Sarek by A.C. Crispin

Sarek by A.C. Crispin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When you write a novel with Sarek as your central character and have some pretty cataclysmic events take place you really need to get things right and Ann certainly did with this novel which looks at the events post Khitomer and a rising tide of anti-Vulcan sentiment on Earth. Against this background we have the abduction of Peter Kirk who is currently attending the Academy and Sarek who has finally proven to himself that his suspicions about the very secretive world of Freelan are correct. With the very existence of the Federation hanging in the balance Sarek seeks to find allies but a family crisis and ongoing renegade Klingon raids split his attention. It seems all out war with the Empire could still come to pass despite the cooling of relations with the Federations pledge to assist Chancellor Azetbur but there are those who would welcome the conflict confident they could exploit the chaos in its wake regardless of who emerges victorious.
Sarek is a very good read, Ann presents the reader with a lot of insight into the character and his interactions with his own people, the Federation officials, family and of course those within Starfleet. We see him struggle (well maybe not struggle in the human sense) with duty and obligation conflicting with family requirements but also just how powerful this being really is. It is no doubt the Federation and this part of the galaxy would be vastly different with the influence of Sarek of Vulcan and those he taught and mentored throughout the years.
I would highly recommend the novel to anyone with even the slightest interest in anything Vulcan and particularly Spock's family and/or events after The Undiscovered Country, dealing with the Klingons was never going to be straight forward after the loss of Gorkon but we see honour and integrity is never a spent currency even deep into the darkest corners of the galaxy.


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Time for Yesterday by A.C. Crispin

Time for Yesterday by A.C. Crispin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this book, easily a five star novel and improves on every aspect of Ann's first tale about Zar.
Throughout the galaxy stars are dying long before their time, the cause is traced back to Gateway the world where the Guardian of Forever exists. Thanks to their success with dealing with this time portal the crew of the Enterprise are sent to find out why time waves emanating from this world are tearing the fabric of space apart. On the long dead world they discover the portal is unresponsive but telepathic contact is made and basic operating functions are restored which allows Kirk, Spock and McCoy to venture back into Sarpeidon's past and to find Spock's son Zar who they believe will have the mental shielding and power to contact the guardian safely having done so previously.
Time For Yesterday is the direct sequel to Yesterday's Son and we get a far more complex and entertaining story with Zar no longer the unsure young man but a leader of his people. We get the best of original series character interaction combined within a medieval background scenario in terms of technology, politics and combat. The description of Sarpeidon 5000 years ago is painstakingly beautiful, it was so very easy to picture the city state of New Araen and all the associated elements of the period thanks to it mirroring our own. We also get some wonderful dialogue between the classic trifecta but also between Spock and Zar who are no longer estranged and there is also a wide and encompassing support group of characters. Ann provides some great action, humour and drama which makes the most of the possibility of time travel to allow some out of the box plot points to work and are both satisfying and entertaining.
I can not recommend this novel highly enough.

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Yesterday's Son by A.C. Crispin

Yesterday's Son by A.C. Crispin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yesterday's Son is a great read although I have to admit the 5 star rating has a lot to do with the books sequel but any author that chooses to expand upon an original series episode and do it well deserves all the praise I can give.
So we learn that Spock and McCoy's visit to Sarpeidon and their transport thousands of years into its past had significant consequences thanks to evidence found in the archived cultural data. We then get another well known TOS element put to use to address the issue and Ann throws in culture and family clashes, Romulans, tragedy and noble sacrifice which is a heady mixture for her first published novel. Of course the author still has to weave all these elements together and Ann does a great job but this novel is lacking the complexity of her later work but I enjoy it so much I can't bring myself to drop a star:)


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