I, Q

Star Trek: The Next Generation

by John de Lancie & Peter David

This book is a glorious dumpster fire of nonsense and I love it.

The story is written by Q and told in first person, from Q's perspective. Q is the very definition of an unreliable narrator - constantly interrupting himself to wax philosophical, going off on tangents, making bad jokes, occasionally outright lying, and complaining nonstop. For better or worse, this is an extremely accurate representation of Q in all his annoying, cloying, selfish, vain, and arrogant glory.

While this book has all the elements of a standard Star Trek adventure book, it's very different from others of its ilk. If you're looking for something more like the tv show, I'd recommend "Q Squared" or "Q-in-Law." If what you're looking for is a B-list stand up routine told in Q's voice, this is definitely your book and you'll probably love it.

I found this book very entertaining despite the fact that it often strayed from the point. Picard is somewhat underutilized with bits that should be his for some reason tending to go to Data. However, he and Q have good chemistry as always and their back-and-forths are some of the better parts of the story. My biggest criticism would be that the story becomes a bit predictable around the middle, but this isn't too distracting as the characters are still fun and interesting.

I'd recommend this to fans who really like (and who have a high tolerance for) Q and are looking for something a little different than a standard Star Trek adventure book.