Rating: 
Summary: Recommended
Review: I have been reading every Star Trek books I can get my hands on.This particular one is one of the best I have ever read. It was the last 2 pages of the story that raise the rating from 4 stars to 5. The author need not penned the last two pages but it is precisely these last 2 pages that bring a tear to my eye. I have a particular fondness for Data and his evolution. I too have wondered why there only one android whereas there were many encounters of androids in the Star Trek world. The story woved a thread connecting many aspects of STTOS and STTNG and the creator of Data including Flint. After reading the story, somehow it seems logical, but why didn't I think of it? If you like Data and would like some background on androids appearing throughout Star Trek time and space, check this book out.
Rating: 
Summary: A strong Data book
Review: I like Data, and this book took a nice twist on him and explored all artificial life forms in the Star Trek universe, which was a nice surprise.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book overall
Review: I read this one a while ago, and would have to say that it's a great trek novel. I'm a fan of tng, and was unsure of a few tos things, but you figured it all out in the end like you should. I really liked the flashbacks to Dr.Soong. They were like another short story going on at the same time.
This book was written for Star Trek fans, and it might be a little more confusing if you're not.
Rating:
Summary: And I thought I loved Data before this book!
Review: I second all the previous reviewers who recommended brushing up on your TOS facts before reading this book. If you're not an avid TOS fan, some parts will elude you. I found myself looking a few things up. That being said, I loved this book. Data's unique take on humanity never fails to humble me. The same is true of this novel. For being a far superior artificial life form, Data is an amazingly gentle and endearing individual. Lang did a beautiful job of capturing that here. He also portrayed Data's unique mixture of innocence and vast intelligence. He truly did the character justice. Actually, he did a wonderful job with all the characters. In addition to the wonderful characterizations, the story was full of twists and turns that kept me guessing. It was a mystery of the most intriguing kind. A wonderful book, and a must have for any Data fan.
Rating:
Summary: Among the Best!
Review: I've enjoyed reading Star Trek novels for years and I've read a lot of them. This one is among the best that I have ever read! Jeffrey Lang has done an excellent job of pulling together some obsure characters from earlier Star Trek series and putting them in a very plausible story line. I kept getting new surprises right on up to the end. I'll be looking for more from this author. If you are looking for a Star Trek story with a fresh plot try this one!
Rating:
Summary: Among the Best!
Review: I've enjoyed reading Star Trek novels for years and I've read a lot of them. This one is among the best that I have ever read! Jeffrey Lang has done an excellent job of pulling together some obsure characters from earlier Star Trek series and putting them in a very plausible story line. I kept getting new surprises right on up to the end. I'll be looking for more from this author. If you are looking for a Star Trek story with a fresh plot try this one!
Rating:
Summary: Immortality Reborn
Review: Immortal Coil brings the reader back to the days of good original Star Trek paperbacks. For the longest time if you wanted to read a decent S.T. novel you would have to read the newest HC. Immortal Coil breaks the STTNG string of unimaginative and superficial STTNG paperback books which have been the basis of all the publishing over the past 10 years. The story is well plotted. And other than a couple of minor quibles about some minor things done in the book. There are no big gapeing plot holes that tend to riddle the entire ST book line.
Rating:
Summary: Artificial life takes over...
