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While answering a distress call from a scientific station in a remote part of the galaxy, the U.S.S. Enterprise becomes infected with a mysterious alien life form which feeds on and transforms inorganic materials.
The Starship begins to gradually disintegrate, and Starfleet is forced to order its evacuation and destruction to prevent the dangerous infection from spreading throughout the galaxy. It's the end of an era for Captain Picard and his crew, who are scheduled for transfers that will split them up among different Starfleet vessels.
But even as the end draws near for the Starship Enterprise, Captain Picard begins to formulate a desperate plan to save his ship and preserve his crew—a plan that will force him to defy Starfleet orders and lead him to a confrontation with a malevolent alien force which has the power to destroy the entire Federation.
The Starship begins to gradually disintegrate, and Starfleet is forced to order its evacuation and destruction to prevent the dangerous infection from spreading throughout the galaxy. It's the end of an era for Captain Picard and his crew, who are scheduled for transfers that will split them up among different Starfleet vessels.
But even as the end draws near for the Starship Enterprise, Captain Picard begins to formulate a desperate plan to save his ship and preserve his crew—a plan that will force him to defy Starfleet orders and lead him to a confrontation with a malevolent alien force which has the power to destroy the entire Federation.
273 pages, Unknown Binding
First published March 1, 1993
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547 people want to read
About the author
David Bischoff
164 books103 followersaka Mark Grant (with Bruce King), Brad Quentin (with Terry Bisson)
Born in Washington D.C. and now living in Eugene, Oregon, David Bischoff writes science fiction books, short stories, and scripts for television. Though he has been writing since the early 1970s, and has had over 80 books published, David is best known for novelizations of popular movies and TV series including the Aliens, Gremlins, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and WarGames.
Born in Washington D.C. and now living in Eugene, Oregon, David Bischoff writes science fiction books, short stories, and scripts for television. Though he has been writing since the early 1970s, and has had over 80 books published, David is best known for novelizations of popular movies and TV series including the Aliens, Gremlins, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and WarGames.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
November 10, 2022
This was an okay Star Trek novel, nothing too noteworthy or groundbreaking, and a few quirks. For instance, money is a thing again in the Federation, but not on the Enterprise, as an ancillary character is stated as having been a tutor when she was in school to "earn extra money" and Data stating that "everything on the Enterprise is free." Also, there's a strange part where another ancillary character, who has been living on the Enterprise for at least of couple of years has a moment when speaking to the antagonist/dilemma/monster-of-the-week and thinks to herself that she's "never spoken to an alien before"...what? Really?!? Not once? She literally is a patient of Counselor Troi and has never spoken to an alien? She's also autistic which is shown by the fact that when placed in awkward social situations she enters an "autistic trance" (o.k.a. autistic catatonia), but otherwise has no other symptoms, it seems. I think a better way to rephrase that would be that "she had never spoken to something so alien"...a simple fix, makes more sense, and doesn't pull me out of the story...
Picard also looks rough on the cover...tired, rugged, hasn't shaved for a couple of days. And he reignites passion with an old flame - again. Picard is like the king of the decades-later rebound.
It would make a relatively decent episode, with cheesy 90's CGI graphics, and an obstinate Admiral to overcome - who is also overweight, and frequently described as such, just like all women are frequently described physically.
Picard also looks rough on the cover...tired, rugged, hasn't shaved for a couple of days. And he reignites passion with an old flame - again. Picard is like the king of the decades-later rebound.
It would make a relatively decent episode, with cheesy 90's CGI graphics, and an obstinate Admiral to overcome - who is also overweight, and frequently described as such, just like all women are frequently described physically.
March 5, 2017
An exciting and fun space opera yarn. Much better than usual for this series.
September 15, 2019
It's an easy, comfortable read, with an excellent plot. In fact, it screams "this should have been an episode", which is par for the course from an author who has his name on two actual TNG episodes. That said, there are number of items that do irritate me here, including: (1) a strange formality/awkwardness in the crew, that makes them seem more season 1 than season 5; (2) a number of throwaway characters that just feel like sketched in cliches, particularly the Admiral and Dr. Chavez; (3) the Penelope sub-plot just seems to come out of left-field, and feels very off-kilter compared to the rest of the novel...and she's also rather irritating. Overall, it's not a total win, but it still qualifies as acceptable TNG comfort food.
