The Peacekeepers

by Gene DeWeese

Book Overview

Exploring a deserted alien spaceship, Lt. Commander Data and Lt. Geordi LaForge suddenly find themselves transported light-years away -- into the middle of a deadly conflict! While Captain Picard and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0671736531
• ISBN13: 9780671736538
• Release Date: December 1990
• Publisher: Star Trek
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.2" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Some action and the Enterprise crew prefers to think rather than blast their way out

The Enterprise encounters an ancient spaceship that is drifting through space. It appears to have a power source that is still operating, so an away team is sent. Their presence activates a defense mechanism and while the Enterprise is dealing with the reaction, Data and Geordi are transported an immense distance to a similar structure. The second structure is orbiting around an inhabited planet and is under the partial control of Shar-Lon, an inhabitant of the planet. Decades earlier, there were many nations on the planet that had nuclear armed missiles that were armed and ready. When the structure arrived, it destroyed all of the nuclear missiles and Shar-Lon was able to learn something about it and even use it to advantage. However, as always is the case with humans, resentments have built up over the years and many people on the planet consider the structure to be an impediment to progress. Furthermore, they also believe that Shar-Lon has used the structure to benefit his group. A large orbiting structure was built that is similar to an O'Neill colony and many of Shar-Lon's followers live there. Geordi and Data arrive and must quickly learn the situation on the planet and how to deal with it. Having been transported so far from the Enterprise, they have lost all contact and are at this point marooned. Meanwhile, back at the Enterprise Picard and the crew are trying to learn about the spaceship in order to determine what happened to Data and Geordi. After some study, they decide to replicate the event that led to the transporting of Data and Geordi and they are able to send Riker and Tasha to the same place. When all of the Enterprise crewmembers that have been transported join forces, they manage to stave off a major conflict. Eventually, the Enterprise crew is able to establish a trail and follow it, arriving just in time to end the conflict using a great deal of extravagant subterfuge. While some of the premises of this story are absurd, specifically about the control of the orbiting structure via a helmet that is compatible with the human mind, it is still a good story. There is action, and the Enterprise crew preferred to solve problems by thinking them through rather than shooting things up.

Great Book

If you are an fan of star trek the next generation books then you will want this book to go with the rest of the books so get you an copy and enjoy reading about the crew of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise-D. Rondall Banks

Corny and awesome TNG!!!

The Peacekeepers is a cheesy story which takes place during TNG's first season. The story itself is just as poorly told as any first season episode (e.g. 11001001, Lonely Among Us, etc.). The guest characters are incredibly shallow and cliche. All of the main cast have some time in the spotlight, but Geordi and Data are featured more than the others. It's an easy read and it doesn't have anything that disagrees with the Trek storyline so it can easily fit into your personal Trek canon. I personally enjoy the "bad" quality of TNG's first and second seasons so I enjoyed this book. I'm looking forward to reading Ghost Ship next!!! Bottom line, if you liked the first and second seasons of TNG, then you'll like this book.

STNG #2 The Peacekeepers - Good science fiction!

This review is for those who in particular may have read a few of the later Star Trek The Next Generation novels or novels from the other series and find yourself interested in reading the earlier STNG novels. While in these early novels, you may find the author's characterizations to be somewhat off and their knowledge of the twenty fourth century techno-babble to be somewhat off as well. What you will generally find though is that the majority of these early stories are well based in science fiction and some of the authors, such as the author of this novel, make up for that lack of back story knowledge by concentrating on what they did know. Of the few Star Trek novels that Gene DeWeese wrote, I found them all to be quite intriguing and generally good reads. I read this one quite some time ago myself, but the basics of the story still resonate, lending to how well the author wrote this one.The premise:While returning to the nearest Starbase from a mission dealing with the Ferengi, the Enterprise detects a derelict ship. Being the explorers that they are, Captain Picard orders Data and LaForge to investigate the derelict. While on board, they're transported light years away to a similar ship that is orbiting a planet that is in crisis. While Captain Picard and crew frantically search for his lost crewman, Data and LaForge find themselves embroiled in the middle of a political crisis in which the inhabitants of the ship they were transported to have been and are continuing to use the alien technology of the ship to maintain the peace between all the factions on the Earth like planet below.I definitely recommend this second novel in the Star Trek The Next Generation series as it is a well written story and it fits well within the STNG series. {ssintrepid}

An alien world uses advanced technology to keep the peace

"The Peacekeepers" was Star Trek: The Next Generation novel #2 and Gene DeWeese solves the problem of an overall lack of familiarity with the new characters by focusing on the show's most obvious dyad at the star, Data and Geordi. Since the two sat by each other working navigation and the helm on the Enterprise, giving them an opportunity to exchange significant glances while Picard and Riker dealt with the serious problems, it was clear that these two had the only obvious friendship among the crew members early on. After all, Riker and Troi had that "Imzadi" history between them, Worf was a scowling Klingon, and the show was never going to be about a boy and his mom. So Data and Geordi (who should have been on the cover for this book) were a safe bet to put at the center of an adventure, especially given the entire only android in Starfleet back story. DeWeese further enhances the focus on this pair by getting them away from the Enterprise.Data and LaForge are exploring a deserted alien spaceship when they are suddenly transported light-years away to a similar ship in orbit around a planet similar to Earth. In a rather interesting twist on an old science fiction plot (e.g., "The Day The Earth Stood Still"), we discover that the inhabitants of this planet stumbled onto the advanced technology of this ship and have been using its weapons to disarm the nations and maintain the peace. But the people below are chaffing under the enforced peace and the two Starfleet officers find themselves caught in the middle as the two sides gear up for war. Consequently, "The Peacekeepers" is definitely an attempt to bring the allegorical dimension that was a part of some of the best original Star Trek episodes to the Next Generation crew. Overall, I think "The Peacekeepers" qualifies as at least an average STNG novel. There is a nice ironic contrast between Starfleet and the Prime Directive and what is happening on the World of the Peacekeepers. Shar-Lon, Chairman of the Council gets to make all sorts of impassioned arguments who what the Peacekeepers are doing, but of course you do not need to be an android with a computer brain to see the flaws in his logic. Meanwhile, what Picard and the Enterprise crew discover about the origin of these orbiting ships is no less pleasant. You have to remember that this novel was written in 1988 as well as early on in the run of the television series, a time when "Star Wars" in the news meant talk of a missile defense system. All of these facets make the allegorical nature of DeWeese's novel more apparent, which, I think, ends up speaking to its strengths rather than its weaknesses. There are a lot of early STNG novels I would not bother to download, but this is not one of them, especially if you like the relationship between Data and Geordi.