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Star Trek: The Next Generation #64
Immortal Coil
He is perhaps the ultimate human achievement: a sentient artificial life-form -- self-aware, self-determining, possessing a mind and body far surpassing that of his makers, and imbued with the potential to evolve beyond the scope of his programming. Created by one of the most brilliant and eccentric intellects the Federation has ever known, the android Data has always believed he was unique, the one true fulfillment of a dream to create children of the mind. But is he?
Investigating the mysterious destruction of a new android created by Starfleet, Data and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise(TM) uncover startling secrets stretching back to the galaxy's dim past. That knowledge is coveted by beings who will stop at nothing to control it, and will force Data to redefine himself as he learns the hidden history of artificial intelligence.
Investigating the mysterious destruction of a new android created by Starfleet, Data and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise(TM) uncover startling secrets stretching back to the galaxy's dim past. That knowledge is coveted by beings who will stop at nothing to control it, and will force Data to redefine himself as he learns the hidden history of artificial intelligence.
331 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2002
54 people are currently reading
688 people want to read
About the author
Jeffrey Lang
41 books25 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
January 27, 2018
Data at his best!
DATA, THEN I EXIST
This is a novel from Star Trek: The Next Generation set between the films First Contact and Insurrection. The story is centered around the character of Data.
Data is the only known functional positronic android and since his activation, the Federation has been trying to duplicate the experiment and/or constructing something even better.
During this process, the Federation was able to came up with laws that protect the civil rights of artificial intelligence life forms.
I think, then I exist.
MEASURE OF A MAN
Jeffrey Lang, the author, did a marvelous job putting together and fitting in the right places and moments, the most relevant episodes about Data, but also other episodes involving the topic of artificial intelligence not only on The Next Generation, but also The Original Series, even reaching Voyager.
While some references of episodes are less crutial than others. Definitely, there are some episodes that are the key structure where the novel were based on. Such cases as "The Measure of a Man" and "The Offspring", specially since known characters as Commander Maddox and Admiral Haftel appear on the book. And a happy reunion was that Reginald Barclay was able to interact again with the crew of the Enterprise-E.
There is an odd comment by Riker about not having brothers and while that's technically true, I felt it odd due the existence of Thomas Riker from "Second Chances" episode. And due to some development in the plot of the novel involving Data, I felt odd too a total omission of refering to the events in the episode "In Theory". Nothing that could ruin any of this wonderful novel but since the author showed an impressive knowledge and handling of a lot of episodes of The Next Generation and The Original Series, well, my inner Trekker was compelled to mention this non-essential omissions.
If you are not familiar with the relevant episodes, don't worry, because the narrative will explain the basics that you need to understand to enjoy the current adventure. However, I can't deny that if you would be indeed familiar with the mentioned episodes, you will be able to get the full potential of excitement in the story.
I was delighted reading this novel, and even more since it surprised me not once but twice. Well, actually it surprised me a lot of times. But, there are two related big surprises that I didn't see coming and I was stunned (in a good way) about those.
You will realize how the author not only exploited, in a remarkable way, many of the most recognizable elements related to artificial intelligence in Star Trek, but also a direct tribute about Arthur C. Clarke's work and a "hidden" in plain sight reference to Douglas Adams' work (which definitely is one of the few to understand the struggles of an advanced artificial intelligence trying to interact with much less inferior intelligences, namely... humans)
If you are fan of the character of Data, this is your book.
If you are fan of stories related with artificial intelligence, this is your book.
And if you are looking for a really good Star Trek novel, well, this is your book!
DATA, THEN I EXIST
This is a novel from Star Trek: The Next Generation set between the films First Contact and Insurrection. The story is centered around the character of Data.
Data is the only known functional positronic android and since his activation, the Federation has been trying to duplicate the experiment and/or constructing something even better.
During this process, the Federation was able to came up with laws that protect the civil rights of artificial intelligence life forms.
I think, then I exist.
MEASURE OF A MAN
Jeffrey Lang, the author, did a marvelous job putting together and fitting in the right places and moments, the most relevant episodes about Data, but also other episodes involving the topic of artificial intelligence not only on The Next Generation, but also The Original Series, even reaching Voyager.
While some references of episodes are less crutial than others. Definitely, there are some episodes that are the key structure where the novel were based on. Such cases as "The Measure of a Man" and "The Offspring", specially since known characters as Commander Maddox and Admiral Haftel appear on the book. And a happy reunion was that Reginald Barclay was able to interact again with the crew of the Enterprise-E.
There is an odd comment by Riker about not having brothers and while that's technically true, I felt it odd due the existence of Thomas Riker from "Second Chances" episode. And due to some development in the plot of the novel involving Data, I felt odd too a total omission of refering to the events in the episode "In Theory". Nothing that could ruin any of this wonderful novel but since the author showed an impressive knowledge and handling of a lot of episodes of The Next Generation and The Original Series, well, my inner Trekker was compelled to mention this non-essential omissions.
If you are not familiar with the relevant episodes, don't worry, because the narrative will explain the basics that you need to understand to enjoy the current adventure. However, I can't deny that if you would be indeed familiar with the mentioned episodes, you will be able to get the full potential of excitement in the story.
I was delighted reading this novel, and even more since it surprised me not once but twice. Well, actually it surprised me a lot of times. But, there are two related big surprises that I didn't see coming and I was stunned (in a good way) about those.
You will realize how the author not only exploited, in a remarkable way, many of the most recognizable elements related to artificial intelligence in Star Trek, but also a direct tribute about Arthur C. Clarke's work and a "hidden" in plain sight reference to Douglas Adams' work (which definitely is one of the few to understand the struggles of an advanced artificial intelligence trying to interact with much less inferior intelligences, namely... humans)
If you are fan of the character of Data, this is your book.
If you are fan of stories related with artificial intelligence, this is your book.
And if you are looking for a really good Star Trek novel, well, this is your book!
September 21, 2020
Immortal Coil gives an exquisite look at Data, providing intriguing insight into his personal development after acquiring his emotion chip, and his subsequent struggles to navigate feelings of isolation, loss and love. The plot unravels in a series of ever more enthralling revelations. What starts off as an investigation into a seemingly straightforward incident at a Star Fleet AI lab ends up a series of epic discoveries relating to the history and origins of artificial intelligence in the galaxy stretching back millennia.
The story takes off as Data unravels the threads surrounding the incident, making a series of shocking discoveries about not only his own origins as well as his creator Noonien Soong, but that of artificial intelligence throughout the entire galaxy. Some of these alien artificial intelligences are still kicking around, and not all of them are benign.
Trek fans will love the many tie-ins to TNG and TOS. Several of the major story lines from those series involving androids and/or AI tie-in to the story, some of them proving quite foundational to the story. Some narrative exposition is provided, but I found it helpful to lookup some episode plot/character summaries to refresh my memory and plan to re-watch some of the episodes as well.
