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Diabolus ex machina

(Star Trek: The Next Generation)

David Mack (Goodreads Author),

Wibke Sawatzki (Translator)

really liked it 4.00 · Rating details · 1,230 ratings · 85 reviews

Im Zentrum der Galaxis taucht eine gewaltige Maschine auf, groß wie ein Planet, und niemand weiß, woher sie gekommen ist. Ganze Sternensysteme stürzt sie in ein riesiges Schwarzes Loch. Die Enterprise-Crew findet den wahren Zweck der Maschine heraus – und sie stellt eine Bedrohung allen Lebens in der Galaxis dar. Als die Zeit immer knapper wird, begreift Picard, dass es nu ...more

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Paperback, 380 pages

Published August 31st 2015 by Cross Cult (first published January 2013)

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Apr 06, 2014 Alejandro rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: novel, star-trek, media-tie-in, science-fiction

This is the third and final novel in the book event Cold Equations from Star Trek: The Next Generation that supposedly to be about the return of Data and his quest to find a way to resurrect his daughter, Lal.

Okay, first of all... why the heck is doing Worf in the cover?! He does some stuff in the story and there is a relevant moment about his Starfleet career but that's all. Hardly a reason to be pictured on the cover.

Wesley Crusher should be on the cover since it's his triumphant return to the ...more

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Oct 26, 2018 Jerry rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A crazy adventure for Picard and crew...but a fun one!

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Nov 24, 2013 Carl Bussema rated it liked it · review of another edition

Why Worf is on the cover, I have no idea. They should have put WESLEY CRUSHER on the cover, because that's right kids, everyone's favorite Traveler is back!

And he's not bringing good news (duh). Turns out there's a machine at the center of the galaxy that's going to [science involving black holes] destroy the galaxy, soon. Aided by Wesley's ability to hyperwarp the ship, the Enterprise rushes out to investigate, and concludes that the machine was constructed by the same people who built V'Ger (S ...more

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May 23, 2012 Dan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: tng, star-trek, e-books

The Body Electric was a satisfying conclusion to the Cold Equations trilogy. Each entry in this trilogy almost represents a different "genre" of novel. The first, The Persistence of Memory, is a black-ops thriller with a bit of personal memoir thrown in. Book two, Silent Weapons, is more of a political/action thriller, while The Body Electric brings a hard sci-fi element to the story. My favourite entry in the series was Silent Weapons, as I'm a sucker for the political stuff. But The Body Elect ...more

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Jan 05, 2013 Daniel Kukwa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek

I'm not sure what to think here. The elements of the story all reach for an epic scale not seen since "Star Trek - The Motion Picture". The prose is wonderful, and I positively breezed through this novel in a matter of hours. But in the end, it still feels slightly less than the sum of its parts. It feels as if it should be MORE epic, MORE emotional, MORE terrifying than it is...and the rather pat ending certainly works against it. To say nothing of dispensing with ALL the Typhon Pact shenanigan ...more

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Aug 09, 2015 Crystal Bensley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

So David Mack might be my new fav Star Trek author- absolutely awesome epic stuff... Again!

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Jan 19, 2016 C.T. Phipps rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek

There are two kinds of Star Trek fans: those who like Wesley Crusher and those who don't. I, for those who wish to know, am one of the former.

I was a wee lad of seven when Star Trek: The Next Generation first came on screen. Despite this, I watched it religiously and thought Wesley was the bomb. There was no reason not to like Wesley since, of course, a fourteen-year-old kid could do everything an adult could do but better. That was just common sense (at my age)!

I suspect the older a Trek fan There are two kinds of Star Trek fans: those who like Wesley Crusher and those who don't. I, for those who wish to know, am one of the former.

I was a wee lad of seven when Star Trek: The Next Generation first came on screen. Despite this, I watched it religiously and thought Wesley was the bomb. There was no reason not to like Wesley since, of course, a fourteen-year-old kid could do everything an adult could do but better. That was just common sense (at my age)!

