Review: The Dark Veil (Star Trek: Picard #2), by James Swallow, 2021

The Dark Veil by James Swallow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Dark Veil (Star Trek: Picard #2), by James Swallow, 2021

Taking place after the Synth revolt on Mars Shipyard but before the Romulan Star supernova, this second installment in this series isn't a direct sequel but could have easily been a standalone novel. The book follows the adventure of the USS Titan, captained by Will Riker. Here we learn more about the secret Tal Shiar subcompartment Zhat Vash their plottings mired in paranoia and subterfuge by way of how the story's adventure unfolds.

I feel as though the point of this book is to give weight and provenance to the Zhat Vash threat, who are introduced in the television show Picard season 1. Perhaps reading this book first before watching the first season of Picard might have eased stalwart Star Trek viewers into the existence of a credible threat that underpinned the entire show. Much of what happens in the book doesn't really move Star Trek lore forward, as most things that occur are sealed in a bubble of confidentiality, never to be shared with anyone else nor put in any Starfleet reports.

Overall, the book moved at a decent pace, became engaging about a quarter of the way in, and was a fun read.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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