Blood and Fire By David Gerrold Discussed July 2005 Buy Blood and Fire from Amazon.com Buy Blood and Fire from Lambda Rising

Questions

1. As the Introduction and Afterword make clear, Blood and Fire was originally intended to be an episode in "Star Trek: The Next generation". Has Gerrold done a complete job of rewriting the book? In other words, do the characters and "sets" differentiate themselves from the "Star Trek" characters and "sets"?
2. Not having read the other books in the Star Wolf series, I'm a little befuddled by the Brian Armstrong character. Apparently he had a rather confusing sexual encounter/relationship with a Quilla in a previous book. At the end of this book, it looks like Brian will become a Quilla. Is this character shift truly justified by the action in this book?
3. Ostensibly, this story line is supposed to be a metaphor for the AIDS pandemic. Is it a successful exploration of this topic?
4. Is the GLBT content in the novel positive? Or, does the death of one member of the central same-sex couple spoil the benefit of their presence?
5. Would you recommend this book to a devoted Trek fan? Is this something one should read to have a complete sense of the "ST:TNG" series?
6. Did you like the book? Why or why not?