Spartacus

Star Trek: The Next Generation #20

by Terry Mancour

Answering a distress call, the U.S.S. Enterprise(TM) finds a damaged alien vessel -- the Freedom -- crewed by a race known as the Vemlans. Their captain, Jared asks for assistance in repairing his ship -- assistance Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise are only too happy to provide. But once begun, their relief efforts are interrupted by the arrival of an entire fleet from Vemla, who claim that Jared and his crew are escaped slaves -- and their property As Jared and his people plea for protection and the right to be free, Captain Picard is caught between the demands of his conscience and the dictates of the Prime Directive. And when the Vemlan fleet threatens to fight if the U.S.S. Enterprise doesn't stand aside, Picard must choose between the safety of his ship...and the annihilation of an entire race.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Star Trek The Next Generation, Fantasy, Media Tie In, Science Fiction Fantasy

276 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1992

About the author

Terry Mancour is a New York Times Best-Selling Author who has written more than 30 books, under his own name and pseudonyms, including Star Trek: The Next Generation #20, Spartacus, the Spellmonger Series (more than 11 books and growing), among other works.

He was born in Flint, Michigan in 1968 (according to his mother) and wisely relocated to North Carolina in 1978 where he embraced Southern culture and its dedication to compelling narratives and intriguing characterizations. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in Religious Studies.

Terry, his beautiful wife and three children live just outside of Durham, N.C. atop Red Mountain. He was nominated for the 2018 Audie Award for Best Fantasy for the audiobook for Spellmonger (narrated by John Lee), the first book in his Spellmonger Series.

He has plotted the Spellmonger Series for at least thirty books, in addition to his Spellmonger Cadet (young adult) series, stand-alone novels, short stories and novellas set within the Spellmonger Universe, all of which will be published by Podium as audiobooks. He is also the author of a series of sequels to Golden Age sci-fi master H. Beam Piper's novel, Space Viking, as well as original sci-fi novels.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable literary parable about what makes one human. Cleaner content than usual was a plus!

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story itself is a classic TNG combination of morality play and philosophical conundrum; it certainly makes for a smooth-flowing read. However, the odd characterization choices and interpretation of continuity again get in the way of the novel's ultimate success. Why is Data so season 1-ish in his naivety, when by the end of season 4, both he and the crew are extremely comfortable with who and what he is? Why are Crusher and Riker so shrill (and Riker would never do what he does in Ten-Forward at the conclusion of the novel). Why is Crusher so intransigent about the definition of life, when she is far more open (especially empathizing with Data) in episodes such as "Home Soil" and "The Quality of Life"? Why is Picard having such a hard time believing the Spartacans are a race, when he himself argued otherwise regarding Data in "The Measure of a Man"? All sort of mis-characterizations and short-circuited fanwank keep a solid story from being a truly exceptional one. And as someone else commented in another review, the word "replicator" seems completely anathema from some strange reason.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novel. It felt like an episode from the show. This novel was clean, which was nice. Some very minor language in a couple of places.

[Nick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picard and crew help a vessel full of androids make necessary repairs to their ship, only to discover they are the leaders of a rebel army fighting for freedom from their creators, who view them as unthinking servants. Are they terrorists or slaves? An interesting question with an uninteresting answer.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Trek The Next Generation #20
Spartacus by T.L. Mancour -

I was looking for a good space opera but got a philosophy on what is life.
In college, I had this great biology teacher, Martha Wolfe. We had TV day once and she showed a large portion of the episode "The Measure of A Man."
If you haven't seen it, watch it. The episode is centered on the question of what is life and is Data alive? Can he make his own decisions or is he property?

This book is a nice accompaniment to that episode.
The Enterprise encounters a group of androids and a group of humanoids who built them and used them as slaves. The androids wants their freedom and so the debate begins.
Threats of violence comes from both sides and Picard continues to play diplomat during the entire saga.

I thought is was a really thoughtful story overall and at times was reminiscent of Asimov.
However, a couple of points irked me. Maybe I read it wrong, but Riker came off a bit bigoted and that seemed all wrong for his character. And Picard's reactions seemed over the top at times.

During the last couple of chapters there were a few passages where it seemed like Mancour was trying to fluff it up a bit.

Still, I gave it 4 stars because overall I was really pleased with the story and its presentation.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amazingly fun story. I wish they'd done this as an episode. I view all of these non-canon novels as being lost or left behind episodes. I feel like this would have been a really good episode for the characterization of data and the rest of the crew. Star Trek TNG is very much about morality lessons and questions and this hits the nail on the head.

