Book bits: The Light Fantastic cover, and more Seekers

Coming in July this year is, The Light Fantastic, a new TNG novel from Jeffrey Lang, which will continue the story of Data from David Mack's Cold Equations trilogy, which itself built upon Lang's previous Data novel, Immortal Coil. StarTrek.com have now released the cover, which features Data and Lal, in a 24th century/renaissance mash-up reminiscent of Immortal Coil's cover (one of the best in all Star Trek book history), which also seems to suggest an almost religious image:

Here's a reminder of the blurb:

He was perhaps the ultimate human achievement: a sentient artificial life-form—self-aware, self-determining, possessing a mind and a body far surpassing that of his makers, and imbued with the potential to evolve beyond the scope of his programming.

And then Data was destroyed.

Four years later, Data’s creator, Noonien Soong, sacrificed his life and resurrected his android son, who in turn revived the positronic brain of his own artificial daughter, Lal. Having resigned his commission, the former Starfleet officer now works to make his way on an alien world, while also coming to grips with the very human notion of wanting versus having a child.

But complicating Data’s new life is an unexpected nemesis from years ago on the U.S.S. Enterprise—the holographic master criminal Professor James Moriarty. Long believed to be imprisoned in a memory solid, Moriarty has created a siphon into the "real" world as a being of light and thought. Moriarty wants the solid form that he was once told he could never have, and seeks to manipulate Data into finding another androidbody for him to permanently inhabit . . . even if it means that is Data himself.

Returning to the story begun in the novel Immortal Coil and continuing in the bestselling Cold Equations trilogy, this is the next fascinating chapter in the artificial life of one of Star Trek’s most enduring characters.

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.it, Amazon.co.jp.

Lang has also talked about the book on his new blog recently, highlights of which I posted last week.

One more bit of books news: In his most recent round-up of his writing projects, Dayton Ward has confirmed the new Vanguard spin-off series, Seekers, will be continuing with at least two more books (contracts pending), after the first duology later this year:

I was told last month that contracts were being processed for this, our second contribution to the still-forthcoming Seekers series. Our co-conspirator, David Mack, has already drafted an outline for Book #3, and Kevin and I will begin figuring out what our book will be about later this spring. Unlike the first two books which will launch the series, books 3 and 4 will each be standalone tales “starring,” respectively, the crews of the U.S.S. Sagittarius and Endeavour. Will the two ships team up again? Probably, but we’re in no rush to do that. :)