What do you think?
Rate this book
Star Trek: The Lost Years #2
A Flag Full of Stars
It has been eighteen months since the Starship Enterprise completed her historic five-year mission and her legendary crew has separated, taking new assignments that span the galaxy.
On Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk has married and started a new life as the Chief of Starfleet operations where he is overseeing the refit of his beloved ship, now commanded by a new Captain—Willard Decker. Kirk's only tie to his former crewmates is his Chief of Staff, a young Lieutenant Commander named Kevin Riley.
But Kirk's new, quiet life changes when he meets a scientist named G'dath who is on the brink of perhaps the greatest scientific discovery in a century. G'dath's invention could mean tremendous strides in Federation technology, or—in the wrong hands—the subjugation of countless worlds.
When Klingon agents capture this new technology, Admiral Kirk and Lt. Commander Riley are all that stands between peace and devastation for the entire Federation.
On Earth, Admiral James T. Kirk has married and started a new life as the Chief of Starfleet operations where he is overseeing the refit of his beloved ship, now commanded by a new Captain—Willard Decker. Kirk's only tie to his former crewmates is his Chief of Staff, a young Lieutenant Commander named Kevin Riley.
But Kirk's new, quiet life changes when he meets a scientist named G'dath who is on the brink of perhaps the greatest scientific discovery in a century. G'dath's invention could mean tremendous strides in Federation technology, or—in the wrong hands—the subjugation of countless worlds.
When Klingon agents capture this new technology, Admiral Kirk and Lt. Commander Riley are all that stands between peace and devastation for the entire Federation.
241 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1991
About the author
Brad Ferguson
30 books9 followersBrad Ferguson (born 1953) is an American science fiction author.
He worked as a writer, editor and producer for CBS in New York, and is the author of a number of Star Trek tie-in novels, several short stories, and the post-holocaust novel The World Next Door.
He is married to scientist Kathi Ferguson, with whom he collaborated on one novel.
He worked as a writer, editor and producer for CBS in New York, and is the author of a number of Star Trek tie-in novels, several short stories, and the post-holocaust novel The World Next Door.
He is married to scientist Kathi Ferguson, with whom he collaborated on one novel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
January 29, 2022
I had fun with this one; recently watching Star Trek: The Motion Picture in its entirety for the first time helped me understand it. It's a different sort of story for Roddenberry's space opera...but a great one!
October 23, 2017
A thoroughly uninteresting "Star Trek" novel ostensibly about a race against time to prevent a powerful new propulsion device from falling into the hands of the Klingons... but really about Klingon living in New York who teaches 6th grade and learns to love a kitten. He then manages to invent a magical device that can instantaneously travel immense distances and then puts it in his closet.
By the time anything of any importance happens in this book, it's more than halfway over and the limp climax that's implausible even by "Star Trek" standards just kind of happens and ties everything together in a neat but just as uninteresting bow since the only people who learn anything at all in this story is... the 6th graders.
This novel fails as a sequel to the first "Lost Years" book, jumping ahead a year but not advancing any of the characters' storylines in any appreciable way. Kirk still hates his job and wishes he could be back on the Enterprise, Nogura still wants him behind a desk for reasons that are never truly made clear (because he's Shadowy and Manipulative oooo), Riley still thinks he isn't good enough to serve as Kirk's aide and also wishes his wife wasn't dumping him... Spock and McCoy simply don't appear in this book at all (because why would we want to read a book called "The Lost Years" and learn what those characters were doing during the aforementioned years?).
Literally the most exciting part of this book is that the Klingon teacher, G'Dath, uses the same subway stop I do.
By the time anything of any importance happens in this book, it's more than halfway over and the limp climax that's implausible even by "Star Trek" standards just kind of happens and ties everything together in a neat but just as uninteresting bow since the only people who learn anything at all in this story is... the 6th graders.
