Sanctuary by John Vornholt

Sanctuary by John Vornholt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Enterprise lays a trap to capture the pirate known as Auk Rex but his ship evades and a chase ensues, running at high warp the two ships enter relatively uncharted space and Spock "speculates" that they are headed for a world known as Sanctuary. This planet is believed to accept any persecuted person and protect them from harm and as Auk Rex enters the atmosphere Kirk, Spock and McCoy continue the chase in a shuttle.
As you would expect Kirk has leapt before he looked and it turns out that what they know of Sanctuary is correct upto a point, like the fabled Hotel California.....
Sanctuary was a very entertaining novel which makes the most of the trio of characters from the original series and the need for the star of the show to be center stage as much as possible. Yes it was ridiculously foolhardy for these three to follow the pirate ship down to the planet but it does make for a fun story as they learn the secrets of Sanctuary and the mysterious Senites who seem to exist purely to serve those that reach the planet.


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Ice Trap by L.A. Graf

Ice Trap by L.A. Graf
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Ice Trap is set on the planet Nordstral where a pharmaceutical company has an agreement with the native population to harvest vast amounts of plankton like material from the deep ice bound oceans. A mental illness with no obvious cause is spreading alarmingly through the Federation citizens on the planet and that combined with missing shuttle crews sends the Enterprise to investigate. Issues with the natives and the local representatives of the company complicate matters and as quakes impact across the planet it's very existence comes under threat.
Ice Trap took a long time to read mainly because it collided with christmas but that aside the story never really grabbed me but that's not to say the time spent on covering the landing party (Chekov and Uhura) wasn't rewarding because it was and Kirk having to deal with an equal and on their home turf was amusing.
I did have trouble understanding the need to harvest this material and how that worked with a pre-warp civilisation but the native Kitka population were written well and their culture and interaction was interesting especially with the Chekov/Uhura (plus red shirts) landing party.
Overall I may have got more from the novel if I had read it at the usual pace or maybe if the novel had been more engaging I would have found the time:)

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Gatecast Bonus Show 27 - Stargate

Gatecast Podcast

Andrew and Brad joined me on the podcast to talk about the 1994 Stargate feature film.

 

Star Trek: The Disinherited by Peter David

Star Trek: The Disinherited by Peter David
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Disinherited goes rather dark rather quickly as several colonies are attacked by an unknown enemy, the novel opens up with the introduction of a few characters for the sole purposes of hooking you in only to sacrifice them for the narrative. That said it works very well, strangely enough it always seems that we hear about brutal events after the fact especially from the tv series but here there is no middle ground, the enemy slaughters men, women and children with no quarter given.
The Enterprise is assigned to investigate and hopefully prevent further bloodshed on these colony worlds while Lt. Uhura has been assigned to the USS Lexington for a specific mission to do a deal with the inhabitants of Rithra, a species who rely on both verbal and gesture based communications. The Enterprise encounters the raiders and doesn't fare too well against them and a young Ensign Chekov does not do himself any favours in the eyes of the Captain. Uhura on the other hand embraces the opportunity to speak to a new alien race and to aid them in protecting their young and establishing a rapport leading to perhaps membership to the Federation.
The Disinherited weaves the two plots beautifully, they both offer the reader a story with depth and pay off but when the two plots merge then the novel pays off the reader bigtime. An excellent original series adventure with particularly focus on Chekov and Uhura.

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Probe by Margaret Wander Bonanno

Probe by Margaret Wander Bonanno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Probe has an interesting history, while Margaret is credited as the writer she didn't infact write the published novel. Seems to be Romulan level machinations going on with the publisher but for now I can only review this novel I read.
Probe is of course a story dealing with the machine/entity which visited the Earth in ST:IV in search of intelligent marine life, this novel gives us a huge amount of backstory to this enigmatic creation in terms of its genesis, it's mission and interactions with aliens both known and unknown. We also get a very compelling plot line which deals with the Romulans holding out a potential hand of friendship (after the death of the Praetor) but of course nothing is what it seems.
I came away from this novel totally happy with the Probe storyline, in seems to fit with what little we were offered from the movie and of course does clearly indicate that the Federation and Empires are very very small and almost insignificant when viewed in terms of a million plus years of galaxy wide civilisations birth and deaths. The Romulan subplot has plenty of depth and complexity to the point where it could have been a standalone story by itself but the merging of two of the aspects through music was most satisfying in terms of scifi storytelling.
A highly recommended read for those looking for more on the Probe or just a fan of the devious Romulan Empire but with enough heart to avoid some of the cliches.

