Recovery by J.M. Dillard

Recovery by J.M. Dillard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recovery by J.M. Dillard is the fourth and final novel in The Lost Years Saga. The novel is still set in the period before the launch of the Enterprise 1701-A and Kirk is finally coming to the end of his tether in regards to being a desk bound Admiral but before he can lay down his ultimatum to Admiral Nogura he is given the assignment to oversee the final trial/simulation of the USS Recovery a fully automated rescue ship capable of beaming ships and buildings intact and providing state of the art medical care all in a high warp capable and armed vessel. Admiral Kirk himself was fairly negative towards the concept when it originally crossed his desk but his recommendations have been taken by the designers and the ship is ready.
McCoy a civilian and still estranged from Kirk and Starfleet is approached to be an observer onboard Recovery during the simulation and is delighted to see the ship in action, he is impressed with the level of medical technology onboard. The mission for Recovery is to "rescue" the facility on Zotos 4 which includes all personnel and the structures themselves and the Klingons, Tholians and Romulans have been invited to observe as this area of space is in some minor dispute. The USS Starhawk and USS Paladin are going along to provide the "conflict" part of the trial for Recovery but after Kirk throws some curveballs at the ship to really push her programming things begin to break down as she targets all ships as enemies and fires on the two Starfleet ships and invited warships. The Recovery then warps towards the Tholian area of space with the heavily damaged USS Paladin with Admiral Kirk on board in pursuit and McCoy wishing he had stayed at home.
Recovery was an excellent Star Trek story, yes it benefits greatly from the three novels that went before it in setting up the conditions which provide the impetus for Kirk and to a lesser extent Riley, McCoy and even Spock. The description of the Recovery was impressive and the crews of Starhawk and Paladin were fleshed well enough to be invested in them without taking anything away from the core story which is obviously Kirk and the "rush" he gets when being the center of events although at a high cost. We got some interesting interactions between Starfleet and the visiting Empire Starships and Captains which never dropped into the old tried and trusted tropes but kept the reader wondering what agenda any of them had beyond just keeping an eye on Starfleet. Recovery was a great novel, I enjoyed it immensely with it's mix of character interaction and action both onboard the ship and in space and not just the events which focused on Kirk. The novel would stand by itself if required but there is a little more to be had if you are familiar with the other three novels in the series all of which are entertaining.

View all my reviews

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier by J.M. Dillard

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier by J.M. Dillard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ok then the movie is generally regarded as one of the failures of the Star Trek franchise but I don't hate it and there are some truly wonderful character moments in the story. This novelisation as you would expect gives us everything that is good about STV but adds so much more garnish to the story that you come away wondering what the studio were doing when setting the budget which limited to what they could do on screen.
The background to Sybok as a child and how the events with his mother shaped him gave us so much more to work with and in turn added greatly to the Spock narrative later in the story. The extended storylines for the Klingons and the Ambassadors also contributed greatly to the enjoyment of the story. Novelisations at their best add to the movie and no doubt at all what we get from Jeanne should make even a STV hater sit up and take notice of perhaps what should have been even without the rock monsters.
A highly recommended novel in it's own right and an excellent example of a novelisation.

View all my reviews

The Lost Years by J.M. Dillard

The Lost Years by J.M. Dillard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So what did happen in the year or so after the Enterprise returned after her first five year mission, much has been speculated in fan fiction but in The Lost Years we get as close to cannon as you can in novel form. Kirk is adamant he will not accept a promotion to the Admiralty and most of the core crew expect to serve with him once again. It comes as a surprise when Kirk is convinced to hold flag rank and Spock and McCoy do not take it well as revealed in the novel.
The core narrative focuses initial on the comings and goings of the crew and then concentrates on the three main characters of Kirk, Spock and McCoy who have gone their separate ways but events conspire to bring them back together albeit not in a joyful way. We know from the The Motion Picture that the three are estranged when the Enterprise refit is nearly complete and the novel certainly fills in all the gaps to explain that disturbing situation.
I'm not going to go into specifics but all three main character arcs worked very well and the encompassing narrative centered on Vulcan was perfect, no other world really would have been able to set in motion the events that would drive our classic trifecta.
The Lost Years gave us some interesting twists, humour and tragedy while staying true to the characters we know and love and still delivered on the promise of the era when the crew were deprived of the all encompassing safety that was their home away from home, Enterprise.

View all my reviews

Bloodthirst by J.M. Dillard

Bloodthirst by J.M. Dillard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A distress call from an uninhabited world is received by the Enterprise, on arrival they discover a secret bio lab with Starfleet level security and equipment, of the three people only one survives and he claims the other two were a murder/suicide. Investigation indicates that the lab could have been involved in bio-warfare research which is illegal within the Federation but then the Enterprise is ordered to abandon the investigation and ordered to deliver the survivor to Starfleet, an unusual request. Kirk slowly realises that there is a lot more to the lab on Tanis than he is being allowed to know and a conspiracy could exist at the highest level of Starfleet but who can he trust..
Right there you go, for the in and outs of the story and the mystery you are going to have to read the novel which is an interesting spin on the "horror" theme within a franchise not really known for such a thing. As in many cases the story makes good use of characters first seen in other novels which for me really is a good thing and the author provides depth and complexity to their interactions, you never feel short changed as people weave in and out of the plot.
Well worth a read and if want something a little different then this would be it.

View all my reviews

Demons by J.M. Dillard

Demons by J.M. Dillard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Long before the Federation was born or humanity even hoped for the Stars the population of the Hydrilla sector were wiped out and an extensive study by a Vulcan led expedition is unable to explain why. There were however some strange deaths within the expedition and upon their return the relatives of Sarek pay him a visit with a gift found when excavating the ruins of the civilization. Meanwhile the Enterprise is returning the last of the expedition to Vulcan when there is a brutal murder, the pattern is repeated again and again even on Vulcan, slowly a madness spreads consuming rational and intelligent beings turning them into sadistic killers...
Demons was a good read, I always enjoy stories that center on the Vulcan culture and to see part of Spock's extended family was interesting. You'll also recognize the well used scifi theme of alien possession and it's done in a clever way in the novel and never gets absurd. What adds a lot of depth is the writing for the secondary characters which is very strong and allows the main group not to be the focus of the novel, in many ways it's the Vulcans and Enterprise security personnel who make the story shine rather than Kirk and Co.

View all my reviews

Mindshadow by J.M. Dillard

Mindshadow by J.M. Dillard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Enterprise comes to the aid of the planet Aritani and it's people who have turned their back on technology and love a more pastoral life. Raiders have been destroying crops and slaughtering people yet taking nothing, scans indicate vast mineral deposits which could be the motive for the attacks. Spock receives extensive brain injuries after going on a late night recon and has to return to Vulcan and even when planetary shields are created to prevent cloaked ships from entering the atmosphere the attacks continue...
Mindshadow wasn't a bad story at all, while the book is essentially a Spock story it also explores the moral and ethical dilemma of interfering with a culture and the complications of the existing dynamic and the value of said planet. We got some good McCoy in the novel as well and it's not the first time the Doctor has been smitten by a younger woman and Scotty gets some good coverage as well, I also liked Lieutenant Ingrit Tomson the security chief who goes on to appear in other novels.

View all my reviews