Star Trek: Burning Dreams
{4.5/5} “When, the Magistrate wondered, had they… ceased to think of the two human subjects as, well, subjects, as creatures, which was to say inferiors, and begun to think of them as co-equal? It was a puzzlement. Much of the Talosians’ certainty about what they were doing and why had been challenged by the arrival of Christopher Pike.”
Star Trek: Burning Dreams by Margaret Wander Bonanno, published in 2006
When Christopher Pike returned to Talos IV as a quadriplegic, the Talosians gave him the illusion of his old body. Vina asked him to tell her everything about his life. He lived on Elysium as a kid, and his favourite horse was named Maia. Sometimes, he dreams about his mother dying in the fire.
This novel shows us what makes Christopher Pike tick, and we also find out more about Vina and the Talosians. Number One and Spock are along for one or two adventures.
There is a framing story where Spock returns to Talos IV one more time. The conclusion of the Talos IV story is magnificent.
This is the 2nd time I’ve read it.
I’ve read 6 books by Bonanno. I previously reviewed Star Trek: The Lost Era — Catalyst of Sorrows. I also read Probe which has her name on it but was mostly written by someone else (crazy things happened in the 1990s).