Star Trek The Next Generation: A Time to Be Born » (Reissue)

On the cusp of their epic battle with Shinzon, many of Captain Jean-Luc Picard's long-time crew were heading for new assignments and new challenges. Among the changes were William Riker's promotion to captain and his new command, Riker's marriage to Counselor Deanna Troi, and Dr. Beverly Crusher's new career at Starfleet Medical. But the story of what set them on a path away from the Starship Enterprise™ has never been told.

UNTIL NOW.

The site of one of the Dominion War's fiercest battles, the Rashanar Sector now contains a vast interstellar graveyard littered with the lifeless hulks of hundreds of devastated starships. The explosive destruction of so many varied warp drives has severely distorted the space-time continuum in this region, resulting in dangerous unleashed energies and bizarre gravitational anomalies.

The Enterprise has been assigned to patrol the perimeter of the danger zone, while other vessels carry out the difficult and highly hazardous task of retrieving the bodies of the dead from the wrecked warships.

To some alien races, the former battleground is hallowed space. To others, including the rapacious Androssi, it is a scavenger's paradise, ripe for salvage. None expect this ship's graveyard to hold a deadly secret that will force the android Data to make a heart-wrenching decision about the path his life will take — and that will endanger not only the Enterprise, but Picard's future in Starfleet.

Hugh Flick, Jr. - KLIATT

These are the first two volumes of a projected nine-book series about the adventures of Captain Picard and the Enterprise that take place between the events of the two movies, Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek: Nemesis. In A Time To Be Born, the Enterprise, while on a routine mission to recover bodies from a huge battle in the Dominion War, discovers a shape-shifting ship that is methodically mimicking and destroying Federation ships. After Picard attempts to destroy this dangerous adversary, a Star Fleet ship gets destroyed and Picard is called back to Star Fleet Headquarters to face an investigation of the incident. In the background of this tale is Wesley Crusher's initiation as a Traveler. However, as part of the initiation, Wesley sees the destruction of the Enterprise in the Pool of Prophesy. A Time to Die concludes the two-book adventure begun in A Time To Be Born. In this installment, Captain Picard must somehow clear himself of a charge of wrongdoing that resulted in the destruction of another Star Fleet ship. In order to do this, he must find and destroy the shape-shifting entity. He is helped in this quest by the extraordinary powers of Wesley, who has just been initiated as a Traveler. The plot is a bit complicated but Captain Picard eventually triumphs and is able to destroy the predatory entity. (Star Trek). KLIATT Codes: JSA—Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2004, Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books, 284p., each. Ages 12 to adult.