Timetrap

A very odd Trek book: published after TNG was already a Thing, it involves Kirk being kidnapped by Klingons who trick him into believing he has been thrown into the future—a future of peace between Klingons and the Federation. The most interesting part was the Manchurian Candidate-style Klingon sleeper agents, their personalities suppressed by drugs. I kinda need to chew on that whole idea: is it ridiculous? Interestingly believable when discussing truly alien beings? Both? In any case, I don't think I could label this book as "good" or "bad"—just "unusual."

It is a solid three stars for me. The usual characters are explored, and by this point the "canon" of Star Trek books has become solidified and this one is #40 in the series (just before "The Next Generation" starts its run).

The Enterprise finds itself in the same part of the galaxy where "The Tholian Web" took place and a similar jump through time occurs. This time, though, Kirk finds himself not in and out of the Enterprise but solidly on board a Klingon warship with a crew of strangely garbed Klingons. They are gentle and thoughtful, and tell him that he has jumped forward 100 years through a space-time disturbance.

As time passes, both onboard the Enterprise, on Earth, and on the Klingon new/old ship, bits of things start to occur show more that make the plot really start to evolve. Kirk, who has fallen in love with a Klingon woman, finds that she is out of consciousness for a while and his host is getting more short-tempered. Further, there are gaps in the history of which he is supposed to play a part. Spock finds strange occurrences between high-ranking members of the Federation and parts of Earth (and other planets) that were utterly destroyed, and a brilliant scientist is becoming unglued. These final plot twists really saved the book for me and helped it be out of the ordinary. show less

I wanted something easy and fun to read. This did the trick well enough. I picked up a batch of these old Star Trek novels recently and I think I am going to be enjoying them when I want light reading. I used to look down my nose at these sorts of books but I can enjoy them now it seems. I should perhaps blame John Scalzi's recent work "Redshirts" for even making me think of reading these books.

Timetrap is something of a trickster sort of book. The Klingons are acting strange. Are they still the bad guys here, or are they new Klingons? Watch out. There is a lot of attention to details so this felt much like watching an episode of the original series. Since this is only the 2nd Star Trek novel I have read I don't know how it compares to show more others. I can only say that although this felt a little drawn out, it wasn't awful and I enjoyed it OK as an easy read. show less

The premise of Timetrap by David Dvorkin is a slight of hand that the reader falls for from the experience of James Kirk, who himself falls for the Klingon deception. The Enterprise encounters a Klingon Bird-of-Prey in Federation territory near the Tholian space, Kirk beams over in an attempt to grab a Klingon for questioning only for the ship to disappear as the result of an interstellar storm that also affects the Enterprise. Kirk waits up among Klingons supposedly 100 years in the future during a period called "The Great Peace" between the Federation and Klingons to learn he is the reason it occurred. However, the battered Enterprise arrives at Starbase Seventeen where Spock starts his investigation into Kirk disappearance. Events show more quickly transpire that sends Kirk with a Klingon fleet into Federation space, but along the way the deception starts to unravel and completely falls apart as the two hostile factions face off with one another.

While the pace and overall story of the novel were good, it was the character development of Kirk that was really off putting and though at the end of the novel his behavior is hand-waved as a product of chemical manipulation it's still off putting. The internal conflict of the Klingon undercover spy is well done and completely tricks the reader when the true is revealed.

Overall Timetrap is an quick, average read. If your a Star Trek fan, I halfheartedly recommend it with the warning about Kirk. If you're not a Star Trek fan then watch out because your perception of Kirk could get warped. show less

David Dvorkin's novel is one that hinges heavily on its premise of James Kirk being suddenly transported into a future in which a friendlier group of "New Klingons" have achieved the Organian-prophesied peace with the Federation. Unfortunately the story's twist is easily predictable, and too much of the plot hinges on a James Kirk who is far more credulous than one would expect his character to be in his circumstances. It's unfortunate, too, as Dvorkin's novel contains elements that, in the hands of other authors, could have resulted in two or three nifty novels for the franchise (and which prefigure episodes of both The Next Generation and Deep Space 9). In this case, however, the plotting doesn't live up to the promise of the ideas show more devised for it. show less

Y'know what, I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit. I like Dvorkin's insights, his pov, on the characters. Nothing to add to other reviews, sorry.

Kirk passes through a dimensional storm and awakens a century in the future, and falls in love with a "new Klingon" who is attempting to steer her people toward peaceful co-oexistence. But things are not as they seem, however, in a clever and interesting plot that also quite nicely highlights the beginnings of new developments in Kirk's attitude toward Klingons.