I suspect the older a Trek fan you were, the more irritating you found Wesley, at least until you reached your thirties when I suspected you found the whole idea of a Boy GeniusTM endearingly quaint. Whatever the case, Wesley Crusher is a character I'd love to read more about but has shown a peculiar (or perhaps not so peculiar given fan rage) absence from the literary Trek.

Still, it may surprise you I wanted to read this book before the others because I was so excited at the prospect of Wesley Crusher playing a significant role in this novel. I am very pleased with David Mack's interpretation of what the character would be like after fully coming into his powers as a Traveler. He's a combination of adult Will Wheaton and the arrogance his character displayed as a boy tempered with genuine wisdom.

The premise of The Body Electric is a great deal more space opera than usual, dealing with the kind of threat which makes Nomad or V'ger look comical. A massive machine is dumping massive number of planetoids and stars into a black hole. It's a mass murderer on a cosmic scale, every bit as evil and vile as the Borg. Wesley discovers this monster's existence and decides he needs to help of Captain Picard to stop it.

Tying into this story is Data 2.0's continued quest to find the immortal Flint. This takes him into confrontation with renegade A.I. who are presently holding said immortal prisoner. This book also marks the return of Rhea McAdams, a character I've always been intrigued by. Despite her being branded 'Data's love interest', I always felt she had a bigger role to play than the novels let her play.

The portrayal of Wesley Crusher, as mentioned, is extremely enjoyable. As a 'space-wizard' he's a very interesting character with powers that are simultaneously awe-inspiring but limited to teleportation. Nevertheless, you could use him as justification for all sorts of shenanigans and I hope we'll see him in future books. His conversation with his mother about not knowing 'what he was' (and how a seemingly normal human gained abilities such as is) was a particularly touching one.

Unfortunately, I can't say this particular novel hit me completely the right way. For one, Doctor Crusher continues to be deriding and antagonistic over her loved one's choices. Not only does she disapprove of Captain Picard's 'family first' attitude but openly calls into question her son's humanity. Her statement she's not going to abandon her post is wonderful but the fact she doesn't think about evacuating her son from the possible destruction of the galaxy (despite it being within her power) is horrifying.

I also wasn't particularly satisfied with the way this work ended. Without spoiling, I was a great fan of the way the Borg were dealt with in Destiny as well as the expansion on the Breen as more than just a race of space-suit-wearing bad guys.

Here, however, the Machine's actions are not informed by an accident (like the Borg) or dissent. The Machine is not ignorant of organics, like V'ger, it's just outright prejudiced against them. Like the Dominion, I don't believe the Machine race warrants the same level of compassion other beings do. They are willfully malicious in their genocide and I find their actions to be vile. The crews continued attempts to make peace are valid for Starfleet but the Machines are, in my mind, fundamentally awful people.

One element of the book I really did enjoy was the discussion of 'clone immortality' which has been forwarded by such fiction as the Sixth Day and Dollhouse. Indeed, the Vorta practice a form of it and I was surprised they weren't mentioned during the discussion. Basically, whether or not it's valid to keep creating perfect copies of yourself as a means of perpetuating you. The book comes down on the side this is dumb and not a from of immortality at all, which I agree with, but it's interesting to see a discussion on the unique science fiction concept at all.

In conclusion, I liked this book and enjoyed its epic stakes. I do, however, wish a few things had been changed.

8/10 ...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Sue rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Spoilers for the whole 3-book series contained below...

This one is okay. Not great. The story is a good idea, but gets rather confusing. It constantly references events from other novels without explaining them, but will fully explain a canon event from the TV series. Like "Indistinguishable from Magic," it's as if the goal was to throw as many past characters into one story as possible, no matter their origin. Q even shows up for a split second at the beginning of the book, which gave me hope f Spoilers for the whole 3-book series contained below...

