Star Trek Goodies

You know when you are just browsing the internet and before you know it you are either knee deep in stuff you really wasn't looking for, surrounded by cat videos or reaching for the credit card to buy some really cool looking stuff. Well it was the latter and well for the price these three Star Trek goodies were well worth the discovery:)

Dwellers in the Crucible by Margaret Wander Bonanno

Dwellers in the Crucible by Margaret Wander Bonanno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am so glad I read this novel again and truth be told I now wonder if first time around all those years ago I never finished it. I say that because apart from one particular event I really couldn't remember any significant details of the story. I think at the time Dwellers in the Crucible was a novel I was not prepared for since you came to expect a certain type of story from a Star Trek paperback and this pushed the boundaries way back. Thankfully a good portion of the novel which is flashback counters much of the brutality of the main plot adding depth and understanding to the principal characters and in today's market the story wouldn't be as shocking but that was then and this is now and all the better for it.
The basic story is of a Romulan/Klingon endeavour to destabilise the Federation through the kidnapping of the "warranters of peace" from Vulcan, these individuals tend to be close blood kin to leaders of Federation worlds. Of course that doesn't seem to fit into what we consider the Federation to be although again modern stories are happy to push the conflict which will always exist even between members of a close knit organisation with so many different peoples with different needs and desires. I don't really want to go into any more detail, the novel is worth reading and maybe I was just being too sensitive as a younger Trek fan but again I was still disturbed reading the story but as mentioned the balance to that callous and calculating cruelty revealed two very interesting young characters one from Earth and one from Vulcan and a friendship could have the potential to equal that of another more familiar pairing within Trek.


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Kali's Wrath by Keith R.A. DeCandido

STARGATE SG-1: Kali's Wrath by Keith R.A. DeCandido
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A stargate on a small island surrounded by an frigid ocean is a mystery for SG-7 under orders from the SGC to do a standard recon but the rings nearby offer a chance to explore and so they do. Upon arriving at their destination they immediately come under fire as chaos and carnage erupts and blood is spilt. This Kali's Wrath begins and the pressure on the SGC continues to mount as old and current enemies threaten the Tau'ri, Tok'ra and the free Jaffa with the System Lord Kali at the center of things.
Kali's Wrath offers up some interesting back story to Kali one of the lesser known System Lords (played by Suleka Mathew on the tv series) as well as the activities on a newly conquered Earth when Ra was creating his paradise for his people. The time of change as the Goa'uld adopted the humans hosts and left behind the Unas was fascinating, you can understand how conflict within the System Lords would be triggered by the new concepts being introduced and it never gets old to hear about some of our long dead megalomaniacs way back when they were still full of life and arrogance and were shaping the myths the Tau'ri were raised on.
The novel offers up many opposing viewpoints in terms of the Goa'uld and their Jaffa and it was rewarding to hear a story that showed some benevolence on the part of the younger Kali although a Goa'uld is a Goa'uld as Daniel isn't shy in spelling out despite being captured and exploited (again). Kali was an interesting character to say the least but for me Captain Patel was the stand out addition to the Stargate family, a combat pilot sidelined due to a physical defect who like many grasped the opportunity the SGC provided despite the initial thought that a posting to Cheyenne Mountain was a dead end to their career. Her courage and strength under fire combined with her common sense and intelligence really shone and she was adaptable to some strange events especially when dealing with the First Prime of Kali. It may have been interesting to get a scene with Kali and Patel together if only to explore how Kali may have felt about how her "people" grew after the Goa'uld fled the Earth but there was plenty going on to keep you interested so no complaints.
I enjoyed reading Kali's Wrath, Keith did an excellent job allowing me to appreciate the new characters and the use of existing minor and not so minor characters and well who wouldn't have liked to see an episode of the show featuring Bra'tac and Jacob on an adventure:)

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Killing Time by Della Van Hise

