Long before Captain Jean-Luc Picard took command of the legendary Starship Enterprise, he fell deeply and hopelessly in love with Doctor Beverly Crusher. Though, for one reason or another, Picard never acted on his feelings, he found a measure of contentment as Beverly’s close friend, colleague, and daily breakfast partner.
But when Doctor Crusher leaves her position on the Enterprise to become the chief medical officer of Starfleet, the brightest light in Picard’s life is taken from him. And he has hardly resigned himself to his loss when he learns that Beverly has been declared missing in action on a distant planet—and presumed dead.
On the Romulan homeworld, meanwhile, the political vacuum created by the demise of Praetor Shinzon has been filled by his staunchest supporter, Senator Tal’aura. But there are those who oppose her, including Commander Donatra and the warbird fleets under her command, because of the way Tal’aura has mishandled rebellions on the Empire’s subject worlds.
And one rebellion in particular; the movement for self-determination on frigid Kevratas. So begins a desperate struggle—not only for the freedom of the long-oppressed Kevrata but also for the soul of the Romulan Empire. Before it’s over, destinies will be forged and shattered, the Empire will be shaken to its ancient foundations, and Jean-Luc Picard’s life will be changed… forever.
We’re counting down to this month’s return of Jean-Luc Picard by revisiting some of the pivotal stories about the beloved Starfleet captain from across the last three decades of Star Trek: The Next Generation published fiction.
Welcome to the next entry in our retro review series Prelude to Picard!
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Kicking off the Star Trek: The Next Generation relaunch — a series of novels that continued the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-E after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis — Death in Winter makes a bold move right out of the gate by changing one of the fundamental character relationships from the show… by finally pairing up Picard and Beverly Crusher.
The final two two entries of my Prelude to Picard series — with the last review coming next week — deal with books that take place after the (to this point) final appearances of The Next Generation crew on our TV or movie screens. And so, I will stipulate up front, that the events depicted in Death in Winter are likely to be very different from what we learn about the events of Picard’s life in Star Trek: Picard.
But, it is still fun to see how other writers approached telling the story of Picard’s life after the events of Nemesis, and Death in Winter has lots of thematic connections to what we know of Picard. Picking up shortly after the Enterprise returns from Romulan space in tatters, and with many of Picard’s command crew having left him, the captain is reflecting on his life and missed opportunities.
Not wallowing for long, however, Picard learns that Beverly Crusher has been captured on a secret mission to Romulan space to help one of their subjugated races, the Kevrata, recover from a devastating plague. Unable to bear the potential loss of the woman he loves — but hasn’t pursued– Picard is tasked with finishing Crusher’s mission and saving her if possible.
Death in Winter is a return to the franchise by author Michael Jan Friedman, and he used the opportunity of writing this book to finish an effective trilogy of novels that deal with the crew of the Stargazer – starting with The Valiant, Reunion, and now this book. While there are other books in the actual Stargazer series, those three tell you everything you need to know to enjoy some mostly complete character arcs.
Along for the ride to Romulan space with Picard are his former security officer turned trader, Pug Joseph, and the only other doctor with experience of the Kevrata plague, Carter Greyhorse, the former Stargazer doctor serving a lengthy sentence at a Federation penal colony for attempting to murder Picard during Reunion.
The reappearance of Joseph and Greyhorse is welcome, giving us an update on their lives. But they also do not amount to all that much; both are very much supporting players, and the implications of Greyhorse’s crimes are not explored in considerable detail. And both characters just disappear at the end of the book, without much closure for either on what comes next.
The novel is a quick easy read, but if there’s one major disappointment with it, it’s that Picard and Crusher, the book’s subjects, spend next to no time actually together. On the one hand, that allows for the characters to separately and independently explore their feelings for each other, but given this book is billed as being the start of their romance, a little actual romance would have been nice.
Picard is focused on his mission to help cure the plague, and is conflicted throughout much of the novel because he cannot go hunting for Beverly until the larger crisis has been solved. Picard, once again, places duty before his personal concerns, though ultimately Crusher is not so much the damsel in distress in need of a rescue so much as a competent Starfleet officer herself who can get herself out of her own mess.
In addition to the Picard/Crusher plot lines, that culminate in Picard telling Beverly he loves her and her initially turning him down (only to later change her mind), there is also a strong Romulan subplot that runs through the novel. Indeed, the novel opens 30 years in the past at the wedding of Beverly and Jack Crusher. In what might be the most fun scene of the novel, an undercover Romulan agent is assigned to steal Picard’s DNA to lead to the creation of the Shinzon clone.
Following Shinzon’s demise, a new Praetor, Tal’aura, has risen in his place. But her hold on power is shaky, and the Kevrata plague situation plays into how the Praetor consolidates the power behind her throne. Other fun Romulan characters making an appearance in this novel include Tomalak and Commander Sela, who is assigned to be the lead Romulan on the Kevratan homeworld.
This book reminds me how deliciously fun the Romulans can be as an adversary, and how stoked I am that they’ll be one of the featured races in Star Trek: Picard. There’s still so much we don’t know about the Romulans and could learn, and so getting some Romulan characters will add a lot to our understanding of the race.
Overall, Death in Winter was the story that many fans had been waiting for; the coupling of Picard and Crusher. But given the couple spend almost no time together in the book, it can’t help but feel a little empty. However, Romulan machinations and a fun check in with Friedman’s Stargazer characters help provide enough “there” for the book to be worth a read.