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Trying to remember a book/storyline. Possibly a StarTrek novel.

Alien bird-like with a beak 'cracks' the skull open and swallows the brain whole. Brain is incorporated into their skull, becoming dual-brained? It's not "Conspiracy" or the Bugs.

I thought that one of the brains could be suppressed with a sedative, allowing one victim to fight back. But I'm foggy after this.

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This is likely the novel Dreams of the Raven, TOS novel 34.

McCoy suddenly realises the Ravens are a species he heard of while working as a resident, described by the raving sole survivor of a shuttle crew. They ingest both the brains and bodies of living creatures, gaining the memories and the ability to mimic those they eat. Kirk realises the original report of a Klingon attack was from another controlled ship and that the Ravens have now taken over Wagner.

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    Fits the description well. Not specifically a sedative, but they use an anaesthetic at the base of the alien brain to allow the swallowed brain to regain dominance.
    – Michael
    Commented Feb 26, 2020 at 23:31
  • YES! That did it. The minute you said the name the cover popped back into my head- McCoy and some blue-slicked-bird head. YAY! Funny I couldn't find anything on google for aliens that eat brains- apparently that's NOT a common trope...
    – J.Hirsch
    Commented Feb 26, 2020 at 23:31
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    @JHirsh On the contrary, there are at least two relevant pages on TVTropes, where a quick scan finds at least one more possible Star Trek match (plus this one). It's hard to get good story matches on Google unless you target specific sites (like Goodreads) or do a lot of searching.
    – DavidW
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 3:02
  • @DavidW Hah! And Google didn't ever return that page as a hit (neither did Duck). Nice resource, I'll remember that site.
    – J.Hirsch
    Commented Feb 27, 2020 at 13:37

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