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Star Trek: The Next Generation
Cold Equations: The Persistence of Memory: Book One
A BRAZEN HEIST Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise crew race to find out who has stolen Data’s android brother B-4—and for what sinister purpose.
A BROKEN PROMISE One desperate father risks all for the son he abandoned forty years ago—but is he ready to pay the price for redemption?
A DARING MISSION Against overwhelming odds, and with time running out, Commander Worf has only one chance to avert a disaster. But how high a price will he pay for victory?
A BROKEN PROMISE One desperate father risks all for the son he abandoned forty years ago—but is he ready to pay the price for redemption?
A DARING MISSION Against overwhelming odds, and with time running out, Commander Worf has only one chance to avert a disaster. But how high a price will he pay for victory?
398 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2012
201 people are currently reading
1175 people want to read
About the author
David Mack
112 books668 followersDavid Mack is the New York Times bestselling author of 39 novels of science-fiction, fantasy, and adventure, including the Star Trek Destiny and Cold Equations trilogies.
Beyond novels, Mack's writing credits span several media, including television (for produced episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), games, and comic books.
Follow him on Twitter @davidalanmack or like his Facebook page.
Beyond novels, Mack's writing credits span several media, including television (for produced episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), games, and comic books.
Follow him on Twitter @davidalanmack or like his Facebook page.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
June 6, 2023
What an exciting start! Can't wait to see where the story goes!
January 6, 2016
This is the epic tale about the return of one of the dearest characters in Star Trek universe... Data.
I don't consider that a spoiler since it's like saying that people wouldn't know that Spock returns in Searh for Spock or Kirk on The Return. These kind of returns is something just too big, too great, as people wouldn't know.
Even, the very decision of reading this trilogy is very likely to be based on the knowledge that Data returns.
Honestly, since it was a trilogy, I expected the formal return of him on the third book, not since the first one. Certainy, this trilogy looks even more interesting than I thought of.
This story is a direct sequel of the novel Immortal Coil ( SEE REVIEW HERE ) by Jeffrey Lang, that it's kinda unusual that other author bases a novel on the work by another fellow writer, even more unusual a whole trilogy. But still, since Immortal Coil was so good novel and definitely something too relevant for the literary expanded history of the character of Data, I congratulate to David Mack, the author of this trilogy, to recognize that he shouldn't write the return of Data without mentioning, even using, elements of that previous excellent book.
The story is set ten years after the novel Immortal Coil (a key adventure involving Data) and four years later of the film Nemesis ( where Data sacrificed himself to save the life of Captain Jean-Luc Picard).
Captain Maddox, previously an antagonist to Data, now it's easily one of the strongest voices defending the civil rights to artificial intelligence sentient life forms. He was able to protect the life of B-4 ( a Soong-type android and kinda "brother" of Data ) before the law courts of the Federation. However now, Maddox seems unable to save the very life of B-4 from an inminent cascade failure of his positronic brain due having the Data's memories and that, it's something beyond of B-4's modest capabilities. Maddox requests the help of Commander Geordi La Forge to try to save the life of B-4. However, as soon as the Enterprise barely arrives to Galor IV, an intruder alert sounds on the Starfleet Annex of the Daystrom Institute complex on that world.
All Soong-type androids dissapear! Not only B-4, but also the innert bodies of Lal, Lore and the three early unnamed prototypes.
This is just the beginning of this remarkable book where you will join the mission to find the missing Soong-type androids and in the process you will be able to learn more about the past of the man behind the creation of Data, the one and only Noonien Soong.
One formidable thing about this novel by David Mack, is that regardless that it's the first book of a trilogy, the novel can be read as a stand-alone story if you wish. That's something that I liked a lot by his work on "The Fall" where A Ceremony of Losses ( SEE REVIEW HERE ) that it was the third book of a five-part event and David Mack was able to develop the strongest novel of the event and also with the additional value that it can be read as stand-alone story too.
Definitely this is an excellent novel highly recommended to any fan of the characters of Data and/or Noonien Soong, but also recommended to any reader interested in a very good Star Trek novel.
I don't consider that a spoiler since it's like saying that people wouldn't know that Spock returns in Searh for Spock or Kirk on The Return. These kind of returns is something just too big, too great, as people wouldn't know.
Even, the very decision of reading this trilogy is very likely to be based on the knowledge that Data returns.
Honestly, since it was a trilogy, I expected the formal return of him on the third book, not since the first one. Certainy, this trilogy looks even more interesting than I thought of.
This story is a direct sequel of the novel Immortal Coil ( SEE REVIEW HERE ) by Jeffrey Lang, that it's kinda unusual that other author bases a novel on the work by another fellow writer, even more unusual a whole trilogy. But still, since Immortal Coil was so good novel and definitely something too relevant for the literary expanded history of the character of Data, I congratulate to David Mack, the author of this trilogy, to recognize that he shouldn't write the return of Data without mentioning, even using, elements of that previous excellent book.
The story is set ten years after the novel Immortal Coil (a key adventure involving Data) and four years later of the film Nemesis ( where Data sacrificed himself to save the life of Captain Jean-Luc Picard).
Captain Maddox, previously an antagonist to Data, now it's easily one of the strongest voices defending the civil rights to artificial intelligence sentient life forms. He was able to protect the life of B-4 ( a Soong-type android and kinda "brother" of Data ) before the law courts of the Federation. However now, Maddox seems unable to save the very life of B-4 from an inminent cascade failure of his positronic brain due having the Data's memories and that, it's something beyond of B-4's modest capabilities. Maddox requests the help of Commander Geordi La Forge to try to save the life of B-4. However, as soon as the Enterprise barely arrives to Galor IV, an intruder alert sounds on the Starfleet Annex of the Daystrom Institute complex on that world.
All Soong-type androids dissapear! Not only B-4, but also the innert bodies of Lal, Lore and the three early unnamed prototypes.
This is just the beginning of this remarkable book where you will join the mission to find the missing Soong-type androids and in the process you will be able to learn more about the past of the man behind the creation of Data, the one and only Noonien Soong.
One formidable thing about this novel by David Mack, is that regardless that it's the first book of a trilogy, the novel can be read as a stand-alone story if you wish. That's something that I liked a lot by his work on "The Fall" where A Ceremony of Losses ( SEE REVIEW HERE ) that it was the third book of a five-part event and David Mack was able to develop the strongest novel of the event and also with the additional value that it can be read as stand-alone story too.
Definitely this is an excellent novel highly recommended to any fan of the characters of Data and/or Noonien Soong, but also recommended to any reader interested in a very good Star Trek novel.
June 22, 2016
Awesome story! Very excited to see where the series goes.
October 31, 2018
Mother fucking fuck you again, David Mack. I needed a book to read while travelling and this was all I had on my phone that I hadn't read and I didn't want to spend a ton of time trying to figure out what to read. So I just set aside my latent ire for Mack and jumped in.
And I almost liked it at first! The Ent-E gets up to some shenanigans after some of Data's (recently deceased, in Nemesis, which I still have yet to have the courage to watch) android relatives are stolen from a research base. So the Enterprise crew (minus Riker and Troi, who I guess are the only people to be on a different ship ever) set off on a chase across the galaxy to figure out what happened and to figure out who the Data lookalike is.
This leads them to a desolate planet with a base full of enemy baddies. So Worf, La Forge, and two redshirts (yes, you know what that means) beam down to go on a sneaking mission. All of this is pretty entertaining, you know, forgiving it all the necessary contrivances for all these characters to still be around each other, yadda yadda. And then it stops stone fucking dead in its tracks.
We get the entire backstory of Dr. Noonien Soong, the creator of Data, Lore, B-4. A legend in the field of androids. From his perspective. In first-person present tense.
It's as dreadful as you can imagine. Soong is an egotistical narcissist. And his adventures take place prior to the events of the first quarter of the book. So, despite the false urgency of the present tense, everything is old and boring and extremely tangential to the mystery of the missing androids. And it goes on for so. Long. Ugh.
I'll be honest, I wouldn't have been able to finish the book if I had actually read every chapter. I began to skim through the chapters detailing Soong's fabricated personas, all the ways he was making money, all the experiments he was doing, all the eye-roll-worthy hand-wringing he did about his wife and his children. It was abysmal.
And then, finally, we return to the present day. We're back to third-person past-tense (honestly I could forgive the desire for experimenting with tense shifts if the middle section hadn't been so offensively tedious and overlong) and Worf and La Forge are sneaking around. They shoot and are shot at. They're captured. Then they're saved. Then the book ends.
Stay tuned for the sequel! Right? Hell no. Not until the putrid taste of this book evaporates off my tongue. And who knows how long that will take.
