Star Trek: The Next Generation: Pliable Truths by Dayton Ward

On July 14, 2024 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Tie-in Novel2 Comments

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (Audiobook – 21 May 2024)

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Length: 11 hours

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Leading Star Trek author Dayton Ward presents a compelling new tie-in novel that bridges the gap between two of the franchise’s most iconic shows in the outstanding and impressive Pliable Truths.

I have mentioned a few times on this blog that Star Trek extended fiction is amongst some of the richest and most comprehensive of all the assembled tie-in fiction. There are hundreds of intriguing novels that expand on the universe introduced in the television series and movies, all of which are highly fascinating, especially for fans of the various shows. While I haven’t explored Star Trek extended fiction as much as some other franchises out there, I have had the pleasure of reading several outstanding books, with some of my favourites including The Captain’s Oath by Christopher L. Bennett, The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack and Die Standing by John Jackson Miller. Due to my enjoyment of these previous books, I keep an eye out for new Star Trek releases, and I was very intrigued when I saw that Dayton Ward had released a new book, Pliable Truths.

Dayton Ward is well-known science fiction author who has made a name for himself creating tie-in fiction for several different franchises. Ward’s most comprehensive work involves writing Star Trek novels, with the author writing an intriguing collection of different Star Trek books connected to different series. I have read a couple of Ward’s books in recent years, including The Next Generation novel, Available Light, and the Original Series novel, Agents of Influence. These previous books from Ward both proved to be very impressive, and I had a great time reading them. As such, when I saw that Pliable Truths was written by Ward, I knew it was going to be another fantastic read, especially as the author has a lot of experience writing fiction for the various Star Trek series, periods and timelines. This latest novel, Pliable Truths, while ostensibly tied-into The Next Generation series, also serves as a compelling bridging novel between the events of The Next Generation and its spin-off series, Deep Space Nine.

Following a tumultuous series of events, Starfleet has managed to thwart a planned invasion of a Federation system by the Cardassians. Thrown into political disarray by their military defeat, the Cardassian civilian government has acceded to Starfleet demands and ordered the withdrawal from the occupied planet of Bajor. Long enslaved by the Cardassians, the Bajorans are determined to once again rule themselves, but they first reluctantly require the assistance of the Federation.

To ensure a peaceful transition of power to the new Bajoran government, Starfleet orders Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise to the Bajor to oversee negotiations between the Bajorans and the Cardassians. Still recovering from his own recent trauma suffered at the hands of a Cardassians torturer, Picard is unsure if he is ready to fairly arbitrate the question of recompense and justice. But with no other choice, Picard travels to the massive Cardassian space station orbiting Bajor, Terok Nor.

Attempting to stay neutral and calm, Picard soon finds his patience tested by the disruptive tactics of the Cardassians, as they seek to gain advantage from the chaos surrounding the withdraw. The situation looks to become even more complicated when Ensign Ro Laren receives a message from a long-missing friend, exposing deadly secrets from inside Cardassian space. Forced to balance the needs of the Bajorans with a desire to stop a new war erupting between the Federation and the Cardassians, Picard will need to utilise all his diplomatic skills to salvage the situation. But can even Picard remain calm when he comes face to the face with the man responsible for his recent torture?

Dayton Ward continues to showcase why he is one of the top authors of Star Trek fiction with this compelling and intriguing read. Serving as a brilliant bridge between two key shows, Pliable Truths has an outstanding story behind it that does an amazing job diving into the iconic lore and characters of the Star Trek universe.

