As you may know, up to this point, the most recent Star Trek novel I’ve read (The Rings Of Time by Greg Cox) came out nearly a decade ago.
Mind you, that’s not for lack of interest.
I’ve heard about, watched, and enjoyed a good amount of the recent Trek shows.
No, it’s more that I’ve found it incredibly hard to find Trek books.
This one being a tie-in to one of the more controversial installments of the franchise though, that piques my interest in a big bad way.
Add in 2 of my favorite Trek characters and that sets the bar even higher.
Can this book possibly live up to those high expectations?
Slap on an EV suit, cause we’re about to find out, gang!
As always, this is your official ***SPOILER ALERT***
Right at the top I want to say this is the first of James Swallow’s writing that I’ve read and I hope it’s not the last.
I did a bit of research on him before starting this book and found that he’d actually written a couple books in 1 of the 2 Trek series I want to read the most.
And thinking about it, that’s what made him the perfect choice to write this.
What series is that, you may wonder?
Why, the Star Trek: Titan novel series that follows Riker in his post-Nemesis Captaincy!
Swallow’s familiarity with (and love for writing) Riker & Troi could not be more blatantly obvious and it’s really the heart of this story.
A year after the synth attack on Mars, it’s clear shit has gone a bit sideways.
Picard resigned from Starfleet, the support for Romulus and the problems they’re having with their dying star have been back burnered as the United Federation Of Planets calls all ships back to deal with the fallout of Mars, and the Romulans are, understandably pissed.
Amidst all this, Captain Riker and the Titan crew are ferrying a party of diplomats from a secretive race known as the Jazari back to their home world.
Once there, an explosion leads to the Romulans coming to assist the Titan in helping the Jazari and a plot of mysterious organizations, half truths, and innocent adventure gone wrong begins to unfold.
Now, I know this all sounds like a giant political chess game, and it definitely is, but as I said above, Riker and Troi are the heart of this story, along with their son Thaddeus.
Thad is a bright eyed adventurer that’s overflowing with smarts, wonder, and a drive to learn everything and, well, everything…sometimes, even to his detriment.
When he gets injured trying to get proof he’s not lying, Swallow incredibly paints the picture of Riker and Troi’s struggles.
Riker as he has to deal with the worry and stress of that on top of a Romulan situation that’s about to explode at any second.
Troi, an empath for those that may not know, is trying to ease the growing tensions between a few disgruntled Jazari toward a group of Titan refugees and not lose her shit because her only child is on the verge of death.
Riker and Troi have basically turned into the Stan Lees of the Trek universe, cause we’re never quite sure where they’re gonna show up next.
It’s nice to see them take the spot light, and that leaves Swallow open to slip in an unexpected cameo (that I will not spoil!) that makes so much sense and scratches an itch you didn’t know you had.
He is balancing a lot here and it is incredible to me that he’s able to weave all of these story threads together in such an effective and satisfying way.
This novel is 321 pages long and it feels like roughly half of that, not an easy task at all!
Coming to the end of this, my hunger for those Titan novels has grown even more.
I need more of Captain Riker.
I want to see the building blocks Swallow used to get to this point.
I also want more stories that move this particular version of these characters forward.
Cause this was a damn good journey.
Star Trek Picard: The Dark Veil by James Swallow is available now in Hardcover from Gallery Books.
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Special thanks to @ACFerrell1976 for her continued editorial assistance.
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