Hand of God by Jason Krumbine

Hand of God by Jason Krumbine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A morse code signal is detected out in the vast depths of space in a region where no Earth vessel should belong and so the Defiance investigates and finds a mystery, a ship centuries old but very familiar. As the investigation continues the Defiance plays host to an unusual guest (call him Steve) who has incredible powers and a bit of a god complex, his intent, to warn them away from the ship for it brings catastrophe.
Hand of God continues the huge nod to Star Trek that was established in the first novel, the general situations and crew personas will be familiar to fans of the Trek franchise but are skewed enough to bring us a story that can stand by itself. The addition of Steve left me with a big smile on my face but ultimately it's the story that keeps me reading and the threat of the Unity across not only this universe but the almost infinite number is compelling and the mild humour certainly doesn't hurt to offset the big picture consequences Captain Mitchell and the crew of the USS Defiance have to deal with.

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Act of God by Jason Krumbine

Act of God by Jason Krumbine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Defiance is badly damaged, its Captain is missing (So is Steve) but in the chaos another visitor from the unimaginable realm appears (call me Sharon) but she seems a little more receptive to the needs of the crew. While the crew have to deal with the imminent failure of the ship, a sickbay full of critically wounded and an acting Captain who would want to be anywhere but here the Unity represented by Ensign Erin Calloway and Lt. Commander Keane continues to threaten life in this universe. Meanwhile Captain Mitchell has been taken on a journey of discovery and insight by Steve, to what end that has yet to be revealed but Steve certainly has an agenda and that even with Unity abound may still not be a help to life in this and other universes.
Act of God continues the story of the USS Defiance and her crew knee deep in the threat of Unity and the revelations from beings who are far in advance of life as they know it. The decision by Jason to offer up these "god" like beings who are in intellectual conflict opens up the narrative and provides a reasonable solution to a problem that was not going to be solved in any sensible way. Naturally this isn't the end of the threat just a new beginning in the grand tradition of science fiction.



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Defiance by Jason Krumbine

Defiance by Jason Krumbine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A century ago the UPA (United Planetary Alliance) were attacked by an unknown alien force which were labelled Species 4876, worlds and fleets fell to their power until the combined might of the UPA destroyed them. This is in the history books but is it what actually happened?
A century later the memory of the billions lost is just that as the UPA political structure see no threat despite knowing little of the intentions and overall goals of Species 4876 but within the fleet itself eyes are wide open and continue to search the darkness for signs of the return or their influence.
Captain Gavin Mitchell of the USS Defiance is in hot water after taking a short cut through the Veneer neutral zone during an emergency resupply mission and events at the mining colony on the world of Carlock indicate external forces are in play. Further investigations point towards the Veneer (who withdrew from the UPA a century before) and the Oxean interstellar crime syndicate but more is waiting for the crew of the Defiance to discover.
Defiance is as the author says a novel that will appeal to fans of Star Trek, the framework and characters of the story are very familiar to this long time fan of Trek but the novel is one step removed and stands by itself as a science fiction tale with some humorous elements.
I also liked the narrative structure as the events on the mission are told through the interrogation of the Captain, it would work very well in a live action television presentation. Ultimately this is a homage to Trek and that can be a good or bad thing, for me I enjoyed every reference (however slight) and that took nothing away from the story being told, look forward to the next book (Hand of God) in the series.

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