Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
STNG #4 - Survivors - A superb early STNG novel!, July 14, 2003
Of all of the early Star Trek The Next Generation novels, this one definitely stands out among the rest as being one of the better ones. Granted, there are a few back story or canon errors within this one but that is to be expected as this one was written very early in the series run on television and the author had no idea where the series was going to go with respect to certain aspects. The sad thing is that this fine author has only published four novels in the Star Trek arena, two Original Series novels and two STNG novels. Considering how well she wrote these novels, it would be very nice to see her make a foray back into Gene Roddenberry's universe. For fans of Lieutenant Tasha Yar, this quick but excellent novel is a real treat.The premise: As this was written very early in the television series, the author picked up well on the dynamic interpersonal relationship between Commander Data and Lieutenant Tasha Yar. In doing so, she put these two characters in the midst of away mission on their own, dropping them off on a human colony known as Treva. They quickly become embroiled in the situation to include running into a Starfleet fugitive that just so happens to have been Tasha's former fiancé. While this human colony "was" intent on becoming a Federation member (which is a bit of an irony considering that it is a "human" colony), they find themselves having to deal with a violent revolution. Now Data and Yar find themselves in the middle of a bloody revolution and having to find a way to end the bloodshed and stay alive at the same time. What follows is as I stated above, an excellent early STNG novel that captures the dynamic of the relationship between Data and Yar extremely well. The last chapter of this outstanding novel is also quite intriguing as well. I highly recommend this novel to any and all fans; die hard or casual, of the Star Trek genre as it well exceeds the Star Trek novels of its time. {ssintrepid}
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One for Tasha Yar fans..., August 16, 2001
When the Enterprise receives a distress call from the planet Treva, security chief Tasha Yar and android science officer Data are dispatched to investigate. What the two discover, however, is far more than a simple conflict between the government and a group of rebels. Data must escape from the clutches of the exotic Trevan president Nalavia, while Tasha is forced to confront painful memories when a member of the resistance turns out to be the first man she ever loved, Darryl Adin, a former Starfleet officer convicted of treason and murder six months before they were due to be married. With time running out, Data and Yar must discover the truth in order to save both the planet of Treva from destruction and escaped criminal Dare Adin from life imprisonment in a rehabilitation clinic...Of all the Star Trek books I have read so far, I would rank "Survivors" as one of the highest. Tasha Yar was my favourite of the Enterprise-D crew up during the first season and I always felt that her death in the episode "Skin of Evil" was a disappointing end to the one of the strongest female characters seen on Star Trek to date. There were so many aspects of the character that could have been developed or were never explained and this book at least provides some consolation. I'm not completely sure, but as far as I know this is the only novel to focus on Tasha and for that reason alone "Survivors" is a must-have for all fans of the character. Very little of the remainder of the Enterprise crew is seen: Data and Yar are the principal characters and much of the novel is set in flashbacks to Yar's past. There are a few minor continuity errors of course, no mention is made of Tasha's sister Ishara and her home planet is given a new name - not the author's fault because these facts were revealed long after the book's publication. Overall, this was a fantastic book and I definitely recommend it to all Star Trek fans and especially to those of Tasha Yar.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A touching tale, June 2, 2002
I never like Tasha Yar in the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series. I thought the character was written badly and acted worse. So it was a surprise to me that I found the character so engaging in this book.
There are essentially two stories running through Survivors, the tales of Yar's present and her past - and they gradually converge. Yar and Data are sent on an away mission to Treva to assess a request for Federation assistance from a questionable planetary leader. Prompted by his resemblance to Data, Yar finds herself recalling her past with her lover and mentor, Darryl Adin, and how the future they planned together went so horribly wrong. It is a tremendous shock to her, then, when she is kidnapped and finds that she has fallen into Adin's hands. Once a Starfleet officer, Adin was convicted of treason and murder but fled the Federation before being sent to prison. He is now a mercenary leader, the Silver Paladin, on Treva to help topple its corrupt government. From that point onwards, Yar finds herself caught between her duty to Starfleet - which means completing her mission on Treva and forcing Adin to face justice for his crimes - and her rekindled love for Adin. Knowing that this is a story that has to have an unhappy ending just makes it more poignant.
Lorrah does misrepresent her own book somewhat. Early on, we are led to believe that Yar will take steps to resolve any lingering issues between her and Data after their romantic encounter. But she never does. Once Adin is on the scene, she seems to forget about it altogether. Data is something of a problem in this book. Lorrah does not write him well (on the other hand, neither does anyone else), and his role never goes beyond that of information-gatherer and spectator - his usual roles in the TV series. There were suggestions that he, too, might come to some resolution about his feelings for Yar (Lorrah portrays him as jealous over Yar and Adin), but that was left too ambiguous for my liking. There is a hint at the end that he has realised that Yar is no more than a friend to him, but the situation seems to be ambiguous again in Metamorphosis. It is as if Lorrah wants to see Yar as the unacknowledged love of Data's life, but for continuity reasons cannot say so. This book could have done without Data altogether, though it is easy to see why he was included. Someone needed to be there to witness Yar's troubles, and to provide a point of view that carries on after her death.The flashback parts of Survivors are particularly good, and the present-day scenes start off well. But I could almost believe that Lorrah was under a strict deadline with this book, or was suddenly told she could only make it a certain length, for the ending becomes very rushed. The resolution on Treva comes with a battle around the rebel castle that is silly and hackneyed - definitely a cut below what had come previously.
I read this book hoping for a new fictional take on Data. I was very disappointed on that score, but enjoyed what I found instead. It's a pity that Survivors was let down by its ending, but it's still well worth reading for the tale of Tasha Yar - even if you aren't a Star Trek fan.
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