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Star Trek: The Next Generation #57
The Forgotten War
The legendary Starfleet Captain Lucien Murat, a contemporary of Christopher Pike, disappeared during a battle with the alien Tarn. Now, generations later, Captain Picard is conducting delicate diplomatic negotiations with the Tarn when the Starship Enterprise discovers the descendants of Murat and his crew stranded on a desolate planet, still fighting a war that ended decades ago.
The Human castaways face destruction, but more than these precious lives are at stake. Unless Picard can find a solution, a lost hero's legacy may ignite a new era of interstellar war!
The Human castaways face destruction, but more than these precious lives are at stake. Unless Picard can find a solution, a lost hero's legacy may ignite a new era of interstellar war!
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1999
20 people are currently reading
395 people want to read
About the author
William R. Forstchen
116 books1,757 followersWilliam R. Forstchen (born 1950) is an American author who began publishing in 1983 with the novel Ice Prophet. He is a Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina. He received his doctorate from Purdue University with specializations in Military History, the American Civil War and the History of Technology.
Forstchen is the author of more than forty books, including the award winning We Look Like Men of War, a young adult novel about an African-American regiment that fought at the Battle of the Crater, which is based upon his doctoral dissertation, The 28th USCTs: Indiana’s African-Americans go to War, 1863-1865 and the "Lost Regiment" series which has been optioned by both Tom Cruise and M. Night Shyamalan.
Forstchen’s writing efforts have, in recent years, shifted towards historical fiction and non fiction. In 2002 he started the “Gettysburg” trilogy with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; the trilogy consists of Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War, Grant Comes East, and Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant - The Final Victory. More recently, they have have published two works on the events leading up to Pearl Harbor and immediately after that attack Pearl Harbor, and Days of Infamy.
In March 2009, Forstchen’s latest work, One Second After, (Forge/St. Martin’s books) was released. Based upon several years of intensive research and interviews, it examines what might happen in a “typical” American town in the wake of an attack on the United States with “electro-magnetic pulse” (EMP) weapons. Similar in plotting to books such as On the Beach and Alas Babylon, One Second After, is set in a small college town in western North Carolina and is a cautionary tale of the collapse of social order in the wake of an EMP strike. The book has been optioned by Warner Bros. and currently is in development as a feature film. The book was cited on the floor of Congress and before the House Armed Services Committee by Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R.-MD), chair of the House Committee tasked to evaluate EMP weapons, as a realistical portrayal of the potential damage rendered by an EMP attack on the continental United States.
Forstchen resides near Asheville, North Carolina with his daughter Meghan. His other interests include archaeology, and he has participated in several expeditions to Mongolia and Russia. He is a pilot and co owns an original 1943 Aeronca L-3B recon plane used in World War II.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/willia...
Forstchen is the author of more than forty books, including the award winning We Look Like Men of War, a young adult novel about an African-American regiment that fought at the Battle of the Crater, which is based upon his doctoral dissertation, The 28th USCTs: Indiana’s African-Americans go to War, 1863-1865 and the "Lost Regiment" series which has been optioned by both Tom Cruise and M. Night Shyamalan.
Forstchen’s writing efforts have, in recent years, shifted towards historical fiction and non fiction. In 2002 he started the “Gettysburg” trilogy with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; the trilogy consists of Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War, Grant Comes East, and Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant - The Final Victory. More recently, they have have published two works on the events leading up to Pearl Harbor and immediately after that attack Pearl Harbor, and Days of Infamy.
In March 2009, Forstchen’s latest work, One Second After, (Forge/St. Martin’s books) was released. Based upon several years of intensive research and interviews, it examines what might happen in a “typical” American town in the wake of an attack on the United States with “electro-magnetic pulse” (EMP) weapons. Similar in plotting to books such as On the Beach and Alas Babylon, One Second After, is set in a small college town in western North Carolina and is a cautionary tale of the collapse of social order in the wake of an EMP strike. The book has been optioned by Warner Bros. and currently is in development as a feature film. The book was cited on the floor of Congress and before the House Armed Services Committee by Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R.-MD), chair of the House Committee tasked to evaluate EMP weapons, as a realistical portrayal of the potential damage rendered by an EMP attack on the continental United States.
