There are few extras that went into this book, so if you've sen the episode your not going to miss much by reading this book, save you money from not buying the book and put towards buying the VHS of the episode.

For many fans, Mr Worf is one of the few characters that has taken a life of his own.

Now the newly promoted Captain Benjamin Sisko of Deep Space Nine has another problem: a massive fleet of Klingon warships has arrived at DS9 on a secret mission. Unable to learn anything from an elusive Klingon general, Sisko turns to Lt. Commander Worf, formerly of the Starship Enterprise. Being the only Klingon in Starfleet, he is asked to try and uncover the truth.

What will happen next will be yours to find out.

I just recently bough this book and read it within a week after I recieved it. I have never seen the episode, so this was a great way to find out the whole story behind Worf joining DS9. I had a lot of enjoyment reading the book. I enjoyed that Worf and Gowron interacted with one another. This gave me a lot of insight to Worf with his feelings of after the Enterprise was destroyed and questioning himself if he should stay in StarFleet or go back to Qo'Nos to be what he is..A Klingon. This story was one of the best stories in the trek genre in my opinion [I know that there are other stories that are also very well done.] So if you enjoy stories dealing with Klingons, Worf and DS9 this is one book I would highly recommend!

Call to Arms is the first of two books novelizing the six-episode "Dominion War" story-arc of Deep Space Nine. These six shows were among the best of the series; some of the highest quality television footage ever produced. And they squandered it all in the novelizations. Whereas usually they stretch 1 2-hour show to fill 250 or so pages of text, here they've condensed 6 hours of shows in two 250 page books. It's not a welcome change. Some of the scenes are shown from the same point of view as the show, some from different points of view, but there is very little new materiel, and much of what there is simply isn't enough.

The whole premise of the story is that the Federation is fighting a war against the Dominion, and losing. This is drilled into us, time and again, throughout the book. And yet we never really see this losing. Just about every battle or conflict that is shown here is won, and even when the station is evacuated, it's not really a horrible defeat -- the evac is done on Sisko's own terms. This shouldn't really seem so bad, except it's jarring because that's the whole point of the book, it seems. This book is so proud of itself, filled with little cliches and epiphanies about the nature of war, the devastation, the horror, and yet we see nothing of that except the talk.

However, the book still would have been salvageable if it had had some decent writing, editing, and length. The word Jem'Hadar is not spelled correctly *once* in the entire novel, and even such basic Star Trek words as Cochrane are misspelled. Often sentences are grammatically unsound, and it's unsettling to be jarred out of a battle scene by a sentence that just doesn't make any sense. And worst of all, none of the scenes are written memorably.

And the adaptation isn't that great. Presumably in an effort to save space, there were occasional whole passages that were nothing but dialogue -- no description or anything. While that can be very effective if done right, here it was just annoying. In addition, there were many battle scenes and crash scenes that weren't included in the shows for budget reasons -- and yet for some reason they didn't appear here, either, although the book could have been much more dramatic and fulfilling if they had, rather than just showing us "before the crash" and "after the crash" scenes.

There were a couple of high points here -- Worf's relationship with Alexander and Martok was much more effective here than on the show, and also we got a good look at Jem'Hadar thought processes and motivations here.

Unfortunately, overall this book just wasn't very good and isn't worth getting. Not enough effort, it seems, was put into it to be able to really take anything out of it.

I'm surprised by the low ratings some of the other reviewers have given Books 2 and 4. I was a skeptic about reading a novelization of the series, I thought it would be a boring rehash of events, but Carey's wonderful and imaginative writing won me over. There's plenty of new material not covered in the episodes to make these books interesting and well worth reading! Typically I prefer TNG books, but I think the DS9 Dominion War books are more informative and fun to read than the 2 TNG ones. Please don't let the negative reviews keep you from buying this book, you'll be missing out on a good read.

