By GustavoLeao / 05:18, 19 September 2008 / Trek Books

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Star Trek Destiny Book I Gods of Night

Review by Jeff Ayers

When I heard the announcement of the Destiny trilogy and that David Mack was writing it, I was excited.  Then, the hype machine started and I began to worry that it wouldn't live up to all the hyperbole.  After all, these days, what really does?  Then I actually read the first book, Gods of Night...

The storyline examines the captaincy of Ezri Dax aboard the Starship Aventine (immediately my hackles went up, but her quick elevation is explained well).  Their mission is to explore the remains of the NX-02 Columbia, which disappeared during the Romulan War over 200 years ago.  The ship crashed on a planet in another quadrant and there are no bodies aboard.  On board the Titan, Captain Riker and his wife, Troi, battle personal problems as well as Starfleet. They want to be involved in the upcoming battle against the Borg, but are too far away to provide assistance.  On the Enterprise-E, Captain Picard can hear the Borg and knows that the Federation cannot possibly win.  Mixed in with their stories is the story of Captain Hernandez and what really happened to the crew of the Columbia so long ago.  

While it was disappointing to have the Borg be the main villains again, the novel focuses on the characters and their preparations for the inevitable fight, elevating the story above the usual fare.  Star Trek show fans will find much to enjoy.  Fans of the Star Trek books should consider this a gift from the Gods.  As far as the first entry in the trilogy is concerned, it lives up to the hype and is one of the best Trek novels in quite a while.  Will the next books be as great?  I, for one, can't wait to find out. 

10 out of 10

Reviewer Jeff Ayers is the author of Voyages of Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion trade paperback, and webmaster of VoyagesOfImagination.com