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Faces of Fire by Michael Jan Friedman

Faces of Fire by Michael Jan Friedman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Faces of Fire is certainly a Star Trek novels that pays off if you are familiar with the events of Star Trek II & III as it contains the seeds of that story. On the Federation colony of Beta Canzandia III a research project into terraforming in ongoing with mixed results with integrating new strains of plant life into a methodology for generating oxygen in a new ecosystem. One of the lead scientists is Dr Carol Marcus who along with her son David is going to be paid a visit by the Enterprise who is due for a routine audit and medical screenings, Spock will be staying behind to offer some short term assistance. Unbeknown to both the colony and Starfleet a faction within the Klingon Empire has also heard of the project and sees it as a potential weapon against the Empire and Klingons tend to do only one thing when they believe they are threatened.
Faces of Fire was an entertaining look at a Carol Marcus who we knew little about from the movies, we also begin to understand why David was so anti-starfleet and of course at least one of the Klingons will be playing a pivotal role many years later when Genesis comes to fruition.
I probably found the secondary story more interesting though, Kirk and the Enterprise dealing with a culture fractured by deeply held religious beliefs and on the verge of civil war, the usual Federation diplomatic fun and games add spice but a more satisfying story then the Marcus one.
Faces of Fire is certainly worth a read if you want more of the Marcus backstory but that apart a solid story of original series Star Trek with some good intrigue.


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The Rift by Peter David

The Rift by Peter David
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The USS Enterprise under the command of Christopher Pike discovers a tear in the fabric of space, a signal is sent though and they are surprised when they get a reply and an invitation to enter the rift and pay these people a visit. They find a highly developed culture on a single world who admit they are a little xenophobic but are willing to open their world to the Enterprise crew for the duration the rift allows passage. Years later when the rift reopens the USS Enterprise under Captain Kirk awaits complete with ambassadors and other vested interests ready to once again visit this enigmatic world on the other side of the rift.

Another interesting tale of Star Trek which deals with Captain Pike and his very different command style to that of Kirk. Of course the 33 year gap between the closing and opening of the rift allows two story arcs to play out but also it's not to long for certain crewman to have been on the Enterprise then and now, one of them was Spock as you no doubt would guess:)
I enjoyed the story and the concept of the Calligar, I would have love to see their world rendered in HD on any of the TV shows or movies but perhaps my own imagination will serve. I wasn't quite sold on the relationship which underpinned most of the plot but I was willing to go with it and I didn't quite buy the fact Federation member worlds ships would engage Starfleet no matter what the reason.
Still a worthy addition to the original series lineup with the welcome addition of Pike and his crew.

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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

I was surprised to see there was an Australian Blu-ray boxset of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, naturally I purchased it.

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Legacy by Michael Jan Friedman

Legacy by Michael Jan Friedman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Landing parties beam down to Alpha Octavius Four for a brief survey, Spock is attacked by a huge subterranean dwelling tentacled creature and is fortunate to be rescued before being eaten and is beamed back to the ship. Kirk then finds himself in an earthquake and as the world around him collapses the Enterprise receives a priority order to rush to a colony in the Beta Cabrini system which under attack. Scotty is forced to leave his missing Captain and landing party behind and deal with the threat of Merkaan pirates.
Spock is suffering from a toxin delivered by the creature that attacked him and McCoy is unable to find a cure so Spock imposes his own control on his metabolism to allow him to function. Spock is indeed the best man to deal with the Merkaan threat as years earlier serving under Christopher Pike he was a principal player in their defeat when first encountered.
Legacy chooses to split the main characters between two storylines, this makes sense to allow Spock to take center stage in dealing with a threat he is familiar with and for the "flashback" elements of his time with Pike not to feel out of place along with current Pike and Vina on Talos IV. It is a tricky juggling act and that's where Kirk's narrative fighting for survival along with three of his crew counterpoints the main story very well.
An enjoyable Star Trek novel made more so for the inclusion of a Pike both then and now and the focus on Spock without ignoring the regular characters as well as a villain with some substance and a mystery for Kirk to solve.



