - and come into conflict with the different priorities of Captain Picard. Meanwhile, the search for and chase of the Choraii ensues and a tradgedy awaits the Farmers on their new planet... Carmen Carter has talent as a writer, I'm sure, but as has been proven many times before, it is unwise for someone to write on a subject they do not know enough about. Throughout the book, I felt distinctly uncomfortable with the characters as she portrays them, almost to the point of feeling patronised by them. All the main characters that we, the audience/readers are familiar with are written about in a "wrong" (immature?) way. Read the book and you will see what I mean, although I would suggest that it isn't really worth it unless you insist on reading all the titles in the Pocket Books series. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION 4 - SURVIVORS by Jean Lorrah ннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннн Reviewed by Alex Kerr ннннннннннннннннннннн This novel is in great contrast to the one that preceded it - Carmen Carter's "The Children of Hamlin". Indeed, I have found Jean Lorrah's Next Generation novels to almost upstage the rest of the series, they are so good. Survivors is a prime example of both her work and how to write a damn fine book - Next Generation novel or not. It seems suprising once you have read it how so much story could be fitted into a book of this size, and then you notice that the print is significantly smaller than other novels. You get more for your money in this respect but that isn't a real consideration here - Survivors is worth reading whatever cost. This book may pack a lot of story in, but every moment spent reading it is worth it and makes you want to see more and more. Survivors provides a great insight into two main characters, those of Lt. Tasha Yar and Lt. Commander Data. Jean Lorrah's study of their personalities and characters, interwoven with the storyline is one you know you can trust - her expansion of them fits in with what Gene Roddenberry created very well - although not all of it may be "official". The first chapter tells of how Tasha, a child alone on a hostile planet, was rescued by a Starfleet officer and introduced to a normal life among caring people. That happened some years previously. Now, Data and Tasha are dispatched to investigate a violent revolution on Treva, a planet on the brink of entering the United Federation of Planets... until hostilities broke out. However, all is not as it seems. Tasha and Data soon realise that the official side is the wrong side but Treva's president is determined to have Starfleet's weapons to win her battles - whatever the cost. It's up to you to find out the rest; but I can assure you that the rest won't be dissapointing... Your priorities will change while you read Survivors - it will become a matter of importance to read a few chapters every day. By the end of the book you'll find you can't wait to read the rest of Jean Lorrah's novels - and those are probably even better than this one. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION 5 - STRIKE ZONE by Peter David ннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннн Reviewed by Alex Kerr ннннннннннннннннннннн Different bits (I can't define them any clearer than that) of Strike Zone fall into two different categories: interesting and entertaining. If a `bit' isn't one it's the other and some `bits' even fall into both categories! I prefer the entertaining bits myself - all have a hint of underlying comedy which has been cooked up in Peter David's homegrown style and it certainly adds flavour to the book (sorry, what is this, a cookery class or something!?), as you will see... Anyway, the Kreel (not the Cantovs as the back cover states) who are not only primitive and warlike but are also large, ugly and downright disgusting have come across some extremely powerful and sophisticated weaponry, which has lain on a planet in the uncharted regions of the galaxy for millenia. This weaponry, left by a long gone race, and which is not really understood by the obnoxious Kreel, is now being used to attack their worst enemies, the Klingons. In a rush to prevent all-out galactic war, the Enterprise is assigned to carry two diplomatic teams - one from each side - to the planet, where it will mediate in an attempt to achieve a diplomatic solution - and this is where the "fun" starts. The weapons that Peter David describes are, quite simply, awesome and the Kreel's and then later on the away team's encounters with the weapons and other technology make up a good chunk of the interesting bits. The entertaining (although certainly not from the Enterprise crew's point of view) bits start when both "diplomatic teams" are aboard the Enterprise and it turns out to be largely the fault of the Kreel, although the Klingons don't do too well for themselves either. Although Picard and Worf's security teams make a supreme effort to hold the peace, we eventually find Kreel and Klingons running amok all over the Enterprise while Security desperately tries to regain control. Strike Zone is yet another "good" book in the Pocket Books series which tells its own story and succeeds admirably. It has no great faults and is certainly above average - the Kreel are annoying, the Klingons could be a little more compromising and you feel sorry for Picard and the rest of the crew and there is still tradgedy and lessons for certain members of the crew to learn. Read Strike Zone or miss out... STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION 17 - BOOGEYMEN by Mel Gilden ннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннн Reviewed by John Kitts нннннннннннннннннннннн Picture this: You terminate a holodeck program but instead of finishing normally, you are put in a holodeck simulation of a blank holodeck which leads into a simulation of the Enterprise. How would you know you were still in the program on the holodeck? This fascinating scenario is where Picard, Data and Wesley are placed when Wesley tries to test himself with a customised version of the Kobayashi Maru test, using his childhood boogeymen as adversaries. When they leave the test program, they are more than a little surprised to be jumped by a trio of Boogeymen on a strangely deserted Enterprise. This and their attempts to escape the holodeck are what make up the first half of the book. This part is very enjoyable - even when they have left, it could still be a simulation of the Enterprise. This, it all turns out, is the result of a computer virus brought on board by Eric Baldwin, an old friend of Picard's. This program, linked with the Boogeymen, then tries to take over the real Enterprise (a la "Contagion"). All well and good, but where the book becomes a bit dodgy is when it is revealed that the computer virus is an alien race! Should they wipe the program, saving the ship but killing a race? On the whole, I'd say this was a reasonable book, worth buying and quite riveting in places. 