Boogeymen

(Star Trek: The Next Generation 17)
by
Mel Gilden

Pocket, July 1991, 244 pp.
ISBN: 0-671-70970-4

Genre: Science Fiction
Subgenre: TV Tie-In
Reviewed: 7/25/2002

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

"Mr. Data."

"Here Captain."

"Would you please join me in the exobiology lab on deck five?"

"On my way, sir."

Data arrived, the usuaul inquisitive expression on his face. Baldwin said, "Maybe now we can get somewhere, eh, Data?"

Data looked puzzled. "Have we met, sir?"

A cold wind blew through Picard. He shot Data a look and said with exaggerated care, "This is Professor Baldwin. We picked him up on Tantamon Four. You escorted him to the conference bridge."

"I did?" Data said.

"You did," said Picard. Baldwin and Shubunkin looked at him, mystified.

"Something wrong, Captain?" Shubunkin said.

"As you may have known, Data is an android. To my knowledge he's never before forgotten anything."

Synopsis

Stardate 43747.3 - On board the U.S.S. Enterprise, Captain Picard transports an old friend, Professor Baldwin, off Tantamon IV. After a failed attempt on his life, Baldwin decides that it is time to disappear from the Federation records. Meanwhile, Wesley Crusher is worried that he will not make a good captain some day.

At Guinan's suggestion, he goes to the holodeck and runs some scenarios with some of the notorious aliens that are enemies of Starfleet. None offer a challenge because they are not new and unknown. Wesley enlists the aid of Data to help design a new race, something from Wesley's nightmares as a kid, something so unpredictable that it will challenge his command abilities.

At Picard's insistence, Wesley inserts his aliens into the Kobayashi Maru scenario, an unbeatable scenario (Although Captain James Kirk once claimed to have beaten it) designed at Starfleet to test all cadets who wish to become captains of their own vessels. But when Wesley runs the program with both Data and Picard acting as Ensigns, the new aliens, which he calls Boogeymen, take over the holodeck and will not let them go. 

Balwin, fearing more attempts on his life, begins a chain of events that not only cause the Enterprise computer to start to break down, it causes Wesley's Boogeymen to become a real threat to every single person on the Enterprise.

Boogeymen is a science fiction book in the Star Trek: The Next Generation world and was written by Mel Gilden. It is Star Trek: The Next Generation number 17.

Review

Boogeymen mostly revolves around Wesley Crusher, Data and Jean-Luc Picard as they struggle to figure out how the Boogeymen can possibly be taking over the Enterprise. I always liked the character of Wesley Crusher and was sad when he left the show. I thought he had a lot of potential to evolve into a very interesting, and powerful, being in the Star Trek Universe.

Mel Gilden has done wonderful job in nailing the Star Trek characters in this book. This story must have taken place right before Wesley left the show, as he already has his honorary Ensign rank and appears quite grown up. I would have liked to have seen the Boogeymen be more ruthless, but, in reality, this book reads exactly as if it were one of the television shows, rather than a more action-oriented movies.

The story is fast-paced and quite enjoyable to read. The new aliens introduced are very interesting as are some of the situations the crew finds themselves in that are new and enjoyable to read about.

Overall, Boogeymen a very good Star Trek: The Next Generation story and I do recommend it for your reading pleasure. 

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.