The story takes off as Data unravels the threads surrounding the incident, making a series of shocking discoveries about not only his own origins as well as his creator Noonien Soong, but that of artificial intelligence throughout the entire galaxy. Some of these alien artificial intelligences are still kicking around, and not all of them are benign.
Trek fans will love the many tie-ins to TNG and TOS. Several of the major story lines from those series involving androids and/or AI tie-in to the story, some of them proving quite foundational to the story. Some narrative exposition is provided, but I found it helpful to lookup some episode plot/character summaries to refresh my memory and plan to re-watch some of the episodes as well.
January 14, 2018
Easily one of the best Star Trek books I've read in a while. A fabulous character study on Data.
December 26, 2018
If you’re a Data fan, you should definitely read this book. It also made me go back and watch old TOS episodes like “Requiem of Methuselah” and “What are Little Girls Made Of.” The story name drops so many characters and episodes that it can be considered “continuity porn” at it’s best. :)
August 28, 2019
On a scale of one to five stars, this book deserves ten stars.
Easily, this is the best Star Trek novel that I've yet read. (At this point, I've read nearly 60 Star Trek novels). If I counted correctly, author Lang weaves together mythology from three The Original Series episodes and four episodes from The Next Generation. Set just after Worf has gone off to DS9, all the other Enterprise crew appear in the novel. Even my favorite lit-verse character Ranul Keru makes a brief appearance.
It's a fascinating story, compellingly told. But it is also a novel that anyone could pick up and enjoy, with or without prior Star Trek experience. Happily, it is also the start of a small series of novels featuring Data. Definitely will make a point of tracking down more novels by this brilliant author.
Easily, this is the best Star Trek novel that I've yet read. (At this point, I've read nearly 60 Star Trek novels). If I counted correctly, author Lang weaves together mythology from three The Original Series episodes and four episodes from The Next Generation. Set just after Worf has gone off to DS9, all the other Enterprise crew appear in the novel. Even my favorite lit-verse character Ranul Keru makes a brief appearance.
It's a fascinating story, compellingly told. But it is also a novel that anyone could pick up and enjoy, with or without prior Star Trek experience. Happily, it is also the start of a small series of novels featuring Data. Definitely will make a point of tracking down more novels by this brilliant author.
December 14, 2024
Star Trek: TNG: Post-Nemesis - Immortal Coil by Jeffrey Lang
challenging emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense
Medium-paced
Plot or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes
3.5 Stars
Data centric story...which is nice. I cannot say that I'd like another story by this author (sorry), but maybe this was not the book for me. It may just be a ME thing.
Loved the Rhea storyline and reveal. Very well done...and how it ended, was classic. Maybe the best thing about the entire book IMO.
The second best thing, was the introduction of Sam. His mysterious knowledge, then reveal...but also what happened. Yes. That was good. The two above points are why it is .5 higher.
It was good to see Reginald Barclay, but I cannot say that about Bruce Maddox, though in this book...he wasn't the bad guy (which was surprising to me). As you can see, I'm NOT a fan of Bruce.
Doctor Noonien Soong was a flawed individual. A genius, but also a person who made multiple mistakes...that has caused the deaths of many a people, though for the one HUGE accomplishment of building and raising Data, we can overlook all the other ills (for the most part). He's definitely NOT a person that I'd like to spend time with. That would be a tough gig. Just saying.
Emil Vaslovik is also a complicated character. Not sure that I like the idea that he's been the people within the history of humanity. Why?
Androids versus artificial intelligences and how they are superior...and tied to humanity. Not adversarial, but complimentary...like Data has been within Starfleet and on the Enterprise with its crew.
The right to live episode on TNG, is one of those episodes that I think I'll never forget. That's one of the reasons that I cannot stand Bruce Maddox and his arrogance.
I understand why it is part of the Post-Nemesis series, but it isn't as good as I was hoping for.
It was okay to good.
Happy to move on, and read the books that make more immediate sense to the Post-Nemesis era of storylines. It was good to read, but I want more.
challenging emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense
Medium-paced
Plot or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes
3.5 Stars
Data centric story...which is nice. I cannot say that I'd like another story by this author (sorry), but maybe this was not the book for me. It may just be a ME thing.
Loved the Rhea storyline and reveal. Very well done...and how it ended, was classic. Maybe the best thing about the entire book IMO.
The second best thing, was the introduction of Sam. His mysterious knowledge, then reveal...but also what happened. Yes. That was good. The two above points are why it is .5 higher.
It was good to see Reginald Barclay, but I cannot say that about Bruce Maddox, though in this book...he wasn't the bad guy (which was surprising to me). As you can see, I'm NOT a fan of Bruce.
Doctor Noonien Soong was a flawed individual. A genius, but also a person who made multiple mistakes...that has caused the deaths of many a people, though for the one HUGE accomplishment of building and raising Data, we can overlook all the other ills (for the most part). He's definitely NOT a person that I'd like to spend time with. That would be a tough gig. Just saying.
Emil Vaslovik is also a complicated character. Not sure that I like the idea that he's been the people within the history of humanity. Why?
Androids versus artificial intelligences and how they are superior...and tied to humanity. Not adversarial, but complimentary...like Data has been within Starfleet and on the Enterprise with its crew.
The right to live episode on TNG, is one of those episodes that I think I'll never forget. That's one of the reasons that I cannot stand Bruce Maddox and his arrogance.
I understand why it is part of the Post-Nemesis series, but it isn't as good as I was hoping for.
It was okay to good.
Happy to move on, and read the books that make more immediate sense to the Post-Nemesis era of storylines. It was good to read, but I want more.
November 7, 2021
The book starts with an intriguing little scene seventy years previously where two young students Noonien Soong and Ira Graves are mountain climbing with their professor Emil Vaslovik. They stumble on a body… that turns out to be thousands of years old and an artificial being.
In the present, Data is returning to the Enterprise-E with the body of his ”mother”. His emotion chip is fully active and he’s struggling with grief and his emotional realization that he will outlive all of the people dear to him. However, then the Enterprise-E is summoned to Galor IV where Commander Maddox, Reginald Barcley, and professor Vaslovik are working on creating a sentient android, but with one that has a holomatrix brain. Just when they were going to active the android, there was an accident that left Maddox is in a coma, Vaslovik vaporized, and the new android destroyed. Of course, the Enterprise investigates.
This book is a delight to an old fan because it references a lot of Data-centric TNG episodes, such as "the Offspring", "the Measure of a Man", "the Schizoid Man", and "Descent part II". It also mentions many secondary characters, such as Soong and Lore, and even brings back characters we’ve only seen once, such as Admiral Haftel. It also uses as an inspiration three of the original Star Trek episodes and ties them to TNG.
