by Dayton Ward

Pocket Books, out now

Pocket’s 23rd Century original fiction lines continues to impress in its fourth outing, as author Dayton Ward (working from a story by himself and regular writing partner Kevin Dilmore) moves away from some of the hard science fiction that has characterised the series to date, and concentrates firmly on the “human” element.

The geopolitical background is well sketched in: this is set against the backdrop of Star Trek‘s first season, in which the Federation nearly went to war with the Klingon Empire, and  Ward drops the reader straight into the action as the Organians move to prevent open conflict. This is followed by an extended flashback which moves a number of the players into new positions, with some stunning revelations right up to the closing pages.

The secrets of the Taurus Reach aren’t forgotten amid high drama on Vulcan with T’Prynn and at Reyes’ trial, though, with Jim Kirk’s old flame Carol Marcus heavily involved in the action, and a renegade Tholian passing on information.

Ward has a juggling act to keep all the various plotlines bubbling away, and inevitably one or two characters don’t appear, or only make brief cameos as we get to know new faces.

An enjoyable read.  7/10

Paul Simpson

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