Intellivore – Diane Duane

Summoned to deep space, the Enterprise rendezvous with two other ships to investigate disturbing reports of missing colonies and transport ships.  What they find is a giant planet capable of moving at warp speed that can eat the consciousness of intelligent life that it encounters along the way, leaving behind living bodies with no brain activity.  When Dr. Crusher discovers a way to protect the crew from being killed, Captain Picard turns the ship over to Data, allowing him to try and destroy the planet before it kills him, and the Enterprise crew.

Intellivore, the 45th entry in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series of books, was first released back in 1997.  This tale from author Diane Duane is broader in scope than most, almost more cinematic than its counterparts.  After the disappointment of A Hard Rain, this was a nice bounce back for the series, which saw a number of entries on sale in the Kindle store last month.