Chapter By Chapter (usually) features me reading one chapter of the selected book at a time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as a read-along book club.
In our previous chapter Korsal gets some father and son time…but not in the manner he would have liked.
This chapter gets us back to the Enterprise again. While the multiple plot threads are a concern due to previous novels in this review series, the limited use of the regular cast is the only real complaint I have at this point in the book. This isn’t just set in the 23rd century, it’s supposed to be a book about the voyages of the original show crew. So far they’ve taken a backseat to Jean Lorrah’s original characters from the previous novel, The Vulcan Academy Murders, and new original characters from this novel. We’re a bit shy of the halfway mark and the characters we’re here for hasn’t done much of anything.
I would have no problem with a story set in the time period without the original crew. Remember, I sought out the last book after reading and enjoying this one back in the day. I kind of know this is going to be a good story, as it was one of my first Star Trek novels and I picked up a few more after this. This being a review, I’m drawn to being a bit more critical (it’s in the term) than I was as a kid reading this for fun. The thing is you can like something but still point out flaws, or even hate something and point out the strengths. It’s part of my review style in part because that’s how I’ll learn to be a better storyteller myself. Thus far that’s what’s been happening. Now as we move to this chapter and the characters we bought a Star Trek novel for, I’m happier but I don’t hate how we got here. Understand the difference as we get into this chapter’s review.
The whole scene takes place on the bridge as the Enterprise has finally arrived at Nisus. McCoy says his goodbyes to Kirk and Spock, since they’ll be heading off to bring the Followers to their exile planet. It’s the usual banter between the trio, with Spock and McCoy’s usual jabs at each other, and a surprising call for good luck by Spock. These three are friends and colleagues, and it shows in the dialog without the narrator having to point anything out. This is what “show, don’t tell” looks like in prose form.
From there Kirk calls down to the Starfleet facility to inform them of Kevin’s early admission approval to Starfleet Academy. It takes awhile to get the commander in charge since she’s home recovering. Having survived the latest strain, she did attack someone in the maddened state and had her ankle hurt in self defense by the guy she was attacking, plus when we see her she’s thin and frail from being sick. I’m not sure how we see her. Was this on the big screen, so everyone on the bridge was aware of it? Kirk’s bridge, unless I’m forgetting something from his pilot, lacked the possible personal monitor on the chair console that Pike’s had, unless one of you who have seen the prop or a proper replica of the command chair that I haven’t.
She in turn tells Kirk about Korsal and Kevin’s situation, trying to get them to beam the pair up. Kirk’s orders are against it, but she points out that Klingons in general seem immune to the plague while they specifically have already been checked out. They’re up on the mountain, possibly injured and in bad health, so switching over mid-transport is not in their best interest. Kirk finally agrees and has Scotty find their beacon, as the storm has kept rescue crews from going in. While he sets that up we get the most interesting part of the chapter.
Kirk and the commander, Dr. Carmilla Smythe, have time for an interesting discussion about Kevin going into Starfleet despite being half-Klingon while his mom is a commodore. Dr. Smythe would like for Kevin’s engineering skill to be at Starfleet’s door but still maintains that she’s thinking of him as a person. We also get into why Smythe, an ethnographer, would be here rather than on a first contact mission. She replies that with so many cultures here she has plenty to study, but was about to go for a transfer before the plague hit. Right now she’s the closest thing to someone in charge still standing, even if she does need crutches. About this time in real world history, multiculturalism was a huge discussion topic, but I like the way this chapter discusses its version.
They’re different people with different cultures, but they still manage to work and live together. Korsal’s last two wives have been non-Klingons, which the chapter doesn’t point out but is still a good example. Ethnic diversity doesn’t come with a division that we see with various ethnic, gender, and other worldview divisions now. The Star Trek universe has always been better than us. We respect each other’s differences, but we don’t always agree with them. And yet they work together better here. No “cancel culture” in the Star Trek universe until Kurtzman Trek…maybe. I’d have to watch it to confirm and frankly the stuff I’ve been exposed to seem either boring or stupid.
With all that, the plot isn’t slowed down. In fact the chapter ends with Scotty telling Kirk that having checked the transporter records, someone beamed up from Nisus and tried changing the co-ordinates to hide it, They didn’t think to change the records, though. That means someone may have brought the plague up there, but they’re still trying to lock in on Korsal and Kevin. Something else just happened, but we’ll have to wait to find out what.
Overall this was a good chapter. It does a bit of worldbuilding without feeling unnatural or slowing the plot. It works towards the theme and subplot, not showing off the lore the author created or knowledge of history just to show off. There’s also plenty of personality in the characters, so it’s not a dry read. And it ends on a cliffhanger worthy of the ad break stinger, which is good for a book chapter to do, to draw readers into continuing…which we’ll do next time.
