By BWilliams / 09:18, 24 October 2003 / Reviews - Books

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"It's a relationship that goes beyond friendship..." – Guinan, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"

I'll just come out at the start of this review and say it: Michael Jan Friedman has hit gold once again. After the average paint-by-the-numbers storytelling of THREE, he delivers a solid, fast-paced story from start to finish with OBLIVION, the latest entry in the STARGAZER series.

As we know from THE NEXT GENERATION, the complex and rarely mentioned relationship between Captain Picard and the enigmatic Guinan became one of the staples of the series in its seven-year run and in the GENERATIONS feature film. Fans wondered about the depths of this relationship - was it based on trust? Was it romantic? Where and how did it all begin?

Picking up shortly after the events of THREE, Picard finds himself exploring the ruins of a wrecked freighter on a distant world called Oblivion. His mission from Starfleet Command is to locate an acquaintance of his and retrieve vital information that will help the Federation in its tenuous negotiations with the Cardassians. Something goes wrong, however, and Picard finds himself at the heart of a bombing investigation on Oblivion and the chief suspect. When he is imprisoned for crimes he did not commit, he befriends a mysterious female who knows Picard differently. Together, Picard and Guinan work to locate his contact, retrieve the information, and clear his name in the bombing incident.

The Cardassians, however, have other plans. A Cardassian landing party led by an ambitious glinn attempts to retrieve the same information from the same contact, and it soon turns into a cat-and-mouse race against time. To go into detail any further would ruin the intensity of the story, but I will say that it's a taut page-turner from start to finish.

Friedman not only delivers in the story of OBLIVION, but he also sets up certain events that will occur in the NEXT GENERATION timeframe, specifically in certain aspects pertaining to Picard and his future that we know and love. One light-hearted moment occurs with the loss of something Picard holds dearly, but it's something we can't imagine Picard having much of in the first place from the first frames of NEXT GENERATION, and the lack of it only adds to his character. As for the aforementioned Cardassian glinn who appears in the story, he's a ruthless killer who takes great pleasure in killing and torture for the fun of it. To reveal his identity would ruin the surprise, but let's just say that fans will get to see more of him, and his son, aboard a certain former Cardassian space station in a few decades. And that's one of the fun aspects Friedman brings to OBLIVION, as he lays the groundwork for things to come.

While the novel also delves into other matters aboard the Stargazer itself, including on-ship romances, fights between crewmen, and even betrayals, the central focus on the novel is the Picard-Guinan story. Friedman keeps the reins focused in delivering a tale that is fast-paced, at times humorous, packed with action and hints of events to come.

OBLIVION is one of Friedman's best novels to date, and it's safe to say that we haven't heard the last of Picard and Guinan yet. It's solid reading from start to finish.

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