[Heather Mac]

The first Star Trek book I ever read. Still one of my all-time favorites, even after I've read a few hundred. :D

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

first half good and then it drags

[Octavia Cade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been on a good run of Trek books lately, and this is another better-than-average addition to the franchise, which is all the more astonishing as it strongly features Data. I know he has a lot of fans, but I've never cared that much for him. The slavish desire to be human is not a motivation which has ever garnered any sympathy from me, so when a story like this comes along, in which his motivation is the identification and development of android rather than human culture, I am infinitely more interested. It seems to me that diversity in Trek is best served by characters being true to what they are instead of trying to fit the norms of something else, which might explain why Data's never really struck a chord with me. It helps that Mancour has cut way back on the tedious, irritating characterisation which writers seem to love, admittedly based on the show, that has Data never understanding idiom or slang. (Just fucking feed him Brewer's and be done with it, why don't you, the constant misunderstanding wasn't even funny the first time round.)

But anyway. The Enterprise comes across a group of androids, fleeing enslavement by their creators. Those androids had engaged in violent terrorist actions in order to get free, and the creators want to hold them accountable and ultimately execute them for it, so Picard is in a moral quandary when it comes to which side to take. Admittedly, not much of a quandary as the author's sympathy for the androids makes it plain who's going to come out on top, but it's the route taken that's the main point of interest here, and that's Data's immediate identification with the androids, and his deliberate manipulations to ensure their survival. It's just all very well done... with one very small exception.

The one note here I didn't care for had Data taking one of the aliens to the holodeck to interact with a hologram of Spartacus. There's a few throwaway lines where Spartacus rakes said alien over the coals for following a woman. Now granted, Alkirg is a terrible person and a worse leader, but her gender is not the reason why. And granted, Spartacus is a product of his time, blah de blah, but no character queries this, and neither Data nor the author point out that recognition of slavery and bigotry change over time, and that the prejudice that androids are somehow subhuman was a prejudice that was once applied to women as well. That connection isn't made, and so this throwaway sequence, which is in no way necessary to the plot, is just there to be nasty. A novel as otherwise thoughtful as this should not have lowered itself.

[Solitudes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book right after I finished "Perchance to Dream" by Howard Weinstein which was an extended version of the "Darmok TV" episode ( Shaka, when the walls fell, lol) so while reading this I had in my mind only "The measure of a man" episode. Coincidence or not, both Darmok and The measure of a man are some of the best and finest episodes of TNG and while I was not totally thrilled by Perchance to Dream, Spartacus was another story on a whole new level. Suffice to say that it kept me awake until 4 AM because I was so eager to see the ending. The main idea is the same as in the TV episode: does an android dream of .. sorry, wrong franchise, so, is it an android a living being? Dos or not he has rights? And the book reaches the same conclusion as in the TV episode (otherwise it would have been an blasphemy and against canon) but I loved the debate and especially Data's solution to what was a guaranteed war between organics and androids. Really nice book, truly worthy of the time spent reading it.

[Andy Stjohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

TNG #20: Spartacus by T.L. Mancour

This was a really good book but it fumbled a little here and there. I picked this up in a used bookstore and didn’t much of it but I finally got around to reading it and I really enjoyed it. First of all, it’s a Data novel which there isn’t too any of. And I would argue it’s one of the best. It has great drama, interesting moral and ethical situations and a good Prime Directive dilemma. Although the so called Spartacans I found it hard to support them because of the crimes they admitted to going. The Velmans had more of a case in my opinion it shows the many different shades of grey when it comes to morality. There was a conference meeting that felt very TOS and Picard’s actions later in the book felt very TOS.

Data as a whole was interesting and this was a great case study of him after Measure of a Man and Lal. Jared’s actions in the book however were not justified because he wanted to kill everyone aboard the Enterprise when it made no sense. But overall, this was still really good book and one of the best I’ve read so far this year. 7.5/10

[Reesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this novel. For being written in 1992, it is shockingly prescient to the modern rise in the use of AI and where that's headed - and where we are therefore headed.

I was taken by surprise when the Vemlans' nature was revealed, as I was expecting something else entirely. Perhaps I just wasn't paying close enough attention, but I was delighted by the unveiling. The original characters weren't all fully explored, but I liked them well enough in service to the story.

My only real complaint was some occasional shoddy editing, letting bangers like "placing my race in your hands. If so-and-so got their hands on this, they'd destroy it out of hand" slide through, and some inconsistent characterization for the season this was written during, almost as if some parts of the story were written years before and not edited to fit the final novel.