Forstchen resides near Asheville, North Carolina with his daughter Meghan. His other interests include archaeology, and he has participated in several expeditions to Mongolia and Russia. He is a pilot and co owns an original 1943 Aeronca L-3B recon plane used in World War II.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/willia...
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 5, 2025
I tried reading this twice, and couldn't get into it either time.
August 12, 2022
I'm afraid I found this to be deeply disappointing. The characters ranged from bland to completely off, the transporter malfunction isn't believable in the slightest, the time line and continuity elements are a mess, and a guest character arrives to make Riker look like a ridiculous forlorn teenager. There is a decent plot at the heart of this novel, but the execution leaves much to be desired. This is especially disappointing for as a novel released after the complete run of the TV series...I expect this kind of execution in the earlier books.
November 28, 2021
Not a bad Trek read, though not a great one either.
Two warring factions have been discovered on a world in a neutral zone: one humans and the other the lizard-like Tarn. The surprise is that they have both continued fighting for over two hundred years, though the Federation and the Tarn have a treaty. It falls upon Picard to get the humans to stop fighting. If the Enterprise interferes or aids the humans, the there Tarn ships orbiting the world will attack the Enterprise and war will be declared between the two sides.
I've got to give credit to Forstchen for showing how desperate and obsessed both sides, now made up of the original descendants, are with continuing--and winning--the war. I really like how much time was spent with Karish, a Tarn that was recently posted to the Enterprise for a cultural exchange, and how he interacts with his species fighting on this world. The loss and insanity of war is unrelenting and very powerful in this book. The solution to the warring factions seemed more Kirk than Picard, but maybe that's why I liked it.
Not as good is the crewman who comes aboard who shares a past with Riker. This past is quickly forgotten once the book begins and was ultimately unnecessary to any part of the plot. Additionally is Karish's personality and dislike for humans. His species is just a Gorn substitute and would have been more believable, given that there's an established history with the Federation. And last was the constant reminders in the opening that the transporters aren't up to snuff. It's obvious that there lack of consistency will be a problem in the book and they are.
This is a decent Trek read, but not a great one. Only for completists.
Two warring factions have been discovered on a world in a neutral zone: one humans and the other the lizard-like Tarn. The surprise is that they have both continued fighting for over two hundred years, though the Federation and the Tarn have a treaty. It falls upon Picard to get the humans to stop fighting. If the Enterprise interferes or aids the humans, the there Tarn ships orbiting the world will attack the Enterprise and war will be declared between the two sides.
I've got to give credit to Forstchen for showing how desperate and obsessed both sides, now made up of the original descendants, are with continuing--and winning--the war. I really like how much time was spent with Karish, a Tarn that was recently posted to the Enterprise for a cultural exchange, and how he interacts with his species fighting on this world. The loss and insanity of war is unrelenting and very powerful in this book. The solution to the warring factions seemed more Kirk than Picard, but maybe that's why I liked it.
Not as good is the crewman who comes aboard who shares a past with Riker. This past is quickly forgotten once the book begins and was ultimately unnecessary to any part of the plot. Additionally is Karish's personality and dislike for humans. His species is just a Gorn substitute and would have been more believable, given that there's an established history with the Federation. And last was the constant reminders in the opening that the transporters aren't up to snuff. It's obvious that there lack of consistency will be a problem in the book and they are.
This is a decent Trek read, but not a great one. Only for completists.
