CHARACTERS Ö PDF, eBook or Kindle ePUB ✓ Margaret Wander Bonanno
Before James T. Kirk, another captain stood on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise™, spearheading its mission of exploration into the uncharted reaches of the galaxy. He was a man driven to perfection, a brooding soul whose haunted eyes reflected the burden of the impossible standards he set for himself, and for whom his longtime science officer, Spock, one day would risk everything. Yet, little is truly known about the enigmatic Christopher Pike, the events that defined him...or the secrets that consumed him. From the embers of his early childhood among Earth's blossoming interstellar colonies, to the terrifying conflagration that led him back to the world of his birth; from the mentor who would ignite young Chris's desire to return to the stars, to the career he blazed in Starfleet that would end in supreme sacrifice -- the path of Pike's astonishing life leads through fire again and again. But even amid the ashes of Talos IV, the forbidden world on which he would live out the remainder of his days, the dreams smoldering still within his aging, radiation-ravaged breast fan the flames of Pike's spirit to accomplish one final task.... Burning Dreams
Oh my! I’m in the middle of writing two other book reviews but I can’t ignore a personal-take on this book. I just can’t. Ms. Wander Bonanno has succeeded in giving the legendary Captain Christopher Pike an epic tale, one that easily rivals, and in many ways surpasses the one(s) better known to Trekkies; those tales of course being Captains Kirk and Picard.
For many years Star Trek pretty much ignored Pike. It’s anyone’s guess as to why. Maybe people thought more diverse avenues needed further exploration so we had Captain Benjamin Sisko and Captain Kathryn Janeway. We even had identity-bending, early trans-exploration with Jadzia Dax and more recently, we had the somewhat tragic love of Paul Stamets and Dr. Culber.
Any expanded storylines about a white, straight man just seemed passé by comparison. That’s not to discount any of the diverse viewpoints. They too have value, but to ignore Pike was also a grave oversight.
Without Pike, there would not have been a Kirk. No Kirk also means no Sisko, Janeway, Dax, Seven-of-Nine etc.
So finally Pocket Books commissioned Ms. Bonanno to fill in some of the blanks. And here I have to point out that this book’s publication predates the recent Strange New Worlds series by nearly 18 years. I thought it best to make this clear in case some readers come to this book with the Anson Mount portrayal and plotting in mind.
Bonanno essentially begins “at the end.” As long-established in Trek canon, Pike is permanently disabled (as in Quadriplegic-level injury) during a training expedition with new Starfleet cadets. He is exposed to lethal levels of gamma radiation while rescuing and saving the lives of several of his cadets. In the original TV series episodes The Menagerie, Spock kidnaps Pike and commandeers the Enterprise to bring his former Captain to Talos IV, where 13 years earlier, Pike had been held captive by the Talosians in an attempt to pair him with a human woman named Vina. (Vina was severely injured when the spacecraft she was on, along with a group of scientists, crashed on Talos IV).
The book opens after events shown in The Menagerie, with Pike and Vina being reunited and able to live out a fuller life together with the aid of powerful illusions created by the Talosians. The first several pages are filled with details about Pike’s first reactions to “being whole” again, spending time with Vina and the two learning to love each other.
Then the novel takes a turn into new territory, recounting in detail Pike’s formative years as a boy in Mojave with a single mother and then a major adjustment when she marries a prominent scientist, Heston Prescott. Whether this was intentional on Bonanno’s part or not, “Heston” has the swagger and annoying bravado of classic Hollywood actor Charlton Heston. The only thing he lacks is a membership in the NRA and overt “pro-gun” slogans.
Although at first Heston seems to be kindly toward young Chris, the courtesy and warmth don’t last long — particularly when Heston’s plans to stabilize parts of their new colony planet’s tectonic plates goes from bad to worse. He becomes physically and verbally abusive to Chris, forces him to help out in dangerous situations, and sets up events that ultimately lead to the death of Chris’s mother in a house fire. Young Chris burns his hands in a futile but desperate attempt to save his mother. In addition, nearly all of the horses and livestock the family brought to the colony to aid with future food production and environmental aid also perish — except a gangly little colt named Tango that Star Trek fans will remember as Pike’s “vision horse” in the country picnic scene in the unaired pilot from 1965.
This event understandably marks Chris for life in a psychological manner. Even when his new adoptive father, Charlie (one of the former “hands” on the family ranch) assures Chris it was not his fault, it remains a painful wound. It also seems to be part of the origin for why Adult Pike as a Captain is so hard on himself and almost obsessive in his pursuit to make sure all goes according to plan. Bonanno cites a particular famous quote uttered by Doctor Boyce in the pilot episode, where he tells Pike: “ Chris, you set standards for yourself no one could meet. You treat everyone on board like a human being except yourself.”
