Star Trek: The Next Generation: Nightshade

Star Trek: The Next Generation #24

by Laurell K. Hamilton

After two hundred years of civil war the planet Oriana is dying. Most of the surface vegetation is gone, the air is nearly unbreathable, and the people themselves are wasting away. With hope nearly gone, the two warring factions have at last settled down to talk peace, and the "Enterprise" TM is sent to help them negotiate. Just after Picard, Worf, and Troi beam down, however, the ship is called away on another urgent mission, leaving them stranded alone with the Orianans, some of whom would rather not see a peace agreement reached. Picard is framed in a case of murder, and the negotiations fall to Worf.

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

288 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1992

About the author

Laurell K. Hamilton is one of the leading writers of paranormal fiction. A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Hamilton writes the popular Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter novels and the Meredith Gentry series. She is also the creator of a bestselling comic book series based on her Anita Blake novels and published by Marvel Comics. Hamilton is a full-time writer and lives in the suburbs of St. Louis with her family.

Reviews

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

Star Trek novels usually spin a good science fiction yarn, but one problem that usually plagues them is a moderately high use of profanity. Bibliophiles will probably recognize Laurell K. Hamilton as the author of Gothic fiction, such as the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. I haven't read any of Ms. Hamilton's other works; their covers are enough to keep me away. Still, when I saw that she had written a Trek novel, I decided to pick it up, if only out of curiosity about what she could do with such a saga. It turned out to be possibly the biggest pleasant surprise in all my years of loving literature. The story was great; it really kept me involved. I found the writing clear and readable, yet eloquent. The best part, though? Very little, if any, profane language or other offensive content was in this novel! What a surprise! I'd check out Laurell K. Hamilton's other works if they weren't so dark!

EDIT: Okay, so, maybe five stars was a bit high, but, I enjoyed rereading this one.

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 3 out of 5]

ST: TNG novel #24 is Nightshade by Laurell K. Hamilton. My initial thought (and it continues to be the case) is that Hamilton is not extremely familiar with the Next Generation characters. She takes an initial character perk from the first season for Commander Riker and from Lt. Worf in the second season of the TV series and repeats it over and over throughout the novel.

Worf and Riker are protective (over-protective) of Capt. Picard, but when the Capt. says he's made his decision, all argument ceases, and it is now time to obey orders. Worf is insistent throughout and the Capt. must continue to re-argue things that were already decided. Capt. Kirk was officious, unaccustomed to having to repeat orders. Picard needed to (figuratively) put his foot up somebody's ass.

I thought the new alien races were fascinating, but we learn about them during another murder mystery. It gets to be annoying when our familiar characters are put into a situation, they have mastered several times such as murder investigations over the course of another diplomatic crisis. It's good, but not enough to do cartwheels over.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was enjoyable to be with members of The Next Generation crew again. I really like how the novels do not have the same constraints as the TV show in developing alien races. The Milgians and the Orianians were interesting cultures to learn about and fairly well developed. However the writing style had its flaws. There were sentences within which the same word was repeated twice. There were some strange phrases that stood out awkwardly. The ending was also wrapped up too quickly. Overall though, another fun romp in the Star Trek universe.

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was rather a good story and really made me nostalgic for the Worf/Troi relationship that we really should have got, but never really did, except the teasing nature of what we saw in "Parallels." No, they aren't in a relationship here, but it's a story with Troi and Worf overcoming the dilemma to save Picard (yay, the cover works!). I think the flowers on the cover represent the "Nightshade" which I believe is an allusion to the poison in the novel...shh, spoilers. :) I actually would recommend reading this one outside of the "completionist" category...although, the Matrix-esque baby storage is something out of the most pants-peeing inducing horror movies.

