Published:
October 2009
Reviewer Rating:
Avg User Rating:
(3.14)
Feeling threatened by the newly christened Coalition of Planets, the Romulan Star Empire begins a campaign to halt Coalition expansion and shatter the young alliance. Through direct attack and covertly capturing Coalition ships and turning them against their allies, the Romulans begin a war that will push everyone to the very edge.
I wanted to LOVE this book, but I merely liked it. I wanted to be awed by strategy, tactics, sneak attacks, and treated to a real "war" novel set in the early era of Star Trek. That's not really what we get here. While there is a bit of that - mostly from the Romulan side - the actual battles that are laid out in the book are fairly short and merely head-on engagements with little tactical regard. While it's enjoyable to see some of the early starships in action and learn more about the other ships in the fleet besides the Enterprise, it just doesn't give you enough to really care about. Martin does continue to flesh out the crew of the Columbia and at least puts some names to other crews as well, but you never really get enough time with any of them to care about them before their blown to kingdom come.
I thought the world-building aspect of the book was interesting. We got to visit several Earth colonies, learned about the politics between the Coalition worlds and even within them, visited the Cochrane Institute and generally get a whirlwind tour of the galaxy. Fans are also treated to some fun little nuggets that support deep Trek lore like providing justification for the relative "low tech" of the Original Series compared to Enterprise, or some cameos by characters that will be important in the future of the universe. The small moments sometimes made this read worthwhile.
The biggest drawback to the book is the whiplash structure. Chapters are only a few pages long and will often jet you between very diverse locations and plot points from one chapter to the next. Characters will often disappear for a hundred pages or so before reappearing and the same might be true of plot threads. We just don't get to spend enough time with any group of characters to provide a satisfying experience. In fact the Enterprise characters are probably in only about half of the book. Time passes very quickly as well, so pay attention to those dates at the beginning of the chapters! Taken as a whole the book is sort of disjointed and last 50 pages feels very rushed.
This really should be a landmark book in the series since it highlights such an important part of Star Trek history. It falls short of that mark. That's not to say it's horrible or a waste, but I really feel it could have been better developed and executed. Where it should be tense and exciting, it often feels sluggish and unfocused.
I'm hoping the next novel captures the feel a bit better.
I wanted to LOVE this book, but I merely liked it. I wanted to be awed by strategy, tactics, sneak attacks, and treated to a real "war" novel set in the early era of Star Trek. That's not really what we get here. While there is a bit of that - mostly from the Romulan side - the actual battles that are laid out in the book are fairly short and merely head-on engagements with little tactical regard. While it's enjoyable to see some of the early starships in action and learn more about the other ships in the fleet besides the Enterprise, it just doesn't give you enough to really care about. Martin does continue to flesh out the crew of the Columbia and at least puts some names to other crews as well, but you never really get enough time with any of them to care about them before their blown to kingdom come.
I thought the world-building aspect of the book was interesting. We got to visit several Earth colonies, learned about the politics between the Coalition worlds and even within them, visited the Cochrane Institute and generally get a whirlwind tour of the galaxy. Fans are also treated to some fun little nuggets that support deep Trek lore like providing justification for the relative "low tech" of the Original Series compared to Enterprise, or some cameos by characters that will be important in the future of the universe. The small moments sometimes made this read worthwhile.
The biggest drawback to the book is the whiplash structure. Chapters are only a few pages long and will often jet you between very diverse locations and plot points from one chapter to the next. Characters will often disappear for a hundred pages or so before reappearing and the same might be true of plot threads. We just don't get to spend enough time with any group of characters to provide a satisfying experience. In fact the Enterprise characters are probably in only about half of the book. Time passes very quickly as well, so pay attention to those dates at the beginning of the chapters! Taken as a whole the book is sort of disjointed and last 50 pages feels very rushed.
This really should be a landmark book in the series since it highlights such an important part of Star Trek history. It falls short of that mark. That's not to say it's horrible or a waste, but I really feel it could have been better developed and executed. Where it should be tense and exciting, it often feels sluggish and unfocused.
I'm hoping the next novel captures the feel a bit better.
