Spoilers PIC: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack Review Thread

[Brendan Moody]

This is not a happy, feel-good story. It's a story of bad options and bad choices and disappointment and failure. It's the story of Picard's life going wrong, and if you're unhappy with the first choice he made in separating himself from his old friends, that's probably the point.

This is the key. Although the show isn’t gloomy or melancholy in tone, its take on Picard’s post-Nemesis life is much darker than that in the novelverse. This novel accordingly portrays Picard as letting the idea of the mission consume him and isolate him from genuine emotional connection, to a point where, when it abruptly ends, you can see why he would be so broken that he would just give up, sit back, and watch grapes grow, abandoning even the limited bonds he’d formed in the course of the mission.

I get why people want something that will do more to tie off TNG, and implicitly the novelverse; I’d like to see that down the line myself. But the first Picard novel wasn’t the place for that.

 

[Christopher]

But maybe it still could happen in the novelverse.

I don't see how that's worth speculating about. Presuming that the Novelverse as it now stands is all we'll get, it makes more sense to interpret it as a timeline where the supernova doesn't happen, since that's the simplest explanation for why there's no hint of it even as late as 2386.

It's more than just congratulations and how are you doing---it's that Riker might have information that can help Picard with this mission. I can't imagine that Picard wouldn't contact him on subspace to pick his brain for a few minutes during his preparations.

Plenty of room for that to happen between scenes -- or in the year and a half or more between Nemesis and The Last Best Hope. But it's not something that was relevant to the novel to depict on the page. And as I said, maybe they had real-world reasons to avoid featuring Riker in the novel.

 

[Damian]

I don't see how that's worth speculating about.

What fun is there in not speculating

Plus, like I noted, it wasn't so much the destruction itself. It's all the many ramifications that go with it, the Typhon Pact, the Khitomer Allies, even it's effect on the Federation itself. There's a ton of effects it would have on the litverse universe that would be fun to explore. That'd be a story on the level of "Destiny" and the stories immediately following

Plenty of room for that to happen between scenes -- or in the year and a half or more between Nemesis and The Last Best Hope. But it's not something that was relevant to the novel to depict on the page. And as I said, maybe they had real-world reasons to avoid featuring Riker in the novel.

Well maybe. And I hope at some point it is covered either in the show or a future novel. I'd be very interested to see what Riker would have to say about his mission and how it might effect Picard's mission.

 

[BillJ]

...because the Romulans fear and mistrust the Enterprise and it would send the wrong message.

It would get in the way of the narrative, but I'm not exactly sure giving Picard the mission to begin with really made much sense. He commanded the Enterprise for fourteen years, and I'm sure would be part of that mistrust in a real world setting.

 

[David cgc]

The Romulans' issues with the Enterprise legacy go back way further than Picard. Just going from what we know on screen, Kirk's ship humiliated the "Praetor's pride" on what was supposed to be the Romulans' grand return to the galactic stage, and the Enterprise-C made its last stand against a Romulan fleet.

 

[Leto_II]

^ Plus, of course, Archer’s Enterprise even before Kirk.

 

[JD]

Well, you could probably combine a promotion of Worf with the farewell to Beverly. The Worf promotion thing though is in the 'would have been nice to see' column. It's not something that would affect my overall view of the book.

The talking to Riker thing though bothers me a bit more because he's a trusted former aide to Picard who might have direct knowledge that might help Picard start his mission. It seems odd to me he wouldn't have contacted him for his thoughts at the start of the mission for those reasons. He could 'read' reports sure. But we all know there are always things you don't put in reports, impressions Riker has in his own dealings that Picard could potentially use in his own mission.

And I get that this is a prequel to Picard. But both the book and Picard are also sequels to TNG. This book in a sense bridges the gap between Nemesis and Picard. It's supposed to show us how we got from TNG to Picard. I'm not advocating anything like a 50-50 split or anything even near that. Maybe a 10-90 split. Maybe not even that much. It would have been nice if Picard made one final appearance on the Enterprise bridge transferring command to Worf and congratulating him on his promotion, making one last speech from the bridge to his people wishing them well on their mission, saying his brief good bye to Beverly and recruiting Geordi as his final acts on the Enterprise. Then after all that a consultation with Captain Riker to get his thoughts on his own mission to Romulus and things Riker thinks might help Admiral Picard on his mission. Out of 15 chapters I'm talking about taking maybe 1, tops, as a transitory chapter closing out TNG. It might not even need that much really because you'd be combining a couple things like Worf's promotion and a good bye speech in one scene. So maybe even just 1 or 2% of the total novel. That's more or less what I envisioned.

I could see involving the Enterprise crew as little as possible as a way to leave it to the show to establish what exactly happened between Picard and them. All it would take to contradict your conversation is one line about how Picard and Riker hadn't spoken since Riker left for the Titan or something along those lines. IMO it's best to just avoid those kind of things until the show has established more of what happened.

