Summon the Thunder
The biblical quote that summarises Summon the Thunder - "Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh" - is indeed illustrative not only of the novel but of the role this instalment plays in the series. More than this; when viewed as a commentary on the path of that series, it takes on a more subtle nature as a warning. The storm clouds are gathering in more ways than one, and there's an immediate payoff in the novel to one form of threat while the more subtle danger remains, for now, foreshadowed.
If the first Vanguard novel was the impressively multi-faceted establishing act, crafting a complex picture of a active frontier, then the second is the introduction to the Shedai and the threat they pose to it; that is to say, the more direct antagonistic force of the series, and the obvious source of tension. It also drapes the setting in an ominous veil of uncertainty, which is important because it's the third novel that will introduce our primary threat - the true thematic source of tension, which is the wavering ideals and deteriorating self-respect that threaten when the stakes get too high; the awesome power and responsibility that acquisition of Shedai technology will entail, and the compromises - (in both senses of the word, because there's two disparate ethical slants to what is actually only the one definition) - that are made in the name of securing it.
So, this book establishes not only the Shedai as a potent force, but a general tone of dark anticipation. The Federation, Tholians, Klingons and now the Romulans are all dancing around each other, but forces far more primal and impressive can swat them all aside in a moment. We're shown the power of even a single Shedai elite, and are introduced also to the concept of Telinaruul, a label applied to disruptive alien agitators, connoting the essentially synonymous concepts of existence outside Shedai hegemony and a status as base criminals without law. While the Shedai are an ominous and immediate example of the dangers awoken by those meddling around in the Taurus Reach, we'll see soon enough that they're more than simply a threat on the straightforwardly antagonistic level (and what a threat!), but that they thematically embody the real threat of the series. After all, the goal of the Federation Starfleet, for whatever defensible reason(s), is to become in turn the "masters" of this house. The Shedai are the future as well as the past.
This is the first work, I think, to really give us a look at Klingon colonial authority, and how jeghpu'wI' are incorporated into the empire. Palgrenax might not be entirely representative, in that it has no existing technological infrastructure to be co-opted, but it's certainly a useful illustration of how Klingon occupation often works. That's something it's important to have established, perhaps, if we're to be as invested as we should be in later works that deal with Klingon expansionism and annexation of minor systems. We'll soon be moving into a period of looming war, with border systems eyed hungrily for their strategic value. Knowing "first hand" how a population fares under Klingon military occupation is pretty useful knowledge to have going forward. The depiction here is successful, I think, at expressing the brutality and dysfunction of it while also making the occupation sensible enough in light of Klingon philosophies and worldviews (to whatever degree something emerging from those can be considered "sensible"). As self-serving and nebulous as the supposedly iron-clad Klingon warrior codes are (as Jetanien memorably notes in sarcastic fashion at one point), the treatment of the Palgrenai does ring true from a viewpoint defined in those perceptual standards, and the novel shows this quite effectively. As I've noted before, it's difficult to win with Klingons.
Of course, in this case the Palgrenai are minnows taken by tuna which then disappear themselves down the maw of an orca whale, because the Klingons are in turn entirely crushed by a superior power. By another measure, then, the Klingons miscalculated, thinking themselves the dominant power on Palgrenax, when in fact this space is not, by right of force, theirs, any more than it is the Palgrenai's. It's the Shedai's. These mortals, Palgrenai and Klingon both, have paid the price for daring to get underfoot and becoming irritants to the masters of the house.
When we get to the third book in the Vanguard series, and it becomes clear what the Federation has awoken out here - and this time I don't mean the Shedai - the destruction wrought by the Wanderer in defence of her people's claim should be resonating in a reader's mind. That, of course, is one possible outcome, one ultimate destination, of a mindset that covets control and security, and turns the power of incredible creativity and a claim to civilized virtue to incredible destruction and malice.
There are other things to like here. In terms of the series and its emerging conventions, this one begins the trend of odd relationships and mismatched friendships, kicking off with Pennington and Quinn, who have formed an association of sorts having essentially gravitated together due to being mutual "losers", down-on-their-luck. There's also a pleasing sense of scope to the backdrop, which just emphasises the power and threat of the Shedai, that their shadow should fall over it all. We have references to Federation investment in the region that moves beyond the settlements and Starfleet/civilian legal disputes already established; mention, for instance, of an arbitration over a planet claimed equally by Tellar and Rigel, demonstrating that the unseen Federation core worlds are indeed invested in what's taking place out here. (As an aside, I liked the description in the same scene of a barfight between two Denobulans and the uncertainty as to whether it was assault or domestic battery. Federation law must be a chore at times).
Continuity
The Romulans are back. They've perfected cloaking technology at long last and are beginning to probe covertly far beyond their borders. Vrax is still alive, and has actually winded up as Praetor. Evidently, he got the last laugh.
The colony on Ingraham B has gone dark. We'll find out what's happening in that part of space soon enough (it involves killer pancakes).
This is the first appearance of a Zakdorn. They're known to Quinn, and with a reputation at that, so apparently they're active enough in the interstellar community. The Taurus Reach is a long way from Zakdorn, so at least some of them are far-travelled. Qualor II has already been mentioned - the Lovell, which features again in this story, was re-commissioned from the surplus depot there - although we don't know who's running the depot at this point in time. It might be that the Zakdorn move in and take over existing Federation facilities whenever they wind up joining. Zakdorn will basically become the Federation's Vorta - bureaucrats, administrators, armchair tactical commanders - but in hilarious contrast will be prissy and difficult rather than smoothly unctuous.
Next Time: Reap the Whirlwind
sorry to hear that Nasat.
