Really enjoyed this one! It totally contradicts tons of stuff in the TNG movies about first contact, but I don't care—it was a fun ride. I particularly liked how it tied in some specific TOS episodes with much later events of the films.

Golden Age Trek

There's a window in time when the Trek novels were more unencumbered by editorial oversight, story arcs and trying to be more canonical - and this is a novel from that era. Really kind of quirky in many ways (there's magic, for one!), but still a fun story. [Not a complaint about the current state of Trek literature - just an observation.]

I'd read this long ago, but picked up the abridged audio version with great voice work from George Takei and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock. There's sound effects too! Not your serious full text audio book, almost more of a radio play - but *I* liked it. ( )

Much better than Enterprise, in that the characters have adult points of view and reactions to other characters, even though much of it takes place in (roughly) the same era of Kirk's command.

The book is split into 2 parts: Book I and Book II. Book I felt like so much exposition and dead weight. Jumping straight into the action of the far more interesting Book II would have made for a tighter whole. ( )

Not my favorite Star Trek novel. I am giving it three stars here, though, due to the fact that the audiobook version is voiced by none other than Leanard Nimoy and George Takei. Definitely worth listening to! ( )

Thank you, Margaret Wander Bonanno! When one Star Trek novel lets you down, another restores your faith in published fan fiction. Apparently, this novel belongs to the same series as Vonda McIntyre's First Adventure, but I actually loved this 'gap filler', which alternates between a young Kirk and crew from 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' in the first series to the older and wiser characters of the films. I even enjoyed the establishing chapters, drawing together irascible first officer Melody Sawyer and her captain with kelp farmers Tatya and Yoshi over the crash-landing of a Vulcan craft, and original characters usually bore me silly.

Bonanno's love of Kirk, Spock and McCoy, however, was all that was needed to completely win me over. Here is a woman who understands the magic of the characters and the show! The bond - the 'silver link' - between Kirk and Spock is beautifully drawn upon, hinting at 'the story of this human and a certain Vulcan' without getting too slashy. And the complexity of Kirk's personality is respected, not dumbed down to the level of popular stereotype. I loved the creative 'missing mission' chapters with Gary Mitchell, Elizabeth Dehner and Lee Kelso, too, showing Kirk in transition from edgy young captain to confident, trusted leader. I could have lived without the meddling wizard, but Spock's time with his ancestor was touching, and the multiple threads of the story tied neatly together in the end. ( )