I am a collector of Star Trek novels of all four series, and I enjoyed this novelization of several of last season's episodes. Because I had the sense to read the back cover of the book when I bought it, I knew it was a novelization, and not a cheap one at that. Diane Carey, as usual, put together a good story with some elements not seen onscreen. Here is an example of a good writer improving on an already excellent story.

I have to admit that outside of the Peter David book, this was the one book in the Double Helix series I was really looking foward to most of all. It's a return, in many ways, to much of Carey's old Trek lore in which we get new characters to know and love and see them interacting with the familiar characters that we know and love from the Trek universe. Her characterizations of everyone are well done and she really gives Eric Stiles an interesting story that's a pleasure to read. Hopefully, we'll see more of him in the future. Another point I liked is that fact that the nature and severity of the virus is increasing over the novels. I only hope the series continues to get better from here on out...

The Star Trek: Double Helix series is about a mysterious villain who is releasing biological agents across the Alpha Quadrant. This time he has targeted the Romulan royal family, and is up to Dr. McCoy and Ambassador Spock to find the cure before the Romulan Star Empire collapses into chaos and a potential devastating border war with the Federation.

That's what the book is supposed to be about. Forget all of that. The Romulans, the plague, Ambassador Spock and Dr. McCoy are all on the sidelines. The real story is about two young people. One is a Starfleet officer who desperately wants to live up to the legacy of his ancestors who served with Captain Kirk and fought in the Romulan Wars. The other, Zevon, is a Romulan prince and scientist, wracked with the guilt that a simple experiment he created led to the destabilization of an entire world. Both spent four years together as POWs in Red Sector, an area of space sealed off from the rest of the galaxy because of its political instability and hostility to aliens. Stiles eventually gained his freedom, but Zevon remained. Now years later, it is up to Stiles to rescue his friend and return him to Romulus, for his untainted blood is the last great hope for a cure.

If this all sounds complicated, it is. Diane Carey is a wonderful veteran Trek writer, but the plot jumps all over the damn place. She tries to do too many things in too little space. You've got the plague, the conspiracy behind it, the Romulans and all of their political intrigue, one last adventure for Spock and McCoy, Eric Stiles' maturation from a young ensign to a hero and officer in his own right, and Zevon's fight to bring peace and stability back to the planet his experiment had ruined.

Nitpicks: 1) This is supposed to be a medical thriller but it's not. 2) The mastermind villain becomes so mysterious he's almost like a cartoon character. 3) Red Sector is such an artificial plot device. I just can't believe the Federation, Romulans, and everybody else would seal off an area of space just because of some anti-alien hostility on a primitive world. 4) For various reasons, it makes much more sense to have Dr. McCoy treating the Romulan royals than Dr. Crusher, who starts acting just like him in her bedside manner. 5) The Top Gun stuff gave me a headache.

Despite all of this, the book is still fun to read. Why? Because the characterization is excellent. Ambassador Spock and Dr. McCoy don't appear often, and rarely together, but when they do they shine. You really do feel like you're seeing legends at work. Even more impressive is the creation of a strong character such as Eric Stiles completely out of scratch. His transformation from a young inexperienced ensign to a hero worthy of Kirk makes up more than enough for all of the book's many flaws.

Red Sector is a fantastic book. It's very refreshing having a book that concentrates almost primarily on a non main character in John Eric Stiles. The character is extremely well thought out and written. The author nailed Spock and a hundred and thirty something Dr. McCoy perfectly. I'm dying to find out who the voice is at this point. Hopefully the next three in the Double Helix series will be as good as this one and the other two. Thank you very much to Diane Carey for an excellent book, even if I don't understand all those sailing terms your books are replete with.

Star Trek - The Next Generation written by Diane Carey is a book of many facets involving the Star Trek genre. This book adds to the history of several different television episodes like one that I can think of "Cause and Effect" and the book Star Trek: First Contact is just beginning at the end of his book.