The B plot both ties in and seems completely out of left field at the same time. Essentially, whilst Troi and Worf are galivanting about the planet, the Enterprise is called away to help some aliens on their ship which is about to blow up. The aliens, the Milgians, are the crew of a ship which is both organic and artificial at the same time, and also a living entity in its own right - and linked to the crew...which ties in to the planet of the A plot, Oriana, which is something of a living entity itself (like a step or two beyond our own concept of Gaia) and linked to the natives, the Orianians, who are locked in a centuries-long civil war which is killing the planet, and themselves along with it. However, the reason the two are linked is because one faction has somehow or another contacted the Milgians and convinced them to fake a distress call to lure the Enterprise away in exchange for trading stuff. How the Miglians and the Orianians got in touch with each other to arrange this little deal is not mentioned in the story, and doesn't even make sense organically.

Overall, sure, give it a read. :)

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read these books (ST:NG series) because they are light, fun and familiar. In other words, I'm not expecting great literature from these books and I read them exactly for that reason.

However, this particular book, "Nightshade" was a pretty poor example of ST:NG books. I did not enjoy this book for the most part. The dialogue, for one, was terrible. The characters often repeated the same things over and over again. Furthermore, some of the dialogue seemed totally the opposite of what I'd expect from a character. For example, Dr. Crusher telling a race of people that their belief system was "horrific" and "terrible" because they believed in going down with the ship. Now, does that sound like something an woman, educated in the treatment of multiple alien lifeforms from multiple alien cultures who has sworn to uphold the prime directive would say. Awesome bedside manner, Dr. Crusher.

The descriptions of locations got pretty boring and demonstrated LAZINESS on the part of the author. My favorite descriptive sentence was something along the lines of "The air felt cool and wet, brushing against Troi's face like cool fingers." I get it...the air was cool. You couldn't have found a different word to use that sentence other than cool? It's called a thesaurus.

So, in other words...this was a frivolous read that I took on vacation to entertain me. I did feel somewhat entertained but this is not a book I'd recommend to anyone.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to occasionally indulge in a Star Trek novel. My sister and I who both like Star Trek, will find them very cheap so we don't feel bad if we have to get rid of them.

I really enjoyed this story. It felt so much like an episode from the show. The author captured the characters well. As a bonus, there was only one curse word in the whole thing (I go in expecting more so I don't dock stars for language unless it because in excess of the show)

The plot was so interesting and I loved how it all tied to gether in the end.

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm quite proud of myself for calling it a day and leaving this travesty unfinished. From what I understand most of this Star Trek line is mediocre fare but I was surprised by how much the little details annoyed me; or should I say lack of detail. Hamilton blatantly doesn't know what she's doing as a Sci-fi author, she blatantly doesn't know what she's doing as a detective fiction author and on top of that she doesn't really understand the characters well. I found myself desperately wanting to read the Asimov robot novels as I read this, an example of sci-fi/detective fiction crossover that work cleverly to imbue simple detective stories with further weight and meaning. It's not as if Hamilton doesn't try but her wilful stupidity is just offensive. Picard is accused of murder on no-grounds and then told he's going to die because he seems to be guilty until proven innocent. Later on when Worf is working as detective/ambassador the locals get confused when he doesn't beat the living shit out of people he suspects to have information. This is not a compelling story about a society with different values than our own, this is applying random backwards concepts to a situation and seeing what happens. Sadly, nothing good. I suppose if Hamilton wrote in a compelling style or really got to the nitty-grotty of something there would have been reason enough to continue, but this novel is simply ill thought out and clearly was just conceived and executed as a quick moneyspinner. I should have known better than to pick this up, really.

[Patrick Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writer of the popular Anita Blake series has crafted an entertaining Star Trek novel.

The planet Oriana has been at war for over two hundred years and requests Federation help to end it as their world dies from their battles. Picard, Worf, and Troi beam down to the world and find the people existing solely indoors due to the toxicity of their world. Something shocking is discovered about the Orianans' offspring and something horrible happens during the first gathering of all sides. Picard is implicated, leaving Worf as the prime ambassador. Unfortunately the Enterprise has already left orbit to assist a distant ship of a first contact race who are facing certain death.