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Stargate Communication Stones

The communication stones, first introduced in SG1 and allowed Daniel and Vala to visit the ORI homeworld with all the complications that brought. They played a small part in Stargate Atlantis but really came to the forefront in Universe after the technology was reverse engineered to work with an SGC interface. Many fans still hold them in shall we say contempt as a symptom of why Universe never really caught on or a shortcut to incorporate fresh characters and ties to Earth when billions of light years away. Either way when SG1 Props manufactured some and offered them for sale I decided that I could certainly see them on my shelf, not cheap but they are mighty pretty even in the cheapish wooden box I bought for displaying them.

Renegade by Gene DeWeese

Renegade by Gene DeWeese
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Chrellkan IV located in the same star system as it's colony world Vancadia have been a peace with each other for nearly a century and on track for Vancadia to be given its independence within a few years as agreed from first planet fall. It's surprising to the Federation and Starfleet that with around a decade to go civil war has broken out and accusations and counter accusations thrown between the two worlds as military and terrorist action takes place.
The Enterprise picks up representatives from Chrellkan IV who present evidence of the terrorist actions but Kirk refuses to act until he listens to the people of Vancadia. The Enterprise is welcomed into orbit, Spock and McCoy beam down and almost immediately a very high tech shield appears cutting the ship off from it's landing party.
The crew continue to look for ways to counter the obviously more advanced technology present and dealing with the demands of the Chrellkan premier and the escalation of military action in system.
Renegade on the surface is a standard Federation in the middle of a civil war fought between planets story, not an unusual premise but Gene throws in some added ingredients via interference with the cultures from an outside source as well as an epic plot to not only defeat Kirk but bring Starfleet to it's knees. We get some great Spock and McCoy moments and that kinda offsets how mildly annoying it was to see how long it took Kirk, Scotty and other crew to understand what was happening.
Overall a solid Star Trek novel with some good call backs and twists and turns.

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A Flag Full of Stars by Brad Ferguson

A Flag Full of Stars by Brad Ferguson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Admiral James Kirk seems to be happy in his new role, he has just over seen the initial refitting of the Enterprise and the world watches as the saucer is flown into orbit for attaching to the engineering section. However all is not well, his marriage to Admiral Lori Ciana is crumbling and he is still estranged from his friends from his time on the Enterprise.
As the world looks to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landings which will include an epic flyby of vintage spacecraft including a retrofitted Space Shuttle Enterprise a Federation naturalised Klingon scientist named G'dath makes a breakthrough in energy generation. Thus the players are in place for a action based and politically charged clash of intelligence and Starfleet services as the fruits of G'dath's creation are up for grabs.
A Flag Full of Stars continues the storyline brought to us in the novel Lost Years and expands upon Kirk's time in the admiralty before the arrival of V'ger. We see that his time wasn't wasted and he is responsible for some major changes in procedures within the fleet thanks to the benefit of his experience and insight. We also see that the wanderlust is still within him and that as much as anything leads to his failed marriage. The addition of G'dath a Klingon who finds a home on Earth thanks to the Organian intervention was eye opening as is the more real world Federation Brad writes about. I have to be honest and say it may not offer the most "Trek" like conclusion to the paths some of the characters tread in the narrative but it makes sense in terms of how they have been presented to us so you'll come away satisfied if not too happy.
Oh and credit to Brad for making me question my own opinion of the presence of families onboard the Enterprise D :)

