David Mack, author of the well received Destiny trilogy of Star Trek novels is back with an all new trilogy to help celebrate the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Persistence of Memory is a great story of a father making one last ditch effort to help ensure the future of his sons.
The first act of the book focuses on an attack on the Daystrom Institute, where B-4 is is residing under the care of Captain Bruce Maddox. Maddox, the man man who once wanted to take Data from the Enterprise as a study project, is now the biggest proponent of cybernetic rights. The android B-4 and other Soong type Androids are stolen from the institute and the Enterprise is called into action, Maddox reveals B-4’s positronic net is destabilizing and he will soon suffer a catastrophic failure if he is not recovered soon.
The second act of the book is narrated by Doctor Noonien Soong. We learn of his fate after the episode “Brothers”. This part of the book is narrated from his perspective and recalls the events of his life from that point until the events of the book. It goes through a gamut of emotions as he learns details of what happens to Lore, Data, B-4, and the android copy of his former wife Juliana Tainer.
The final act of the book covers the reasons for the android capture and details Soong doing one final fatherly act to benefit his sons. This is a culmination to ideas that are hinted to in Star Trek: Nemesis.
The book comes off as an apology for certain events in Nemesis. The story is fantastic and sets up some great events to be explored at other points down the line. It adds a lot of backstory to Soong and all of his androids. I highly recommend this book. It is one of the best Star Trek books I have read in years.