There's some good tension in this book, brought on by Deanna's often undervalued empathic abilities. With these revelations come a reliance on these abilities and that does tend to drag the story; there are so many times for the counselor to be overwhelmed by emotion or to wake up screaming. It became tedious. Much more entertaining is Worf the diplomat, which goes exactly as one would expect. The surprises that occur during this story aren't too surprising, but are logical and satisfying. Much, much better is what the Enterprise encounters with the new race on their ship. This could have gone on much longer, but didn't need to, as it was more interesting than the primary story. I found myself speeding through the events on Oriana to return to the damaged alien ship.

This was a decent Trek read.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly intense story, with a fantastic focus on Troi & Worf, as well as an excellent command of the Enterprise crew in general. This is an archetypal TNG story: a compelling ethical dilemma, with interesting scientific mysteries & ramifications wrapped around it. I wish the alien ship sub-plot felt
more connected to the main plot, and I find the ending a bit abrupt...but those are minor complaints for an otherwise excellent "Star Trek" novel.

[El · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this in the library used book sale and couldn't resist once I saw the author. It was...*shrug* my first Star Trek book, and exactly what I expected - flat, boring, easy to read, lightly entertaining. I have no complaints, it just wasn't that good.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well ANOTHER TNG murder mystery. I don't remember them happening as much on the show as they occur in the books. The B-Story was pretty much a waste of time and Picard's treatment of his officers' concerns was a little out of character. I did like the premise minus the murder-mystery part so would have liked the story to go a different direction. In the end I did like the book all right and the aliens and how they operate in the B-Story did seem interesting if under-used.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly amateurish editing. Cliched idioms, grammatical errors, dramatic 'insights' that made no sense. However, the world-building and plot were interesting, and if you like seeing Troi (and others) courageously survive trauma, you'll see plenty of it here.

[Carol Gibson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book I think that Laurell K Hamilton is a good writer. She is not a good Star Trek writer. The plot itself was interesting. Picard, Worf and Troi beam down to a planet to help negotiate a peace between warring factions. The war has slowly killed the planet and it is in the best interest of everyone involved. Unfortunately some don't want peace and the leader of one side is assassinated. Picard is held responsible along with three members of the Greens a group who do not wage war. If the real assassins are not found Picard and the three Greens face death by torture.

Worf becomes acting ambassador. That is issue number one Troi should have been picked. So we have Worf struggling to control is contempt of the people while Troi tries to rein him in. That got old quickly.

Issue number two being told over and over how Troi was being affected by the people of the planet because they project their emotions and being an empath. She was constantly crying and in major distress except then she was nagging Worf trying to get him to behave.

The Enterprise is not there to help because they answered a distress call. A ship of a type they had not encountered before is going to implode. Most of the crew refuse to abandon the ship. This was interesting up to a point the ship was a living entity. It takes both Geordie and Beverly to eventually repair the ship. This was interesting but the subplot was padded with so much unneeded dialogue that I got to the point of let the damn thing implode.

By the time we find the real bad guys and Picard and the peace process are rescued I was just tired of the story and ready for it to be over. There were some interesting quandaries like the use of torture to question people. The aliens felt it was okay because it just caused pain not permanent damage. Worf of course found it dishonorable but used emotional intimation to get answers. Then there was Beverly not being willing to accept a another cultures wiliness to die with their ship she got quite agitated over it to the point of not caring what their culture did. Talk about shoving Federation principles down the throats of others. It seemed out of character.

I think the biggest problem is how out of character most of the characters act and when they do act in character it is over the top more caricature than anything else.

Unless you are completist who has to read every Trek book or every Hamilton book I say save yourself time and skip this book.

[Reesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was vacillating between 2 and 3 stars for this one. If I'd had to rate it in the first 50 pages or so, it would have been only 2 for sure.

The story itself is pretty good, interesting, worth the read. In fact, I preferred the side-story, which didn't get near enough time. But it's the text that's at issue, not the plot.

The style of writing here is just... bizarre. It's stilted, especially in the beginning, as if a computer was writing a book for someone who had just learned how to read. It's repetitive at random intervals, often taking a well-described point and simplifying it to death, until you wish the point hadn't been raised at all.

