"Sacrifices of War" a lot of fun!

It's been a long time since I bought a Trek novel, but I picked up "Errand of Fury: Sacrifices of War" by Kevin Ryan as an impulse buy. I admit that the cover blurb "based on the episode 'Errand of Mercy' by Gene L. Coon" is what sold it to me: I was in the mood for some TOS lit and it looked like a "good read." The fact that it was "Errand of Fury Book Three" didn't deter me, I figured I would pick up the pieces, and assumed the author would expand upon the TV episode to a large degree.

I was surprised to find the book is really two stories in one, linked by the hostilities with the Klingons. The first half, completely Mr. Ryan's invention, has a swashbuckling feel of some of the best TOS actioners, with Kirk is at his heroic best. Lei and West are great characters and the nods to the names to various Trek production staff (not to mention Leslie Parrish) is fun without being distracting.

Also worth mentioning is the characterization of Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the crew. One can easily imagine the actors breathing life into these lines.

The book's second half, the actual adaptation of "Errand of Mercy," is mostly straightforward. It flows well from the first half and Ryan has added some links to strengthen the book's unity, but I really like the fact that part two is mostly a straight ahead "novelization." It kept me turning the pages and fondly recalling an episode I haven't seen in years.

On the strength of this book, I am going to dive back into the world of Trek literature. Thanks to Mr. Ryan for a great read!

 

I love your screen name

 

Thank you! It's a little long compared to most I've seen around here, but oh well!

 

Good grief, what an incongruous thread title...

 

It's the juxtaposition of two conflicting themes... Isn't conflict what dramatic writing is all about?

By the way, the next book I bought was "Greater Than The Sum..." I look forward to reading it!

 

I really liked the scene at the end of Sacrifices where the Organians appear in the Presidential Office to tell Wescott that they're stopping the war. It has a very nice, almost religious feel to it.

 

Yes, that was an inspired touch!

 

I just finished this one myself, and I enjoyed it a great deal. It definitely made me want to go back and rewatch "Errand of Mercy."

I wonder if Mr. Ryan has anything in mind for Lt. Parrish's future and that of her unborn half-Klingon baby. There has to be an interesting story in that.

I'd also like to see what happened to transform the Lt. West we saw in Ryan's two trilogies into the Col. West we met in The Undiscovered Country.

 

Thanks for the pointer to this book; I've been looking for another good TOS book to read.

 

Was the final book in the trilogy ever sent to stores? None of the brick-and-mortar places ever stocked it, and it's the only Trek novel published in the past three years I haven't ever seen on a shelf.

 

Yeah it did come out, I saw in my local Borders for quite a while.

 

It was the same with me - I had to finally order it online a few months back when I hadn't been able to find it ANYWHERE.

 

I've seen it in a number of places both sides of the Atlantic... There are some that aren't always easy to find in the UK, but I've seen it in at least two different chains.

 

I was in Bath at the weekend and the Waterstones in the city had it. Not many places I've been has had the Soul Key either.

 

I don't know if I've seen it lately, haven't been paying attention since I own it, but I bought it at a WalMart in Las Vegas while there celebrating the New Year there back in January.

 

I really got into his "Errand of Fury" books and was surprised how good they were at certain points. They were not perfect, but it didn't take me long to get through them.

 

Yeah, I enjoyed both series, though I think both probably could have been comfortably pared down to two books each.