This novel fails as a sequel to the first "Lost Years" book, jumping ahead a year but not advancing any of the characters' storylines in any appreciable way. Kirk still hates his job and wishes he could be back on the Enterprise, Nogura still wants him behind a desk for reasons that are never truly made clear (because he's Shadowy and Manipulative oooo), Riley still thinks he isn't good enough to serve as Kirk's aide and also wishes his wife wasn't dumping him... Spock and McCoy simply don't appear in this book at all (because why would we want to read a book called "The Lost Years" and learn what those characters were doing during the aforementioned years?).
Literally the most exciting part of this book is that the Klingon teacher, G'Dath, uses the same subway stop I do.
September 9, 2019
I was pleasantly surprised with A Flag Full of Stars, finding it to be an enjoyable adventure with characters I found to be quite interesting. Even an implausible finish to the story didn't detract too much from my enjoyment, and it was fun to see Kirk in a situation other than starship command, and still succeeding brilliantly. Plus, there is a kitten in the story, and who wouldn't love that?
Full review: https://www.treklit.com/2019/09/tos54...
Full review: https://www.treklit.com/2019/09/tos54...
November 6, 2012
No real action to keep a readers interest.
December 9, 2018
This was a great read: tightly focused, full of character development, and a fast-moving exciting plot that slows down at just the right times to give us very human (and very Klingon) moments that scream "this is Star Trek". A concise little powerhouse of a Trek novel.
June 10, 2024
A capably-written novel that nonetheless manages to be a pretty good Trek adventure. A lot of fun and a very easy read with a decently-exciting climax. I’m not after too much from my Trek Lit and this managed to punch a lot of my buttons.
May 20, 2017
None of this worked for me. Too much focus on original/minor characters, Kirk's choices feel out of character, and the plot was never compelling to me.
February 3, 2023
SUMMARY: This second book in the "Lost Years" series is not very good and imminently skippable.
"A Flag Full of Stars" takes a well-worn trope - pacifist scientist invents amazing tech that military types want to exploit - and awkwardly attempts to graft it onto a Star Trek story. Unfortunately, it reads like a generic 1950s sci-fi short story stretched to novel length with no Star Trek vibe at all. Kirk is the only Enterprise crew member who makes more than a cameo appearance, but that's not really a good thing, as he's completely out of character throughout. (No Spock or McCoy at all.) The plot is simplistic and the new characters severely underdeveloped, but my least favorite parts were the cringeworthy scenes involving the Klingon scientist / NYC high school teacher (yes, really) and his students. Apparently, the same pedagogy, bigotry, classroom design, etc. experienced by baby boomers back in the day will come roaring back in the 23rd century. It's jarring how backward it all feels.
Putting aside the weaknesses of this individual novel, there was evidently little plot coordination in the making of the "Lost Years" series, at least between this book and volumes that came before and after. Characters and plot points introduced in "The Lost Years" are barely mentioned here, and the new stuff from this novel are completely disregarded in the next. Best example: Early on, the saucer section of the Enterprise (with Capt. Decker in command) is launched back into space from the navy yard where it was being refitted. It's an interesting scene that becomes a major plot point by the end. However, in the next volume of the series ("Traitor Winds"), the saucer is most definitely still on the ground, and the fact that the Enterprise has NOT been put back together becomes a major plot point in THAT story. Huh?
The lack of continuity is actually a blessing, because one can navigate directly from "The Lost Years" to "Traitor Winds" and skip this novel without missing a thing.
"A Flag Full of Stars" takes a well-worn trope - pacifist scientist invents amazing tech that military types want to exploit - and awkwardly attempts to graft it onto a Star Trek story. Unfortunately, it reads like a generic 1950s sci-fi short story stretched to novel length with no Star Trek vibe at all. Kirk is the only Enterprise crew member who makes more than a cameo appearance, but that's not really a good thing, as he's completely out of character throughout. (No Spock or McCoy at all.) The plot is simplistic and the new characters severely underdeveloped, but my least favorite parts were the cringeworthy scenes involving the Klingon scientist / NYC high school teacher (yes, really) and his students. Apparently, the same pedagogy, bigotry, classroom design, etc. experienced by baby boomers back in the day will come roaring back in the 23rd century. It's jarring how backward it all feels.