And I almost liked it at first! The Ent-E gets up to some shenanigans after some of Data's (recently deceased, in Nemesis, which I still have yet to have the courage to watch) android relatives are stolen from a research base. So the Enterprise crew (minus Riker and Troi, who I guess are the only people to be on a different ship ever) set off on a chase across the galaxy to figure out what happened and to figure out who the Data lookalike is.
This leads them to a desolate planet with a base full of enemy baddies. So Worf, La Forge, and two redshirts (yes, you know what that means) beam down to go on a sneaking mission. All of this is pretty entertaining, you know, forgiving it all the necessary contrivances for all these characters to still be around each other, yadda yadda. And then it stops stone fucking dead in its tracks.
We get the entire backstory of Dr. Noonien Soong, the creator of Data, Lore, B-4. A legend in the field of androids. From his perspective. In first-person present tense.
It's as dreadful as you can imagine. Soong is an egotistical narcissist. And his adventures take place prior to the events of the first quarter of the book. So, despite the false urgency of the present tense, everything is old and boring and extremely tangential to the mystery of the missing androids. And it goes on for so. Long. Ugh.
I'll be honest, I wouldn't have been able to finish the book if I had actually read every chapter. I began to skim through the chapters detailing Soong's fabricated personas, all the ways he was making money, all the experiments he was doing, all the eye-roll-worthy hand-wringing he did about his wife and his children. It was abysmal.
And then, finally, we return to the present day. We're back to third-person past-tense (honestly I could forgive the desire for experimenting with tense shifts if the middle section hadn't been so offensively tedious and overlong) and Worf and La Forge are sneaking around. They shoot and are shot at. They're captured. Then they're saved. Then the book ends.
Stay tuned for the sequel! Right? Hell no. Not until the putrid taste of this book evaporates off my tongue. And who knows how long that will take.
July 19, 2020
This review contains no spoilers.
I have read a few Star Trek novels here and there, including one that explored Captain Picard's first command mission on the Stargazer, but until this book, I hadn't sampled anything that took place in a timeframe after the final Next Generation movie, Nemesis. It was interesting to see what I presume to be new canon unfolding in this post-Nemesis environment. I liked seeing what my favorite characters were up to, and I felt the characterizations for them were fairly reasonable and consistent. As with other novels that take place in an established sci-fi setting like Star Trek, some of the character traits were a bit obvious, bordering on cliche (Picard tugging on his uniform, e.g.), but I do recognize that it's a fine line between an author letting you know that they are up-to-speed on existing canon and using established character behaviors as a lazy crutch. And I do think the author of this book was pretty firmly on the positive end of the spectrum.
I did nearly give up on this one just a couple chapters in, however, due to a character-introducing technique the author employed that really annoyed me. As a means of offering additional description of key characters without resorting to paragraphs of pure exposition, there were several instances of clunky dialogue that looked something like this:
---
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson sat across from each other at a small table.
"May I interest you in a drink?" Jefferson asked.
"That would be lovely," replied his gray-haired, bespectacled revolutionary companion.
---
The most embarrassing example of this was a reference to a female character as "his long-limbed paramour." I nearly surrendered upon reading that one.
Fortunately, that was, I believe, the final case of that particular descriptive technique. And not long after I read it, the book entered an interesting section that really pulled me in. From that point on, I roared through the rest of it, and I came away with a largely positive feeling toward the novel. I realize, upon reflection, that the part of the plot which involved the actual crew of the Enterprise was quite small, but that doesn't mean the overall story wasn't engaging because it was. I am interested to see, however, whether or not the rest of the crew is featured more prominently in the rest of the trilogy, which I do plan to read. There were plenty of fun goodies for Star Trek fans, likely many more than I even realized because I'm not a hardcore Trekker. But I smiled at many of the references. Recommended for fellow Star Trek fans.
I have read a few Star Trek novels here and there, including one that explored Captain Picard's first command mission on the Stargazer, but until this book, I hadn't sampled anything that took place in a timeframe after the final Next Generation movie, Nemesis. It was interesting to see what I presume to be new canon unfolding in this post-Nemesis environment. I liked seeing what my favorite characters were up to, and I felt the characterizations for them were fairly reasonable and consistent. As with other novels that take place in an established sci-fi setting like Star Trek, some of the character traits were a bit obvious, bordering on cliche (Picard tugging on his uniform, e.g.), but I do recognize that it's a fine line between an author letting you know that they are up-to-speed on existing canon and using established character behaviors as a lazy crutch. And I do think the author of this book was pretty firmly on the positive end of the spectrum.
I did nearly give up on this one just a couple chapters in, however, due to a character-introducing technique the author employed that really annoyed me. As a means of offering additional description of key characters without resorting to paragraphs of pure exposition, there were several instances of clunky dialogue that looked something like this:
---
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson sat across from each other at a small table.
"May I interest you in a drink?" Jefferson asked.
"That would be lovely," replied his gray-haired, bespectacled revolutionary companion.
---
The most embarrassing example of this was a reference to a female character as "his long-limbed paramour." I nearly surrendered upon reading that one.
Fortunately, that was, I believe, the final case of that particular descriptive technique. And not long after I read it, the book entered an interesting section that really pulled me in. From that point on, I roared through the rest of it, and I came away with a largely positive feeling toward the novel. I realize, upon reflection, that the part of the plot which involved the actual crew of the Enterprise was quite small, but that doesn't mean the overall story wasn't engaging because it was. I am interested to see, however, whether or not the rest of the crew is featured more prominently in the rest of the trilogy, which I do plan to read. There were plenty of fun goodies for Star Trek fans, likely many more than I even realized because I'm not a hardcore Trekker. But I smiled at many of the references. Recommended for fellow Star Trek fans.
December 19, 2024
Star Trek: TNG: Post-Nemesis: Cold Equations 01 The Persistence of Memory by David Mack
challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense
Medium-paced
Plot or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes
4.25 Stars
This is a book that got better, and better...as it progressed. I thought I understood the mission of the book, at the beginning, but it was SO much more.
There are parts of this book that didn't work for me, but that doesn't make it a bad book, just one that didn't work for me (at parts).
The middle to the end...is magnificent, and I am SO glad that I read this book. It answered a LOT of questions that I had...after just rewatching Nemesis (again), especially after watching the three seasons of Picard.
The main character is Data, but also Noonian Soong. I have to say, that I like this version of Noonian better than ANY other version of him...in the TV series, or other stories within this franchise.
Something happened in this story that hurt Worf, and I am NOT okay with it...at all. Ugh.
I am really looking forward to the NEXT book within this trilogy of Cold Equations. Will pick it up, soon.
challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense
Medium-paced
Plot or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes
4.25 Stars
This is a book that got better, and better...as it progressed. I thought I understood the mission of the book, at the beginning, but it was SO much more.
There are parts of this book that didn't work for me, but that doesn't make it a bad book, just one that didn't work for me (at parts).
The middle to the end...is magnificent, and I am SO glad that I read this book. It answered a LOT of questions that I had...after just rewatching Nemesis (again), especially after watching the three seasons of Picard.
The main character is Data, but also Noonian Soong. I have to say, that I like this version of Noonian better than ANY other version of him...in the TV series, or other stories within this franchise.
Something happened in this story that hurt Worf, and I am NOT okay with it...at all. Ugh.
I am really looking forward to the NEXT book within this trilogy of Cold Equations. Will pick it up, soon.
January 12, 2022
True to form, David Mack produces a fine novel setting up an exciting trilogy. The question is...where is it going?
What makes this book so excellent is it's conection to Immortal Coil. I personally just read Immortal Coil right before reading this and I am so thankful that I did, because this book really is a sequel to the characters and events of that book. If you haven't read that book, there is a decent chance you will be lost in this one.
This book is all about the android dillema and David Mack faces the monumental task of resurrecting the most famous android of all: Data! It could have been done poorly or as a cliche', but this book handles everything just right.
Over half of the book takes place in flashbacks with Doctor Noonien Soong, as he lives through the Post-All Good Things Star Trek era. He sees events like Nemesis, the Borg Invasion, and more occur through a unique perspective, and while I didn't love every chapter in this sequence, I appreciated the reward Mack was giving longtime readers as well as the cool point of view it created.
The third act of this book reminds me quite a lot of John Jackson Miller's "Prey" trilogy, in that it has quite a few of the same type of events/character deaths/action scenes and has an action thriller vibe to it. However, I think that John Jackson Miller does a much better job of executing his final act and makes his books more propulsive. This book had stakes, but I wasn't too nervous about the characters.
There is a character death here that works on one level, but really should have been left for book 3. It would have been so devastating to the other characters then. There is already another "character death" in this book that has meaning and worked better in the circumstance. It seems like Mack simply wanted to create tension and drama unnecessarily.
