Tag / Star Trek: The Next Generation

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Book 10 (of 52) – Hearts And Minds

Hearts and Minds – Dayton Ward

In the 21st century, decades before Earth made their official first contact with the Vulcans, a ship from a distant planet crashed into the Georgia forest, prompting the secret agencies tasked with keeping the planet safe to go into hyperdrive to respond, in their minds, appropriately.  In the 24th century, Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise-E find themselves making what they believe to be first contact with a new world, but instead find themselves arrested and made to stand trial for the devastation Earth caused to the planet.  With nothing in Starfleet’s official records, can they find the truth?  Or will they suffer the same fate as their 21st century forbearers?

Hearts and Minds, a 2017 entry by Dayton Ward in the post-Star Trek: Nemesis world of The Next Generation, pulls together characters from multiple versions of Star Trek, all of whom appeared in the time-travel stories from the 20th century, and ties them into the latest adventure of the Enterprise-E.  As usual, it is nice to take a break and revisit some old friends, seeing what they are up to, and seeing what is new in their world since last we met on the movie screen.

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2023: The Year In Television

With less and less good productions airing on network and cable and moving to the various streaming platforms, that seems to have taken over as my main form of television watching. Now that I work from home full time, I have plenty of time to take in whatever they have to offer. Since we cover the network and cable shows that I watch elsewhere, let’s take a look at the 23 seasons of shows I streamed on eight different platforms this year.

Black Mirror Season Six (Netflix)
The British anthology returns with a five-episode season that started strong, with one of the best episodes of the show’s run, but ended poorly.

Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 16 (Paramount+)
The BAU returns, minus a few key resources, to hunt down the most prolific serial killer they’ve ever faced.

Daisy Jones & The Six (Amazon Prime)
Based on the book by Taylor Jenkins Reid, it is the tale of how a garage band from Pittsburgh morphed into the biggest band in the world, and then how it all blew up.

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Seasons 6-7 (Netflix)
The Legends see their travels through time and space come to an end.

Dead to Me Season Three (Netflix)
Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini return for one last go-around.

Doctor Who Specials (Disney+)
David Tennant returns and helps Ncuti Gatwa usher in a new era for Doctor Who.

The Flash Season Nine (Netflix)
The show, and the CW’s Arrowverse, winds down with one final go-around.

The Flight Attendant Season Two (HBO Max)
Kaley Cuoco returns for another go-around as the alcoholic flight attendant who also works for the CIA.

Ginny & Georgia Seasons 1-2 (Netflix)
Imagine Gilmore Girls if Lorelai came from nothing and was somewhat amoral and Rory was bi-racial.

How I Met Your Father Season 2 (Hulu)
The second and final season leaves us hanging as to who the father would have been.

The Last Thing He Told Me (Apple TV+)
Jennifer Garner stars in the adaptation of the Laura Dave novel. Continue reading →

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Prolific Authors – 9 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we continue with the lone author I’ve read nine times, a decrease on one since 2021.

Michael Jan Friedman

Known primarily for licensed works, Friedman first entered my world in 1990, thanks to a trio of Star Trek: The Next Generation novels.  There were another two in 1992 and then he reappeared in 1996 with another trio of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman tie-ins.  That was it until he reappeared on my radar in 2021, with yet another Next Gen entry.

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Prolific Authors – 8 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since I’ve far surpassed my “normal” reading output the last three years, I thought it would be nice to once again take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through the start of October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the two authors I’ve read seven times, an increase of one since 2021.

Double Helix – Peter David

Peter David

The prolific comic book writer shows up mostly with Star Trek: The Next Generation novels that I read in high school.  Only two of his works show up from this century, the collection of his But I Digress columns from the Comics Buyer’s Guide and yet another Next Gen novel, which I read earlier this year.

Mary Kubica

The local author, who is a New York Times best seller, moves up two slots and has placed eight entries on my bookshelf over the past eight years starting with The Good Girl, which I read in 2015.

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Prolific Authors – 6 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since I’ve far surpassed my “normal” reading output the last three years, I thought it would be nice to once again take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through the start of October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the two authors I’ve read six times, down two since 2021.

Silent Weapons – David Mack

David Mack

All six of his entries come from Star Trek: The Next Generation works I’ve read on my Kindle.

Scott Turow

The Chicago-based lawyer, who I first read in 1992 with Presumed Innocent and Burden of Proof, returned to my attention in 2021 after an eleven-year absence.

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Prolific Authors – 5 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since I’ve far surpassed my “normal” reading output the last three years, I thought it would be nice to once again take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through the start of October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the seven authors I’ve read four times, down one since 2021.

