Review: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Force And Motion by Jeffery Lang

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

Pocket Books; 144 pages; $7.99; Amazon

Yep, I hate to admit this, but I was somewhat of a "Trekkie" during my childhood. My dad watched reruns of the original series and the feature films, so naturally I watched them as well, but I didn't become a big fan until Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted when I was a six-year-old in 1987. Of course I also watched the underdog the franchise, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; though I tuned out for "Voyager" and "Enterprise."

While I was already a big book lover back then, I only recall reading one Star Trek novel, which I believe was a novelizations of one of he movies. Anyhow, with all the hype over next month's Star Trek: Beyond and next year's CBS All-Access series, I've become reinterested in the franchise; watching a few reruns of ST: TNG on BBC America and purchasing the TOS and TNG films DVD sets.

Being in a "Trekkie" mood, I thought I would read one of the new Star Trek novels, which Pocket Books releases a few titles per month. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Force And Motion by Jeffrey Lang was released to bookstores yesterday, which Pocket Books had nicely sent me an advanced copy to review.

"Force And Motion" takes place after events of the novel Star Trek: DS9: Ascendance. It's also a sequel to the ST: TNG episode "The Wounded" and ST: DS9: Gateways novels (Demons of Air and Darkness.) The main story involves Chief Miles O'Brien and Lieutenant Commander Nog traveling in the Runabout Amazon to the private research station "Robert Hooke" to visit O'Brien's old friend Benjamin Maxwell, the former captain of the USS Rutledge and the USS Phoenix.

Ben Maxwell had been stripped of his "captain"rank after he had ordered the USS Phoenix to destroy a Cardassian warship and supply vessel that resulted in the deaths of more than 600 crew members (which took place in the TNG episode "The Wounded.") He was later court-martialed and sentenced to the Starfleet Penal Colony at the Waiheke Island, New Zealand, Earth. Twenty years later, Ben has been rehabilitated and released from prison. He is now working as an maintenance engineer on the "Robert Hooke."

Upon docking at the "Robert Hooke," both O'Brien and Nog suspects something is wrong with the station and it's owner, Finch, who's primary research experiment "Mother" is supposed to help eliminate the pollution left by the Borg that has caused planets to become inhabitable. Just as O'Brien is reunited with his former captain, an unpredictable force puts the entire station in jeopardy.

Final Thoughts: With a cool cover art and exciting premise, I eagerly jumped into reading "Force and Motion" as soon as I received it last week. I had recently rewatched the TNG episode "The Wounded" on BBC America, so I knew who the character Benjamin Maxwell was, but I had no clue there was second DS9. After a quick Wiki search, I learned that the original DS9 was destroyed awhile back in the book series and a new Federation DS9 was built.

While twenty-years have passed since "The Wounded," Chief Miles O'Brien feels like he has hasn't aged a bit, and neither has Nog, though his rank has changed. There are may flashback chapters throughout the novel, even a few set right after "The Wounded" episode and some chapters are set on both versions of DS9. The main part of the novel is set on the "Robert Hooke," a strange space station full of crooks and liars.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Force And Motion. The author does a great job creating a different kind of "Trek" story with a few twists and turns.