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Ghost-Walker by Barbara Hambly

Ghost-Walker by Barbara Hambly
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The planet Elcidar Beta III is the center of a non-violent conflict as the Klingons and Federation look to ratify its inhabitants (Midgwins) as sentient or not, the results will determine if the planet can be exploited freely. The locals are non industrial and even eskew agriculture in favour of hunter/gathering thanks to a belief the world provides and it is sacrilege to attempt to force the land to provide more. However starvation and the associated fall out are beginning to have an impact and the leaders of the "warrens" are contemplating accepting help but traditionalist are in opposition.
Yarblis Geshkerroth the leader of the opposition and who has been responsible for killing a number of Klingons after they were culling and eating his people approaches Kirk and demands to telepathically read him, Kirk agrees and Yarblis goes away apparently satisfied of his intentions.
However when the crew beam back up it's not just Kirk who is materialised on the transporter pad and the ship and crew are unaware that their captain is no longer serving the interests of Starfleet and the Federation.
Ghost Walker offered up an interesting premise in how native populations which are not technological are treated by more advanced races and it's a reasonable narrative used to describe the intentions of the Empire and Federation. It's always interesting when an author chooses to give Kirk a serious love interest but it got quite dark when as always the relationship has to be broken and gratifying that we didn't get any real bad guys in the novel, bad things were done certainly but understandable if maybe a little extreme.
A worthy original series novel with a fascinating alien race (and individuals) with some fun look at the inner workings of the Enterprise and her crew.



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Home Is the Hunter by Dana Kramer-Rolls

Home Is the Hunter by Dana Kramer-Rolls
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Klingon Empire and UFP come into open conflict upon a planet controlled by a being called Weyland who has been missing for a while. Upon his return he is quite adamant over the disruption of his people and has no interest in the "games" of the two galactic powers. Unfortunately during a brief skirmish a young boy and a member of the Enterprise crew are killed and the two ships experience the full power of Weyland through his ability to manipulate matter and energy.
The two starships lose system functions including station keeping which means they will burn up in the atmosphere, transporters and weapons are out and also Scotty, Sulu and Chekov have vanished.
Sulu finds himself in feudal Japan, Scotty in the Scottish highlands during the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie and Chekov in Stalingrad during the second world war. The three man have to survive and handle the pressure of potential tampering with the timeline.
Home is the Hunter was an interesting read, the addition of the time travel adventures really pushed the novel beyond the basic Trek good versus bad guys and even that with was enhanced with this being of unimaginable power and purpose.
A good Star Trek novel, something a little different and worth a read.

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Enemy Unseen by V.E. Mitchell

Enemy Unseen by V.E. Mitchell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A routine assignment to ferry diplomats and to prepare the field for discussions between two worlds over the disposition of a third seems to be an opportunity for the crew to take it easy but things rarely turn out well especially when the senior diplomat is married to a woman who Kirk had a relationship with in the past and was manipulative and dangerous maybe if proof could have been found at the time treasonous. Spock has taken a busmans holiday and two new crew members are onboard for the journey and it's all the new faces which complicate matters when the negotiations falter and a spy/assassin has come onboard.
Enemy Unseen worked well as a story of Kirk and the Enterprise in their second five year mission, the lack of Spock was an interesting choice but did allow the introduction of an old friend of Kirk who was shortly to move onto a new ship and a Deltan science officer who I would certainly liked to have read more of. The Deltan element of the story was fascinating, we've never gotten a huge amount of information about the race barring the minor TMP element and one of two novels but I did like the chemistry between the half Deltan officer, her mother and the science officer which fueled part of the narrative. The complex social aspect of the alien race did show some of the complexities of understanding another's worldview and the spy's ability was unexpected but very effective as was the Deltan fly in the ointment which added suspense and drama to the story.
Overall an entertaining ship bound mission of the Enterprise, some good additional characters and a solid story.