This one is okay. Not great. The story is a good idea, but gets rather confusing. It constantly references events from other novels without explaining them, but will fully explain a canon event from the TV series. Like "Indistinguishable from Magic," it's as if the goal was to throw as many past characters into one story as possible, no matter their origin. Q even shows up for a split second at the beginning of the book, which gave me hope for some much-needed humor and snark throughout the story. But then he flashes back to the Continuum and we don't hear from him again.

I'll be honest that I don't care for the resurrection of Data in this trilogy - it just feels cheap. And many of his actions and choices have seemed very single-minded, selfish, and out of character to me. Sure, you can come up with some strange story-based explanation, (he has Noonien's memories, so maybe that's influencing his behavior, blah blah), but I just think it comes down to the fact that he's not written well. In fact, many of the characters we know from the series speak and act out of character.

And along those lines, too many of the characters are speaking with current colloquial slang. Yes, we get that from Geordi every now and then on the show, but Starfleet officers don't general say "what's up?" and "gonna." It seems out of place for the tone of the show, ship, and universe, and it takes me out of the story when I come across it (but not as much as the author's pet words, like "mien").

And then there's the Picard family story. In the first 2 novels, he's clearly wondering how much longer he'll be captaining the Enterprise and he's talking to Beverly about retirement, but in this book, he tells Worf that he's not going anywhere any time soon. Don't create a story obstacle and then ignore it because it's no longer convenient!

The Cold Equations stories were good ideas. But it comes down to the fact that they're, unfortunately, just not very well-written, IMO. ...more

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Dec 20, 2012 Geoffrey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, star-trek

This book, unlike the first two in the Cold Equations, feels like a stand alone novel. In this series, there are two main plots and several side stories. There is the story of the conflict with the Breen and then Data's search for a way to resurrect Lal. In this novel, the former was wrapped up in the first few pages of the book to make way for a story line with Wesley Crusher and AI's who created V-ger, The Body Electric. The Data story line continues through this novel and integrates into this ...more

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Jun 09, 2013 Glenn Crouch rated it liked it · review of another edition

Maybe I've come to expect too much from Mr Mack, but I think compared to the other books of his that I have read, this one didn't really come up to the standard I've come to expect.

Plus being a 3rd book in a trilogy, after I really enjoyed the 2nd book, this one just didn't have the intrigue and I found the resolution a bit disappointing even a bit anti-climatic.

It could be that the "enemy" in this story was just "too big" - I don't know - but I was really growing to like the "new" Data in the p ...more

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Jan 05, 2016 Derkanus rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Summary: Wesley Crusher, Traveller, pops in to the center of the galaxy to visit some old buddies that live there, only to find a massive, planet-sized Machine using artificial wormholes to pull planets and their ENTIRE STAR SYSTEMS from their proper place in the cosmos and chuck them into Abaddon, the super-massive black hole in the center of the galaxy. Wes calls all his fellow Travellers together, hoping they can band together and save the galaxy, but they nope right the fuck out of there; th ...more

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Aug 06, 2020 Brian rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This trilogy was the perfect soothing balm after the bitter disappointments of Picard and Discovery. I've been making my way through the relaunch novels here and there in completely random order, but every time David Mack is on the docket I am not disappointed.

This was a grand morality exploration and "work out our differences" story in the most epic scale imaginable, and told exceedingly well with masterful prose and a return of almost all the TNG characters you know and love (minus Riker and T ...more

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Jun 16, 2017 Christopher Lutz rated it liked it · review of another edition

Probably the weakest of the three books of this trilogy. Much like a serialized TV show, this trilogy was really three separate stories with a loose arc connecting them: the return of Data and his quest to resurrect his android daughter. This storyline is wrapped up as the Enterprise crew faces a massive machine capable of ending all life in the galaxy, created by the same race of machines referenced on Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It was a good story, but not nearly as entertaining as the sec ...more

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Jun 26, 2018 Scott Williams rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

For me, this book is reminiscent of the TNG TV series. The universe is at stake and Data and Wesley manage to save it. David Mack does a great job with high stakes suspense. It’s just a very entertaining read.