Like I mentioned, this book seems to tie some lose ends together. There are two main themes in this book that seem to be rather seperated, but later on in the book become apparent that they do interplay. The first is the U.S.S. Bozeman after fighting the Klingon's 70 years earlier is now in their future and we find out what they were up to then as it affects what is going on now. Another time warp anomaly mixing the twenty-third and the twenty-fourth century's timelines. Well, the U.S.S. Bozeman and her Captain, Morgan Bateson are now in their relative future. Bateson pulls rank on Picard and takes the new Starship Enterprise 1701-E on a shakedown, but that's not all as Bateson believes the Klingon Empire is building it's forces and is preparing to strike the Federation. Now the newly minted Enterprise is on a mission to thwart the threat. Secondly, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is sent on a mission to release Federation prisioners held by the Cardassians. As Gul Madred and Picard work out the details for the release Picard hears about what Bateson is upto.

From the book "Relics" Scotty is onboard the new Entrprise as are via holodeck James T. Kirk and others. As Picard works out logistics with Kirk. Captain Bateson is not without enemies and of course the Klingons will oblige with Kozara who has been nursing a grudge for decades.

Now, Captain Jean-Luc Picard has to decide... choose whether to take back command or let Bateson continue. This book pits present Star Trek with past Star Trek as Carey tries to blend it all together. The book moves quickly and the narrative is lively enough to keep your interest... and the out come is in doubt till close to the end of the story.

One look at the cover of Diane Carey's "Ship of the Line" with the faces of Patrick Stewart and Kelsey Grammer tells us this STNG novel is a sequel to "Cause and Effect" (Episode 118), where a temporal loop brought the U.S.S. Bozeman and Captain Morgan Bateson ninety years into the future. But Carey's novel is much more ambitious than that, because not only do we learn what the Bozeman was up to when it was catapulted into the future, we find out what Picard and his crew did after the destruction of the Enterprise-D in the "Star Trek: Generations" movie. In fact, this books ends with the beginning scenes of the "Star Trek: First Contact." But our intrepid author is just getting started for she also works in the characters from the original Star Trek. With Scotty already in the future because of the "Relics" episode of STNG, Carey works in Jim Kirk and the rest by having Captain Picard deal with interactive holographic programs of "Balance of Terror" and "The Enemy Within" episodes of the classic Trek. These provide some of the best scenes in the novel, as Picard questions Kirk about his tactical decisions and the responsibilities of being a Starfleet Captain. However, when Carey also works in Gul Madred, who tortured Picard in "Chain of Command, Part 2," it does become a bit much. I appreciate Star Trek novels that seek to fill in the gaps from the various television series, but Carey does enter kitchen sink territory here.

After the giving us the back story on how the Bozeman's encounter with a Klingon warship led to their being flung into the future, there are two main plot lines to "Ship of the Line." First, Captain Bateson has taken advantage of his seniority in Starfleet to not only oversee the construction of the Enterprise-E but also be in command of its shakedown cruise. Riker and the rest of the bridge crew join Scotty and the Bozeman's original crew, unaware that Bateson's old Klingon adversary Kozara is once again gunning for him. Meanwhile, Picard is heading off to the Cardassian Empire to negotiate with Gul Madred for the release of Federation prisoners. Eventually, of course, these two plotlines will converge. Carey, an avid sailor, works in numerous lines from C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels, and much of the starship action seems more fitting for the high seas than deep space. What will not surprise you is that although Captain Bateson had only a line or two in "Cause and Effect," the character is clearly patterned on Kelsey Grammer. How could you proceed otherwise? In the end we are back to the cover of "Ship of the Line," for it is how Picard deals with Gul Madred and Bateson deals with Kozara that provides the twin climaxes to the novel. There is so much going on here that ultimately the story is simply carrying too much weight, but this is definitely a worthwhile story and an above average effort from Carey. Clearly this is a labor of love for her on many levels.

