Strike Zone (novel)

Production

The story was suggested by Steve Saffel, David's publicist. The original idea involved an alien race threatening outposts on both sides of the Federation-Romulan Neutral Zone, but David discovered that this concept was used for the closing episode of the TNG first season, "The Neutral Zone. Consequently, the Romulans were replaced with the Kreel, a race created by David.

David initially wrote the novel to feature the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series, but editor Dave Stern at Pocket Books asked him to rewrite it for The Next Generation. Stern explained that Original Series books were scheduled for the following couple of years, whereas a Next Generation novel could be on sale within six months. David described the rewrite as a "heavy retooling" to make the story "flow naturally out of Next Generation characters. He consulted actress Marina Sirtis to gain insight into Deanna Troi, aiming to expand on her empathic abilities beyond what was shown on television.

Pocket Books did not view the novel as a sequel to those comics, but they were "edgy" about his inclusion of characters such as Bernie the Klingon, whom he redeveloped into a character named Kobry. The relationship between Bernie and Kobry was later considered a rumour by fandom. Strike Zone was also the first novel to feature both Guinan and Katherine Pulaski, who first appeared in the second season.

Did You Know?

• The Kreel are scavengers who plundered the destroyed colony that was Worf's childhood home.
• The Kreel find a large stash of advanced weapons hidden on a strange planet on the Kreel-Klingon border.
• The Kreel have fought with the Klingons for centuries.