Encounter at Farpoint (novel)

At last – the all-new adventure begins!
The novelization of "Encounter at Farpoint" is an adaptation of , credited to David Gerrold. A Pocket TNG novel published by Pocket Books, it was first released in .
== Summary ==
;From the book jacket
:Captain's log, stardate 41254.7. The is en route to Cygnus IV – the edge of the the known galaxy. There, we will rendezvous with the ship's new first officer and the other command personnel and proceed with our mission: discover the truth about Farpoint Station, a starbase facility built by the inhabitants of Cygnus IV, a starbase of unparalleled size and complexity… and infinite mystery.
:And the success or failure of this, our first mission together, may well determine the course of Human exploration across the galaxy for centuries to come…
 
== Background information ==
* The story was based on the script by D.C. Fontana and Gene Roddenberry.
* In an interview featured in the 2021 documentary series The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek, Gerrold revealed that the novel was actually written by D.C. Fontana. According to the documentary and Gerrold, Fontana had been commissioned to adapt her script for the episode, only for Gerrold to be given the assignment after she'd completed the work. In his interview, Gerrold said he had Fontana's novel published under his name, but gave her the money.
* Some of the concepts and backstory introduced in the book were later contradicted by episodes later in the series.
* Advance publicity listings for this publication jokingly gave the as-yet-unannounced author the pseudonym "Godonly Nose".
=== Cover gallery ===
File:Encounter at Farpoint novelization cover, first edition.jpg|First edition cover
File:Encounter at Farpoint novelization cover, Titan Books 1988 edition.jpg|Titan Books UK cover, 1988
File:Encounter at Farpoint novelization cover, Titan Books 1990 edition.jpg|Titan Books UK cover, 1990
== Characters ==
=== Regular and recurring characters ===
;Jean-Luc Picard : Starfleet captain, CO of . 
::Picard's age is given as 55 in this book although later canon dates suggest he is more like 59 or so.
;William T. Riker : Starfleet commander, newly assigned first officer of Enterprise-D. Riker spent three years as second officer of before spending two years as first officer of . 
::In one scene, Riker tells Wesley to call him "Bill". This is one of two novels where Riker is called Bill, the other is Ghost Ship.
;Data : Android Starfleet lieutenant commander, operations officer of the Enterprise-D. Data had previously served on three other starships, and each of his promotions had come with commendations from his commanding officers.
;Beverly Crusher : Starfleet commander, CMO of Enterprise-D.
;Worf : Klingon Starfleet lieutenant junior grade who was assigned to the Enterprise-D in the command division.
;Deanna Troi : Half-Betazoid Starfleet lieutenant commander assigned as Enterprise-D counselor.
;Geordi La Forge : VISOR-sighted Starfleet lieutenant junior grade assigned as Enterprise-D flight control officer.
;Natasha Yar : Starfleet lieutenant assigned as Enterprise-D security chief.
;Wesley Crusher : Fifteen-year-old Enterprise-D resident.
;Q
;Leonard McCoy : Admiral.
;Miles O'Brien : O'Brien's part was only referred to as "conn" in the book and episode.
=== Other characters ===
;Torres
;Zorn
;The Mandarin bailiff
;Robert DeSoto
;: Starfleet ensign.
;: Assistant CMO on Enterprise. Dr. Asenzi took Torres to sickbay.
;: Starfleet admiral.
;Joanna McCoy : Joanna also appeared in the novel Crisis on Centaurus.
;: Starfleet commander to whom La Forge and Hughes report. Riker's order for La Forge to join the away team superseded Barton's orders. 
;: Starfleet commander. 
;: 
;: 
;: 
==== Mentioned ====
;: Close personal acquaintance of Jean-Luc Picard who had perished an uncertain amount of time prior to taking command. Picard recalled it had been the last time he had seriously thought of romantic relationships.
;James T. Kirk : 23rd century Starfleet rear admiral who had begun the tradition of newly-assigned commanding officers boarding ships named Enterprise by shuttlecraft. Picard mused that many didn't remember that the tradition had been started because of a major transporter malfunction at the time.
== References ==
Bandi; ; Deneb IV; ; Farpoint Station; ; LCARS; Starfleet; ; VISOR; 
== External links ==
* 
* 
cs:Encounter at Farpoint (román)
de:Mission Farpoint (Roman)
fr:Encounter at Farpoint
Category:Novelizations