February 23, 2014
Excellent, well written, TNG novel. The Forgotten War reminds me of stories you hear about people who were still fighting for what they thought was WW2, when in fact the war was over. In my opinion, Forstchen did a great job capturing the characters behaviors, such as Worf's sense of honor or Data's corrective nature on misspoken/no entirely correct facts (200 years ago vs 204 years, 30 days, 5 hours, 3 minutes, and 11 seconds ago).
September 9, 2016
3.5 stars. I enjoyed this one more than I initially expected to. Some nicely surprising twists and Picard's final solution was great. The transporter acting up could have been an annoyingly cliched plot devise but fortunately was not.
October 5, 2022
Once you get past all the mistakes this is a very good novel
July 27, 2018
Surprisingly enjoyable, with a level of grittiness and realism not usually seen in a Star Trek book.
The Enterprise is visiting the Tarn system in an attempt to normalise relations after a war 200 years ago plunged both powers into a stalemate. After discovering descendants of that war from both sides, Picard, Riker and the crew must strive to stop the conflict being reignited.
Author William Forstchen has crafted a thoroughly enjoyable read in "The Forgotten War", with a healthy balance of Star Trek optimism mixed in with the grittiness of a brutal centuries old conflict. Picard's role as mediator here is not enviable, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading through his internal struggle to tow the line. There are no immediately obvious solutions here: both Tarn and Federation descendants are intent on destroying each other, and any interference from the Enterprise would have a very real impact on present-day Tarn/Federation relations.
The alien nature of the Tarn speaks to humanity's aversion to reptiles, and reminded me very much of the hostile Xindi Reptilians from Star Trek: Enterprise (this book was written before that series, also explaining the conflicts with the 22nd century timeline established on screen). While Tarn representative Harna Karish's presence was transparently suspicious from the start, his arc from unwilling ambassador to blood-thirsty fighter was entirely believable. Here is a character who longed for war and was looking for any excuse to slay some humans. Contrast this with Admiral Garu Jord, introduced later in the book. He's far more amenable to peace yet simultaneously pragmatic about the difficulties involved obtaining it. Forstchen could have easily made the Tarn a two-dimensional alien threat, but instead we get these layers of character nuance and complexity which make The Forgotten War all the more rich and immersive.
Riker's interaction with the human descents on Torgu-Va is also well written. These are a generation who have been "bred for war", and as result have buried so much of what makes us human. There's a level of grittiness here which resonates with us in the 21st century on account of our exposure to wars' effects on humanity in modern-day conflicts. The big reveal late in the book about who is pulling Lysander Murat's strings works. Just. Normally cryostasis storylines would have me frowning about their convenience, but I wasn't too annoyed this time around. The conflict between Picard and Murat is great fun to read, although I'd have perhaps not made Picard such a kowtower on his first encounter with the Commodore.
The solution is imaginative and satisfactory, if a little quick. So much of the book drips with rich prose about the brutality of an endless war, so when things cease so suddenly it left me rather jarred. That suddenness chips away at a fifth star for this book, alongside the inclusion of the rather unsympathetic character Dr. Janice Eardman. Knowledgeable fans will always have issues when a principal character's backstory is modified to support a storyline. We're lead to believe that Eardman was a huge part of Riker's life before the Enterprise. Then again, with early Riker's womenising tendencies, it may be believable. Still, I can't say I warmed to her (especially with her chafing against Picard later in the book - something which went unchallenged).
A firm four stars. And a pleasant surprise!
The Enterprise is visiting the Tarn system in an attempt to normalise relations after a war 200 years ago plunged both powers into a stalemate. After discovering descendants of that war from both sides, Picard, Riker and the crew must strive to stop the conflict being reignited.
Author William Forstchen has crafted a thoroughly enjoyable read in "The Forgotten War", with a healthy balance of Star Trek optimism mixed in with the grittiness of a brutal centuries old conflict. Picard's role as mediator here is not enviable, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading through his internal struggle to tow the line. There are no immediately obvious solutions here: both Tarn and Federation descendants are intent on destroying each other, and any interference from the Enterprise would have a very real impact on present-day Tarn/Federation relations.
