Secret of the Lizard People

Star Trek: Starfleet Kadetten #12

by Michael Jan Friedman

Alien Attack!

Cadet Data is among a handful of first-year cadets selected to observe a super-Jovian planet ignition -- the collision of two huge gas-giant planets resulting in the formation of a new star. They will watch this occurrence from a safe distance aboard the "Republic."

But a distress call from an alien space station draws their starship off course to an asteroid belt near the colliding planets. The rescue team soon finds itself under siege by deadly attackers, and Data and his group are separated from the main team.

Now, with time running out, Data must defeat the invaders and rescue the aliens before the collision destroys the space station... and the "Republic!"

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Star Trek The Next Generation

113 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

About the author

Michael Jan Friedman is an author of more than seventy books of fiction and nonfiction, half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Eleven of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. Friedman has also written for network and cable television and radio, and scripted nearly 200 comic books, including his original DC superhero series, the Darkstars.

Reviews

[Reesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just kind of okay. I mainly came out of it thinking, "Gosh, there are an awful lot of bullies at the Academy." Every single one of these YA books seems to focus on bullying in some capacity. But that's hardly this one book's fault. I just found the plot a little meh. The alien space station was less interesting than it should have been, and the titular "lizard people"... oy. Not great.

All that said, I'm not the target audience at all. It could be that a 10 year old boy would absolutely adore this book.

2.5 stars.

[Scott Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fairly obsessed with Data when I was a kid. This is an entertaining adventure story for him. It’s good for the target audience of adolescents. Also, what an awesome title!

[Nicolas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm probably overthinking this YA Star Trek novel, but it doesn't make sense to do these academy stories with Data. They act as if he's just another teenager when in fact he'd look like the full grown man he appears to be in the series. Also the illustrations are soooooo bad.

While this wasn't a great representation of The Next Generation, we point to some that are in a special Trek themed episode of the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

I remember when Peter David's Worf's First Adventure came out. Reader's thought 'No buddy will want to read an Academy story, even kids. A prequel has no dramatic tense and will be preachy even by Star Trek standards.' And they were wrong.

You saw those complains seem in a little bit in the first Data novel but they are fully on display here. Part of the problem is Data himself. Considering the overall low threat challenge and the that Data is so smart, strong, agile etc. most of the combat is incredibly one sided. Sorta Mohammed Ali vs. Fred Rogers.

The so called Secret of the Lizard people has no real mystery to it. In fact, the novel boldy goes where Star Trek has been many, many, many times before only they forgot to bring actual danger and moral ambiguity along for the ride.

Friedman realized this and brings in a 'Data wants to learn emotion X' plot that is sorta standard for pre-Generations Data. But it does so in a way that is very, very sloppy.

This book is less Star Trek: The Next Generation and more Star Trek: The Next Afterschool Special.

I couldn't sell this one at the used book store fast enough.

[Taaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is it that book Trek is only trek-ish in the YA books? Instead of the always dark, often conspiracy-driven adult novels, this here is a little low stakes, just like most better episodes before DS9 and the darker period came along. It's more about interpersonal relationships and how some people struggle to be as evolved as Trek wants to picture humans.

Also, Data is once again a very good example of how it feels to be neurodiverse.

I wish there had been more novels like the academy series (just maybe a little longer). Trek at it's best.

[Tierah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always liked Data the best from ST:TNG, and now I realize it's because it's autistic-coded. Watching him navigate humanity and in these books set in Starfleet Academy, learn how to process language, feels familiar to how I interacted with people growing up.

Feels nitpicky to deduct a star, but the story is set on a space station where the cadets and officers are supposedly wearing spacesuits the whole time, but the internal illustrations show them all without suits on.

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

A bit better than the previous entries in this series...but still not Trek as I've come to expect it.

[Elijah Schroeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story as Data's classmates try to avoid him since he is a computer, however he shows the skills he has to ultimately save his friends.

[Rob Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable Star Trek adventure featuring Cadet Data on a mission to save a space station.

The drawings inside are cute of inaccurate with the text.

[Mikayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This actually captured cadet Data pretty well! I enjoyed seeing him working on a ship, and facing issues. Though I felt like the ending didn't really resolve the Lizard thing to well.

[Mikael Kuoppala · Rating 2 out of 5]

As far as the Starfleet Academy series goes, "Secret of the Lizard People" is pretty average stuff. A weak plot and overly simplistic if nicely flowing storytelling make it a pleasant but forgettable experience.

It's always nicer to read about young Data than about young human characters. In the android's case the helplessness and uncertainty that's so annoying in adolescent humans seems natural and has appeal in a more speculative and flexible context.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Data is sent on a training mission to view an exploding star. An alien space station is too close to is, and they need to rescue the survivors. The story is very predictable and not that great, a big surprise to me as usually the academy books are decent with plot. The characterisation of Data was good and so were the illustrations. An ok read.

[André · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Mr. Data is the main protagonist in this book, it's one of the better stories (I always liked Data stories). Other than that, I can't remember anything else about the story. Read and forgotten, it seems...

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cool book with a nice twist for kids.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secret of the Lizard People was a great book that gave more detail into Data and his past as a Starfleet cadet that any Star Trek fan or Data fan should read.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun read from MJF. One of the best Trek writers out there!

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

again, solid, but not quite on the same level as the first four.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are the books of my very early childhood, oh, the love and hope and warmth and adventure these gave me as a kid.

[Bill Meehan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Data seeks confidence. I know this is YA, but this story was pretty, well...silly, even in a series which had an book about Geordi playing dodgeball and hide the flag.