July 11, 2020
This read very much like a classic TNG episode.
The book opens dramatically with the Enterprise in space dock with all the officers sulking in a hallway. The arriving admiral announces there's nothing to be done but drag the Enterprise into deep space and blow it up. That was one heck of a way to pull me into the story.
Going back a week, the reader learns that the Enterprise is answering a distress call from a science station on a remote planet. Something is discovered that leads to a growing threat to the ship and all aboard it. The threat was very cool--it's not one that TNG encounters often, and I welcomed it. I'm not a reader that's fond of narration from the threat's point of view that are written as interludes, though it does increase the tension, it's just not a convention I'm fond of in any writing. That said, once the threat grows beyond this, it was a solid roller coaster ride. I especially liked what the leads did to stop it. Praise must also be given to the character that was created for this book who has an attribute that is rare in science fiction. I really liked this character and was rooting for her to survive the experience.
This was a fun read that really captured the spirit of the episodes.
The book opens dramatically with the Enterprise in space dock with all the officers sulking in a hallway. The arriving admiral announces there's nothing to be done but drag the Enterprise into deep space and blow it up. That was one heck of a way to pull me into the story.
Going back a week, the reader learns that the Enterprise is answering a distress call from a science station on a remote planet. Something is discovered that leads to a growing threat to the ship and all aboard it. The threat was very cool--it's not one that TNG encounters often, and I welcomed it. I'm not a reader that's fond of narration from the threat's point of view that are written as interludes, though it does increase the tension, it's just not a convention I'm fond of in any writing. That said, once the threat grows beyond this, it was a solid roller coaster ride. I especially liked what the leads did to stop it. Praise must also be given to the character that was created for this book who has an attribute that is rare in science fiction. I really liked this character and was rooting for her to survive the experience.
This was a fun read that really captured the spirit of the episodes.
January 20, 2026
2023 Review 91. Star Trek The Next Generation #25 Grounded by David Bishoff
Page Count : 273
The prologue of this book is set a week before the main narrative of the story and you learn that the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D has been declared by Starfleet as unsalvageable and is scheduled for destruction.
Set several years into the mission of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, the ship is called to divert from it's original mission to rescue survivors of an unknown disaster.
Arriving at the destination, Captain Picard sends an away team in a modified shuttle craft to rescue the only survivors (2) including an old friend of Captain Picard (who he had a romantic relationship with while at Starfleet Academy).
The away team bring a lifeform aboard the ship which begins feeding on the ship forcing the crew to abandon their mission to deliver a vaccine and divert again to a starbase because the ship requires drydocking to fix it.
Unfortunately, by the time the Enterprise reaches the starbase, the ship is extremely badly damaged and declared a total loss by the admiral in charge of the base.
Of course, Captain Picard and his crew are desperate to save their ship and are working to come up with a solution.
This book would have made a great episode of the series and is definitely one I will definitely reread again in the future.
5*
*****
Page Count : 273
The prologue of this book is set a week before the main narrative of the story and you learn that the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D has been declared by Starfleet as unsalvageable and is scheduled for destruction.
Set several years into the mission of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, the ship is called to divert from it's original mission to rescue survivors of an unknown disaster.
Arriving at the destination, Captain Picard sends an away team in a modified shuttle craft to rescue the only survivors (2) including an old friend of Captain Picard (who he had a romantic relationship with while at Starfleet Academy).
The away team bring a lifeform aboard the ship which begins feeding on the ship forcing the crew to abandon their mission to deliver a vaccine and divert again to a starbase because the ship requires drydocking to fix it.
Unfortunately, by the time the Enterprise reaches the starbase, the ship is extremely badly damaged and declared a total loss by the admiral in charge of the base.
Of course, Captain Picard and his crew are desperate to save their ship and are working to come up with a solution.
This book would have made a great episode of the series and is definitely one I will definitely reread again in the future.
5*
*****
October 15, 2022
This was... not great. The main story isn't unengaging, but it takes far too long to get to the point and I never really 'believed' it. The main issues are with the stilted dialogue and the characters who don't act like themselves (the various volleyball games are a particular lowlight), along with the awkward, long, boring, obvious scenes between Data and Penelope and the accompanying flirtation with Mikal.
Also, at one point the author describes Beverly Crusher as a 'large woman'. I hope for his sake that Gates McFadden never sees this.
