Excelsior: Forged in Fire

Star Trek: Excelsior: Forged in Fire by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels

Published December 2007

Read: November 30th, 2011

Previous book (The Original Series): Vulcan's Soul #3: Epiphany
Next book (The Original Series): Errand of Fury #3: Sacrifices of War

Click the cover to purchase Forged in Fire from Amazon.com!

Spoilers ahead for Forged in Fire!

From the back cover:

A vicious pirate known as the Albino is cutting a deadly swath across space, creating turmoil in the Klingon Empire that threatens to spill into the Federation.  But this criminal also has a secret that could shake the halls of imperial power, and his genocidal plans against the race the bore him will have consequences even he cannot imagine, as several unlikely allies join swords to bring the Albino to justice: Hikaru Sulu of the USS Excelsior; Klingon captains Kor, Koloth, and Kang; and a hot-headed young Federation diplomat named Curzon Dax.  Tempered in the flames of their shared adversity, a captaincy is forged, a blood oath is sworn ... and a hunt begins that will stretch from one generation to the next.

About the Novel:

Born of a terrible genetic malady caused by a hopeful treatment for the "smooth forehead" curse, a criminal known as "The Albino" threatens peace talks between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.  When Commander Sulu, first officer of the USS Excelsior, receives intelligence about the threat to the negotiations, his commanding officer, Captain Styles, is skeptical.  Sulu, however, is not content to allow the attack to proceed, so he contacts Ambassador Sarek and manages to get the Excelsior assigned to the defense of the negotiations.  When the attack occurs, Sulu finds himself teamed with Federation Ambassador Curzon Dax, and three Klingon captains named Kor, Koloth, and Kang in pursuit of the Albino, who has a dark and shocking link to Sulu's own past.

My Thoughts:

Forged in Fire provides answers to a few questions regarding the period between Star Trek V and Star Trek VI.  It is generally accepted that six years pass between those movies, leaving a large space of time we don't know much about.  In that time, the crew of the Enterprise seems to have fractured somewhat, with Uhura working at the Academy and, of course, Scotty buying a boat.  The largest change, however, is Sulu becoming the commanding officer of the USS Excelsior.  In Forged in Fire, we finally see how that came to pass.

As I've mentioned in the past, I love novels that fill in the gaps in Star Trek lore.  Forged in Fire accomplishes that admirably.  I had always assumed that Sulu was simply promoted to captain at some point and assigned to the Excelsior.  I was surprised to see Martin and Mangels' take on that event was somewhat different.  It never occurred to me that Sulu might have served on that ship under Captain Styles.

Speaking of Styles, I thought that Forged in Fire handled his character quite well.  When he was introduced in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Styles was typical of other captains who weren't Kirk: arrogant, off-putting, and certainly not someone who seemed to fit in the role of a captain.  This is a familiar trope in television or movies: people outside of our main group of heroes are set up as incompetent or worse in order to make the stars of the show look better by comparison.  While the Styles in Forged in Fire is still certainly arrogant, Martin and Mangels also humanize him to an extent.  The reader is able to see things from his perspective a little better, and while we still may not like him, his character is advanced further than simply a set piece designed to make the hero look good.

Captain Styles - still swaggering, and kind
of a dick, but definitely more depth.

Another character who is exceptionally well fleshed-out beyond his original appearance is the villain of the story, the Albino, whose given name we learn is Qagh.  A genetic aberration, Qagh (whose name means "mistake") is a twisted and sadistic man who will go to any means to prolong his life.  In Forged in Fire, we see the beginning of the quest of vengeance that Kang, Kor, Koloth and Dax embark on, which is finally resolved in Deep Space Nine's "Blood Oath."  Simply a one-note villain in "Blood Oath," we finally learn his motivations and why he acted the way he did.  Because his story continues on televised Trek, Forged in Fire feels a little like it doesn't resolve itself completely, but that is, of course, by design.

Qagh - the "Albino" - is finally given a backstory

Finally, another aspect about Forged in Fire that I appreciated was tying in the story with the "fix" to the smooth-foreheaded Klingon issue in Star Trek.  Qagh's maladies turn out to be the result of one family's attempt to hide the shame of their human-like appearance.  Also explained in the novel is how the Klingons came to be cured of the condition.

Forged in Fire does tend to drag on a bit in some places.  I feel like the story could have been trimmed somewhat, as some chapters seem to veer most verbose, but on the whole, the writing is crisp and the story engaging.