My one criticism would be that Wesley sometimes sounds more like Wil Wheaton than Wesley Crusher.

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Jun 28, 2018 Megan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: time-travel, book-club, syfy, 2018

This was my favorite of the trilogy. I enjoyed getting to learn more about the lives of the Travelers, which I have always found interesting, and was fun to watch two cultures arguing about the value of something when the definition of value differs so vastly between them. Plus, who doesn't appreciate a plot line that includes character development in an AI.

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Aug 21, 2017 Sheryl rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

3rd time I've read the series

Know I'll come back for a fourth visit. To really understand Data and his father, look no further. It was also great to see the rest of the TNG family, including Wesley together again.

Anytime I see anything TNG by the author, I just click BUY.

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Jan 14, 2018 Dan Kostelec rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A great conclusion

I’m loving the continuing adventures of the Starship Enterprise and her crew. Data’s ongoing story is beautiful and tragic, and one I look forward to keep reading as the Star Trek expanded universe continues.

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Nov 30, 2018 Tourma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

While the third installment of this trilogy started slow, the conclusion was both surprising and fulfilling. Definitely read the first two first, but this is a good conclusion.

I've got a lot of catching up to do Star Trek-wise. This series got me interested.

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Sep 23, 2018 Jennifer Freeman marked it as to-read · review of another edition

No idea why worf is on the front cover, but a good read.

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Feb 26, 2019 Enrico Patrizi rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: theeclectivecollective

The book trilogy that makes nemesis's mess with Data right. Thanks for bringing me some closure :)

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Apr 23, 2019 omiczech rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek

After the Borg were defeated, what greater threat could be created? A galaxy killer! Beware of a doomsday machine with help of fanatical androids.

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Jun 07, 2020 Doreen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Needless to say... I love it!!!

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Feb 02, 2016 Nicky2910 rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: genre_sci-fi, star-trek, series_tng, subseries_relaunch, author_david-mack, 2012, subseries_cold-equations