Part of Pike’s drive may also stem from his stepfather’s cruel criticisms — about being lazy, a know-it-all etc. Adult Chris can’t sit still for any length of time, almost as if he still seems to think he must put in quadruple the effort to prove the accusations incorrect.
Bonanno then takes us along for a recounting of Chris’s early career in Starfleet. We see him reluctantly but firmly stage a mutiny against one of his first commanding officers, a corrupt and thuggish Captain Kamnach who almost begins a war with a newly encountered alien race. Although Pike is not censured during the Court Martial, nor his career ruined, he is unable to pursue a budding romantic relationship with a Communications officer, Hana Flowers. She tells him it’s because she could never forgive herself for not siding with him during the mutiny.
Failed romance or failed love is a recurring theme throughout Pike’s story. His proposal of marriage to a beautiful alien diplomat is even turned down just two weeks before his fateful encounter on the training ship.
If Bonanno’s narrative has any flaws, it’s the narrow focus on Vina as “the one and only.” I say this only because it forces Bonanno to malign other women characters that Pike works with or shows interest in. Cases in point include not just the aforementioned Hana, but also Yeoman Colt and Number One (both from the original pilot episode). Number One, in particular, gets an undeserved “bad rap.” She is highly intelligent, and there’s nothing wrong with that. In the pilot, she actually pulls off a great trick on the Talosians by arming a phased to self-destruct if they don’t release Pike.
In Bonanno’s book, she’s reduced to “the computer” stereotype that Vina labels her with in the pilot episode. I thought this was egregious. Of course the plot must end with Pike and Vina, but don’t trash Number One! Maybe another reason she and Pike couldn’t be a match was the potential minefields involved in a romantic liaison between a commanding officer and a subordinate? After all, this is really why Picard and Dr. Crusher never form an attachment, at least in part.
Her treatment of Yeoman Colt is even worse, at one point characterizing her as “seeming to live in a constant hormonal haze.” Ridiculous. She is sent to fill the post left by another crew member killed on a previous mission. Starfleet is very military. There is no way they would put her in such a position if she were too immature and unable to maintain a level of professionalism on the bridge.
Aside from being unfair mostly to Colt and Number One, the rest of the novel is great. Bonanno sets up Pike’s self-sacrificing quality very well, not just with his attempt to save his mother from a fire but also during a First-Contact mission where he ends up being taken prisoner by a reptilian-like race.
The ending? Perhaps just as bittersweet as The Menagerie but this time Pike and Vina, their dreams and life experiences lead to the revitalization of Talosians society itself. How many can claim that as a legacy? Science Fiction Fantasy fills in so many blanks
This is so great. Pike has intrigued us since any Trek fan first saw the menagerie. It is a fitting coda and exploration of his life and many missions . Strange New Worlds fans will adore this novel, and dare I say all of the Pike novels and comic books. Science Fiction Fantasy A touching novel that explores the life of Christopher Pike with a depth not achieved by any other work featuring this character. While some parts seem a bit on the melodramatic side of things, for the most part, Burning Dreams is a wonderfully written biography of what has become one of my favorite characters in Trek. It doesn't completely mesh with what we've come to know as canon with Pike's portrayal in Discovery, but that doesn't make it any less worth reading. Bonanno does an excellent job bringing this character to life from just one prior appearance in canon. Definitely recommended!
Full review: https://www.treklit.com/2019/06/burni... Science Fiction Fantasy Although I enjoyed getting to know the previous captain of the Starship Enterprise a bit better, some aspects fell a bit flat. The author makes a point of drawing a contrast between Pine and Kirk, yet they struck me as more similar than dissimilar: young men heavy with the burden of command, quick to action, with a love for women and horses. I suspect when Roddenberry's first pilot was canned, he recast the role but didn't rewrite the character description — hence the similarities.
The story also bounced around across multiple time periods. Originally the story is framed as a flashback of Pine's life as he relates it to Vina, shortly upon Spock returning him to Talos IV. But this device is eventually dropped, and we never see present-day Pine again — what happened to him? Even within a single chapter, it wasn't unusual to start with the end of that vignette then back up to how Pine got there — and then end with a tease of what the implications would be years later. It struck me as an inconsistent narrative.
Overall, it was a fun, pulpy action book, but not one that did much to expand my awareness or appreciation of the Star Trek universe. Science Fiction Fantasy A telepathic request to return to Talos IV causes Ambassador Spock to once more risk everything for his former Captain, Christopher Pike.