Final Thoughts:

Great characterization and an engaging plot make up for the story plodding in some areas.  As "Blood Oath" is one of my favorite episodes of early Deep Space Nine, the revelations about the antagonist and the motivations of the Klingons from that episode were greatly enjoyed.  Filling in the gaps in Star Trek's timeline also push this book's rating a little higher in my opinion.

Final rating for Excelsior: Forged in Fire: 8/10.

Also by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels:

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Mission Gamma, Book Three: Cathedral (2002)
• Star Trek: The Lost Era: The Sundered (2003)
• Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Volume 2: Trill: Unjoined (2004)
• Star Trek: Titan: Taking Wing (2005)
• Star Trek: Titan: The Red King (2005)
• Star Trek: Enterprise: Last Full Measure (2006)
• Star Trek: Enterprise: The Good That Men Do (2007)
• Star Trek: Enterprise: Kobayashi Maru (2008)

My next read:

Right now, I'm reading the newest novel by David Mack, his follow-up to The Sorrows of Empire: the latest entry in the Mirror Universe line, Rise Like Lions.  Look for a review soon!

The Lost Years

Star Trek: The Lost Years by J.M. Dillard

The Lost Years #1

Published October 1989
Read: November 22nd, 2011

Next book (The Lost Years): A Flag Full of Stars

Previous book (The Original Series): The Cry of the Onlies

Next book (The Original Series): The Kobayashi Maru

Click the cover to purchase The Lost Years from Amazon.com!

Spoilers ahead for The Lost Years!

From the back cover:

"The Lost Years" tells the story of Captain Kirk's final hours in command of the USS Enterprise, and how he, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy struggle to establish new lives apart from each other and the starship.

We see the newly promoted Admiral Kirk, in charge of a specially created Starfleet division, as he attempts to defuse a critical hostage situation; Mr. Spock, who in the midst of a teaching assignment on Vulcan, finds the one thing he least expected; and Dr. McCoy, whose unerring instinct for trouble lands him smack in the middle of an incident that could trigger an interstellar bloodbath ...    

About the Novel:

As the novel opens, we see the final hours of the life of a Vulcan Kolinahr Master named Zakal.  Far in Vulcan's past, around the time of the Romulan exodus, Zakal is dying of a grave disease.  Extremely adept at the mental disciplines, Zakal is an opponent of Surak's reformation movement.  A former student comes to collect his katra (essentially, his living spirit, or soul).  Zakal surrenders his katra to the student, but as he dies, he swears that he will have his revenge on Surak and his followers.

In the "present," it is the final hours of Captain Kirk's five-year mission of exploration.  The Starship Enterprise docks at Starbase One in orbit of Earth, and the crew prepares to leave for their next assignments.  Captain Kirk has been lobbying Starfleet for another starship command; specifically, that of the USS Victorious.  However, they have been silent on the issue of his next posting.  Kirk does not want to be promoted to Admiral, and threatens resignation from Starfleet rather than accept promotion.  (After seeing Star Trek: The Motion Picture, we all know how that turns out.)  Spock has his choice of two assignments: command of the science vessel USS Grissom, or a position teaching at Starfleet Academy.  McCoy plans on visiting the people of the asteroid-ship Yonada on their new world, and reconnecting with Natira (see: "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky" - TOS).

The newly-promoted Admiral Kirk

Kirk eventually accepts promotion to Admiral, serving as a "diplomatic troubleshooter" with Vice Admiral Lori Ciana, an action which ultimately leads to the resignations of both Spock and McCoy from Starfleet.  Although the three friends are all each following a different path, events and circumstances will bring them all back together again.  A diplomatic incident erupts when Lieutenant Uhura and Ambassador Sarek are kidnapped by agents of an anti-government movement on a distant planet, and the galaxy is threatened when Zakal's katra is released from imprisonment on Vulcan.

My Thoughts:

Generally, a quite enjoyable piece of Star Trek writing.  As I've stated in earlier reviews, I like when Trek literature attempts to fill in the gaps left by screen productions of Star Trek.  The Lost Years was an explicit attempt to do just that.  I've always wondered why Kirk, someone who loved being a captain so much, would accept promotion to Admiral, and in this novel we are given that answer.  Also, The Motion Picture always had me wondering why McCoy resigned from Starfleet, and why Spock did the same and decided to become a student of Kolinahr.  We get those answers as well, but in the case of Spock's transition to Kolinahr student, I felt that the explanation was a little thin.  I understood the difficulties he had faced in this novel, but I didn't think they were enough to drive him to attempt to purge all emotion and vow never to see his friends and family again.