Also, at one point the author describes Beverly Crusher as a 'large woman'. I hope for his sake that Gates McFadden never sees this.
February 11, 2016
I thought that this was just a fun book to read. I really like the TV show, so this was just like another episode. That's the reason for the five stars. It's not brilliantly written or anything, but it was an enjoyable read for me. The story did seem to take a while to get going, but it was still good.
September 23, 2018
The plot was interesting enough, but the writing was bizarre and the characterization made the crew unrecognisable. It felt like a Star Trek book written by a person who was only aware of Star Trek through third hand accounts.
January 1, 2013
what??? seriously?? simple. stupid. waste of print. so sad.
June 4, 2021
David Bischoff is a very familiar name in genre fiction having penned all the Space Precinct novels as well as contributing to Alien, AVP, The Crow, Farscape, Seaquest DSV and the novelizations of The Blob, Gremlins II, Hackers and Some Kind of Wonderful - While I've never found his writing particularly great, his stories are usually good, very much in keeping with their shows and he usually gets the characters spot on, so I thought I'd check out his entry in the Star Trek TNG universe.
Indeed, it's not bad and reads like it could easily be an episode of the show. The Enterprise responds to a distress call from a geology study team headed by an old ex-girlfriend of Picard's. The Away Team find the whole science team dead except for Dr. Adrienne Tillstrom who is unconscious in a coma and her son Mikal, also unconscious. They bring the two survivors back to the Enterprise, but also traipse in quite a bit of mud. This 'mud' is in fact a silicate life-form which attaches itself to the hull of the Enterprise and proceeds to grow. It likes its new home and is very very hostile to organic beings. The problem gets so bad that Star Fleet order the Enterprise destroyed and Picard and his crew are against the clock to either communicate with or destroy this new entity threatening their ship.
There's a secondary plot strand revolving around Troi & Data's attempts to help the daughter of two Enterprise crew members, Penelope an autistic teenager with a huge crush on Mikal.
I thought the characterization in this was great and it focuses on a wide range of the Enterprise crew: Picard, Geordi, Crusher, Troi, Data, even Riker & Worf get some nice moments. There's one point in the novel where Star Fleet demand the final destruction of the Enterprise and we get a chapter dedicated to the personal logs of each of the characters in turn, giving us their thoughts on the matter - their reactions are a perfect reflection of their characters.
The story is solid and a good vehicle for the characters. I really liked the sequence where Geordi and his team go out onto the hull and get attacked, seemingly by the hull itself! Nicely visual - would have looked excellent on screen.
Over all this one is just like watching a standard episode of TNG - It's not amazing - other than giving Picard a love interest, it doesn't really develop the characters beyond the limitations of the show and the story, while good isn't Trek at its most groundbreaking. However it is a fairly decent spin off novel and for those who are tired of watching TNG re-runs for the umpteenth time and want more this one is a perfectly adequate addition.
Indeed, it's not bad and reads like it could easily be an episode of the show. The Enterprise responds to a distress call from a geology study team headed by an old ex-girlfriend of Picard's. The Away Team find the whole science team dead except for Dr. Adrienne Tillstrom who is unconscious in a coma and her son Mikal, also unconscious. They bring the two survivors back to the Enterprise, but also traipse in quite a bit of mud. This 'mud' is in fact a silicate life-form which attaches itself to the hull of the Enterprise and proceeds to grow. It likes its new home and is very very hostile to organic beings. The problem gets so bad that Star Fleet order the Enterprise destroyed and Picard and his crew are against the clock to either communicate with or destroy this new entity threatening their ship.
There's a secondary plot strand revolving around Troi & Data's attempts to help the daughter of two Enterprise crew members, Penelope an autistic teenager with a huge crush on Mikal.
I thought the characterization in this was great and it focuses on a wide range of the Enterprise crew: Picard, Geordi, Crusher, Troi, Data, even Riker & Worf get some nice moments. There's one point in the novel where Star Fleet demand the final destruction of the Enterprise and we get a chapter dedicated to the personal logs of each of the characters in turn, giving us their thoughts on the matter - their reactions are a perfect reflection of their characters.
The story is solid and a good vehicle for the characters. I really liked the sequence where Geordi and his team go out onto the hull and get attacked, seemingly by the hull itself! Nicely visual - would have looked excellent on screen.
