Second paragraph of third chapter:
During this brief pause, this hiatus before the whirl of activity that is about to follow, I must take a moment to remind myself how profoundly grateful I am to everyone who has willingly put aside everything to commit themselves to this mission. Above all, I thank the stars for the work done behind the scenes by my new XO, Commander Raffi Musiker. I am aware that through her efforts what should be problems are presented to me as wholly solved. Captain Kirsten Clancy has been liaising with the Romulans, and Raffi is of course a specialist in Romulan affairs. I have the distinct impression that Clancy’s tendency toward micromanagement has been a burden that my XO has also borne on my account, and I am greatly appreciative. This has left me with the time to fully concentrate on staffing, coordinating, and directing the fleet. On Earth, Commander Gbowee has rapidly constructed an organization and processes to respond to our requirements for matériel and staff; she and Lieutenant Kaul are masters of the concise briefing. Messages from Commander Geordi La Forge are proving an interesting read: I sense behind his words some resistance from the yard’s engineers at these new and overwhelming demands that are being placed upon them. I understand too that for many, this will mean setting aside research for many years that may well have been the chief concern. But if any officer can corral them toward a common goal, it is surely Geordi, among the most optimistic, practical, and sincere officers of my acquaintance.
This is the best known book by Una McCormack, according to the three book-logging systems that I consulted. Because Novacon is this weekend, and Una is the Guest of Honour, we’re going to have a run of her novels here this week.
It’s particularly poignant to be writing this so soon after we lost Sir Patrick Stewart. Of course, most of the best lines given to Picard were written by the writers, not him; but there has been a tremendously moving outpouring of affection from those who worked with him, or met him, or just even had a casual encounter with him in the supermarket queue (though I’m not sure that I believe the Huddersfield autograph story). We will not see his like again.
Back in pandemic days, we hugely enjoyed the first series of Picard. This is the prequel, telling the story of how Jean-Luc Picard masterminded the evacuation of the Romulans’ home world on assignment from the Federation. It’s not an action-packed adventure, but a thoughtful exploration of the politics of crisis, with a certain amount of putting narrative pieces in place to explain the setting of Picard.
McCormack folds into this some political parables: the Romulan refugee crisis feeds directly into populism and threats of Brexit-style secession within the Federation; there is a science-denying Romulan nobleman whose refusal to accept the imminent disaster puts his own people in danger. There’s also an interesting depiction of the tensions between secrecy and openness in Romulan society.
But the core of it is the character of Picard, who I think McCormack catches perfectly, and his trajectory from philosophically accepting his duty to losing patience with the Federation, via intermediary stages of indirectly or directly disobeying orders for the greater good. I think even a reader who knew nothing at all about Star Trek would enjoy this. You can get Picard: The Last, Best Hope here.
