Relics (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Michael Jan Friedman (Author), Ronald D. Moore (Author) "AT THE SOUND OF his door chimes, Captain Jean-Luc Picard looked up from his monitor, where he'd been reviewing a monograph on accretion bridges in..." (more)
Key Phrases: Captain Scott, Commander Riker, Dyson Sphere (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In the tradition of UNIFICATION, here is the story that fans of the original STAR TREK series and STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION have been clamoring for -- Montgomery Scott's return to the Star Trek universe and his encounter with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise™ NCC 1701-D.

Missing in space for seventy-five years, Scotty manages to survive against incredible odds, only to be found by the crew of the Starship Enterprise™. Though rescued, Scotty soon finds himself lost in a world that he barely recognizes, a world that has passed him by...

But the adventure is not over for Captain Scott who must do the impossible when the new U.S.S. Enterprise™ faces a very old danger in a remote sector of space. This time, Captain Picard and his crew will need more than all of their courage and all of their skills to save the great Starship from destruction. This time, they will need a miracle worker.

From the Publisher
The U.S.S. Enterprise^TM discovers the wreckage of a starship upon the monstrous surface of a Dyson sphere, an artificially-constructed habitat built around a star; and preserved in a weak transporter pattern is Starfleet engineering legend Montgomery "Scotty" Scott. Mr. Scott boards the Enterprise to find himself lost in a world that he barely recognizes, a world that has passed him by.

But soon the Enterprise finds itself trapped within the Dyson sphere and pulled into the star, and Scotty must work with Lt. Geordi La Forge to rescue the Enterprise.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 239 pages
• Publisher: Star Trek; Mti edition (November 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671864769
• ISBN-13: 978-0671864767
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #833,060 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STNG Relics - Scotty comes to the twenty fourth century!, September 20, 2003

By	K. Wyatt "ssintrepid" (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Star Trek The Next Generation "Relics" is the superb novelization of one of the most beloved episodes from the series spectacular sixth season. The story and teleplay, written by Ron Moore deserves a high amount of praise as he found a wonderful way to write a modern STNG episode and bring "Scotty" forward into the twenty fourth century.

The decision to have Star Trek fiction's most prolific author, Michael Jan Friedman, write the novelization of this poignant episode was a perfect one. "Relics" is his first novelization of an episode and, as he does with his original stories, he does a marvelous job.

As most novelizations go, the important part is adding a little bit more flavor to an already brilliant episode by bringing forth the characters thoughts and throwing in some "between the scenes on the screen" scenes. All of which, Michael Jan Friedman does with perfection in "Relics."

The cover art for "Relics" is, unfortunately, pretty much the standard fare for Star Trek novels with Scotty and LaForge pictures and the original Enterprise herself, which does add a little bit of "something different" to a Star Trek The Next Generation novel.

From the very first episode of Star Trek The Next Generation in which we saw an aged but still vital, one hundred and forty plus year old Dr. McCoy strolling down the hallways on the Enterprise NCC 1701-D with Data escorting him, many fans were wondering which, if any, characters from The Original Series would be making guest appearances. With the fifth season episode "Unification" and Leonard Nimoy's exceptionally well written and performed return to Star Trek as Spock, the fans of the genre were satiated for the moment but still hungry for more. I still vividly remember the barely containable excitement I experienced upon seeing the preview for the following weeks episode and seeing that James Doohan would be making a guest appearance and he would be bringing Scotty, one of Star Treks most beloved characters, into the twenty fourth century. Now it was time for the "how."

The premise:

Captain Picard and crew are headed to their latest mission when they receive a distress signal from the USS Jenolen which is a ship that has been reported missing for seventy five years. Upon coming out of warp they also encounter gravimetric distortions. As they move in they discover one of the most intriguing objects ever written into one of their episodes, a Dyson's Sphere. The Dyson's Sphere is a real theoretical proposal, proposed by Freeman Dyson in which a civilization could harvest an astronomical amount of resources and build a sphere around a star and live within this sphere.

Captain Picard sends Riker, Worf and LaForge over to the Jenolen and they soon discover that the transporter has been locked into a diagnostic cycle and there's a pattern in the buffer. LaForge runs the cycle through and standing there on the transporter pad is a Starfleet legend in one Captain Montgomery "Scotty" Scott!

As the story progresses, Scotty is suffering the anxiety of feeling obsolete and in the way as he tries to be helpful but only serves to annoy LaForge while he's attempting to carry out the mission given to him by Captain Picard.

What follows from there is not only one of the best episodes ever written and produced for the series but one of the best novelizations written within the Star Trek fiction genre. For those that read Star Trek novels but don't bother too much with the novelizations, they should try this one as Michael Jan Friedman does a superb job with this story and I highly recommend this novel for your Star Trek library! {ssintrepid}

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable story, if a bit implausible., October 9, 2001

By	James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This novel is an adaptation of an episode in the "Next Generation" television show. It is well-written, and any flaws in it are not truly the fault of the author, Michael Jan Friedman, but rather of Ron Moore, the writer of the teleplay for the episode it was based on.

My primary objection, perhaps surprisingly, is not the method of justifying (or even the very fact of) the existence of the character of Montgomery Scott nearly a hundred years after the original Star Trek series; I found myself willing and able to suspend disbelief for that concept. No, what I found troubling and implausible was the characterization of Mr. Scott, and his inability to recognize what he knew, and what he didn't, and to avoid being a danger to everyone when let loose in an engine room.

The man was no fool, and perfectly aware that technology had changed while he'd been "away". And he'd plenty of experience examining unfamiliar, superior technology. He'd not have made the stupid mistakes he was portrayed as making. Nor would he have failed to understand that a chief engineer can't be interrupted while on duty. The entire concept, essential to the story, was an insult to the character. Other than that flaw in characterization, the story was good, and it was a pleasure to see Scotty back in action. I just wish that the creator of the story had had more respect for the character.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!!!, March 6, 1999

By A Customer

Michael Jan Friedman tells a wonderful adventure with his first Star Trek novel, Relics. He makes you feel as though you were really aboard the Enterprise with Montgomery Scott, Picard, and the rest of the crew. After this terrific book, I'm now looking forward to reading any other Star Trek novels Friedman might write.