Putting aside the weaknesses of this individual novel, there was evidently little plot coordination in the making of the "Lost Years" series, at least between this book and volumes that came before and after. Characters and plot points introduced in "The Lost Years" are barely mentioned here, and the new stuff from this novel are completely disregarded in the next. Best example: Early on, the saucer section of the Enterprise (with Capt. Decker in command) is launched back into space from the navy yard where it was being refitted. It's an interesting scene that becomes a major plot point by the end. However, in the next volume of the series ("Traitor Winds"), the saucer is most definitely still on the ground, and the fact that the Enterprise has NOT been put back together becomes a major plot point in THAT story. Huh?
The lack of continuity is actually a blessing, because one can navigate directly from "The Lost Years" to "Traitor Winds" and skip this novel without missing a thing.
September 24, 2017
This is a good story and for those that are a fan of James T Kirk I am sure that they will love it. While Scotty , Uhura and Sulu play a small part in this story they are the only members of the original crew that show up.
James Kirk is working as head of Fleet Operations and is just finishing the work on refurbishing the Enterprise. William Decker is now captain of the Enterprise and I think Kirk has resigned himself for the time that he stuck behind a desk. Jim is married, although the marriage isn't going well in this story. Admiral Nogura appoints Kirk to be the face of Starfleet for the press. It is during this first interview that he meets a Klingon that is working on a new power source. The Klingon Empire wants the device and will do anything to get it, including taking a child and Kevin Riley, Kirk Chief of Staff, as hostage so they can get off the planet and head for home.
I have never been a really big fan of James T Kirk. I have always preferred Mr. Spock and it was said that there was only a tiny mention of him or Dr. McCoy in this book. It bothers me that Kirk has resigned himself to losing both of his closest friends. I realize that there probably isn't much of a story in Spock trying to purge all his emotions but it would have been nice to know that he was struggling with what had happened to him and what he left behind. I do like Kevin Riley and I hope that he straightens himself out and gets over feeling sorry for himself and get a little confidence in who he is and what he is capable of. I know that happens it is in one of the later books that he finally finds it calling and is doing a very good job. Oh yes, this sorry is set just before the events of the first movie.
James Kirk is working as head of Fleet Operations and is just finishing the work on refurbishing the Enterprise. William Decker is now captain of the Enterprise and I think Kirk has resigned himself for the time that he stuck behind a desk. Jim is married, although the marriage isn't going well in this story. Admiral Nogura appoints Kirk to be the face of Starfleet for the press. It is during this first interview that he meets a Klingon that is working on a new power source. The Klingon Empire wants the device and will do anything to get it, including taking a child and Kevin Riley, Kirk Chief of Staff, as hostage so they can get off the planet and head for home.
I have never been a really big fan of James T Kirk. I have always preferred Mr. Spock and it was said that there was only a tiny mention of him or Dr. McCoy in this book. It bothers me that Kirk has resigned himself to losing both of his closest friends. I realize that there probably isn't much of a story in Spock trying to purge all his emotions but it would have been nice to know that he was struggling with what had happened to him and what he left behind. I do like Kevin Riley and I hope that he straightens himself out and gets over feeling sorry for himself and get a little confidence in who he is and what he is capable of. I know that happens it is in one of the later books that he finally finds it calling and is doing a very good job. Oh yes, this sorry is set just before the events of the first movie.
May 20, 2022
The description makes you think that Klingons take the invention and Kirk and Riley chase after them to get it back. Which honestly does happen in the last third of the book.
The first two thirds of the book bounce between the following characters.
A married Kirk (but maybe not for long) adjusting to life after the five year mission. He has been overseeing the Enterprise refit and is handing it off the Decker.
