One of the books I've read for my summer old school book reading from my Bantam Books collection. In this story the Enterprise is sent to pick up a pioneer explorer whom Kirk admires named Kostas Spyroukis and his daughter Metika after their bid to expedite their colony world (Epsilon Delta 4) to the Federation failed. They are to return them home but on the way Spyroukis dies of a mysterious ailment that they later learned has something to do with unusual combination of radiation on their planet. They learn everyone needs to be evacuated and on the way the Enterprise gets sucked into an anomaly that they find is run by a madcap Organian who is lacking in something. Along with the Enterprise is a Klingon and Romulan warship and whomever solves the puzzle get whatever they want as an award.
I didn't really care for this book for a couple of reasons, not the least of which there is way too much going on for a book less than 200 pages. The whole radiation plot is all but forgotten soon into the book. Kirk takes an interest in Metika but she is conned by the Klingon commander to help him then she starts developing feelings for a Romulan she ends up stranded with.
Sometimes novels can have several threads going on at the same time and it works out well. Even episodes of TV shows have been known to do that, and movies too. But for this book it just doesn't seem to work because there's too much going on and what ends up happening is the last chapter basically has to tie things up in rapid order and certain plot lines are just forgotten about.
Also if found the characterizations of the Klingon commander to be way off. I avoided applying what we know of Klingons now to the book, since it was written in 1978. But the Klingon here is a slimy character who tries to get others to do his dirty work and is portrayed as paranoid, and a coward. Thinking of some of the major Klingons we saw up to that point including Kor, Koloth and Kang, it'd be hard to believe any of them sneaking in the shadows like this commander. The Organian was another, though I could buy that since he even states he was basically kicked out by the other Organians. It's reasonable to think that even among Organians there may be rogue elements. And he is essentially harmless. The Romulans here remind me more of Klingons, with a sense of honor the Romulan Commander refuses to scheme with the Klingon.
I didn't really care for this book for a couple of reasons, not the least of which there is way too much going on for a book less than 200 pages. The whole radiation plot is all but forgotten soon into the book. Kirk takes an interest in Metika but she is conned by the Klingon commander to help him then she starts developing feelings for a Romulan she ends up stranded with.
Sometimes novels can have several threads going on at the same time and it works out well. Even episodes of TV shows have been known to do that, and movies too. But for this book it just doesn't seem to work because there's too much going on and what ends up happening is the last chapter basically has to tie things up in rapid order and certain plot lines are just forgotten about.
Also if found the characterizations of the Klingon commander to be way off. I avoided applying what we know of Klingons now to the book, since it was written in 1978. But the Klingon here is a slimy character who tries to get others to do his dirty work and is portrayed as paranoid, and a coward. Thinking of some of the major Klingons we saw up to that point including Kor, Koloth and Kang, it'd be hard to believe any of them sneaking in the shadows like this commander. The Organian was another, though I could buy that since he even states he was basically kicked out by the other Organians. It's reasonable to think that even among Organians there may be rogue elements. And he is essentially harmless. The Romulans here remind me more of Klingons, with a sense of honor the Romulan Commander refuses to scheme with the Klingon.
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