Pliable Truths had a great narrative behind it that sought to simultaneously fill in certain gaps between The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, while also producing a standalone narrative that proved quite intriguing to get into. Set between the events of The Next Generation episode Chain of Command and the first episode of Deep Space Nine, Pliable Truth’s main story primarily follows The Next Generation cast, as well as several of the best characters from Deep Space Nine, as they attempt to help Bajor adapt to its independence. At the same time, a separate storyline follows a group of Bajoran labours working at a Cardassian prison camp, whose freedom is threatened by the dark secrets surrounding the camp. I very much enjoyed how both storylines unfolded, as the Cardassian labour camp part of the narrative is quite intense and focuses on a raft of intriguing new characters engaged in a game of cat and mouse, as the prisoners try to work out why they are still imprisoned and how they can save themselves. At the same time, the storyline around the Enterprise crew and Bajor focuses on the attempts to rebuilt Bajor and the future Deep Space Nine space station, as well as the ongoing negotiations between the Cardassians and the Bajorans, moderated by Picard.

This main storyline with the established characters of the two series proves to be an entertaining and enjoyable experience, especially as Ward works in so many references and key characters. The unique interactions between the characters from both shows, most of whom never shared screentime, is very fun, and Ward does a great job playing up both the emotional and entertainment value of these interactions. However, the heart of this story revolves around Picard as he comes face to face with the Cardassians after the events of Chain of Command where he was tortured (“There are four lights!”). This proves to be an emotionally charged part of the story, especially when Picard is required to deal with his former torturer Gul Madred. As Picard is forced to deal with his trauma, his crew encounter a series of complications and sabotages they need to overcome to save the station and the planet.

Both storylines come together extremely well as Pliable Truths nears its end, and I liked how well Ward balanced these separate narrative threads. The darker moments of the Cardassian prison planet serves as an interesting contrast to the fanservice taking place in the main storyline, and I think this combination of storylines made for quite a distinctive narrative that stood on its own. Ward brings a certain amount of tragedy to the end of Pliable Truths, which helped to enhance some of the more positive moments of the story, including Picard regaining his confidence, and the potentially bright future for Bajor. All the main story elements get wrapped up satisfactorily, and I liked some of the entertaining twists that Ward through in there. An overall impressive story and one that will appeal to a lot of Star Trek fans, Pliable Truths was a great read that I couldn’t get enough of.

Now this proved to be a very interesting Star Trek novel which is primarily going to appeal to fans of the franchise. Ward, who knows more than most about Star Trek, does a wonderful job turning Pliable Truths into a compelling bridging novel between the two key series. Showcasing the events that lead to the Federation having a presence on Deep Space Nine and the Cardassian withdrawal from Bajor, Pliable Truth fills in a lot of the gaps between The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. There is a lot of detail covered here in Pliable Truths as result, and I really enjoyed Ward’s take on the story and how the intervening events likely unfolded. As a fan of both shows, I found this to be very cool, especially as Ward layers in a ton of clever and intricate references that fans of both shows, especially Deep Space Nine, will really appreciate. Things like Riker’s legendary win at Quarks, the early machinations of Garak, the reasons behind O’Brien’s decision to stay at the station, and more are all featured here, and Ward obviously had fun including them in his story. Ward also takes the time to cover the various atrocities of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor, which is referenced a lot in the shows, and which becomes a key part of this plot. Discussing the various horrors committed by the Cardassians adds a darker tinge to much of the plot, and the obviously parallels to real-life occupations, ensure the reader comes away very thoughtful. As such, Pliable Truths really is geared towards existing Star Trek fans, although I’m sure casual readers can probably have fun with this book, especially if they have watched some of Deep Space Nine.

One of the best parts of Pliable Truths was the excellent way in which Ward presented several iconic Star Trek characters and utilised them in the plot. All of the key characters from The Next Generation were very strongly featured in Pliable Truths to various degrees, and even a few minor recurring characters had major showings in this book. Each of them is featured in a manner very similar to how they appeared in the show, which I deeply appreciated, and it is a testament to Ward’s abilities as an author that he made them feel very realistic here. The most prominent of these is Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who has the most compelling storyline in the entire novel. Picard, who in the story recently suffered from immense torture during the Chain of Command episodes, is shown to still be in mental recovery during this book, especially as his latest ordeal compounds various other traumatic experiences Picard has suffered over the years. As such, much of this book is dedicated to Picard facing his Cardassian-related demons, which becomes the emotional heart of the story. This becomes especially true when Picard’s former torturer appears, and their resulting scenes together are some of the strongest in the books.

