The Great Starship Race

Very enjoyable, in the "rollicking yarn" sort of way. The Rey and the race are fun, the Romulans aren't too cheesy, and the whole thing cracks along. The one "eeh" moment is that there's a ship full of people who love the Southern US (they're all from there) and embrace, yknow, the Lost Cause, etc in that "it's cultural!!!1!!" sort of way.

Well I don't care how good it is, objectively speaking. I liked it. Of course, we know from the prologue what the main characters don't figure out until near the end, and all the foreshadowing gets annoying. And the sexism is problematic. But mostly it's a fun read for fans of the series. That is to say, genre fiction at its most comforting.

One thing really bothers me, though, I guess I have to admit. In the beginning we're introduced to many of the other participants in the race, and we even see a copy of the list of entries. But knowing who's who never matters again... even though some of those individuals seemed very interesting....

I wonder if it would be a better read if the first two sections (the prologue and the race prep) were show more skipped, and the reader had to piece together the backstory at the same time the characters were doing so.... show less

A quite good Star Trek novel in which the Federation hosts an intragalactic Starship race. The race becomes a bloodsport when a Romulan ship bullies its way into the race, and the survival of a world becomes the new stakes. Not nearly as hokey as it sounds, and quite nicely written by one of Star Trek's better and more prolific authors.

This is a curious Star Trek story revolving around a race between an assortment of ships from across the Federation. This goodwill mission is meant to be fun for both the ship’s crew and spectators. But everything changes when a Romulan ship wants to enter the race. Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise know it in their bones that the Romulans do not come to race for fun and goodwill but have ulterior motives. Can the crew of the Enterprise run a race while keeping an eye on that new and possibly deadly entry?