Fortune's Light

Star Trek: The Next Generation #15

by Michael Jan Friedman

Dante Maxima Seven -- a world known to its inhabitants as Imprima. A world where Madragi -- huge social/economic entities wealthy beyond compare -- control the fate of millions...

Years ago, William Riker was part of the Starfleet delegation that opened Imprima to the Federation. Now the disappearance of an old friend -- Teller Conlon, who also served on that team -- draws Riker and the Enterprise™ across the galaxy, back to Imprima.

Because the jewel known as Fortune's Light -- one of Madraga Criathis's most priceless possessions -- has been stolen. And Teller Conlon stands accused of its theft. Now Riker must discover the truth behind the disappearance of both his friend and Fortune's Light, no easy task on a world where treachery and intrigue are commonplace...and where even an old friend's embrace may conceal the deadly bite of a dagger's blade.

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

278 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

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

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

Fortune’s Light is Star Trek: The Next Generation novel #15 by Michael Jan Friedman. This is an interesting look at another socio-economic culture with powerful monetary institutions or families (called Madragi) that control the governing bodies. Before Dante Maxima Seven joined the Federation, Will Ryker had been part of the delegation that studied the culture and argued for its inclusion in Starfleet. Now Teller Conlon, a friend that was part of that delegation and currently serving as an ambassador of sorts is missing along with the Fortune’s Light jewel. There is a suspicion that Conlon is involved in the theft, which would serve as enough of an embarrassment to threaten the relationship between the planet and the Federation. Ryker is invited to investigate because of his connections and understanding of the culture perpetuated by political intrigue, financial greed, and stealthy assassination. This is a top-notch Star Trek novel.

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, not too bad of a story...I mean, I'm really not a fan of CDR Riker. He was always just the big, dumb lumbering idiot...I think I could probably like him maybe Seasons 2 and 3, but not after that...and wading through this story with Riker and his buddy cop (the woman on the cover) as they attempt to locate the McGuffin is just...ugh...

And the baseball sub-plot with Data...cripes! I don't read/watch Star Trek because I'm craving a come-from-behind, underground, Rudy-esque, Bad News Bears wannabe sports movie/show/story...and baseball, double ugh...

The climax of the story apparently involved a huge leap in logic from Riker in order to connect all the dots that seemingly came out of nowhere and came across, to me at least, as Riker just pulling random stuff out of the air and it was actually what actually happened...sure wish I, the reader, who has been tagging along with Riker this whole time, could have also made those connections, instead of Riker/The Author getting all "clever" on me at the end...

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

I enjoyed this one, especially the subplot of Data discovering baseball via a computer simulation. As someone who grew up on gaming, that part was very fun to me.

[Rebekah Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed that the author gave a glimpse of what other characters were doing while the plot trudged along I just wish it wasn't baseball. - _-

[Ibis3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

So-so. There were definite problems with adherence to the canon in both the A plot (before the first season of TNG, the Federation didn't know much about the Ferengi and had never seen them) and the B plot (people at the beginning of the 21st century in the Trek universe were busy fighting and recovering from the Eugenics Wars to be playing baseball, right?). I found the state of women's equality to be somewhat lacking for being several hundred years in the future instead of the author's time of the early 1990s: Riker getting all weird about Beverley going with him to the maze and helping him get down into the pit--he's the one with the wound, why should it even occur to him that he's a *man*; the fact that he's surprised that the retainer assigned to him is a woman (even if one could write that off as being surprised that the sexist Imprimans have made a woman a retainer, his reaction doesn't come across that way); the fact that a woman can't just do her job and be viewed as valuable on that alone, but she has to be made Riker's love interest also--blech. I found the B plot a tad boring (I mean baseball's a boring enough sport to watch, let alone read about) and a little nonsensical (the idea that Data wouldn't immediately find out everything about the rules of the game and what he's expected to do to play his role is far-fetched--and he wouldn't go to Wesley either; he'd download the rule book, a baseball dictionary of slang, and watch some games...*then* he'd play the program). If he'd done that, he could have hit a home run every time he went to bat (I also don't buy that Data wouldn't be able to perceive and react accordingly to a curve ball). The C plot went nowhere (which is good because I doubt having Wesley save the day would have improved things at all). The mystery itself wasn't bad, but the problem with a backstory like this is that we have no investment in Teller's innocence or guilt, whether or not he's found dead or alive. We don't care and it's hard to believe that Riker cares either. The Impriman culture was fairly dull and the convenient/inconvenient high-tech ban seemed a little too gimmicky. I'd give it 2 stars here on GoodReads, but that seems a little low for a ST book I saw as average/ok.

[Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

What's more boring than baseball? Reading about a game of baseball... It seemed like this book was supposed to be some intriguing mystery with Data learning baseball as a subplot but it's all terrible and boring. Thankfully it's a quick read but if you don't like baseball don't read this book.

[Bradon Jurn · Rating 4 out of 5]

*SPOILERS*

Fortune's Light is an exciting TNG tale with a good spotlight on Commander Riker and a fun B plot on the holodeck.

Before Riker can enjoy some R & R with a long awaited holodeck program, he receives a classified message that an old and dear friend-Teller Conlon-has gone missing and is accused of stealing a priceless jeweled seal on a wealthy planet.

Riker and Conlon served together five years prior on the Yorktown, and helped forge the Impriman Trade Agreement on Dante Maxima Seven. This trade Agreement was snatched back from the Ferengi after twenty years, giving the Federation access to the planet's valuable resources. Conlon stayed behind as trade liason and Riker lost contact with him over time. Now it appears Conlon has been branded a traitor and taken off with a valuable seal that was to be used to merge two of the political/economic entities-known as Madragi-in a traditional ceremony.

Without the seal, there can be no ceremony, and the two Madragi will fall apart politically- forcing the trade agreement with the Federation to end.

Riker is sent to Imprima on a priority one mission to find Conlon, determine his innocence, and return the seal in time for the merger ceremony. Upon arriving he is assigned a Madragi retainer named Lyneea Tal. She's a duty-bound pedantic-who isn't too keen with the Federation's involvement with this case, and has quite an attitude towards Riker. Together, they start to follow the trail of clues that will lead them Conlon, and the seal.

Meanwhile, on the holodeck, Data runs the program Riker had set up at the beginning of the book. It turns out to be a historic baseball game that holds some special significance to the first officer. Data learns the ins and outs of America's favorite pastime, and a little about humanity along the way. I liked how the lighter tone of the B plot balanced out the darker tone of the A plot.

With Fortune's Light-author Michael Jan Friedman does one of the things he does best: he introduces an old friend from one of our beloved character's past, and puts that friend in some sort of danger or trouble. The beloved character in question-in this case, Riker-must then choose between thier loyalty to their friend, and thier duty and obligation to Starfleet. This makes for an excellent source of drama, and is a trope that has always worked well for Friedman.

Something else that has always worked well for the author is his ability to write a compelling murder mystery. And he does expertly so with Fortune's Light, as Riker and Lyneea make thier way through the dangerous back alleys, taverns, and ancient mazes of Imprima-uncovering the truth a piece at a time. The begrudging banter between the two is nicely written and gave the book a "buddy cop" vibe which I liked.

With Fortune's Light you really do get the full package: great character arcs, mystery, action, intrigue, and a healthy serving of baseball. What more could one want?

[Craig · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst Star Trek novels I've read in a while. The Riker part of the story was okayish, but the whole data baseball part felt like a waste of print. Neither Riker or data have ever shown any interest in the sport so it felt pointless and didn't really add anything to the story. Now Wesley... I've never had negative feelings towards him. He was just a character that was there. But in this book...it's the first time I've ever wanted someone to cause him bodily harm. Is character was beyond annoying! I remember this authors name from years ago when I was reading these books in Jr high and high school, but I can't remember if he was good or not. This novel was not good.

[Graham Badger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Felt very generic and formulaic, up to and including the final reveal of the big baddy at the end.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Riker is sent to the planet Besidia to investigate the apparent theft of a valuable artifact by an old friend. He's helped in this by one of the locals, and together they track down the lost seal, the lost friend, and a trade conspiracy. It's a well put together mystery, and I enjoyed it. If it were not for the subplot, I'd have rated this three stars, but unfortunately that secondary story - Data playing baseball - is hands down the most boring subplot I've read in all of Star Trek. It interrupted the interesting story far too often, and it was interminable. I actually groaned out loud - several times - when I turned a page and there it was again, bogging up the book and slowing down the pace like a quicksand of ultimate dullness. Sometimes good writers can elicit interest from an uninspiring subject but I can tell you that is not the case here.

