Dead Endless

Star Trek: Discovery
Dead Endless by Dave Galanter
Release date: December 17^th 2019
Read December 1^st 2019

Previous book (Discovery): The Enterprise War
Next book (Discovery): Die Standing

Purchase Dead Endless:
Trade Paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
E-book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Publisher's description:

The U.S.S. Discovery’s specialty is using its spore-based hub drive to jump great distances faster than any warp-faring vessel in Starfleet. To do this, Lieutenant Paul Stamets navigates the ship through the recently revealed mycelial network, a subspace domain Discovery can briefly transit but in which it cannot remain. After responding to a startling distress call originating from within the network, the Discovery crew find themselves trapped in an inescapable realm where they will surely perish unless their missing mycelial fuel is found or restored. Is the seemingly human man found alone and alive inside the network the Starfleet officer he claims to be, or an impostor created by alien intruders who hope to extract themselves from the mycelial plane at the expense of all lives aboard Discovery?

My thoughts:

Click here to watch my video review of Dead Endless, or click play on the embedded video below!

Final thoughts:

Dead Endless is a moving story about characters I love. The story is not what it initially appears to be, but eventually reveals itself to be much more poignant that it would seem at first glance. Dave Galanter is one of my favorite Trek authors, and his writing does not disappoint here. In fact, Dead Endless was my pick for top Star Trek novel of 2019, and it is well-deserved.

More about Dead Endless:

• TrekBBS Review and Discussion Thread
• Podcast: Literary Treks 292: More of a Culmets Book - Exclusive interview with author Dave Galanter!

Also by Dave Galanter:

• Star Trek: S.C.E. #11: Ambush with Greg Brodeur (2001)
• Star Trek: Mere Anarchy: Shadows of the Indignant (2006)
• Star Trek: Troublesome Minds (2009)
• Star Trek: The Original Series: Crisis of Consciousness (2015)

Next time on Trek Lit Reviews:

My next review will be for the conclusion of the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy: Lost Souls by David Mack.

Shadows of the Indignant

Star Trek
Mere Anarchy, Book Three
Shadows of the Indignant by Dave Galanter
First Published November 2006
Re-published in the omnibus collection Mere Anarchy in March 2009
Read August 22^nd 2015

Previous book (Mere Anarchy): The Centre Cannot Hold
Next book (Mere Anarchy): The Darkness Drops Again

Original e-book cover

Trade Paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
Kindle E-book: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Spoilers ahead for Shadows of the Indignant and the rest of the Mere Anarchy series!

From the back cover:

As Admiral James T. Kirk adjusts to life at Starfleet Operations on Earth, he discovers some shipping irregularities centered around Mestiko. Authorized to go on a fact-finding tour to the planet, Kirk takes along his old friend Dr. McCoy, now a civilian "old country doctor," to investigate.

What Kirk finds is a web of intrigue, complicated by his status as Dinpayav, an outsider. He must convince Raya elMora--now a major player in the ad hoc world government of Mestiko in the years following the disaster--to help him before Mestiko becomes the pawn of someone else's political game...

My thoughts:

Mere Anarchy is a miniseries of e-books originally conceived of to provide a continuing story across all of the various "eras" of Original Series Trek. One period of time that hasn't had a lot of exploration, either on-screen or in other media, is immediately following The Original Series and before Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This was a time of transition for our heroes, with Kirk taking a desk job with the admiralty at Starfleet Command, Spock leaving Starfleet to pursue Kolinahr on Vulcan, and McCoy retiring from active service. Shadows of the Indignant reveals what a couple of these characters were up to during this period of time.

Admiral Kirk enlists the aid of an old friend.

Shadows of the Indignant is unique in that it follows just two characters: Kirk and McCoy. In his new position as Chief of Starfleet Operations, Admiral Kirk has discovered several anomalies in Mestiko's records: strange shipping errors and other mysterious happenings that lead him to one conclusion: Klingon involvement. Kirk intends to uncover what is happening on Mestiko, but is unable to go through Starfleet channels to do so. He decides to go undercover in the black market tied to Mestiko, but first he must recruit an old friend to help him out: Leonard McCoy.

This was a fun story. The focus on just two characters instead of the entire ensemble gave the story a unique feel for this unique time in Trek history. The changes that occurred after end of the 5-year mission have turned the world on its ear for these characters, and the story reflected that reality quite well.

Reading Shadows of the Indignant, one gets the sense that Admiral Kirk is still struggling with his decision to accept promotion.

