Star Trek Typhon Pact: Paths of Disharmony
{4.5/5} “‘So far,’ Jean-Luc replied, ‘every move the Typhon Pact has made, regardless of the ultimate goal, has been carried out with deliberation and patience. Whatever they’re doing, it’s for a reason.'”
Andor, one of the founding members of the Federation, was hit hard by the Borg and it’s facing a problem specific to their people — birth rates are too low because of shrinking periods of fertility and an imbalance between the sexes. A conference is being held to discuss the problem — Captain Picard and the Enterprise will transport delegates and help provide security for the conference. There are some people who don’t like what the scientists are proposing — using alien DNA — and they’ll do whatever they can to stop it. Right when tensions are highest the mysterious Tholians show up with a shocking message for all of Andor.
Paths of Disharmony by Dayton Ward was published in 2011. This is the fourth book in the Typhon Pact miniseries, following Rough Beasts of Empire.
The first part of the book proceeds at a slightly slower pace, as we’re following more characters around. It’s not just Jean-Luc, Beverly, Worf, and Geordi but several other characters on the Enterprise plus several Andorians. That was fine, though, as what all of the characters are doing is interesting. Federation President Nanietta Bacco and Admiral Leonard James Akaar (delivered as a baby by Leonard McCoy) also show up.
Dr. Crusher tries to help with the reproduction problem and meanwhile Picard is invited to visit a newly discovered archeological site on Andor.
Although the book is about an alien society in the 24th century, it seems like there’s a message for people of our time: “The notion of labeling groups of people in order to define the parameters of discussion and problem solving had always seemed to him little more than a fool’s errand. Ideas, so long as they were constructive and based in facts and reality rather than hysterics and the propagation of ignorance and fear, were worth exploring regardless of the presenters’ ideology.” And: “It’s so easy to be misled when you let someone else do your thinking for you.”
Paths of Disharmony is another great book, and contains the most shocking event in the 24th century Star Trek universe since the Destiny trilogy.
This book refers to events that happened in the Star Trek: Vanguard series, which I haven’t read. You don’t need to have read those books to understand what’s happening here, but you might decide to read them if you’re interested in a series that takes place in the 23rd century but with a new set of characters (Ward wrote a couple of those books).
Ward has published a fair number of Star Trek stories and novels — I’ve read some of the stories but this is the first novel of his I’ve read.