Aside from The Next Generation cast, quite a lot of Pliable Truths is spent focusing on several intriguing figures who would go on to become main characters in the Deep Space Nine series. Ward does a great job setting the scene for them to enter the plot of the new show, and I liked the way in which the author bridged the gaps between their first appearances on Deep Space Nine and their established backstories. The includes focusing on Miles O’Brien and examining the reasons why he chose to leave the Enterprise and become an engineer on the station. Quark and Odo get several fun sequences, Deep Space Nine antagonist Gul Dukat gets to menace around in all his arrogant glory, while Major Kira has an extended sequence with her badass abilities on full display. However, my favourite character appearance was the always entertaining Elim Garak. The “former” Cardassian spy turned “simple” tailor, Garak has some great moments in Pliable Truths as he starts to come to terms with his exile, as well as the growing fortunes of his former comrades/rivals. Ward does an outstanding job capturing the hilarious nature of Garak and his cutting remarks, and he proved to be a fantastic figure in Pliable Truths, especially with his final hilarious, if sinister, scene. I loved seeing earlier versions of several key Deep Space Nine characters in this story, especially as they also have unique interactions with their The Next Generation counterparts, and any fan of the show will have a wonderful time seeing them in action here.

As with most pieces of tie-in fiction I enjoy, I ended up listening to Pliable Truths on audiobook, which proved to be an excellent experience. I personally find that the Star Trek books come across extremely well in this format, and at times it almost feels like you are watching one of the television shows. A lot of this is due to the excellent narration of Robert Petkoff, who has lent his voice to many Star Trek audiobooks over the years. One of my favourite audiobook narrators, Petkoff is well known for his ability to replicate the voices of many of the characters from the Star Trek franchise, especially the original series. His work in Pliable Truths is pretty damn epic, especially as he brings so many classic characters to life with his great impersonations. I felt that his versions of many of the Next Generation cast members, particularly Picard, Riker, Worf and Data, came across extremely well in Pliable Truths, and I also liked his take on the various Deep Space Nine characters that appeared, including Odo, Quark and Garak. In addition to his great take on many of the characters from the show, Petkoff also supplies fitting voices to various new figures who only appear in this book. In this case, Petkoff takes care to really highlight the species of the relevant character, utilising accents and tones associated with them from the show. This excellent voice work really helped to drag me into the story, and I had a brilliant time listening to this wonderful audiobook. Coming in with a run time of 11 hours, this is a very easy audiobook to get through quickly, and I would strongly recommend Pliable Truths in this format.

Pliable Truths was an incredible new Star Trek novel from Dayton Ward that provides fans of the franchise with some great callbacks to two classic television series. Featuring a fantastic story and great interpretations of so many amazing characters, I had a wonderful time listening to Pliable Truths and it was one of the better audiobooks I have so far listened to in 2024.

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Waiting on Wednesday – 2021 Star Trek Tie-in novels

On April 8, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Tie-in Novel, Waiting on Wednesday5 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. In this latest Waiting on Wednesday article, I highlight three amazing sounding upcoming Star Trek tie-in novels that I am particularly excited for.

Now, those people familiar with my blog will know that I like a good tie-in novel and I routinely read and review novels and comics that are extensions of several popular fandoms, including Star Wars, Warhammer, and Firefly. While I have been a major fan of a number of franchises for years, one particular fandom that I have only really gotten into in the last couple of years is Star Trek. Thanks to some of the recent mainstream Hollywood movies, a flurry of reruns on Australian television and some of the newer shows appearing on Netflix, I have started watching more Star Trek stuff in recent years, and I have quickly gotten drawn into this fun franchise. For example, last year I ended up probably watching the most Star Trek I ever have, especially with some of the awesome new shows that came out, (I really enjoyed both Picard and Lower Decks). Unsurprisingly, this increased interest in Star Trek shows and movies has also resulted in me checking out more and more Star Trek novels and even some comics, most of which I have then reviewed on this blog. Many of these, such as The Captain’s Oath by Christopher L. Bennett, Agents of Influence by Dayton Ward and the Star Trek: Boldly Go comic by Mike Johnson and Tony Shasteen, have been very impressive reads, and I am now actively trying to find and review any new Star Trek novels that come out.

