The cast of New Frontier star in this penultimate chapter in the "Double Helix" saga, along with Commander William Riker and Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise. This novel is really the conclusion to the "Double Helix" storyline, with the final book, First Virtue, serving as a kind of epilogue explaining the backstory of the person responsible for the plagues (whose identity is finally revealed in this novel) and his history with Captain Picard. Double or Nothing is quite different from the earlier "Double Helix" novels, in that it is less a medical thriller and more an action/adventure story that ends in a literally explosive conclusion. We do not see great masses of people suffering from the effects of the plague as we did in the earlier books, but the threat of its final release throughout all of the Federation worlds hangs over the action of the story.
The novel follows two parallel storylines. Admiral Nechayev recruits Captain Mackenzie Calhoun to go undercover and infiltrate a group of criminals who are believed to have stolen a powerful new piece of computer technology known as the Omega 9. Eventually it is revealed that the Omega 9 is a key component in the villain's plan to release the virus throughout the Federation. While undercover, Calhoun is surprised to meet up with Captain Picard, who has also been sent by Admiral Jellico (unbeknownst to Calhoun or Nechayev) to infiltrate the same group. Meanwhile, Commander Riker has been given a temporary field promotion to Captain and put in charge of the Excalibur while Calhoun is away. The Riker storyline is mostly played for laughs, with Commander Elizabeth Shelby furious at having been passed over (again!) for command by her old rival, and Riker generally playing the straight man to the eccentric Excalibur crew.
I liked this book okay. It's great to see Calhoun on one of his undercover missions for Nechayev, and the material with Riker aboard the Excalibur is often quite funny. Some of the exchanges between Riker and Shelby are nearly as good as those in the lauded "Best of Both Worlds" television episode. Peter David's strengths lie in characterization, and he has a lot of fun bouncing the various Excalibur crew members off of the relatively straight-laced Commander Riker. The climactic action sequence is certainly grand and exciting, but the ultimate reveal of the villain is not really that interesting after being built up over four previous books. Ultimately, I feel this is one of the weakest New Frontier books, but one of the best "Double Helix" books. I am an admitted huge fan of New Frontier and have been only mildly impressed with "Double Helix," so take that statement for what it's worth.
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