Star Trek: Legacies:
Book 2: Best Defense by veteran Trek author David Mack is the middle
installment in the Legacies trilogy commemorating 50 years of Star Trek.
“A debt of honor: One brave woman ventures alone into a parallel
universe to save her old shipmates, exiled there decades earlier by a
mysterious device called the Transfer Key. She soon learns the alternate
universe harbors not just an alien invasion force, but a secret that underpins
its very existence. A mission of peace: A long-awaited
Klingon-Federation peace conference convenes, led by Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan
and Councillor Gorkon of Qo’noS. But both sides have enemies who would prefer
the two great powers remain at war—and who will do anything to make certain
hate wins the day. An errand of justice: Captain Kirk
and his crew seek the stolen Transfer Key that opens a door between universes,
but their hunt is cut short by Ambassador Sarek’s plea for help. The Enterprise
crew soon becomes targets in a deadly crossfire—one whose outcome will decide the
fate of two universes.”
While this book builds on story elements from book one, it leaves
a lot of the alternate universe stuff –where Una went to at the end of book one-
as subplot (which is actually a good thing and a bad one) as it focuses on negotiations
of a treaty between the Federation and the Klingons. Once again, a novel in the
Pocket Book line-up uses a previous TV series episode as springboard to extend Errand
of Mercy (among others) plotline, where the Romulans attempted to cause a war.
And while this is a logical extension –if you can excuse the phrase- of that
story, I find the adding of Joanna McCoy to the story as too much convenience
and coincidence.
I mean, yes it makes sense Ambassador Sarek and his human wife
Amanda our on Centaurus for these negotiations, and maybe it’s even logical
Gorkon, only a Klingon Councillor here, is present also, but the happenstance
Centaurus being a medical training facility and Joanna McCoy studying there is
just too annoying for me. Yes, it adds drama to the story, yes it gives Doctor
McCoy something more to do than trade bards with Spock, but it’s also bad
storytelling.
I’m also annoyed at both the Romulans and the Klingons, as there
is no subtly to them. It’s all very black and white with them, and it amazes me
that they’re not on the same side (or have been destroyed by their stupidity). Sure, the Romulans are sneakier in their strategy,
while the Klingons are openly aggressive, but both believe in honor. At some
point, I’m saying, they could put some of their difference aside and work
together, for both have the same goal: destroying the Federation alliances. There
were passages in this book that made me roll my eyes, especially with the
Romulans and their human Tal Shair officer –something that seemed out of place.
Meanwhile, the events in the alternate universe function as a
subplot this time, as it appears its all set up for the final book in this
trilogy. Which, I noted was good and bad. Part of the problem is that Mack was obviously
hobbled by an uninteresting plotline. The events happening on Usilde are not
very interesting to say the least and not spending much time there is good thing.
The bad part, of course, is the reader assumes on the books blurbs that we’ll be
spending time in this different universe. Which we don’t.
As I pick up the third book here, I’m hoping for an exciting
adventure, even if I already know how this is going to end. Once again, this is
another issue with these extended universe books of Star Trek (and Star Wars).
You know how they’re going to end, you know that none of the main crew is going
to die; you know that Joanna McCoy is going to survive and I can probably guess
Una is going to sacrifice herself in the last book.
These books are fine to read between better novels, I guess, but I’m
still hoping for a Star Trek book that tries to be different, original, and
less dependent on any previous episode for the TV series. But I also know that
won’t happen. So I may end up just stop reading them again.
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