This book certainly has a hook for book two, but it's not a strong enough hook to propel the reader into the next book like Destiny, The Fall, or Prey. This is much more of a "classic trilogy" than a "modern trilogy", and as such this book is more stand alone. That would have been great if it wasn't already a sequel to Immortal Coil. Because of this, the book feels disjointed in parts and doesn't draw in the audience properly.
Overall, this was a good book, but not great. The first act is pretty standard Trek, the second act has some great moments but overall seems too long, and the third act was really well done, but had some minor flaws. Overall, I give this book a 7.4 out of 10! Good job David Mack.
What makes this book so excellent is it's conection to Immortal Coil. I personally just read Immortal Coil right before reading this and I am so thankful that I did, because this book really is a sequel to the characters and events of that book. If you haven't read that book, there is a decent chance you will be lost in this one.
This book is all about the android dillema and David Mack faces the monumental task of resurrecting the most famous android of all: Data! It could have been done poorly or as a cliche', but this book handles everything just right.
Over half of the book takes place in flashbacks with Doctor Noonien Soong, as he lives through the Post-All Good Things Star Trek era. He sees events like Nemesis, the Borg Invasion, and more occur through a unique perspective, and while I didn't love every chapter in this sequence, I appreciated the reward Mack was giving longtime readers as well as the cool point of view it created.
The third act of this book reminds me quite a lot of John Jackson Miller's "Prey" trilogy, in that it has quite a few of the same type of events/character deaths/action scenes and has an action thriller vibe to it. However, I think that John Jackson Miller does a much better job of executing his final act and makes his books more propulsive. This book had stakes, but I wasn't too nervous about the characters.
There is a character death here that works on one level, but really should have been left for book 3. It would have been so devastating to the other characters then. There is already another "character death" in this book that has meaning and worked better in the circumstance. It seems like Mack simply wanted to create tension and drama unnecessarily.
This book certainly has a hook for book two, but it's not a strong enough hook to propel the reader into the next book like Destiny, The Fall, or Prey. This is much more of a "classic trilogy" than a "modern trilogy", and as such this book is more stand alone. That would have been great if it wasn't already a sequel to Immortal Coil. Because of this, the book feels disjointed in parts and doesn't draw in the audience properly.
Overall, this was a good book, but not great. The first act is pretty standard Trek, the second act has some great moments but overall seems too long, and the third act was really well done, but had some minor flaws. Overall, I give this book a 7.4 out of 10! Good job David Mack.
May 27, 2018
David Mack does it again! This novel is an excellent piece of Star Trek writing. Mack tells a story that anyone who read IDW’s Countdown to the 2009 movie knew was coming but he does it in an unexpected and very entertaining way.
Data has always been my favourite TNG character and I really enjoy this novel’s explorations of Data’s origins and his family. Mack ties in some great storylines from the original series and TNG TV series while also continuing some stories from previous novels. I can’t wait to start book two!
Data has always been my favourite TNG character and I really enjoy this novel’s explorations of Data’s origins and his family. Mack ties in some great storylines from the original series and TNG TV series while also continuing some stories from previous novels. I can’t wait to start book two!
September 1, 2021
This novel was a little slow in the first few chapters but it got interesting as it went along and then it went straight Star Trek The Next Generation Movie. 😁
SPOILER***give my Klingon a break- damn.
SPOILER***give my Klingon a break- damn.
January 19, 2016
Does an android have a soul?
This question was asked on February 13, 1989 when "The Measure of a Man" premiered on Fox, Channel 11 as watched my yours truly at the tender age of nine. The question is an easy enough one to answer when the robots are indistinguishable from humans, less so when they're more machine-like. If there is a God and he is good, I wouldn't imagine him to deny such a thing to intelligent machines just because they were made by his children than him. However, Star Trek is inherently agnostic because it reflects our world and the question of God is as up in the air today as it will undoubtedly be in the 24th century (and has been since time memorial).
The question of whether Data has a soul is actually a question of whether he has value as a person but, there's a hitch, machines can be repaired where humans can't. If you erase a computer program, you can reboot it if you have the data saved. If you were able to copy a person's memories and upload them to a new body, you would be able to have an exact replica of that person. It wouldn't be that person in literal terms, but it would be indistinguishable.
Or would it?
Lieutenant Commander Data was killed in Star Trek: Nemesis, sacrificing his life to destroy Shinzon's Thalaron super-weapon. His body was killed and, presumably, his soul went on to whatever afterlife (or lack thereof) which awaits us all. However, Data backed up his memories before he died. What are the ethics of using this Data to clone Data or reincarnate him in a new body?
In Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many, B4 chose to voluntarily sacrifice his life to resurrect Data. In Star Trek Countdown, B4 was killed by accidentally uploading Data into his brain. In my tabletop RPG, I had Geordi upload Data into a holographic matrix. Plenty of Star Trek fans have thought of raising Data from the dead using his backups without really questioning whether this is Data or if it reflected his wishes.
To help you understand the ethics if they're elusive to you, how would you feel if (after your death) your friends or family commissioned someone to create an exact copy of you.
The Persistence of Memory examines the question in a surprisingly easy and light manner. An android duplicate of Doctor Noonien Soong, creator of Data and other androids, intends to recreate his deceased son. Doctor Noonien Soong is a figure who believes, perhaps erroneously, he's a transfer of his consciousness rather than just a mental clone in a android's body. For him, the question of whether or not Data is dead is largely irrelevant. For others, they don't want to examine the question, merely have their lost friend back.
Much of the book deals with the life, history, and doings of Doctor Soong. The books take on him is somewhat darker than I expected. I've always viewed Doctor Soong as a harmless eccentric, more Doc Brown than Sivana, possessed of overwhelming arrogance as well as callous disregard for other people's feelings. An example of his almost Howard Hughes-like antics includes building an entirely automated casino on Orion.
Doctor Soong's misanthropy never approaches the level where he's a villain but David Mack illustrates Doctor Soong's flaws run deep as well as wide. Watching his newly immortal android self waste his life accumulating wealth and influence in order to rival an equally immortal associate (TOS Episode "Requiem for Methuselah" character Flint) is sad, especially when we discover someone Doctor Soong cares about more than anyone has gone over to join his side.
The book lacks a confrontation between these figures and I feel kind of bad about this. I really wanted Doctor Soong to show why he was a better inventor than his rival, a better husband, and a better father. Unfortunately, the book prefers to leave Flint in his position as unchallenged master of robotics, which saddens me. Of course, given the book's ending, a form of this confrontation may yet take place.
While the book primarily deals with the immortal Soong android's doings as well as his plot to restore Data, the crew of the Enterprise-E plays a central role. Sadly, this book kills one of my favorite novel-only characters in a manner I felt diminished her character. I'm aware authors have more freedom to kill non-television characters but that doesn't mean it should be done. It seemed a terrible waste to destroy such a promising character to illustrate our heroes' danger.
I won't spoil whether or not Doctor Soong succeeds in his quest to resurrect Data. There's been a lot of controversy over whether or not the book would do it. Personally, I think that ship has sailed. Not only was Spock returned from the dead and many excellent stories done with him thereafter but there have been quite a personal character studies done about death (VOY's "Mortal Coil", "Barge of the Dead", and "Coda" for example). A good story is a good story whether or not it involves resurrection. A hack story is a hack story whether it returns a well-loved character or not.
This is not a hack story.
8/10
This question was asked on February 13, 1989 when "The Measure of a Man" premiered on Fox, Channel 11 as watched my yours truly at the tender age of nine. The question is an easy enough one to answer when the robots are indistinguishable from humans, less so when they're more machine-like. If there is a God and he is good, I wouldn't imagine him to deny such a thing to intelligent machines just because they were made by his children than him. However, Star Trek is inherently agnostic because it reflects our world and the question of God is as up in the air today as it will undoubtedly be in the 24th century (and has been since time memorial).
The question of whether Data has a soul is actually a question of whether he has value as a person but, there's a hitch, machines can be repaired where humans can't. If you erase a computer program, you can reboot it if you have the data saved. If you were able to copy a person's memories and upload them to a new body, you would be able to have an exact replica of that person. It wouldn't be that person in literal terms, but it would be indistinguishable.
Or would it?
Lieutenant Commander Data was killed in Star Trek: Nemesis, sacrificing his life to destroy Shinzon's Thalaron super-weapon. His body was killed and, presumably, his soul went on to whatever afterlife (or lack thereof) which awaits us all. However, Data backed up his memories before he died. What are the ethics of using this Data to clone Data or reincarnate him in a new body?
In Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many, B4 chose to voluntarily sacrifice his life to resurrect Data. In Star Trek Countdown, B4 was killed by accidentally uploading Data into his brain. In my tabletop RPG, I had Geordi upload Data into a holographic matrix. Plenty of Star Trek fans have thought of raising Data from the dead using his backups without really questioning whether this is Data or if it reflected his wishes.
To help you understand the ethics if they're elusive to you, how would you feel if (after your death) your friends or family commissioned someone to create an exact copy of you.
The Persistence of Memory examines the question in a surprisingly easy and light manner. An android duplicate of Doctor Noonien Soong, creator of Data and other androids, intends to recreate his deceased son. Doctor Noonien Soong is a figure who believes, perhaps erroneously, he's a transfer of his consciousness rather than just a mental clone in a android's body. For him, the question of whether or not Data is dead is largely irrelevant. For others, they don't want to examine the question, merely have their lost friend back.
Much of the book deals with the life, history, and doings of Doctor Soong. The books take on him is somewhat darker than I expected. I've always viewed Doctor Soong as a harmless eccentric, more Doc Brown than Sivana, possessed of overwhelming arrogance as well as callous disregard for other people's feelings. An example of his almost Howard Hughes-like antics includes building an entirely automated casino on Orion.
Doctor Soong's misanthropy never approaches the level where he's a villain but David Mack illustrates Doctor Soong's flaws run deep as well as wide. Watching his newly immortal android self waste his life accumulating wealth and influence in order to rival an equally immortal associate (TOS Episode "Requiem for Methuselah" character Flint) is sad, especially when we discover someone Doctor Soong cares about more than anyone has gone over to join his side.
The book lacks a confrontation between these figures and I feel kind of bad about this. I really wanted Doctor Soong to show why he was a better inventor than his rival, a better husband, and a better father. Unfortunately, the book prefers to leave Flint in his position as unchallenged master of robotics, which saddens me. Of course, given the book's ending, a form of this confrontation may yet take place.
While the book primarily deals with the immortal Soong android's doings as well as his plot to restore Data, the crew of the Enterprise-E plays a central role. Sadly, this book kills one of my favorite novel-only characters in a manner I felt diminished her character. I'm aware authors have more freedom to kill non-television characters but that doesn't mean it should be done. It seemed a terrible waste to destroy such a promising character to illustrate our heroes' danger.
I won't spoil whether or not Doctor Soong succeeds in his quest to resurrect Data. There's been a lot of controversy over whether or not the book would do it. Personally, I think that ship has sailed. Not only was Spock returned from the dead and many excellent stories done with him thereafter but there have been quite a personal character studies done about death (VOY's "Mortal Coil", "Barge of the Dead", and "Coda" for example). A good story is a good story whether or not it involves resurrection. A hack story is a hack story whether it returns a well-loved character or not.
This is not a hack story.
8/10
September 1, 2018
Again another amazing David Mack story.
Wow. Everytime I read one of these books by David Mack I'm left eagerly ready to read the next book. So I begin.
Wow. Everytime I read one of these books by David Mack I'm left eagerly ready to read the next book. So I begin.
May 8, 2017
There be spoilers ahead!
First: As a Star Trek novel this book excels whole heartedly. Reading this story was like watching an episode of The Next Generation play out in explicit detail in my mind. This is why I love reading. Fans of the series that do not read the novels have no idea what they are missing out on.
Second: David Mack is an excellent author. I did not encounter a single chapter that felt like it ran on or did not hold my attention. I also enjoyed the fact that some of the chapters were 'bite size' so to speak. This makes reading on lunch while at work or while waiting for an appointment even easier. I myself don't like stopping in the middle of a chapter. Chapters that are 30 pages or more tend to mean I leave the books at home.
Third: I did not expect to read a story such as this. It had all the normal Star Trek nuances that are familiar to a fan of the series. But it had so much more. I always enjoyed the episodes that contained Dr. Soong, Lore, or Lal. Man did I get this in spades! Dr Soong was always an arrogant, self imposed, narcissistic man. But he proved himself a better person than he was before when he realized what his previous 'organic' life brought him, and how his sons needed him. He made the ultimate sacrifice for them and managed to have an honorable death to keep his sons alive.
Finally: DATA IS BACK!!! The sole reason I started watching Star Trek when I was a kid was because of Data. Then when the movie "Nemesis" was released, I was so upset that Data was dead. B4 was nice but not really Data. Now I can not wait to start the second book in the series. I give this book a heavy recommendation to read if you are a fan of "The Next Generation."
First: As a Star Trek novel this book excels whole heartedly. Reading this story was like watching an episode of The Next Generation play out in explicit detail in my mind. This is why I love reading. Fans of the series that do not read the novels have no idea what they are missing out on.
Second: David Mack is an excellent author. I did not encounter a single chapter that felt like it ran on or did not hold my attention. I also enjoyed the fact that some of the chapters were 'bite size' so to speak. This makes reading on lunch while at work or while waiting for an appointment even easier. I myself don't like stopping in the middle of a chapter. Chapters that are 30 pages or more tend to mean I leave the books at home.
Third: I did not expect to read a story such as this. It had all the normal Star Trek nuances that are familiar to a fan of the series. But it had so much more. I always enjoyed the episodes that contained Dr. Soong, Lore, or Lal. Man did I get this in spades! Dr Soong was always an arrogant, self imposed, narcissistic man. But he proved himself a better person than he was before when he realized what his previous 'organic' life brought him, and how his sons needed him. He made the ultimate sacrifice for them and managed to have an honorable death to keep his sons alive.
Finally: DATA IS BACK!!! The sole reason I started watching Star Trek when I was a kid was because of Data. Then when the movie "Nemesis" was released, I was so upset that Data was dead. B4 was nice but not really Data. Now I can not wait to start the second book in the series. I give this book a heavy recommendation to read if you are a fan of "The Next Generation."
December 10, 2014
This book managed to capture the world of Star Trek along with strong science fiction writing. The story feels like a proper Star Trek adventure but it's not just about the characters because this book delivers a lot of detail when it comes to the technical aspects and the realities of the future. I think that's the author's strength - how he manages to bring so much detail to make this book such a strong Star Trek novel. I was so impressed by how immersive this was.
This book delves into the backstory of Dr. Noonien Soong, creator of androids, and manages to bring a character we only see briefly in the TV series, to a very believable and detailed life. The author also made a lot of sense in how he characterized Dr. Soong, as I felt he drew well from what we knew about the character to make him a fully realized and nuanced person. His story makes up a large part of the narrative and even though most of it is backstory, I thought it was the most interesting part of the book.
The mystery behind who is interested in the Soong type androids is the major plot line of this story, and it's a great suspenseful plot point to hold the whole narrative together. The mission the Enterprise undertakes in the end is a great finale to this book - full of danger, heroism, and loss unfortunately. It is a daring mission as the plot synopsis promises, and it's very exciting!
There's something that happens in this book that made me really happy which I can't mention for fear of spoilers, but I thought I should say that is another reason why I enjoyed this book so much. As a Trek novel and as a science fiction adventure, I highly recommend this book!
This book delves into the backstory of Dr. Noonien Soong, creator of androids, and manages to bring a character we only see briefly in the TV series, to a very believable and detailed life. The author also made a lot of sense in how he characterized Dr. Soong, as I felt he drew well from what we knew about the character to make him a fully realized and nuanced person. His story makes up a large part of the narrative and even though most of it is backstory, I thought it was the most interesting part of the book.
The mystery behind who is interested in the Soong type androids is the major plot line of this story, and it's a great suspenseful plot point to hold the whole narrative together. The mission the Enterprise undertakes in the end is a great finale to this book - full of danger, heroism, and loss unfortunately. It is a daring mission as the plot synopsis promises, and it's very exciting!
There's something that happens in this book that made me really happy which I can't mention for fear of spoilers, but I thought I should say that is another reason why I enjoyed this book so much. As a Trek novel and as a science fiction adventure, I highly recommend this book!
December 31, 2012
It has been literally a decade since I read a Star Trek novel, and apparently a lot has changed in the non-canon TNG universe. SPOILERS! The Borg have disappeared (hmmm), Picard and Crusher are married (ok), they have a child (WHAT?!), and Worf has a new lady love (how does one move on from Jadzia Dax? Dude!). This book is a sequel, of sorts, to the last one I read, "Immortal Coil", which was really Data-centric (Data being my all-time favorite character). I picked this one up because it is a sequel of sorts to "Immortal Coil", only this one is about Data's "father", Dr. Noonien Soong. In the beginning, I couldn't believe this book. The writing is kind of atrocious in Part One. There was a line like "The people were screaming as if they had never heard a bomb go off in a crowd before", or something like that, and repeated instances of lines like "The tall, gorgeous Czech-born officer looked at her instrument readout". I wondered if Mack was for real. As it turns out, part two, narrated by Dr. Soong, was completely different and really rather poignant, as the man reflects on his life and tries to figure out a way to get his love and his son (Data) back. This particular quest ends up in an interesting place, and on a bit of a cliffhanger that leaves me eager to read the next two.
