Author David Mack delivers a fast-paced adventure that documents Seven of Nine’s life following Voyager’s return to Earth, and how she ended up working with the Fenris Rangers in Firewall, a Star Trek: Picard novel available on 27 February from Simon & Schuster Canada.

Tying itself in with the established canon of not only Star Trek: Picard, but Voyager, and Prodigy as well, the novel finds Seven a bit out of sorts after Voyager’s triumphant return to Earth. She’s had her Starfleet application rejected dispute being championed by the recently promoted Admiral Janeway, and now is a bit of a wanderer, trying to discover herself, and a calling.

When she is approached by an agent of the Federation Security Agency to infiltrate the Fenris Rangers who have been branded vigilantes, she takes the opportunity. But this is just the opening move in a gambit in which Seven is a pawn.

She realizes the Rangers aren’t the rag-tag group that they’ve been portrayed as, and that they are struggling to keep law and justice in a region of the quadrant that has lost all support because of the Federation’s rush to aid the Romulans and their evacuation plan before their sun goes supernova.

Taken under the wing of a Ranger, Seven finds herself confronting an Antican warlord who is ravaging the area, and committing acts of horrific genocide. But with the help of some new friends, a love interest, and her insightful abilities, Seven may come up with a way to save this region of space and smooth things out with her former captain while discovering important truths about herself.

I really enjoyed this one, David Mack has a long history with Star Trek novels, and he just seems to be getting better and better, and his tie-ins to established Trek continuity help ground the novel in the universe so many of us love. I delight in how he crafts the developing love story for Seven. He introduces a number of characters and establishes the Rangers, their mission, and their context in the established universe, and this is only the beginning of Seven’s time with the Rangers, which means we may see more tales from Mack and others about Seven and the Rangers before the events of Picard Season One take place.

Star Trek: Picard – Firewall is a great ride. It opens up Seven of Nine in new ways, exploring the changes in her life and character following Voyager’s return, and setting her on the road to who she will become when we encounter her in Picard’s first season. But now, I’ll be wondering about the other characters we’ve been introduced to in this tale, and how their story plays out and how they shape Seven into the character she becomes for Picard.

Star Trek: Picard – Firewall by David Mack is available from Simon & Schuster on 27 February, boldly go!