Legacies: Book #3: Purgatory's Key by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore

Legacies: Book #3: Purgatory's Key by Dayton Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In our universe the Enterprise has to continue dealing with the Klingons and the fallout from the events on Centaurus but like their fellow writers Dayton and Kevin have given depth and levels of complexity to the Klingons which just gives the narrative so much more for the reader to embrace.
As events weave between the two universes the galaxy sits on the edge, failure for the Federation and Klingon Empire could mean Organian intervention, peace would not be the result as predatory species would fill the void and lets not forget the invasion forces that sits the other side of the mirror only a breath away. The threat has never been higher but the crew of the Enterprise and like minded individuals from the Empire and the Jatohr may bring us all back from the brink.
The final novel in the Legacies series "Purgatory's Key" was aptly named, we learn so much more about the universe that the Jatohr were attempting to escape from and it's totally understandable why they were so desperate. Of course not all of these aliens are of the same mindset which is always rewarding, the one emotion fits all for an alien race can ruin a story but we see many attitudes and by extension actions on the part of this race.
Purgatory's Key was a very satisfying conclusion to the three part series, once again writing styles gives this novel a slightly different feel than the previous two but the characters and themes ran true and while it's not all wine and roses for the civilizations and people involved we once again see that communication and cooperation when given the chance can work, granted some directed energy devices may be required to encourage all the parties involved:)
An excellent novel to wrap up a worth addition to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, delighted to be given so much Captain Una and Joanna McCoy and who knows what the future may bring.

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Legacies #2: Best Defense by David Mack

Legacies #2: Best Defense by David Mack
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Best Defence is the middle novel of the Legacies trilogy and written by David Mack. The style is subtly different to the previous book and it was interesting to compare the way the two authors wrote and made me wonder if the needs of the overall story were parceled out in terms of the strength of the writers. So without getting too spoiler heavy the mysterious artefact protected through decades by the Captains and First Officers of the Enterprise is out in the wild, the Romulans and Klingons are in play and elements outside of the Federation are eager to see Klingon/Federation talks in the shadow of the Organians utterly fail.
As the Enterprise and Captain Una continue to clean up their own mess the delegations led by Sarek and Gorkon meet to discuss a peace treaty on the planet of Centaurus, the home at this time of one Joanna McCoy. Kirk and company have their work cut out for them as delegates mysteriously vanish and agents of chaos are ready to strike. Una stranded in the alternate universe has to understand her new world and find those who have been exiled here before her not forgetting the native Jatohr who will not be too pleased to see her again. To rescue her crew and so many other including the Usilde may be impossible but one thing is for sure the Jatohr invasion forces can not be allowed to enter into our universe no matter what the cost.
Best Defense was a riveting read, more action in this second novel of the series and always a delight to see Klingons and Romulans full on and of course Gorkon and Sarek serious points plus Amanda and Joanna bonus points galore. Kudos to David in creating the alternate universe, we still have a lot to learn about the world of the Jatohr but one thing for sure, it's alien.
The first two novels of Legacies have not disappointed, the bar has been set high for Purgatory's Key.


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Legacies: Book 1: Captain to Captain by Greg Cox

Legacies: Book 1: Captain to Captain by Greg Cox
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Secret the spans the decades and holding that secret from a galaxy unprepared for the power it represents are the Captains and First Officers of the Starship Enterprise. Captain April while commanding the ship now famed in legend visits the world of Usilde and observes an alien presence that is corrupting this primitive world and it's people. Lt. Una (aka Number One) a fresh faced officer leads an away mission to gather intel and it goes terribly wrong. Captain April intervenes before the whole landing party is lost but there seems to be no room for negotiation with this alien species who are intent on subjugating the native population and terraforming the world and they seem to have the power to back up their intent. We get a potential tricky Prime Directive dilemma as Uslide is not a Federation world and the alien invaders are unknown, the choice to oppose this wanton destruction or negotiate an understanding is why some people get to don the shirt and sit at the heart of a Starship but as we see logic and reasoning can often conflict with a heart and souls desire to do anything to oppose an injustice or right a wrong.
Legacies: Book 1: Captain to Captain is the first part of a trilogy of novels each written by a different author, in this novel Greg lays the groundwork and background to the events that helped to shape Una into the character of Number One we saw on the original tv pilot. The character has been used in other novels but this trilogy could become the baseline for judging this character who we never really got to know. Greg also make full use of work by Diane Carey who described April's Enterprise in some detail, it was most satisfying to recognise many names amongst this crew. The elements of the story that centered on a much older Captain Una (commander of Yorktown) also paid off handsomely as her interaction with Spock and the mystery of her visit to Kirk's Enterprise has you on the edge, you know something is going on but at the point you are not sure what. In many ways you get lost in the events on Usilde such is the wonderful descriptive world and people Greg presents but switching back to Kirk and company makes you realise the two main aspects of the novel are feeding off each other and offering up an excellent opening to this trilogy.


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