Killing Time by Della Van Hise
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Killing Time has a lot going for it, the choice to use temporal manipulation offers so much to the author but alas also means you have to find a way to reverse everything and in that respect it can be a disaster waiting to happen. Events begin small as those on board the Enterprise experience strange dreams which get more vivid until the dreams become the reality and life aboard Enterprise is the dream. Kirk is back as a reluctant Ensign and serving aboard an Alliance starship under the command of Captain Spock. When Spock is ordered to prepare for an invasion of Romulan space doubts are raised over the validity of the orders, further investigations indicates a subtle but growing in balance in the minds of many of the crew and soon it's clear that the whole galaxies population could be affected. On the Romulan side of the border the Praetor is laying down plans to make use of Spock in an effort to change the course of the Empire but failure could mean a galactic war but as the madness spreads the worlds of the galaxy may not be around to suffer these consequences.
Killing Time was an entertaining story, I like the call backs to the original series episodes and time manipulation is never boring. It was also interesting to see humanity serving aboard Starships belonging to the Vulcan led Alliance and the idea that maybe humans were not that critical in creating a galactic superpower. Jerry Richardson and S'Parva were also welcome additions to the crew of the Enterprise/ShiKahr.

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Ishmael by Barbara Hambly

Ishmael by Barbara Hambly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love this novel, I've read it over and over and my paperback is rather worse for wear:)
Ishmael is a fairly simply story at it's core, a man out of place who finds a purpose, friends and family in a community so different to what he was raised to understand as normal. In terms of Star Trek it's a story of Spock who is captured on board a Klingon freighter which is showing some strange energy readings, it vanishes as Kirk and the Enterprise look on helpless to do anything. Spock awakes in a cot in a cabin in the Seattle woodlands being tended to by an Aaron Stemple. Spock has no memory of who and what he is but is accepted by Stemple and soon learns to integrate with the Seattle community albeit one four centuries prior to his birth.
The novel has a wide selection of new characters all of which are entertaining to read about, they merge well together and push the narrative forward and while it may be pushing the bounds to believe Spock would thrive in this environment his stumbles and victories are highly satisfying. If anything it's the more "Trek" aspect of the story that suffers, the investigation into the Klingon mission is quite shallow even though the Karsid element and the Drelb are very interesting additions. Ishmael is a very good read and very entertaining but maybe not for every Star Trek fan, for me it's one of my favourite go to novels when I want some Trek.

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Shadow Lord by Laurence Yep

Shadow Lord by Laurence Yep
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'll admit I couldn't remember anything about this novel and in hindsight the mystery probably means it got that little bit of extra good will which earned it the third star. The story is Spock and Sulu centric which is an unusual combination given the flare of our helmsman and the reserved nature of the First officer. However the two having a life and death adventure on the world of Angira worked very well as their differences clashed nicely as well as being a counter point to this "primitive" worlds threats. Story wise we have a returning prince of the realm bringing the advantages of a Federation education to aid his father in raising his world to meet the challenges of a galactic society. The obstacles are many as the old school ways are ingrained in the social and political structure which come to the fore when the prince returns to find that the privileged are hell bent on protecting their "rights" and the everyday man and woman are far more repressed under the new "vision" than they ever where under the more feudal social model. The princes return tips the balance and violence erupts and he along with his two Starfleet advisors are forced to run for their lives to the very people who have no love for the royal family.
Shadow Lord was a fun read, not exactly Star Trek in the sense that the Enterprise and most of the crew are simply irrelevant but for fans of Spock and particularly Sulu it's worth a read.

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Star Trek The Classic Episodes

I picked up this collection of Star Trek original series novelisations, a very nice hard back book:)
Star Trek

Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan

Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A plague is running rampant through the felinoid population of Eeiauo and the Federation has sent the Enterprise to aid in treatment and research along with Dr Evan Wilson to handle shipboard duties while McCoy goes planet side. The virus then jumps species and a galactic pandemic is nigh but maybe there is hope as Uhura knows some old songs of the Eeiauoan people one of which tells of a disease very much like the "long death" but the final verses are missing. When the song is investigated the Eeiauo doctor rejects the idea and when evidence points to Eeiauo not being the homeworld of this species the same doctors loses his temper and then collapses. Uhura and Spock through the songs locate a general region of space when the homeworld could be and the Enterprise is sent to find the cure and all prime directives are rescinded.
Thus the story really begins as the landing party make contact with the natives of a world they come to know as Sivao and try to find the cure for a disease but they are considered children in this culture and some things are not told to children.
Uhura's Song is easily one of my favourite Star Trek novels, while Uhura takes center stage as the driving character of the story the majority of the crew get decent coverage and story development. Chekov is well served as well and the inclusion of Dr Evan Wilson as a catalyst is inspired both within the crew of the Enterprise and the people of the camp they find themselves in. The Sivao natives are also well developed and offer plenty of range in character traits/types which allow for full development and thus a satisfying pay off.
Highly recommended for any fan of the original series.