Over all this one is just like watching a standard episode of TNG - It's not amazing - other than giving Picard a love interest, it doesn't really develop the characters beyond the limitations of the show and the story, while good isn't Trek at its most groundbreaking. However it is a fairly decent spin off novel and for those who are tired of watching TNG re-runs for the umpteenth time and want more this one is a perfectly adequate addition.
June 21, 2025
In Grounded, David Bischoff boldly goes where not many Trek novels had gone before—into the bureaucratic underbelly of Starfleet, where politics are more dangerous than Klingons, and phasers are replaced with paperwork. When the flagship of the Federation—the USS Enterprise-D—is suddenly grounded, the implications are galaxy-shaking. And worse? The order seems... fishy.
Cue the drama.
The crew is scattered, the bridge is silent, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard, ever the man of principle, must now battle a conspiracy without a clear enemy, using diplomacy, instinct, and a healthy dash of rebellion. Because when Starfleet Command starts acting shady and the brass is suddenly mum about a major political cover-up, you know something’s really rotten in San Francisco HQ.
The genius of this novel is how it plays with power and paralysis. No warp drive. No exploratory missions. No aliens-of-the-week. Just a deep dive into what happens when the best ship in the fleet is taken off the board—and what that says about trust, loyalty, and institutional fragility.
Each character gets a moment to shine:
Riker flirts with insubordination like it’s a trombone solo.
Data, of course, applies pure logic to unraveling the illogical.
Troi and Crusher lean into emotional intelligence and intuition.
And Geordi? He might just hack the entire system before breakfast.
And through it all, Picard leads—not from the bridge, but from a place of moral clarity, even when everything around him is murky.
Bischoff’s writing balances the techno-speak and ethical tension like a true Star Trek fan. There are no flashy space battles, but the stakes feel just as high—the integrity of Starfleet itself is on trial. It's a Trek novel that asks not, “What alien will we meet?” but, “What happens when our own system betrays us?”
In essence, Grounded is The West Wing meets The Next Generation—a cerebral, character-driven tale of defiance, trust, and doing what's right, even when the uniform tells you to stand down. It’s not about warp speed—it’s about standing still and refusing to back down.
Cue the drama.
The crew is scattered, the bridge is silent, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard, ever the man of principle, must now battle a conspiracy without a clear enemy, using diplomacy, instinct, and a healthy dash of rebellion. Because when Starfleet Command starts acting shady and the brass is suddenly mum about a major political cover-up, you know something’s really rotten in San Francisco HQ.
The genius of this novel is how it plays with power and paralysis. No warp drive. No exploratory missions. No aliens-of-the-week. Just a deep dive into what happens when the best ship in the fleet is taken off the board—and what that says about trust, loyalty, and institutional fragility.
Each character gets a moment to shine:
Riker flirts with insubordination like it’s a trombone solo.
Data, of course, applies pure logic to unraveling the illogical.
Troi and Crusher lean into emotional intelligence and intuition.
And Geordi? He might just hack the entire system before breakfast.
And through it all, Picard leads—not from the bridge, but from a place of moral clarity, even when everything around him is murky.
Bischoff’s writing balances the techno-speak and ethical tension like a true Star Trek fan. There are no flashy space battles, but the stakes feel just as high—the integrity of Starfleet itself is on trial. It's a Trek novel that asks not, “What alien will we meet?” but, “What happens when our own system betrays us?”
In essence, Grounded is The West Wing meets The Next Generation—a cerebral, character-driven tale of defiance, trust, and doing what's right, even when the uniform tells you to stand down. It’s not about warp speed—it’s about standing still and refusing to back down.
April 12, 2020
An old romantic partner of Captain Picard was stationed at a scientific research facility on a planet that experiences dramatic and continuous geological activity. When a distress signal is received from the station, the Enterprise responds and discovers the station destroyed by a mass of unusual mud. Only two people are left alive, the former partner and her adult son.
After the Enterprise leaves the planet, the crew discovers that an alien life form has invaded their ship. It is a form of sentient mud that is capable of altering inorganic matter into its own form, so it is assimilating the Enterprise. They manage to reach a star base and the commander there orders the crew off the Enterprise so that it can be destroyed along with the creature. Since the creature appears capable of destroying the entire Federation, this seems like the only option.