The alien nature of the Tarn speaks to humanity's aversion to reptiles, and reminded me very much of the hostile Xindi Reptilians from Star Trek: Enterprise (this book was written before that series, also explaining the conflicts with the 22nd century timeline established on screen). While Tarn representative Harna Karish's presence was transparently suspicious from the start, his arc from unwilling ambassador to blood-thirsty fighter was entirely believable. Here is a character who longed for war and was looking for any excuse to slay some humans. Contrast this with Admiral Garu Jord, introduced later in the book. He's far more amenable to peace yet simultaneously pragmatic about the difficulties involved obtaining it. Forstchen could have easily made the Tarn a two-dimensional alien threat, but instead we get these layers of character nuance and complexity which make The Forgotten War all the more rich and immersive.
Riker's interaction with the human descents on Torgu-Va is also well written. These are a generation who have been "bred for war", and as result have buried so much of what makes us human. There's a level of grittiness here which resonates with us in the 21st century on account of our exposure to wars' effects on humanity in modern-day conflicts. The big reveal late in the book about who is pulling Lysander Murat's strings works. Just. Normally cryostasis storylines would have me frowning about their convenience, but I wasn't too annoyed this time around. The conflict between Picard and Murat is great fun to read, although I'd have perhaps not made Picard such a kowtower on his first encounter with the Commodore.
The solution is imaginative and satisfactory, if a little quick. So much of the book drips with rich prose about the brutality of an endless war, so when things cease so suddenly it left me rather jarred. That suddenness chips away at a fifth star for this book, alongside the inclusion of the rather unsympathetic character Dr. Janice Eardman. Knowledgeable fans will always have issues when a principal character's backstory is modified to support a storyline. We're lead to believe that Eardman was a huge part of Riker's life before the Enterprise. Then again, with early Riker's womenising tendencies, it may be believable. Still, I can't say I warmed to her (especially with her chafing against Picard later in the book - something which went unchallenged).
A firm four stars. And a pleasant surprise!
May 29, 2023
Star Trek: The Forgotten War centers its very plain and mostly colorless narrative around an honor culture which has resulted in a two hundred year plus war on an isolated planet in a neutral zone between the Federation and the Tarn. Now, the Enterprise is the first starship to host a delegate of the Tarn as they investigate the wreckage of two ships from that war, the Verdun(Federation) and the Rashasa(Tarn). They discover that the descendants of the crews for those ships crashed onto a nearby planet which was off limits and ignored in the neutral zone. Both the Federation and Tarn descendants adopt an honor culture that requires they continue the war, unaware that there has been a cease fire for hundreds of years.
As plots go, this has some solid ground to work from but it doesn't really get there. This could have gone really deep in on two honor cultures that were suddenly facing a very different set of cultures that had developed during a ceasefire. Instead this tries to run to a place were World War Two level technology is what they both have and are using to attack each other. Two hundred years and a pair of crews from hundreds have gotten all the way to tens of thousands at least? That is impressive and aggressive breeding in a place without immigration or much genetic differentiation. But if we ignore those in favor of the honor culture clash we at least get some material that works very well on a person to person level.
As for the characters there are two relationships worth mention. First is Commander Riker and Historian Eardman, a former academy couple that chose their careers over their relationship and are set up to explore what could have been...and then after about three pages just do not deal with it in any significant way. Why bother with the setup is my question, and I assume an editor made story and page cuts to get this thing to a certain length as none of these Star Trek books are particularly long.
The second relationship here is the diplomatic fencing between Federation Captain Picard and Tarn Admiral Jord. They have three or so real conversations that tell you what this really could have been. They are both well drawn characters, neither of whom care for the specific orders trapping them and neither willing to outright ignore them. For their moments alone I added a full star to the two star rating here.
Quick read, easy read, and a solid distraction from heavier material despite the wartime content. This one gets two out of five stars and you can skip it or breeze right through it. Careful of the chapters, they tend to be thirty pages long.