Amber Benson

The former Buffy the Vampire Slayer star checks in with the five entries in her Calliope Reaper-Jones fantasy series.

Angels & Demons – Dan Brown

Dan Brown

Brown, who became a publishing superstar with the release of The DaVinci Code in 2003, moves up the list thanks to 2009’s The Lost Symbol.

Diane Carey

First read in 1991, she was a stalwart of the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel line, which accounted for four of her five entries.

Jeff Mariotte

The former WildStorm VP and DC editor stands pat with his entries from the Buffy and Angel series of novels.

The Willow Files Vol. 2 – Yvonne Navarro

Yvonne Navarro

All five of the Chicago native’s works that I’ve read revisit the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe.

Tom Perrotta

A nice two-book jump for the American novelist and screenwriter, whose works have a tendency to wind up on screen.

William Shatner

The actor best known for his role as Captain Kirk in Star Trek checks in with his efforts, whatever they may have been, both with his TekWar series and on two Star Trek novels.

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Prolific Authors – 4 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. Since I’ve far surpassed my “normal” reading output the last three years, I thought it would be nice to once again take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through the start of October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the ten authors I’ve read four times, an increase of four over the past two years.

Scott Adams

The now-cancelled creator of Dilbert, who can’t seem to help himself from spouting racist takes on Twitter, Adams used his famous character to write a number of humorous business books, the most recent of which I read in 2012.

The Big Nowhere – James Ellroy

James Ellroy

The author of the L.A. Quartet, which I finished off with The Big Nowhere in 2014.

Gillian Flynn

The former Entertainment Weekly writer turned in to one of my favorite authors, though she hasn’t written a new full length work since 2012’s Gone Girl.

Rebecca Forster

One of my first Kindle finds, I’ve read the first four entries in her Witness series.

Diana G. Gallagher

The author, who passed away in 2021, can credit the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for all four of her entries, the most recent of which I read in 2011.

You Are Not Alone – Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Greer Hendricks

After spending two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster, she has teamed up with Sarah Pekkanen for four novels, which I’ve read one annually starting in 2020.

Grady Hendrix

Winner of a 2018 Bram Stoker Award, the horror novelist debuts thanks to the four novels I’ve read over the past three years, starting with The Final Girl Support Group in 2021.

Kimberly McCreight – Reconstructing Amelia

Kimberly McCreight

A New York Times bestselling author thanks to her debut novel, Reconstructing Amelia, she has been a steady presence since 2013.

Sarah Pekkanen

She has teamed up with Greer Hendricks for four novels, one of which I’ve read one annually since 2020.

John Vornholt

Three fourths of his works that I’ve read come from the world of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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Book 45 (of 52) – Intellivore

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.

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Prolific Authors – 2 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we start things off with the now 41 authors I’ve read twice, an increase of six over two years ago.

Max Barry

An Australian author, I’ve enjoyed the two novels of his I’ve read, Jennifer Government and Company.

Laura Caldwell

I have no idea how I came across the work of this local author, but I must have enjoyed it enough to go back for seconds.  Unfortunately, she passed away in 2020.

Michael Chabon

Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, the most recent of the two works of his I’ve read.  I have another, Wonder Boys, waiting in the to read pile, so he rise up some day.

Fate Of The Union – Max Allan Collins with Matthew V. Clemens

Matthew V. Clemens

The co-author, with Max Allan Collins, of the final two chapters of the Reeder and Rogers trilogy.

Ernest Cline

The man responsible for both Ready Player One and Ready Player Two.

Bill Clinton

The former president has co-written two novels with James Patterson.

Felicia Day

The first author here that I’ve happened to meet in person.

Cameron Dokey

She makes the list based on two entries in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.

Diane Duane

Living in Ireland, she is responsible for a Star Trek: The Next Generation book and a Spider-Man novel, of all things.

Warren Ellis

The comic writer, currently in exile after being called out for abusing women, makes the list thanks to two prose novels.

David Fisher Continue reading →

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Post Mortem – Star Trek: Picard

A spinoff of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Picard debuted in 2020 on the CBS All Access streaming service.  Isa Briones, Alison Pill, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, and Jeri Ryan joined Patrick Stewart for the first two seasons, telling the adventures of retired Starfleet admiral Jean-Luc Picard twenty years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis.

For the third and final season, released this spring on Paramount +, the show pivoted to a full-on reunion of the Next Gen cast.  The crew of the Enterprise D reunite for a final mission, saving the Federation, and the universe, from one more attack.  The season gives a proper sendoff to this generation of Star Trek and leaves the door open for a new future, with Seven of Nine commanding a new crew of the USS Enterprise.