The crisis faced by Admirals Kirk and Ciana was interesting, and I enjoyed the slightly different than human norm way of thinking of the aliens.  The crises faced by Bones and his new travel partner, Keridwen Llewellyn, also felt real, as though we were dealing with real people who experienced real emotions.  I did, however, feel that the parts dealing with Keridwen being precognitive were a little strange.  I am a self-admitted skeptic, and that definitely colours how I view things like "psychics" and other "non-scientific" things.  However, it's Star Trek, so if I can accept Vulcan mind-melds and Betazoid empathy, I guess it's not much of a leap.

I did enjoy the exploration of the character Lori Ciana who, according to Gene Roddenberry's novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, was one of the victims of the transporter malfunction in that movie.  The revelations of the kind of person she was and what she meant to Kirk in The Lost Years added just that much more emotional resonance to that already disturbing scene.

Vice Admiral Lori Ciana, victim of a particularly gruesome transporter accident.

Finally, I do have to add that while reading, I paint a pretty vivid picture of what is happening in my mind.  While I enjoyed the fact that The Lost Years fills in the missing events from a not-often explored period of Trek history, I resented that I had to picture the Starfleet personnel wearing the Motion Picture-style uniforms!

Really, Starfleet?  REALLY?

Final Thoughts:

Always a fan of works that fill in missing periods of Trek history.  J.M. Dillard does her usual competent job here.  I also appreciated how much she used the history of the Romulans as outlined by Diane Duane in My Enemy, My Ally and especially in The Romulan Way, seeing as I had just read that novel.  It was definitely a pleasant surprise!

Final rating for The Lost Years: 8/10.

Also by J.M. Dillard:

• Enterprise: Surak's Soul (2003)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Resistance (2007)

My next read:

Right now, I'm reading Excelsior: Forged in Fire by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels.  I'm also anticipating the release of David Mack's final entry in his mirror universe saga, Rise Like Lions, due next week.  Hard to say which one I'll review first!

The Romulan Way

Star Trek #35: The Romulan Way by Diane Duane and Peter Morwood

Rihannsu #2

Published August 1987
Read: November 16th, 2011

Previous book (Rihannsu): My Enemy, My Ally

Next book (Rihannsu): Swordhunt

Previous book (The Original Series): Dreams of the Raven
Next book (The Original Series): How Much for Just the Planet?

Click the cover to purchase The Romulan Way from Amazon.com!

Spoilers ahead for The Romulan Way and the Rihannsu saga!

From the back cover:

They are a race of warriors, a noble people to whom honor is all.  They are cousin to the Vulcan, ally to the Klingon, and Starfleet's most feared and cunning adversary.  They are the Romulans - and for eight years, Federation agent Terise LoBrutto has hidden in their midst. 

Now the presence of a captured Starfleet officer forces her to make a fateful choice - between exposure and escape; between maintaining her cover - and saving the life of Dr. Leonard McCoy.

Here, in a startlingly different adventure, is the truth behind one of the most fascinating alien races ever created in Star Trek:

The Romulans.

About the Novel:

The Romulan Way is the second novel in Diane Duane's Rihannsu mini-series.  Dr. McCoy is apprehended aboard a transport craft by the Romulan military and sent to the home of a Romulan noble to await trial and execution.  The head of the serving staff, Arrhae, is actually a Federation deep-cover operative, Lt. Commander Terise LoBrutto, who has been living on Romulus gathering sociological information about the Romulans.  It turns out that McCoy's capture was not accidental, and he has specifically sought out this operative on behalf of Starfleet Intelligence to determine why she has not filed a report in nearly two years.  The fear at Starfleet is that Terise has become too enamoured with Romulan society and is beginning to forget who she is and where she is from.  McCoy has a pre-arranged rescue planned -- will Terise go with him, or will she choose to remain behind?

The novel also tells us of the history of the Romulan people since the "sundering" -- the division of the Romulans and the Vulcans two thousand years ago.  Every second chapter gives us a little more of the history, including Diane Duane's take on The Romulan War between Earth and the Romulan Star Empire.

