Balance of Power

Star Trek: The Next Generation #33

by Dafydd ab Hugh

When a famous Federation scientist dies, his son puts his inventions up for sale to the highest bidder, be they Federation, Klingon, Romulan, or Cardassian. Among the items at auction is a photon pulse canon capable of punching through a starship's shields with a single shot. Meanwhile, Wesley Crusher is kidnapped from the Academy by renegade Ferengi who have set their sights on the photon canon as well, and Captain Picard must outmaneuver enemies on every side to save Wesley and protect the Enterprise from the deadly fire of the new canon.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Star Trek The Next Generation, Fiction, Media Tie In, Adventure, Space Opera

296 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Dafydd ab Hugh (born David Friedman) is a U.S. science fiction author.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many books in this series, this one was good but not great.

[Fabian Broicher · Rating 3 out of 5]

‚„Na schön. Selbst eine defekte Uhr zeigt zweimal am Tag die exakte Zeit.“‘

[Finn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wesley Crusher gets himself in trouble with a pair of Ferengi. There's counterfeiting, some tech that holds a lot of promise but is actually worth less than nothing... and a big auction which brings a lot of familiar Star Trek races together such as Cardassians, Ferengi, Betazoids, Bajorans, the Federation and Enterprise is caught in the middle.

It reads like an okay piece of fanfiction (which I guess it is) but I wouldn't say it's a literary masterpiece. It was okay.

[Adeniji Ogunlana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun read. Loved getting a story with Wesley acting on his own away from the enterprise. Also interesting how the stories tie into each other. Always left guessing what Wesley will do next to get out of his situation.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointing. Although it contains much humour, and captures most of the TNG crew very well, it misses big time with (1) the Ferengi pirate plot, which I found to be rather underwhelming, and (2) Wesley Crusher! Frankly, apart from a few stabs at what he would become by the end of the series, I believe Dafydd ab Hugh has Wesley (and what we saw of the Academy) all wrong. I found the discrepancies utterly disorientating...and not in an entertaining way. Wesley was never the wanna-be-swot he appears to be in this novel. He was all-Starfleet-wunderkid...then he was completely disillusioned. He wasn't the crafty, shifty, highly-strung cadet I read about in this novel.

As I said...so disappointing, when all the ingredients for something fabulous are present and correct.

[Sean Randall · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were several onscreen episodes where the Ferengi were played for laughs, of course, this novel felt like that all the way through. The ridiculous pirate affectations didn't help, Wesley's inner soulsearching was maunderingly painful, some of the editing was sloppy and the story oozed pointlessness and banality to a bruising level.

[Cary Spratt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amusing, but at the same time disappointing. Too many ridiculous scenarios. 1. all the Enterprise people representing the hodge-podge of interests at the auction, 2. Wesley's predicament in general, 3. the talk-like-a-pirate Ferengi. Yes, I did laugh, but mostly at the absurdity and more often rolling my eyes rather than laughing (and sometimes both simultaneously).

[Skylar · Rating 3 out of 5]

While at first I was skeptical of the plot (pirate-talking Ferengi with designs on a superweapon?!), ab Hugh proves that it's possible to make anything better with humor.

[Patrick Hayes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a chore to read.

The premise is good: a scientist dies and his son is selling of his papers and creations to the highest bidder. Among them is a photon cannon. Every section of the universe wants to purchase this untested weapon and the Enterprise is sent to bid on it.

This sounds great, but is pushed aside for Ferengi shenanigans involving Starfleet Cadet Wesley Crusher. The Ferengi are not funny, with one actually speaking in a horrible pirate dialogue. Seriously. I felt sad for Wesley who comes off as neurotic. I felt this to be another example of a writer who didn't know what to do with the character. Not helping is that the rest of the crew has minor appearances. I had high hopes for Worf and Geordi where they are first encountered, but this didn't last. Also hindering the story early is the switching of alliances the familiar cast is bidding for. It wasn't funny, nor believable.

After the climax there's a drawn out coda with Wesley receiving punishment and advice from three higher ups. I just didn't care. It did nothing for the characters or the story. All three went exactly as one would expect, even if one hasn't seen "The First Duty."

The best I can say about this book is at least an attempt was made for humor. This was not a book for me.

