The Book Report Episode #01

Hello, and welcome to my first and hopefully continuous series of reviews of books I have read. So let us begin with the first I have finished this year:

Star Trek: Picard – The Last Best Hope – By Una McCormack

This book is a prequel story from the Tv series Star Trek: Picard: season 1.

It continues the story from the original show Star Trek: The Next Generation. Set about twenty years after Star Trek: Nemesis. The book itself is set a few years after the movie. It is also connected to the Star Trek remakes, known as the Kelvin Timeline. Ambassador Spock and the Vulcan people try to save the Romulan people but end up creating a black hole sending himself and a Romulan mining vessel into the past and creating an alternative timeline.

But we don’t talk about that.

The Plot

Romulus, the Romulan homeworld: Their Sun is going supernova. When it does, the Romulan homeworld and surrounding moons and planets will go with it. They only have a few years left. The Federation recalls Captain Jean Luc Picard to Starfleet HQ to take on the task of a rescue/ relocation mission to help save the Romulan people not only from their own Sun but also, it turns out. Their very own people. But he will have to do it within the boundaries of the Prime Directive. In doing so, he has to leave his ship, the USS Enterprise.

To start this long and challenging mission. He will be calling on all the resources of the Federation. A new promotion to Admiral. With his new ship, fleet and crew: Can he do it?

This was a book that was absolutely needed. The series skims over some of the reasons for Picard’s problem. Yes, we get it. Jean Luc was screwed over, but he also screwed himself. Believing he had more sway than he did. But this is such an extensive and central point of the back story that couldn’t just be mentioned here and there. Its story had to and needed to be told.

But How?

We hear those answers in this book. The people he meets. Those he is trying to help. The refugees who want help. And the politicians who either want to exploit it or deny it to their people. This book helps to give you the details of the problems and strife that Jean Luc had to go through to try and make the mission work and how it finally failed in the end.

Jean Luc calls on some of the people we know and love and new people to help on all sides of the mission. To make sure everything is covered.

Raffi Musiker is the commander and first officer. Her job is to help make sure everything runs smoothly for the Admiral, and she does a great job of looking after “JL.” It does even seem like he coddles him sometimes, at the risk of losing her own family for her career.

Geordi La Forge follows Picard on his mission to help build his new fleet. His new position is from the Mars base shipbuilding station.

Bruce Maddocks is originally from an episode in The Next Generation. Georde La Forge enrols him to leave his present obsession with the late Data. To create a robot crew to help; with the production of the new fleet.

Angus Jurati is Bruce Maddocks’s love interest. And a source of his inspiration. She later becomes part of the main show.

So, Is It Any Good?

I am a little biased when it comes to Star Trek. So no matter what, I will recommend this book. But it is mainly for those who are lifelong fans or; who want a little more backstory to the first season, for everyone else who would like to have something to read. Maybe give this a go.

The book itself is good… But it may be just me: But there wasn’t anything thrilling about it. It plods along at a steady pace to reach its final goal. Recounting; the story from all of the political angles. With having to deal with the Romulan’s secrecy and paranoia. To eventually get to the segway to the first season. And how the thing that happened on Mars originated.

Una McCormack knows who the characters are and has researched them well enough to tell their story well. So you have no problems with getting back to those characters you are familiar with. The story goes through its up and downs and has everything to be a great novel, but it’s just good.

I have been reviewing some of the responses on Goodreads. And while some give the book some great reviews. Some do feel the way I do. I had to make sure I wasn’t the only one.

Fans of the series will enjoy getting up to date on the happenings of Admiral Jean Luc Picard. And the beginning of a possible last adventures and goodbyes. A start to a final hurrah!

Would you like to purchase your very own copy? Try these shops: Amazon UK USA. Waterstones. AbeBooks UK USA. Star Trek Shop USA. eBay UK USA. Or maybe your local bookshop. Or maybe try your local library.

And There Is More

It turns out I have been living under a rock, as I have just found out; there are more books in the series.

As soon as I get a hold of them, I will give them a read and let you know what I think.

Here is the link to my Goodreads profile page if anyone you are interested. Link.