As I write this, I am also experimenting with possibilities: what will I write, what will it mean, what is its purpose? If the tone of these questions sounds excessively ponderous, then that is only a side-effect of what I wonder, here and more generally. I am noticing that although the first few sentences are beginning to accumulate, they are not leading anywhere; circular labyrinths...
Editorial notes: In November 2014, Shai opens his sixth blog dedicated to Superman. While only two posts ever got written in this blog, and only one published, Shai writes extensively about this and other superheroes, altogether dedicating 15 essays and articles to these comic book characters. This post was found in ‘Draft’ mode in the original blog and may be incomplete. It is...
Fortune’s Light is the 15th numbered TNG novel, written by the now well established Star Trek author Michael Friedman. Riker gets a message regarding an old friend who it seems has stolen a politically-significant artefact from the planet Imprima. The minor plot thread sees Data running a holodeck program of an underdog Alaskan baseball team. We get to learn more of Riker’s past in...
Another Howard Weinstein novel, and number fourteen The Next Generation novel. As with Weinstein’s previous TNG novel, the story concerns a planet undergoing political turmoil resulting from environmental problems. In brief: Polluting-aliens need help from eco-aliens whom they exiled a couple of centuries back. Political mish-mash and hand waving is needed from the Enterprise to negotiate...
The Eyes of the Beholders is the number thirteen of the TNG books, and is written by A.C. Crispin. The plot begins quite traditionally with the Enterprise ordered to investigate an area of space from which a number of ships have gone missing. Some sort of field soon captures the Enterprise, and draws it towards its source, which is revealed to be an artificial object of unknown purpose. Once in...
Doomsday World is the twelfth numbered TNG novel, written by a whole host of authors: Carmen Carter, Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, and Robert Greenberger. Carmen previously wrote The Children of Hamlin, which I quite liked; David has already authored two TNG novels by this time (#5, #10), and his proclivity for (and style of) humour comes through in a notable Monty Python reference early on;...
This is number eleven of the TNG novels and Keith Sharee’s only Star Trek novel. Troi has some dreams, the Enterprise follows a signal from a missing ship, some characters are taken prisoners on the planet, and then it’s explained what the dreams had to do with everything, the end. In short. In long: the Enterprise crew find themselves at a planet called Rampart, where a Federation...
This is the tenth numbered TNG novels, and also Peter David’s second. Riker’s off to inspect some terraforming project, permitting for the plot to quickly bifurcate: on the colony Paradise we follow Riker as he catches up with some old friends from his Alaska days, while on the Enterprise various members of the crew (especially Picard and Troi) come to terms with a Quinton Stone, who...
Editorial notes: This post was found in ‘Draft’ mode in the original blog and may be incomplete. It is published here in its original state. It was last updated on 16/04/2010 Now that I have a queue of posts scheduled I thought I could afford to start something new: a focus on a particular author. I decided to do Peter David. A caveat should be noted right here at the start: this will...
The ninth numbered TNG novel, A Call to Darkness is one Michael J. Friedman's first works, and his first TNG foray.Detail from "A Call to Darkness" cover
The plot involves the crew in search of a McGuffin (in this case a missing research vessel) when they discover a shielded planet. Attempts to rescue the McGuffin which lies just past the shield results in the disappearance of key personnel.
