Vanguard: Harbinger

I like the idea of creating a new Star Trek series in which TOS characters only appear on the periphery. It's well written in that regard. Mack does almost all of the new characters justice by making the reader genuinely interested in them - especially Cervantes Quinn. Some parts of the story seemed to be thrown in for mere shock value, however. One scene in particular consists of maybe 3 pages and advances the story in no way that I can see at this point. Perhaps the nuance to these two characters whom I'm referring to will be expanded upon in much more detail in the following Vanguard novels. It really didn't advance the story in Harbinger, though.

I don't like Star Trek The Original Series on Television, never have, never will, so, needless to say, I haven't read many of the tie in books that are set in that time period. Well, I picked this one up for a very specific storyline, I wasn't anticipating liking it at all, but I found myself drawn in anyway.

David Mack is nothing to sneeze at. It's a well written novel, and it's a complicated universe that he's set up. Many storylines he kept helpfully dangling for the next author/authors down the line who write in the Vanguard Universe. All in all, I can't wait to get the next Novel in the series.

I'm currently on a Star Trek reading binge. After years of doing research for my master's degree, the book I wrote based on my thesis, and the book I edited and wrote an introduction for, I needed to do some reading that was just plain fun and mind cleansing. Having enjoyed the new Star Trek movie and the new online game, I gave in to temptation and went back to one of the guilty pleasures of my youth: Star Trek novels.

The Vanguard series, which David Mack co-created and wrote some of the books for, was a great surprise for me. With a huge cast of characters, known and unknown to Star Trek fans, Harbinger has a complex, satisfying plot and is very well-written. The nods to such things as the change in uniforms between the pilot and the show more regular show, and a character for whom the school on Deep Space Nine is named, are delights for a long-time Trekkie like me. show less

Overall, this series reads as if the writing staffs for DS9 and Babylon 5 wrote a new TOS-based TV show. Politics, ancient alien threats, moral ambiguity... nice. ^_^

This is the beginning of the Vanguard series, which I highly recommend reading. Starbase 47 is at the edge of the Taurus reach, a remote region of space at this particular time frame (The Original Series). Starfleet establishes the starbase to partake in a secret mission involving alien technology, which proves to be extremely powerful, something which if Starfleet can develop and expand on could significantly boost their hold in the galaxy against their enemies.

David Mack is one of my favorite authors in the Star Trek universe. He can take a character and give that particular element many different dimensions which richly adds to the story. Key think I note is that he can set up the characters dimensions without loosing the reader show more along the way with long and drawn out diatribes. show less

I enjoyed this retro TOS novel by David Mack. Mack introduces a fleet of new characters for this story arc, all very intriguing, as is the mystery of the Taurus Reach. Of course, Kirk, Spock, and a few other familiar characters are there. I’m looking forward to the rest of the story.

Published in mass market paperback by Pocket Books.

a good start to a series, but definitely slow as they introduce every character in turn.

the pacing throughout this and the following books picks up which is good.