2021 is shaping up to be another awesome year for Star Trek tie-in fiction, and I have been keeping a keen eye out for several upcoming Star Trek books. While I still need to check out Star Trek: Picard: The Dark Veil by James Swallow, which came out in January, there are several further books coming out in the next few months that I am quite excited for. Each of these upcoming books sound pretty cool and I am rather keen to check them out, especially as two have been written by some of my favourite authors of Star Trek fiction.

The first upcoming Star Trek novel that I am looking forward to is Star Trek: Discovery: Wonderlands by Una McCormack. McCormack is a fantastic author who has written several great Star Trek novels over the years, including a previous Star Trek: Discovery novel, The Way to the Stars, and the first Star Trek: Picard tie-in novel, The Last Best Hope. I was a particularly fan of The Last Best Hope when it came out last year, especially as it provide an amazing bridge between The Next Generation and Picard television series. As a result, I am very excited to see this great author’s next novel, especially as it is another Star Trek: Discovery novel.

Synopsis:

In a desperate attempt to prevent the artificial intelligence known as Control from seizing crucial information that could destroy all sentient life, Commander Michael Burnham donned the “Red Angel” time-travel suit and guided the USS Discovery into the future and out of harm’s way. But something has gone terribly wrong, and Burnham has somehow arrived in a place far different from anything she could have imagined—more than nine hundred years out of her time, with Discovery nowhere to be found, and where the mysterious and cataclysmic event known as “the Burn” has utterly decimated Starfleet and, with it, the United Federation of Planets. How then can she possibly exist day-to-day in this strange place? What worlds are out there waiting to be discovered? Do any remnants of Starfleet and the Federation possibly endure? With more questions than answers, Burnham must nevertheless forge new friendships and new alliances if she hopes to survive this future long enough for the Discovery crew to find her….

Wonderlands, which is currently has a release date of 18 May 2021, looks set to follow the protagonist of Star Trek: Discovery, Michael Burham, during the period when she was trapped in the desolate future without her friends. This setting opens up many plot opportunities and it will be interesting to see what sort of cool story that McCormack comes up with for this book. Based on her previous novels, I am extremely confident that McCormack will come up with an exciting and compelling read, and I am hopeful that she takes full advantage of the darker story elements of the Star Trek: Discovery series to create something truly memorable.

The next Star Trek novel that I am looking at in this article is the intriguing Shadows Have Offended by Cassandra Rose Clark, which will tie into The Next Generation television series. Shadows Have Offended, which is currently set for release on 13 July 2021, will be the first Star Trek novel from Clark, an author I am relatively unfamiliar with, although I have been meaning to check out her young adult Halo series, Battle Born. Based on the plot details that have been released, Shadows Have Offended will primarily follow Dr Beverly Crusher, Deanna Troi and Worf, as they encounter multiple problems during a seemingly routine mission.

Synopsis:

The USS Enterprise has been granted the simple but unavoidable honor of ferrying key guests to Betazed for a cultural ceremony. En route, sudden tragedy strikes a Federation science station on the isolated planet Kota, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard has no qualms sending William Riker, Data, and Chief Medical Officer Beverly Crusher to investigate. But what begins as routine assignments for the two parties soon descends into chaos: Picard, Worf, and Deanna Troi must grapple with a dangerous diplomatic crisis as historic artifacts are stolen in the middle of a high-profile ceremony… while nothing is as it seems on Kota. A mounting medical emergency coupled with the science station’s failing technology – and no hope of rescue – has Doctor Crusher racing against time to solve a disturbing mystery threatening the lives of all her colleagues…

I quite like the sound of this upcoming The Next Generation novel, especially as Clark has come up with two cool sounding separate storylines, including a medical mystery and a theft, and it will be interesting to see how these come together. I am also curious to see a novel that focuses more on Crusher and Troi than some of the other Star Trek books I have read in the past and it will be interesting to see this story unfold from their perspective. Overall, this should turn out to be a great read and I am quite excited to check it out.