But overall, I love this as a Star Trek story and would have been happy to see it as a TNG episode. It kept me engaged with every chapter. 4.25 stars.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one that I really enjoyed, that I don't want to read others' reviews of in case they're negative. Not a great cover - there are actually no battles, Spartacus himself plays a very minor role, and Riker doesn't even do as much as Picard. Data is the true hero.

It asks some big questions. What is sentience? Or sapience? What is life? What constitutes a race of people? Should certain actions be considered those committed by freedom fighters, or by terrorists? How does killing affect the person who kills? How does politeness affect the person who makes a habit of being polite? What can happen when the Prime Directive is violated? Etc.

I really like the advice/dressing down that Maran gave to Data about 1/2 way through the book.

Onward! So glad I'm sticking with this series, as the ratio of dreck to gem seems to be improving.

[Rosemarie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept, with a heavy focus on Data and Picard. I did like that the author didn't make either side of the conflict too likeable, it would have been easy to make the androids pristine characters, but the author decided to make them, and the issues surrounding them, more complex. The only character that could have used a little bit more development was the female mission commander, she came off as almost cartoonishly evil, it would have been nice to maybe see, and understand, her though process.

[Jay Wright · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad story. Enterprise after a storm is recovering when it comes upon a spacecraft manned by androids. They have escaped a planet where they won their freedom violently. A fleet from the planet has followed intending to destroy the androids. Enterprise is caught in the middle. Are the beings alive? This issue has been raised before. The prime directive disallows interference. What will Picard do? This is not a bad story, but provides little insight. I am not sure it correctly portrays Data or Riker for that matter.

[Sven · Rating 3 out of 5]

its almost a really amazing book that does all your typical Trek explorations of humanity and diplomacy but then Riker gets drunk at the end, stands on a table and calls for a hip hip hooray while Data's tryna get it in and then everyone laughs and the credits roll like a hack 80s sitcom. literally cut out the last five pages and its probably top five of my fave trek books up to this point chronologically

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Felt like Battlestar Galactica and TNG had a baby and it was this book. Two sides being devious to one another and the Enterprise with the Prime Directive stuck in the middle and trying to stay out of it. Really enjoyed it as the tension built up. After a few middle of the road or worse novels this one really ramped it up.

[Wiccy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
A promising premise ruined by the fact that is dragged on for WAAAYYY too long -- rehashing conversations and arguments that had already been covered better and more succinctly in the show -- and poor characterization of most of the established characters present in the story. Riker, in particular, had his character practically assassinated in this novel. Disappointing read.

[Shannon Stoner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

[Ciaran · Rating 2 out of 5]

A more philosophical Trek book on what constitutes life. Good if somewhat predictable

[Meagan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story was dull.

[Ryan Gillespie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reads just like a TNG episode plays. Not saving the universe, but examining how cultures can be different.

[Nicholas Katers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new favorite among Star Trek novels; would have made a great Data-centric episode.

[Jonpaul McLellan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing morality tale. Fun read, but the cover and description made me think there would be more battle scenes.

[Jesse Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This should be considered a direct sequel to the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Measure of a Man.”

[Doreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dull narrative

[Anne Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a huge ST:TNG fan as a kid and teen, and I still love the series. I haven't read one of the novels in years, but I found this one for 50 cents at a thrift store and thought to give it a whirl. I can't recall if I read this one in high school or not, but I didn't remember it, if I did.

In this one, Picard and the crew, having just come through a long, rough storm, comes across a ship in need of repairs. The ship and its crew declares itself as a refugee ship, so all aide is rendered. The situation is made more complex when the strange crew's secrets are revealed, and a force comes in pursuit of the refugees. The destruction they were fleeing is revealed to be not as simple as they presented it.

If you are familiar with the series, you'll guess that this book has a lot of the same themes from the show, including the meaning of compassion and humanity, and the practical applications of the Prime Directive, and various humanistic ethics and positions. These things are pretty standard in any TNG piece. This one also has some interesting exploration of the meaning of freedom, and allusions to earth myth and history (which is also common to TNG). It also has relevance for discussions we hold today over the pros and cons of excessive leisure, entertainment and electronic conveniences, which was not something I had expected. I found this last theme to be quite fruitful.

The story itself is interesting enough, though the races encountered were not as interesting as some of the species in other Star Trek books and shows. We really don't learn a great deal about the Vemlans, but I frankly wasn't all that curious about them, anyway. They seemed quite stock in nature, to be honest.

However, all the favourite characters from the show are here, with very little Troi (a big plus for me), though the Guinan bits were few and felt tacked on. Some reviewers have called this book a "Data story," but he doesn't overwhelm the book, and it's more of a Picard/Data story, which suits me very well.