Review: Immortal Coil is a Star Trek: The Next Generation novel about the android officer Data. It ties together almost every episode of Star Trek (both the original series and the Next Generation) that has to do with androids and artificial intelligence. It's a well-written book that drags in the middle and has a bit too much Star Trek continuity for my taste. It's definitely worth the time and cost of reading it, though. I'd heard wonderful things about this book, so when I saw it at the library, I snapped it up. Data's always been one of the more interesting characters on Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG). Quite a few books have been written about him, but this is the first one to take place during the times of the TNG movies, thus Data has his emotion chip. This opens up many avenues for writers to explore. Lang does a good job here. All of the characters are definitely within the characters that fans know. Riker is his usual lecherous self (he's extremely attracted to the new security chief), Troi gets some time as the counselor on the ship, trying to help Data navigate the rocky shores of his new emotions as they deal with grief, the first time he's had to do that. Not only that, though, she gets some time as commander on the bridge during battle, testing her tactical abilities in a situation that we really haven't seen her in before. These are just two examples, but all of the other main characters certainly shine in their scenes as well. But the star of the show is Data, and Lang is wonderful with him. He's completely torn between turning off his emotion chip because he can't deal with what it's giving him, and working his way through his grief like most humans do. He also finds himself falling in love for the first time, making hunches where he usually deals only with facts, and generally not acting like the Data we're used to. He's maturing and growing, doing things that he's not used to, and it's wonderful to see. His relationship with McAdams is very touching, and even more so when he finds out her secret. The original characters created by Lang are good as well. McAdams is a real treasure, with a wonderful sense of humour as well as sense of duty. Some of the tale is told in flashback, showing an expedition with Dr. Soong, Dr. Ira Graves, and Dr. Vaslovik. These three characters are interesting people, and the reader doesn't miss the Enterprise characters during the flashback sections at all. They are all well-realized, intriguing characters that you want to know more about. The only character that isn't that great is Sam, as he seems completely uninteresting when you first meet him, and doesn't gain that much when you find out why he's really around. He seems to be around just to play a role, rather than to make you care about him. The plot of the book is very good, with twists and turns that keep you guessing. When the truth is finally revealed, it all falls into place with no holes that I could see. There are a couple of moments when I groaned at a bit of plot contrivance, such as how Riker and Barclay are saved from almost certain death. However, these moments are few and far between, and most of them can be easily explained so it's not as cringe-worthy as they seem when they happen. The story holds your attention during the investigation, and then explodes with tension as events start to overtake it. One problem, though, is that this tension dissipates when things start to get explained. Picard is told some of the history behind what happened, and Data lives some of it in a form of consciousness transference. This grinds the book to a halt as a large part of the backstory is told in excruciating detail. I don't know exactly how Lang could get around it, but it truly suffers from the "show, don't tell" philosophy. There is way too much telling in during this sequence, and it becomes boring pretty fast. Thankfully, once this part is over, the story picks up the pace again and races to a very satisfying finish. The ending, where Data and his new love have to part is very touching (and this is not a spoiler, because there is no way that Paramount, the owners of Star Trek, would ever allow something like a permanent love interest for one of the main characters to be established in the books, so you know that things have to end). The other main problem with Immortal Coil, and I admit that this is a personal thing, so may not affect you at all, is the excessive amount of Star Trek continuity in this one. Some of it is very necessary for the story that Lang wants to tell, but other references come at the expense of the story. Sometimes, the reference has to be explained, which causes the story to stop as Lang explains it. Others just make the reader stop for a moment, interrupting the flow of the story. As I mentioned, every artificial intelligence episode of Star Trek is incorporated in some point in this story, and at times it's to the detriment of the story. It's nice to have some sort of over-arching narrative linking all of these stories, but I think Lang could have left one or two out, and instead present something new. Given all of this, though, Lang does a decent job with what he is given. Overall, I would have to recommend this book. The slow middle part and the overuse of continuity is what brings my rating down to four stars. However, if you like continuity, this could easily be a 4.5 star book. It is a fine example of a Star Trek novel, and is certainly worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: Artificial life takes over...