The final Star Trek novel I am looking at here is the next Picard book, Rogue Elements by John Jackson Miller. Miller is another veteran author who has written several exceptional Star Trek books over the years. I absolutely loved Miller’s 2020 release, Die Standing, which, with its complex protagonists and clever plot, was easily one of the best Star Trek books of last year. His next novel, Rogue Elements, is possibly the 2021 Star Trek book I am most excited for, as it will feature one of the best new characters from the Picard show, Cristóbal Rios.

Synopsis:

Starfleet was everything for Cristóbal Rios—until one horrible, inexplicable day when it all went wrong. Aimless and adrift, he grasps at a chance for a future as an independent freighter captain in an area betrayed by the Federation, the border region with the former Romulan Empire. His greatest desire: to be left alone.

But solitude isn’t in the cards for the captain of La Sirena, who falls into debt to a roving gang of hoodlums from a planet whose society is based on Prohibition-era Earth. Teamed against his will with Ledger, his conniving overseer, Rios begins an odyssey that brings him into conflict with outlaws and fortune seekers, with power brokers and relic hunters across the stars.

Exotic loves and locales await—as well as dangers galore—and Rios learns the hard way that good crewmembers are hard to find, even when you can create your own. And while his meeting with Jean-Luc Picard is years away, Rios finds himself drawing on the Starfleet legend’s experiences when he discovers a mystery that began on one of the galaxy’s most important days…

This sounds like it is going to be particularly impressive Star Trek read and I am looking forward to this book. As I mentioned above, I really enjoyed the character of Cristóbal Rios, the damaged private starship captain and his crew of emergency holograms, each of them an alternate version of his own personality and distinctive accent, and I am very keen to see a book follow his early exploits. Rogue Elements also looks to explore some fun crime elements in this darker period of Star Trek history and I love the idea of seeing Rios going up against gangsters, power brokers and relic hunters. Based on the cool sounding plot, the great source material in Picard and Miller’s outstanding writing history, I know I am going to love Rogue Elements and it should be an awesome read.

As you can see, there are some very cool Star Trek books coming out later this year and I truly believe that I will enjoy all three of the above entries. Each of these books sounds extremely impressive and I look forward to seeing what unique stories they contain. I will have to keep an eye out for any addition Star Trek novels later in the year (I know that there is a new Deep Space Nine novel coming out called Revenant, although only limited details are available at this time). Until then, make sure to check out some of my reviews for other Star Trek novels and let me know which Star Trek tie-in books are your favourites.

Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack

On March 4, 2020August 20, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Extended Universe, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Tie-in Novel14 Comments

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (Audiobook – 11 February 2020)

Series: Star Trek: Picard – Book One

Length: 11 hours and 40 minutes

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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Get ready to dive back into the Star Trek universe with Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack, the latest Star Trek novel which ties into the events of the Picard television show. The Last Best Hope is an outstanding novel that serves as a bridge between Star Trek: The Next Generation show and the current Picard series.

Nearly 20 years before the events of Picard, both the United Federation of Planets and the Romulan Star Empire faced an unprecedented calamity. Scientists have just discovered that the Romulan sun is in the process of going supernova, turning into a destructive force that will devastate the Romulan home system and have significant negative follow-on effects on the remaining planets within Romulan Space. In order to ensure the evacuation of their people, the Romulans grudgingly request aid from the Federation, who assign Jean-Luc Picard to the mission.

