Nightshade

Laurell K. Hamilton is not a great prose stylist. But I was pleasantly surprised at her worldbuilding and the way she depicted Troi's empathic powers. It was a real relief to read after seeing so many male authors tackle Troi - for once she feels like a human! Er, a real being. A mensch. Cause she's only part human. You know.

Surprisingly amateurish editing. Cliched idioms, grammatical errors, dramatic 'insights' that made no sense. However, the world-building and plot were interesting, and if you like seeing Troi (and others) courageously survive trauma, you'll see plenty of it here.

Laurell K. Hamilton, best known to me as the author of the erotic vampiric thrillers in the Anita Blake series, tackled a universe already set up and rolling – Star Trek, the Next Generation.

Basic Premise: You won’t find any eroticism here!

This book was written just before the imaginative Anita Blake series with “Guilty Pleasures.” It seems to me that Ms. Hamilton found the Star Trek universe a tight fit in trying to be creative; nevertheless, I did enjoy several themes.

Greed and corruption flow through all the plots and subplots. The warring factions on a planet devastated by two hundred years of war want peace. At least some of them do. Picard beams down with Troi and Worf to sort things out. The characterization is typical show more of Star Trek, though Picard is placed into the background (the usual “you’re under arrest for murder” kinda thing!).
The customs of the Oriana people are odd (a barbaric race, no “honor”, per Worf) and Troi and Worf put on a good show.

Mental Ingenuity: A race of people which has forgotten it has empathic abilities, even to the planet itself. Troi fighting a losing battle in losing her identity to these people. Worf takes on trying to play diplomat without killing anyone. Pretty cool how the characters interrelate here.

Engines that Think: The Enterprise is involved in a subplot of rescuing an alien vessel so they’re not around to help out Picard. Geordi is able to actually communicate with the engine as he tries to prevent it from blowing up as those around him are fatalistic and don’t mind dying with their ship. Similar themes of “you can’t possibly help because you don’t understand us.” This sub-story is quickie and not really as well-written as the main story on the planet. A few plot holes too. Geesh.

Bottom Line: Considering her restrictions with staying within the penciled lines of the Star Trek Universe, Laurell K. Hamilton does not do a bad job of keeping the story on track, involving the reader with the horrors of deformed babies and a dying planet, and makes a few points regarding honor, integrity and not giving up on your friends. A very simple read. Eroticism? Nope! Open “Guilty Pleasures” for that!
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Laurell K. Hamilton, best known to me as the author of the erotic vampiric thrillers in the Anita Blake series, tackled a universe already set up and rolling – Star Trek, the Next Generation.

Basic Premise: You won’t find any eroticism here!

This book was written just before the imaginative Anita Blake series with “Guilty Pleasures.” It seems to me that Ms. Hamilton found the Star Trek universe a tight fit in trying to be creative; nevertheless, I did enjoy several themes.

Greed and corruption flow through all the plots and subplots. The warring factions on a planet devastated by two hundred years of war want peace. At least some of them do. Picard beams down with Troi and Worf to sort things out. The characterization is typical show more of Star Trek, though Picard is placed into the background (the usual “you’re under arrest for murder” kinda thing!).
The customs of the Oriana people are odd (a barbaric race, no “honor”, per Worf) and Troi and Worf put on a good show.

Mental Ingenuity: A race of people which has forgotten it has empathic abilities, even to the planet itself. Troi fighting a losing battle in losing her identity to these people. Worf takes on trying to play diplomat without killing anyone. Pretty cool how the characters interrelate here.

Engines that Think: The Enterprise is involved in a subplot of rescuing an alien vessel so they’re not around to help out Picard. Geordi is able to actually communicate with the engine as he tries to prevent it from blowing up as those around him are fatalistic and don’t mind dying with their ship. Similar themes of “you can’t possibly help because you don’t understand us.” This sub-story is quickie and not really as well-written as the main story on the planet. A few plot holes too. Geesh.

Bottom Line: Considering her restrictions with staying within the penciled lines of the Star Trek Universe, Laurell K. Hamilton does not do a bad job of keeping the story on track, involving the reader with the horrors of deformed babies and a dying planet, and makes a few points regarding honor, integrity and not giving up on your friends. A very simple read. Eroticism? Nope! Open “Guilty Pleasures” for that!
show less

Good story. I was surprised to learn this author (famous for vampire-themed books) wrote a Star Trek book and was lucky to find this one second hand. I was not disappointed. The story departed from the usual Star Trek novels by using an original world with two sets of original alien species. I definitely recommend it.

Early Hamilton. All of the bad writing and none of the plotting. Overwrought, melodromatic.