Facing the disbursement of the crew to other ships in the Federation fleet, the crew is despondent and unwilling to let go. Led by Captain Picard, some of the officers go back on board the Enterprise when it is being towed to the destruction site in an attempt to destroy the creature. This is a direct violation of their orders, but they are desperate. In a last ditch battle against the creature, their plan works, and the creature is subdued.
There is an interweaved subplot involving an autistic woman and her mentor Data. It is the opinion of Deanna Troi that Data is the most logical choice for a male figure in her life as she struggles to cope with becoming socialized into the world. It is a subplot that works quite well and is not a senseless distraction from the main action.
The story is a good one, but the climactic moment of the final battle is made a bit more dramatic that it needed to be. I would have preferred a bit more of the relationship interaction between Data and the autistic woman as well. That could have been made very interesting.
After the Enterprise leaves the planet, the crew discovers that an alien life form has invaded their ship. It is a form of sentient mud that is capable of altering inorganic matter into its own form, so it is assimilating the Enterprise. They manage to reach a star base and the commander there orders the crew off the Enterprise so that it can be destroyed along with the creature. Since the creature appears capable of destroying the entire Federation, this seems like the only option.
Facing the disbursement of the crew to other ships in the Federation fleet, the crew is despondent and unwilling to let go. Led by Captain Picard, some of the officers go back on board the Enterprise when it is being towed to the destruction site in an attempt to destroy the creature. This is a direct violation of their orders, but they are desperate. In a last ditch battle against the creature, their plan works, and the creature is subdued.
There is an interweaved subplot involving an autistic woman and her mentor Data. It is the opinion of Deanna Troi that Data is the most logical choice for a male figure in her life as she struggles to cope with becoming socialized into the world. It is a subplot that works quite well and is not a senseless distraction from the main action.
The story is a good one, but the climactic moment of the final battle is made a bit more dramatic that it needed to be. I would have preferred a bit more of the relationship interaction between Data and the autistic woman as well. That could have been made very interesting.
September 24, 2023
Two and one-quarter stars
Yikes. Okay, so the author has a reasonable grasp of most of the characters he’s playing with here save for a few lines and personality ticks that just don’t match the characters.
But the addition of autism-saves-the-day just feels offensive. Not that it’s truly offensive here; the author clearly chose it as a plot point because that’s what was happening in the younger generation in 1993. Furthermore, he writes the young people’s dialogue in the book as if they’re from American 1960s culture (which I’m sure the author grew up in and experienced himself.) The author is playing with a subject (autism) he knows very little about and had assumed (like most boomers do) that it is merely a defect of the next generation (pun intended) that his never had or had to deal with. It makes me wonder he saw a special on the news or Donahue about autism and used the undoubtedly very little knowledge that was presented and digested & baked it into a Star Trek book thinking he was clever. Kind of disgusting. Thank god he didn’t write this in the 80s or it would have been about AIDS.
I don’t blame the author for this travesty, but if STTNG has proven anything, it’s that you don’t use anything in pop culture or in the news after 1960s save a few major events. It just ages horribly.
Yikes. Okay, so the author has a reasonable grasp of most of the characters he’s playing with here save for a few lines and personality ticks that just don’t match the characters.
But the addition of autism-saves-the-day just feels offensive. Not that it’s truly offensive here; the author clearly chose it as a plot point because that’s what was happening in the younger generation in 1993. Furthermore, he writes the young people’s dialogue in the book as if they’re from American 1960s culture (which I’m sure the author grew up in and experienced himself.) The author is playing with a subject (autism) he knows very little about and had assumed (like most boomers do) that it is merely a defect of the next generation (pun intended) that his never had or had to deal with. It makes me wonder he saw a special on the news or Donahue about autism and used the undoubtedly very little knowledge that was presented and digested & baked it into a Star Trek book thinking he was clever. Kind of disgusting. Thank god he didn’t write this in the 80s or it would have been about AIDS.
