Guises of the Mind

Star Trek: The Next Generation #27

by Rebecca Neason

The world Capulon IV is finally ready to join the Federation aften years of waiting. All that remains is the ruler's coronation and a routine signing of the final treaty. When the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise™ and their passengers—a group of women from a religious order dedicated to helping the downtrodden—arrive for the event they expect to find a world willing and happy to receive them. Instead, they encounter deceit and treachery. The crown prince, once excited and eager to join the Federation, now refuses even to speak with Captain Picard.

Beaming to the surface in an attempt to work out the problem, Picard, Troi, and Mother Veronica, the abbess of the nuns, are drugged and captured. Now they must somehow escape and stop the crowning. If they cannot prevent it, the King will be omnipotent, with the power to destroy the Starship Enterprise and all of Capulon IV as well…

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Star Trek The Next Generation, Fiction, Fantasy, Ebooks, Media Tie In

277 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 1993

Reviews

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Peace and the freedom to be alive is only found through accepting one’s self”

Captain Picard is looking forward to signing a treaty with planet Capulon IV and welcoming them into the Federation after many years of planning and waiting. But when the Enterprise arrives, they find themselves facing deceit, treachery, and violence. The crown prince, once eagerly awaiting his coronation, his marriage, entry into the Federation, his elevation under the beliefs of their world’s religion to the status of absolute deity, and the opportunity to modernize some of his country’s antiquated laws and beliefs now refuses to even meet with Picard and Troi. With her empathic powers and the telepathic assistance of a passenger on the Enterprise – a nun from one of earth’s oldest religious orders – Troi knows something is desperately amiss. But this clock is running quickly and time is short before the prince will have unstoppable power.

The main plot – a standard, but well conceived, riff on good vs evil using the metaphorical personification of good twin vs bad twin – is supplemented with a number of interesting sidebars. Data’s continuing quest for humanity and his search for the puzzling reasons for religion’s thousands of differing portrayals and perceptions of their god or gods; mental illness and the possibilities of its treatment with empathy and telepathy; an imagining of the long term effects of constant mental stimulus and intrusion on a telepath; and, (contrary to the typical Star Trek perception of religion as a quaint artifact of non-advanced societies), a discussion of the possibilities of good works promulgated by good people of religious faith.

GUISES OF THE MIND won’t be winning any Nobel prizes or Booker or Giller awards, but it’s an entertaining diversion and a worthy addition to the ever growing Star Trek canon. Author Neason has fully captured the spirit, the motivations, not to mention all of the personal quirks and foibles of the TNG cast of characters. “Make it so, Number One”.

Paul Weiss

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guises of the Mind is a unique Star Trek: The Next Generation novel #27 in the Pocket Books series. It is novel #1 of 12 Star Trek novels I intend to read this year, and it is unique in the sense that it deals with spiritual matters, a subject that is rarely dealt with and most certainly even rarer, in a positive light. Here, the Enterprise and her crew (specifically Captain Picard and Counselor Troi) are tasked with a diplomatic mission to Capulon IV, a monarchical world attempting to join the Federation with the proviso of also wanting the help of a religious order of nuns to help the populace learn how to care for the less fortunate members of their society. Unfortunately the crew arrives during a time of political upheaval and a "Game of Thrones" type of scenario ensues where everyone's skills and wits must be employed in order to culminate in a successful mission. I think Neason must have a very good background in Catholicism with the way the religious iconography and subject matter are handled so well with sensitivity and awe. The mother superior quotes the Bible with some obvious understanding and knowledge of the text. I was pleasantly surprised. It is my estimation that it is unnecessary to be a Christian believer in order to read and understand this novel. I think most people will find it a unique Star Trek book.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Religion and Star Trek often don't mix well, but this was an enjoyable read.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, really. This is possibly the best quality of writing I've found in a Star Trek book: elegant plotting and smooth pacing. Telepathy as a major theme is handled skillfully, and there are several strong female characters. It's heartwarming and thoughtful to boot, with an emotional arc between Troi and an OC (a sort of protege in telepathic skills) that's quite satisfying. There's even a decently handled thread of religious fervor and spiritual seeking throughout.

I think the only thing that might keep it from holding a special place in my heart is that the plot and moral center of the book is thoroughly monarchical in nature. The question of what makes a good king is not my thing at all, but there's still a lot to enjoy here.

[Jerome · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate science fiction that allows a positive role for religion. Star Trek is usually silent about religion or relegates it to exotic rituals of usually non-human species. Here the Little Mothers are traveling with the Enterprise, and Picard is seen as having always appreciated the role of religion in developing and continuing civilization in spite of a generally dismissive attitude among others at the Academy. The setting enticed me to read this book, and the story line kept me going to the end.

[Allen Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better STNG books I've read.

