If that looks like Data in Dr. Soong’s body on the cover of the book, that’s because it is. And Lal too?! What is this? I’ll tell you what it is. It’s Star Trek storytelling at its finest. If you’re looking for Easter eggs, callbacks, and fan favorite characters, look no further! It’s The Light Fantastic, where even the holographic tea smells amazing and the light is oh so fantastic!
Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Light Fantastic
Author: Jeffrey Lang
Pages: 385
Format: eBook
Published: July 1, 2014
Publisher: Pocket Books
View on Goodreads
Date Completed: February 11, 2024
My rating: 
Synopsis
After the events of the Cold Equations trilogy, Data and Lal have been living it up on Orion Prime. But when Lal is kidnapped, Data will do anything he can to get her back. And he’s bringing some friends with him. Well, one in particular – Geordi!
Together, they travel across the quadrants, visiting friends and enemies, old and new. Mostly old, though.
Along the way, they meet up with Broik on Deep Space 9, they talk to Reg and the Doctor from across the galaxy, they even have a nice chat with Vic! Is that mudd on your shoe? No? Okay, well… there’s that too, if you catch my meaning.
And if you’ve read the blurb on the back cover of the book, you already know that Professor James Moriarty returns!
But what happens? What is the light fantastic? I really don’t want to give too much away here, so you’ll just have to read it for yourself.
Thoughts
This was just a great follow up to the Data storyline since Star Trek: Nemesis. I’ve always loved Data and hated that they had to kill him off in that movie. Apparently, so did the producers and actors in the current shows since they kept bringing Brent Spiner back for Star Trek: Picard!
The overall story of Data as a father, and a worried and overprotective father to boot, was really well done. As we follow the story, we’re seeing a Data that will seemingly do anything to get his daughter back.
As I was reading, it seemed a little too much with all the characters they were bringing in and all the references to past shows and books. However, as the story progressed, almost all of those throwbacks had some important part to play in leading Data to find Lal. I will say that as much as I love Vic Fontaine, I’m not sure his part was really necessary. But who doesn’t want a trip to DS9 from time to time?
As for the ending, it felt a little rushed. I wouldn’t mind reading a novella or something about Moriarty and Mudd meeting and how the, uh, transformations came to be. But it wasn’t something that ruined the book for me. Seemed like the natural ending, if a little quick.
Conclusion
Although I wasn’t too in love with the ending, I still give this 5 stars. Maaaybe 4 1/2, but on Goodreads it’s a 5. Even if I was a little leery of all the callbacks and characters that showed up at first, I was very happy with how they all turned out. Most were in there for good reasons – that is, the progression of the story. If you’re a fan of Data, read this! But read Jeffrey Lang’s other books and David Mack’s Cold Equations trilogy first…
