Customer Reviews

Guises of the Mind (Star Trek The Next Generation, No 27)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was very plesantly surprised when I read this book. I've read more than my share of badly written TNG novels lately, and picked up this one from the library with a bit of trepidation, wondering if there were no more TNG books worth the time to read them. Fourtunatly, this was an excellent book.

Dianna Troi is well portraied, and her empathic talents are streched to the limit in this mission. This book also has religion as a central theme for a change. As someone who is facinated by the study of various religions I found this to be a refreshing change, however I would have liked to see something a little less centered on catholicism and/or christianity. The religion of the people on the planet is also very similar to catholicism.

The Enterprise is on a mission to take two members of the religious order "The Little Mothers" to a planet who has requested thier assistance and Picard is on a mission to bring a treaty to the planet for entrance into the Federation as the monarch heir is being corinated as the supreme leader of the planet. The Little Mothers care for orphans and unwanted children no matter what thier physical or mental condition. Thier being sent on this mission turns out to be an unexpected godsend for one of the little mothers who comes to term with a gift which she has always seen as a curse.

However, there is something devious happening there which you should discover by reading on your own. This is a well written, enchanting story which is a great addition to the trek world.

Contrary to the previous review, this book was successful since it tackled the often awkward topic of religious belief with respect and sensitivity. There were two related sub-plots: Deanna's work with the telepathic nun, ultimately enriching the latter's spiritual life, and Data's search for religious truth, another angle in his quest to become more human. It was well written, and the "main" plot served as a good vehicle for the two sub plots.

Star Trek - The Next Generation: Guises of the Mind written by Rebecca Neason is an excellent change-of-pace novel where the isn't much action-adventure but there is a high quotient of intrigue making for an enjoyabe read. This book delves into some religion but it's only superficial. The main theme of this book is about the Crown Prince being kidnapped by his lost twin brother usurping to the planetary thrown of absolute.

There are two plots in this book the main plot is where Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Deanna Troi, and a nun Mother Veronica beam to the surface of Capulon IV to start final preparations to signing a treaty with the planet and the UFP. Also, to set-up the necessary facilities for the order of nuns to help the downtrodden and the young children. The second plot is where Data is trying to find his spiritual self as he asks his crew members for their spiritual beliefs as he trys to reconcile his existence.

There are plenty of plot twists and turns throughout the book to keep the reader's interest as this book is mainly written with Deanna Troi in mind and also Mother Veronica as they try to find out what is happening. Mother Veronica is telepathic and Deanna is trying to help the Mother to cope with her ability through Betazed techniques. As these two sense treachery and quile in the Prince they also sense a duality and try to get to the bottom of it.

I found this book to be an excellent change-of-pace to the norm of the TREK universe where the main characters are seeking truth and enlightenment to some pretty heavy questions. It is dealt with in an understandable mannor and the story doesn't stall but moves on. The intrigue level is high in the book as the Enterprise crew works to solve problems not generally dealt with in TREK.

This is a solid 5 star book but remember there is not a lot of action-adventure, but nonetheless, it is a very interesting story.

I'll not delve into any plot specifics, since the other reviews already have. I'll just say it's a good book worth reading.

This numbered Star Trek The Next Generation title is but the only title from this outstanding author that added so well to the genre. This is somewhat sad as I found her writing style to be quite good and it would be very interesting to see her revisit the genre in any one of its many variants.

The cover art for "Guises of the Mind" is somewhat standard fare for the period in which it was released.

The premise:

Inspired by a quote from Sarek of Vulcan entailing mastery over emotions thus gaining peace through embracing the many guises of the mind, this author sets off to tell a different but extraordinarily intriguing STNG tale.

Capulon IV is a planet that has been waiting for several years to petition for membership in the Federation and they're finally ready. In order to gain this membership the planets' new ruler must go through coronation and the signing of the final treaty. The Enterprise is dispatched to Capulon IV with a group of women from a religious order dedicated to helping the downtrodden. This group expects to be welcomed with open arms but they instead find deceit and treachery and the crown prince now refusing to join the Federation.

Captain Picard, Troi and Mother Veronica, the abbess of the nuns beam down to the planet in an attempt to determine the problem and work it out with crown prince. They're soon drugged and captured though. Captain Picard must now find a way to escape and stop the crown prince from being crowned as they soon learn that he will not only stop his planet from joining the Federation but he also intends to destroy the Enterprise.