November 3, 2012
Persistence of Memory is the first of a new trilogy by David Mack. It takes place 4 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. No, that's not Data on the cover, it's actually his father, Doctor Noonian Soong. We find out that like his mentor, Ira Graves, Soong had plans to subvert death. He moved his mind into his newest and most advanced android. The book is full of Soong type android appearances: Juliana O'Donnell, B-4, Lore, and Lal. If, like me, this hits your cybernetic trek sweet-spot, then I don't think you'll find it disappointing.
I was a bit lost about some of the Memory Beta, non-cannon characters and events, but David Mack handles the transitions and exposition well. I felt that the weakest part of the book was the middle section which switches to the first person narrative of Dr. Soong.
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It was a fun two hour read on a cold and rainy Saturday morning. There *is* a major spoiler in this book. It's been revealed in some online reviews. Don't read them. Go in unspoiled. As Adrian Monk would say, "You'll thank me later."
I was a bit lost about some of the Memory Beta, non-cannon characters and events, but David Mack handles the transitions and exposition well. I felt that the weakest part of the book was the middle section which switches to the first person narrative of Dr. Soong.
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It was a fun two hour read on a cold and rainy Saturday morning. There *is* a major spoiler in this book. It's been revealed in some online reviews. Don't read them. Go in unspoiled. As Adrian Monk would say, "You'll thank me later."
January 31, 2013
David Mack starts off another great trilogy, this one focusing on Data's return. The middle part of the book covers what his father Dr. Soong has been doing, and while the shift to first person was unexpected, I think it worked very well.
The Breen building thousands of androids based on Lore seemed a little bit out of the blue, as did the existence of the rebel Borg plant. I'm not sure how else it could have been set up, but it did seem to need just a bit more.
Something I didn't like: Choudhury's death. It's not that she died but the fact that Worf has lost yet another love interest. It's starting to look like Troi dumped him none too soon.
It's looking like things are being set up for Picard and Crusher to leave the ship and Worf get a promotion. That will be interesting.
Overall, this was a good book, and I'm eager to see where Data goes from here. His character is one of the harder ones to develop, but Mack has definitely moved Data into a new phase in his life.
The Breen building thousands of androids based on Lore seemed a little bit out of the blue, as did the existence of the rebel Borg plant. I'm not sure how else it could have been set up, but it did seem to need just a bit more.
Something I didn't like: Choudhury's death. It's not that she died but the fact that Worf has lost yet another love interest. It's starting to look like Troi dumped him none too soon.
It's looking like things are being set up for Picard and Crusher to leave the ship and Worf get a promotion. That will be interesting.
Overall, this was a good book, and I'm eager to see where Data goes from here. His character is one of the harder ones to develop, but Mack has definitely moved Data into a new phase in his life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2021
One of my favourites of the post Destiny books. Soong's perspective was very interesting and well-written - I totally read that whole section in Brent Spiner's voice.
Data's return was amped up to very nicely, and his reunion with Picard and Crusher was touching.
I didn't see Choudhury's death coming at all! Poor Worf. I had expected them to be an endgame couple - I really hope this isn't just a "kill the girl so the guy can have character development" trope because both deserved better. I also thought Picard and Crusher's reaction to her death was a letdown, I know it was overshadowed by Data's return but they hardly seemed bothered at all, which let the ending of the book down a little for me.
While I was disappointed that Data chose to leave the Enterprise so quickly, I'm looking forward to seeing him on his new mission.
Data's return was amped up to very nicely, and his reunion with Picard and Crusher was touching.
I didn't see Choudhury's death coming at all! Poor Worf. I had expected them to be an endgame couple - I really hope this isn't just a "kill the girl so the guy can have character development" trope because both deserved better. I also thought Picard and Crusher's reaction to her death was a letdown, I know it was overshadowed by Data's return but they hardly seemed bothered at all, which let the ending of the book down a little for me.
While I was disappointed that Data chose to leave the Enterprise so quickly, I'm looking forward to seeing him on his new mission.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2015
Why the hell was a third of this about noonien fucking soong???? Do i actually give a shit about that creepy narcissistic asshole? no, not really. Also, i love how the author pulled the classic 'i'm gonna kill the only woman who actually got more than two lines in the whole book because she's a main character's love interest'. Yes, because that's a plotline i haven't read/watched a THOUSAND times. I'm only giving it three stars because he brought data back.
I mean, how much more self-absorbed can you get than forcibly implanting your own life into your kid's head???? Wasn't the whole point of data's character in the show to show how important self-determination is? it's just plain creepy and manipulative.
I mean, how much more self-absorbed can you get than forcibly implanting your own life into your kid's head???? Wasn't the whole point of data's character in the show to show how important self-determination is? it's just plain creepy and manipulative.
December 26, 2012
This book is getting terrific reviews here and on Amazon, and I have to differ. I've tried three times to push past the halfway point, and I just can't.
Yes, it's well-written. However, it's almost entirely the first-person narration of a very minor guest character from TNG, Data's creator, Professor Soong.
Here, Soong has transferred his mind into an android body, is clinically paranoid, and stalking his ex-wife. That's the story. If for some reason this is interesting to you, go for it. If however you read Star Trek novels for the development of relationships between the series leads and/or the overall Trek universe, this is going to disappoint.
Yes, it's well-written. However, it's almost entirely the first-person narration of a very minor guest character from TNG, Data's creator, Professor Soong.
Here, Soong has transferred his mind into an android body, is clinically paranoid, and stalking his ex-wife. That's the story. If for some reason this is interesting to you, go for it. If however you read Star Trek novels for the development of relationships between the series leads and/or the overall Trek universe, this is going to disappoint.
May 29, 2017
Data lives!
Every time I watch Star Trek: Nemesis there is an empty feeling at the end. Data is gone, but there is a glimmer of hope that he can be resurrected, a glimmer that never gets addressed. A sequel was clearly intended that would've told this story, but it never happened. As far as I'm concerned, this novel was that sequel. It was an imaginative tale that made Data's return feel meaningful without feeling like pure fan service.
It's been many years since I had read any of the post Nemesis TNG books and I've missed many stories in this era, including the final Borg invasion and the rise of the Typhon Pact. Fortunately, I never felt like I was out of the loop as this book served as a great introduction to this era of Trek primarily because of the character arc of Dr. Soong. Instead of dying in the TNG episode "Brothers" Soong transferred his essence into a new android body. We spend a majority of the story following him as he eventually decides to save his two remaining children: B4 and the memories of Data he within him. I don't recall knowing too much about the character of Soong from the TV show, but this novel really dives deeply into his backstory and his motivations. All the various canon elements of the character we know are stitched together well, and what David Mack does to further develop the character as a caring father/creator is well done. At the same time, his arc runs parallel to many events both during and after the era of TNG and the TNG films, which gives readers like me a chance to get the gist of major events that have happened in other books while making me want to read them. The Destiny trilogy really sounds interesting.
I'm curious to see where this trilogy goes next. While Data has returned, he's not quite the same person he was before. As I read it, we don't know everything about this new Data, so there are potentially some hidden motivations that have yet to surface. It's a great way to end part one of this story. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it will tie into the Star Trek 2009 Countdown comic in which Data was captain of the Enterprise. I was hoping it would, but what we are getting from the Cold Equations trilogy is so far proving to be very intriguing and I can't wait to start the next book.
Every time I watch Star Trek: Nemesis there is an empty feeling at the end. Data is gone, but there is a glimmer of hope that he can be resurrected, a glimmer that never gets addressed. A sequel was clearly intended that would've told this story, but it never happened. As far as I'm concerned, this novel was that sequel. It was an imaginative tale that made Data's return feel meaningful without feeling like pure fan service.
It's been many years since I had read any of the post Nemesis TNG books and I've missed many stories in this era, including the final Borg invasion and the rise of the Typhon Pact. Fortunately, I never felt like I was out of the loop as this book served as a great introduction to this era of Trek primarily because of the character arc of Dr. Soong. Instead of dying in the TNG episode "Brothers" Soong transferred his essence into a new android body. We spend a majority of the story following him as he eventually decides to save his two remaining children: B4 and the memories of Data he within him. I don't recall knowing too much about the character of Soong from the TV show, but this novel really dives deeply into his backstory and his motivations. All the various canon elements of the character we know are stitched together well, and what David Mack does to further develop the character as a caring father/creator is well done. At the same time, his arc runs parallel to many events both during and after the era of TNG and the TNG films, which gives readers like me a chance to get the gist of major events that have happened in other books while making me want to read them. The Destiny trilogy really sounds interesting.