Meanwhile Riley has personal problems .
A Klingon scientist who is a high school teacher on earth has invented a device that will enhance space travel and two Klingon agents have been spying on him .
The book spends sometime on some of the Klingon's students s well.
And there is a lady reporter as well.
The two Klingon agents eventually steal the device and kidnap the teacher with a few of his students.
And everyone comes together at the end to save the day. Too many unnecessay characters and way too long for anything to happen made this book hard to even finish.
The first two thirds of the book bounce between the following characters.
A married Kirk (but maybe not for long) adjusting to life after the five year mission. He has been overseeing the Enterprise refit and is handing it off the Decker.
Meanwhile Riley has personal problems .
A Klingon scientist who is a high school teacher on earth has invented a device that will enhance space travel and two Klingon agents have been spying on him .
The book spends sometime on some of the Klingon's students s well.
And there is a lady reporter as well.
The two Klingon agents eventually steal the device and kidnap the teacher with a few of his students.
And everyone comes together at the end to save the day. Too many unnecessay characters and way too long for anything to happen made this book hard to even finish.
August 6, 2022
This is the second novel in The Lost Years saga. It drops McCoy and Spock's storylines almost entirely in this installment. Instead it focuses on a Klingon teacher and his new universe changing invention. Kirk and Riley are eventually ensnared in his plight but not until deep into the book. The classroom sections feel out of place for a Trek book and feels like something from a young adult story. It has a nice conclusion but the build up is dull, and pretty predictable. The Kirk and Riley part of the story is interesting thankfully and adds nicely to both characters, and I am glad Riley got even more room to shine compared to the first novel. Overall this book is a fine book it's just not anything special, and the school scene feels removed from the science fiction future feel of Trek. I recommend it to those that read the first novel as this is a necessary story even if Spock and McCoy are dropped entirely.
September 7, 2023
Die Idee mit der Untertassensektion in den ersten beiden Kapiteln ist ganz nett und erzeugt eine angenehme Atmosphäre, und die meisten Figuren sind sehr lebendig beschrieben, aber leider folgt darauf lange nichts, was irgendwie spannend oder interessant wäre. Zudem schleppen die Protagonisten und Antagonisten allesamt emotionalen Ballast mit sich, den sie zu bewältigen versuchen. Wie in „Die verlorenen Jahre“ kommt auch noch langweiliges Bürogeplänkel im Sternenflottenhauptquartier hinzu. Dass der Autor Themen wie Fremdenfeindlichkeit einbaut, ist lobenswert, jedoch verdichten sich die verschiedenen Handlungsstränge im letzten Romandrittel auf so stark konstruierte Weise, dass die Glaubwürdigkeit dabei größtenteils auf der Strecke bleibt. Von den bekannten Figuren ist nur Kirk wesentlich an Brad Fergusons Geschichte beteiligt. Fazit: Man kann den Roman lesen, muss es aber bei Leibe wirklich nicht.
December 20, 2022
I have to rate this for the book that it is. It's a sequel to a book that I didn't get overly excited about so in my opinion this one is an improvement. The theme of nationalism and the greater good is also something that comes through strong and digs into that topic very well. For not really going anywhere and not having Spock or McCoy seemed like there was something missing but this definitely looked like the Kirk that we saw at the start of the Motion Picture. Probably could have had less of the students but I really don't know what you would put instead. It's a tight little story and does it's job well. However, is the theme of the Lost Years Saga divorce? Yeesh.
January 6, 2024
G'dath and Kirk are the most interesting parts of the story. Not enough of them.
A little disappointing that this future has news shows with interviews being done just like in the 20th century (including commercials). In addition, schools are in the 20th century style, including the same old bored schoolboys slinging insults and being bullies. Maybe some things don't change, but this did not seem imaginative in projecting what a future earth would be like.