The mystery behind the irregularities that Kirk investigates plays out fairly by the numbers, with a few small twists and turns here and there. However, it is a fun read because Dave Galanter has such a good grasp of these characters' voices. McCoy's discomfort with returning to the "Starfleet lifestyle" was amusing and felt very genuine. Kirk's unease with his new role as an admiral while at the same time defending the decision as a good one felt perfect for this stage in his life.

Final thoughts:

A generally good story featuring one of my favorite relationships among the TOS crew. Kirk and McCoy are the sole focus of this story, which lends a unique perspective. Almost a "buddy cop" story, Shadows of the Indignant continues the story of Mestiko into the movie era, featuring a glimpse into a period of time not often explored. Solid, with not a lot of surprises, Shadows of the Indignant gets the characters just right.

More about Shadows of the Indignant:

• Podcast: Literary Treks 118: Footie Pajamas

Star Trek: Mere Anarchy:

• Things Fall Apart by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore
• The Centre Cannot Hold by Mike W. Barr
• Shadows of the Indignant by Dave Galanter
• The Darkness Drops Again by Christopher L. Bennett
• The Blood-Dimmed Tide by Howard Weinstein
• Its Hour Come Round by Margaret Wander Bonanno

Also by Dave Galanter:

• Star Trek: S.C.E. #11: Ambush with Greg Brodeur(2001)
• Star Trek: Troublesome Minds (2009)
• Star Trek: The Original Series: Crisis of Consciousness (2015)
• Star Trek: Discovery: Dead Endless (2019)

Next time on Trek Lit Reviews:

Next week, an old favorite from Greg Cox: Book one of the Q Continuum trilogy, Q-Space. Let's see how it holds up!

Crisis of Consciousness

Star Trek: The Original Series
Crisis of Consciousness by Dave Galanter
Release date: April 28^th 2015
Read May 4^th 2015

Previous book (The Original Series): Shadow of the Machine
Next book (The Original Series): Child of Two Worlds

MMPB: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Kindle: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Spoilers ahead for Crisis of Consciousness!

From the back cover:

The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is completing a treaty mission with the Maabas, a peaceful alien race not native to the star system they currently inhabit, as descendants of refugees from a great war long ago. Several hundred thousand Maabas once took shelter on their new world, and have now been here for millennia. They do not travel the stars, but seek to explore from within. The Federation's interest is in the Maabas's great intellectual resources--their science, while behind in some areas, excels in others, and their philosophy is in line with that of the Federation. But just as the pact is signed, the Enterprise is attacked by an unidentified vessel. Enough force is shown to keep the alien assailants at bay, but a new danger arises. Their mysterious foes are the Kenisians--a race that used to inhabit the Maabas's chosen world thousands of years ago, and who now want to take it back.

My thoughts:

When Original Series five-year mission novels come up in the yearly release schedule, they tend to be my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy them, but I definitely tend to prefer the continuation of the 24th century shared universe, or more oddball novels such as those of The Lost Era or Seekers. However, after reading the excellent novel Troublesome Minds, when Dave Galanter's name pops up in the schedule, I sit up and take notice.

Like that earlier work, Crisis of Consciousness is an excellent novel. Galanter gets the character voices just right, and the alien characters are very interesting as well. I especially enjoyed the exploration of the Maabas and the Kenisians through the characters of Pippenge and the "multividual" Kenisian characters.

At its heart, Crisis of Consciousness is about how different cultures react to wrongs perpetrated against them in the past, as well as the concept of cultural memory. For the Kenisians, that cultural memory is very long and acute due to the fact that the voices from the past remain an active part of their culture for so long. The effect of the older generations influencing the younger towards conservatism is therefore greatly amplified among the Kenisians.

We learn about the consequences of large-scale, long-term Katra transfer in this novel, long before McCoy would experience it in The Search for Spock.

Much like Troublesome Minds, Crisis of Consciousness deals a lot with issues of the mind and telepathy. The Kenisians are a unique extension of the idea of Vulcan "katras" and what carrying around hundreds of disparate voices inside your head would mean. We saw how much of a deleterious effect carrying just one katra around had on a human's mind in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; even a Vulcanoid mind would have tremendous difficulty with hundreds!

There is a lot to enjoy about this novel. We get some classic Kirk and Spock teamwork as each tries to figure out what the other would do, and in so doing, they are able to collaborate on a solution even while out of contact with one another. We also get a budding romance between Scotty and Carolyn Palamas, whom you might remember from the classic episode "Who Mourns For Adonais?". We learn how they first met and how they came to be so close by the time of that episode.

Scotty and Carolyn Palamas meet for the first time
 in Crisis of Consciousness.