Review: Immortal Coil is a Star Trek: The Next Generation novel about the android officer Data. It ties together almost every episode of Star Trek (both the original series and the Next Generation) that has to do with androids and artificial intelligence. It's a well-written book that drags in the middle and has a bit too much Star Trek continuity for my taste. It's definitely worth the time and cost of reading it, though. I'd heard wonderful things about this book, so when I saw it at the library, I snapped it up. Data's always been one of the more interesting characters on Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG). Quite a few books have been written about him, but this is the first one to take place during the times of the TNG movies, thus Data has his emotion chip. This opens up many avenues for writers to explore. Lang does a good job here. All of the characters are definitely within the characters that fans know. Riker is his usual lecherous self (he's extremely attracted to the new security chief), Troi gets some time as the counselor on the ship, trying to help Data navigate the rocky shores of his new emotions as they deal with grief, the first time he's had to do that. Not only that, though, she gets some time as commander on the bridge during battle, testing her tactical abilities in a situation that we really haven't seen her in before. These are just two examples, but all of the other main characters certainly shine in their scenes as well. But the star of the show is Data, and Lang is wonderful with him. He's completely torn between turning off his emotion chip because he can't deal with what it's giving him, and working his way through his grief like most humans do. He also finds himself falling in love for the first time, making hunches where he usually deals only with facts, and generally not acting like the Data we're used to. He's maturing and growing, doing things that he's not used to, and it's wonderful to see. His relationship with McAdams is very touching, and even more so when he finds out her secret. The original characters created by Lang are good as well. McAdams is a real treasure, with a wonderful sense of humour as well as sense of duty. Some of the tale is told in flashback, showing an expedition with Dr. Soong, Dr. Ira Graves, and Dr. Vaslovik. These three characters are interesting people, and the reader doesn't miss the Enterprise characters during the flashback sections at all. They are all well-realized, intriguing characters that you want to know more about. The only character that isn't that great is Sam, as he seems completely uninteresting when you first meet him, and doesn't gain that much when you find out why he's really around. He seems to be around just to play a role, rather than to make you care about him. The plot of the book is very good, with twists and turns that keep you guessing. When the truth is finally revealed, it all falls into place with no holes that I could see. There are a couple of moments when I groaned at a bit of plot contrivance, such as how Riker and Barclay are saved from almost certain death. However, these moments are few and far between, and most of them can be easily explained so it's not as cringe-worthy as they seem when they happen. The story holds your attention during the investigation, and then explodes with tension as events start to overtake it. One problem, though, is that this tension dissipates when things start to get explained. Picard is told some of the history behind what happened, and Data lives some of it in a form of consciousness transference. This grinds the book to a halt as a large part of the backstory is told in excruciating detail. I don't know exactly how Lang could get around it, but it truly suffers from the "show, don't tell" philosophy. There is way too much telling in during this sequence, and it becomes boring pretty fast. Thankfully, once this part is over, the story picks up the pace again and races to a very satisfying finish. The ending, where Data and his new love have to part is very touching (and this is not a spoiler, because there is no way that Paramount, the owners of Star Trek, would ever allow something like a permanent love interest for one of the main characters to be established in the books, so you know that things have to end). The other main problem with Immortal Coil, and I admit that this is a personal thing, so may not affect you at all, is the excessive amount of Star Trek continuity in this one. Some of it is very necessary for the story that Lang wants to tell, but other references come at the expense of the story. Sometimes, the reference has to be explained, which causes the story to stop as Lang explains it. Others just make the reader stop for a moment, interrupting the flow of the story. As I mentioned, every artificial intelligence episode of Star Trek is incorporated in some point in this story, and at times it's to the detriment of the story. It's nice to have some sort of over-arching narrative linking all of these stories, but I think Lang could have left one or two out, and instead present something new. Given all of this, though, Lang does a decent job with what he is given. Overall, I would have to recommend this book. The slow middle part and the overuse of continuity is what brings my rating down to four stars. However, if you like continuity, this could easily be a 4.5 star book. It is a fine example of a Star Trek novel, and is certainly worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: The one of the best Trek books!
Review: Immortal Coil is, ostensibly, about Data coming to grips with his own immortality. Barring catastrophe (or blowing himself up on a Romulan warbird), Data will outlive all those close to him, a prospect the emotion-chipped Data worries over. Such is the theme that should pervade the book, but all it receives is the occasional lip-service. Instead, we are given a plot that ties in threads from several TOS episodes, including the infamous Roger Korby. There is even a cameo by "Norman" of Harcourt Fenton Mudd fame. The attempt to draw all the TOS androids into the TNG "Data Is Unique" universe is well-done and should be satisfying to all Trek fans. Non Trek fans, however, will probably be left cold (but then why would a non-Trek fan be reading this, anyway?). Perhaps the biggest plus to Immortal Coil is a chance to see Data struggling with his emotions and identity, something we only get to see in First Contact (Immortal Coil takes place sometime after First Contact). That alone makes this one worth the time of any Trek fan, but there's nothing here to appeal to the general public. Ultimately, it's standard Trek fare.
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