The text is riddled with errors - breath for breathe, fourth for forth, missing quotation marks, referring to an ouroboros as a Möbius strip, and so on. In one line, Picard orders 3 security guards; the next line Riker asks why he only wants 2 security guards...? (I'd be interested to know why the publisher wanted 0 editors on this manuscript.)

Then there are the odd characterizations, like Worf being so ridiculously needling as the captain's security that he is outright insubordinate multiple times even when there is no apparent danger. He comes across as highly unprofessional and unreasonably paranoid, and Picard's total inability to command his own officer makes him look like a weak captain, which we know he most certainly is not.

But despite it all, the events that occur are quite imaginative and inventive, especially toward the end of the story. I might be thinking about the Miligan engine for a long time.

I think I'm going to settle at 2.75 stars here. I can't recommend it as a read, but I'm glad I got to know the story.

[Solitudes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an interesting story even if not a memorable one. A murder happens on what was supposed to be a routine away mission for the crew of Enterprise (nothing special here, just trying to conclude peace between 2 armies fighting in a 200-year-old war while poisoning also their planet which is now dying) and we need to find the culprit. Things go south when Picard is accused of being the murderer or at least being involved in the murder and he is scheduled for execution, Enterprise is lured away and those who are supposed to save the day are Worf on a diplomatic role (lol) and Troy which is overwhelmed by everyone and everything because we discover that almost everyone there is a very strong empath, therefore, Troy has some real serious problems in trying to keep them our of her mind. While the A story goes really interesting, the B story seems a little dull (or dumb) but I've enjoyed the idea of a living ship (Encounter at Farpoint, anyone?). Overall, nothing special but same time nothing to annoying so quite an enjoyable book to spend some hours on a train while travelling :))

[Eggith · Rating 1 out of 5]

eh. charecters didnt act like themselves. its far enough along that the author should know this. in an attempt to drive up the conflict he has picard being pissed at everyone and riker and worf acting like babies when picard doesnt want security. its dumb. the point of having media tie in novels that you dont have to spend so much time on establishing charecters.

the synopsis or maybe i just looked up the basic plot is that picard get framed and Lt worf has to continue as negotiator. which is when i decided to put the book down. Counseleror troi is an empath and trained to talk to people. worf is an ambassador later on down the road and this could have been an interesting inroad to that or just laying the groundwork for it in his thought process. troi is more qualifed. she also outranks worf. maybe there is some conceit that worf has to negioate. but its clumsy im sure. and kinda treats troi less than she should.

Dont think ill be trying this again got 60 something pages in or somesuch. dont waste ur time

[Lionel Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a surprisingly good book. The Enterprise’s mission is to negotiate peace between two factions who have waged a war that has made their planet unlivable. Picard, Worf, and Troi are sent down to the planet to negotiate peace. A short while later, The Enterprise is called away and Picard is arrested! This leaves the negotiations to Worf with the assistance of Troi. What ensues is a fascinating story that puts Worf in a position that fans do not usually see him in.
Nightshade is a very entertaining story that features characters in positions that you do not see them in in the show or in the books that often. The story has a good blend of dialogue and action and examines the concepts of honor and what it means to be honorable as Worf tries to navigate a worrier society with very different ideas than his own.
If you are a fan of the Star Trek novels this isn’t one you want to miss. It fleshes out the characters more than most novels and has a genuinely interesting story. Definitely on the better end of the Stark Trek novels I have read.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

After two hundred years of civil war the planet Oriana is dying. Most of the surface vegetation is gone, the air is nearly unbreathable, and the people themselves are dying. Now, the two warring factions have finally sat down to talk peace, and Captian Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise are sent ot help them negotiate a settlement.

Picard, Lt. Worf, and Counsellor Troi beam down to Oriana, just as the Starship Enterprise is called away on another urgent mission. Alone on the planet, the U.S.S. Enterprise team learns that there are people that would rather finish the devastating conflict than talk peace. Suddenly, Picard is accused of murder and the delicate negotiations have fallen into the hands of Lt. Worf.

