996. The Riddled PostPUBLICATION: Starfleet Corps of Engineers #9, Pocket eBooks, October 2001 (collected into print with S.C.E. ebooks #9-12 as Some Assembly Required in April 2003)
CREATORS: Aaron Rosenberg
STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last novel)
PLOT: The Da Vinci follows a distress call to a mining outpost/research lab where, aside from two survivors, everyone has been killed by means unknown. The outpost is riddled with holes, despite the fact its shields are still functioning. The Da Vinci crew put in every effort to solve this "locked room" mystery before whatever did the damage returns. They succeed, but may have put a deadly weapon in the hands of Starfleet. (Since this is a pure mystery story, I've omitted the details so readers can find out for themselves.)
CONTINUITY: None.
DIVERGENCES: None.
PROP OF THE WEEK - A vital clue
REVIEW: Aaron Rosenberg's first Trek novel features some lackluster prose in places, but he gets the characters quite well, and once he gets into his CSI groove, you happily follow the clues with him. As in CSI, the solution isn't half as important as the way you get to it, and the short book is full of procedural information, with various departments chipping in. It's an engineering mystery, sure, and Stevens gets to shine in it, but there are also strong roles for Security Chief Corsi and resident linguist Bart. As the mystery unfolds, the reader gets drawn in efficiently, and SCE's trademark - original use of Star Trek tech/skills we've seen a hundred times before - isn't ignored.Next for the SBG Book Club: Vulcan! (TOS), Masks (TNG), Antimatter (DS9), Here There Be Monsters (SCE).
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