This is the second Star
Trek book Peter David’s ever written and it’s the second one I’ve ever
read. It was good but not as good as the first outing. I have to say I’m glad
this wasn’t the first Peter David Star
Trek novel I’ve read because I might not have read another one so soon.
There is a lot to like about this book and one of them was to see how Pater David
is getting comfortable writing about the crew of the Enterprise D. He writes
good dialogue and his characters are true to their portrayals on the TV series
but there’s a bit extra. The extra is that we get to be inside of their heads and
most, not all, of it rings true. It’s very interesting to get more depth of
characterization in the novels than in many of the television episodes.
The story of A Rock
and a Hard Place is pretty simple. Starfleet Command has ordered that Riker
be sent to planet Paradise, a terraforming planet. In his absence, he will be
replaced by Commander Quintin Stone who is being placed on Picard’s ship
because he’s proved to be an extremely difficult officer to discipline. Stone’s
stay on the Enterprise results in high
emotions and much conflict while down on Paradise, Riker is also experiencing
some troubles where he has to survive in a harsh environment as well as defend himself
against genetically engineered monsters.
The best thing about this book is David’s writing on the
characters and, strangely enough, that’s also where David fails. I was sad that
Worf wasn’t at the centre of this story like he was in Strike Zone but he does have some nice moments. David writes him so
well. One of my favourite moments of his happens about halfway through the
book. Worf and Deanna have a pretty big disagreement and their discussion which
begins as a confrontation ends in renewed and strengthened friendship. It’s a
joy to read and it shows just how good a grasps David has on these characters.
This story took place sometime during the second season of TNG and this scene between Worf and Deanna shows some nice
foreshadowing for their relationship, even if it’s unlikely those actual plans
were laid out. The scenes works just as well without the knowledge of what’s to
come for the characters later in the show.
Unfortunately, not all the characters are nearly as
interesting as Worf or written as well. Commander Stone is a frustrating
character. He’s such an ass! He has so much potential as a Starfleet officer
but his disdain for all around him and his disregard for authority and
regulations make him impossible to work with. I disliked him so much that I
just wanted to scream during some parts of the book. I completely object to his
behaviour and the intentional mistreatment of the crew. The book doesn’t work because
of Stone. Not only was he frustrating as a character, but the way the crew of the
Enterprise dealt with him was equally frustrating. The guy has serious issues
and the author’s explanation as to why Stone is like he is rings as hollow as
his ending to Strike Zone. If Stone is
psychologically scarred by the events that took place on Ianni, how has it not
been noticed during his psychiatric evaluations? What about the rest of the
crew that was also present at the same event? Why are they fine? It’s hard for
me to believe that there was no psychological precedent that resulted in Stone
being more susceptible to the horrors he faced compared to the rest of
Starfleet.
Stone also serves another purpose. Part of this book
contains David’s criticism of the Prime Directive. Sometimes you simply can’t
justify non-interference and David clearly wanted to voice that in this novel.
The problem is that he uses a mentally unstable character to voice that message.
It’s also difficult to accept a message when it comes from the mouth of an
infuriating and dangerous asshole of a man like Commander Stone. He’s not even
a real person and I’m angry at him!
What’s great about having multiple people work on one
series is that different writers will better explain certain elements of the
series. In this particular Star Trek
novel Peter David explains a staple of life on the Enterprise in a way I’ve never understood it before: the
communicators. I’ve seen the communicators be used in every single The Next Generation episode but David
gives it a different perspective in A
Rock and a Hard Place that made it revelatory. The communicator badges are
on the uniforms of every member of Starfleet. They’re the ultimate
communication device on board. They allow any member of the crew to talk to any
other instantly. Yes, it’s basically just a little walkie-talkie by what does its
presence on everybody’s uniform signify? Starfleet isn’t a democracy but if the
Captain of a vessel wanted to hear the opinions of any of his crew, the communicators
can create a forum for discussion and sharing of ideas. More important, it
allows for easy communication on an extremely large ship and it has been
particularly useful in difficult and dangerous situations. It’s something we’ve
seen countless times on the show but I’ve never seen it described in that way.
There are a lot of things that do not work with this book
but a few things do. Just like in Strike
Zone, Peter David has a good grasp of the characters. Perhaps surprisingly
is how good of a grasp his has on the female characters. Deanna Troi, though frustrating
with her interactions with Stone, is well written. The same goes for Doctor
Crusher. The best female character in the book has to be Stephie. She is the
daughter of two childhood friends of Commander Riker. There are some
surprisingly good dialogue and insight into the mind of a teenaged girl. I know
that Peter David has daughters of his own and maybe it’s because of them that
he writes Stephie so well. I’m not sure how old David’s daughters were at the
time he wrote this book, but Stephie’s character is spot on. A Rock and a Hard Place isn’t my
favourite Star Trek novel but there’s
enough here to please, and infuriate, any fan of the franchise.
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