Imzadi

Star Trek - The Next Generation: Imzadi written by Peter David is a classic, in the sense that the story is that of love, mystery, and of temporal events, all spun together by a master storyteller.Commander Riker is taken on a wild ride of emotions throughout this book... from dispair, depression, and longing, to warmest love and happiness. A real roller coaster emotional ride for the reader as this story is cleverly crafted. Riker is running a Starbase in his elder years and remembering his Imzadi Deanna Troi. Imzadi is a powerful Betazoid term that describes the enduring bond of two people, in this case Riker and Troi. As Riker gets word the Lwaxana Troi is dying. Riker makes the trip and Lwaxana lays the blame of Deanna's death, at the hands of the Sindareen, squarely on Riker. Riker's memories of a happier times comes back in his memories and Data makes a suggestion about the Guardian of Forever. It seems that the books I like the best all involve this Iconian relic of space and time... and this is no exception. It was something that Riker knew all too well, for he had stared squarely into the face of regert. There had been a time when an incarnation of Riker from the future had used the Guardian of Forever to come back in time. In that Riker's reality, Deanna Troi had died forty years previously, and he had never gotten over it. Eventually he had come to that conclusion that Deanna had been murdered and, using the Guardian, had come back it time to try to avert that calamity.This book moves quite quickly and the character-driven dialog is spot-on. For an all encompassing and engrossing love story with a Star Trek flair, you can't go wrong with this book. This is one of Peter David's best efforts in the Trek genre.

This is a story of what you will do to save the life of the one you love, or, what love is capable of. It has got to be one of the best STTNG books I've ever read (see my review of Time's Enemy to see the BEST ST book of all time), and it is the only book I have ever read that shows, once and for all, what real love is all about. The book opens with a completely demoralized, elderly Admiral Riker grumpily running Starbase 86, with a nervous lieutenant looking after him. The lieutenant tells him there is a message from Betazed: Luaxana Troi is dying, she wants him to come to Betazed. He gets there, and she doesn't die until she impresses upon him that it's his fault that her daughter, Deanna, is dead. That's okay, Admiral Riker's life has deteriorated because he believes it, too.Then Data tells him that it may not be true, that in another timeline, Deanna lives. He explains that in this timeline, not only did she live, but she stopped a peace treaty with the Sindareen, a warrior race that is similar to the Ferengi in that they will trade with anyone...but their trade is based on terrorizing worlds and stealing everything they sell.When Riker hears the story of how Deanna didn't die, he immediately sets out to go back in time and save her from her fate. Data decides to stop him at all costs, in keeping with the Temporal Prime Directive.Riker cannot live without trying to prevent Deanna's death, and Data cannot live with allowing Riker to stop it.Not to give away too much of the ending, BUT in the end, Riker turns out to be right and Data is wrong.This is true love, fellow readers. That's all that this book is about. I cannot stress it enough: this is the story of how one person can change your life permanently, and without them, you are lost. It's about the lengths one will go to to save the one they love, and, in the end, how love can be the strength you draw from when you have nothing left.

Imzadi is one of Peter David's finest works of art. If you're already a fan of the show and haven't read this, you're wrong! Imzadi gives a (if not canon) complete explanation of how Deanna Troi and William Riker became "Imzadi." This novel is completely enthralling from cover to cover. It details how the two met, fell in love, separated and later became the best of friends. If you cannot pick this one up in hardback, at least come up with the paperback, this is not one to miss if you've followed TNG from the beginning or if you're new to it.

IMZADI is an exciting, well written novel that plays with the chronological aspect of a story. I haven't read any Star Trek books before, but I intend to read more now! For any Treky that cares, it goes back and explains the mysterious history behind Riker and Troy, and it shows us what the scars of time can turn us into. The characters interact realistically together, and every page is relevant and entertaining. The story begins with the future William Riker, a disgrunteled old man with unresolved issues. Forty years prior, his Imzadi (Deanna Troy) mysteriously fell ill and died. "Imzadi" is a Betazoid term describing the strong psychological bond they share, and Riker falls deep into a perpetual state of depression when he looses what he describes as, "the greater half of himself." When Lwaxana Troy (Deanna's mother) calls Riker to her death bed, old ghosts start popping out at him from his past, forcing him to remember, and he tries to remember back to a time when he felt no pain. From there, the story is told of how they came to know eachother, after which interisting plot twists and timeline jumps keep you on the edge of your seat. This book is realistically written, with an entertaining story line and well dedigned characters; one of them, whom the uncaring streams of time have forced into an intollerable universe, decides he wants to change his own destiny. And maybe he can-if he can get to the Guardian of Forever...

I am a true Star Wars fan, and I really could not see liking Star Trek very well. But I watched one movie, (Insurecction) and then I read this book, and although it sometimes didn't make much sense to me, (having only seen the one movie) I loved it.This is a book that is funny at times, romantic all the time, and strong enough to make you cry. Deanna and Riker (Though I never figured out why, everyone else calls her by her first name and him by his last, so I'll do that too) are strong characters, and easy to get into. They are perfectly capable of living without each other, but they are also strong enough to confront their human (And Betazoid, I guess) weaknesses of not wanting to.A funny, romantic novel that places even those who do not want to be there, inside the Star Trek universe.