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The Vulcan Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah

The Vulcan Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Vulcan Academy Murders was always an interesting novel for me, a murder mystery befitting mainstream tv sleuths but set well and truly in our Star Trek universe and you know what, it works. I'm not really sure it should but I really enjoy reading about the events around the scientific and medical complex at ShiKahr as the bodies begin to drop at an alarming rate.
Enterprise takes an injured crewman to Vulcan to undergo a cutting edge procedure one which Amanda is currently being treated with and then one of the intensive care facilities fails and a patient dies. Were they the victim of a terrible accident (well no the book title kinda gives that away) so were they the intended victim or a smokescreen to hide the murderers true intent?
Kirk unable to aid into the medical and engineering aspects of the situations throws himself into a criminal investigation one which includes facing T'Pau for the first time since he visited Vulcan to stand by Spock at his marriage.
The novel isn't overly complex in but it is a lot of fun, great to see more of Vulcan and its people as well as other residents of that world along with their interactions both good and bad and their is sequel which takes many of the characters on another adventure off world.

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The Tears of the Singers by Melinda M. Snodgrass

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Klingon Empire and the Federation send ships to investigate an anomaly which is causing issues with shipping and threatening the region in and around the Taygeta system. Taygeta V is the home of a creature that is reported to sing constantly and is being hunted for a jewel created by ocular secretions at the time of it's death. The Enterprise "drafts" one of the Federations premier musicians to aid them in their research and he isn't very happy about it but Uhura already has a "relationship" with him one which grows ever deeper during the mission. Spock begins to believe that the singing of the creatures is complex enough to be considered a language and so the task of understanding and translating begins while the Klingons handle scientific research their own way but time is short, this system is doomed and left unchecked the anomaly could wreck habit on dozens of star systems.
The Tears of the Singers is very well written and complex piece of Star Trek story telling entwining some romance for one of the bridge officers and opening up some of the more practical considerations for Federations citizens not in Starfleet. The use of an existing Klingon character adds immensely to the story and makes it easier to accept how he handles working with Kirk without taking anything away from the tropes that are Klingon. There is also the ecological element of the story with both the slaughter of creatures for nothing more than a bauble and the consequences of choices and their impact on the environment both planetary and galaxy wide. Overall this is very good Star Trek story with more than it's first share of depth and genuine emotion.

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My Enemy, My Ally by Diane Duane

My Enemy, My Ally by Diane Duane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love the writing of Diane Duane when she tackles original series characters of Star Trek and while her work falls outside of accepted tv/movie canon I take extreme delight in placing her creations above most of what has been served up on the small and big screen.
The Romulans were introduced to use as true warriors with integrity and intelligence in Balance Of Terror and this is the style of Romulan sorry Rihannsu Diane has continued to serve up, granted just as with Humanity the Rihannsu are not all cut from the same cloth but once again we get the best out of Kirk when he is dealing with an equal in all things but just in a different uniform. In this novel the Enterprise and a few of her sister ships are sent to the neutral zone, what they find is totally unexpected and beyond any immediate threat they were geared up for. It's left for Kirk to decide if it's worth taking advantage of intelligence brought to him by Ael t'Rllaillieu the commander of ChR Bloodwing as to the threat posed by research being done at the Romulan Levaeri V space station. The novel weaves a complex and intricate plot through out filled with well written characters and insights into the mind sets of both the Federation and Rihannsu crews. It was a delight once again to see the Enterprise as we've never seen on screen filled with wildly varying types of sentient crew and to see it through the eyes of the Rihannsu. Of course we get the added bonus of our main characters adjusting their mindset when viewing their "opponents" from across the neutral zone just as the Starfleet crew are accepted by the Rihannsu who serve with them during the events within the novel.
My Enemy, My Ally is truly one of the best pieces of Star Trek literature I've read and there is more to come as Diane continued writing for these characters.