My Thoughts:

The Romulan Way was initially published as a stand-alone novel, with some elements that could qualify it as a sequel to My Enemy, My Ally.  With the publication of Swordhunt and Honor Blade in 2000, My Enemy, My Ally and The Romulan Way were re-branded as books one and two of the Rihannsu saga.  A fifth book, The Empty Chair, was published in 2006.

In the tradition of John M. Ford's Klingon novel, The Final Reflection, The Romulan Way seems to be a definitive telling of the history and customs of the Romulan people.  We learn much about Romulan ideology (like we did in My Enemy, My Ally), and also a great deal about the history of the Romulan people, who call themselves the Rihannsu.  Of course, a lot of this information has since been contradicted by what has become known as "canon" Star Trek; for example, events such as the Earth/Romulan War, the date the Federation was established as a political entity, and first contact with the Vulcans are all presented much differently in The Romulan Way than in televised Trek.  This is obviously completely forgivable as this novel was published years before Star Trek: First Contact or the television series Star Trek: Enterprise were produced.  Another small issue is with Romulus' sister planet, Remus.  Described as lush and beautiful in The Romulan Way, 2002's Star Trek Nemesis paints a much different picture.

The Romulan Way mentions that first contact with the Vulcans
was with the Federation, rather than with the post-apocalyptic
Earth as depicted in 1996's Star Trek: First Contact.

The harsh, arid surface of Remus as seen in Star Trek Nemesis.

The Romulan Way gives us a great insight into the codes of honor and "face-saving" traditions of the Romulan people.  This especially struck a chord with me, as I am currently living in South Korea teaching English.  As a Canadian, I was unprepared for how big a deal the concept of "saving face" is here.  Much like in Romulan society, it is important in Korea to remember that embarrassing someone higher in the social strata than you should be avoided at all costs (in the case of Korea, that is anyone who is older than you).

We see the return of many characters from Diane Duane's previous Rihannsu novel: Ensign (now Lieutenant) Nahraht, the Horta; also, Commander Ael and the crew of the Bloodwing make another appearance.  Not as heavily featured as they were in My Enemy, My Ally, they nonetheless play a crucial role in the plot.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Romulan Way, both for the intrigue and suspense of the plot and for the anthropological exploration of Romulan society.  Of special interest was Duane's depiction of the early days of Surak's reformation on Vulcan, and what led to the exodus of the Romulans.

Final Thoughts:

Very enjoyable and a fascinating read.  The Romulan Way has made me very excited to read the remaining books in the Rihannsu saga!  A few continuity issues briefly took me out of the story, but that is, of course, due to no fault of the author.

Final rating for The Romulan Way: 9/10.

Also by Diane Duane:

• Star Trek #13: The Wounded Sky (1983)
• Star Trek #18: Rihannsu #1: My Enemy, My Ally (1984)
• Star Trek: Spock's World (1988)
• Star Trek #50: Doctor's Orders (1990)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation: Dark Mirror (1993)
• Star Trek: The Next Generation #45: Intellivore (1997)
• Star Trek #95: Rihannsu #3: Swordhunt (2000)
• Star Trek #96: Rihannsu #4: Honor Blade (2000)
• Star Trek: Rihannsu #5: The Empty Chair (2006)

My next read:

I've started reading one of the classic hardcovers from my library: The Lost Years by J.M. Dillard, dealing with the years between the end of Captain Kirk's five-year mission and the feature film Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The Children of Kings

Star Trek: The Children of Kings by David Stern
Published May 2010
Read: November 10, 2011

Previous book (The Original Series): Unspoken Truth
Next book (The Original Series): Cast No Shadow

Click the cover to purchase The Children of Kings at Amazon.com!

Spoilers ahead for The Children of Kings!

From the back cover:

A distress call goes out from a Federation outpost near the Klingon border.  The U.S.S. Enterprise, under the command of Captain Christopher Pike, responds.  Starbase 18 lies in ruin.  There are no survivors.  And there is no clue as to who is responsible for the attack, until Captain Pike's brilliant science officer discovers a means of retrieving parts of the station's log.  Lieutenant Spock has detected signs of a unique energy signature, one that he believes is Klingon.  There are unsubstantiated reports that the Klingon Empire has made a technological leap forward and created a cloaking device--code-named Black Snow Seven--that can shield their ships from even the most advanced sensors.  The destruction of the base and the unique energy signature that remains prove that the Empire has succeeded. 