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Prime Directive by Judith Reeves-Stevens and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Prime Directive by Judith Reeves-Stevens and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Prime Directive takes the reader on an interesting journey right from the start as we read about the failures of the Starfleet Constitution Starships and their five year missions including the loss of the Enterprise at Talin IV.
Since this novel is not an alternate reality or mirror universe then you are kinda derailed straight away but as you read the book and learn of the catastrophe then took place in orbit over Ralin IV and the subsequent crippling of the Enterprise it all falls into place. Prime Directive follows the consequences of what would be Captain Kirk's biggest failure and the ramifications throughout the Federation and Starfleet. The crew of the ship are blown to the four corners, some resign, some are charged and some stay within the fleet but at much lower rank. Of course Kirk having accepted fault and resigning is working his way back to Talin IV (now a restricted system) and during his journey reveals the details of the events to his latest employer. It is at this time we get to know exactly what was going on and the fact that this final mission of the Enterprise was far from a simple one as it interacted with the activities of the First Contact Office who prepare the Federation for first contact with a developing species on the verge of discovering they are not alone.
Prime Directive is many ways is more than an entertaining science fiction story it is an analysis of the politics and ethics of the Prime Directive which has featured to such a degree throughout Star Trek on tv and the movies. It's often been seen to be selectively implemented and worked around when required and the plot of this novel asks the question of why the Federation relies so much on what is explained to be a very complex and fluid calculation far beyond the basic explanation we have been given on the big and small screen.
I'll be honest and say I wasn't too keen on how this novel started but the hurdles and difficulties the crew of the Enterprise had to cope with really made the novel pay off bigtime. I don't believe that the mystery of Talin IV without the fallout amongst Starfleet would have paid off or have been as satisfying. I also have to say that the final few paragraphs of the story proper (not epilogue) had me surreptitiously wiping my eyes as the tears begin to flow, it was a very moving and heartwarming emotion triggered by the events occurring on the planet and the underlying belief that what Star Trek can provide is a template for what humanity should be striving for here on Earth and that if given the opportunity our children will lead our race to the stars and beyond.

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Doctor's Orders by Diane Duane

Doctor's Orders by Diane Duane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Doctor's Orders is one of my all time favourite original series novels. The story works upon the premise that after a while everyone fancies a change in circumstance and in specific terms we have Kirk who is dealing with the demands of bureaucracy and Bones looking to get his hands "dirty" and less impressed by his Captain bemoaning his current situation.
We know in later series that the Captain in particular is reliant on his subordinates to have the "adventures" while he oversees and correlates data and then makes the important decisions so here is Kirk stuck in the center chair will the bulk of his science and technical departments exploring the planet nicknamed "Flyspeck" and the three sentient species discovered there.
Eventually Kirk has the opportunity to beam down and he leaves Bones in command of the ship (perfectly within the scope of his responsibilities) and while on the planet he meets a member of the ;At species and they discuss life and all things associated with the care of others and the demands of responsibility. Then Kirk vanishes from the ship's sensors, the locals insist he is still there but a Klingon battlecruiser turns up and they beam down a survey party who are on a very specific mission, after a brief shouting match between and McCoy and Commander Kaiev a sort of truce is declared but then the Klingon party vanish...
I'm going to keep it pretty spoiler free from now just say that we get some excellent character interaction on board the ship and with the Klingons and some great world building on Flyspeck. The indigenous races that inhabit the planet are varied but make perfect sense in context and gratifying to see how the Federation's Starfleet can handle itself when science and diplomacy are called for. We get to see the more relaxed and easy going Kirk when he is with the ;At and their capabilities were interesting to say the least. Bones in command of the Enterprise and dealing with the Klingons was inspired and again showed how closely knit the crew are. Of course we get a decent amount of space action as you would expect but not directly against the Klingons which adds a nice twist to the story and shines a light on what could be going on beyond the Federation's borders and direct influence.
Overall Doctor's Orders is a excellently written and fun Star Trek novel combining science, diplomacy, action and a lot of humour and making the most of the regular crew with some highly appropriate new characters/species. It really is a must read for any fans of the original series characters.


