Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not immortal
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.
Rating: 
Summary: Full of wonder and mystery
Review: In this fun filled adventure Data is your guide. The characers are well thought out and the plot is very imaginative. This book is very unpredictable. I thouroughly enjoyed the portrayals of the Enterprise E crew and Lutennant Barkley. By the end of this book you will know a whole lot about Data and his "family". Only complaint I had was that I never wanted the book to end.
Rating: 
Summary: Emotions And Immortality!
Review: In this novel Jeffrey Lang presents us with the story of the origins of the android Data in more detail than ever before, and also includes a race of robots many millenia old that may not have the best interests of humans in mind, as well as other android surprises. Noonien Soong, Data's creator, is featured here, as well as the mysterious Dr. Vaslovik, and several other characters in addition to the crew of the Enterprise E. Lang, through Data, illustrates what it means to be an effectively immortal android and how Data's emotions are colored by this, this all being an impressive exploration in this area and seemingly a portent of our own real life technological future. I found this novel fun to read, being written in an easy to read, flowing style. Characters and plot were well executed, and I believe a general science fiction reader should enjoy this, as of course all Star Trek fans should also.
Rating:
Summary: Rodger Korby and other orignal series androids inspire Soong
Review: In this one we discover that the work of Korby and Flint...the guy who was almost every historical figure you can imagine...inpired Dr. Soong to create Data. Without telling you about the whole story here..just buy this book. As the other reviewers have stated here...it's one of the best. Don't let this one pass you by. It's very rare to find a writer that is on the level of Peter David, R.A. DeCandido, Michael Jan Friedman or S.D. Perry..this guy is right up there with the top trek writers.
Rating:
Summary: *Enjoyable and Intriguing Contribution to Star Trek History*
Review: Jeffrey Lang does a great job with Data and the whole Star Trek TNG crew in "Immortal Coil". This highly enjoyable novel begins with the death of Data's "mother", the unwitting android Juliana Soong, and takes the reader on an unexpected but magnificent journey through the history of sentient artificial life forms. At times, I almost felt the presence of Issac Asimov, or at least one of his robotic creations. Lang writes well, although at times fairly simply regarding grammar and syntax. Yet his style and prose do compliment the fine story lines. He interweaves the supposed main story line about the project to create a new artificial humanoid life form, into the actual main story line of the potential existance of secret sentient artificial life forms, with grace and flair. All this plus tremendous insight into and development of Data's personality. The combination of events is exceptionally well crafted and pleasing to the veteran Star Trek fan and reader. This is one of the finest Star Trek novels I have read, and potentially the best TNG novel I have seen. I want to hear more details on all the tangents the writer touched upon, but was satisfied with the way in which each portion of the plot was ended. Details were brought logically to conclusion, though more intriguing possibilities abound for the future than before this story began. I most accurately rate this book at 4.30 out of 5.00 stars, rounded down to 4.00 stars. That rating is based on the good usage of Star Trek universe history, strong character development and a great story arc. Jeffrey Lang truly understands the character of Data, and really makes this book a hit for that reason. I could not put this book down once I started; I kept thinking about what would happen next. Highly recommended for all Trek fans.
Rating:
Summary: *Enjoyable and Intriguing Contribution to Star Trek History*
Review: Jeffrey Lang does a great job with Data and the whole Star Trek TNG crew in "Immortal Coil". This highly enjoyable novel begins with the death of Data's "mother", the unwitting android Juliana Soong, and takes the reader on an unexpected but magnificent journey through the history of sentient artificial life forms. At times, I almost felt the presence of Issac Asimov, or at least one of his robotic creations. Lang writes well, although at times fairly simply regarding grammar and syntax. Yet his style and prose do compliment the fine story lines. He interweaves the supposed main story line about the project to create a new artificial humanoid life form, into the actual main story line of the potential existance of secret sentient artificial life forms, with grace and flair. All this plus tremendous insight into and development of Data's personality. The combination of events is exceptionally well crafted and pleasing to the veteran Star Trek fan and reader. This is one of the finest Star Trek novels I have read, and potentially the best TNG novel I have seen. I want to hear more details on all the tangents the writer touched upon, but was satisfied with the way in which each portion of the plot was ended. Details were brought logically to conclusion, though more intriguing possibilities abound for the future than before this story began. I most accurately rate this book at 4.30 out of 5.00 stars, rounded down to 4.00 stars. That rating is based on the good usage of Star Trek universe history, strong character development and a great story arc. Jeffrey Lang truly understands the character of Data, and really makes this book a hit for that reason. I could not put this book down once I started; I kept thinking about what would happen next. Highly recommended for all Trek fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Overrated
Review: Many die hard Trek book fans loved this book. Well, I think you need to be a die hard fan to love it. While I enjoy references to past episodes in Trek books, I felt I was often missing half of the story by not being intimatly familiar with every episode from the different Trek series referenced here. Further, some stilted writing, gob-smaking stupid plot sequences, and some rather poor proof-reading took away from the enjoyment value of this book.
