BOOK REVIEW: "Boogeymen" (Star Trek: The Next Generation #17) by Mel Gilden

Boogeymen (Star Trek: The Next Generation, No. 17)

Reviewed by Aaron DeWeese

 

 

It had been much too long since I had perused the shelves of my Star Trek novels. Of course, my favorite is TNG. I picked "Boogeymen" because it was early in series of novels (#17) and it, according to the back cover, dealt with one of Picard's old friends, and too, it alludes that the setting is the Enterprise itself.

The only setback is that the novel's main antagonist (heheh) is that annoyingly puerile Ensign Wesley Crusher. The thing is, he's not that annoying here—not as much as usual anyway. The prologue gives us a glance into Wesley's personal log, which shows a depth not often seen in his character.

The story itself remained plausible up until around the middle of the book. Things got a little ridiculous, but overall Mel Gilden does a great job of telling an interesting and succinct tale. There were a couple of issues, but I've forgotten them now. I didn't think the end was very plausible—Picard heading to the holodeck to check out a woman in his private detective scenario.

So, "Boogeymen" successfully tickled my nostalgic bone for TNG, and there were lots of little character easter-eggs of sorts for long-time fans.