Death in Winter (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Enterprise E is in drydock, being repaired after the horrible battle with Shinzon in Nemesis. But Captain Picard has more on his mind than just his ship. Doctor Beverly Crusher, the woman whom he has loved since he first met her when she was marrying his best friend Jack, has left her position on his ship and is now head of Starfleet Medical. He is pining, but he begins to pine even more when he is informed that she was on a covert mission to the planet Kevratas, a world on the rim of the Romulan empire, and that she is missing in action. She was there to find a cure for the disease running rampant through the population there. Starfleet wants Picard to lead another mission there, with a doctor from his old ship, the Stargazer. A doctor who is now in a penal colony for trying to kill Picard and other former Stargazer officers. Recruiting his old security officer to help them, along with a Romulan dissident, they go to Kevratas to find a cure, while Picard plans the search for the woman he loves, the woman he is certain is still alive. Meanwhile, Romulan politics intervene, which could mean the deaths of them all.

Death in Winter is not a very filling book. With small pages and large type, it looks bigger than it is. I raced through it in two days, partially because I wanted to know what happened, and partially because there wasn't a lot of substance to it. It deals almost exclusively with Picard and Crusher, as well as with the Romulan political situation. Unfortunately, those having read the books in publication order already know how the political problems have turned out, as we are told what happened in both Articles of the Federation and, more importantly, in Titan: Taking Wing. We just didn't know the details.

In fact, this is one of the problems. I don't mind the limited characters, but in an attempt to shoe everybody in, Worf and Geordi are also featured attempting to find out where Picard went, as they find out about Beverly's disappearance and think that they should go help. Worf even has a dream showing that if he doesn't go help Picard find her, she'll die. Ultimately, nothing happens. What was the point of this again? Talk about your dead-end subplots! It just seemed like filler in an already thin plot.

Also thin is the Doctor Greyhorse plot. A lot of tension is created with the fact that he could very well be insane, despite what his doctors have told Picard and Starfleet. He starts acting kind of weird, saying some odd things, making Picard wonder if he's going to jeopardize the mission. Then, not surprisingly, nothing happens with it. He does what he's set out to do, acting a bit more strangely but nothing too major, and the thread is dropped. I know I'm repeating myself, but what was the point of this again? Sure, it adds a bit of characterization to Greyhorse, but considering we barely hear from him anyway, it all seems superfluous.

Friedman's characterization is pretty good, though. I'm glad he finally deals with the Picard/Crusher relationship, in a way I heartily approve (and the excerpt from next summer's Resistance shows that it even continues!). Crusher's reaction to Picard's whispered statement to her near the end is understandable, despite the fact that she'd been realizing some things about him too during her captivity. He blindsides her a bit, and she needs some time to come to terms with it. The ending is a bit predictable because of that, but it was still nice to see. Picard and Crusher are captured wonderfully, both in their outward characterization as well as internal monologues. Worf and Geordi, despite being extraneous to the plot, are also done well, even without using stereotypical mannerisms from the series. The Romulan characters are extremely fun, making the political plot interesting despite already knowing the outcome. We do find out a bit more information about the Romulan commander Donatra, adding more colour to her portrayal in the previous books, such as why she was so fiercely loyal to Admiral Braeg.

What's missing is the Stargazer crew. Both Greyhorse and "Pug" Joseph depend mostly on what is known from previous books. I've already stated that the Greyhorse conflict is over before it begins, but I also get no real sense for why Joseph was so loyal to Picard and why Picard depends on him so much. Friedman tells us a lot about them, and there are a couple of nice scenes between them, but it just felt like most of the "showing" of why they're such good friends appeared in the other books. Those of us who haven't read the Stargazer books are left out in the Kevratan cold.

Overall, Death in Winter is an enjoyable book, despite the missteps above. It sparkles when either the Romulans are on screen or the Picard/Crusher relationship is being dealt with. Some of the passages in the middle drag, but when the action starts, Friedman does a good job with that too. I wanted the first post-Nemesis book to be a home run, but instead it's a single. The good points and bad points almost even out. Hopefully, Resistance will be that home run.

David Roy

My main problem was Picard's characterisation. His words and actions seemed off throughout the entire story, I kept thinking, Picard wouldn't do/say that. In particular I remember that he fequently used the word 'grand'. Only a slight thing but I'm sensitive to it because as an Irish person living abroad, everyone jokes about my constant use of the word (anyone with Irish friends will know what I mean) and I can't recall that it was a phrase Picard ever used much. There were lots of little details like this which put me off the book rather than the main story.

I can forgive other Trek authors for this, Peter David for example makes characters do/say the unexpected for comic effect, but this is an important story and will have ramifications in the following books. It's not right!!

On the other hand Crusher was well written, could easily 'see' her character as I read.

Another annoyance was the Worf/Geordi storyline. Worf and Geordi did some plotting and nothing came of it. At all. Nothing. I wondered often if I had missed something but since the book is so short (for a hefty hardback price) it would have been difficult to miss anything.

Fortunately I had read the old TNG book Reunion so I knew some of the backstory with Picards old Stargazer shipmates but I find it unusual how a reader would have to have read this or perhaps the stargazer books to be fully in tune with the story. With all the post series books, there is now a continuity that was never there before in star trek books that gives a feeling of a clean slate, also many readers may only be reading from where the series left off so having expected them to have read other, seemingly unrelated books (initially) is irritating. Surely the book could have been planned to let Worf and Geordie take these more important roles, something all readers would have appriciated instead of characters that only a handful would care about?

Despite all this...it's not a terrible book. Every TNG fan has been waiting for it and it delievers. Not in the best possible way but not in the very worst either. And it has Sela. The Romulans were written well and I enjoyed all the scenes with them. And even a grumbler like me had to smile at the end.