For generations the Orions have been known as pirates, operating at the margins, outside of legal conventions.  A proud and powerful race, the Orions were once a major force in the sector, and they have been using the tension between the Klingon Empire and the Federation to rebuild their power.  Captain Pike is charged with trying foster cooperation between the Orions and the Federation.  A distress call from an Orion vessel offers him the perfect opportunity.  But the Orion ship lies is disputed space long claimed by the Klingon Empire, and crossing it could be the spark that sets off an interstellar war.

About the Novel:

The Children of Kings is set during the Captain Pike-era of Star Trek lore.  The Enterprise is responding to a distress call from Starbase 18, seemingly under attack by Klingons.  The starbase is destroyed, but not all is as it seems.

Dr. Boyce, the Enterprise's chief medical officer, is captured by Orions during a supposed rescue mission, which was merely a ruse.  Boyce is forced by the Orion leader (called the "tallith") to work on a serum designed to prolong life.  Meanwhile, the Enterprise crew is led to believe that Captain Pike has been killed.  With the arrival of a number of starships to augment the Enterprise in the area, command of Enterprise is given to Captain Dmitri Vlasidovich.

During the course of The Children of Kings, we learn more about the Orions, work with a renegade Klingon captain to rescue his father, and learn about the machinations of a pair of Starfleet Intelligence operatives determined to pin the attack on Starbase 18 on the Klingons and steal a prototype Klingon cloaking device.

My Thoughts:

Where do I begin?  The Children of Kings left me confused and befuddled for much of the time I was reading.  I was expecting a straight-forward Star Trek adventure taking place in the period of time before Kirk took command of the ship.  Indeed, several times we are told that the novel takes place three months into Captain Pike's five-year mission.  However, a number of things didn't add up that made this detail-oriented Trekkie bristle.  For example, the book makes mention of "red-shirts" a number of times.  However, during Pike's time, the uniform colour scheme didn't include red.  Number One, Pike's first officer, accesses a database belonging to the Ferengi Commerce Authority.  While the Ferengi had been encountered before this point in the television series Enterprise (see: "Acquisition"), formal first contact would not be made until Star Trek: The Next Generation, over one hundred years after this book supposedly takes place.  Certainly, enough would not have been known to be able to access one of their government databases.  Finally, the Klingons' development of a cloaking device at this time in Trek history does not track with what we know about when the cloaking device was created and by whom.

After many pages of head-scratching, I finally reached the end, where the author's notes informed me that the book did not conform to the "prime" Star Trek timeline, and instead should be read as a prequel to the "new timeline" movie, Star Trek, that came out in 2009. NOW everything makes sense!  If only this information had been included in an "historical note" or the like at the beginning of the novel, I would have been saved much confusion.  The unfortunate thing is that The Children of Kings doesn't even precisely follow the new Star Trek continuity either, as the adventure in the movie is mentioned as being the "maiden voyage" of the Enterprise.

 

Which Captain Pike?  Jeffrey Hunter or Bruce Greenwood?

 Which U.S.S. Enterprise?

Some of the writer's choices of language and style didn't sit very well with me, either.  For example, at two points in the book, Stern writes characters as thinking "not."  As in, the way we would make a lame joke in the 90s: "Are you coming to my party?"  "Yes... NOT!"  This really took me out of the story, and had me wondering why a book written in 2010 featuring characters in the 23rd century would make them sound like school kids from the mid-90s.

The positives:  It was nice to learn more about the Orions and their culture, and the opportunity to follow the lives of characters we don't know much about is always welcome.

The negatives:  I think that Trek literature affords the opportunity for writers to "fill in the gaps" in Star Trek history.  It would have been nice to see more of what happened to Spock and Pike's crew in the early days of their careers.  Because The Children of Kings doesn't seem to conform to any particular Trek continuity, it's frustrating that this is not accomplished.

Final Thoughts:

Confusing plot and setting elements, as well as a plot that leaves a number of threads dangling (What will become of the Orion government?  What will the fall-out with the Klingons and Starfleet Intelligence be?) made this a less-than-enjoyable reading experience.  This book had a lot of potential, and I feel it would have been much better had Mr. Stern stuck with one particular continuity rather than muddying the issue.

More about The Children of Kings:

• TrekBBS Review and Discussion Thread
• Podcast: Literary Treks 274: An Old Man in the Park Feeding Pigeons

My next read:

I'm currently enjoying book two of Diane Duane's Rihannsu saga, The Romulan Way, co-written with Peter Morwood.  Look for a review of that novel soon!

As always, LLAP!