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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock by Vonda N. McIntyre

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock by Vonda N. McIntyre
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another excellent novelisation from Vonda N. McIntyre taking the basic elements which were in the movie and giving them far more depth and complexity. I'm not a fan of ST III considering it to be very shallow but this novel addresses all my criticisms adding substance and detail to characters who suffered during STII as well as giving far more plausibility to events and relationships which played out on the big screen. We have additional story elements for Peter Preston/Scotty, Savvik/David, Valkris/Kruge as well as far more about Carol and Kirk. These additions made me wish this novel was a true representation of the finished movie, as a piece of Trek cinema it would have been quite exceptional:)


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The Final Reflection by John M. Ford

The Final Reflection by John M. Ford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Final Reflection for the most part takes place before the original series at the time of the first diplomatic exchange with the Klingons and the first Federation Babel conference. It pretty much deals with events from the Klingon point of view and the main character we follow from a boy to a starship commander is Vreen aka Kreen. In the time of Kirk the final reflection refers to a book recently published which is reported by Starfleet and vested interests to be inaccurate and features information declassified and from unconfirmed sources many of whom have passed away.
I'm not sure how much of the plot I can go into without ruining the story even though canon wise it's very wide of the mark but I have to admit I do like this interpretation of the early Klingon / Federation interaction and the fact that as with the best of Trek the "enemies" of the UFP are very much cut from the same cloth. There are no real manic/sociopathic bad guys in this story, there are only those who see events a little differently and are in their own story doing what is necessary and that works so well for this novel.
You will forget you are following a Klingons story and become invested in his failures and successors of Kreen and the people that orbit him but as with Kirk after he reads the book you have to wonder just how much of the "official" history is accurate, after all no one better than Kirk knows how one person can change the course of a civilsation.


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Corona by Greg Bear

Corona by Greg Bear
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A call for help from a decade past has the Enterprise venturing into a region of space where new born stars are abundant in search of a Vulcan led research facility. What they find is at first a miracle of ingenuity and perseverance but things are not quite what they seem and the Vulcans are not behaving as they should. To complicate matters the Enterprise is carrying new oversight systems designed to monitor medical and command decisions, a hindrance or a god send it has yet to be decided.
Corona was an enjoyable read, I liked the portrayal of the Vulcans and the concept behind the story as life seeks to preserve life. I'm not sure I buy into the reporter or the rather insular view of her world but the character certainly worked and interacted well with the regular characters.

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The Trellisane Confrontation by David Dvorkin

The Trellisane Confrontation by David Dvorkin
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Enterprise is assigned to take some high value prisoners to a secure facility, they are a group dedicated to forcing a conflict between the Federation and Romulan Empire. During the pickup Captain Kirk is given access to a weak signal received from the planet Trellisane which is in a contested area of space. The message is vague and corrupted but seems to indicate a Klingon interest in the planet Sealon and the ongoing conflict between the two worlds. Kirk decides to investigate despite his standing orders and finds that the situation is far more advanced and dangerous then they first thought. The Klingons are indeed making a power play in the system but there are many secrets in the Trellisane society which could alter how the Federation feels about these people despite the strategic value of a presence in this area of the galaxy.
The Trellisane Confrontation is a solid run of the mill Star Trek adventure, some decent space combat and two stories running side by side, one on the ship and the other on the planet. I liked the idea of the Onetillian species, not quite sure how it would work but that's not an issue and some of the twists on Trellisane were unexpected and added a rather dark aspect to the story. Overall though a decent Trek story with a few good ideas but doesn't break any new ground.