Rating:
Summary: A book written with the Trekkie in mind
Review: My favorite of all Star Treks Series is by far TNG (The Next Generation). As a pretty avid fan of TNG I have seen probably 90% of the shows, most a few times. I love the show, and movies that have been made about Star Trek and this book is just an extension of that quality i've enjoyed over the years. The book itself, reads really quickly at 330 pages. I read it in 2 days, and i'm not a very fast reader, i just couldn't put the book down. The story is very unique, and as always with Star Trek, very interesting. The characters, and the emphasis in this story on Data's history, are quite believable. The story, after having read it, reminds me more of a Star Trek movie, than just an episode. The only down side to the story that i can think of was that it was purely about Data. The references made in the book (to previous episodes and movies) are what make this really a book written with the true Trekkie in mind. I would reccomend this book to anyone with an interest in TNG.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best Star Trek mystery ever
Review: Science fiction mysteries are difficult to pull off well. Given the difficulty of science fiction in general to effectively mix science fiction worldbuilding with the conventions of the mystery thriller, one would expect (and find) that Star Trek's own track record with mysteries is dismal. "A Matter of Perspective"? Disappointing. "Suspicions"? Dreadful. "Ex Post Facto"? A laughingly bad homage to 1940s hard-boiled detective films. "A Man Alone"? The less said the better. Star Trek and murder mystery don't mix. In the wrong hands, even in the right hands, mixing Star Trek and mystery could easily be a recipe for disaster. On a distant scientific outpost one man is murdered, another is brutally beaten, and the culmination of their lives' work is destroyed. In the wreckage of their laboratory one of the victims scrawled a name in his own blood, the name of a person hundreds of light-years distant. Who attacked the laboratory? Why was one of the Federation's leading roboticists killed? Why was his partner left for dead? Why was the project destroyed? And why was the name "Data" found written in blood? From that premise Jeffrey Lang's Immortal Coil stakes its ground early on as a mystery and allows the story to unfold from there. Immortal Coil succeeds admirably, telling a compelling mystery mixed with a healthy dose of character exploration. Quite possibly, this is the definitive Data story. Comparisons to Asimov's Lije Baley/Daneel Olivaw novels come easily. In both cases we have a human detective (Lije Baley/Enterprise-E security chief Rhea McAdams) paired with a robotic companion (R. Daneel Olivaw/Data) to track down the murderer and solve the crime. Both explore how robotics and artificial intelligence have affected their respective universes. But where Asimov explores the sociological implications of human/robotic interactions and their influence on future human development, Jeffrey Lang delves into the secret history of artificial intelligence in the Star Trek universe. That exploration of artificial intelligence makes Immortal Coil the perfect venue for exploring Data's character. In the past, Data stories have tended not to dwell upon the ideas and implications inherent in what being an artificial being means. Data might in the course of the story learn something of where he came from and his developmental potential, but it never seems to matter--becoming human in Jean Lorrah's Metamorphosis prompted an "imaginary story" for Data, while installing the emotion chip in Star Trek: Generations had no lasting effects on his personality by the time Star Trek: Insurrection was released. Of all the Star Trek characters, Data is perhaps the most alien because he's the least human. Odo and the Doctor, while plainly not human, also recognize their non-human natures. Odo appears outwardly human because he wants to, but he also knows that he can be so much more. The Doctor also appears human, but he is limited by his semblance of intelligence and independence. But Odo can compare himself to the other Founders, and the Doctor is but one of many holograms that have grown beyond their original programming. Data, on the other hand, is alone in the universe. No one else knows what it means to be Data because there are no other Datas. Data has no frame of reference against which he can measure his development. Surrounded by humans, raised by humans, Data can only measure himself against them, but it's not a fair comparison. Data might look human, Data might have human emotions with his emotion chip, but Data isn't human. His actions are not human actions, his thoughts are not human thoughts, his reactions are not human reactions. Data exists as something else entirely. What that something else is, however, stands as the central question of Data's character, and a good Data story should, I think, explore the essential nature of Data's alienness. Immortal Coil succeeds here by using the trappings of the mystery story to propel Data into an exploration of his own origins and the artificial precedents that came before him. No other character, save perhaps Jean-Luc Picard, could explore the history of artificial intelligence, but even then Picard's interest would only be in the abstract sense, while for Data the exploration goes to the very root of his existence. Most impressive in Immortal Coil are the quiet moments. A conversation Data and Picard have about mortality and losing those closest to them. A middle-of-the-night call Data makes to Geordi asking for advice on when to call a woman after a date. The development and deepening of the relationship between Rhea and Data. Little moments don't make a novel, but they do humanize the characters. There is something in Immortal Coil for every Star Trek fan, of every series. From an exploration of the Doctor's holographic technology to the fate of some of the artificial intelligences James Kirk encountered in the 23rd-century, Jeffrey Lang ties together disparate threads of Star Trek history into a cohesive whole and spins a strong story. Above all, Immortal Coil was a book that demanded to be read and difficult to put down. I kept turning the pages because I wanted to know what happened next, what revelation would be made, what plot twist was coming. I was especially pleased with the novel's sheer accessibility; this novel could be read by someone completely unfamiliar with Star Trek and still be understood and appreciated. The book starts strong and never lets go, building a solid mystery and running with the implications as matters develop. For every naysayer who says that singleton Star Trek novels no longer have a place in today's market, they should read Immortal Coil for an example of an epic story that doesn't require six books and an uninspired hardcover to tell the tale. Immortal Coil is one of the best Star Trek books in recent memory, and looking at 2002's schedule, I can't imagine that more than a handful of Trek novels will compare.
Rating:
Summary: AT LONG LAST
Review: Sit back and prepare to read one of the best Trek stories to come along in a VERY VERY LONG TIME. It is sad to say but this "paperback" is one of the best Trek stories to come out in either Hardcover or Paperback. Many thanks to Mr. Lang for a standard that should be lived up to. The "Star Trek" reader (no matter the series) is entitled to this kind of entertainment and quality.
| 