As plots go, this has some solid ground to work from but it doesn't really get there. This could have gone really deep in on two honor cultures that were suddenly facing a very different set of cultures that had developed during a ceasefire. Instead this tries to run to a place were World War Two level technology is what they both have and are using to attack each other. Two hundred years and a pair of crews from hundreds have gotten all the way to tens of thousands at least? That is impressive and aggressive breeding in a place without immigration or much genetic differentiation. But if we ignore those in favor of the honor culture clash we at least get some material that works very well on a person to person level.
As for the characters there are two relationships worth mention. First is Commander Riker and Historian Eardman, a former academy couple that chose their careers over their relationship and are set up to explore what could have been...and then after about three pages just do not deal with it in any significant way. Why bother with the setup is my question, and I assume an editor made story and page cuts to get this thing to a certain length as none of these Star Trek books are particularly long.
The second relationship here is the diplomatic fencing between Federation Captain Picard and Tarn Admiral Jord. They have three or so real conversations that tell you what this really could have been. They are both well drawn characters, neither of whom care for the specific orders trapping them and neither willing to outright ignore them. For their moments alone I added a full star to the two star rating here.
Quick read, easy read, and a solid distraction from heavier material despite the wartime content. This one gets two out of five stars and you can skip it or breeze right through it. Careful of the chapters, they tend to be thirty pages long.
December 13, 2024
Undertaking a journey through a former no-go zone between the Federation and the Tarn to maintain peace, the Enterprise comes across wreckages and survivors who have been at war for two hundred years. Patterns are set, and the war continues, despite Riker and his ex-girlfriend Dr Janice Eardman who is a Historian on board for a mission representing the modern Federation that has a cease fire with the Tarn. The Tarn send in battleships and a greater war is at risk, forcing Picard and his opposite to come to an understanding, while the war goes on on the planet.
This is a tight and well written novel where the reader is taken on a journey into this war, and its darkness and dirt is written in the feelings of the characters. Unexpectedly solid writing, where I’m left with the impression of the Enterprise crew feeling less solid and real than this visceral experience of the old-fashioned war. No phasers here, its bullets, explosives, and concussive forces raining the dirt and rock and dust, which coats everything, and our characters try to be useful. Riker, Dr Eardman and Picard all have some poignant experiences, and Picard forges a new unlikely friendship. The fallibility of people, their limitations, and depth are here, and well written.
Definitely one of the better ST novels I’ve read and a nice addition to Picard’s and Riker’s stories.
This is a tight and well written novel where the reader is taken on a journey into this war, and its darkness and dirt is written in the feelings of the characters. Unexpectedly solid writing, where I’m left with the impression of the Enterprise crew feeling less solid and real than this visceral experience of the old-fashioned war. No phasers here, its bullets, explosives, and concussive forces raining the dirt and rock and dust, which coats everything, and our characters try to be useful. Riker, Dr Eardman and Picard all have some poignant experiences, and Picard forges a new unlikely friendship. The fallibility of people, their limitations, and depth are here, and well written.
Definitely one of the better ST novels I’ve read and a nice addition to Picard’s and Riker’s stories.
December 21, 2018
This one really surprised me as I had just finished the Double Helix series and it was just pleasant to have a self-contained story for once. This felt very much like a missing episode from the 5th or 6th season (though I think the author's 200 year timeline was a little off - research people!). I liked the characters they introduced and the conflict that they had to deal with was interesting and felt very Trek-like in nature. I also enjoyed the ending so that was a highlight as well. I was tempted to give it 5 stars but I just couldn't so I'd probably rate it a 4.5 or 4.75 as the timeline thing at the beginning was annoying to me but if you can get past that there's a good Trek book here.