I can only think that the sort of pedantic detail that characterised this tedium comes from an author who really, really loves baseball. And, you know, I'm generally all for authors going on about their hobbies in their work, but from my own perspective this was a darling that needed to be taken out back and shot. Baseball is boring as shit. And I can't help but think that Friedman is aware of this on some level, given how clear it's made in the story that, in this timeline, baseball is pretty much a dead sport that no-one plays any more. And do you know why? Because it's boring as shit.

[Jamie Barringer (Ravenmount) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Riker gets caught up in quite an adventure while trying to help his old buddy out of a jam. Meanwhile Data somehow cannot just download all the rules and play by play history of baseball and instead has to feel his way through learning the game, and Troi discovers she has a particular fondness for Riker, when he is nearly killed. The romantic bits in this one were a bit too sappy for my tastes, even assuming I was in favor of the romance Riker and Troi were stuffed into in the course of the series (along with the further drama when Warf gets involved with Troi too... bleh). But that thread didn't overtake the plot in this book, and the planet-side adventure was pretty good. I found it a bit hard to suspend disbelief about Data's lack of information on baseball- he's a computer and ought to be able to download at least encyclopedia articles, player stats, and all the various books written on baseball, yet he spent many pages stumbling through just the basic rules of play.
I liked that Crusher got the be the only additional away-team member on the planet, though I wish she had not been sidelined so quickly once she was on the planet. We all know she can handle a phaser, after all.

[Mark R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

***1/2 (how I wish Goodreads would allow half-stars)

Sometimes I think I like the Riker-centric episodes better than the Picard ones. In "Fortune's Light" Riker goes tromping around a planet called Imprima, looking for answers regarding the death of an old friend. He and this friend, Teller, had once been involved in Imprima's induction into the Federation, and now that guy's disappeared and Riker's putting on his detective hat.

Solid "TNG" adventure from Michael Jan Friedman, who previously gave us "A Call to Darkness," number nine in the series, and one of the best so far. I rather like this one, maybe not quite as much as "Darkness," but in the same league.

It's got an amusing subplot with Data getting wrapped up in the Holodeck, this time learning about baseball. One of the more interesting Holodeck stories.

[Joshua Berntsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of Fortune's Light (Star Trek: The Next Generation #15)

I give this one a full 5/5 stars!

These Star Trek books are my guilty pleasure - kind of like my wife's trashy romance novels, haha! They're quick reads, and sometimes they're really good. This one definitely falls into that category. I loved it!

Riker gets pulled into a mystery involving a missing friend and a stolen jewel on a planet with a complex social structure. Meanwhile, Data gets absolutely obsessed with baseball after watching a historical game - it's hilarious and heartwarming at the same time. Both storylines kept me hooked the whole way through.

I've read a few books by Michael Jan Friedman before, and I remember liking those too. This one was no exception. Very entertaining!

[Peter Rydén · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Jan Friedman har gjort bättre noveller, detta är definitivt ingen höjdare av honom, men eftersom han samtidigt är en av de bättre och mest omtalade Star Trek-författarna så blir det ändå en spännande läsning. Jag hade svårt att identifiera mig med invånarna på Imprima, då deras samhällssystem var så annorlunda vårt, men miljöerna i vilka historien utspelade sig var både intressanta och spännande. Som väntat fanns det en kärlekshistoria mellan Riker och en utomjording (det är lite uttjatat, IMM). En bok väl värd att läsa, men de som är vana vid Friedmans välgjorda noveller skall alltså vara beredda på att just denna är något sämre.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, Data's attempt to learn most of what there is to learn about baseball by playing it was cute. And I liked how he told the holodeck "Computer, save program please." But I can't stand political intrigue, esp. when all the major players are male. Beverly did get to go on one brief adventure, but the alien woman on the cover said "we should be allowed to solve our own problems" and Riker basically showed her how wrong she was.

Onward! Enough of these are fun enough that I'm going to work through all that I inherited.

