Star Trek: The Next Generation Books Books in Order

Jean Lorrah wrote two Star Trek: The Next Generation novels, both from the franchise's early tie-in era. They are built around the Enterprise-D crew, but their strongest focus is personal. Rather than treating the cast as interchangeable action figures, Lorrah looks closely at what Tasha Yar and Data carry with them into a crisis.

The books work as standalone Trek adventures. They do not require a long reading project.

In Survivors, the Enterprise answers a call from Treva, a remote human colony trying to navigate a dangerous political upheaval. Tasha Yar becomes central to the mission because the situation brings her close to the kind of violence and instability she survived before joining Starfleet. Data joins her in the field, and the novel gives their friendship real weight while keeping the colony's future in doubt.

Metamorphosis takes a different route. Strange disturbances near Elysia pull the Enterprise into a mystery, and Data becomes involved in a quest that offers a chance at the one thing he has always wanted, humanity. The book turns that wish into a problem rather than a simple reward. If Data becomes physically human, what happens to his sense of self, his loyalties, and his ability to help the people who depend on him?

That is the common ground between these novels. Both use science fiction premises to put a character's identity under pressure. Tasha has to decide how much of her past should control her present. Data has to learn whether becoming human is the same thing as understanding humanity. Picard, Riker, Crusher, and the rest of the crew remain involved, but the stories belong most fully to those two officers.

These books reflect an earlier version of The Next Generation, before later episodes had fully defined every character and corner of the setting. Readers who enjoy that period can treat them as alternate missing adventures. They are especially good choices if you wanted more page time for Tasha Yar, or if Data's wish to be human was one of the questions that kept you watching.

Start with Survivors, then read Metamorphosis. The first establishes several character connections that make the second feel warmer, even though each novel tells a complete story.