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Cold Equations: The Body Electric by David Mack Plot:Wesley, now a Traveler in his own right, discovers a terrifying machine at the galaxy's core, a machine which creates random wormholes and pulls entire star systems through it to feed a massive black hole. Neither the other Travelers nor Q can offer a solution, so he asks Picard for help in this crisis which could change, and destroy in the longterm, the whole galaxy.Meanwhile, Data is faced with a terrible choi Star Trek: The Next Generation: Cold Equations: The Body Electric by David Mack Plot:Wesley, now a Traveler in his own right, discovers a terrifying machine at the galaxy's core, a machine which creates random wormholes and pulls entire star systems through it to feed a massive black hole. Neither the other Travelers nor Q can offer a solution, so he asks Picard for help in this crisis which could change, and destroy in the longterm, the whole galaxy.Meanwhile, Data is faced with a terrible choice in his quest to resurrect his daughter.Review:I expected a bit more of this final part, to be honest. Again, it was a page-turner, but it wasn't as emotionally engaging as I had hoped.The main adversary wasn't really terrifying to me in an emotional sense because, even with his record, Mack wouldn't destroy subspace and thus render any further stories moot. To me, the impact of the destroyed worlds got a bit reduced by the multitude of death and destruction in Destiny. So, the only question was who he'd sacrifice to sacrifice the situation. Somehow I feared it would be Data, but fortunately it wasn't. *g* But I wouldn't have put it passed him to shock us readers by such a move. The rest of the machine-plot contained a bit too much technobabble for my taste, and I'm just happy that there wasn't some kind of deus-ex-machina solution, i.e. Wesley hyper-warping the thing to another galaxy or into the blackhole etc. but a solutions that satisfied both sides.I enjoyed seeing Wesley again, and I loved the scene with Q, but I was a bit perplexed by the crew's nonchalant reaction to him. I mean it's not every day a being like a Traveller pops in unannounced. Of course, I don't know if he made any appearance in another relaunch novel, but I got the impression that no one has seen him since that Riker/Troi-wedding visit-fiasco. So I'd have loved to see a scene with him being introduced to Rene and dealing with Picard being his stepfather. And it kind of bothered me that the rest of the crew called him Wesley or Wes (Smrhova), despite their knowing him for little more than a day (at least, that was my take on the timetable in this book after Wes warps the E-E to the machine). It's a bit the same issue I had with the crew and Data's interaction in Silent Weapons.On to Data whose part was to me the most interesting one - small wonder, since I only picked up this trilogy because of what the cover for part 1 suggested would happen. Was there really any question as to whom he would sacrifice, given the choice between Rhea and Vaslovik (sorry, he'll always be Vaslovik to me *g*)? Of course, I'd have loved to see them be together, after all Data deserves a loving partner as much as anyone. But this was his chance to bring his daughter back to life - and maybe prevent any future offspring from suffering from the same flaws. And I think any parent would choose like that. I was surprised, though, that Vaslovik found it within himself to still help Data. What a loss it would have been if sacrificing Rhea had also robbed Data of his most heartfelt wish.As emotional and heart-wrenching as this situation was, I feel kind of cheated that Lal's return's just got dealt with in the epilogue. As I said, to me Data and his mission were the glue that held this trilogy together - so I'd have loved to see this reunion in more detail. And actually I'd have loved if this had happened on the Enterprise with Data and Lal being among friends happy for them.As for Data torturing Vaslovik... Even if it was apparently mainly for show (though, what kind of "secrets" did Vaslovik reveal?), he still inflicted injuries and submitted to being blackmailed - though, he must have known that doing so doesn't necessarily save Rhea. Or did this play into his hand in questioning Vaslovik after all?On another note: Didn't Picard and Beverly agree on 3 or 4 more years at maximum on the Enterprise in Silent Weapons? Then why does Picard tell Worf that the wait for Picard to leave the Enterprise (and therefore to Worf's own command) could be a long one? OTOH, I definitely didn't get that "ready to settle down"-vibe from Picard any more which is kind of strange shift when it was so strong still in Silent Weapons.Finally, I'm looking forward to what's in store next for especially Data and Lal. But it's kind of funny that all 3 most senior officers of the TV-series now have children. I can already see the next generation of Enterprise officers forming. *g*As for this trilogy, to me the highlight definitely was Soong's sacrificing himself for Data. Unfortunately, the following parts didn't quite live up to the emotional impact of this moment. But Mack at least accomplished something: He got me interested in TNG-novels again, especially by leaving Data's future open.

~~

review originally written in 2012 ...more

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Apr 12, 2014 Joseph Masiello rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Spoilers pretty much immediately!

Well, it happened again. David Mack wrote an incredible book, however, his story didn't really focus on the original plan Data set out to accomplish. Instead he put forth a massive sci-fi adventure that was, to me, fantastic! I will agree with other reviews that the name of the main 'villain' is rather uninspired. "The Machine." Not to original considering it was an enormous planet size machine. Take it or leave it. It didn't really bother me.

On its own this nove Spoilers pretty much immediately!

Well, it happened again. David Mack wrote an incredible book, however, his story didn't really focus on the original plan Data set out to accomplish. Instead he put forth a massive sci-fi adventure that was, to me, fantastic! I will agree with other reviews that the name of the main 'villain' is rather uninspired. "The Machine." Not to original considering it was an enormous planet size machine. Take it or leave it. It didn't really bother me.

On its own this novel would rate five stars. However it is the final book in a trilogy, and as such you would expect it to run a bit of continuity to the others in the set. It does this as both the Immortal and the Fellowship return. Also why was Worf on the cover? He really didn't do much in for the story. He was merely in it as he is the ships First Officer. Oh well. But it only gets four stars. I'll explain why later.