I'm curious to see where this trilogy goes next. While Data has returned, he's not quite the same person he was before. As I read it, we don't know everything about this new Data, so there are potentially some hidden motivations that have yet to surface. It's a great way to end part one of this story. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it will tie into the Star Trek 2009 Countdown comic in which Data was captain of the Enterprise. I was hoping it would, but what we are getting from the Cold Equations trilogy is so far proving to be very intriguing and I can't wait to start the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2018
Many years after Jeffrey Lang's Immortal Coil was written, David Mack picked up the ideas Lang had touched on, and ran with them to produce The Persistence of Memory, and I found this one … gobsmacking. It really is something very special indeed, not merely well written but also intricately plotted and with a rather courageous twist: decentralizing the series characters to frame the story through, and around, others for much of the book's running length.
The experiment could have killed this novel at market -- in fact if you look at the reviews here on Goodreads, not everyone likes it and many of those who don't care for Mack's offering cite this departure as their main reason for being dissatisfied. However, there are as many opinions as there are readers, and for me Mack's story worked, so -- it's a five star outing for me, with a strong recommendation. Disclaimer: Data was/is my favorite character, and I also liked his human 'father.' If you didn't, you might have a very different view of this novel. Here's the unavoidable truth: reviews are subjective. So let me be subjective a little longer...
The Persistence of Memory kicked off a threesome of books which were marketed as a trilogy and shouldn't have been. In fact, they're three loosely connected stories that have little in common and certainly don't tell any contiguous story. These tales are wildly different; you'll either like them or you won't. All are uniformly well written, but Silent Weapons and The Body Electric took off in directions which were, alas, directions I hadn't actually wanted to go. I went along for the ride, and it was certainly never boring; but I do wish these novels hadn't been marketed as a trilogy, because they're just not.
It would be mean spirited to mark the other two down to three stars for this reason, not fair to the writer or to the books, because each one, in and of itself, is fine … save that (to my mind) David Mack missed some utterly platinum opportunities. A direction existed in which the Persistence story could have gone, that (for me) would have been as gobsmacking as the first book. Mack didn't go there, and that's fair enough, too. I'm just the reader, sighing over where I'd have gone instead.
The experiment could have killed this novel at market -- in fact if you look at the reviews here on Goodreads, not everyone likes it and many of those who don't care for Mack's offering cite this departure as their main reason for being dissatisfied. However, there are as many opinions as there are readers, and for me Mack's story worked, so -- it's a five star outing for me, with a strong recommendation. Disclaimer: Data was/is my favorite character, and I also liked his human 'father.' If you didn't, you might have a very different view of this novel. Here's the unavoidable truth: reviews are subjective. So let me be subjective a little longer...
The Persistence of Memory kicked off a threesome of books which were marketed as a trilogy and shouldn't have been. In fact, they're three loosely connected stories that have little in common and certainly don't tell any contiguous story. These tales are wildly different; you'll either like them or you won't. All are uniformly well written, but Silent Weapons and The Body Electric took off in directions which were, alas, directions I hadn't actually wanted to go. I went along for the ride, and it was certainly never boring; but I do wish these novels hadn't been marketed as a trilogy, because they're just not.
It would be mean spirited to mark the other two down to three stars for this reason, not fair to the writer or to the books, because each one, in and of itself, is fine … save that (to my mind) David Mack missed some utterly platinum opportunities. A direction existed in which the Persistence story could have gone, that (for me) would have been as gobsmacking as the first book. Mack didn't go there, and that's fair enough, too. I'm just the reader, sighing over where I'd have gone instead.
July 15, 2025
The Enterprise answered an emergency call from Captain Bruce Maddox at the Daystrom Institute. Someone broke in and stole B-4 and the bodies of Lal, Lore and the three prototypes he inherited from Data. B-4 needs help- he's carrying Data's memory engrams, but his system can't accommodate them. If someone doesn't remove those memories from B-4 soon, he will suffer an irreparable cacsade failure.
The Enterprise faked leaving the planet so that the android nappers would try to get away. They followed an unidentified ship containing a Good Samaritan who apparently tripped the alarm and alerted folks to the android thieves, the Breen.
The pursuit leads them to the planet where Lore once tried to modify the Borg into android forms. The Breen found a factory manufacturing copies of Lore's body (minus the functioning positronic brain of course) and came to take them. Worf, Geordi, Lieutenant Choudhury and Ensign Velex slip onto the planet to rescue B-4 and stop the Breen and meet the Good Samaritan who led them there.
Dr. Soong is alive!
We thought the old fart died in the Next Generation TV episode Brothers, but he cheated death. When Data left, he dragged his broken body to his lab where he'd created his most sophisticated android body to date and transferred his consciousness into the new body.
Soong spent several years amassing a fortune so he could buy a planet. He settled for a small moon, where he built a home and built a new android body that would eclipse the one he made for himself. This was for Data- he kept tabs on his sons, and knows B-4 needs help. He wants to save B-4 by pulling Data's memories out and placing them in a new body.
The Breen capture Worf's away team. They kill Velex as expected, but David "D-Murder" Mack lived up to his name again. He had the Breen elite forces leader kill Jasminder Choudhury in cold blood.
Dr. Soong manages to program the millions of androids to attack the Breen en masse. Dr. Soong enlists Geordi's help to transfer Data into his own body- he sacrificed his new life so his son could live on.
The Enterprise blew the factory to bits, but the Breen got away with 120 android bodies.
Great story containing another David Mack shock death, but we have Data back!
The Enterprise faked leaving the planet so that the android nappers would try to get away. They followed an unidentified ship containing a Good Samaritan who apparently tripped the alarm and alerted folks to the android thieves, the Breen.
The pursuit leads them to the planet where Lore once tried to modify the Borg into android forms. The Breen found a factory manufacturing copies of Lore's body (minus the functioning positronic brain of course) and came to take them. Worf, Geordi, Lieutenant Choudhury and Ensign Velex slip onto the planet to rescue B-4 and stop the Breen and meet the Good Samaritan who led them there.
Dr. Soong is alive!
We thought the old fart died in the Next Generation TV episode Brothers, but he cheated death. When Data left, he dragged his broken body to his lab where he'd created his most sophisticated android body to date and transferred his consciousness into the new body.
Soong spent several years amassing a fortune so he could buy a planet. He settled for a small moon, where he built a home and built a new android body that would eclipse the one he made for himself. This was for Data- he kept tabs on his sons, and knows B-4 needs help. He wants to save B-4 by pulling Data's memories out and placing them in a new body.
The Breen capture Worf's away team. They kill Velex as expected, but David "D-Murder" Mack lived up to his name again. He had the Breen elite forces leader kill Jasminder Choudhury in cold blood.
Dr. Soong manages to program the millions of androids to attack the Breen en masse. Dr. Soong enlists Geordi's help to transfer Data into his own body- he sacrificed his new life so his son could live on.
The Enterprise blew the factory to bits, but the Breen got away with 120 android bodies.
Great story containing another David Mack shock death, but we have Data back!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2023
Summary: Bruce Maddox (who originally insisted Data was only a machine in TNG: The Measure of a Man, but now is an AI advocate and even argued for B-4's sentience), has a lab at the Daystrom Institute where he is studying all remaining Soong-type androids (B-4, Lal, a brainless-Lore, and some earlier prototypes). In Nemesis, Data uploaded all his memories to B-4, but since B-4 is a much less advanced prototype, B-4's neural net is in danger of cascade failure due to information overload. Maddox calls the Enterprise for help saving B-4, but moments before Geordi beams down, the lab is attacked by an unknown elite group of infiltrators, who steal all the androids.
The Enterprise sends security teams to the planet to investigate. When a facial recognition camera spots a very Data-looking android, the teams try to intercept but are out-maneuvered at every turn and the android escapes. Back on the Enterprise, they've set up a system of probes, presuming a cloaked ship will be how the androids are transported away. Their plan is initially a success, but the Enterprise can't get a good trace on the cloak--luckily, a small ship, piloted by the android from the planet, takes up pursuit of the cloaked ship (they hope).
Enterprise discretely follows both ships to a desolate planet in Breen space. Because of the Typhon Pact, the Enterprise can't be seen in this system, so the ship hides in the atmosphere of a lightning planet nearby. Picard sends an away team (Worf, LaForge, Choudhury, et. al.) on a covert mission to the surface by launching them in torpedo tubes that burn up in the planet's atmosphere, leaving the passengers inside to parachute drop to the surface. On the planet, they find the android they were tracking, who turns out to be Noonien Soong himself.
