Infection (Star Trek The Next Generation: Double Helix, Book 1)

I originally bought the first two Double Helix books sometime when they first came out. I was kind of intimidated by the cover of Infection! Infection is a wonderful, should I say, mystery book. Suspense never stops in this one!

I enjoyed reading a story that took place just a month after the Farpoint mission. I thought it was well-done. I like how it cleared up the instance in the first season in which Deanna called Riker "Bill." That was a nice touch. The dialog is in-character. I'm half-way through the Double Helix series, and so far I can definitely recommend this series to any TNG fan. You can only be but so critical of Star Trek "literature."

I enjoyed reading about the crew, still new to one another and how they learn to work together.

Double Helix: Infection begins with an unknown being deliberately infecting an agricultural planet with plague. The crew of the Enterprise, probably fresh from their Encounter at Farpoint,is sent with medical supplies. While Picard tries to contain the plague on the planet, Dr. Crusher works to find a cure. The science is not too complicated for a reader who never went any farther than high school biology to follow. Riker (still called Bill by Deanna), Tasha Yar, & Data form an away team to the planet for some investigating, & Worf also leads an away team. Geordi & Deanna also play important roles, but, mercifully, Wesley does not appear! Although the book can stand alone, the ending does lead into the next book, which apparently features Dr. Pulaski, Kira Nerys (still a Bajoran rebel, not yet a major), and Gul Dukat. It is interesting to read about these characters in the early part of their series, or even before their series takes place. I understand that a future book features Chakotay & B'Elanna when they were Maquis. I look forward to reading the others in this series.

Infection was a nice change for me. I hardly ever read next generation Books. This was really good. I found that the characters were portrayed in their true light and the story sounded real. A must for any star trek reader!