What follows from there is one of the most intriguing STNG novels to date that explores areas of Gene Roddenberry's universe that are rarely visited but is done quite refreshingly in this novel.

I highly recommend this earlier Star Trek The Next Generation novel as it will make an excellent addition to your Star Trek library. {ssintrepid}

This is not one of the better Star Trek novels, while tolerable; there is a lack of flow and engagement of the reader. The planet Capulon IV is being admitted to the Federation at the same time that crown prince Joakal is to accept the title of king, or on Capulon IV the "Absolute." A deeply religious society, Capulon IV is an absolute monarchy; the ruler is considered to be a spokesman for God. Captain Picard is to be the Federation's representative at the signing of the treaty admitting Capulon IV to the Federation and two nuns are also being transported to the planet. Their role is to study and advise the Capulon society as they make the transition to Federation membership.
Capulon IV is a society where technical progress was reversed and a static technological state was adopted. This was a consequence of great wars that devastated the planet and nearly wiped out the Capulon people. A strict religious intolerance was instituted; among other things all deformed children (including identical twins) were allowed to die through neglect.
The problem is that Joakal has an identical twin (Beahorum) that was left to die, but was illegally picked up and raised to adulthood. Beahorum is bent on revenge for this and with the aid of some complicit palace officials, imprisons Joakal and assumes his position. When Picard, Troi and one of the nuns (Mother Veronica) arrive for the coronation ceremony, they are drugged and imprisoned with Joakal. The remainder of the story is how they escape and Joakal returned to the throne.
From my perspective, the plot device of Mother Veronica's inability to handle her telepathic powers is absurd; she is an adult and would have had a lifetime of dealing with the thoughts of others, even in a nunnery. The idea that such a problem would render her ineffective at a time of crisis is difficult to believe. Other, less precise items, such as a lack of tension due to roughness of the flow made this book at times difficult to read.

The crew of the Starship Enterprise are taking a couple of nuns to Capulon IV. The king is about to be crowned and The Federation is there to deliver the "Little Mothers" and also sign a treaty. But suddenly (surprise, surprise) everything goes seemingly wrong. Picard, Troi, and Mother Veronica are captured and there seems no way out. Even the king is captured and held in a cell. The best parts of this book, for me, were the philosophical treatment of religion that take place as a series of dialogues the android "Data" has with humans. I don't quite agree with the conclusion (we all need to seek our own "God" and all religions have some common ideas), but there were some interesting comments along the way. Also, a lot of coverage was given to the psychic powers of Troy and the Mother Veronica. The author gives you the details of the psychic abilities, processes,feelings and emotions of the psychics. It is all fiction of course, and for me not convincing. It does however follow the classic Star Trek motif. This story is well written enough to hold your interest and the ending, I thought, was even remarkable, even though somewhat predictable.

I was surprised when I started reading this to see such an inclusion of Christianity in it--that is something that is alien in Star Trek. Wrapping my mind around that this is sort of a Man in the Iron mask tale. A man is about to become king, but is prevented from doing so by his previously unknown twin brother--twins are thought of as a birth defect on this planet--among other things.

Deanna is the central figure in this novel--which works well in the end, but at first she was absurdly whiney, never having enough time for herself, failing miserably, not able to take her hot bubble bath. Once she was on a mission and seemed to remember she was a starfleet officer she was much more enjoyable to read.

I did feel uncomfortable with so much religion in this, while spirituality has never been banished from Star Trek, earth religions seemed to have been ignored in favor of alien metaphors, and perhaps there was a way to do this in this novel so there could be more of a consistency with the Trek universe. Another minor quibble I had was everyone's ability to speak english in a hostage situation where they had no universal translator....(they had no communicators and were in their pjs, its hard to argue that someone had one).

Scott did do a very good job of layer all of her plots and subplots though. This wasn't a painful read and was pretty thought provoking at times, but I won't rank it as my absolute favorite.

This story focusses on Deanna Troi, telepathy, and religious beliefs. It is well-crafted, thoughtful, and interesting, with interesting characters and a viable plot. There isn't much action, although there is some, and there certainly is plenty of drama. An exceptionally good story, almost if not quite up to the five star level.

True, this book diverts from what some die hard TNG fans may be used to but it's still a good read. My favorite part is Data's search for a spiritual/religious belief. He consults with many crew members from various cultures and spiritualities regarding their beliefs.