Diane Carey can be forgiven for a lot of the portrayals in Ghost Ship, the first novel in The Next Generation series released by Pocket Books following the novelization of the pilot episode. The book was largely written before there was any casting in place, and she could only rely on the show’s bible to give life to her characters instead of the actors who would imbue them with that living spark.

There are other odd things going on in the book that don’t feel quite right either. The Enterprise seems to have adopted a very Navy way of referring to one another, Mr. Riker, Mr. LaForge, instead of Commander or Lieutenant, respectively.

Also, everyone is really gruff with one another. I get that this is supposed to be early in the voyage of the 1701-D (it’s supposed to take place after the episode Heart of Glory) but honestly, with the way the characters interact with one another, you’d think it was much earlier. Riker comes across as occasionally very mean, and the way he speaks to Data contradicts what we’ve already read of him in Encounter at Farpoint, not to mention what we’d seen on the screen.

There is an interesting story woven around the strange incarnations of familiar characters (Carey’s a solid storyteller and the way the characters are not necessarily her fault). Nor are some of the historical events she refers to. The book was written in 1988, how was she to know the Soviet Union would fall shortly after?

The story opens in 1995 when the crew of a Soviet aircraft carrier get zapped by some strange alien mechanism/being attracted by their weapons test. Flashforward to the 24th century, and we learn that ship’s counselor, Deanna Troi, is having vivid impressions of warships and people she doesn’t recognize… There’s something very close by that seems to be holding countless souls in what feels like endless torment.

As the crew of the Enterprise investigate, the ship is attacked by this strange mechanism, and Picard, Riker, Data and the rest are unsure of what to make of it. To say nothing of the occasional apparition that has shown up around the ship.

They eventually deduce that the mechanism has somehow ingested, or is holding the ‘souls’ of thousands, possibly millions of still-living beings, including the crew of the Russian ship, and all they want is to be able to completely die instead of living in this horrible state, unable to leave the mechanism, and no physical form to return to if they could.

What follows, for a few pages, before Data attempts to kick things into high gear, is a valid discussion on euthanasia, the right to die, and the right to choose.

The heart of the story is definitely Trek, some of the characters are way off from what they ever were, but I get it. It was 1988, we wanted all the new Trek we could get any way we could get it. I remember getting this book as a gift shortly after it came out, and I was simply delighted to be able to travel with these new characters, even if they didn’t seem quite right to me.

But the Enterprise, and I, would and will continue to boldy go… More Trek books on the horizon!