Author Carey tosses in a lot of material (time travel, Captain Morgan Bateson, Kirk, Klingons, Scotty, Cardassians, etc.) here, and it doesn't quite gel as well as it could. Being an abridged audio, I knew going in that some elements from the book may be compromised, but the adaption is faithful to the novel (for better and worse). The tapes have their ups and downs as the story develops, but I generally found myself looking forward to the next plot advancement. Note that Kevin Conway does a GREAT job with the narration--his voice is powerful and he captures the listener's attention. Having the well known actors from the Star Trek universe perform the readings never fails to bring the story alive for me. Overall, I found the story lingered with me (in a positive way) longer than I expected. SHIP OF THE LINE is a solid, yet unremarkable entry into the Star Trek audio universe.

I give the book 0 stars for plot, and 2 stars for trying to compensate for the idiotic plot. Since this is a novelization, it clearly wasn't the author's fault that she was hamstringed by a bad plot, and she does make some effort to paper over the plot holes here.

I had first seen the final episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine on UPN and I immediately enjoyed it. I then found out there was going to be a novel of the episode and I got it right away. I enjoyed the story and the characters. The episode and the book were very well written.

It was an excellent book! I couldn't put it down. I finished it in a day. Then I read it again. I was disappointed when I saw the episode because the book expanded and explained more. It talked more about how the people felt before they left for the final battle, the Cardassian Resistsance, and why the Female Shapeshifter stood down. I really liked how the author described the battle scenes. I thought the ending was good too because it showed Kira watching all her firends leave. I reccomend this book to all Star Trek fans

If you enjoy a book that jumps straight into the action with both feet and hits the ground running then you should be very happy with "Chainmail", the second Gateways novel. Written by Diane Carey this is the Challenger installment in the series. If you are not familiar with the Challenger crew from the New Earth book "Challenger" you definitely want to read that first and become familiar with the characters or it would be very difficult to enjoy "Chainmail". "Chainmail" includes no familiar Star Trek characters. The story is populated with people entirely created from the imagination of the author.

Nick Keller and crew are the lone Starfleet presence in the recently settled Belle Terre sector. A very different type of crew on a very unique vessel. So it seems appropriate that Keller and company find themselves slap dab in the middle of a really weird situation. What are they to do with a ship full of animated corpses that seems bound and determined to destroy them, and what is it doing in their little corner of space anyway? It's a mystery all right.

This is the type of novel a reader either likes or loathes. A story you really have to pay attention to. Definitely not a light read. I enjoyed the plot immensely and the characters. But at the same time I found the writing style to be a bit too descriptive, very typical Diane Carey. The story is filled with confusion at times, and then suddenly there is a startling moment of clarity. "Chainmail" is certainly different that's for sure. So if you feel in the mood for something different, a mystery/adventure with a true Science Fiction touch and unique characters give it a try. If you're looking for a Star Trek novel of the kind you are typically used to then I would pass on "Chainmail".

This novel doesn't have much to do with the first one in the Gateways series (at least, nothing that is apparent now). If you haven't read the New Earth series, especially "Challenger", you'll be lost. And if you like to read about Kirk and the rest of TOS crew, you'll be disappointed -- they're nowhere to be found. But I think this is a good thing.

One problem with Star Trek books is that the authors have to use characters, locations, and situations that are already familiar to us from hours of TV and movies. You miss the creativity of sci-fi epics where the writer shapes the whole universe (Dune, Heinlein, etc)

Which is why I enjoy the Challenger novels (and Peter David's Excalibur series) -- the authors are free to create totally new crews, and getting to know new characters is exciting.

For instance, in "Challenger", we saw a lot of self-doubt and second-guessing from Nick Keller. There's less of that in "Chainmail" -- he's more confident and more assertive. We see him growing as a Starfleet officer.

This book starts off fairly slowly, and early on there are some chapters written from the aliens' perspective where you have no idea what's going on -- a device I'm not fond of. However, by about halfway through the book all the threads of the story come together, and I couldn't put it down. It's got all the elements that make TOS my favorite Star Trek franchise: a clash of cultures, a mysterious, ancient and powerful civilization, eccentric characters, and a minimum of techno-babble. The characters rely on their brains and diplomacy rather than on technology.