 

[Damian]

IMO it's best to just avoid those kind of things until the show has established more of what happened

I guess I can see that. It's just something that kept bugging me. Of all his former crew, Riker seems to make the most sense for Picard to chat with because Riker might have information directly relevant to the story.

BUT, yes, I can see that McCormack might be reluctant to do something that could be easily contradicted, esp. knowing Riker will make an appearance. Perhaps if she wrote the book after those episodes she could have included such a conversation because she would have known more.

So I'll let it go for now. It's likely the show itself is going to give us some actual canon based information on what his former Enterprise crewmates were up to during that period and eventually I'm sure later Picard novels will flesh it out more based on that.

 

[USS Firefly]

^ Plus, of course, Archer’s Enterprise even before Kirk.

No that was just a holodeck story

 

[Airmandan]

I just figured the author left so much ambiguity in the book because she wasn't sure what they would eventually depict on screen. They're already planning for a season 2 of the show and they'll probably try to go further. With that in mind they have plenty of opportunities to throw little tidbits about what happened to the various crews/ships/space stations. If she writes about certain facts and then they are countered by what's on screen, people on here would raise hell.

 

[Unimatrix Q]

One thing i really wonder about, especially since i read this novel, is the relationship between the romulan government, the Tal Shiar and the Qowat Milat.

How is it possible that there were apparently no repercussions from the romulan government against the Qowat Milat? They seemed to do fine, considering that they were the enemies of the Tal Shiar and their traditions were diametral opposite to the romulan mainstream culture and values. Not to speak of the fact that they were enemies of the Tal Shiar.

The romulan state is known to treat dissidents far worse than settle them on an idyllic planet and let them thrive...

 

[Christopher]

One thing i really wonder about, especially since i read this novel, is the relationship between the romulan government, the Tal Shiar and the Qowat Milat.

How is it possible that there were apparently no repercussions from the romulan government against the Qowat Milat? They seemed to do fine, considering that they were the enemies of the Tal Shiar and their traditions were diametral opposite to the romulan mainstream culture and values. Not to speak of the fact that they were enemies of the Tal Shiar.

The romulan state is known to treat dissidents far worse than settle than on an idyllic planet and let them thrive...

It might be harder to suppress a movement on a colony planet than one on a central world, especially if the populace of the colony supports the movement.

And for all the Tal Shiar's power, there are probably a lot of Romulan officials who hate them. We've seen in episodes like "The Face of the Enemy" that the military has no love for the Tal Shiar. So there may be factions within the state that protect the Qowat Milat because they like having someone around who makes the Tal Shiar squirm.

 

[rfmcdpei]

What fun is there in not speculating

Plus, like I noted, it wasn't so much the destruction itself. It's all the many ramifications that go with it, the Typhon Pact, the Khitomer Allies, even it's effect on the Federation itself. There's a ton of effects it would have on the litverse universe that would be fun to explore. That'd be a story on the level of "Destiny" and the stories immediately following

It would be, but it would be a very different story. I've said at the start of this thread that the evolution of the pre-Picard litverse, where Romulus is governed under an open Praetor Kamemor who has presided over a great public liberalization and the Star Empire is not only a Typhon Pact member but is experiencing detente with the Federation, would have made the Picard setup impossible. The Star Empire would not have covered up the impending supernova and knowingly messed up evacuation efforts, but would instead have been able to deal frankly with it. It would also have been assured of help, if based only on the Typhon Pact's supply of food to Romulus in the past during the period of Romulan division.

I would go so far as to say that, rather than seeing a story of disastrous failure, we would have been most likely to see success. Even if the supernova was not somehow averted, the death of most of the populations of core Romulan space would have been plausibly averted by a multinational effort that would have transcended astropolitical lines.

It makes most sense to me, given what we know about the supernova, that it did not happen in the litverse, not in the STO telling with distant Hobus going up and not as it is on TV with the Romulan homeworld's own star exploding. I can actually think this might make sense: If the Borg are a factor, for instance, their disappearance in 2381 might well cause factions responsible for the supernova to do very different things.

 

[Christopher]

I can actually think this might make sense: If the Borg are a factor, for instance, their disappearance in 2381 might well cause factions responsible for the supernova to do very different things.

I was thinking that maybe the Borg Invasion might've wiped out whoever triggered the supernova before they could do it, or at least forced them to radically alter their plans. Although after reading TLBH, I don't know if the timing works out. The book begins in roughly summer 2381 (it's autumn by Ch. 3), and it says they'd been picking up Romulan chatter about it for weeks before. So that would be at most only about 4 months later than Destiny. But, given that it took 6 years to build up to the explosion even after it was detected, it stands to reason that it may have been triggered significantly before it built up enough to be detectable. So that's cutting it really close.

 

[Ronald Held]

Through parts 1 and 2. I can see the cracks forming to scuttle the Operation.

 

[rfmcdpei]

I was thinking that maybe the Borg Invasion might've wiped out whoever triggered the supernova before they could do it, or at least forced them to radically alter their plans. Although after reading TLBH, I don't know if the timing works out. The book begins in roughly summer 2381 (it's autumn by Ch. 3), and it says they'd been picking up Romulan chatter about it for weeks before. So that would be at most only about 4 months later than Destiny. But, given that it took 6 years to build up to the explosion even after it was detected, it stands to reason that it may have been triggered significantly before it built up enough to be detectable. So that's cutting it really close.

Right.

We have just seen so much from the Romulans in the litverse, from them during the period of division and then from the reunified empire under Kamemor, that I do not think that the news could have been hidden. The effects of the homeworld's star's long dying were felt on Romulus, after all. Would the Imperial Romulan State not have tried to take some advantage from the Star Empire's mishandling of the crisis? It certainly would not fit Kamemor's depiction if she decided to ignore or otherwise mishandle the crisis.

Much depends on what Picard will reveal about the causes of the supernova, or at least about the nature of the conspiracy this season.

As for a tight shave timing-wise, eh. "For want of a nail, the kingdom was lost."

 

[Mrs. Silvercrest]

I just read The Last Best Hope. I have not seen Picard yet. But the book was very good I thought.

 

[Damian]

It would be, but it would be a very different story. I've said at the start of this thread that the evolution of the pre-Picard litverse, where Romulus is governed under an open Praetor Kamemor who has presided over a great public liberalization and the Star Empire is not only a Typhon Pact member but is experiencing detente with the Federation, would have made the Picard setup impossible. The Star Empire would not have covered up the impending supernova and knowingly messed up evacuation efforts, but would instead have been able to deal frankly with it. It would also have been assured of help, if based only on the Typhon Pact's supply of food to Romulus in the past during the period of Romulan division.

I would go so far as to say that, rather than seeing a story of disastrous failure, we would have been most likely to see success. Even if the supernova was not somehow averted, the death of most of the populations of core Romulan space would have been plausibly averted by a multinational effort that would have transcended astropolitical lines.

It makes most sense to me, given what we know about the supernova, that it did not happen in the litverse, not in the STO telling with distant Hobus going up and not as it is on TV with the Romulan homeworld's own star exploding. I can actually think this might make sense: If the Borg are a factor, for instance, their disappearance in 2381 might well cause factions responsible for the supernova to do very different things.

Christopher brings up a good point, that maybe the events of Destiny affected the timeline of whomever started these chain of events in Picard. As I read on it seems more apparent the nova is not supernatural.

However, I think it could still happen in the litverse timeline. After all we already know trilithium can cause a star to go immediately. Now, if you want to tie it into the events as seen in Star Trek (2009) with red matter, there would have to be at least some warning, even if just a few weeks or months to allow for the creation of red matter.

But I wouldn't rule it out. Perhaps this same faction wasn't stopped for whatever reason. But perhaps something about Destiny forced them to change their methods. But the same thing happened.

It still would make for an interesting story. How does the litverse universe handle the event? Esp. if there's a lot less warning? I agree, Kamenor's government would more likely be open and helpful. I wonder about the other Typhon Pact powers. I can see some using it to their advantage to strengthen their influence in the Pact. It would make for a fascinating 'alternate' sequence of events.

It's unfortunate licensing issues didn't allow that to be explored more prior to Picard. I think if that hadn't been an issue we probably would have reached that point a few years ago perhaps.

It could still be done, if it is indeed artificial, just using different methods.

That being said, I don't see it happening. It sounds like David Mack might be working on a new Data/Lal story, and it at least sounds like it may be a TNG story (as opposed to a Picard tie in)--but I'd be surprised if he touched on this at all. But, that being said, it'd be nice to see a relaunch universe novel in the future. That would at least tell us S&S and CBS might be open to the idea of at least continuing the litverse on a limited basis. Perhaps we have not seen the last of Captain Picard and the Enterprise after all

 

[Christopher]

However, I think it could still happen in the litverse timeline. After all we already know trilithium can cause a star to go immediately. Now, if you want to tie it into the events as seen in Star Trek (2009) with red matter, there would have to be at least some warning, even if just a few weeks or months to allow for the creation of red matter.

But wouldn't that be a pretty huge coincidence? An artificially induced supernova happening at the same time in two timelines with two completely different causes? That's very contrived.

 

[rfmcdpei]

But wouldn't that be a pretty huge coincidence? An artificially induced supernova happening at the same time in two timelines with two completely different causes? That's very contrived.

It's possible that the timing of the supernova, 2387, matters. In one timeline, the destabilization of the star could be done subtly; in another, it would need to be done more abruptly; in yet another, it was decided to use a different star altogether.

(What, I wonder, is so important about 2387? I wonder.)