Book review
Written by Various
Pocket Books paperback
Release date Out now

A collection of short stories spanning the broadcast history of TNG…

The second of Pocket Books’ three strands to celebrate the 20th anniversary of TNG is something of a mixed bag. There are some excellent stories in which you can hear the actors saying the lines, and others which frankly only make sense if you’re a massive devotee of every last episode of the show.

On the whole, the ones that work best are the standalone tales, featuring the crew doing what they do best. Some unusual combinations, such as Barclay and Ro or Crusher and Tasha Yar, particularly stand out, and there’s a nice concentration on sometimes overlooked characters like Pulaski and Geordi.

The exception to this rule is Four Lights, a sequel to Chain of Command, which uses the first person narration by Picard to great effect. The other sequel stories, particularly those involving Romulans, require detailed knowledge of the episodes in question. Turncoat is meaningless without having seen Face of the Enemy!

The bookend stories, featuring the original Captain of the Enterprise-D, add a depth to the TNG universe, and emphasise just how far we’ve come with this crew over the years. Ordinary Days and On the Spot, both penned by British writers, also have the same bittersweet quality.

As a bonus, there’s a story from the new Star Trek manga that features the original crew in a story that knocks spots off the current Star Trek Year Four offerings from IDW. Peter Quentin

VERDICT: 7/10
An interesting mix.

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