Unfortunately, the novel is just a first part, with a "to be continued" at the end. But at least the book was good enough that I'm anxiously awaiting the continuation.

I found myself unable to stop reading and going back to my room again and again to see wht would happen next. I wasnt the biggest fan of New Earth, but keller made quite an impression on me in the Challenger book. Here, theres no hand holding and no easy reading. any eye closers and bored folks need not apply, this is teh most challenging and unexpected story format In some time. Even though I love NEW FRONTIER, its not quite this challenge filled.

I am amazed I liked this so much, because I see so clearly in my head Bones and Data when they speak in the easy, familiar books I have read, and this is all new stuff, and like algebra instead of multiplication.

I have read every single pocket books star trek novel of every series, so I know of what i speak.

Out of the 4 or 5 hundred novels to date, this easily makes the top 50, and just might be in the top 25.

Bring on more Keller, Diane! You got all the magic!

..most involving either the crew or selected members of it to solve some kind of crisis. And that was the feeling that I was getting when reading this book. The Day of Honor series crosses over four Star Trek series (ST, TNG, DS9, VGR) with a central theme, being the titular Day of Honor, the most important day in the Klingon calendar where "they pay homage to all that makes them Klingon." While Worf is working undercover as part of a planetary criminal network, his son Alexander is exploring one of his human ancestors on the holodeck with Captain Picard in tow. The book switches between the two locales, so there are two stories going on at the same time.

But as I said earlier, a lot of Star Trek fiction just doesn't appeal to me. Maybe because it just keeps getting churned out month after month you get saturated by it. And these big inter-series crossover events happen once a year as well. So I really cannot recommend this book.

This is one of the best Star Trek books I have read. It very neatly splits two story lines and keeps you wanting more of both. Picard teaches Alexander about the Day of Honor in a holosuite program designed around the American Revolution while Worf is on a secret mission fighting DISHONORABLE KLINGONS! Well written and a must for Worf fans.

Tired of those one-episode Star Trek books? The new Day of Honor Series, at least Book 1, promises to be one of the first Star Trek books/series in years with depth. Ancient Blood intertwines two story lines, one a secret mission that challenges Worf's sense of honor and another that teaches his son Alexander about the concept of honor, uniquely not from a Klingon point of view. If you want action, this is also one of the most violent Star Trek stories I've read recently. Let's hope Book 2 is just as good

This novel is the absolute pits. I had to give it one star to review it, but I wouldn't want to give it that. This book was WORSE than the awful episode. I read it hoping I would get an insight into Lore and got zippo. The author obviously does not like the character. Boo Hiss!

Reading novelisations of films or TV episodes can be very satisfying, as the storyline and the characters are given added depth by the extra information that cannot be conveyed visually or within tight time constraints. So I was looking forward to this novelisation about Data's experience of emotion and his unfortunate rediscovery of his brother Lore.
But this book sets a new low standard for Star Trek: The Next Generation novels, at least in my experience. To give her some (limited) credit, Diane Carey tries to deepen this tale beyond a repeat of the script and descriptions of the sets. But she simply lacks the skill, let alone the talent, to do so with any success. Heavy use of a thesaurus and a scattering of awkward, or simply weird, similes, are not a substitute for writing ability. The characters are not brought to life in any recognisable way, and the tone of the whole book is simply off. I continually found myself being surprised by the way the author used/misused the English language. Carey cannot be held responsible, though, for the way the story degenerates in the second half of the book, as Hugh reappears, Lore reveals himself to be a messiah-figure to the Borg, and way too much time is devoted to Dr Crusher's experience of commanding the Enterprise.
On a related note, two things about the storyline really bothered me. First, that Dr Crusher was placed in command of the Enterprise at all is bad enough; that she is never punished for her selfish refusal to obey Captain Picard's orders to go and get help beggars belief. Second, Data executes Lore. Why is it that Lore is never awarded the same rights and considerations as Data? Why can he be switched off permanently because it seems convenient to do so? Why are the consequences of this act to Data never addressed? We have to assume he feels no guilt at all over what he has done.
In the hands of another author, this could have been a very good tale to bring to life as a book. Unfortunately, Carey was a poor choice. Watch the TV episode instead.