A little disappointing that this future has news shows with interviews being done just like in the 20th century (including commercials). In addition, schools are in the 20th century style, including the same old bored schoolboys slinging insults and being bullies. Maybe some things don't change, but this did not seem imaginative in projecting what a future earth would be like.
May 31, 2024
Better than average for a Trek novel. The Lost Years series isn’t afraid to build a few stakes, and this is definitely better than the first LY book. The overall narrative of what is happening between the end of TOS and the Motion Picture is the more interesting story. It’s kind of a shame the book can’t indulge too much in that, but the main plot doesn’t interfere too much in the background Trek fun.
May 17, 2018
Quick, enjoyable and has an interesting undercurrent of racism in the federation that Trek didn’t get around to showing on tv until ds9 a good half decade later. But the story is pretty light and doesn’t get moving until maybe halfway through - which considering how short this book is, really says something
June 10, 2020
I would have rated this higher, because it was very enjoyable and a great example of the spirit of Star Trek. However, there were a few plot contrivances I just didn’t care for. I would have to add a spoiler tag to go into more detail. I’ll say that those choices may work very well for others but didn’t resonate with me.
August 9, 2020
A good story from the "Lost Years," series of Star Trek tales. It's interesting read a story from the past that ties into current events with the prejudice faced by G'Dath seemingly similar to the cultural and race issues facing society today. Overall a good story also looking at the personal lives of Kirk and Riley while the original crew is presit, but not the stories focus.
March 8, 2023
Continuing my quest to read every Star Trek book ever released. Fun quick read in that pre motion picture era and the second of four books in The Lost Years saga. Particularly liked the launch of the saucer section of the Enterprise to space dock and how they tied Riley’s character with a young Kirk in the C plot.
April 8, 2018
Nach ersten Ärgernissen und trotz kleiner Schwächen erstaunlich gut und unterhaltsam geschrieben, mit sympathischen neuen Charakteren.
September 14, 2019
Fantastic book! Couldn’t put it down
November 19, 2019
I enjoyed the personal views and feelings of the characters in this story. The plot, not so much, but it was still a good story. I liked the background information.
January 29, 2020
I ended up really enjoying this. It took a while to get going but I liked the characterisations and the plot was interesting.
June 26, 2023
A few charming characters but little else going on in this slow, clumsy attempt to examine race and prejudice.
March 20, 2024
The Enterprise is getting refurnished under the command of Will Decker, while Admiral Kirk is married, and now Chief of Starfleet Operations. But why are the Klingons monitoring a Klingon teacher, Dr. G'dath, on Earth, and what is he doing his spare time.
An entertaining re-read.
An entertaining re-read.
February 23, 2023
A sequel to a book I read 20 years ago!
Not ‘realistic’ even by Star Trek standards, but it was a lot of fun. And a very quick read!
Not ‘realistic’ even by Star Trek standards, but it was a lot of fun. And a very quick read!
Read
September 15, 2022I think this book needs to be evaluated from two differing perspectives.
The first would be how well it works as a part of the Lost Years saga. And as far as that goes, while it doesn’t fail, necessarily and while I do like the book I also think that we lost sight of the original premise a bit. The point of these books was to create a potential narrative thread between the end of the five year mission and where we find the characters at the start of the Motion Picture.
Book one deals nicely with Kirk’s decision to accept promotion and of Spock and McCoy’s decisions to leave Starfleet. This, the second of the series largely ignores that aspect, although it does show Kirk being further entrenched into a bureaucratic position that he had convinced himself would be temporary. We do also get an interesting plot turn as we see Kirk living as a married man - yes you read that right.
The best way to describe this book would be that it takes place between the end of the show and the movies. There’s not much that happens that we couldn’t have just guessed from the ending of the first book. So if you take it as kind of an adventure featuring Kirk but not as Captain of the Enterprise, you’re in the right mindset to enjoy it.
The second angle to evaluate it from is just looking at it as a Star Trei book and I think it’s quite successful. It’s intriguing and exciting and I think it’s a book you could comfortably finish in a few sittings. It holds on to you and delivers a satisfying ending.