Now, Worf and Troi must unravel the truth and prevent planet-wide disaster, before time runs out for the people of Oriana and the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

[Joe Pranaitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Laurell K. Hamilton brings us an interesting adventure for the crew of the Enterprise-1701-D as they are asked to send Captain Picard, Lieutenant Worf and Councilor Troi to the planet Oriana. There the people have been fighting a civil war for the last two hundred years which has been killing the planet as well as themselves. Once Captain Picard, Worf and Troi beam down the Enterprise is called away to make first contact with as yet unknown species. During the first night that the Enterprise is away Captain Picard is taken into custody because one of the waring factions  leader's have been poisoned and it's up to Worf and Troi to find out who. This a great read for any classic star trek fan and I highly recommend it to all. 

[Gabriel Mero · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intergalactic whodunit with betrayal and intrigue at every turn! After Captain Picard is imprisoned for murder, Worf and Troi must race against time to find the true killer before their beloved captain is executed. I loved that Troi was given a prominent role in this novel; on the show, she was often pushed to the side or used as a lame plot device. Here, she really got a chance to shine. Picard and Data barely appear in this novel, so Worf, Geordi, and Dr. Crusher had bigger roles as well. I did feel like the ending was a tad rushed, but the killer's identity did catch me off guard. A very well written novel in the Star Trek universe, it is a shame that Laurell K. Hamilton has not written any more novels for this series.

[Andy Lind · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of Laurell K Hamilton's earliest books and it shows. Published in 1992, "Nightshade" is the story of Picard, Worf, and Troi going to the planet of Oriana to do their best to stop a never-ending war.

It's not as classic as other ST: TNG books like "Crossover" or "Q-Squared," so only pick it up if you are trying to collect all of the ST: TNG books or if you are trying to collect all of Hamilton's books before-and-after she started writing about vampires.

[Jay Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worf and Troi take center stage in this novel. Worf is forced to become an Ambassador on a planet with two warring factions. He is very unsuited for this role. Troi is handicapped because the race on the planet are strong empaths and she is adversely affected. Gordi is called to an emergency situation where the spaceship is a living being. It is an interesting episode, but frankly is not the series best.

[Alex Ng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Throughout the story, Worf was kind of annoying even with his Klingon background and values in consideration. It was infuriating to see him slide into being an overbearing and overprotective caretaker whenever the slightest inconvenience befalls Picard. This is further exacerbated by the constant descriptions of his emotional debates and conflicts that would drag on needlessly.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say at first I was not sure about this book. However, the plot was fascinating to say the least. It was a suspenseful read that held my attention. I enjoyed reading about Worf and Troi who are in my opinion, relatively unexplored in Next Gen. I loved who Worf became in DS9, so this book was an interesting look into his past. Overall a great read!

[Kelex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly Good

While I am not a fan of Laurell K. Hamilton, this is a great example of a Star Trek novel. Hamilton shows a great grasp of the "secondary" characters, especially Worf, Troi, and LaForge. With the sidelining of both the Captain and the First Officer in favor of the others, Hamilton crafts an exciting and entertaining story that satisfies.

[Anthony Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book left the reader with the responsibility to fill-in the details. Lots of fragmentation in the writing. Too much about the metaphysical and not enough facts surrounding the plot. If made into an episode there would have to be some serious rewriting to bring all facets of the plotline together.

[Will Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wife is a huge Laurell K Hamilton fan and I have enjoyed a few of her books, so when I saw she had done a Star Trek book, I had to try it. It was a fun Worf\Troi centered book that you could see easily playing into what got them together for the brief time they were.

[Rick Decorie · Rating 1 out of 5]

If this were written better, it would have been good. Grammar errors, scenes hurried through, and too much internal dialogue made this book hard to read. Several times I had to reread sentences because they did not make sense. If you are going to read the series, skip this one.

[Hermione Volino · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot better than the one that comes after this one. However, I don't quite understand why the Captain thought that this would only be 'a little bit' of pain. It's clear that the people of this planet don't believe in a little bit of pain. They believe in a lot of pain.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than the TV episode I saw recently. An interesting culture and interesting space ship.