[Will · Rating 1 out of 5]

Never thought I'd give a Star Trek novel 1 star! But this story was weak, and the Star Trek characters were cardboard and did not fit their personalities, except maybe for Data.
Basically, the story centers on Wesley Crusher being kidnapped by Ferengi, after they discover he has a device that countefeits latinum. A big auction of a dead scientists inventions takes place on Novus Alamogordus. The Federation, Klingons, Romulans and Ferengi, among others travel there to bid on these inventions, the biggest of which is the photonic pulse cannon.
Using counterfeit latinum, the Ferengi, Munk and Tunk, using Wesley as their slave per se, end up winning most of the items. It's up to Wesley to figure out how to stop the two, while at the same time, not breaching his Ferengi contract, and getting charged with counterfeiting by Starfleet.
I thought the writing was deplorable and weak. And when does Picard call everyone by the first name during most of a book or TV show? Except for Data, who was experimenting with a laughter program, the rest of the book drew low interest.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to give it four stars to raise the community average a bit. It really is funny (and meant to be!) and even though there's a lot of behavior etc. (esp. Ferengi politics) that is either not-quite-canon or illogical, it's fine in that respect, too.

But damn, the cover, wrong again. Picard had almost nothing to do, and Wesley should be featured. Of course, he wasn't quite exactly the Wesley I had watched through most of TNG, but I enjoyed reading this episode that may have happened to him.

And yes, I will continue with the series until I run out of the ones that were handed down to me.

[Nabil Hussain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly original and fascinating story!!

This book is a classic, written by Dafydd Ab Hugh. It is remarkable for its originality in storytelling and ingenious in its overall narrative impact. I was enthralled by the story and felt compelled to finish the book. I had such an enjoyable time, reading this book.It was a departure from the norm of typical Star Trek : Next Generation books but is greatly received. It was worth the time invested, in reading this story.
It was greatly entertaining. Dafydd should be congratulated on such a Marvelous tale!!

[Mrklingon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well.... funny!

I remembered bits and pieces of this book from back in the day when I first read it - it's definitely a Hitchhiker's Guide kind of vibe, with multiple in-joke SF references. The best thing in the beginning is all the commiseration offered Geordi over the death of his beloved (not!) professor.

Sometimes the jokes go on too long, but there is a lot to like in this jolly Trek romp. I'm glad to find where the line about "a broken chronometer is right twice a day" discussion was, one I've remembered for years.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this was a Wesley-centric novel that I did not expect which gives some insight into how he ends up where he gets in Journey's End. Quite fun with the Ferengi and the moments of Data's attempted laughter but the book does step a little too far sometimes into the silly zone. Overall, a good read though.

[Travis Cummins · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book primarily about Wesley Crusher yet in my eyes the writer doesn't get who Wesley is at all. Writing him as someone who questions the merrits of the federation and a person with questionable morals. It has a few moments that keep it from being down right awful but not many in my eyes.

[Cassidy B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a fun light read. Captain Picard must work with limited resources to win an important auction. In the meantime Wesley is getting kidnapped and pulling pranks on his hosts. A good story in the world of Star Trek.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as "Federation"; it read more like a fan-fiction novel.

[Jessica Just · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny! Most enjoyed Data..the Ferengis could become irritating. And the auction was entertaining.

[Anthony Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story line. Well written with very few repeats and lengthy unnecessary descriptions. This one would make an excellent episode.

[Christopher Riley · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst tie in novels I've ever read. The characters barely read as themselves, significant parts of the story just completely contradict the Trek universe (cadets paid in latinum?), and way too much of an obsession with naked women. When the Ferengi started speaking like a pirate I almost gave up. Terrible job.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was sorely disappointed with this book. It had all the makings of a grand saga.. but failed to set my soul on fire. This one is on its way to the goodwill now so hopefully a life Trekker will find a prize only they can appreciate.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comedy, in the farce vein. It did make me smile now and again. Just a bit fun really when the Enterprise have to attend an auction on behalf of many different races. Wesley also gets mixed up with it all too, despite being at the academy.

[Jess Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious star trek book, one of the funniest, keeps goingrightuntil the end.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it was a little bit long of a build up, but I felt it ended nicely. A little unbelievable at times, but I felt it was a solid story. 4.5/5

[Purpleallison Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mix of humor with a real plot.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good comedy

Has the feel of a DS9 comedy. Wesley gets cought up in a Ferengi scheme to counterfeit gold pressed latinum.

[Volition · Rating 1 out of 5]

Somewhat entertaining as a stand-alone book, but not fitting in with the setting very well