About Heroes

This Review was submitted by Ray Hoey

Author: Peter David

Not too long ago, I asked the hosts of "About Heroes" a question: What did they like about Peter David's work in comics? Here were their responses:

Melanie: "...He makes characters seem like real people..."

Chris:"...He's got a very good grasp on the psychology of multiple characters and he can
handle that really well..."

Dan: "...He is able to submerge his own voice into the voice of the character in the series.
He's much more transparent as a writer. He tells good stories without stamping them
with his unique trademarks..."

Omar: "...He's one of the few writers these days that tries to get into the characters...I don't
think I've ever read anything by him where someone has been out of character..."

The interesting thing is that all these comments could just as easily be applied to Peter David's novel writing. You see, that was my first introduction to Peter David, specifically, his Star Trek novels. So, when I heard he was coming out with a new Next Generation novel, I was over the moon. He's written some classic Star Trek: Next Generation stories, and this one is another winner.

The story of "Before Dishonor" is actually a direct continuation of a STNG novel by another great author, J.M. Dillard, called "Resistance". In that story, Captain Jean Luc Picard is about to embark on a newly repaired USS Enterprise-E, with some new crew members, on what is supposed to be a routine test shakedown cruise. Instead, through his link with the hive mind, he hears the Borg once again. And what he hears is terrifying: The Borg, despite their repeated defeats at the hands of Picard and Admiral Kathryn Janeway, are now regrouping. Their first order of business...utilize a dead Borg cube and build a new Borg queen. (Those damn Borg...don't they ever give up?) Rather than wait for Seven of Nine to meet up with the Enterprise to advise him (and thus violating Starfleet's orders, surprise, surprise) , Picard takes matters into his own hands, and through a temporary "re-assimilation", is able to defeat the Borg's plans.

"Before Dishonor" picks up from there. Admiral Janeway, through her past experience with the Borg, goes out to this dead cube to make certain it can never be used again, and to perhaps learn whatever can be discerned by Picard's victory so that it can be used to prevent future Borg incursions. She then makes a chilling discovery. The cube and its Borg are still very much alive, and worse...they've evolved. These Borg no longer care about assimilation. Revenge and destruction are the top items on their agenda. Their target? Jean Luc Picard and Earth. Thus begins a series of events that will change the Star Trek universe forever.

What makes this novel great is that there are some Star Trek authors, who only watch the TV shows and maybe some of the films when they write their books. Peter David, a known Trekker, has watched the TV shows, films, the comics, the novels, the computer games, etc. and utilizes ideas from all of them effectively. His dialogue is such that you can truly hear Patrick Stewart's voice when Capt. Picard speaks, or Leonard Nimoy, when Spock speaks. Yes, that's right, Spock is in this novel, along with a host of other delightful surprise cameos.

And just so comic book fans are not left out, David even includes a few names of characters
that comic book fans should be familiar with. In any case, David's references to all parts of the Star Trek universe, past and present, make this a delight to read, because it reinforces just how vast the Trek universe is. This is our reward as Trek fans, folks.

READ IT.

A++