I have to disagree with some of the recent low reviews given for this book. I felt the book overall was better than the episode. The author gave more details regarding how Commander Riker dealt with Hugh's feelings of betrayal by the Federation, and I thought the author's portrayal of the holographic characters Data interacted with was quite interesting.

After greatly anticipating a TOS mini series, I feel very let down. I found "Wagon Train to the Stars" the 1st book in the New Earth 6 book series to be almost totally non-interesting. While the story did have 2 or 3 good moments, including a very exciting and unique battle, overall it just didn't catch my interest.

I was looking forward to a grand sweeping adventure featuring TOS entire crew, plus hopefully some interesting characters among the colonists. What I feel I got was a big isn't Kirk the greatest saga. Don't get me wrong, I like Capt. Kirk as much as the next fan. But come on. Almost 2/3's of the text is Kirk talking to himself about how heroic he is forced to be. The other crew members are underutilized. In fact they are barely used at all. Chekov gets a good storyline for once, but it is much too brief and one of the books few highlights.

We are introduced to a few colonists in a cursory way. There are a couple of potentially interesting characters but they aren't used well. Too bad to. It had the makings of a grand adventure. I would pass on this one if I were you. I usually enjoy Diane Carey's Trek novels but this one sadly disappionts.

Well, it's summer time and that can only mean one thing--the beginning of a new, multi-novel Star Trek saga, courtesy of Pocket Books. Last year's Double Helix series was a hit-or-miss affair that dealt with events in the TNG universe. This summer, Pocket treats us to the long-awaited classic Trek crossover series. And first up, is Diane Carey's "Wagon Train to the Stars."

All in all, I've got to say this is a good start to the series. What really works is that Carey plunks us down in the middle of the story and fills in details via flashbacks and the characters interacting. The series takes place between the events seen in The Motion Picture and Wrath of Khan and finds Kirk, having temporarily taken a reduction in rank to Captain, leading a fleet of colonists to a new world that is nine months away. The first novel sets up the secondary characters and establishes the mood and the scene. It also sets into place the fact that the planet our heroes are headed for isn't what it seems (frustratingly enough, one of the characters knows what is going on but refuses to tell any one or give any hints....oh well, I guess it is a six-part series and we'll find out soon enough). Before you know it, Kirk is up to his ears in squabbles, disputes and egos other than his. It's interesting look at Kirk as he tries to deal with leading a group of people that aren't in Starfleet and don't necessarily want or have to follow his orders. There's internal intrigue as well as an external threat or two (the planet the colonists are heading for is at the center of two, ancient warring races and the Orions aren't far behind--seeing the colonists as potential profit in the slave trade). Carey balances a lot of elements to make an entertaining novel and one that sets up events well. The stage is set for the next five books and there's enough mysteries involved to keep me curious as what's to come next.

My only fear is that we won't find out the planet's myterious secret until book six and the other four books will be a holding pattern of sorts. Also, minor characters are being set up to be in conflict and you can see some of Kirk's headahces that are ahead. I only hope Carey and the rest of the authors will take some chances and not give into a standard, cliched Trek storyline.

All that said, I will say that Wagon Train to the Stars is a good start. It's an enjoyable summer Trek read--not too heavy, but not too light. I'm definitely interested to see what happens next.

Wagon Train to the Stars is an interesting twist on the Star Trek concept. The story takes place between the first and second movies and tells the tale of Captain Kirk and his crew leading a band of colonists on their way to a new planet.

Throughout the novel, Kirk and his crew deal with a variety of situations which have been created out of tales of old west wagon trains but now with a sci fi twist. Kirk is essentially the trail boss dealing with dissension, food shortages, colonist fear and finally maurauders as the wagon train makes its way to its new planet.

