I can't claim I ever wanted a follow-up to Generations. "What was the nexus?" is a question I never even thought about. But The Stuff of Dreams brings the Enterprise crew back into contact with that phenomenon, several decades ahead of schedule. Instead of passing through local space every 39.1 years, it's returning 25 years early... and coming within the reach of the Typhon Pact, who might like to have some easy access to time travel.

At first, I will admit I really didn't see the point of all this. The nexus (always lower case, which feels wrong to me, like it's just some nexus, when surely it's the Nexus) is kind of a maguffin. The Enterprise has met up with the science vessel Newton, which has been studying the nexus for months; with the nexus about to enter Kinshaya space, the Newton is going to destroy it so that no one can get their hands on it. But there's a saboteur on board: it felt like this could have been any space thing in any Typhon Pact story.

But then Picard returns to the nexus about halfway through the novella, and the story gets wistful and melancholy and true. Picard has to convince another man to give up the fantasies of the nexus while once again confronting his own. The writing is tight and evocative and character focused; as it goes on, it becomes genuinely moving, and I found myself tearing up as I finished the novella over lunch. (Warning: parenthood makes you into a total sap.) The reappearance of a certain Generations character seemed obvious once it happened, but I didn't expect it, and I really like what was done with him. It gave him good closure. Swallow has a good grasp on Picard, and this is the first Destiny-era story to convince me that there's something interesting in marrying Picard off and giving him a family, the first one to tell a story that could not have been told before.

And, I must admit, the more thriller-focused elements in the first half work well; the culprit seems obvious, so I was surprised to be wrong-footed. (And then Swallow puts a second surprise on top of the first-- sneaky!)

It's quick, and that's to its advantage. One of the things I like about these novellas is that they read like episodes of the television series; Destiny-era fiction can often feel bloated, but The Stuff of Dreams gets right to it and never really wastes any time. It kind of makes me think all Star Trek tie-in fiction should be novella-length! Another thing I like is its perspective. A lot of Star Trek books jump from character to character to character in a way that makes it hard for the book to maintain any real throughlines; the choice of viewpoint feels like it says more about the plot than anything else. The Stuff of Dreams focuses primarily on Picard, using him as the focal character for the majority of its scenes. But not every scene is a Picard one; we'll segue into Worf or whoever when it's needed, but we always quickly come back to Picard. So while this might read like an episode in terms of pacing, in terms of character focus, I think it plays to the strengths of prose instead of trying to emulating tv-style ensemble storytelling.

So despite my initial skepticism, this turned out to be nice little adventure of the kind I wish we saw more of. I think all of Swallow's Destiny-era books were Titan ones outside of this, so it's nice to get to see him do something different. I'd like to read more TNG by him.

Continuity Note:

• One character, Kolb, is an old friend of Picard; it's mentioned they met when the Enterprise-D saved his planet, Styris IV, from Anchilles fever. I vaguely recognized those names, so I assumed he had appeared on some old episode of TNG that I had mostly forgotten. I was surprised when later I discovered he was an invention of this book-- Styris IV was where the Enterprise was going after "Code of Honor." I do wonder if there's a pre-established character Swallow could have used again to give things slightly more oomph. I am not a huge fan of the never-before-mentioned-old-friend trope!

Book Info: Genre: Science Fiction/TV and Movie Tie-in
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: ST:TNG fans, especially those interested in the Nexus.
Trigger Warnings: suicide, genocide (historical Borg attacks mentioned), religious zealots

My Thoughts: This book is definitely for fans of Star Trek: The Next Generation. If you haven't watched the show and/or followed the various books that have been written in the cannon and/or seen the movie Star Trek: Generations you will not have any idea what is going on in this book. Then again, why would someone who is not a fan of ST:TNG even want to read this novella? So, there you go.

This was, however, for a fan a neat story. It takes place thirteen years after Star Trek: Generations and involves the Nexus. It also occurs after Star Trek: Nemesis. There are a number of new crewmembers, and Worf is the first officer. There is not a lot of character development as such; this book is mostly action and events, so if you prefer a more character-driven story you probably won't enjoy this much, but I was entertained. Then again, I am a Trekker, so of course I would enjoy it. I didn't find anything to nitpick about; the story flows quickly, and the Nexus, of course, allows a bit of temporal flux to give things a bit of excitement. If you are a fan of ST:TNG, and especially if you were interested in the Nexus, be sure to grab this fun novella. If you aren't, you'll want to find something else.

Disclosure: I received an e-galley from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: The Enterprise-E arrives in unclaimed space for a rendezvous with the Starfleet science vessel Newton. Jean-Luc Picard and his crew have been ordered to assist the Newton with the final phase of its current mission—a mission that brings Picard face to face with something he never thought he would see again: the phenomenon known as the Nexus. Less than twelve years after it left the Alpha Quadrant, the Nexus ribbon has now returned. Tasked to track and study the phenomenon as it re-entered the galaxy, the specialist science team on the Newton discovered that the orbital path of the Nexus has been radically altered by the actions of the rogue El-Aurian Tolian Soren—taking it deep into the territory of The Holy Order of the Kinshaya, one of the key members of the Typhon Pact. Starfleet Command is unwilling to allow the Kinshaya—and by extension, the Typhon Pact—free access to what is essentially a gateway to anywhere and anywhen, as a single operative could use the Nexus to change the course of galactic history…. ( )

http://beauty-in-ruins.blogspot.ca/2013/03/st-tng-stuff-of-dreams-by-james-swall... ( )