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The Pandora Principle by Carolyn Clowes

The Pandora Principle by Carolyn Clowes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Saavik, an enigma to many that know her and in this novel by Carolyn Clowes we see a very legitimate backstory to how she came to exist and her ties to Spock. As Star Trek fans we first met Saavik on The Wrath of Khan and she's obviously not quite Vulcan and the novel confirms that she is a Vulcan/Romulan fusion created from a sickening plot by a Romulan faction on the failed colony of Hellguard. We learn how as a child she first met Spock and how he took responsibility for her and brought her through the trauma of who and what she is and then through her early years at Starfleet academy. The secondary plot involves an attack on Earth which sidelines Kirk leaving the Enterprise commanded by Spock having to deal with immediate consequences as Starfleet goes to a war footing.
The Pandora Principle is a very good Star Trek novel, we get an awful lot of background on Saavik and Spock and their relationship which rests at the heart of the novel. There is also a nice mix of new characters included the strange alien "obo" whose existence reminds me a lot of a character from the JJ movies. Recommended for anyone interested in learning of a possible explanation of Saavik or simply into all things Spock.

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Rules of Engagement by Peter Morwood

Rules of Engagement by Peter Morwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rules of Engagement is a Klingon centric novel set well within the worldview I believe created by John M. Ford or at least that's where I first came across this variant of the Klingon culture.
Kasak sutai-Khornezh has had the "honour" of taking out the first ship of any new class and when the ground breaking vessel IKS Hakkarl is set for her first flight he seizes the opportunity to do a little privateering with a goal to claim a Federation world for the Empire and as it turns out take epic revenge upon Captain Kirk for a certain incident with Tribbles years previously.
The Enterprise is assigned to oversee the removal of Federation personnel from the planet Dekkanar after a change of administration has made it anti-Federation, strict policies prevent the three Starfleet vessels and crews from making for use of the capabilities leaving them open to aggression, not the ideal time for a Klingon Battle Cruiser to turn up regardless of motivations and of course with the Organians always looking over everyone shoulder.
This is a very entertaining novel set in the time after Kirk had regained the Enterprise after his stint at the Admiralty, it also adds the deeper story element of how the Federation/Starfleet has to deal with worlds who turn their back on membership along with the balancing act of an enforced peace with the Klingons. The Klingon characters are well written and time and time again we see a good solid antagonists can make all the difference to a movie/tv show and even a novel. In Kasak sutai-Khornezh we have a fellow commander who is intelligent and cunning and makes the most of his advantages to manipulate the situation and that makes our "heroes" all the better for it.


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The Kobayashi Maru by Julia Ecklar

The Kobayashi Maru by Julia Ecklar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Kobayashi Maru is getting a five star rating not because it's a dramatic well written novel that graces not only the scifi genre but any genre, it's getting the rating because I just love reading the novel. The basic story is pretty straight forward, a serious accident on a shuttle leaves it helpless inside a rubble strewn solar system and the Enterprise has no practical way to determine it's location. On board are Scotty, McCoy, Chekov, Kirk and Sulu with the latter two being injured and seriously in Sulu's case. As the men deal with what seems to be a helpless situation the similarity to the Kobayashi Maru simulation is mentioned, McCoy is confused and asks for clarification and the no-win scenario from command school is explained to him.
We then get a recounting of the simulation from those who took part, yes we learn how Kirk beat the scenario by creative means (some would say illegal). Chekov had to deal with his serious approach to the test and the consequences within his peer group. Sulu who during a bad time and facing demerits was forced to examine himself and his reasons for being in Starfleet and finally Scotty who loved engineering but was being groomed for command.
All these stories offer fascinating insights into each of the crew and of course McCoy the observer is taking our part, he is not surprised how Kirk handled such a test and learns a lot about those he shares a ship with.
Yes I also prefer this explanation or at least the specifics of how Kirk triumphed to that offered in the 2009 movie :)

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