I found the starship battles to be very interesting and the battle tactics reminiscent of the old Star Trek. The plot line is a good concept and the novel is a good start for a six book series but I found the characters to be a bit different from the characters which we all know and love. For instance, Kirk is a bit more authoritarian than usual. All together though a good, fun read.

Ghost Ship suffers from a problem that too many of the Pocket Trek books share - too much effort devoted to character interaction and too little effort to plot. Authors of media tie-ins - like Star Trek and Buffy - run great risks when they focus too much on the characters. Because the readers are already intimately familiar with the "real" characters, the interactions may seem fake or untrue. Conflicts or backgrounds created by the writers may be superceded by later television or movie episodes. And, ultimately, all the effort spent by the writer to make us care about the characters is wasted. We *already* care about the characters, or else we wouldn't be reading the book!

So very much of Ghost Ship is wasted space. Riker insults Data. Geordi throws a tantrum about it. Riker and Deanna wonder if they can maintain a friendship. Geordi whines about his VISOR. Riker wonders if Tasha likes to wear comfortable shoes (yes, that's right). None of it is particularly moving or interesting. True, Carey was tasked with writing a Next Generation novel very early on in the series - perhaps before she was able to see any of the episodes? But that should have been all the more reason to *avoid* character introspection, and focus instead on what could have been an interesting plotline. The occasionally grossly overdone prose ("[Deanna's] eyes, extra large with their touch of alienness, obisidan as eyes that looked out of a Greco-Roman fresco . . . .") further keeps Ghost Ship from reaching the three-star plateau that most Trek books earn.

To be fair to the author, it is hard to write a completely objective review of this book. The novel was written when the concept was new, the series just beginning and the characters not yet fully fleshed out. I read it, on the other hand, after the series had concluded and the transition to motion pictures successfully completed. Still, the weakness of the book lies not with the inconsistent interaction among the main characters but with the plot itself. We start by meeting the captain and crew of the Sergei G. Gorshkov. In fact, the entire first chapter is dedicated to this introduction. The author makes us curious about these characters, and then does nothing with them. They exist in spirit form throughout the rest of the novel, but do nothing and are never revisited as anything more than a collective group of beings that want to die. The officers of the Enterprise undergo a great amount of soul-searching as they try to decide whether to grant this request or not, but the crew of the Gorshkov are neglected by the alien that absorbed them and by the author as well throughout the bulk of the novel. Ultimately, the reader does not care what decision Captain Picard comes to, because the author never makes us care about the "ghosts" whose fates lie in the balance.

While the plot is disappointing, the interaction among the main characters is worthwhile if for no other reason than to contrast the original concept with their eventual, more developed, incarnations. The highlights are the budding relationship between Giordi and Data and the contradictory early relationship between Deanna and Riker. But at the same time, Giordi is painted as an arrogant and insubordinant brat and Riker an incompetent buffoon when the two are on the bridge.

Bottom line: This isn't a horrible novel, but there are many superior Star Trek books out there (some of them written by Diane Carey herself). If you are going to invest the time it takes to read a book, invest it in one you'll get more out of.

Diane Carey's "Ghost Ship" was certainly an interesting choice for the first Star Trek: Next Generation novel. Written in 1988 it starts in 1995, when a mysterious creature destroys a Russian aircraft carrier and disappears, leaving its planes to land on an American carrier. We then leap ahead 300 years where Counselor Troi wakes up from a nightmare in which the souls lost in that disaster are speaking to her. The creature that destroyed their ship absorbed their life-essences. Of course, the creature has become aware of the Enterprise and the two crews need to work together to stave off a repeat of the earlier disaster. So, on the one hand you have the sense of comradeship for those who sail in ships, rather on sea or through space, but on the other you have a rather rudimentary understanding of the characters. Certainly this is to be expected at that point in the game and Carey works well with the singular dimensions that exist for each STNG character. However, she does do a nice job of developing (anticipating?) the friendship of Data and Geordi and does some nice things with space psychology. Consequently, "Ghost Ship" is an above average novel in this series.