The overall theme is sentience in artificial beings. While the episode the Measure of a Man establishes that Data is a sentient being, TNG has a surprising number of other sentient artificial intelligences whose right to choose hasn’t been so clear, such as the Exocomp and even a hologram Moriarty. While Picard is concerned with, and acknowledges, their sentience, not everyone feels the same way. Another theme is Data growing close to a new female crew member so the book also has a ”romance of the week” subplot (which I don’t really like. Since the new character doesn’t appear in the show or movies, we know that she’s going to leave or die, so it feels pointless. Doubly so if I like the romance character which I did this time. Such an interesting character wasted. Oh well).
The book has some elements I’m not sure would actually work, but for the most part, I enjoyed it, despite the inevitable downer ending. It does a wonderful job of tying together all the themed elements. Data has a working emotion chip almost the whole book so he’s a bit different than what I’m used to, but I think this was also done well.
Recommended for TNG fans. Will you be able to enjoy it without watching the show? I don’t know.
In the present, Data is returning to the Enterprise-E with the body of his ”mother”. His emotion chip is fully active and he’s struggling with grief and his emotional realization that he will outlive all of the people dear to him. However, then the Enterprise-E is summoned to Galor IV where Commander Maddox, Reginald Barcley, and professor Vaslovik are working on creating a sentient android, but with one that has a holomatrix brain. Just when they were going to active the android, there was an accident that left Maddox is in a coma, Vaslovik vaporized, and the new android destroyed. Of course, the Enterprise investigates.
This book is a delight to an old fan because it references a lot of Data-centric TNG episodes, such as "the Offspring", "the Measure of a Man", "the Schizoid Man", and "Descent part II". It also mentions many secondary characters, such as Soong and Lore, and even brings back characters we’ve only seen once, such as Admiral Haftel. It also uses as an inspiration three of the original Star Trek episodes and ties them to TNG.
The overall theme is sentience in artificial beings. While the episode the Measure of a Man establishes that Data is a sentient being, TNG has a surprising number of other sentient artificial intelligences whose right to choose hasn’t been so clear, such as the Exocomp and even a hologram Moriarty. While Picard is concerned with, and acknowledges, their sentience, not everyone feels the same way. Another theme is Data growing close to a new female crew member so the book also has a ”romance of the week” subplot (which I don’t really like. Since the new character doesn’t appear in the show or movies, we know that she’s going to leave or die, so it feels pointless. Doubly so if I like the romance character which I did this time. Such an interesting character wasted. Oh well).
The book has some elements I’m not sure would actually work, but for the most part, I enjoyed it, despite the inevitable downer ending. It does a wonderful job of tying together all the themed elements. Data has a working emotion chip almost the whole book so he’s a bit different than what I’m used to, but I think this was also done well.
Recommended for TNG fans. Will you be able to enjoy it without watching the show? I don’t know.
July 20, 2016
Fun Data story- filled in the gaps I had from the Cold Equations trilogy.
July 22, 2020
A very interesting Star Trek story involving Data and a slew of other androids from across the breadth of Star Trek lore. Although, I could definitely see how if one was not conversant with "The Original Series" and the wide variety and array of androids and artificial intelligences they encountered, one could be possibly confused by the story (you do remember M5, right?). I know I'm not in the best position when it comes to TOS lore, and can't say that I'm familiar with Flint/Vaslovik. However, I don't think that this diminishes the story, too much.
If I do have a criticism, it's that whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Rhea McAdams and Data and thought both characters were well-written, handled appropriately, and had a kind of chemistry that I would love to see on screen, the fact that (spoiler) Rhea turns out to be an android sort of smacks too hard of the "like needs to stay with like" philosophy. It may not have been the author's intention at all to convey this, but in many stories I feel that we all too often encounter situations where relationships begin between two (or more) people who appear to be very different, and then they turn out to be the same after all...and I think that, especially in today's world, this sends the completely wrong message. We need to broaden and expand our very definition of relationships and what is considered appropriate. We need to embrace variety. After all, IDIC, right? Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination. Let's have a healthy, functional, and happy relationship between a Human and a Robot!
I also don't like the "you're not ready to confront this issue yet" message of the Collective of Artificial Intelligences. Star Trek, to me, has always been about confronting new issues - "To Seek Out New Life and New Civilizations" - and this message of needing to wait to be more developed before being considered "ready," flies in the face of that philosophy. The Federation thrives on being confronted by these things (in my interpretation of Star Trek, at least - which I always thought was correct) and embraces, accepts, and adapts to new ideas, thoughts, dreams, and ways of life. But I digress...
Picard really shines in this novel, and behaves the way Picard always should - which is a welcome palate cleanser after watching how the show "Picard" is continuing to butcher Star Trek. In true Picard-fashion he informs Vaslovik that he feels a moral obligation to help an enemy who has been wronged and who is currently engaged in active hostility again him. Picard is the stick by which I measure my own self.
I would highly recommend this novel if you are a Star Trek fan...and would also recommend at least delving in some TOS lore before doing so - or alongside - so you are familiar with Flint, Exo III, and M5, to say the least.
If I do have a criticism, it's that whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Rhea McAdams and Data and thought both characters were well-written, handled appropriately, and had a kind of chemistry that I would love to see on screen, the fact that (spoiler) Rhea turns out to be an android sort of smacks too hard of the "like needs to stay with like" philosophy. It may not have been the author's intention at all to convey this, but in many stories I feel that we all too often encounter situations where relationships begin between two (or more) people who appear to be very different, and then they turn out to be the same after all...and I think that, especially in today's world, this sends the completely wrong message. We need to broaden and expand our very definition of relationships and what is considered appropriate. We need to embrace variety. After all, IDIC, right? Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination. Let's have a healthy, functional, and happy relationship between a Human and a Robot!
I also don't like the "you're not ready to confront this issue yet" message of the Collective of Artificial Intelligences. Star Trek, to me, has always been about confronting new issues - "To Seek Out New Life and New Civilizations" - and this message of needing to wait to be more developed before being considered "ready," flies in the face of that philosophy. The Federation thrives on being confronted by these things (in my interpretation of Star Trek, at least - which I always thought was correct) and embraces, accepts, and adapts to new ideas, thoughts, dreams, and ways of life. But I digress...
Picard really shines in this novel, and behaves the way Picard always should - which is a welcome palate cleanser after watching how the show "Picard" is continuing to butcher Star Trek. In true Picard-fashion he informs Vaslovik that he feels a moral obligation to help an enemy who has been wronged and who is currently engaged in active hostility again him. Picard is the stick by which I measure my own self.
I would highly recommend this novel if you are a Star Trek fan...and would also recommend at least delving in some TOS lore before doing so - or alongside - so you are familiar with Flint, Exo III, and M5, to say the least.
October 26, 2012
I've recently been on a Star Trek novels kick. This is due largely in part to the fact that I liked the realignment of the Trek universe's political landscape with the Typhon Pact series, and it's also partly to do with the fact that author David Mack is releasing a new Next Generation series called The Cold Equations at the end of the month. It's known that this series will be the first post-Nemesis book to revisit the Data-clone B-4, and it's my hope that the major change that has been discussed will be return of Data.
