Real world article
(written from a production point of view)
A hidden cache of superweapons – a deadly race to prevent galactic war!
Strike Zone is a Pocket TNG novel – #5 in the numbered series – written by Peter David. Published by Pocket Books, it was first released in March 1989.
Summary[]
- From the book jacket
- Deep in the uncharted regions of the our galaxy, the Kreel, a primitive, warlike race have stumbled upon weapons powerful beyond their wildest imagination. The Kreel have used those weapons to attack their most bitter enemies, the Klingons.
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D are called in to mediate the dispute by ferrying diplomatic teams from the two warring races to the source of their conflict, the mysterious planet where the weapons were discovered, in an attempt to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, and discover the origins of the super-powerful weapons.
- Before the galaxy erupts into full-scale war…
- Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.
Background information[]
- This is author Peter David's first of many Star Trek novels. His best-known work is arguably the New Frontier series.
- This novel picks up an abandoned comics story arc from David's run on the first DC series.
- Data is erroneously portrayed as being able to use contractions on four pages. David corrected this mistake in later novels, and even used it as a plot device in his novel Imzadi.
- The novel was written and published during the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation where the only major "Klingon" episode is "A Matter Of Honor", except for holographic Klingons seen in the episode "The Icarus Factor" and a brief appearance in "The Emissary". With the novel written before any of these episodes aired, the only canon source material available was therefore the information seen in the first season episode "Heart of Glory" and it is upon this which Peter David bases most of the Klingon mannerisms and dialogue in the novel.
- A passing mention is made in the novel of the Black Fleet, the precursor Klingon afterlife concept to Sto-vo-kor.
Characters[]
- Jean-Luc Picard
- Enterprise-D captain.
- William T. Riker
- Enterprise-D first officer.
- Data
- Android Enterprise-D operations officer.
- Geordi La Forge
- VISOR-sighted Enterprise-D chief engineer.
- Katherine Pulaski
- Enterprise-D chief medical officer.
- Deanna Troi
- Enterprise-D counselor.
- Wesley Crusher
- Acting ensign, Enterprise-D flight control officer.
- Worf
- Enterprise-D security chief.
- Guinan
- Enterprise-D bartender.
- Budian
- Kreel.
- Aneel
- Kreel.
- Tron
- Klingon.
- Spyre
- Klingon.
- Deni
- Klingon commander
- Commander in charge of the Kothulu.
- Bobbi Chase
-
- Named for Marvel Comics editor Bobbie Chase.
- Marks
- Lieutenant.
- Taka Nagai
- Ambassador
- Kobry
- Klingon ambassador.
- Kobry's backstory indicates he may be the albino Klingon named Moron (later "Bernie"), seen in Star Trek (DC volume 1) comic book stories penned by Peter David. (KOBRY = KOnom and Nancy BRYce, his Starfleet guardians.)
- Westerby
- Admiral
- Jaan Baat-Utuul-Bayn-Devin
- A Selelvian "elf".
- Gava
- Bors
- Tom Chafin
- Starfleet ensign who served a relief flight control officer on the Enterprise-D. Chafin vocalized a disrespectful comment about Wesley Crusher during a conference on the bridge. Picard took the out-of-turn remark as a sign the ensign needed a change of scenery, and reassigned Chafin to security. Chafin was later tricked by Jaan into abandoning his guard post.
- Chafin appeared again as a lieutenant in Vendetta and is named after the author's friend, T.A. Chafin.
- Sklar
- Derl
- Tuttle
- LaVelle
- Palmeiro
- Dykstra
- Meyer
- Enterprise-D security.
- Boyajian
- Enterprise-D security.
- Amy
References[]
- Cantos V
- Cognoscente
- Daedalus IV
- DQN1196 ("Hellhole")
- flarg
- Expletive used by the Kreel, as in "How the flarg do we get though there?".
- Gamma Origi III
- Klingons
- IKS Kothulu
- Klingon battle cruiser.
- Possibly named for the Cthulhu stories created by horror master H.P. Lovecraft.
- Kreel
- The Kreel were a race of humanoids that live in the Alpha Quadrant. They had three fingers, no neck, and a triangular torso. Their mortal enemy was the Klingons. They prided themselves on their bodies and were considered parasites or scavengers.
- The Kreel appear again in later novels by David, and are even used by other authors.
- Selelvians
-
- Selelvians appear again in the Star Trek: New Frontier series (see: Star Trek: New Frontier characters).
Timeline[]
External links[]
- Strike Zone at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Strike Zone at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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