Read back in the summer of 1998. It was alright. It is a novelization of a television episode. ( )

Jeri Taylor offers exactly what a novelization of a TNG episode should; plenty of extra tidbits that add layers to what's realized onscreen, new material so as not to bore repeat tv viewers and a few fixes to flaws in the aired product.

Taylor enhances the story with the occasional theme of estranged fathers and sons, showcasing it through Riker, Picard, and Spock, linking them all in the narrative in a way that the televised episode doesn't. The final mind-meld, somewhat anticlimactic on television screens breathes a new life on paper, with a Taylor bringing home the emotional meaning of the story's title, Sarek, and Spock, at last, finding some unification through Picard.

The novelization substantially helps the side plot of Riker's investigation into the Vulcan hardware and helps it make a little more sense. Taylor adds some parts to broaden the investigation, for example, Riker helps interrogates the person responsible for helping to hide the what is going on at the shipyard (the captain of the mystery ship that exploded was romancing one of the low-level clerks who registered the junk ships at the yard).

There is also a secondary character introduced in the novel Ensign Naylor who adds something extra for those might be bored by just reading a straight adaption of the onscreen adventure. She starts off as a romantic possibility for Riker but is given something of a sad quality near the novel's end and more depth than just another fling for the First Officer.

Taylor livens things up at the end, something the aired product could have used, with some action involving Spock, Picard, and Data escaping the Romulans (they don't just casually walk out of the office like onscreen) and the Enterprise actually purses the Vulcan ships to the neutral zone.

Fans of the episode won't be disappointed. ( )

I read some of the other reviews and I'm not sure we read the same book! I didn't notice much sex (except for fantasies of the Klingon captain), and the little bit of the Vulcans I saw did not make them out to be boring. As far as the writing, ok, it wasn't Joyce or Vonnegut, but then, it wasn't supposed to be. This was a fun read with some interesting ideas, characters, & twists. I'd say 3.5 stars because I'm still confused about Pardek, but I'm rounding up so you don't cull this book without reading it. ( )