Kevin Riley gets a nice role in this and I do appreciate that. Riley was Reginald Barclay before there ever was a Reginald Barclay so I always love it when he steps onto the stage.
The other primary character, the Klingon G’Dath is fantastic and is still maybe one of my favorite of the species. It’s really cool to see a Klingon scientist and to see the implications of the technology he develops. This also allows for some interesting exploration of how the Federation feels about Klingons and we see Kirk confronting some of his own hostility towards them. I’m true Star Trek form, there is some nice material here on prejudice and the characters who confront that are developed nicely.
In all, this is a fun book to read. I do wish it had been a touch longer and that the plot had been given a little more room to breathe and develop but for the most part it’s an entertaining book that does a good job of setting up what is still yet to come.
The first would be how well it works as a part of the Lost Years saga. And as far as that goes, while it doesn’t fail, necessarily and while I do like the book I also think that we lost sight of the original premise a bit. The point of these books was to create a potential narrative thread between the end of the five year mission and where we find the characters at the start of the Motion Picture.
Book one deals nicely with Kirk’s decision to accept promotion and of Spock and McCoy’s decisions to leave Starfleet. This, the second of the series largely ignores that aspect, although it does show Kirk being further entrenched into a bureaucratic position that he had convinced himself would be temporary. We do also get an interesting plot turn as we see Kirk living as a married man - yes you read that right.
The best way to describe this book would be that it takes place between the end of the show and the movies. There’s not much that happens that we couldn’t have just guessed from the ending of the first book. So if you take it as kind of an adventure featuring Kirk but not as Captain of the Enterprise, you’re in the right mindset to enjoy it.
The second angle to evaluate it from is just looking at it as a Star Trei book and I think it’s quite successful. It’s intriguing and exciting and I think it’s a book you could comfortably finish in a few sittings. It holds on to you and delivers a satisfying ending.
Kevin Riley gets a nice role in this and I do appreciate that. Riley was Reginald Barclay before there ever was a Reginald Barclay so I always love it when he steps onto the stage.
The other primary character, the Klingon G’Dath is fantastic and is still maybe one of my favorite of the species. It’s really cool to see a Klingon scientist and to see the implications of the technology he develops. This also allows for some interesting exploration of how the Federation feels about Klingons and we see Kirk confronting some of his own hostility towards them. I’m true Star Trek form, there is some nice material here on prejudice and the characters who confront that are developed nicely.
In all, this is a fun book to read. I do wish it had been a touch longer and that the plot had been given a little more room to breathe and develop but for the most part it’s an entertaining book that does a good job of setting up what is still yet to come.
May 27, 2012
This book is a part of The Lost Years-saga, and although puplished as the third of the four books, chronologically it takes place after the thirdly puplished "Traitor Winds".
"A Flag Full of Stars" doesn't live up to the expectations of "Traitor Winds", wich is, without a doubt, the best of the four. It does come second though, due to the credibility problems of "The Lost Years", and the simple meaninglessness of "Recovery".
The Biggest strenght of "A Flagg Full of Stars" is that it's an unconventional Trek novel. Taking place mostly on Earth, the plot centers around original, and more-or-less succesfully constructed characters. We have a plotline of a Klingon scientist living on Earth and a tale of one of his students who, as is so often the case with young characters, comes across at least five years younger than his reported age.
The Klingon scientist on the other hand is written extremely well, but even he can't measure up to his pet kitten who is clearly the best character of the entire spectrum of the characters introduced in this novel. Seriously. Not excessive cuteness but clever instances of surprise from an animal character.
The setting of "A Flag Full of Stars" is exellent, the writing good, characterization decent, but the plot leaves something to be desired for. It's based on a ridiculous concept of introducing a machine that can create energy out of nothing. And most ludicrous is the fact that it's created not in some top secret research lab but in a regular home without the inventor even knowing what's being created. Whatever happened to the laws of physics and common sence?