Now for the really big spoiler! Wesley Crusher makes his return in this story. He is all grown up and has really come into his own as a Traveler. Now he should have been on the cover! Wesley adds the final sci-fi mix to this story. His powers are almost limitless as long as he doesn't use them against someone's will. I really enjoyed Wesley's character in the story. It was good seeing him again.

Well tensions mount and time runs out. The action gets kicked up a notch, scratch that, to eleven! The climax of the book reads fast and edited I knew it the book was over. The Galaxy is saved thanks to the Enterprise and its extended crew. However the story isn't all happy endings. To me it was pretty somber.

Now to the reason I only give a book I thoroughly enjoyed four stars. The book was supposed to be about Data and his trying to reassure this daughter Lal. This does happen, however, it gets a few pages in the Epilogue. Say what, the epilogue? Not even its own chapter? Just a no Lal, then, oh hi Lal welcome back, The End. That is about as anti climactic as the end of Bram Stokers Dracula! Come on David Mack, you could have went into more detail about Lal's return. A couple of chapters describing the process Akharin and Data used then Data enjoying the time he now has back with her. But I guess not. This may have detracted from the experience of reading this book but I still enjoyed every page. Once again I give my recommendation to read this trilogy. ...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Maurice Jr. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm beginning to think David Mack has a problem with letting the characters we've grown to love over the years be happy.

In the first two books of this trilogy, he's killed off Jasminder Choudhury, Dr. Noonien Soong (he was supposed to be dead anyway), Esperanza Pineiro, Agents Steven Wexler and Alan Kistler from President Bacco's security detail and a Troyiean security officer named Velex. President Bacco may never recover from losing her best friend and good right hand, and Worf will probably d I'm beginning to think David Mack has a problem with letting the characters we've grown to love over the years be happy.

In the first two books of this trilogy, he's killed off Jasminder Choudhury, Dr. Noonien Soong (he was supposed to be dead anyway), Esperanza Pineiro, Agents Steven Wexler and Alan Kistler from President Bacco's security detail and a Troyiean security officer named Velex. President Bacco may never recover from losing her best friend and good right hand, and Worf will probably declare a vow of celibacy after losing a third lover to violence in the course of his Starfleet career.

Now we have another universe-threatening adversary in the Body Electric. The Traveler (Wesley Crusher) is back to stop a massive machine capable of destroying the universe and that doesn't regard organic life as any more important than we would see microscopic organisms. Data is is the midst of his quest to find The Immortal (currently calling himself Akharin but also known as Flint, Micah Brack and Emil Vaslovik) in order to get him to do for Lal what he did for Juliana Tainer- reverse a cascade failure and bring her back to life.

Data has to rescue not only Akharin from a rogue faction of the Fellowship Of Artificial Intelligence, but also Rhea McAdams, the holotronic android he fell in love with in the pages of Immortal Coil. Since Data chose not to return to Starfleet, and since the decision was made to bring back Lal, why not let him do something unprecedented? He asked Rhea to marry him and help him raise Lal. She no sooner said yes than she was apparently killed in the final battle with the Body Electric. Of course there's always the chance she was spit out the other side of the black hole she was drawn into and could find her way back eventually, but that's not likely. Forcing Data to choose between saving her and saving Akharin to save Lal was in my opinion, cruel.

However, there is no denying that David "D Murder" Mack is a skilled author and a master storyteller. I enjoyed how they stopped the Body Electric from destroying the universe, and it was great to see The Traveler again. I'd just like to see Mack JUST ONCE give us a marginally happy ending without killing anyone prominent. ...more

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Mar 26, 2014 Stephen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek, star-trek-relaunch, st-tng