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The Wounded Sky by Diane Duane

The Wounded Sky by Diane Duane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Wounded Sky is one of those Star Trek novels that is so high on my scale of all things good and proper in Star Trek it's ridiculous but this story is that good. It kicks off with a description of the ship in warp and that's like nothing you've ever read, it gives the novel such heart and soul you wouldn't believe and then we get to the actual story.
The Enterprise is chosen to test a new drive system designed by K't'ik a member of an arachnid race famed for their design and technology, the "inversion drive" manipulates areas of subspace and twists natural laws and is able to fling a vessel to where ever it needs to be in zero time and the testing has gone well. The drive is installed despite Scotty having said nothing would be fitted to the ship without his full understanding but it works flawlessly, or does it? A mindbogglingly distance away from the Enterprise the strain of breaking "natural" laws has consequences and slowly but surely the very fabric of the universe is being torn apart. During the "inversion" which was supposed to occur in zero time hence no actual frame of reference for the individual the crew start to experience events and other minds, their collective souls are mingling and realization emerges that they have to journey to the focus of the tear and attempt to fix the problem or life will cease to exist.
The Wounded Sky gets the regular characters of Star Trek spot on and Diane as with all her work effortlessly weaves in new characters who can easily take center stage when required. K't'lk is glorious a true alien being who is accepted by all and yet her story has a solid foundation, same for the minor characters we meet who are on the crew but never appeared on screen. The story has scope that defies belief especially compared to contemporary Star Trek novels of the time and I'll admit the concepts and ideas presented were discussed into the wee hours with friends many times. This novel really has to be read to do it justice and while Diane presented some of basic plot ideas in her screenplay for the TNG episode "Where No One Has Gone Before" that was a pale imitation of this piece of science fiction.

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U.S.S. Enterprise NX-01

I'd pre-ordered this absolutely beautiful model of the Star Trek U.S.S. Enterprise NX-01 refit which is a special edition release from Eaglemoss aka Star Trek Models and it came yesterday:)

EagleMoss

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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Web of the Romulans by M.S. Murdock

Web of the Romulans by M.S. Murdock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Web of the Romulans takes a crack at expanding the Romulan side of Star Trek, there is certainly plenty of options given how little this race has been explored on the original tv series and how so far wrong they went in TNG onwards. The Romulan Empire is dying, a plague has spread throughout their worlds and only one source of a potential cure exists but it's not in their nature to go through diplomatic channels, the Praetor can not show weakness so the fleet is massed on a mission that will determine the future of the empire.
This wasn't a bad story at all but there were issues mainly with the scope of the monitoring of Starfleet and the activities of the Intelligence community which doesn't quite sync with what we know from the original series. The Romulan characters however were spot on and I liked them all and I have to admit to a fondness for the more tradition Romulans from TOS and the novels which added to their portrayal before TNG. It also didn't hurt that the novel takes the best from Balance of Terror with Kirk and S'Talon replying the stand off and battle of wills and tactics between two masters of command. It was gratifying to see an "enemy" given depth and when you get right down to it Trek is all about having worthy adversaries for our captain and ship to deal with.


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Triangle by Sondra Marshak

Triangle by Sondra Marshak
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I recall reading this when I originally bought the novel and not being that enthralled, a couple of decades later and I have a different opinion. This story would never work as a tv episode but it has the scope and depth to make a movie that's for sure, there is little space based action but plenty on planet coupled with tension and conflict between characters.
Triangle offers up a future of sentient life in the galaxy moving towards a collective consciousness and Starfleet and specifically the Enterprise are caught between two competing systems. The Oneness seeks a willing communion between individuals while the Totality are using force to impose a collective but are these two paths really evolution or a blind alley which would remove the passions and drive that have driven life to the stars and beyond? A test by these powers have been devised to find the answer and by extension bring Captain Kirk into a unity by persuasion or force. Kirk is such a well known figure and representative of the establish individual order his embrace of unity would shake the galaxy, yeah public relations future style. To add spice a Zaran female who is a Federation free agent has been added to the test, she is an ideal companion for Kirk but Spock is the unexpected twist, the book is called Triangle for more than one reason:)
The novel steps aside from what you would consider the norm from the tv series but Star Trek has proven over the years that there is room for all ideas even those that at the time may not quite fit but later seem perfectly acceptable as the tv and movies catch up with what the novels have been providing for many years.


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