Final thoughts:

A very solid entry in the Original Series line of Trek novels, and one of my favorites to date! The novel delves into some very interesting concepts and ideas, and the crew of the Enterprise is in top form here as they work to solve the mystery and save the galaxy once again. Dave Galanter's work has quickly become some of my favorite Trek fiction, and I hope that we can get more of his work soon!

Further resources:

• Trek BBS review and discussion thread for Crisis of Consciousness
• Podcast: Literary Treks 104: WWKD and WWSD - Interview with Dave Galanter

Also by Dave Galanter:

• Star Trek: S.C.E. #11: Ambush with Greg Brodeur (2001)
• Star Trek: Mere Anarchy: Shadows of the Indignant (2006)
• Star Trek: Troublesome Minds (2009)
• Star Trek: Discovery: Dead Endless (2019)

My next read:

Next up is book five of the Slings and Arrows series: A Weary Life by Robert Greenberger.

Ambush

Star Trek: S.C.E. #11
Ambush by Dave Galanter and Greg Brodeur
Published December 2001
Re-released in print form as part of the S.C.E. compilation Some Assembly Required in April 2003.
Read April 8^th 2015

Previous ebook (S.C.E.): #10: Here There Be Monsters
Next ebook (S.C.E.): #12: Some Assembly Required

Original e-book cover

Compilation of SCE #'s 9 - 12

Some Assembly Required from Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Spoilers ahead for Ambush and the rest of the Corps of Engineers series!

From the back cover:

What started out as a simple supply run turns into a life-or-death struggle! The crew of the USS da Vinci thought they were just bringing mining supplies to Beta Argola. But en route they find out that the planet has been attacked—by the same superior forces that are now overwhelming the da Vinci! 

Overmatched by three enemy vessels that will not rest until the da Vinci is destroyed, the SCE crew must use all of their wits to figure out how to take on a more powerful foe. And they have to do it soon, because the miners on Beta Argola are quickly running out of time before their reactor goes critical…

My thoughts:

Ambush gives us something that happens often in Star Trek, but hasn't previously made an appearance in the S.C.E. series: cat-and-mouse starship combat! The U.S.S. da Vinci is attacked by raiders as she is delivering supplies to a mining colony. Captain Gold and his crew must contend with the damage to the da Vinci while using all of their expertise to turn the tide of battle against the aggressors.

Needless to say, the engineering know-how of Commander Gomez's S.C.E. team is put to the task of defending the ship. I've been waiting for a story like this! Not that Star Trek is all about ship battles and destroying your enemies, but I've been fascinated to see how the engineering gurus of S.C.E. tackle a tactical problem, and the characters do not disappoint. As usual, they come up with several creative solutions to their difficulties.

I also really enjoyed the scenes shown from the perspective of the colonists waiting for rescue. The tension and danger felt very real, and I found myself developing an emotional connection not only with the da Vinci crew, but with the struggling colonists as well. For a story with such a short page count, that is quite a feat! Additionally, the colonists show a great deal of ingenuity themselves, giving the S.C.E. crew a run for their money in the smarts department.

Final thoughts:

Some of Star Trek's most memorable episodes involved situations where the crew deals with damage during a combat or emergency situation and must outwit their foes using unconventional means. The da Vinci crew finally gets their chance to show how they deal with that particular scenario. I felt that this was the strongest entry in Some Assembly Required, and Dave Galanter and Greg Brodeur should be very proud of the story they have written. Very enjoyable, and a great outing for the da Vinci and her crew!

My next read:

Tomorrow's review: the final story of the third S.C.E. omnibus collection: Some Assembly Required by Scott Ciencin and Dan Jolley.

Troublesome Minds

Star Trek: Troublesome Minds by Dave Galanter
Published June 2009
Read January 20th, 2012

Previous book (The Original Series): Errand of Fury #3: Sacrifices of War
Next book (The Original Series): Inception

Click to purchase Troublesome Minds from Amazon.com!

Spoilers ahead for Troublesome Minds!

From the back cover:

First contact becomes an interstellar incident when the Starship Enterprise responds to a distress call from an unknown ship and saves the life of a man left to die by his own people.  Berlis, member of a telepathic species calling themselves the Isitri, claims not to know why those from his homeworld want him dead.  Captain James T. Kirk wants to believe him, but the damage is done: the Enterprise can neither leave the stranger to die nor turn him over to those who would kill him.

Berlis seems harmless, but his people say he cannot live among them: his telepathy is so strong that their wills are subsumed to his.  The same fear that compels the Isitri to seek the death of one of their own drives the neighboring Odib people toward genocide.  For every time a "troublesome mind" dominiates the Isitri, the Odib pay the price in their own blood.

With Spock becoming erratic under Berlis's influence, and the Isitri begging Kirk to allow them to destroy the man who threatens their existence, matters take a disastrous turn when Berlis makes his way back to Isitra ... and an entire world falls to his whims.

