Ghost Dance: Dark Matters Trilogy 2 (Mass Market Paperback)

The most impressive aspect of this and third novel is where the first novel established the premise of the entire trilogy, this second novel is where the true intrigue and the overall compelling nature of the story as a whole kicks in. As I casually read the first novel, this approach was unacceptable for the second as this trilogy turned into a true page turner!

The cover art for this second Dark Matters novel is on par with the first novel and a cut above the rest of the novels published at that time.

The Premise:

In "Cloak and Dagger" we learned that an individual named Lhiau who claimed to be a member of a race known as the Shepherds established contact with the Romulan Empire of twenty years in Voyager's past and that he more or less brought them an offer "they couldn't refuse." His primary contact with the Romulans was established through Jekri Kaleh, the chairman of the Tal Shiar, the Romulan's super secretive security organization. Armed with "superior" cloaking technology given to them by Lhiau, they intended to open a wormhole to the Delta Quadrant and send thirteen Warbirds to seize control of the technologically advanced Voyager...

"Ghost Dance" easily picks up where "Cloak and Dagger" left off, although there is one minor distraction which is the "cleverly" played retrospective of the first novel, just in case somebody decides to start this brilliant Trek trilogy with the second novel instead of the first one.

With "Ghost Dance," Christie Golden's talents as an author shine even more brilliantly as she takes us even deeper into the political intrigue involving the Chairman of the Tal Shiar, Jekri Kaleh; an extremely well written and developed character that more or less carries the story. Along with the exceptionally well written Jekri Kaleh parts, the author's skill in fast paced, narrative and action driven Trek fiction shine as she takes us through Captain Janeway and her crews steps in solving the many problems caused by the rogue Shepherds release of mutated Dark Matter upon their universe and the wonderfully well told sub plot of Chakotay and Paris's experiences after Chakotay dragged them through a "portal" to an unknown planet...

I highly recommend this and the other two novels in the trilogy as author Christie Golden, with this trilogy once again proved why she is one of Star Trek's premier authors. She is truly capable of some of the most creative story telling in the world of Trek fiction! {ssintrepid}