[Patrick Hayes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This would have been better as an original novel set in its own universe rather than one set in Star Trek universe.

Capulon IV is about to have its newest King crowned, but his twin brother (thought to have been dead since birth) appears and knocks out and locks up the rightful future ruler so that he may be king. The Enterprise arrives because two nuns, members of the Little Mothers, are to help with "different" children on this world, as well as to sign a treaty with the Federation. Picard, Troi, and one of the nuns are captured and then the book becomes a question of escape, stopping the imposter from getting the crown, and getting a treaty signed.

This is only a Trek novel because of the characters. This would have been a massive budget saving episode had it been filmed because only three sets would have been needed: the temple, the prison, and the throne room. There is nothing science fiction about this story, except for latent telepaths. There's a lot dealing with telepathy in this book, but all that's done with it can be expected early on from the reader. It was tedious with one character continually saying they could help with something, running from helping, and then returning to help. Once is fine, twice establishes a pattern, and the third and fourth, etc., is numbing. The final 26 pages add nothing to the story that the reader hasn't already expected.

This was not a poorly written story, but an unsurprising plot. This was not for me.

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

** Spoilers **

This was a quick STTNG read, but not one that I particularily enjoyed. I found the story very simplistic. My son asked what my book was about and I said, "Well, there's this soon to be crowned King, who was a twin he doesn't know about..." and my son said, "And let me guess, he pretends to be the King because he's an evil twin...". I found the planet description lacking. To me, I was picturing a medieval kingdom, and not overly well, so a better description of the planet would be helpful. I was also astounded that the Federation can just show up, see some rather unflattering laws that were never disclosed, and all it takes to join is for the wanting member to pull out a pen and some paper... seems rather flawed to me.

Religion is one of my favourite topics and there is plenty that could've been covered in this story, but it was so horribly slanted towards Christianity, that there was little thought to religions outside of that particular one, except in obligatory mentions. I was disappointed that our new world had a religion with a God that was so interchageable with the Christian god that Christian nuns were invited to help out with some loosely referred to helping children during the change of the above mentioned previously not mentioned law!

Not one to keep on my like list, for sure.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a little bit since a Star Trek novel really got me thinking and I was surprised by this one. Though early impressions made me think that it was going to be another run-of-the-mill story and TNG's version of Shadow Lord mixed with the Man in the Iron Mask it actually presented a lot of great viewpoints on religion and especially faith. This was presented through one of the nun's crisis as she deals with her telepathic gifts and then Data's study into faith as well. Though I thought the book was copping out on the whole idea it actually turned it around and made it a little deeper in the end. Usually Star Trek approaches religions and faith as old ideas unless it's from Vulcan so it was nice for a book such and this to not approach ideas such as God and Faith in such a negative light.

[Richard Sampson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book left me a bit mixed in my opinion of it. I praise that when the key parts of the story were reached, things moved at a good pace, but the build up seemed at first tedious. It wasn't until I reached the final hurdle in this adventured that I understood its need.

I did like how this book addressed faith and such. That was a strong point for the Deep Space Nine series, and it was nice that this book added that element. For those of you who enjoyed Deep Space Nine's faith linked elements, I would recommend this title, but not if you want a lot of action.

[LeePS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Telepathy is an intriguing premise and the Star Trek Universe is an ideal backdrop to explore the challenges and benefits this Gift would represent. Guises of the mind shares different perspectives of telepathy and sprinkles faith, duty, love, ambition and revenge to provide an interesting story devoid of the usual technology baffledom.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an adventure, I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed the use of telepathy and the teaching techniques used in it.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorites. Well-written, fascinating, perceptive. Makes good use of the ST world and characters, but adds important & interesting new ones. I particularly liked the fact that there were several heroes, mostly women as it happens, who were needed to save the 'fate of the planet.'

I like one of the last lines: "for the first time, and for all time." I like the portrayal of the nuns, and the council members, the good guys & the bad guys, the major characters & the minor. I like the exploration of faith, Truth, God, Justice. [sic]

I really like the new king and want to be a citizen of this planetary kingdom.

Not a perfect book, but I would love to read more, ST or not, by Neason.

Next in the series has a lot to live up to!

(Btw, I am an atheist who doesn't like to read about political intrigue, and I still loved this!)

[R · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally finished (skimmed/gave up) on this book today. I have been trying to make my way through it for about a year (taking breaks and reading other books, in the meantime). I used to be a really big Deanna Troi fan, but I had a negative personal experience with the actress, so I thought that was coloring my enjoyment of the book (or my ability to enjoy the character).

In the end, I finally accepted that this book was just not very interesting to me. It had some interesting moments. I expected to be very interested in the "deep dive" into telepathic training, as well as some further fleshing out of the Betazoid species, but those things weren't enough to really hold my interest through everything else.