I don’t blame the author for this travesty, but if STTNG has proven anything, it’s that you don’t use anything in pop culture or in the news after 1960s save a few major events. It just ages horribly.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 23, 2021
I started typing "interesting but a little bland," for this review, which seems a contradiction, really, but I stand by it. The Enterprise is taken over by an intelligence made of clay, brought on board from an away mission to a geological research station. I don't have a whole lot of faith in the science here, but that's not the point. It reminded me of every blob-based B-grade horror ever made, and that isn't a criticism, I adore B-grade horror, but I can't say I was surprised at anything that happened... the opening hook was clearly never going to come to pass, so not much tension there. And as such, it was likeable enough and mildly interesting, but... yes, bland. Picard is a reserved personality, but there's a difference between reserved and muted and I think that got glossed over a bit here. On the other hand, I do enjoy seeing Troi acting as a counselor to people onboard, and her treatment of a young adult here was sympathetic and plot-relevant, although not being autistic myself I can't comment with any level of accuracy on Penelope's experiences.
Not the best Trek book I've read, but not the worst either. Just solidly average, I think.
Not the best Trek book I've read, but not the worst either. Just solidly average, I think.
January 30, 2025
1.5 stars. An unfortunate mix of mind-numbingly boring and offensively ignorant.
The main plot might have been interesting if the author didn't give away everything that had happened in the Prologue. I spent the next 120 pages absolutely bored out of my mind as there was no mystery whatsoever in anything that what was happening.
Between that and the absolutely cringe-worthy autistic misrepresentation, this 273-page novel turned into a month-long slog. I generally do not DNF, but I got real close to it.
If you're autistic, love anyone who is autistic, or know anything at all about autism, please don't read this. You will walk away seething with rage.
If you don't know anything about autism and want to learn, please don't read this. You will walk away completely misinformed and undoubtedly more ableist than you came in.
If you love Star Trek, please don't read this. The crew is nearly unrecognizable.
Just... please don't read this.
The main plot might have been interesting if the author didn't give away everything that had happened in the Prologue. I spent the next 120 pages absolutely bored out of my mind as there was no mystery whatsoever in anything that what was happening.
Between that and the absolutely cringe-worthy autistic misrepresentation, this 273-page novel turned into a month-long slog. I generally do not DNF, but I got real close to it.
If you're autistic, love anyone who is autistic, or know anything at all about autism, please don't read this. You will walk away seething with rage.
If you don't know anything about autism and want to learn, please don't read this. You will walk away completely misinformed and undoubtedly more ableist than you came in.
If you love Star Trek, please don't read this. The crew is nearly unrecognizable.
Just... please don't read this.
June 15, 2023
Never have I read a Star Trek book that so utterly failed to capture the voices and characterizations of it’s crew. This was released in 1993 at the height of TNG’s run, so why did this author not understand the interactions of the main crew and their core mannerisms? No one sounded like themselves, and many little details were painfully noticeable in their inaccuracy: Picard’s days as an academy student that don’t adhere to the troublesome man we know from the show, and even the idea that people say “over” when they’re finished using their communicators! Did this guy ever watch the show?! The only characters I found interesting were the original ones and in particular Penelope Winthrop. Exploring autism though a 24th century lens was an interesting idea and her character was one I was rooting for in the story. One of the only things keeping my interest honestly.
December 30, 2024
My son gave this paperback to me for Christmas 2021. I've just re-read it and it's a fun, exciting, self-contained story where the Enterprise itself is put in mortal danger and is scheduled for demolition in the opening pages of the book. We then back up a week and follow events as they unfold toward that opening teaser.
Data is the star of this show for the most part. He gets the most fun scenes. The main ensemble are all well-represented, with the minor exception of Chief O'Brien who is well utilized but only has a few scenes. Otherwise, everyone gets at least one standout moment and that's nice.
It's well-written. The characters' voices are correct and consistent throughout. This book would be a good read even for non-Trekkers but especially for us Trek-lovers this is a good one. It's the first book I've read by David Bischoff and he does well here.
Data is the star of this show for the most part. He gets the most fun scenes. The main ensemble are all well-represented, with the minor exception of Chief O'Brien who is well utilized but only has a few scenes. Otherwise, everyone gets at least one standout moment and that's nice.
It's well-written. The characters' voices are correct and consistent throughout. This book would be a good read even for non-Trekkers but especially for us Trek-lovers this is a good one. It's the first book I've read by David Bischoff and he does well here.
