Star Trek: Destiny: Gods of Night by David Mack

Half a decade after the Dominion War and more than a year after the rise and fall of Praetor Shinzon, the galaxy's greatest scourge returns to wreak
havoc upon the Federation -- and this time its goal is nothing less than total annihilation.

Elsewhere, deep in the Gamma Quadrant, an ancient mystery is solved. One of Earth's first generation of starships, lost for centuries, has been found dead and empty on a desolate planet. But its discovery so far from home has raised disturbing questions, and the answers harken back to a struggle for survival that once tested a captain and her crew to the limits of their humanity.

From that terrifying flashpoint begins an apocalyptic odyssey that will reach across time and space to reveal the past, define the future, and show three captains -- Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Enterprise, TM William Riker of the U.S.S. Titan, and Ezri Dax of the U.S.S Aventine -- that some destinies are inescapable.

Well, I have not read a Star Trek novel in forever! This new trilogy caught my attention, though, and I decided to give it a read. I am very glad that I did because now I really want to get through all the other books on my TBR pile of a Star Trek nature! I also am really looking forward to the next book in this trilogy coming out.

One good thing about books based on television shows is that people generally know what you are talking about, so it is easy to find people to mention all the happenings in this series to. For me, it was the charming comedian. He will never read the book, so I knew it was safe to reveal all the spoilers and he would not really be missing out! I missed a few books in-between, though, so there are a few things that I did not know that I sort of do now! Oh, well. Now I have to find the books that bring things up in the first place!

This trilogy follows three ships: the Enterprise, the Titan, and the Aventine. The Enterprise is still captained by Jean-Luc Picard and Geordi La Forge and Worf are still members of the crew. Worf is 'Number One' now, while Geordi is still the chief engineer. The rest of the crew, though, is new. Doctor Crusher has also returned. She is living out her life with Picard the way that any fan of the show would have expected, I think. I was happy to see her relationship with Picard played out a bit more. They were only just getting back together in the last book that I read.

The Titan is captained by former Enterprise first officer, Will Riker. Counselor Troi followed him over there to head the counselling team and be his wife. You also find Tuvok, who was the security officer from Voyager. I was really surprised by the storyline happening between Troi and Riker... I will be interested to see how it plays out! I knew Tuvok was on the Titan (I own the books in that series, just have not read them...), but I was still surprised to see him again! There is also a couple cameos from other Voyager crew members. Be interested to see if their stories will be brough into future books in the trilogy.

Then, there is the Avenger. Dax was made captain after her former captain was killed. I was surprised she was captain to be honest. She doesn't really strike me as a captain, but she is doing a pretty good job. I think some of her crew are people that were on DS9 with her, but I could not put faces to the names. I will be interested to see what happens with the characters in this book and whether this introduction will lead to a series about the ship.

So, we have the three ships all in separate places, but the stories are all interconnected and related to a return of Borg ships to the sector. They are not there to add to the collection this time, though. This time they are here bent on the destruction of the Federation and its allies. This makes for quite an interesting story. Picard is haunting by voices from his past experiences as a drone and a very special borg expert makes an appearance that could lead to good things in the next book in the trilogy! The past also plays a role in the shape of a ship that went missing generations before. The secrets of the past might play an important role on the future! I just have to wait until book two to see what those might be...

Me and the charming comedian have decided that instead of going back in the past and looking for story ideas, they should make a movie about these books! I think we are in for a great trilogy, so now, I am of course impatient for book two which doesn't come out until the end of the month!

On another note, thanks for the birthday wishes folks! The charming comedian undercoated my car for me today, a very important thing when you live in my neck of the woods, saving me a bit of money, so I am very grateful to him for that present! My car stinks right now, though...