Picard, promoted to the rank of admiral, quickly finds himself in charge of the largest and most difficult operation in Starfleet history. The evacuation mission is a vast undertaking, requiring Starfleet to relocate hundreds of millions of Romulans to distant planets in only a few short years. Lacking resources and manpower, Picard begins the evacuation process as best he can, with the invaluable help of his new first officer, Rafaella “Raffi” Muskier. Meanwhile, back in the Federation, Geordi La Forge attempts to come up with new ways to increase Starfleet ship production on Mars. The best solution is the creation of a new, synthetic workforce, and La Forge calls in an old colleague, the brilliant scientist Bruce Maddox, who reluctantly halts his lifelong work on artificial life to help build these new synthetics.

As the evacuation progresses, Picard takes solace in every small victory his team can achieve, but this mission seems doomed to fail. Debates from ambitious Federation politicians, distrust and fear from the Romulans they are trying to help, and interference from the Tal Shiar, the Romulan secret police, all hinder the mission. However, Picard is not one to give up easily and is determined to save every Romulan he can from the impending disaster. But even the great Jean-Luc Picard is unprepared for how his mission will end. Everything is about to change, and Picard and the galaxy will never be the same again.

Star Trek is one of those popular franchises that always produces a ton of extra content each year in the forms of novels and comics, so it was no surprise that material related to Picard would eventually be released. The Last Best Hope is the very first Picard tie-in novel, although I expect that additional books will come out in the future. Indeed, IDW has already released a Picard tie-in comic, Countdown, which I will probably check out at some point. This first Picard novel was written by veteran tie-in author Una McCormack, who has previously delivered several great Star Trek books, including last year’s Star Trek: Discovery tie-in, The Way to the Stars. McCormack does an amazing job with The Last Best Hope, producing a captivating and incredible read that expertly leads into the new show.

Before I dive too deep into this review, I think that it is necessary to point out that this book was released on the 11^th of February, between the third and fourth episodes of Picard. That means that this book contains quite a few mentions of events and reveals that occur in the initial episodes of the show, especially as McCormack clearly had early access to the show’s scripts. While this ensures The Last Best Hope a much more complete and in-depth tie-in novel, it does mean that this book contains some spoilers for the television series. In addition, as I have been religiously watching Picard every week, my review is influenced by the events of the first six episodes and it also contains some spoilers from the show.

The Last Best Hope is a wide-ranging Star Trek canon novel, set across several years of Star Trek history (2381 to 2385) that explores one of the biggest prequel events mentioned within Picard, the explosion of the Romulan sun and the attempts by Picard to evacuate them. This leads into a powerful and clever novel which shows all the trials and tribulations associated with this exercise, as well as several other events that lead into the show. McCormack makes excellent use of a number of different character perspectives to create a full and rich narrative around this plot, which also explores some major Picard characters. While I did think that parts of the story ended rather suddenly, with no real lead-in to the disaster on Mars that changes everything, this book is a first-rate novel which I powered through in extremely short order.

One of the major appeals of this book is the fact that it serves as a prequel to the events of Picard and provides readers with additional background and context to the adventures currently happening in the show. This is done in a number of ways, from providing the reader with greater background about certain characters, showing the origins of a number of the storylines from the show and serving as a bridge between the events of Picard and The Next Generation. The Last Best Hope features an excellent introduction to several of the newer characters in the show, such as Agnes Jurati, Raffi, Elnor and the Qowat Milat nuns, and it was intriguing to see how these characters slotted into the pre-history of the show. At the same time, McCormack also examines what happened to several established characters from The Next Generation after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, including Picard, Bruce Maddox, Geordi La Forge and even a little bit about Worf (he becomes captain of the Enterprise!). McCormack also provides an explanation about several key occurrences and storylines that are touched on within the show, such as the creation of the synthetic workers that destroyed Mars, Picard’s resignation from Starfleet and the extent of several key relationships. There are also some potential hints at where the show might go in the future, and I will be interested in seeing if those pan out at all. I was pleasantly surprised with how much background that McCormack was able to fit into The Last Best Hope, and the different revelations and expansions on the information provided in the show make this a fantastic read for those currently watching Picard.

