Customer Reviews:
 Not so frustrating in hindsight... December 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My initial gripe with this work was with what I considered to be a glaring continuity error; the book is set in 2155, following on from Trip's 'faked' death in... 2161! Ok, so this is the first of the post-series novels I've read, and I'd missed the (apparent) decision to justify this in context of the story, so I'll forgive the admittedly respected authors, and accept this as correct (whether or not it counts as canon...)
With that in mind, I can accept that this is a fascinating story about the birth pangs of what eventually became the United Federation of Planets, involving espionage, sabotage and diplomacy. There is a large amount of what the late Craig Hinton referred to as "fanwank", including a reference to the ST:TOS episode "A Piece of the Action", which is totally unnecessary, a tad laboured, but fun anyway, although the biggest bit of fanwank is, of course, the inclusion of the Kobayashi Maru itself, as well as Captain Archer's own solution to it (no, I'm not going to give it away, but it's worth waiting for...)
The distinct elements of the narrative include the mission of both Enterprise and her sister ship Columbia, the sinister shenanigans of the rascally Romulans (as well as Trip's attempts to spy on TWO separate factions!), and the knife-edge tension in the the fledgling Coalition council chamber. Who knows what, and how much are they telling, becomes a major issue among many of the protagonists.
Ok, so here's the controversial bit: gay Klingons! Before I get bombarded with abuse about this, let me state I am NOT homophobic. I accept that tv (and its written analogues) should reflect real life even to the extent that Star Trek can reflect real life, so homosexuality should not be treated as abnormal; remember the rumour that Lt Reed was gay? And when one of the authors is openly gay, you can reasonably expect his sexuality to be reflected in his work. But when you are presented with a gay Klingon admiral, it's a stretch too far for me. Maybe not for everyone, but there have been references (notably by Worf) to Klingon mating rituals, and I just can't can't reconcile the two concepts.
All in all, once I've adapted to the time line issue, this is basically a good, entertaining story, purporting to explain the causes of the Earth-Romulan War in 2156. If you can ignore the niggly bits, which in truth isn't too hard, you have a book you'll struggle to put down. So it falls just short of four stars for me.
On the Brink of the Romulan War September 26, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
The adventures of the first starship Enterprise continue in the latest novel sequel to a TV series that ended too soon. And in the tradition of that series, a blank spot in the rest of the Star Trek universe has been filled in.
The Koybayashi Maru was first referred to in the beginning of the film "The Wrath of Khan" as part of a Starfleet cadet training exercise. A freighter in trouble lures the trainee crew into an ambush. This book brings us the original ambush.
The Romulans are preparing war against Earth and the new Coalition of Planets, the forerunner of the Federation. Their secret weapon is a device that allows them to take control of other ships, first Klingon, later others. Using captured Klingon ships, they are on the verge of provoking the Coalition into war with the Klingons, but for Jonathan Archer and his crew, who figure out the deception.
Meanwhile, the officially dead Trip Tucker is actually alive in Romulan space trying to stop their efforts to develop a much faster warp engine.
It's good have Trip back, and in true secret within secret spy style we still don't know if the apparent Vulcan renegade Sopek is a double agent or a triple agent.
And when you get to the end, you need to read the sequel as soon as possible...because the Romulan War (referred to in the original TV series) is here.
Sadly though, it seems the sequel, called simply "The Romulan War", won't be published until October next year. One wishes the publishers of Star Trek books could bunch their connected series a little better.
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