Bad news. There's a planet-sized machine with a companion black hole ominously named "Abaddon" using artificial wormholes to suck entire star systems into its maw. Worse news: the machine is a Borg-like collective of artificial intelligence systems with a serious attitude problem regarding organic lifeforms. To wit, it wants us all dead, and when it collides itself with the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, dead we shall be. It's up to Captain Jean-Luc Picard to somehow find Bad news. There's a planet-sized machine with a companion black hole ominously named "Abaddon" using artificial wormholes to suck entire star systems into its maw. Worse news: the machine is a Borg-like collective of artificial intelligence systems with a serious attitude problem regarding organic lifeforms. To wit, it wants us all dead, and when it collides itself with the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, dead we shall be. It's up to Captain Jean-Luc Picard to somehow find a way to save the galaxy, with a little help from his once-dead-now-resurrected-android-friend, Data. The Body Electric concludes David Mack's Cold Equations series, which started out as a political spy-thriller but ends in a bittersweet triumph for the now-returned Data.

Although the third and final piece of a trilogy, The Body Electric leaves behind what I thought to be the primary story of the Cold Equations trilogy, the latest chapter in the Cold War in Space series of books. Instead, the 'other' story in the two previous novels, the return of Data, rises to dominance, with the positronic commander taking a starring role in the Enterprise's efforts to stop the Machine's subspace-shattering kaboom. Wesley Crusher's rare fans will be gratified at his role in the story; it is he who learns of the threat, but he's powerless to combat it..The Body Electric is easily more on the side of 'soft' science fiction, being more about its characters - - Data and the ever lively T'Ryessa Chen, for instance -- than science, but many of the characters put the spotlight on the future of artificial intelligence, being as they are droids. There's even a little philosophy of the soul throne in as the AIs debate the merits of joining or fighting The Machine, which is a larger, meaner version of V'Ger from The Motion Picture. Although the-Enterprise-saves-the-galaxy plots border on ludicrous after so many movies, David Mack executes it well, especially in building tension. Readers will find it most interesting for the continuing evolution of Data, who has grown quite beyond his old limitations. ...more

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Nov 09, 2015 Jimyanni rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-trek

This story was well-written, but the basic plotline was one of those that I've never cared for: Enterprise and its crew (whether the original Kirk-captained Enterprise, or the Next Generation Enterprise captained by Picard) is faced with a situation in which they must succeed or all life in the entire Galaxy will die. (Not much of an improvement in the similar stories in which they only need to save the Earth, but this definitely takes the stakes up a few notches even from that.) And, of course, ...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Paul Lunger rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The finale to David Mack's Cold Equations trilogy, "The Body Electric" is pretty much a standalone story from the trilogy itself save the continuing Data sub-plot that has run throughout this series. The main storyline involves a machine at the center of the Milky Way galaxy that Wesley Crusher stumbles onto & realizes that it is in the process of destroying entire star systems & possibly the entire galaxy. With no luck from his fellow Travelers, he takes the advice of Q & enlists the help of Pi ...more

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Sep 18, 2013 Shane Amazon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Although both previous books had enough loose story threads to dedicate a third book to just those threads, Body Electric goes far beyond what was left behind and introduces the reader to an equally impressive story. In this, the final, installment the story takes from the TV series and puts our favorite characters against a once historic enemy. Using both guile and technology from stories past, the crew find a way to save the galaxy in zero hour.

In book one we were introduced to Data's quest to ...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Richard rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A decent sequel, both in terms of story and theme, to The Persistence of Memory. (It's supposed to be a sequel to Silent Weapons but that book has no real link to the others in the trilogy). The plot is very Star Trek: alien supercomputers programmed to destroy out of cold logic are a Trek motif, and the book acknowledges its debt to the Motion Picture.

Star Trek has never been hard scifi but the super science here is at least consistent and doesn't devolve into Treknobable. The philosophical arg ...more

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About David Mack

David Mack

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David Mack is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels of science-fiction, fantasy, and adventure, including the Star Trek Destiny and Cold Equations trilogies.

Beyond novels, Mack's writing credits span several media, including television (for produced episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), film, and comic books.

Follow him on Twitter @davidalanmack or join his fans on Fac ...more