The Last Best Hope features some very impressive character work, and I feel that McCormack did an excellent job capturing the personalities and histories of several key characters from the new show. I really appreciated her portrayal of Picard, and this book featured several key aspects of his character, such as his dark moods, his determination and his ability to inspire absolute loyalty in his subordinates. I liked how the reader gets to see how Picard deals with the seemingly impossible task assigned to him, especially as his emotions throughout the book range from hope to absolute despair, as multiple obstacles and problems seem to dog everything he does. One of the major parts of his character explored in this book is the way that Picard’s ideals and beliefs seem a little out of touch with the world he lives in. This is something that is shown throughout the Picard television show, as the old-school captain is now living in a much darker and more desperate world. I am really glad that McCormack tried to capture this in her novel, and it was really compelling to see Picard being completely oblivious about the darker realities of the galaxy. All of this is really compelling to see, and I think that it serves as a good basis for some of the ways Picard acts in the current show.

Aside from Picard, a number of other characters are featured throughout the book, many of whom have some really interesting and compelling stories. I personally found the tale of Raffi, Picard’s new first officer, to be particularly good, as the reader gets to see how she became so messed up and obsessed with proving that the Romulans where behind the destruction of Mars. You also get a better understanding of why she was so mad that Picard quit on her and the mission, especially after she sacrifices everything for him, thanks to the way he inspired her. McCormack also spends significant time exploring the character of Bruce Maddox, and it was especially intriguing to see this character between his appearances in The Next Generation and Picard. You also got to see the origins of his relationship with Agnes Jurati (indeed, based on release dates you learn about this relationship in this book before it is mentioned in the show), and it was great to see how it unfolded and how close the two of them were. Of course, this also has a more sinister and heartbreaking edge to it if you look back at this relationship after the events of the fifth episode of Picard. I also liked the Geordi La Forge storyline; it was interesting to see his struggle to increase Starfleet ship production. However, the best part of this portrayal occurs at the end of the book, and I will be curious to see how they show off his survivor’s guilt if the character ever appears in Picard.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about this book was the way McCormack slowly starts to alter the tone of the novel to represent the change between the lighter The Next Generation and the darker Picard shows. At the start of the book, the story is more in line with the tone of The Next Generation, with Picard embarking on a humanitarian mission with his idealism and belief in the greater good intact. However, as the mission progresses, things start to get darker, as the various obstacles to the Romulan relief mission become more apparent. The dark and callous manipulation of the Romulan leaders and Tal Shiar as well as the xenophobic politics of certain Federation politicians becomes more and more apparent, resulting in a darker tone. McCormack also attempts to replicate the more adult tone of the current show with a greater reliance on swearing (never have I seen so many F-bombs dropped in a Star Trek novel, oh the humanity!) and hints of mass murder, genocide and extinction-level events. All of this makes for a slightly different Star Trek tie-in novel experience, and I personally enjoyed some of the subtle changes McCormack made to the tone.

I personally really enjoyed seeing the entirety of Picard’s attempts to evacuate the Romulans from their soon to be exploding sun. This has been one of the most fascinating events mentioned in the show, with several parts shown or alluded to in Picard. McCormack really dived into this event, showing many of the various aspects of such an operation, including the science, politics and diplomacy associated with it. From the start, this whole mission is painted as a near impossibility, not just because of the scale of calamity and the number of people affected but because of the mindset and suspicion of the Romulans they are trying to save. To put it into context, this operation would be like the United States trying to evacuate a similar sized country that had North Korean levels of state led secrecy and distrust towards the organisation trying to save them. The sheer scale and difficultly of this mission are constantly raised, and yet Picard and his team seem to find a solution to many of the problems presented to them. Of course, anyone who has seen the first episode of the show knows how this is going to end, so seeing the characters getting so invested in their mission is a bit of an emotional blow. That being said, this book contains a lot more context for some of the Federation’s decisions, and in particular the character of Admiral Kirsten Clancy (Starfleet’s CNC in the second episode of Picard), comes across as a whole lot more sympathetic. Overall, I felt that this was an amazing expansion on the events mentioned in the show, and it was really cool to see how the whole operation unfolded.