I've read some great Star Trek books, but this one wasn't one that did it for me, personally. Of course, everyone is different, and you might love it!

[Jay Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story which delves into religion and Deanna Troi is the center character. A nun with a similar gift is highly troubled and Deanna tries to teach her how to block the thoughts of others. They get to a planet where the incoming king is bringing his world into the Federation. A twin that seeks revenge for being forced into the background imprisons the King, Picard, Troi and the nun. Troi and the nun are center stage in the resolution of this dilemma.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid book with good character voice and a fairly interesting plotline. Troi seemed less pointless than usual. The ending was a little too neat, with the whole society fixing itself really quickly. Overall a good read.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has Deanna Troi as one of the main characters. It explains her emphatic abilities and how it affects how she interacts with others in her professional and personal life (loved the reference to her bond with Will Riker). An enjoyable book about a very interesting character.

[Sven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plodding, a bit slow, pretty heavy-handed in parts, there's better sets and settings to play with palace intrigue and there have been many more thoughtful ways to examine the role of religion in Trek. Solidly mediocre.

[Michael Duane Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met the author at Rustycon 07 in 1990, at a steampunk panel that she'd been drafted into. She was very engaging. I'm sorry she's passed away. This book was well done with an interesting take on how certain religions might evolve in the 24th century.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was amazing! Whoda thunkit that Star Trek and religion would fit so well together. However, the moral of the story I learned is that politicians, whether they're real or made up; here or across the galaxy are all cut from the same sleazy trashy cloth.

[Ciaran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable tng entry if somewhat predictable

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good Trek story. The quality of these varies hugely, but this one is great - good pace, decent use of the characters, some deeper issues at play. Just like the best episodes.

[Jessica Kordyban · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has a very Man in the Iron Mask feel to it. Also a lot about religion in this one. Data always amuses me.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot is very medieval like. More religious than the usual sci-fi...

[Lari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun adventure, but more than that, a meditation on faith and what it means.

[Michael Prendergast · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great ST next gen books that feature Deanna Troi.

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent little episodic STTNG adventure.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This rating is actually for 3.5, I just couldn't justify rating it 4 stars. It was a good book overall. It took me a bit to get used to the writing style, it had a bit too much telling over showing at parts. But the plot became interesting enough once they reached Capulon IV. The worldbuilding of the planet was interesting. I liked the focus on Deanna and how her being an empath had such a major role, I always wished the show would have done more with her. So overall a good story, just nothing special.

[Reesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

While impressively written, it is extremely derivative, and I can see many people putting this book down before it really got going, thinking this is going to be some silly fairy tale.

I personally was not a fan of all the Christian content - not just the human nuns (which, okay, I'll go with it), but also how clearly Christian-based the religion of the new planet was, too. It made the story ring hollow to me, even though it was extremely well written and I could see how someone who is themselves monotheist would really enjoy it.

But to me, it felt like someone trying to crowbar their own beliefs into Star Trek and they didn't fit quite right. It kept throwing me out of the story.

3 stars.

[R. C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine a leftist, scientifically minded, socially liberal, pacifist-ish world and all these good values come from their religion, which is also tolerant and inclusive because they believe they can see their god in any god. Like basically it's Unitarian Universalism the planet.

Except for one little issue... which is that any kids who are not uniform at birth - twins, the blind, anything - are very gently and humanely "returned to the god," sacrificed basically, sent back to heaven, they believe. As sweetly and nicely as they can, painlessly. Because these are good people.

So then imagine the king, who is historically an empath or maybe more and thus unable to be a cruel dictator, wants to end that law because it suddenly occurs to him that one should support the goodness and right of being alive-ness as a general guiding abstract principle in the treatment of all beings.

Then add a mightily superpowered psychic twin brother of the king, who was almost killed as a child because of being a twin, and an anti-death-to-babies nun who is an orphan and who was almost killed as a child because of being a telepath. Tangle this all up with the well-being of the Enterprise crew, especially, of course, the empath on the crew, and constrain it by the prime directive and by the wild crazies that are a result of the twin's and nun's trauma histories.

I enjoyed the theme, of course, being a UU who rarely finds her pro-life stance developed anywhere.

Another pretty great part of the book was the very good example of bad guys who were not absolute bad guys. The author wrote the bad guy's doubts and second-guessings and followed him all the way through sentencing after being caught, elaborating on his struggle with whether shame and repentance was appropriate.

There were a few oddities here and there, a whole page of typos that made me think those must have been stuck together in the editor's copy, and a solemn discussion between Picard and the king that made absolutely no sense, and a sense all throughout that all this telepathy was just magic we were to accept as science because we know that Star Trek takes place in a scientific reality. But it's worth a read.