F/SF

This novel seemed a lot like an actual TOS plot, and I'm not sure that's a compliment.

The copy on the back cover promises an exciting read: “While mapping a series of gravitational anomalies, the Enterprise is suddenly hurled millions of light-years through space . . . into the middle of an endless interstellar war.” It’s unfortunate that the book itself doesn’t live up to the potential of this premise. What James Kirk and his crew encounter instead is planet after planet blasted into irradiated ruins, with weeks passing before meeting up with the first ships in this far-off part of the universe. These vessels are primitive compared to the Federation’s pride-and-joy, which works for the story but also saps the encounters of any suspense – after all, what threat exists from ships that can be outrun and outfought?

Gene DeWeese seems to have appreciated this, which is why he inserts a wild-card into the plot in the form of Jason Crandall, a scientist and administrator who was aboard for the mapping mission and found himself along for the unexpected ride. As a narcissistic psychopath his existence in the story is so obviously to disrupt Kirk’s efforts to navigate their situation that DeWeese might as well have just named the character “Monkey Wrench.” Moreover, Crandall only poses the threat that he does in the novel because of Kirk’s too-trusting nature, which strains the reader’s credulity to the breaking point. Perhaps DeWeese should have paid closer attention to the episodes of the original series (which he boasts of having re-watched as research for the book) with a similar plot device, as it was much better done in episodes such as “A Taste of Armageddon” (a clear inspiration for DeWeese’s story), “The Doomsday Machine,” and “The Deadly Years,” to name just three. In DeWeese’s hands it just feels like unnecessary tension added because it was absent from his central plot. ( )

This novel is #32 in the Pocket Book series of Star Trek novels, and was first published in February 1987. The characters we know from the TV series and films seem to be presented pretty well - no one acting in ways to make the reader groan. The jerk of the week here is a Dr. Jason Crandall who is perhaps the most unbelievable thing in a book that has a rather interesting situation to be resolved. The Enterprise finds itself in a far away galaxy unable to return home and in the midst of what appears to be a never-ending war between two humanoid species. Everywhere the Enterprise looks they find destroyed worlds and then they themselves are attacked.

These books aren't high literature and no one expects that. You read these for a bit of fun and there is enough excitement and twists here to keep things interesting, even though I had a rather intense dislike for the evil Dr. Crandall. This novel would have been a better story if everything concerning Dr. Crandall had been excised. His story arc adds nothing to the book and distracts from the larger story.

I have not read many of these Trek novels, but this one seems OK. I did enjoy this adventure with some old friends. ( )

The USS Enterprise finds herself stranded in a distant galaxy! What could be worse? When the planets of that galaxy are found to be ravaged and lifeless from centuries of war, starships do not communicate with each other and fire upon every ship they encounter, making matters worse. Can the crew of the Enterprise survive long enough to find a way home or will they find death in that distant cold space? ( )