Flashback to Soong's life during the events of TNG: After his apparent death in TNG: Brothers, it turns out he actually faked his death and uploaded his mind into his most advanced android yet--just like he did with his wife, Juliana in TNG: Inheritence, but without the built-in self-expiration. His immediate goal was to find Juliana and fix her programming so she won't expire, but she dies before he has a chance. Soong is torn with grief, but decides to devote himself to finding a way to return her to life. However, an old coleague of his, Emil Vaslovik (Flint from TOS, also Cochrane's buddy from the book "Federation") manages to "resurrect" Juliana first--then elopes with her to a distant planet.
Soong, knowing he's lost Juliana forever, sells all his assets, buys himself a moon, and builds a super-advanced lab--turning his efforts towards saving B-4 and bringing Data back to life (Soong hacks into Starfleet transmissions and reads Data's logs to keep tabs on him, and was furious when he found that Data had sacrificed himself to save Picard). Just when Soong has everything about figured out and has built his most advanced android body yet, the Borg launch their invasion into Federation space (Destiny) and destroy his entire planet (they don't even know he's there). Aware that B-4 doesn't have much time left, and with few options remaining, Soong decides to infiltrate the Daystrom Institute, planning to use the computers there to upgrade B-4's programming and save him--but the Breen infiltrate just moments before and steal all the androids.
Present on the Breen planet: The away team discovers an enormous factory, originally built by the dissident Borg from TNG: Descent, but taken over by the Breen (assumedly these Borg were affected by "Destiny" as well). The factory is pumping out millions of copies of Lore, but they lack the complete programming to actually function. The away team and Soong are ambushed by elite Breen soldiers in cloaked suits, and Choudhury (and another red shirt) are vaporized. Soong barters for their lives by saying he can get the androids working, with LaForge's help. Soong does exactly this--and commands all the androids to attack the Breen on sight. With little time remaining before B-4's brain melts, Soong sacrifices himself to save his two sons--he upgrades B-4's programming, and transfers Data's memories into his own body (also granting Data Soong's memories).
Data is back and has a new, more human android body, equipped with proper pink skin and a full range of human emotions. However, he's not sure if he can really be considered the "same" Data or not, since it's a different body but the same memories. Knowing now that his father disapproved of his Starfleet career (since he has Soong's memories), he decides not to accept captain Picard's offer to rejoin Starfleet, and instead wants to track down Emil Vaslovik--so he can bring his daughter Lal back to life.
Review: I'd rate this book 3.5 stars. While the beginning and end were quite intriguing, the whole middle section recounting what Soong was up to during the events of TNG (in first person) really drags on. In fact, a lot of the story is really nothing more than an infodump of what happened during the Soong android TV episodes, with the gaps filled in a bit.
That being said, the story feels totally plausible. It's actually hard to believe Soong never returned as an android in the show itself--everything was set up perfectly, with Ira Graves first showing it was possible to transfer one's mind into an android brain in season 1, and Juliana Trainer being revealed as a perfectly life-like android created by Soong in season 7--it's only logical that Soong would be tricksy enough to fake his own death and copy his mind into an android as well. I was assuming this story would take the easy way out and just "fix" B-4 so he would essentially become the new Data, but having Soong sacrifice his own android body to save him was a much more interesting and poignant solution--and I was elated to see Data back... But how much will this new "Data" resemble the old one?
I really disliked that Choudhury was killed off though. I was just thinking to myself "wow, she's probably the first book-only character that's really starting to make a real footprint" and then DEAD. It seems like such a waste, but I guess every series has to be as "shocking" as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead these days.
Also, the weird guy from the android-club that kept showing up at random intervals never amounted to anything--though I assume he'll turn up later in the trilogy.
One other small thing I really liked though was how Mack explained that Data ~did~ have emotions back in his Starfleet days--Soong programmed him with basic emotions like sympathy, wonder, etc., that Data just never really thought of as true, deep emotions, but they were there all along.
Overall: I liked it, but didn't love it, just because it dragged on a bit too much. I'm hoping though that, like the "Destiny" trilogy, it will get better with each passing book.
The Enterprise sends security teams to the planet to investigate. When a facial recognition camera spots a very Data-looking android, the teams try to intercept but are out-maneuvered at every turn and the android escapes. Back on the Enterprise, they've set up a system of probes, presuming a cloaked ship will be how the androids are transported away. Their plan is initially a success, but the Enterprise can't get a good trace on the cloak--luckily, a small ship, piloted by the android from the planet, takes up pursuit of the cloaked ship (they hope).
Enterprise discretely follows both ships to a desolate planet in Breen space. Because of the Typhon Pact, the Enterprise can't be seen in this system, so the ship hides in the atmosphere of a lightning planet nearby. Picard sends an away team (Worf, LaForge, Choudhury, et. al.) on a covert mission to the surface by launching them in torpedo tubes that burn up in the planet's atmosphere, leaving the passengers inside to parachute drop to the surface. On the planet, they find the android they were tracking, who turns out to be Noonien Soong himself.
Flashback to Soong's life during the events of TNG: After his apparent death in TNG: Brothers, it turns out he actually faked his death and uploaded his mind into his most advanced android yet--just like he did with his wife, Juliana in TNG: Inheritence, but without the built-in self-expiration. His immediate goal was to find Juliana and fix her programming so she won't expire, but she dies before he has a chance. Soong is torn with grief, but decides to devote himself to finding a way to return her to life. However, an old coleague of his, Emil Vaslovik (Flint from TOS, also Cochrane's buddy from the book "Federation") manages to "resurrect" Juliana first--then elopes with her to a distant planet.
Soong, knowing he's lost Juliana forever, sells all his assets, buys himself a moon, and builds a super-advanced lab--turning his efforts towards saving B-4 and bringing Data back to life (Soong hacks into Starfleet transmissions and reads Data's logs to keep tabs on him, and was furious when he found that Data had sacrificed himself to save Picard). Just when Soong has everything about figured out and has built his most advanced android body yet, the Borg launch their invasion into Federation space (Destiny) and destroy his entire planet (they don't even know he's there). Aware that B-4 doesn't have much time left, and with few options remaining, Soong decides to infiltrate the Daystrom Institute, planning to use the computers there to upgrade B-4's programming and save him--but the Breen infiltrate just moments before and steal all the androids.
Present on the Breen planet: The away team discovers an enormous factory, originally built by the dissident Borg from TNG: Descent, but taken over by the Breen (assumedly these Borg were affected by "Destiny" as well). The factory is pumping out millions of copies of Lore, but they lack the complete programming to actually function. The away team and Soong are ambushed by elite Breen soldiers in cloaked suits, and Choudhury (and another red shirt) are vaporized. Soong barters for their lives by saying he can get the androids working, with LaForge's help. Soong does exactly this--and commands all the androids to attack the Breen on sight. With little time remaining before B-4's brain melts, Soong sacrifices himself to save his two sons--he upgrades B-4's programming, and transfers Data's memories into his own body (also granting Data Soong's memories).
Data is back and has a new, more human android body, equipped with proper pink skin and a full range of human emotions. However, he's not sure if he can really be considered the "same" Data or not, since it's a different body but the same memories. Knowing now that his father disapproved of his Starfleet career (since he has Soong's memories), he decides not to accept captain Picard's offer to rejoin Starfleet, and instead wants to track down Emil Vaslovik--so he can bring his daughter Lal back to life.
Review: I'd rate this book 3.5 stars. While the beginning and end were quite intriguing, the whole middle section recounting what Soong was up to during the events of TNG (in first person) really drags on. In fact, a lot of the story is really nothing more than an infodump of what happened during the Soong android TV episodes, with the gaps filled in a bit.
That being said, the story feels totally plausible. It's actually hard to believe Soong never returned as an android in the show itself--everything was set up perfectly, with Ira Graves first showing it was possible to transfer one's mind into an android brain in season 1, and Juliana Trainer being revealed as a perfectly life-like android created by Soong in season 7--it's only logical that Soong would be tricksy enough to fake his own death and copy his mind into an android as well. I was assuming this story would take the easy way out and just "fix" B-4 so he would essentially become the new Data, but having Soong sacrifice his own android body to save him was a much more interesting and poignant solution--and I was elated to see Data back... But how much will this new "Data" resemble the old one?
I really disliked that Choudhury was killed off though. I was just thinking to myself "wow, she's probably the first book-only character that's really starting to make a real footprint" and then DEAD. It seems like such a waste, but I guess every series has to be as "shocking" as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead these days.
Also, the weird guy from the android-club that kept showing up at random intervals never amounted to anything--though I assume he'll turn up later in the trilogy.
One other small thing I really liked though was how Mack explained that Data ~did~ have emotions back in his Starfleet days--Soong programmed him with basic emotions like sympathy, wonder, etc., that Data just never really thought of as true, deep emotions, but they were there all along.
