The Devil's Heart

Plot summary

The USS Enterprise is diverted from a scheduled maintenance check to the remote planet Atropos to provide medical aid at an archaeological site. The crew finds the research team murdered, with only one survivor: T’Sara, an elderly Vulcan archaeologist suffering from a life-threatening degenerative neurological illness. After the Enterprise departs with T’Sara, she dies, having revealed that she discovered an artifact called the “Ko N’ya” in a pre-Logical Vulcan dialect, which was stolen by space pirates.

The Enterprise responds to a distress signal from a disabled Ferengi Marauder; an away team finds the vessel abandoned except for the Ferengi captain’s corpse clutching the artifact—a dull, rough rock. Picard takes custody of the Heart. The artifact is rumored to possess vast preternatural capabilities, but Data’s analysis yields no conclusive results.

Reception

In 1993, Vicki Reynolds of The Lincoln Star praised the novel for containing elements that make the TV series enjoyable, such as suspense, mystery, complex character interaction, ethical dilemmas, and temptation. Ann-Marie Cahill of Book Riot listed The Devil's Heart among the best Star Trek novels in 2010. In 2019, Alex Perry of Trek Core wrote that the book unlocked his mind to what Star Trek fiction could be, telling great stories on a grander scale than televised Star Trek could afford.