August 4, 2022
Surprisingly enjoyable and the reviews don’t do it justice here. Well written, short and an entraining read which places the Federation in an interesting light. If left alone and desperate for survival, would you give up your own moral code to survive? What would the limit of that? The Tarn were also an interesting bad guy, feeling like a more Klingon version of the Cardassians. Also reminded of Japanese soldiers they found in very remote places that still believed World War II was on going. Good read
November 7, 2020
Enjoyed this book the premise of the book interested me a lot it was good to see the enterprise d crew come across federation fighters and the tarn fighting a war that should have ended two hundred years ago I did like that picard tried to convince these federation fighters that the war is over and they don't believe him but then when they're shown evidence they end the war. Very well written novel
January 21, 2021
Not bad
Good entertaining book set in the TNG era of Star Trek. Feel some of the characterisations are a bit off Picard is quite weak and Riker having delusions of grandeur doesn't quite fit what we know of those characters an intriguing premise though!
Good entertaining book set in the TNG era of Star Trek. Feel some of the characterisations are a bit off Picard is quite weak and Riker having delusions of grandeur doesn't quite fit what we know of those characters an intriguing premise though!
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September 4, 2019Enjoyable
October 17, 2020
Not too bad...
November 27, 2024
Once again, intrigued by the premise, and then the story turned out to be simply fine.
April 4, 2025
I found this novel enjoyable and a good bit of fun. By no means the best thing I’ve ever read but it is engaging despite the lack of plot halfway through the book.
July 10, 2014
Over 200 years before Captain Picard's time, Starfleet Captain Lucien Murat, legendary Starfleet officer and contemporary of Christopher Pike, disappeared during the war with reptilian alien species, the Tarn. A cease-fire was called long since, but it is an uneasy peace that exists between the Tarn and the Federation. In the effort to speed diplomatic negotiations, Picard takes on Commander Karish of the Tarn as an exchange officer. While Karish is aboard, the Enterprise discovers descendants of both Murat and his crew as well as survivors from a Tarn ship on a planet in the No-Entry Zone between Federation and Tarn space. These castaways are still fighting the battle begun two centuries ago...and the Tarn have just perfected fission bombs. Unless Picard can convince both sides that the war is over, the humans will face certain destruction. Officials from both sides have forbidden Picard and his Tarn counterpart Admiral Jord from assisting their own people. Picard must devise a clever plan that will both conform to his orders and yet save the survivors from both sides. If he can't, the war with the Tarn may spread once again into space.
The Forgotten War (STNG #57) by William R. Forstchen is a decent Trek novel. It offers commentary on the reasons for war and the results of an ongoing battle between two enemies who are equally matched and are neither prepared to look for an alternate solution to the generations of bloodshed. Trek has always examined huge social and historical issues of just this nature, so Forstchen sticks to canon in that way. There are small indicators that he doesn't quite have his characters down, however. Phrasing that just doesn't ring true for Picard. Referring to Riker as "Will" in about 90% of the situations--it should generally be Riker when narrating and unless in relaxed circumstances his colleagues should call him "Number One" (the captain) or "Commander." Small quibbles--but details do matter. And...as another Goodreads reviewer (Jimyanni) noted--this race is awful reminiscent of the Gorn. If there had been such a big conflict with the Tarn (another lizard-like race) during the time of Pike (not so very long before Kirk), then you would, indeed, expect that it might have been mentioned. Again--small quibble. Overall--a good read. Quick-paced and full of action. I do like how Picard and Admiral Jord work together to get their respective peoples to stand down from a final battle that will surely destroy all those on the planet.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
The Forgotten War (STNG #57) by William R. Forstchen is a decent Trek novel. It offers commentary on the reasons for war and the results of an ongoing battle between two enemies who are equally matched and are neither prepared to look for an alternate solution to the generations of bloodshed. Trek has always examined huge social and historical issues of just this nature, so Forstchen sticks to canon in that way. There are small indicators that he doesn't quite have his characters down, however. Phrasing that just doesn't ring true for Picard. Referring to Riker as "Will" in about 90% of the situations--it should generally be Riker when narrating and unless in relaxed circumstances his colleagues should call him "Number One" (the captain) or "Commander." Small quibbles--but details do matter. And...as another Goodreads reviewer (Jimyanni) noted--this race is awful reminiscent of the Gorn. If there had been such a big conflict with the Tarn (another lizard-like race) during the time of Pike (not so very long before Kirk), then you would, indeed, expect that it might have been mentioned. Again--small quibble. Overall--a good read. Quick-paced and full of action. I do like how Picard and Admiral Jord work together to get their respective peoples to stand down from a final battle that will surely destroy all those on the planet.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
October 26, 2010
A bit weak for a four-star rating, this book was just a tad too good for a three star rating. It is an interesting look at the likely results of a war between two implacable enemies, with both sides equally advanced technologically and neither side able to get enough of an edge to win conclusively. The book is well-written in terms of technical merit and well-edited in terms of avoiding the typos and other similar errors all too common in mass-market paperbacks, and it has good characterizations and good pacing.
