Picard and Riker have always worked well together. So what happened? Did the promotion to Admiral get to Riker’s head? I mean, sort of, I guess… But how is Picard supposed to stop his old protege when he’s always a step (or more) behind?
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Takedown
Author: John Jackson Miller
Pages: 368
Format: eBook
Originally Published: February 1, 2015
Publisher: Pocket Books
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: July 4, 2024
My rating: 
Thoughts
Wow! Wow wow wow… wow! My friend Jonathan Koan has said (check out his YouTube channel) this is one of his favorites by author John Jackson Miller and his favorite standalone Star Trek novel. And I can certainly see why!
This book was fantastic! It has everything you could want in a Star Trek book and it is the perfect standalone adventure. It’s got a beginning, a middle, and an end. Sure, there are some elements pulled from Deep Space Nine and it’s got the Starship Aventine under the command of Captain Ezri Dax. But this is a TNG novel through and through.
Basically, Admiral Riker goes a little bonkers and for all intents and purposes commandeers the Aventine. Not only that, he takes the ship on a jaunt through the Alpha and Beta quadrants to destroy communications stations and arrays. The only Riker-like thing about him is that he makes sure there are no casualties.
But that’s not the same for captains of other vessels such as the Ferengi, Romulan, Klingon, and others.
Picard and the Enterprise are sent to catch and capture Rogue Agent Riker. And when they do… oh boy! Let’s just say this book has a revelation that I did NOT see coming and I was so happy when it was revealed. It made so much sense and was Star Trek at its finest.
Honestly, if we were to get a fourth season of Star Trek: Picard, I think this is the story I would want to see.
I’ll end this one here without saying any more If you’re a fan of the Star Trek novels and haven’t read this one yet, do yourself a favor and read it. If you’re not a fan of Star Trek or the novels, well, thanks for reading this far…
This is now one of my favorite Star Trek books! And the second favorite that I’ve read this year! (The other being Pliable Truths by Dayton Ward.) This was an easy 5 out of 5 star book!!
