Immortal Coil

by Jeffrey Lang

Book Overview

A novel of love, loss and artificial intelligence as Data -- among the most popular, paradoxical and intriguing characters on Star Trek -- uncovers the truth behind the destruction of another android. When a new android created by Starfleet is apparently destroyed in a freak explosion, Lieutenant Commander Data and the crew of the Enterprise-E embark on a search for the truth and find themselves thrust into a crossfire between a secret group of ancient...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743405927
• ISBN13: 9780743405928
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Star Trek
• Length: 331 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.1" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Recommended

I have been reading every Star Trek books I can get my hands on.This particular one is one of the best I have ever read. It was the last 2 pages of the story that raise the rating from 4 stars to 5. The author need not penned the last two pages but it is precisely these last 2 pages that bring a tear to my eye.I have a particular fondness for Data and his evolution. I too have wondered why there only one android whereas there were many encounters of androids in the Star Trek world. The story woved a thread connecting many aspects of STTOS and STTNG and the creator of Data including Flint. After reading the story, somehow it seems logical, but why didn't I think of it?If you like Data and would like some background on androids appearing throughout Star Trek time and space, check this book out.

An unexpectedly *remarkable* Data story

Before you open this book, I'd recommend you first brush up on your Trek history by watching your copy of the TOS episode, "Requiem for Methuselah." Or if you don't own the episode on tape, like I don't, go instead to your handy TOS Companion and the Trek Encyclopedia to read up on it. You might also want to do the same for the TNG episode, "Measure of a Man," just so you'll have a better list of who's who for this novel. (Of course, I only had to go as far as the ruthlessly-organized bookshelf upstairs for my tape of "Measure of a Man," but that's something else entirely.) It's *very* satisfying the way this novel ties these continuity threads together, while at the same time providuing character...growth and change, shall we say?As I glanced over the other reviews, I noticed Joshua Macy's first paragraph - with his comments about it being a mystery, a meditation on immortality, a romance (yup, *romance*), and a bang-up sci-fi adventure all rolled into one - pretty much sums it up, including that part about giving him the shivers.There was a hauntingly-delicious moment for me, very near the end, when Data comes to understand why Picard insisted he not deactiviate his emotion chip. If it were anyone else, you might yawn with the obviousness, but it's not anyone else - it's *Data.* He's not supposed to come to these kinds of understandings.Is he?I'd say this book is worth it just for that, but it's not. It's worth it for FAR more. Go with your gut: read this one.

Couldn't put it down

A mystery, a meditation on immortality, a character-driven novel about one of the most interesting Star Trek characters, a romance, and a bang-up SF action adventure--all rolled into one book. There were parts of this that were so good that they literally gave me shivers. As with most ST novels, you have to have watched the show--it's not a primer for the ST newbie, although Lang makes a good faith effort to remind readers (or introduce them) to all the minor characters that appeared in single episodes...and this book has bunches of them; it ties together, in a convincing and compelling fashion, pretty much every android and artificial intelligence that has cropped up in the Star Trek universe. This is one of the few novels I've read recently that as soon as I closed the book, I wanted a sequel. It's just that good.

Mesmerizing

"Immortal Coil" by Jeffrey Lang is an extraordinary book. I may run out of adjectives trying to describe this suspenseful mystery without spoiling it.At the heart of this story is one of trek's most beloved characters, Data. As the personnel of the Enterprise-E struggle to unravel the threads that hold the key to the mystery they uncover the hidden history of artificial intelligence. Data is poignantly forced to confront his past, his present and his future. As the story unfolds page by page the reader is drawn into a skillfully woven plot that exhibits an almost Machiavellian flair.Thanks to a fantastic story premise and the dexterous touch of author Jeffrey Lang, "Immortal Coil" is the type of book that leaves you quenched when you close the cover for the final time. As if you've just finished a large drink after being thirsty for a very long time. Lang manages to perceptively capture the characters, especially Data, whom he characterizes with an acuteness that makes him tangible. This is a character we know and love, but whom we've never seen or thought of in this way before."Immortal Coil" is a book to relish. Charming, fascinating, complex, and masterful. A book that leaves you savoring the story long after you finish reading it.

Perhaps the best Star Trek mystery ever

Science fiction mysteries are difficult to pull off well. Given the difficulty of science fiction in general to effectively mix science fiction worldbuilding with the conventions of the mystery thriller, one would expect (and find) that Star Trek's own track record with mysteries is dismal. "A Matter of Perspective"? Disappointing. "Suspicions"? Dreadful. "Ex Post Facto"? A laughingly bad homage to 1940s hard-boiled detective films. "A Man Alone"? The less said the better. Star Trek and murder mystery don't mix. In the wrong hands, even in the right hands, mixing Star Trek and mystery could easily be a recipe for disaster. On a distant scientific outpost one man is murdered, another is brutally beaten, and the culmination of their lives' work is destroyed. In the wreckage of their laboratory one of the victims scrawled a name in his own blood, the name of a person hundreds of light-years distant. Who attacked the laboratory? Why was one of the Federation's leading roboticists killed? Why was his partner left for dead? Why was the project destroyed? And why was the name "Data" found written in blood? From that premise Jeffrey Lang's Immortal Coil stakes its ground early on as a mystery and allows the story to unfold from there. Immortal Coil succeeds admirably, telling a compelling mystery mixed with a healthy dose of character exploration. Quite possibly, this is the definitive Data story. Comparisons to Asimov's Lije Baley/Daneel Olivaw novels come easily. In both cases we have a human detective (Lije Baley/Enterprise-E security chief Rhea McAdams) paired with a robotic companion (R. Daneel Olivaw/Data) to track down the murderer and solve the crime. Both explore how robotics and artificial intelligence have affected their respective universes. But where Asimov explores the sociological implications of human/robotic interactions and their influence on future human development, Jeffrey Lang delves into the secret history of artificial intelligence in the Star Trek universe. That exploration of artificial intelligence makes Immortal Coil the perfect venue for exploring Data's character. In the past, Data stories have tended not to dwell upon the ideas and implications inherent in what being an artificial being means. Data might in the course of the story learn something of where he came from and his developmental potential, but it never seems to matter--becoming human in Jean Lorrah's Metamorphosis prompted an "imaginary story" for Data, while installing the emotion chip in Star Trek: Generations had no lasting effects on his personality by the time Star Trek: Insurrection was released. Of all the Star Trek characters, Data is perhaps the most alien because he's the least human. Odo and the Doctor, while plainly not human, also recognize their non-human natures. Odo appears outwardly human because he wants to, but he also knows that he can be so much more. The Doctor also appears human, but he is limited by his semblance of intelligence and indepe