The worst thing I can say about the story is that it held very few surprises, but I'm not sure that's a major problem. Naturally, most of the Enterprise's stories end up happily, or at least skillfully resolved by the crack Starfleet crew, and this novel holds little surprise for anyone who's familiar with the series. (Many of the themes, issues, and events are quite similar to materials from the show, actually.)

The writing was less enjoyable. I recall an old Elmore Leonard quote, "When it sounds like writing, I rewrite it." Well, brother, did this book sound like writing! A lot of purple going on, with an excess of big words where simpler ones would do, and so forth. It made it slightly tough going, and almost put it down to 2 stars for me. (But the editing seemed fair, and the style doesn't stop me from recommending the book to those who enjoy TNG novels, so I'm going with 3. I did like it, and I found it entertaining.)

One odd thing that did keep me from putting it above 3 stars is a strange misogynistic twinge in the book; especially near the end, where a man working under a woman was likened to slavery, and the comparison went completely unchecked. Granted the actual woman in question was insufferable, but it still bugged me. Perhaps the editors did not expect women to read Star Trek novels?

Spartacus took me a long time to read; it was my "bus book," so it stayed in my backpack for about a month, and I only took it out while on public transit. It didn't grab my attention all that well from the get-go. However, once I got into it, it kept me entertained, and I plowed through the final 3/4 or half in a weekend. I might not have stuck with it early on if I wasn't already a ST fan, though, and I think Masks (#7) remains my favourite of the ST:TNG novels.

If you're a fan of Picard and Data, and the ethical ruminations this series was best at, you might enjoy this book, warts and all.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spartacus is an interesting tale about what makes a person a person. This is something the human race has struggled with forever. How is it that all people are not created equal? If you feel that someone is inferior to you, does that give you the right to treat them less than someone you consider your peer? Thus, we have this darned dilemma that we often have a very hard time finding the proper answer for.

In this story, the Vemlans are fleeing their homeword after having causing the death of many hundred of thousand of the natives. Why have they done this? Simply, they were slaves, rebelled, and then fled the planet in a stolen ship. These murderous beings were not humans, after all, they were androids. These androids were created to do all of the jobs that the humanoids did not want to do. The humanoids give not thought to the value of these androids, having them killed in a gladiator-like arena. So, if an android is self-aware, does that mean that it should be considered part of an intelligent race? This is the problem that Picard must try to sort out with the help of Data.

T.L. Mancour has created an entraining story that revolves around a theme that Data has had to prove in his past. Is Data to be considered an real person with all of the rights and privileges that should be allotted to him because of that status? Or, is he considered a thing to be used, like a computer, and to be treated as inferior to a human? Now, an entire race of androids are about to be wiped out by the people that created them. Can Picard save them and lead them to a planet where they can live as free persons, or will he be forced to hand them over to be slaughtered?

I liked this story from the very beginning. I thought it was written very well and the author really nailed the main characters of the Enterprise. I really thought that Data would jump to the Vemlan's side and help support them in attaining the status of living, intelligent beings. I was shocked when he didn't do what I expected. That was a nice twist, and I like twists. I enjoyed the pace of the story and found the overall experience to be wonderful. Good job, T.L. Mancour!

Overall, Spartacus is a good Star Trek story that kept me flipping pages late into the night. I quite enjoyed the story and found it to be an interesting tale. So, if you love androids and stories about them overcoming prejudices, go out to a used bookstore, one with a good science fiction section, and purchase this book today.

I rated this book a 7½ out of 10.

[Mikael Kuoppala · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Trek novel is relatively original, containing many good scenes in interesting settings. The story advances smoothly, and gives room to many characters, even allowing them to disagree openly with each other.

I especially liked the fact that Data didn't steal the whole show while being a prominent character. I think Trek books should give more room to less explored characters, and Spartacus is much better in this field than many of its peers.

The characterization is a bit troublesome though. The novel shows many characters as much more concervative than they are in the series, and makes Federation sound almost like a bunch of elitists who don't care about anything important or even mildly profound. Also I think that the subject of slavery would have had much more to give than we got this time. The book made me think but had a disappointing and somewhat less than plausible ending. The whole piece is a good test of your openmindedness which, at least in my opinion, is pretty much 'what being a Star Trek fan is all about.'

[Bookboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent TNG tale, well told, with well rounded characters. Data especially was given an opportunity to shine and to grow. I would have loved to see this be considered canon, as it would have been intriguing to see the development of the Spartacans in the Federation and to be able to follow-up with them later on. Deals with many themes TNG dealt with in the series - sentience, the definition of life, terrorism, the right to self-choice, etc. Excellent for fans of the series and a good story for anyone who likes science fiction, especially books about androids.