8 out of 10. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION 18 - Q IN LAW by Peter David ннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннн Reviewed by Simon Plumbe нннннннннннннннннннннннн Well, Peter David has done it again! Once again, he's managed to create a superbly written STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION novel, this time featuring the two most popular antagonists the Enterprise has ever had to face - Q and Lwaxana Troi! The plot (well, actually there are three, but I'll come on to these later) revolves around the Enterprise being used as a "function room" for a wedding between members of rival families belonging to the space-faring race, the Tizarin. The Enterprise has been requested to hold all of the festivities which, to Picard's dismay, are schedule to run for a staggering seven days! However, at the pre-wedding party, a couple of unannounced guests arrive. Lwaxana Troi, using the excuse that she is there as the representative of Betazed, and Q, gatecrashing the party and to Picard's horror, he is made welcome by the Tizarin!! And to Picard's surprise, Q is behaving himself!!! Q and Lwaxana then meet and the main plot of the book follows what can only be described as a relationship between the two of them! Then you have the sub-plot of the wedding itself, and a further sub-sub-plot involving Wesley (don't cringe - it's one of the funniest aspects of the whole novel!). When Q and Troi meet, a lengthy relationship follows which ends up with Lwaxana Troi being besotted with Q (she is still suffering the after-effects of going through "the phase"), and Q seemingly feeling the same! They end up spending most of their time together, and.... well, find out for yourself. However, there is a brilliant twist in the plot at the end as we see Q getting his come-uppance! While all this is going on, the relationships between the two rival families gets progressively worse and they soon allow their true feelings towards each other come to the surface which results in each family declaring war on the other! If you're wondering why there is no sign of Vash, the novel is set, according to Peter David anyway, after Deja Q and 3 months before Menage A Troi. I don't really think that there's such a large gap between the two, but that's the only real flaw I noticed. As with all Peter David novels, the characterisation is flawless, and you can actually visualise the dialogue being spoken by John de Lancie and Majel Barrett. The dialogue and actions are just what you'd expect from the two characters. Unlike his previous novel, VENDETTA, Q IN LAW returns to the more humourous style that we are used to from a Peter David novel. The highlights are too numerous to mention, but there are hundreds of in-jokes and there is a brilliant, albeit short scene, where Q gives Worf a gift, along with some great Q/Worf dialogue! As well as this, there is a great running joke throughout the novel referring to the exterior of the Enterprise! To top it all off, there is a cameo appearance by Q2 (as portrayed by Corbin Bernsen) at the end of the novel. Overall this is probably Peter David's best work todate and is probably the best STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION novel out. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION 19 - PERCHANCE TO DREAM by Howard Weinstein нннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннн Reviewed by John Kitts нннннннннннннннннннннн Howard Weinstein is quite a well known STAR TREK author, unfortunately to me it's for his over-emphasis of the ecological message ("Power Hungry" being the best example of this). The story centres on a race that is desperate for a new planet to settle on, but when they sieze an Away Team shuttlecraft which mysteriously disappears before the Enterprise can come to the rescue, it seems there may already be intelligent life on the planet. There are no surprises here, but if you don't mind a dose of "don't think you own the planet" and the garish yellow of the cover you should find this a reasonable read. As always, Mr Weinstein has a nice handling of the characters, both the Enterprise crew and the books own creations. 7╜ out of 10. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION 20 - SPARTACUS by T. L. Mancour нннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннн Reviewed by John Kitts нннннннннннннннннннннн This is a striaghtforward enough story - the Enterprise comes across a ship in need of assistance, which they provide freely. However, the occupants are less than completely honest and the attitude of the Enterprise crew changes when it is discovered that the crew of the other ship are androids. The problems start when a fleet of ships from the android's homeworld arrive demanding the return of the androids as property. The story has elements of many episodes: should Picard let the androids be destroyed? ("The Measure Of A Man"), should he interfere with the planets internal affairs ("Pen Pals") even that the androids were used as slaves until they rebelled and wanted their own place in a society that didn't want them ("The Hunted"). The characterisations are reasonable with the possible exception of Data - if he's not supposed to have feelings in "The Offspring" or in "In Theory", he seems to have some here! If you don't mind the idea that Data ISN'T unique (which I do), this is a reasonable read but not up to the standard of "Q In Law" or "Doomsday World". 7╜ out of 10. STAR WRECK II: THE ATTACK OF THE JARGONITES by Leah Rewolinski нннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннннн Reviewed by Simon Plumbe нннннннннннннннннннннннн This is the long-awaited (ha!) sequel to STAR WRECK: THE GENERATION GAP reviewed in Issue 1. Once again, this paraody sees the two crews of the USS Endocrine, commanded by Captains Jean-Lucy Ricardo and James T. Smirk together on one ship fighting against a new alien race, the Jargonites, who are determined to take over the Earth and force all humans into slavery using their mind-numbing techniques of talking non-stop jargon, trying to persuade everyone to visualise and realise their dreams!! Again, as with the previous novel, the characterisation is superb, and for a change, the actually storyline is quite good. There are quite a few good moments and it will create a few laughs. The more noticeable scenes include a visit to Ten-Foreplay and it's hostess, Guano, and Westerly Flusher worrying about his impending death! However, as with it's predecessor, it's still too damn short! This time, the novel takes up 118 pages, with 20 illustrations and 20 blank pages. For the price of $3.99 (about г2.50), it's far too expensive for what it offers. It would have been a better idea for the author to combine BOTH books into one. Still, it's a vast improvement on the previous STAR WRECK novel and is worth getting if you enjoy parodies. More next issue.