The Janus Gate: Present Tense

Awesome! No other word will suffice, I'm afraid. Literary it ain't, but L.A. Graf knows how to write a cracking Star Trek adventure - and keep readers hooked! I could hug this book - great characterisation (no Kirk bashing), strong teamwork from the crew, and that same sense of fun and drama that makes me love the original series. I also love the atmospheric world-building on the planet visited by the landing party(ies) - daunting and claustrophobic all at the same time. This, as you may have guessed, is my favourite type of novelisation - a 'missing episode' from the series, set after The Naked Time, early in season one. Quick to read, but incredibly enjoyable for a fan of the show - straight onto book two, I think!

Enjoyed this book a lot from the start. Keep an eye on junior officers names, they may turn out to be major players later. Though that means you know who will survive this story, it's generally because you know which episode they die in later in the series! Set just at the tag of "Naked Time", with Sulu and Riley still getting ribbed for their antics while infected with the virus, the story deals with what the Enterprise did over those three days they get to repeat. (Ignore the blurb on the back of the book, it must have been based on an early draft or something, but it has little to do with the book as printed.) Newly arrived Ensign Chekov has a while to go before he makes bridge crew, but gets picked for a dangerous away mission show more because of his recent academy training in a special skill. Two weapons officers, one on the lost survey team and one on the rescue, will get to know one another, a significant point for a later episode. It's great to read a book about the second tier characters from the series. Uhura is mostly commanding the landing party and Sulu has a major story line (probably even bigger in book 2). If TOS had made "Lower Decks", it would have been something like this. show less

This could have been such a more enjoyable "Star Trek" book. L.A. Graf has all the tools: a nice writing style, a sure grasp of the characters and history of the series, and a fine notion of how to best bring out their sometimes-hidden characteristics. This is a time-travel story in which the Enterprise inadvertently journeys back in time three days, and the course of events is altered in such a way that several characters are exchanged with their other-time counterparts. Chekov and Sulu, for example, meet their counterparts from 20 years in the future, and are amazed at the effects that the last two decades of war has had on them. Kirk is exchanged with his 14-year old self, and he discovers some basic truths about his father that his show more younger self was too rebellious to notice. There are some rather poignant moments here, especially near the end, as Chekov and Sulu (the older ones) each make an ultimate sacrifice to save the Federation. I like the interplay between the main characters, and Graf challenges the veteran Star Trek fan to keep up with references to events from the early TV episodes. But Graf's use of hard science fiction to set up the scenarios is confusing, poorly laid out, and ultimately detracted from what could have been a very enjoyable novel. Graf should have contracted this part of the book to someone more adept in explaining complex ideas of time travel. show less