Overall: I liked it, but didn't love it, just because it dragged on a bit too much. I'm hoping though that, like the "Destiny" trilogy, it will get better with each passing book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2020
I almost stopped reading this book when, towards the very beginning, I encountered this sentence:
"Maddox pressed his dirty palms over his eyes, then pulled down, stretching his face into something that looked like it belonged in a funhouse mirror."
Really? A "funhouse mirror"? Was his face made of plastic?
I'm actually very glad I didn't stop, because in spite of the purple prose found in a few spots throughout the book (and this was the worst of them), I ended up enjoying the book very much.
Some other reviewers have criticized the book for the extended portion of it that is told 1st person, present tense, from the viewpoint of Noonien Soong. For me, this is actually where the book really grabbed my interest. I'm a sucker for Star Trek novels, and I'm willing to forgive a lot in them, but one of my complaints would be that at times it seems as though the main characters of all of the various Star Trek series and movies are the only ones that are doing anything worthwhile or exciting. The Soong portion of the book was fascinating to me because it gave a great backstory about Data, and about Soong himself, who was a very minor character in TNG. It also ties very well into several TNG episodes.
The only other issue for me was the fact that for Soong to have told them this story in reality would have taken many hours, and they were in a critical time sensitive mission. However, I get that this is a literary device and I was willing to overlook this. Critics had the same problem with Lord Jim.
All in all, one of the better Star Trek novels I have read, and I'm looking forward to reading book 2.
"Maddox pressed his dirty palms over his eyes, then pulled down, stretching his face into something that looked like it belonged in a funhouse mirror."
Really? A "funhouse mirror"? Was his face made of plastic?
I'm actually very glad I didn't stop, because in spite of the purple prose found in a few spots throughout the book (and this was the worst of them), I ended up enjoying the book very much.
Some other reviewers have criticized the book for the extended portion of it that is told 1st person, present tense, from the viewpoint of Noonien Soong. For me, this is actually where the book really grabbed my interest. I'm a sucker for Star Trek novels, and I'm willing to forgive a lot in them, but one of my complaints would be that at times it seems as though the main characters of all of the various Star Trek series and movies are the only ones that are doing anything worthwhile or exciting. The Soong portion of the book was fascinating to me because it gave a great backstory about Data, and about Soong himself, who was a very minor character in TNG. It also ties very well into several TNG episodes.
The only other issue for me was the fact that for Soong to have told them this story in reality would have taken many hours, and they were in a critical time sensitive mission. However, I get that this is a literary device and I was willing to overlook this. Critics had the same problem with Lord Jim.
All in all, one of the better Star Trek novels I have read, and I'm looking forward to reading book 2.
March 24, 2019
I marked this as a spoiler because I don't want to spoil what happens at the end of Star Trek 10- Nemesis:
Data dies
...but before he does, he uploads his memories into B4, an earlier prototype of him, in typical Star Trek fashion whenever someone dies so they can be "resurrected" later on.
This book is the story of Doctor Noonien Soong. He created, designed and built Data, B4 and Lore. He is extremely depressed at the loss of Data, and sets off on a grand journey to recover his memories and rebuild him. On his way, he will encounter big caveats, capitalist Ferengi, Borg and just simple delays. Many familiar people from the TNG series are in this book, and Picard has… a son?!
The story itself was descent, at times quite predictable but nevertheless fun. I honestly didn’t see why they had to kill Data in the first place (Nemesis got bad reviews anyways) but it provided for a good story.
Data dies
...but before he does, he uploads his memories into B4, an earlier prototype of him, in typical Star Trek fashion whenever someone dies so they can be "resurrected" later on.
This book is the story of Doctor Noonien Soong. He created, designed and built Data, B4 and Lore. He is extremely depressed at the loss of Data, and sets off on a grand journey to recover his memories and rebuild him. On his way, he will encounter big caveats, capitalist Ferengi, Borg and just simple delays. Many familiar people from the TNG series are in this book, and Picard has… a son?!
The story itself was descent, at times quite predictable but nevertheless fun. I honestly didn’t see why they had to kill Data in the first place (Nemesis got bad reviews anyways) but it provided for a good story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2019
This book could have been titled "The Adventures of Noonien Soong".
For the greater part of his adventure, Noonien was on the run from Federation space. That's because he doesn't seem to have a favourable opinion of Starfleet: "I'm not saying Starfleet doesn't serve a purpose or do its share of good in the galaxy, but I'm no fan of the military, especially not its more regressive elements. And don't delude yourself, as 'enlightened' as Starfleet pretends to be, it still harbors a reactionary core."
However, the large chunk of Noonien's backstory interrupted the flow of the storyline, so much so that I almost forgot about the plot at the beginning.
Like some of Mack's other novels, the ending seems a bit rushed. One moment the Enterprise and its away team were in dire straits. Then things took a sharp turn and everyone (well, almost) is reunited and back in business. The resulting "resolution" leaves a lot to be desired.
For the greater part of his adventure, Noonien was on the run from Federation space. That's because he doesn't seem to have a favourable opinion of Starfleet: "I'm not saying Starfleet doesn't serve a purpose or do its share of good in the galaxy, but I'm no fan of the military, especially not its more regressive elements. And don't delude yourself, as 'enlightened' as Starfleet pretends to be, it still harbors a reactionary core."
However, the large chunk of Noonien's backstory interrupted the flow of the storyline, so much so that I almost forgot about the plot at the beginning.
Like some of Mack's other novels, the ending seems a bit rushed. One moment the Enterprise and its away team were in dire straits. Then things took a sharp turn and everyone (well, almost) is reunited and back in business. The resulting "resolution" leaves a lot to be desired.
May 15, 2018
Back into Star Trek again I go. I read this on my Kindle, audiobooks just not an option with most Star Trek books sadly.
Anyway, as you can see on the cover this is a book involving Data, B4 or Sooong or whomever. I happens over 4 years after the last movie Nemesis in which they killed Data and Data had dumped his memories into B4. This is the first of 3 books from one of the better Star Trek authors.
Overall I enjoyed the book pretty well. The characters are for the most part spot on to what they are in the shows and movies. The story works well I think and explains enough of things you may have missed not reading previous books or even seeing all the shows and movies.
Anyway, as you can see on the cover this is a book involving Data, B4 or Sooong or whomever. I happens over 4 years after the last movie Nemesis in which they killed Data and Data had dumped his memories into B4. This is the first of 3 books from one of the better Star Trek authors.
Overall I enjoyed the book pretty well. The characters are for the most part spot on to what they are in the shows and movies. The story works well I think and explains enough of things you may have missed not reading previous books or even seeing all the shows and movies.
June 3, 2022
Serious stuff and a good story too
Way better than the usual pre-teen romance/SF many authors are churning out.
Embedded in the story are serious and explicit considerations of what it means to be human, to be sentient, and whether or not we can actually “build“ self-conscious Entities on the same level as we consider ourselves – or perhaps greater.
The authors use and extension of Isaac Asimov’s positronic brain concept would definitely please the old master.
The detailed formula for creating long-term wealth and independence for a near-immortal should inspire a lot of younger readers as well.
And did I mention it’s a pretty good story too?
Way better than the usual pre-teen romance/SF many authors are churning out.
Embedded in the story are serious and explicit considerations of what it means to be human, to be sentient, and whether or not we can actually “build“ self-conscious Entities on the same level as we consider ourselves – or perhaps greater.
The authors use and extension of Isaac Asimov’s positronic brain concept would definitely please the old master.
The detailed formula for creating long-term wealth and independence for a near-immortal should inspire a lot of younger readers as well.
And did I mention it’s a pretty good story too?
October 2, 2024
Star Trek: Cold Equations (Book 1) is a fantastic addition to the Star Trek universe that had me hooked from start to finish. The ending is particularly satisfying, and I’m sure many fans will feel the same way. I really enjoyed how David Mack brought Data back to life, exploring his journey and the challenges he faces as he reintegrates into Starfleet and reconnects with his friends. Mack’s writing is top-notch, and he skillfully balances action with character development, making the story feel both exciting and meaningful. I can't wait to dive into the next book to see where the adventure goes from here!
July 13, 2020
i read this because it was one of the highest rated tng novels on here...but i can’t for the life of me figure out why??? 1/3 of the book is from the perspective of noonien soong which i thought would be interesting BUT it just feels like a lot of filler for a little information, and if you don’t like cocky assholes, you will be annoyed by his narration. i still enjoyed it for the bits with geordi, worf, and picard, but it’s not really the Return Of Data I was looking forward to. for a more exciting story about Data/Soong i’d suggest Jeffrey Lang’s Immortal Coil instead.
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