Another great facet of The Last Best Hope which made it such an intriguing book was its compelling examination of the Romulan people. McCormack really dives into Romulan culture and society in this book, presenting some intriguing details about this race. In particular, she examines the Romulans’ deep-seated need for privacy and secrecy, which is a defining part of their species. McCormack does an excellent job highlighting how this desire for secrecy impacts them as a race and a culture (secret multi-room Romulan music for the win!), and how they barely trust other members of their own species, let alone members of the demonised Federation. Seeing how this obsession with lies, secrecy and the appearance of saving face with the Federation impacted the species’ chance for survival is a compelling and intriguing part of the book. McCormack also dives into other parts of Romulan culture and society, mainly the role of the Tal Shiar, the Romulan secret police, who have long been a shadowy force within Star Trek lore. Seeing the fear and apprehension that this organisation causes amongst ordinary Romulan citizens, as well as the lengths they will go to maintain secrecy and security, is pretty crazy and it certainly enhances an established Star Trek antagonist species. I also enjoyed seeing more of the Qowat Milat, the Romulan warrior nuns who Picard befriends and helps evacuate from Romulan space. The Last Best Hope contains several encounters with the Qowat Milat, and we get to learn a bit more about them, the role they play in Romulan society and how they interact with the Tal Shiar, with whom they have an adversarial relationship. All of this is deeply, deeply fascinating, especially for those readers who love learning about Star Trek lore, and I really enjoyed seeing all the Romulan inclusions featured in this book.

I ended up listening to the audiobook version of The Last Best Hope, which is narrated by Robert Petkoff. This new Star Trek audiobook runs for 11 hours and 40 minutes, which can be listened to fairly quickly, especially once you get stuck into the compelling story. I really enjoyed listening to The Last Best Hope, mostly thanks to the incredible voice work of Robert Petkoff. Petkoff seems to be the go-to narrator for all things Star Trek these days, as he has lent his superb vocal talents to a huge number of other Star Trek audiobook adaptions in recent years. I have previously enjoyed his work on such books as The Antares Maelstrom by Greg Cox, The Captain’s Oath by Christopher L. Bennett and Available Light by Dayton Ward. In each of these previous books, I have been greatly impressed by Petkoff’s ability to recreate the voices of key characters from the Star Trek television shows, including most of the characters in The Original Series and The Next Generation. He continues this amazing voice work in The Last Best Hope, providing near-perfect impressions of characters like Picard and La Forge, which really helps the reader immerse themselves into the story. While his impressions of some of the newer characters from Picard are not as accurate (keep in mind Petkoff would have recorded this book before Picard aired), he does provide clear and distinctive voices for each of the characters utilised in the books. I also love the accents he provides to the various alien races and nationalities in this book, and I especially enjoy hearing him attempt to replicate the speech patterns of certain aliens, like the Vulcans. Thanks to this incredible voice work, I absolutely loved listening to the audiobook for The Last Best Hope, and I would strongly recommend this format to anyone interested in this latest Star Trek novel.

Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack is an excellent and deeply captivating read which serves as a perfect prequel tie-in novel to the current Picard show. There is so much information and detail about the Star Trek universe prior to the events of the current television series contained within in this novel, and I loved seeing the author expand on the intriguing new universe that has been hinted at in the show. This is a must-read book for all Star Trek fans, especially those who have been loving Picard, and even non-Star Trek fans will enjoy this book’s powerful story and the fantastic plot device of the Romulan rescue mission. The Last Best Hope is probably the best Star Trek novel I have had the pleasure of reading so far, and I am extremely excited to see what other tie-in novels they release around the awesome new Picard series.

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