Bonanno's 'Burning Dreams' serves as a biography of the enigmatic Captain Pike, with some nice references to his past literary adventures. Science Fiction Fantasy

The Who is Christopher Pike book. Full disclosure: possible rating inflation owing to the sheer awesomeness that is Strange New Worlds and the way Anson 'The Silver Fox' Mount dominates my appreciation of the character. Longer review to follow.
Longer review for those whose attention spans have not been destroyed:
Decades ago, then-Commander Spock risked a court martial to bring his former captain, Christopher Pike, to Talos IV, in hopes that it would allow Pike to escape his body, so ruined by delta radiation. Now Spock is returning, called to Talos for reasons unknown beyond his loyalty to Pike. In Burning Dreams, Margaret Bonanno offers readers a chance to get to know the man who inspired so much loyalty and devotion from Spock and others. We meet him as a young lad on a frontier planet, grooming horses on a volcano-based homestead, and follow him through adversity and tragedy -- growing through his pain to become Starfleet's finest. Although I was predisposed to like this because Anson Mount's performance of Pike has thoroughly impressed me, Bonanno's ending added a wonderful final flourish that does real justice to the character of Pike as a whole. Although this was written a decade before Strange New Worlds was created around Anson Mount's masterful interpretation of Pike, SNW fans as well as classic Trek fans will find it a great read, as it establishes certain aspects of his background later used by other authors, and creates a version of Pike quite consistent with SNW's character.
Most of the story is framed in Pike & Vina's growing relationship upon his original return to Talos IV: now, he is a guest rather than a captive, and the two humans -- both suffering from ruined bodies, both freed from them by the Talosians' telepathic abilities -- can now begin to get to know one another, no longer distracted by Pike's need to find a way to escape the Talosians' cage. They both begin sharing their pasts, though in this narrative we're mostly hearing from Pike. We learn that his mother was an architect and his stepfather a geoengineer, making a home for themselves near the base of a volcano. Theirs was a frontier world, a colony world, peopled by a mix of Federation normies as well as neo-Luddites. One character, a horse groomer, proves to be a vital character in Pike's life after disaster befalls-- and it is he who puts Pike on the path to Starfleet. From here, we witness Pike's growth as a young officer, standing fast on principle and growing in the estimation and affection of his peers. One of the longer section involves Pike being surprised and captured by some reptilian aliens, which cements Spock's affection for him. Although my estimation of this book is partially inflated because of how much I've grown to like Pike, this was a solid story and the ending was superb. Science Fiction Fantasy Very disappointing read. It seems as though the author was playing it very safe with the material to not break with the established Trek continuity. A a result, we learn absolutely nothing about Christopher Pike. What little detail there is seems to be extremely drawn out speculation based on what we've already seen in The Menagerie/The Cage.
I understand the need to stay true to the Star Trek mythos, but sometimes you need to take chances and add to the universe. I learned nothing about one of the potentially most interesting characters in Star Trek. Science Fiction Fantasy I have read a fair amount of ST:TOS fiction and this book gave an interesting insight into Christopher Pike.
Although there is a lot of content there, I did not feel it kept my enthusiam throughout the novel. I enjoyed knowing more of the back story leading up to the events at Talos IV, but there did not seem to be enough 'action' like in some of the good Trek novels I've read.
That is why I rated this as 'ok'.
Definitely worth the read for people interested in other characters beside the original crew. Science Fiction Fantasy Burning Dreams by Margaret Wander Bonanno
Finally! Probably the best Star Trek novel I’ve read this year! And one that still works a bit with current canon! Christopher Pike has been getting a lot more love lately with Discovery and Strange New Worlds but this is probably the best piece of media so far related to him. In this book, we learn the thick and thin of his life, how he became the person he is, what his philosophy is and so on. It’s done in such a masterful way, I enjoyed it very much.
I’ve read Strangers in the Sky and I enjoyed it somewhat up until the second half of the book at least. But here, Bonanno really wrote a great book, through and through and it was constient thoughout. It was a little jarring jumping back and forth between various parts of Pike’s life, but in the end with him and Vina’s love, Talos IV lived again and that’s what made this book truly great. Without Pike, there would have been no Kirk, Picard, Sisko or Janeway. He was the OG and it was great to see him get some love here. It makes want to read more stories about him (I’ve already read the Rift by Peter David). Anyway, 8/10 book. Science Fiction Fantasy Completely apocryphal but extremely well done. As far as I'm concerned, this is the canon of Captain Christopher Pike's life. Science Fiction Fantasy