Imzadi (novel)

Real world article

(written from a production point of view)

Imzadi is a Pocket TNG novel written by Peter David. Published by Pocket Books, it was first released in hardback in August 1992.

Summary[]

From the book jacket: Years before they served together on board the USS Enterprise-D, Commander William T. Riker and ship's counselor Deanna Troi had a tempestuous love affair on her home planet of Betazed. Now, their passions have cooled and they serve together as friends. Yet the memories of that time linger and Riker and Troi remain Imzadi – a powerful Betazoid term that describes the enduring bond they still share.

During delicate negotiations with an aggressive race called the Sindareen, Deanna Troi mysteriously falls ill… and dies. But her death is only the beginning of the adventure for Commander Riker – an adventure that will take him across time, pit him against one of his closest friends, and force him to choose between Starfleet's strictest rule and the one he calls Imzadi.

Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.

Memorable quotes[]

"She's waiting."

- Mr. Homn, on opening the door to Admiral Riker

"We all do it. Case in point: you're at a party and you run into a woman wearing a dress so ugly that it looks like a Klingon targ vomited on it. Do you say, "good evening, my dear, why are you wearing such a god-awful dress?" or "good evening, my dear, you look lovely this evening."
"Well… the second, I suppose, just to be sociable."
"Save it. On Betazed they know exactly what you're thinking."

- Mark Roper and Will Riker, on his assignment to Betazed

"No, to be honest, I saw very little of myself in him. To be honest, he reminded me of…"
"Of who?"
"He reminded me of my father."

- William T. Riker and Captain Picard, on Riker's older self

"All is as it was."
"For crying out loud, if you knew that time had been tampered with in the first place, and you knew that the admiral's actions were correct… then why in hell didn't you tell us that?!"
"You did not ask."
"We... didn't... ask?'."

- The Guardian of Forever and Commander Blair

Background information[]

Author Peter David was inspired by the original Harlan Ellison concept for the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The City on the Edge of Forever", noting that "In the original Ellison script, Kirk was ready to sacrifice the universe to save Edith Keeler. That was the depth of his love for her. To me, that was such a powerful concept that I thought if they didn’t let Harlan do it, then I was going to do it. […] That was the genesis of Imzadi". (Voyages of Imagination, p. 209)
Imzadi reached number seven on the New York Times Best Seller List for 26 July 1992, its first week on the list. [1] It remained on the list for six weeks.
The Science Fiction Book Club released a special edition of the hardback in November 1992.
This novel, along with its sequel Triangle: Imzadi II, was later collected in the Signature Edition release Imzadi Forever.
In Chapter 32, which takes place concurrent with "Encounter at Farpoint", Captain Picard's log states that it is Stardate 42372.5. In the episode, the stardate is given as 41153.8.
Some editions of the audiobook erroneously identify the narrator as "Jonathon Frakes".

Cover gallery[]

Characters[]

Main[]

William T. Riker

2350s-2360s – Starfleet lieutenant on Betazed.
2368 – Executive officer of USS Enterprise-D.
2390s – Starfleet admiral in command of Starbase 86.

Jean-Luc Picard: Captain of the Enterprise-D
Deanna Troi

2350s-2360s – Psychology student on Betazed.
2368 – Counselor of USS Enterprise-D.

Data

2368 – Operations manager of USS Enterprise-D.
2390s – Starfleet commodore in command of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-F).

Beverly Crusher: Chief medical officer of USS Enterprise-D.
Guinan: Bartender of USS Enterprise-D.
Geordi La Forge: Chief engineer of USS Enterprise-D.
Worf: Security chief of USS Enterprise-D.

Other characters[]

Lwaxana Troi

2350s-2360s – Resident of Betazed.
2390s – On her deathbed, condemns Riker for Deanna's death.

Roger Tang: Starfleet sergeant assigned to Betazed with Lt. Riker. Tang would later appear in Pocket DS9: The Siege.
Homn
Dann Lendann
Nici
Selar
Chafin: Chafin appeared previously in Pocket TNG: Strike Zone and is named after the author's friend T.A. Chafin.
Tucker
Kathy Li: Kathy Li had appeared in the earlier TOS era series of comics written by Peter David.
Sara Paul
Mark Roper
Grace
Wendy Roper/Wendy Berq
Gart Xerx
Chandra Xerx
Reginald Barclay
Teb
Hirsch
Maror
Baytzah
Zroah
Charoset
Chazeret
Karpas
Sommers
Lorie
Lamont
Hauman
Margolin

Alternate timeline characters[]

Wesley Crusher

Captain of USS Hood in the 2390s.

Blair

Chameloid Enterprise-F science officer.

Blair's appearance was described as similar to Martia's beast form in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Mary Mac: head of the Federation team of scientists and historians studying the Guardian of Forever; as an Orion woman, she intentionally wears thick glasses and baggy clothes, to counteract the stereotype of her race and gender as "little more than animalistic sex kittens".
Dexter: Starfleet lieutenant, Admiral Riker's adjutant.
Eza/Mar Loc
Harry
Tennant

Mentioned[]

Charlie Brown: (20th century "philosopher").
Julius Caesar
James Kirk
Wyatt Miller
Q
Ro Laren
Alexander Rozhenko
Sela
William Shakespeare
Spock
Natasha Yar

References[]

Byfrexians
Betazoids
Betazed
Chameloids
USS Chance: 25th century survey vessel of Captain Tennant.
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-F): Federation starship in the 2390s under command of Commodore Data, with a crew of 2,030.
Cordians
Cygnia III
Cygnus IV
Ferengi
Forever World
USS Fortuna: Captain Lansing's ship.
Gamma Delta
Gamma Origii
Guardian of Forever

Guardian of Forever, 2267 — The Guardian of Forever

USS Hood: Federation starship in the 2390s under command of Captain Wesley Crusher.
Imzadi
Klingons
Kreel: A race previously seen in Strike Zone.
Luss
Orions
Berlinghoff Rasmussen
Rigelians
Romulans
Sindar
Sindareen
Starbase 86
Vulcan
Zetli

Timeline[]

2350s-60s
2368
2390s
25th century

External links[]

Imzadi at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Imzadi at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

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