Q-Squared

It's deja vu all over again in this predictable entry. Star Trek fans will delight in identifying ``obscure'' references to episodes and characters from the TV series: they will cheer not only the rapacious Q from The Next Generation but also Trelane (the eponymous ``Squire of Gothos'' from The Original Series). The story involves the Enterprise crew through three alternative timelines with, of course, The Fate of the Universe hanging in the balance. David ( Imzadi ) limns a Trek-enamored multiverse in which Tasha Yar's ``bad haircut'' is as important as the massacre of Klingons at Narendra Three. The novel is fast-paced and the prose sloppy. Characters from the first two TV series appear exactly as they were: David scrupulously adds nothing to extant characterizations as he juggles several subplots and intrigues. Certain to delight the converted are appearances by Jack Crusher and all the myriad Wesleys, among others, as well as relationships between Beverly and Picard, Troi and Riker. While the pulpy action makes this is a Trek-lovers paradise, anyone else will wonder what all the fuss is about. (July)