Rating: 
Summary: Rather typical
Review: _Tooth and Claw_ is a rather typical Star Trek:TNG book - it could have almost been an episode of the television show. The plot is mildly entertaining and moves along quickly. The characterization is done well enough, but there are no new insights (or maybe that is a requirement for Star Trek books). Our story starts out with the Enterprise helping out in a planetary evacuation (after whackos decide to kill the planet's sun) - this could have almost been a story on its own, but it is merely a plot device to get us to the real story. Picard must talk a "prickly" planetary leader into giving the Federation special star maps to help expedite the evacuation. In an gesture of good faith, Riker escorts the planetary leader's son to neighboring planet where he will celebrate a rite of passage on a planet with technology dampers and big, dangerous predators. Naturally, the son is a spoiled brat and everything goes awry.My biggest complaint about this book is the plot is very contrived. A lot of elements seem to be there solely for the advancement of the plot. An example of this would be the unfortunate refugees and their dying sun. The plot is also very predictable, not only can you guess the ending half way (or before), but you guess most of the story from the blurb on the back. An ok read if you have nothing else to do, but I wouldn't really reccommend it. Their are far better Star Trek books out there.
| 