January 31, 2025
I’ve only read a few Star Trek novels so far (and plan to read more), but this was the most poorly written one I’ve encountered yet, so I’ll be avoiding Bischoff in the future. There were several typos and mistakes that should’ve been caught in editing, stilted dialogue between flat characters, a weird obsession with describing the bodies of women (especially that of an 18-year-old girl’s, which gave me the ick big time), and some abnormal and outdated takes on autism. I should’ve DNFed after the first 50 pages like I considered doing, but I kept hoping the plot would pick up and become more interesting (it really didn’t; the prologue was the most exciting part). The baddie is essentially a mud monster, so do with that what you will.
April 17, 2025
This would be a middle-of-the-road episode of TNG. We've got a kid with special powers and a mysterious substance that seems to be engulfing the Enterprise: well-worn ground in the Trek universe, and Bischoff doesn't provide anything particularly fresh to liven up these familiar plotlines.
This is the only Trek novel I've tried out so far, and, as with any franchise media like this, I understand the predicament of the authors: you can't do anything too impactful, but you also want to provide something reasonably engaging (so to speak). You can achieve that goal by delving into the characters or by wowing with a strong premise, and this book didn't quite hit either of those marks for me.
This is the only Trek novel I've tried out so far, and, as with any franchise media like this, I understand the predicament of the authors: you can't do anything too impactful, but you also want to provide something reasonably engaging (so to speak). You can achieve that goal by delving into the characters or by wowing with a strong premise, and this book didn't quite hit either of those marks for me.
November 12, 2017
Well the premise and story seemed interesting enough but the combativeness of the Admiral and him not budging on Picard's efforts to save his ship seemed more like padding then actual story. The story of Date and Penelope with her eventual relationship with Mikal did influence the story in the end but I was worried that this was only there to add length but Penelope was a good character - an autistic telepath - which added something to Trek which it hadn't done too much before - other than in the Tin Man episode. Some cool ideas but I never felt tension, just frustration at times.
April 24, 2018
So this one I couldn't put down, and really wanted to keep reading. But then I realized, the stakes are bullshit--the Enterprise isn't going anywhere, and neither is the crew. So I set it down for a while and picked it back up and realized I was right.
Data was basically an automaton, a common complaint about many of these novels. Other characters were tossed in with a "oh yeah, I need to include more than just Picard and not-Data" type of ambivalence.
Pulse pounding, but not so intense when you realize everything's going to work out just fine.
Data was basically an automaton, a common complaint about many of these novels. Other characters were tossed in with a "oh yeah, I need to include more than just Picard and not-Data" type of ambivalence.
Pulse pounding, but not so intense when you realize everything's going to work out just fine.
November 8, 2022
I'm sorry, but wtf? The alien could have been interesting. But the characters only filled roles, the author doesn't know a damn thing about autism, and he used clichés intentionally. I managed to overlook other awkwardnesses, so I won't be posting them here, but they exist. I will continue with the series, but, honestly, I thought that by book #25 we'd be getting better material.
It's supposed to be a comfort read, not an annoyance.
It's supposed to be a comfort read, not an annoyance.
May 30, 2025
Enterprise is sent on a rescue mission to save a scientific base. When they arrive, they find only two survivors, a woman and her son. The mother had tutored Picard while he was in college and they had been close. The entity that invaded the base was not carbon based. While it was intelligent, it sought to kill all bad life forms namely humans. This story was not the best, but then again it did entertain.
July 24, 2019
One of the better TNG novels, albeit with some clunky characterisation at times. The references to autism feel centuries out of date rather than decades though! I don't know if we knew jack shit about autism back in 1993, or if this was a weird portrayal even then. But it's definitely super weird in 2019.
March 12, 2024
I cannot believe this ends with picard playing volleyball with the crew in a skimpy little bathing suit. The author spends the whole book reminding the readers every two pages that picard is the most emotionally repressed man in space and you want me to buy that he'd play VOLLEYBALL? WITH HIS BOOBS OUT?? LIKE A SORORITY SISTER ON SPRING BREAK? BE FUCKING SERIOUS.
July 4, 2020
Good dime store read. Picard’s stoicism, Data’s logic, Troi’s empathic sensibilities, all predictable but in a good way. Better than the last “classic” I read..
August 23, 2020
The thing sounded like the evil thing...
March 30, 2022
The Enterprise catches grey-scale. Data risks infection to save the ship but this one admiral really wants to blow it up instead. Also, a horny autistic teenage empath is there too.
April 3, 2022
Good book
April 19, 2024
It's serviceable as a quick read.
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