One minor quibble is that it postulates a war in the "past history" of the Federation that clearly never happened in the "canonoical" Star Trek universe, (surely, if there had been even a semi-major conflict early in the history of the Federation that involved a species of sentient lizards as the opposition, it would have been mentioned long since -- during the episode "Arena", in which Kirk and the original Enterprise run afoul of a similar alien race, the Gorn, if at no other time) so obviously, this book is an "alternate timeline" story, even if neither the author nor the editors and publisher are aware of that fact. That quibble, plus a sincere doubt that Picard's solution to the problem would have worked (can't say more without offering up a spoiler) are enough to drop the rating a point, and the sub-plot between Riker and his old flame seemed rather superfluous and irrelevant, but not quite enough to justify the loss of a second star.
One minor quibble is that it postulates a war in the "past history" of the Federation that clearly never happened in the "canonoical" Star Trek universe, (surely, if there had been even a semi-major conflict early in the history of the Federation that involved a species of sentient lizards as the opposition, it would have been mentioned long since -- during the episode "Arena", in which Kirk and the original Enterprise run afoul of a similar alien race, the Gorn, if at no other time) so obviously, this book is an "alternate timeline" story, even if neither the author nor the editors and publisher are aware of that fact. That quibble, plus a sincere doubt that Picard's solution to the problem would have worked (can't say more without offering up a spoiler) are enough to drop the rating a point, and the sub-plot between Riker and his old flame seemed rather superfluous and irrelevant, but not quite enough to justify the loss of a second star.
February 6, 2013
A decent story. The Enterprise is having an office exchange program with a previously hostile reptile race.They find an oldbattle site, and then discover a war on the planet nearby. The Federation and the Reptile people have been at war for 200 years on the planet and they are not going to stop now. Some very good characters especially the Reptile Admiral. Picard is also well done too. A good read.
January 23, 2012
There was a lot of Picard speechifying, so this automatically got 4 stars. It was a great story, with some odd mistypes (calling Worf a "Commander" during the NCC-1701-D era?) and some slight mischaracterizations (Picard calling anyone "son"). But, despite some slight stumbles, it's a good Star Trek: TNG book. Nice ending.
July 16, 2020
My first Star Trek book! This is a typically fantastic Forstchen story and he put his spin on the "current" war that the plot revolves around. Forstchen did a great job of keeping the main characters personality true to form (true to someone who has only seen them in television.) I liked this book much more than I thought I would.
September 5, 2010
I loved the ending..
November 13, 2025
Good read
I enjoyed reading the continuing adventures of the Enterprise D. The book reads very easily but it is an entertaining story.
I enjoyed reading the continuing adventures of the Enterprise D. The book reads very easily but it is an entertaining story.
April 6, 2016
If you miss the TV shows, read the books! This is another excellent entry in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series. How does one end war? Read about Picard's answer to this question.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews