Review: Star Trek: The Persistence of Memory

Star Trek: The Persistence of Memory (Cold Equations #1)
by David Mack
Science Fiction
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

A BRAZEN HEIST Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise crew race to find out who has stolen Data’s android brother B-4—and for what sinister purpose.

A BROKEN PROMISE One desperate father risks all for the son he abandoned forty years ago—but is he ready to pay the price for redemption?

A DARING MISSION Against overwhelming odds, and with time running out, Commander Worf has only one chance to avert a disaster. But how high a price will he pay for victory?

Review:

This book managed to capture the world of Star Trek along with strong science fiction writing.  The story feels like a proper Star Trek adventure but it's not just about the characters because this book delivers a lot of detail when it comes to the technical aspects and the realities of the future. I think that's the author's strength - how he manages to bring so much detail to make this book such a strong Star Trek novel.  I was so impressed by how immersive this was.

This book delves into the backstory of Dr. Noonien Soong, creator of androids, and manages to bring a character we only see briefly in the TV series, to a very believable and detailed life.  The author also made a lot of sense in how he characterized Dr. Soong, as I felt he drew well from what we knew about the character to make him a fully realized and nuanced person.  His story makes up a large part of the narrative and even though most of it is backstory, I thought it was the most interesting part of the book.

The mystery behind who is interested in the Soong type androids is the major plot line of this story, and it's a great suspenseful plot point to hold the whole narrative together.  The mission the Enterprise undertakes in the end is a great finale to this book - full of danger, heroism, and loss unfortunately.  It is a daring mission as the plot synopsis promises, and it's very exciting!

There's something that happens in this book that made me really happy which I can't mention for fear of spoilers, but I thought I should say that is another reason why I enjoyed this book so much.  As a Trek novel and as a science fiction adventure, I highly recommend this book!