[Jay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friedman is an excellent author. You often do not get his caliber of writing in this series. There are two stories going simultaneously. Riker is assigned to duty to find an old friend and restore an artifact to one of the ruling groups that his friend has taken. He meets an old friend and is assigned a retainer (female) from his local contact. It is a dangerous assignment and Riker does not walk away without injury. The other story is Data in the Hollowdeck working through a baseball scenario created by Riker. Both stories are excellent and this is one of the better books in the series.

[Minimyzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main plot with Riker on an away mission is pretty good, but the holodeck story with Data didn't seem to add anything of value; maybe there was a metaphor in there that I missed, but Data learning the game of baseball was a bit of a snooze fest. The diplomatic mission on this planet was interesting, but I did have to re-read the earlier part b/c got a bunch of the politicians' names mixed up. The political structure also could have been defined a bit more to make the plot at least 'star trek' level believable.

[Joel Hacker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I would say not up to the quality of some of Friedman's other Star Trek novels. The B story with Data learning about baseball was intolerably boring. Even the Riker murder mystery A story wasn't sa interesting/thrilling as I would have hoped. Possibly because our usual ensemble cast, other than Riker, is barely in it? There are definitely better ST tie ins.

[Frank Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one thoroughly. One of those episodes where a main character goes off on a personal side quest.

The main story was great and the Data learning baseball b-plot was also quite a lot of fun.

[Solitudes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, quite entertaining and I liked it. It was a Riker centered book so naturally there's have to be a lady around him, a lot of action and some nice plot twists, the book being nothing but a detective book.

[Arwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have to have my yearly visit with the cast of The Next Generation. Yet this one just was ok, it felt like a rejected episode script.

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad for one of these older Trek tie-ins. The Data B-Story is a lot of fun.

[Doreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are two stories in this book.

[Gene Coatney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that it was bad, just blah.

[Errrrrrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't care much for the Data b-plot where he played baseball, but the Riker mystery was fun enough.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really 3 and a half stars, but I've rounded up because the writing was good and solid. Too much baseball for me though.

[Lee Cushing · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's essentially a murder mystery where Riker is tasked with solving a homicide.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 2 out of 5]

They didn't knock it out of the park...

[Reesha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book appears to have been written because the author likes baseball and wanted to write a book about baseball. I, however, am not a fan of baseball and wanted to read a book about Star Trek. If you like reading about baseball, perhaps you will rate it more highly.

The rest of the story, which was at least tangentially a Star Trek plot, was disappointing. Barely a skeleton of an outline was given for the new culture, leaving them both bland and vague. The friendship between Riker and an old academy buddy was hardly explored, taking place almost entirely off-page, and it was really important for us to care about this character, so that was a huge - dare I say - swing and a miss.

Picard was incredibly out of character, to a level of cringe I wouldn't expect for a 1991 novel. Wesley's internal musings near the beginning of the book were monotonous and dull and all came to nothing. I felt like the author didn't know how to write him and didn't want to write him, but was pressured to do something with him.

There was a complete lack of logic and sense when it came to Data's struggles to play baseball. I find it odd how so many authors don't seem to grasp the basic fact that Data has the brain of a high-powered computer. He'd hardly struggle to understand the physics of how to hit a pitch.

If all the baseball stuff had been scraped away, leaving time for the new culture to be fully explored and explained, this might have been a good story. As it is, 2 stars is as far as I can go.

[Adam]

A comfy, feel-good read.

It wasn't anything fancy or special, but it was enjoyable. The only reason it doesn't get a 4th star is because it's nothing I would feel compelled to revisit. Friedman delivered all the beats of an above-average Star Trek: The Next Generation episode - action-adventure to solve a problem on a planet, a few beats for each of the main characters, and a strong B plot for a change in the action.

Honestly, it was the B plot that really held my attention, as it involved Lt. Commander Data learning to play baseball in one of Commander Riker's holodeck programs. I'm always on board for a novel that injects some humor via Data learning about another human pastime, especially one with as many quirky terms and turns-of-phrase as baseball. I really loved reading about Data and Lt. Commander La Forge discuss the physics of the curveball.

It was the perfect end-of-month break for me, as I've read some heady and heavy books the past couple of weeks.