Star Trek, The Next Generation: Q-Squared (Adapted)

By: Peter David

Narrated by: John de Lancie

In all of his travels, Captain Picard has never encountered an opponent more powerful than Q, a being from another continuum that Picard encountered on his very first mission as captain of the starship Enterprise. In the years since, Q has returned to harass Picard and his crew. Sometimes dangerous, sometimes merely obnoxious, Q has always been mysterious and seemingly all-powerful.

But now, Trelane, another member of the continuum whom Captain Kirk and his crew first encountered over 100 years ago, has tapped in to an awesome power source that makes him more powerful than the combined might of the entire continuum. Q warns that, armed with this incredible power, Trelane has become unspeakably dangerous. Now Picard must get involved in an awesome struggle between superbeings. And this time, the stakes are not just Picard's ship, or the galaxy, or even the universe - this time the stakes are all of creation.

©1994 Paramount Pictures, All Rights Reserved; AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc. (P)1994 Paramount Pictures, All Rights Reserved; AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster Inc.

An diverting time

It does need to be noted this is an abridged version of the novel not the Adapted part in the title. This is essentially a digitization of an older recording. Personally I think Audible should be working to record all the trek novels they can with various voice actors to fill in the roles.

That said John de Lancie does a good job with the voice acting conveying emotion into the characters and conveyign the complicated esoteric concepts well. He has a good voice but he's able to vary it enough so the characters come across well. He does a good job. The book has a lot of sound effects and audio work cramming in sound effects that mimic the show. Often this works to make me think I am listening to an audio drama of the tv show. One of the effects, a static buzzing sound used for some transitions, was very distracting and off putting making me think my files were corrupted. I suspect this was from the original recording and I think it was a bad choice.

The story itself works well. Peter David remains a writer I love to read. He's good at turning intellectual property like Trek on its ears a bit playing with the established world. Taking up a nearly forgotten original series one episode villain and making him into a threat related to Q is interesting. I would have enjoyed more time establishing Trillain and Q's relationship and how they interact. I liked what I saw and would have enjoyed more establishment of why Trillain is a threat and how he is different from Q as essentially a child-like entity. Seeing Troi and Picard out strategize Trillain was thrilling. The concept of three vastly different Enterprises from different universes interacting was well done. This book does a nice job delving into Trek lore and building a story. I hated one of the subplots and a part of me wanted to see more of the universes interacting. The ending to this novel feels a bit rushed as well. However, I did enjoy the book and most of my complaints are that I wanted more. A good little novel that feels like a good Trek episode with a heavier ending.

Great Short Story

What made the experience of listening to Star Trek, The Next Generation the most enjoyable?

John de Lancie is engaging as he reads this fascinating exploration into the Q continuum. He provides more than Q's whimsical charm demonstrating his ability to build dramatic tension, touching character moments, as well as suspense throughout the book. While this is only a short story, Peter David offers a compelling Next Generation tale that finds links to Original Trek through the fan favourite character Trelane. Dealing with alternate realities is difficult enough, but David goes further and offers multiple alternate realities collapsing into one. David demonstrates a deep knowledge of the Star Trek universe writing characters and events that are faithful to the television series. This is a great addition to the Star Trek universe.

one of the best

What did you love best about Star Trek, The Next Generation?

story line fits in well with the series

What did you like best about this story?

all Q stories are great this one was a totally connected to the original & the next generation

Which character – as performed by John de Lancie – was your favorite?

Q was & is my favorite

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

a story that ties both universes together

Show worthy

Loved it, good storyline and telling. Should be part of a mini series. I highly recommend it.

YOU HAVE NO IDEA, HOW SCREWED UP THIS IS

THE SQUIRE OF GOTHOS
Yes, this is abridged. I normally stay away from abridged books, but face it, if you want to listen to any Star Trek, you have no choice. I also am a fan of Peter David. I am not sure, but I believe the latest movie Pan, is based on his novel Tigerheart. I could be wrong. If you are a fan of New Generation you will love this. If you are a fan of the original you will like this, if you are a fan of both, you will be ecstatic. If you are new to Star Trek, do not start here. You will be lost.

I BELIEVE HE SAID HIS NAME WAS WOLF?
This is much to do with the multiverse. We have Captain Picard and First Officer Picard, Beverly Crusher and Beverly Howard. A humanoid Data and a Android Data. Worf, leader of the Klingons and Worf, head of security. Troi is married to Riker, with a child and she is not married to Riker. Tashi Yar is head of security and not. Etc...Guinan is involved and in a small part so is Sulu.

Fans of the original Star Trek will recognize Trelane, The Squire of Gothos. This was always one of my favorite episodes. Trelane is still very immature, but has developed a lot more power under the tutelage of Q. (although I thought all Q were called Q?) Q is sick of the kid and so is the crew of the Enterprise. Anyways the book is fast moving and has a great plot. I am not sure, but I think there was a small reference to an episode called Charlie.

I have read the unabridged version and yes it is better, but this is all that is recorded. If you can get over the abridgement then I believe you will enjoy it. One of the things I believe you do miss, is that in the unabridged you meet top flight nurse Geordi La Forge. I don't think that is included in the abridgement. Buy this, listen and maybe it will wet your appetite to find the book in a used book store or buy it on Amazon.

The production is very well done and John de Lancie is superb.

Picard: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Trelane: POWER IS POWER

Just not the best of star trek, this time.

Struggled to keep going. Not one to keep you on the track of suspense. But John de Lancie is good!

Pretty Good!

I like this one quite a bit. There were a couple of spots I found hard to follow. This might have been because of the abridged nature of the story but I could figure it out easily enough.

Great reading by John DeLancie!

This story plays out like a lost episode of the TV series. I loved it.

Picard & Q

This is an interesting novel regarding different Enterprises and different Picards from different universes. It is worth reading.

Typical Q shenanigans

Nice and short. Very enjoyable as a true fan of the Q universe. Good job