All in all the kitten, the writing, and the use of good characters elevate this book into a decent one. It might have been exellent if it had had a slightly more intelligent plot. I've understood that the original manuscript was very heavily edited by the puplisher, which might explain some of the odd weaknesses in this one.
"A Flag Full of Stars" doesn't live up to the expectations of "Traitor Winds", wich is, without a doubt, the best of the four. It does come second though, due to the credibility problems of "The Lost Years", and the simple meaninglessness of "Recovery".
The Biggest strenght of "A Flagg Full of Stars" is that it's an unconventional Trek novel. Taking place mostly on Earth, the plot centers around original, and more-or-less succesfully constructed characters. We have a plotline of a Klingon scientist living on Earth and a tale of one of his students who, as is so often the case with young characters, comes across at least five years younger than his reported age.
The Klingon scientist on the other hand is written extremely well, but even he can't measure up to his pet kitten who is clearly the best character of the entire spectrum of the characters introduced in this novel. Seriously. Not excessive cuteness but clever instances of surprise from an animal character.
The setting of "A Flag Full of Stars" is exellent, the writing good, characterization decent, but the plot leaves something to be desired for. It's based on a ridiculous concept of introducing a machine that can create energy out of nothing. And most ludicrous is the fact that it's created not in some top secret research lab but in a regular home without the inventor even knowing what's being created. Whatever happened to the laws of physics and common sence?
All in all the kitten, the writing, and the use of good characters elevate this book into a decent one. It might have been exellent if it had had a slightly more intelligent plot. I've understood that the original manuscript was very heavily edited by the puplisher, which might explain some of the odd weaknesses in this one.
April 28, 2010
[These notes were made in 1991:]. One of the "Lost Years" series. Apart from the fact that its title is inspired by the American flag, I guess the worst bone I have to pick with this story is that it really only involves one of the "regulars" - Kirk. Young Lt. Riley also has his story fleshed out a bit, and McCoy puts in a very brief vocal appearance on a call-in show. Otherwise, we're on our own. However, the plot (a classic Roddenberry about the perils of technological advancement) and the supplementary characters are well-drawn. I particularly liked G'dath, the Klingon with a kitten, a scientist/teacher dealing with xenophobia on earth. It is his invention of super-fast technology that sets the plot in motion (eventually not only G'dath's invention but his person, plus those of his student and Kevin Riley, are captured by hostile Klingons). The other half of the plot is the disintegration of the marriages of both Riley & Kirk. Riley has found a new love interest by the end of the book. Kirk's marriage with Lori Ciana (which occurred in the last of these "Lost Years" books) always struck me as frankly improbable, so his tentative reunion with her at the end was less convincing to me than the breakup at the beginning. I quite like Mr. Ferguson: he has an eye for the human detail. And I adored Leaper the kitten! But how can you have a Star Trek story without Spock?
December 17, 2009
This book had several 'inspirational' moments; the 1701's 'saucer' lifting off into orbit and docking with the engineering hull, the 1970's era Space Shuttle Enterprise finally reaching space, and a several moving passages about the 1969 moon landing. All of those serve to raise an otherwise drab story into something worth reading.
The 'main' story however is full of eyebrow raising elements. I can willingly suspend my disbelief on a Klingon living as an immigrant in New York - and people's reaction to him. However his "invention", which has only a fragmentary description of what it actually does is the weakest element of the whole tale - and unfortunately it's a key element for that plot to work. It is the only part of this story which prevents it from being a perfect 5 in my opinion.
The 'main' story however is full of eyebrow raising elements. I can willingly suspend my disbelief on a Klingon living as an immigrant in New York - and people's reaction to him. However his "invention", which has only a fragmentary description of what it actually does is the weakest element of the whole tale - and unfortunately it's a key element for that plot to work. It is the only part of this story which prevents it from being a perfect 5 in my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews