The Buried Age

[BrentMc]

I bought this book when it came out 7 years ago and put it on my shelf. I kept looking at it and saying I want to read that one soon, but I focused more on the TNG & DS9 "relaunch" books.
I finally picked it up the other day and I really liked this one. This is the kind of Star Trek book I am looking for. I have been less interested by the political books, and I am really excited that in future TNG books the Enterprise will get back to focusing on exploration. I hope those books are like this one.

The story was great and it held my interest throughout. The characters were interesting and I especially like how Mr. Bennett did his homework and tied so many things in the story into Star Trek History. I really liked how Picard came across officers who made impressions on him that caused him to go on to request their transfer to Enterprise.

I am the one who started the "Writing questions" thread. I have been reading about writing and working on a fan fiction. This book is a great inspiration for me and example of the kind of thing I want to write. (I am writing just for fun and I have no delusion that I can write like a pro like Mr. Bennett, but I'm going to do the best I can.)

I would rate this as one of my favorite Star Trek books. Does anyone have any recommendations as to books like this?

 

[Christopher]

Thanks so much!

 

[Paris]

I loved Christopher's The Buried Age. The sense of excitment and wonder I had while reading about one of my favorite trek characters (Picard), and what got him to the Enterprise, is hard to duplicate. I have found that other books by Christopher, like both his DTI books, as well as his Titan books, and now his Enterprise book(s), give us the fun of exploration, while also giving the fans the kind of stuff we love to see in terms of continuity and an interconnected universe. The last Enterprise book gave me that same feeling that The Buried Age did...but of course, YMMV

 

[UUS Contrarian]

He also helps us imagine how his aliens look like on his annotations page.

 

[BrentMc]

UUS Contrarian: Thanks for the reminder of the annotations he has on his site. I am going to read those. You can also like him on facebook.

Paris: Do you think I can start his Enterprise books without having read previous books without spoiling too much? I haven't read much Enterprise yet including the Romulan War books.

 

[Christopher]

Paris: Do you think I can start his Enterprise books without having read previous books without spoiling too much? I haven't read much Enterprise yet including the Romulan War books.

Well, Rise of the Federation is meant to be the start of a new story and thus a good jumping-on point, but there are some spoilers for what came before.

 

[Corran Horn]

One thing I remember being intriguing about this book was the scale of the time involved - millions upon millions of years, I believe, which is fascinating to me because it's utterly incomprehensible when you try to relate to it in any way.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

One of my favourites. As a prequel to TNG, it works perfectly; as a bridge between Picard of the Stargazer and Picard of the Enterprise it's extremely effective. Like many of Christopher's stories it does a great job in making the Trek universe feel coherent and sensible despite the original inconsistencies (this book goes halfway to redeeming TNG season one and its various oddities). Picard has rarely been drawn so effectively, Troi has rarely sounded so professional while still clearly being Troi, Data's introduction was close to being a perfect scene, and there's a magnificent sense of scale - both temporal and interstellar, which gives the Trek 'verse a satisfying sense of sprawl.

I recall at least one review (not here) that drew comparisons between this novel and my favourite TV series, Babylon Five, in that it dealt with the need for younger races (younger people) to stand up to originally well-meaning, but now self-involved, elder guardians, and prove that they're ready to stand on their own. (On that front, having Ariel introduce Q to humanity is a great thematic link to the TNG series book-ends).

 

[Thrawn]

I would rate this as one of my favorite Star Trek books. Does anyone have any recommendations as to books like this?

Christopher's other novels, most especially his Titan entries and Ex Machina but also DTI to a lesser extent, give that same kind of sense. Great stuff.

And, yeah - Buried Age is absolutely a TrekLit high point.

Data's introduction was close to being a perfect scene

This might be my favorite scene in all of TrekLit, actually. It's got some stiff competition for sure, but you're not wrong about "close to perfect".

 

[JD]

I love this book. It's a great character piece for Picard, as we get to see what made him the man he was in Season 1 of TNG. I also enjoyed the exploration of Trek ancient history.

 

[Paris]

...Paris: Do you think I can start his Enterprise books without having read previous books without spoiling too much? I haven't read much Enterprise yet including the Romulan War books.

As Christopher said, his new Enterprise books start a new story and they do spoil some of what came before...but what came before, especially the books written by Michael Martin on his own, I found to be quite lacking. You can always go back at a later date if you'd like

 

[Gul Re'jal]

I loved The Buried Age too. The best proof is that I've read it a few years ago and still remember quite well, which attests to how much I liked it and the impact the novel had on me

 

[E-DUB]

Reread very recently. No one can ever accuse Christopher of thinking small. Great character moments for Picard, Data Guinan, and Troi, but the overall story is awesome in its scope.

 

[8of5]

One of my very favourite Trek books, I love the exploration of Star Trek's ancient history, and the grand adventure of it all, but most especially I loved the start of Data's story in Star Trek.

 

[BrentMc]

One of my very favourite Trek books, I love the exploration of Star Trek's ancient history, and the grand adventure of it all, but most especially I loved the start of Data's story in Star Trek.

The Data Story was one of my favorite parts too!

Does anyone know of any good early Data focused books? I have quite a few of the old numbered books.

I am probably going to read Immortal Coil soon, as I have wanted to since I read David Mack's excellent Cold Equations Trilogy.

I am also looking forward to the upcoming Data-post cold equations book.

 

[Annorax]

One of my very favourite Trek books, I love the exploration of Star Trek's ancient history, and the grand adventure of it all, but most especially I loved the start of Data's story in Star Trek.

The Data Story was one of my favorite parts too!

Does anyone know of any good early Data focused books? I have quite a few of the old numbered books.

I am probably going to read Immortal Coil soon, as I have wanted to since I read David Mack's excellent Cold Equations Trilogy.

I am also looking forward to the upcoming Data-post cold equations book.

Metamorphosis.

 

[Shane Houston]

I was going to start a thread on this very book! Yay to me for being saved the time.

I bought this book when it came out. Didn't read it and moved multiple times. I recently moved into a new place and while going through storage, which is slang for junk I kept over the years, and found it and read it. Sorry Christopher, that's no slam to you or your work. I eat up everything you write. But that book just got lost in time. It was worth the wait.

I am a Trek universe enthusiast. For years when a book come out I read it. And after the last few years of the Federation being at war during Destiny, and then the events of The Fall, I was becoming a bit apathetic towards story-lines and their intense up and down joy ride. Towards January I was ready for some good old fashion science fiction. Protectors fed that need in abundance. Then I picked up Buried Age and was led to a buffet of sorts with this because it feeds every whim of my fancy. Science fiction story. Check. Continuity porn. Check. Realized main and guest characters. Check.

As much as we've learned about what happened to the Stargazer, it was thrilling to experience it from introduction to the court martial. It filled in blanks and really let you experience just how drastic things were before the Stargazer crew was rescued. Add to that what Philipa did him! She really did Picard dirty and the book makes you feel that.

It made sense for Picard to leave Starfleet after the loss of his ship, at least his first command. I won't spoil the story except to say that Ariel is now one of my favorite characters from Trek in a while. I want to know what happened to her and her people after the book ended. Going from hero to villain to hero again can be a fun ride and we got to see that in this book. Bravo for including a young Kathryn Janeway.

I loved seeing old faces through out the book, which takes place in years. It flowed perfectly from one time period to another. How Picard meets new members of his crew before the Enterprise-D was spot on too. Especially Troi. I don't think I've read a story where Troi was more...what's the word...useful and insightful. I don't know how to describe it except to say it felt like the Troi from the series only better. I also like the parallels between Riker and Troi in that when she defies orders when she first meets Picard, was sooooo much like what Riker would do while on the Hood, that it finally made their marriage make more sense.

And lastly, if you love Data, you'll love this book. This has quickly becoming my favorite Data tale and it's well worth the reading. Christopher got him down perfect. So much, even though it's an old book, I won't spoil it. Read it if you haven't. Make it so and all that.

The only thing that confuses me is this. The USS Portia, a Miranda class ship without the rollbar and torpedo pays, in a science configuration. It was stated that the leaving the roll bar saved power. So, did that mean she didn't have torpedoes or that they were fired from another location since she does fire torpedoes in battle?

Anyway, 10 out 10 stars for this one. An old book that was brand new to this reader. I have re-read it and Protectors 3 times each the last few weeks. God you gotta love Trek Lit. Thanks Christopher for being good at filling gaps. No wonder your Enterprise books have been so good for you are the master of answering questions every fan asked at least once in their life.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

One of my very favourite Trek books, I love the exploration of Star Trek's ancient history, and the grand adventure of it all, but most especially I loved the start of Data's story in Star Trek.

The Data Story was one of my favorite parts too!

Does anyone know of any good early Data focused books? I have quite a few of the old numbered books.

I am probably going to read Immortal Coil soon, as I have wanted to since I read David Mack's excellent Cold Equations Trilogy.

I am also looking forward to the upcoming Data-post cold equations book.

If you have the early numbered books, I highly recommend Survivors. While it was written in the first season, so later events contradicted several things in it, Data and Tasha are the focus characters, and it heavily deals with the two of them interacting.

The also-suggested Metamorphosis has some elements that follow up on Survivors, making them almost a loose duology.

 

[BrentMc]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Just out of curiosity, CLB did you use an outline? If so do you have it on your computer and would you be willing to share it? I am interested in looking at it as part of my effort to learn about writing. If not I may read it again and write an outline, or timeline of events.

 

[Galekarens]

I got The Buried Age a few years ago since I read it had young Kathryn Janeway in it. Ended up reading the whole thing, so must have thought it was pretty good, lol. (I hadn't been reading many books all the way through then, so obviously that novel was an exception.) It was quite interesting to read more about J-L Picard, and how he may have spent the years before taking on the Enterprise-D, so can fairly well say reading this particular Trek book was a worthwhile experience, yes.