That said, Immortal Coil was released in 2002, which just happened to be the same year as the not-so-good Star Trek: Nemesis. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that this was the ST Novels answer to the movie that should have been. It clearly puts Data front and center throughout most of the book, and it deals with death as a major theme; Data's, the other androids in his "family", and the rest of the Next Generation crew.
The beginning of the book has all the things that I loved about Next Generation: the character's regular banter, Data trying to make sense of his existence, and (since emotions are a new thing for him) how exactly one goes about falling in love. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Data wakes Geordi up in the middle of the night so that he can ask a string of questions relating to properly courting a woman. It was amusing, even while it was clear that Data didn't seem to understand that Geordi wasn't the most successful one with the ladies.
Of course, as the book goes on, we start getting into the meat of the plot, and without spoiling too much of it, I'll toss a few teasers out there. We get to see Dr. Soong and Ira Graves as young men, along with their teacher (in the academic sense), Emil Vaslovik. It also delves into the existence of synthetic life forms in the Star Trek universe, how they are different, and how they will likely re-emerge in a universe following the destruction of Data. As mentioned before, this book takes Data's character into a realm we've only seen hinted at in the past - love, and it's handled in a believable and enjoyable way.
I'd like to think that when they do finally get around to bringing Data back from the dead (it is inevitable, right? We're dealing with the same universe where Spock could hide out in Dr. McCoy's head while his body regenerated, and Data's memories were preserved in B-4), they'll draw on this book for source material. There's a wealth of amazing material here, not to mention a couple of backdoors that are embedded here that would allow for a non-ambiguous resurrection of Data.
All in all, this is one of the best Star Trek books I've read (and I've read many over the last thirty years), ranking right up there with the Destiny series. My recommendation: Must-Read.
That said, Immortal Coil was released in 2002, which just happened to be the same year as the not-so-good Star Trek: Nemesis. If I didn't know any better, I'd think that this was the ST Novels answer to the movie that should have been. It clearly puts Data front and center throughout most of the book, and it deals with death as a major theme; Data's, the other androids in his "family", and the rest of the Next Generation crew.
The beginning of the book has all the things that I loved about Next Generation: the character's regular banter, Data trying to make sense of his existence, and (since emotions are a new thing for him) how exactly one goes about falling in love. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Data wakes Geordi up in the middle of the night so that he can ask a string of questions relating to properly courting a woman. It was amusing, even while it was clear that Data didn't seem to understand that Geordi wasn't the most successful one with the ladies.
Of course, as the book goes on, we start getting into the meat of the plot, and without spoiling too much of it, I'll toss a few teasers out there. We get to see Dr. Soong and Ira Graves as young men, along with their teacher (in the academic sense), Emil Vaslovik. It also delves into the existence of synthetic life forms in the Star Trek universe, how they are different, and how they will likely re-emerge in a universe following the destruction of Data. As mentioned before, this book takes Data's character into a realm we've only seen hinted at in the past - love, and it's handled in a believable and enjoyable way.
I'd like to think that when they do finally get around to bringing Data back from the dead (it is inevitable, right? We're dealing with the same universe where Spock could hide out in Dr. McCoy's head while his body regenerated, and Data's memories were preserved in B-4), they'll draw on this book for source material. There's a wealth of amazing material here, not to mention a couple of backdoors that are embedded here that would allow for a non-ambiguous resurrection of Data.
All in all, this is one of the best Star Trek books I've read (and I've read many over the last thirty years), ranking right up there with the Destiny series. My recommendation: Must-Read.
June 1, 2025
Dead serious, the problem with this book is that Data is too sexy. It’s a good story about Data gaining emotions and meeting other androids. In the story Data has a romance but he’s way too smooth. I just could not envision it.
But seriously folks this is a good data episode featuring references to almost all AI/Androids across the shows. If you like Data this is one of the best and I believe it is expanded on in the Cold Equations series that was part of the “litverse”
But seriously folks this is a good data episode featuring references to almost all AI/Androids across the shows. If you like Data this is one of the best and I believe it is expanded on in the Cold Equations series that was part of the “litverse”
August 21, 2019
Some of that good, good Data content that I so crave.
March 2, 2016
Summary: In the past: Noonien Soong, Ira Graves (TNG: The Schizoid Man), and Emil Vaslovik (Flint from TOS: Requiem for Methuselah) travel to the ice planet of Exo III (TOS: What Are Little Girls Made Of?). There, they discover a chamber; inside, an android with a phaser hole blown through its midsection. They stick him into a shitty, spinning, duplicating machine, but this also happens to wake up hundreds of other bigger, meaner androids on the planet. Soong, Graves, and Vaslovik escape, but only just.
Presently: Data has just returned to the Enterprise with his recently deceased android "mother", Juliana Tainer (TNG: Inheritance), in tow; he inters her alongside Lal and Lore in his chambers. Since Worf is on Deep Space 9, the Enterprise has a brand new security chief, Rhea McAdams--who is small and likeable, but tough and capable. She and Data have a meet cute, and before long, Data shows her that he's fully functional.
An incident occurs that calls the Enterprise to the Daystrom Institute on Galor IV. Admiral Haftel (TNG: The Offspring) explains that Bruce Maddox (TNG: Measure of a Man), Reginald Barclay, and Emil Vaslovik were working on a new android with a "holotronic" brain, but shortly after they activated it there was an accident, caused by severe "weather." Vaslovik is presumed disintegrated by an electric discharge (or something), Maddox is in a "coma", and a portion of the roof caved in and destroyed the android. However, "DATA" was written in blood on the ground near Maddox, and foul play is suspected.
After performing an "autopsy" on the android, they realize it was a (near-perfect) fake, and suspect Vaslovik may have taken the real android and disappeared. While searching his house, an away team made up of Data, Rhea, Riker, and Barclay are transported to Vaslovik's secret lab, hidden away deep beneath the ocean. They find unknown art by da Vinci, music by Brahms, and any android every mentioned in a Star Trek episode--and Data realizes Vaslovik is Flint. Shortly thereafter, the away team is ambushed by giant, angry androids (like Ruk) and are forced to flee in the base's escape pods.
In space, the Enterprise is losing a battle with a giant iceberg-like ship, piloted by more Exo III androids. Riker and Barclay basically do a kamikaze run with their escape pod, but are teleported out at the last minute by Sam, the Ten-Forward bartender--who also turns out to not only be an android, but the original Exo III android who created the 'droids who are attacking them presently; he escaped Exo III by stowing away on the Soong-Graves-Vaslovik ship when they fled.
Data is badly damaged in the attack, and Rhea tries to save Data by interfacing with him--turns out she's an android too, the holotronic 'droid that went missing from the DIT. She can't save Data alone, however, so she takes him to Vaslovik's secret space station. Data is saved, but before long the base falls under attack--the ice ships tracked the pod, but so did the Enterprise. Data and Rhea get beamed aboard one of the ice ships; Flint gets beamed aboard Enterprise. It turns out that the ancient androids are after Rhea--they want to put her in their spinny-copier machine so they can upload themselves into duplicates of her, hoping to "fix" their shitty, angry programming.
Data triggers M-5 back on Flint's base, a super-powerful computer that will do anything to survive (TOS: The Ultimate Computer). While M-5 fucks up the ice ships with volleys of torpedoes and phasers, Data and Rhea escape out into space via exit hatch and start fucking up the ice ship with their bare hands, like they're both the Incredible Hulk or something. They're ultimately saved though when Sam--feeling like a dick because this is all his fault--leaves the Enterprise in a shuttle and flies into the atmosphere of a nearby planet, with the ice ship following suit. The planet's silvery atmosphere is actually composed of Wesley's nanobots (TNG: Evolution), and they consume both ships--assimilating the androids into their collective in the process, where they all live happily ever after.
Back on the Enterprise, Flint has disappeared--and taken Data's mom with him. In the epilogue, he restores her back to life, and they too will presumably live happily ever after. Rhea breaks Data's heart by leaving him (and Starfleet) to join the Fellowship of Artificial Intelligence (Sam's club)--so Data's the only one who doesn't get a "happy ending."
Review: 3 stars. This book was OK, but there wasn't much to it; really, the story seemed to be entirely based on bridging the gap between TNG and as many androids from TOS as possible (luckily TOS is on Netflix so I was able to get caught up on the episodes I've never seen). It's really hard for me to imagine the TNG characters on the low-budget sound stages from TOS, using crappy technology from the 60s and pretending it's super advanced (I found it quite amusing when Soong and Graves were saying how it makes no sense that the android duplicator spins the way it does).
I'm also not interested in Flint/Vaslovik, who the book heavily revolves around. Particularly, I find it terribly lame that Brahms, da Vinci, et. al. are all supposedly the same immortal human--it's so eye-roll inducing. It would actually make more sense that he's an android himself, and that's why he has such an interest in robotics--I almost wonder if that will turn out to be the case in the Cold Equations trilogy.
Rhea McAdams was a fairly compelling love interest for Data, but then she leaves at the end and everything resets back to normal, in typical TNG fashion (I'm hoping she also shows up again in Cold Equations). I admit that I didn't see the twist coming that she was the missing android; I guess I wasn't reading closely enough, because it seemed like she had already been on the Enterprise for some time when the Daystrom incident went down--so instead of being shocked, I was more like "uhh, WTF?"
I thought the characterizations of the rest of the Enterprise crew were done well enough, but they certainly weren't featured much--and when they were, they were doing battle with a bunch of android ships that apparently looked like icebergs--another "WTF" for me. I did quite enjoy seeing Data's emotional side--over his mother's death, falling in love, etc.
So overall, not great, but not terrible either. It hinged too much on TOS backstory for me, and really didn't seem to be "about" anything and was just an excuse to bring Flint and a bunch of old androids into the 24th century. I only read this because Cold Equations is a direct sequel, and I probably won't read it again.
Presently: Data has just returned to the Enterprise with his recently deceased android "mother", Juliana Tainer (TNG: Inheritance), in tow; he inters her alongside Lal and Lore in his chambers. Since Worf is on Deep Space 9, the Enterprise has a brand new security chief, Rhea McAdams--who is small and likeable, but tough and capable. She and Data have a meet cute, and before long, Data shows her that he's fully functional.
An incident occurs that calls the Enterprise to the Daystrom Institute on Galor IV. Admiral Haftel (TNG: The Offspring) explains that Bruce Maddox (TNG: Measure of a Man), Reginald Barclay, and Emil Vaslovik were working on a new android with a "holotronic" brain, but shortly after they activated it there was an accident, caused by severe "weather." Vaslovik is presumed disintegrated by an electric discharge (or something), Maddox is in a "coma", and a portion of the roof caved in and destroyed the android. However, "DATA" was written in blood on the ground near Maddox, and foul play is suspected.
After performing an "autopsy" on the android, they realize it was a (near-perfect) fake, and suspect Vaslovik may have taken the real android and disappeared. While searching his house, an away team made up of Data, Rhea, Riker, and Barclay are transported to Vaslovik's secret lab, hidden away deep beneath the ocean. They find unknown art by da Vinci, music by Brahms, and any android every mentioned in a Star Trek episode--and Data realizes Vaslovik is Flint. Shortly thereafter, the away team is ambushed by giant, angry androids (like Ruk) and are forced to flee in the base's escape pods.
In space, the Enterprise is losing a battle with a giant iceberg-like ship, piloted by more Exo III androids. Riker and Barclay basically do a kamikaze run with their escape pod, but are teleported out at the last minute by Sam, the Ten-Forward bartender--who also turns out to not only be an android, but the original Exo III android who created the 'droids who are attacking them presently; he escaped Exo III by stowing away on the Soong-Graves-Vaslovik ship when they fled.
Data is badly damaged in the attack, and Rhea tries to save Data by interfacing with him--turns out she's an android too, the holotronic 'droid that went missing from the DIT. She can't save Data alone, however, so she takes him to Vaslovik's secret space station. Data is saved, but before long the base falls under attack--the ice ships tracked the pod, but so did the Enterprise. Data and Rhea get beamed aboard one of the ice ships; Flint gets beamed aboard Enterprise. It turns out that the ancient androids are after Rhea--they want to put her in their spinny-copier machine so they can upload themselves into duplicates of her, hoping to "fix" their shitty, angry programming.
Data triggers M-5 back on Flint's base, a super-powerful computer that will do anything to survive (TOS: The Ultimate Computer). While M-5 fucks up the ice ships with volleys of torpedoes and phasers, Data and Rhea escape out into space via exit hatch and start fucking up the ice ship with their bare hands, like they're both the Incredible Hulk or something. They're ultimately saved though when Sam--feeling like a dick because this is all his fault--leaves the Enterprise in a shuttle and flies into the atmosphere of a nearby planet, with the ice ship following suit. The planet's silvery atmosphere is actually composed of Wesley's nanobots (TNG: Evolution), and they consume both ships--assimilating the androids into their collective in the process, where they all live happily ever after.
Back on the Enterprise, Flint has disappeared--and taken Data's mom with him. In the epilogue, he restores her back to life, and they too will presumably live happily ever after. Rhea breaks Data's heart by leaving him (and Starfleet) to join the Fellowship of Artificial Intelligence (Sam's club)--so Data's the only one who doesn't get a "happy ending."
Review: 3 stars. This book was OK, but there wasn't much to it; really, the story seemed to be entirely based on bridging the gap between TNG and as many androids from TOS as possible (luckily TOS is on Netflix so I was able to get caught up on the episodes I've never seen). It's really hard for me to imagine the TNG characters on the low-budget sound stages from TOS, using crappy technology from the 60s and pretending it's super advanced (I found it quite amusing when Soong and Graves were saying how it makes no sense that the android duplicator spins the way it does).
I'm also not interested in Flint/Vaslovik, who the book heavily revolves around. Particularly, I find it terribly lame that Brahms, da Vinci, et. al. are all supposedly the same immortal human--it's so eye-roll inducing. It would actually make more sense that he's an android himself, and that's why he has such an interest in robotics--I almost wonder if that will turn out to be the case in the Cold Equations trilogy.
Rhea McAdams was a fairly compelling love interest for Data, but then she leaves at the end and everything resets back to normal, in typical TNG fashion (I'm hoping she also shows up again in Cold Equations). I admit that I didn't see the twist coming that she was the missing android; I guess I wasn't reading closely enough, because it seemed like she had already been on the Enterprise for some time when the Daystrom incident went down--so instead of being shocked, I was more like "uhh, WTF?"
I thought the characterizations of the rest of the Enterprise crew were done well enough, but they certainly weren't featured much--and when they were, they were doing battle with a bunch of android ships that apparently looked like icebergs--another "WTF" for me. I did quite enjoy seeing Data's emotional side--over his mother's death, falling in love, etc.
So overall, not great, but not terrible either. It hinged too much on TOS backstory for me, and really didn't seem to be "about" anything and was just an excuse to bring Flint and a bunch of old androids into the 24th century. I only read this because Cold Equations is a direct sequel, and I probably won't read it again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2023
A murder mystery involving Bruce Maddox gains the attention of Starfleet and the Enterprise-E. Maddox is in a coma, a prototype android has been destroyed, and is dead. Scrawled in blood by Maddox is one word--DATA. Investigating the scene of the crime, Data has odd feelings--which aren't helped by the recent passing of his "mother." Naturally Data learns what's occurring, but not before every artificial intelligence from The Original Series and The Next Generation come into play.
This isn't a bad story, but read like a checklist story: "That android appears, this android appears, etc." It did too much of this but the one that went too far for me was the revelation of a character's true identity. I just couldn't buy into it.
Cool cover, though.
This isn't a bad story, but read like a checklist story: "That android appears, this android appears, etc." It did too much of this but the one that went too far for me was the revelation of a character's true identity. I just couldn't buy into it.
Cool cover, though.
September 28, 2019
Normally I fly through a Star Trek book. After hearing so many good things about this one I’d thought I’d give it a read in preparation for reading “The Light Fantastic”. This book was really slow for me and at times I had to go back and reread chapters because I forgot what was happening or missed something important. A decent read but not one I’d probably read again anytime soon.
May 7, 2025
I quite enjoyed this, although it suffered from a bit of extraneous TOSism. Not just revisiting Korby, but the M5 and throwing in Flint and all that was just perhaps a bit of a stretch. I guess it's all history now with the collapse of the litverse and perhaps I'd have appreciated it more being a proper TOS fan too.
July 15, 2018
This one is a very good book indeed. It doesn't hurt that it focuses on Data, who was always my favorite character on ST:TNG. You have to love the way it reaches into every nook and cranny of Trek lore, weaving together a story spanning centuries and a technology spanning the whole arm of the galaxy. On the technical level, it's also quite well written -- something that can't be said of a lot of the Trek novels.
If Immortal Coil has one fault, it's that there's so much plot it must race along, at times barely touching down on story elements that might (should) have been explored in much greater depth. I could have enjoyed a very much longer treatment, but I do understand that the publisher more than likely had a cap on manuscript length, so author Jeffrey Lang would have been working inside strict constraints. Yikes: one can imagine the job involved in covering “this” much story in “that” many pages. A writer can't always write what s/he wants and even needs to; s/he writes to the publisher's specifications. Ouch.
Even though Immortal Coil occasionally has the feel of a "brontosaurus fed through the eye of a needle," it remains a very good read. Highly recommended, especially for those with a soft sport for Data, like self. So -- five stars.
If Immortal Coil has one fault, it's that there's so much plot it must race along, at times barely touching down on story elements that might (should) have been explored in much greater depth. I could have enjoyed a very much longer treatment, but I do understand that the publisher more than likely had a cap on manuscript length, so author Jeffrey Lang would have been working inside strict constraints. Yikes: one can imagine the job involved in covering “this” much story in “that” many pages. A writer can't always write what s/he wants and even needs to; s/he writes to the publisher's specifications. Ouch.
Even though Immortal Coil occasionally has the feel of a "brontosaurus fed through the eye of a needle," it remains a very good read. Highly recommended, especially for those with a soft sport for Data, like self. So -- five stars.
October 30, 2012
I very much enjoyed Immortal Coil. The exploration of Data's emotions and what immortality would truly mean is fascinating, and a great topic for a novel featuring him. This particular story and the knowledge of the existence of a group that Data could call "his people" makes his death in Nemesis even more tragic than it already was. This novel has gotten me extremely excited for David Mack's new trilogy, and I can't wait to crack open the pages and get reading. I really recommend Immortal Coil, even if it's just because I'm jonesing for more Data in my life, as well as my love of "continuity porn."
Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2012/10/i...
Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2012/10/i...
June 26, 2013
I love Star Trek stories that feature Data and this one was no exception.The author stayed true to oue beloved characters and Gene Roddenberry's vision.I love how the story explored Data's creation and creator a little more as well as doing a good job of tackling the ethics and morals of how humans deal with AI. A good read indeed and I look forward to reading more in a similar vein soon.
July 12, 2022
My full review will be up on Roqoo Depot soon. While Jeffrey Lang handled certain characters and situations well, he had difficulty balancing the pacing, action, and villains. It was an enjoyable story, but not one that I loved. 3.0 out of 5.
December 15, 2025
One or two or five too many throwbacks to previous episodes in this. It's the only Star Trek novel I've read where I think a noob would struggle to keep up. Usually, there's more explanation. But this novel is efficiently written, which covers up many of its sins.
Two of these throwbacks are fundamental to the plot. The first is an Original Series episode that was so mediocre, EVEN THIS BOOK RECOGNISES IT AS SUCH: 'in what was otherwise an unremarkable mission of James T. Kirk'. Quite frankly, the other Original series episode reference, that of Flint, didn't really need to be there. Using the androids from 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?' would have been more than sufficient, and spending more time with them would have given their schemes a more interesting and tense outcome - '500 000 years of mindless hate' doesn't really cut it.
Then there's some eye-rolling easter egg-type details from two TNG episodes and even another TOS episode that seemed lifted from thin air as a problem solution...well, it was all too much.
On a positive note, if an odd-feeling one, Data has his emotions developed in a more extreme way, with a love story, and, early on, a moment where he is suddenly overwhelmed with floods of tears. This kind of development would have been nice in the movies. In 'Insurrection', he was revisiting elements of living like a child and 'Nemesis', well, that was far too concerned with its plot and theme for much character development. In this book, going a little slower with that would have lined up with the Data we all know from the movies.
The 'collective of artificial lifeforms' was another undercooked portion of the tale. Still, I read this as prep for David Mack's 'Cold Equations' series, and it didn't take long, so I can remember the good elements, and hopefully that series picks these up.
If it wasn't clear already that this book is for Star Trek fans ONLY, which actually isn't how most ST novels play out, then I hope I have cited enough references to put off plebby noobs...
Two of these throwbacks are fundamental to the plot. The first is an Original Series episode that was so mediocre, EVEN THIS BOOK RECOGNISES IT AS SUCH: 'in what was otherwise an unremarkable mission of James T. Kirk'. Quite frankly, the other Original series episode reference, that of Flint, didn't really need to be there. Using the androids from 'What Are Little Girls Made Of?' would have been more than sufficient, and spending more time with them would have given their schemes a more interesting and tense outcome - '500 000 years of mindless hate' doesn't really cut it.
Then there's some eye-rolling easter egg-type details from two TNG episodes and even another TOS episode that seemed lifted from thin air as a problem solution...well, it was all too much.
On a positive note, if an odd-feeling one, Data has his emotions developed in a more extreme way, with a love story, and, early on, a moment where he is suddenly overwhelmed with floods of tears. This kind of development would have been nice in the movies. In 'Insurrection', he was revisiting elements of living like a child and 'Nemesis', well, that was far too concerned with its plot and theme for much character development. In this book, going a little slower with that would have lined up with the Data we all know from the movies.
The 'collective of artificial lifeforms' was another undercooked portion of the tale. Still, I read this as prep for David Mack's 'Cold Equations' series, and it didn't take long, so I can remember the good elements, and hopefully that series picks these up.
If it wasn't clear already that this book is for Star Trek fans ONLY, which actually isn't how most ST novels play out, then I hope I have cited enough references to put off plebby noobs...
February 1, 2022
Immortal Coil is one of the few Star Trek novels I've read, and the first one by Jeffrey Lang.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, I think Data's characterization stays true to the show, and his arc of emotional growth is very realistic. The plot was engaging and clearly well thought out, with lots of seamless tie-ins to the actual show. I don't think that someone less familiar with the show would have a problem reading it, since the context is provided in a clear and organic way. The original characters have interesting personalities and interacted with the preexisting characters in a believable way. There were also lots of good moments with switches in point of view, and I found that reading from Picard's P.O.V. was especially fun.
However, there were some aspects of the book I liked a little less than others. While I enjoyed the concept of Rhea McAdams, she was a somewhat flat character. I think she caters to some sort of male fantasy where a woman has no flaws and is also an expert at every form of combat while somehow maintaining a petite and girlish figure. That being said, she did have her moments, especially when she reminisces about her past when talking with Data, where I found her very interesting and wanted to see more of her. I have a similar issue with the way Geordi was written, I felt that he was very two dimensional. It would have made sense for him to play a larger role, because he is Data's first and closest friend. But he fell into more of a "plot device best friend" role, and ended up contributing very little to the story. I don't think it would have been much different if he weren't even in the book. Which is greatly disappointing because he is one of my favorite characters. I didn't find that many other characters had this particular pitfall.
In spite of its flaws, Immortal Coil was a great read, and substantially better than the other Star Trek novels I've read. It kept me at the edge of my seat, and if I had the time, I certainly would have read it in a day. I most definitely recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more of Jeffrey Lang's work.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, I think Data's characterization stays true to the show, and his arc of emotional growth is very realistic. The plot was engaging and clearly well thought out, with lots of seamless tie-ins to the actual show. I don't think that someone less familiar with the show would have a problem reading it, since the context is provided in a clear and organic way. The original characters have interesting personalities and interacted with the preexisting characters in a believable way. There were also lots of good moments with switches in point of view, and I found that reading from Picard's P.O.V. was especially fun.
However, there were some aspects of the book I liked a little less than others. While I enjoyed the concept of Rhea McAdams, she was a somewhat flat character. I think she caters to some sort of male fantasy where a woman has no flaws and is also an expert at every form of combat while somehow maintaining a petite and girlish figure. That being said, she did have her moments, especially when she reminisces about her past when talking with Data, where I found her very interesting and wanted to see more of her. I have a similar issue with the way Geordi was written, I felt that he was very two dimensional. It would have made sense for him to play a larger role, because he is Data's first and closest friend. But he fell into more of a "plot device best friend" role, and ended up contributing very little to the story. I don't think it would have been much different if he weren't even in the book. Which is greatly disappointing because he is one of my favorite characters. I didn't find that many other characters had this particular pitfall.
In spite of its flaws, Immortal Coil was a great read, and substantially better than the other Star Trek novels I've read. It kept me at the edge of my seat, and if I had the time, I certainly would have read it in a day. I most definitely recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more of Jeffrey Lang's work.
January 13, 2023
Data-centric murder mystery? Yes, please!
Despite this being a really fun read, I think I gave this book only 3 stars because of its constant use of flashbacks. Without spoilers, the plot is a little complicated (even for a Trek story), and I think that this is due to the sprinkling of flashbacks throughout the book. Lots of groups to keep track of, people, timelines, etc. There are also moments where problems are solved by unrelated Trek plotlines and references.
However, I think that Jeffrey Lang did a fantastic job of delivering an exciting exploration of AI within the Star Trek universe. As a Data fan, I really enjoyed this book.
Side note: There is a sequel to this book, "The Light Fantastic." That book was also written by Jeffrey Lang, a few years after "Immortal Coil." However, all the descriptions of this book on sites like Memory Beta, Thriftbooks, and Book Depository say that "The Light Fantastic" is the second in a trilogy. These descriptions say the trilogy is called "Cold Equations," though another Trek trilogy by this name does exist and is written by different authors and doesn't include either book I've mentioned.
SO... I think there are only two books in this continuation, both written by Lang, though I believe that an error in a publisher description has been copied to all these different sites. Are these books part of another trilogy? Is there even a third one??
Despite this being a really fun read, I think I gave this book only 3 stars because of its constant use of flashbacks. Without spoilers, the plot is a little complicated (even for a Trek story), and I think that this is due to the sprinkling of flashbacks throughout the book. Lots of groups to keep track of, people, timelines, etc. There are also moments where problems are solved by unrelated Trek plotlines and references.
However, I think that Jeffrey Lang did a fantastic job of delivering an exciting exploration of AI within the Star Trek universe. As a Data fan, I really enjoyed this book.
Side note: There is a sequel to this book, "The Light Fantastic." That book was also written by Jeffrey Lang, a few years after "Immortal Coil." However, all the descriptions of this book on sites like Memory Beta, Thriftbooks, and Book Depository say that "The Light Fantastic" is the second in a trilogy. These descriptions say the trilogy is called "Cold Equations," though another Trek trilogy by this name does exist and is written by different authors and doesn't include either book I've mentioned.
SO... I think there are only two books in this continuation, both written by Lang, though I believe that an error in a publisher description has been copied to all these different sites. Are these books part of another trilogy? Is there even a third one??
August 26, 2025
Very very solid story, with a lot of beautiful, nuanced themes throughout; though hard to follow at times.
My biggest complaint is the number of backstories I felt like I had to keep track of, particularly with all of the androids, roboticists and aspiring immortals in the Flint/Korby/Vaslovik/Sargon/Graves/Soong/Maddox lineage. To keep it all straight, I ended up going back and watching five, yes, five Star Trek episodes to understand all of the references — three from TOS (the ones with Sargon, Flint, and Korby, respectively) and two TNG episodes, “The Measure of a Man,” and “The Schizoid Man.”
Frankly, all of these stories just felt like remixes of the same basic theme/plot (“mad scientist tries to cheat death by uploading his consciousness into an android’s body and becomes threatening — oh and creates a beautiful robot ingénue to be his companion, too”).
A lot of this book is a love story, which felt both beautiful (in its imperfection) and sappy at the same time?
I credit the author with being really really smart. I just wish I had been more familiar with all of the back references before I started to book, because I just felt like I had to do a good amount of ‘homework.’
My biggest complaint is the number of backstories I felt like I had to keep track of, particularly with all of the androids, roboticists and aspiring immortals in the Flint/Korby/Vaslovik/Sargon/Graves/Soong/Maddox lineage. To keep it all straight, I ended up going back and watching five, yes, five Star Trek episodes to understand all of the references — three from TOS (the ones with Sargon, Flint, and Korby, respectively) and two TNG episodes, “The Measure of a Man,” and “The Schizoid Man.”
Frankly, all of these stories just felt like remixes of the same basic theme/plot (“mad scientist tries to cheat death by uploading his consciousness into an android’s body and becomes threatening — oh and creates a beautiful robot ingénue to be his companion, too”).
A lot of this book is a love story, which felt both beautiful (in its imperfection) and sappy at the same time?
I credit the author with being really really smart. I just wish I had been more familiar with all of the back references before I started to book, because I just felt like I had to do a good amount of ‘homework.’
April 13, 2018
Someone recommended this book to me because it's primarily about Data. I'm definitely glad they did. The book takes place after First Contact, so Data has his emotion chip. This makes for an emotional roller coaster-whether it's the death of Juliana Tanner or the romance between Data and Rhea McAdams. What makes this so enjoyable is how new many of the emotions are for Data. For instance, there's a hilarious scene where Data wakes Geordi up for dating advice.
Another great thing about this book is it delves deeper into Artifical Intelligence and the ethical questions surrounding it. It does a nice job of bringing in and expanding on points brought up in episodes (specifically Measure of a Man. Bruce Maddox also plays a role in the book, I now hate him far less).
This book is definitely worth the read, especially if Data's your favorite character. It goes by quickly but doesn't hold the reader's hand.
Also Lt. Broccoli is back. I missed him.
Another great thing about this book is it delves deeper into Artifical Intelligence and the ethical questions surrounding it. It does a nice job of bringing in and expanding on points brought up in episodes (specifically Measure of a Man. Bruce Maddox also plays a role in the book, I now hate him far less).
This book is definitely worth the read, especially if Data's your favorite character. It goes by quickly but doesn't hold the reader's hand.
Also Lt. Broccoli is back. I missed him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2024
The book starts out dealing with heady concepts like grief, immortality and dealing with our emotions and then evolves into the Next Gen characters playing around in the Original Series sandbox with a dash of mystery thrown in there.
I liked the inclusion of Flint and addressing what happened with the Exo III androids but I think having M-5 show up might have been the leap I just couldn't take...and finally Wesley's nanites after that.
Anyway the story was interesting and I liked the new characters, especially McAdams and I am glad her ending did not go the way I expected it to.
It was a great book that had one flaw which dove a little too deep into fan service for my liking but handled androids and AI more maturely than the awful first season of Picard.
I liked the inclusion of Flint and addressing what happened with the Exo III androids but I think having M-5 show up might have been the leap I just couldn't take...and finally Wesley's nanites after that.
Anyway the story was interesting and I liked the new characters, especially McAdams and I am glad her ending did not go the way I expected it to.
It was a great book that had one flaw which dove a little too deep into fan service for my liking but handled androids and AI more maturely than the awful first season of Picard.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 29, 2026
What a great book to kick off the new year! Jeffery Lang manages to do what the writers of the TNG movies could not; he explores Data's emotions in thoughtful, impactful ways. Data's emotions are not brushed off for comedy or as a mood lightener or as an endearing novelty, they're given space to breath and Lang explores the real implications of how emotions will, over the long run, fundamentally change who Data is.
This book also explores AI in the Trek universe and explores why true Artificial Life is not so widespread as one might expect. A lot of AI friends and foes from Trek's history make show up throughout this novel.
Immortal Coil is my 60th Trek book and receives my official Trek Novel Grade (TNG) of 4.5/5: "Make it so."
This book also explores AI in the Trek universe and explores why true Artificial Life is not so widespread as one might expect. A lot of AI friends and foes from Trek's history make show up throughout this novel.
Immortal Coil is my 60th Trek book and receives my official Trek Novel Grade (TNG) of 4.5/5: "Make it so."
June 8, 2020
Lang effectively conveys the tone of the series and mannerisms of the characters. This novel also incorporates many elements and characters from past episodes of both The Next Generation and The Original Series in a clever and believable way. Like all good Star Trek stories, this one has an important message to tell; it examines the way we treat others, and the way we think of ourselves. What is the value of our lives, and what do we do with the time that is given to us? This is a must-read for Star Trek fans; those well-versed in the lore will find many subtle references to obscure details from Star Trek's past to enjoy, as well.
October 1, 2017
On the positive side, I'd like to thank Jeffrey Lang for being one of the first authors I read in a long time, who had what I consider to be a good grasp at writing Data. I felt that Data's thoughts, actions, responses, etc. made sense and Data with his emotion chip intact, seemed to come through well.
On the negative side, I didn't really enjoy the story that much. It referenced older Trek that I am not overly familiar with, and I found that I lost the thread of the story a few times, leaving me unclear at being able to properly describe the plot of the story.
On the negative side, I didn't really enjoy the story that much. It referenced older Trek that I am not overly familiar with, and I found that I lost the thread of the story a few times, leaving me unclear at being able to properly describe the plot of the story.
June 7, 2021
Absolutely fantastic book! Probably my second favorite Star Trek book, and mabye possibly tied with Destiny! Jeffery Lang’s writing is fantastic and how this book masterfully incorporates and talks about the various Androids and A.I that has existed throughout Star Trek is great! The plot was also fantastic and a lightning fast pace and a great mystery at the core. Also, it’s great to see how the emotion chip has affected Data and how he copes with it, beyond what we saw in the movies. 10/10 would recommend
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