seekers2By Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore

Pocket Books, out now

The crew of the Endeavour must try to assist their colleagues in the shipwrecked Sagittarius as well as solve the conundrum of the Tomol – while avoiding an ancient race’s traps…

This second half of the opening salvo for the new Seekers series is penned by the line’s co-creators, Ward and Dilmore, from a story devised by them and David Mack. In many ways it feels like a cohesive whole – as it should do, after so many books written where they are chucking the pen between them – although there are the necessary recaps within the text for those who might have jumped in with this book (the very large number 2 on the cover, however, should be a hint to start one volume earlier!).

The title becomes very apt when you consider it after finishing the book – not only does it apply to some of the solutions devised and implemented in its pages, but it also accurately describes the way in which this book marks a clear move away from the Vanguard saga. This may be a little ironic, given how much Book 1 felt like a continuation!

Where Vanguard was an HBO version of Star Trek, with a lot of emphasis on the geopolitical situation, Seekers returns the 23rd Century part of the Pocket line to the mission of exploration that Jim Kirk and his crew were on. Yes, it is a continuation in that the events of the Vanguard saga inform some of the decisions, but the further the destruction of Starbase 47 recedes into the past, the more this will become its own entity – and the re-crewing of the Endeavour goes a long way towards that. I’m hoping that Kang and Mara will also become a part of the regular cast; there’s some fertile ground to be ploughed there regarding the relationship between them and the Endeavour’s captain…

Verdict: The new saga continues with some questions answered – but a lot of new ones posed. 8/10

Paul Simpson

 

Click here to order Star Trek: Seekers: Point of Divergence

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