About the Novel:

The Enterprise rescues an alien by the name of Berlis, who seems quite amiable and pleasant.  While he is aboard, Captain Kirk and other members of the crew feel drawn to him and want to do anything they can to help him.  However, after his departure, the feeling begins to fade, and the crew suspects there may be more to Berlis than meets the eye.  This is confirmed when Spock, defying all logic and reason, disobeys orders and risks the lives of the crew in order to help Berlis evade capture by his people.  It seems that Berlis is a "troublesome mind," a telepath so strong that members of his species who are nearby find their own wills completely subsumed, and under the complete control of Berlis.  His people greatly fear coming under the control of a troublesome mind.  The last time one of them gained power, the entire civilization acted as puppets to the troublesome mind's will, and when he finally died, the planet "woke up."  Children who were controlled early on by the troublesome mind found themselves elderly, having never lived their own lives.

The threat of the entire population under the control of a troublesome mind is so terrifying that a neighboring species, the Odib, has vowed that if the Isitri come under the influence of one of these telepathic terrors again, they will destroy the entire civilization rather than risk being the target of an entire race of people bent to one man's will.  Now, in part because of the actions of Kirk and the Enterprise, the Isitri have come under the control of Berlis, and the Odib are threatening full-scale war.  Captain Kirk must find a way to resolve the situation, and adding to his difficulties is the doubt he has in his friend and first officer, Mr. Spock.  Is Spock acting of his own accord, or has he become yet another victim of Berlis' "troublesome mind"?

My Thoughts:

Troublesome Minds is a beautiful and tragic story.  The moral questions it raises are difficult to resolve.  The real tragedy of Berlis' character is that he doesn't even realize the effect he has on others of his species.  His control is so complete that the people who fall sway to it do exactly what Berlis wants.  Can you imagine living your entire life with everyone around you catering to your every whim?  You would probably just think that you are a very deserving and loved person, not that your mind is controlling their every action.    From Berlis' perspective, those around him simply have the same wishes and desires that he does.  The fact that the Isitri Council wishes him dead must be completely baffling to him, as he feels he has done absolutely nothing wrong.

However, the risk posed by his telepathy cannot be understated.  An entire civilization under the control of one man is a frightening thing.  Can you imagine falling under his influence one day, not even realizing that your own thoughts and desires are not truly your own?  Only when the troublesome mind is finally removed, decades later, do you realize you have not lived your own life.  This passage from chapter nine, telling of the life of a man whose mind had been enslaved by a troublesome mind, was truly chilling when I first read it:

Sketel had lived through a war with the Odib, and so personally knew the horrors of Isitri slavery.  In his case, he went to bed a little boy and when the troublesome mind was finally dead, he awoke to find his parents long passed, years of his life missing, and married to a woman he didn't really know or love.  She was pregnant with their second child.  He knew them intimately -- and yet did not.

Captain Kirk, by saving the life of this one man, may have accidentally doomed the entire race.  Here we see a moral quandary: saving the life of someone should be a good thing, but does Berlis actually need to die in order to save the entire Isitri race?  Dave Galanter has given us a story to which there is no black or white answer.

Another aspect of Troublesome Minds that really impressed me was the way the main characters came across.  Dave Galanter has truly mastered the "voice" of the Star Trek characters, Captain Kirk in particular.  I could very easily picture and hear William Shatner delivering Kirk's lines and his mannerisms were similarly well-written.  The other two of the "big three" -- Spock and McCoy -- are also extremely well-written.

Final Thoughts:

I have to admit that when I first pulled Troublesome Minds off the shelf, I expected an average, paint-by-number Star Trek: TOS novel.  Not so.  Dave Galanter has written a surprise classic in my opinion.  The fascinating moral quandary, well-written characterizations of Kirk, Spock, and Bones, as well as a troubling and thought-provoking conclusion contribute to one of the better Star Trek novels I have ever read.  Troublesome Minds did an excellent job of capturing the feel of a classic Star Trek episode.

Final score for Troublesome Minds: 9/10.  Very well-written, and a true pleasure to read.

Also by Dave Galanter:

• Star Trek: S.C.E. #11: Ambush with Greg Brodeur (2001)
• Star Trek: Mere Anarchy: Shadows of the Indignant (2006)
• Star Trek: The Original Series: Crisis of Consciousness (2015)
• Star Trek: Discovery: Dead Endless (2019)

My next read:

For whatever reason, I've decided to re-read the Gateways series of novels.  I didn't read all of them the first time through, so I figure I should give them another chance.  First up is One Small Step by Susan Wright.