Like a lethal bacillus coursing through the bloodstream of the galaxy, a fiendish master plan has spread death and terror across the 24th century — until two heroic captains risk everything to stamp out the evil at its source For more than a decade, since the very beginning of the Starship Enterprise’s(t) mission, unknown enemies have unleashed a string of deadly biological weapons throughout … the Alpha Quadrant, inflicting ghastly epidemics upon the Romulans, the Cardassians, the Bajorans, and even the Federation. Now, at long last, Captain Jean-Luc Picard joins forces with Captain Mackenzie Calhoun of the Starship Excalibur to track down and confront the hidden architects of the plagues — and avenge the deaths of thousands
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I’m a huge fan of the NEW FRONTIER books by Peter David but I admit that I didn’t spend much time reading the spin-offs of them due to the fact that I felt I would be lost due to not reading the rest of the series. Still, I’m in a Star Trek-y sort of mode for writing my own space opera saga and decided to complete my re-read of the New Frontier books. First, I read the excellent ONCE BURNED and now I am reading this tie-in to the Double Helix books that deal with viruses ravaging the Federation. Which is silly! No modern 1st World Nation has anything to fear from disease anymore! *weep*
Here, Double or Nothing is a marked contrast to Once Burned and basically can be summarized as a James Bond movie for half the book. MacKenzie Calhoun plays the role of Bond, stopping an evil arms dealer in the opening credit and bedding the beautiful Orion girl that is uncomfortably threatened with human trafficking and rape–not really subjects I’m used to in my Star Trek. I mean, Deep Space Nine does but that was handled with more seriousness than the goofy spy adventure here.
Indeed, the James Bond feel of the book is about 75% of the book with an insane military commander who wants to rebuild the Soviet Union, err, Thallonian Empire, and plans to destroy the Federation with a weapon that will wipe out trillions! I mean, we’re in full Roger Moore territory here. There’s even a revelation that he knows our protagonists’ true identities but is keeping them around to make a suitably dramatic reveal that they have fallen into his clutches. Mwhahaha. Even the title sounds like an adventure of 007.
The thing is, that’s not a criticism. I like James Bond. Literally, it’s probably my favorite franchise after Star Wars and Star Trek. Indeed, if you were to go over the 30 books I’ve written then about six or seven of them can be described as “science fiction James Bond” or “urban fantasy James Bond.” I can hardly begrudge Peter David for making his Romulan ale, shaken not stirred. Still, it does tonally clash a bit as I rarely think of Star Trek villain as mindlessly evil megalomaniacs with doomsday plots. It’s not peanut butter and anchovies but it is a bit like peanut butter and honey. Not terrible but a bit odd to taste.
Ironically, I much preferred Rikers’ 25% of the view where he becomes the captain of the Excalibur for a week or so and does an absolutely [bleep] job. It’s a bit like him becoming captain of the Orville as the sheer weirdness and quirkiness of the crew drive him to insanity. The thing is that it is the captain’s job to work with the crew he’s given and the fact he can’t is perhaps the first time I agree that Riker is not ready for the big chair. I really liked his and Shelby’s conversations as the latter’s bitterness and the former’s irrational hatred of her are an interesting dynamic. Still, I feel like it deserved its own book and Riker vs. Sela is something that should have been a bigger deal.
I think I might have preferred a book where Riker realizes that the Enterprise is a ship where everything is a bit easier and he has to learn to bend instead of breaking. Also, that he needs to learn to accommodate crews that do have “quirkier” elements to them. I actually note that Riker tended to be a hard[bleep] to crew members outside his circle of friends (TNG: Lower Decks, Ensign Ro, Barclay) and don’t think he would have hesitated to throw his weight around the Excalibur if he felt he wasn’t getting their all. There’s still some great moments like Riker mistaking Janos for a rampaging animal and Soleta showing her increasing Romulan side. I wouldn’t be surprised if mind-melding with Sela helped her make some later decisions.
Overall, a good book but I don’t think it reached its full potential.