As we continue our voyage through the post-Nemesis reading list, Ian Kimmins takes us back on-board the USS Titan under Captain Riker.
Orion's Hounds is written by regular Star Trek writer Christoper L Bennett and features the "star jellies" from Encounter at Farpoint. If you cast your mind back to that episode (has it really been 30 years?!) you will remember that they communicated via telepathy so you know this is going to be a Deanna Troi story and Bennett doesn't disappoint.
As we kick off the novel, Titan has been given orders to explore the Gum Nebula - a region of space still unexplored by the Federation. As they arrive to begin their mission they discover the star jellies under attack by the Pa'haquel. Titan decides to intercede to resolve the issue but soon realises the issue is far more complex than they could ever imagine.
The character work in this novel is excellent. Riker and Troi's relationship is moved on well here with first officer Christine Vale still struggling with having Riker's wife on the command crew. We even get excellent characterisation for some secondary characters such as Tuvok's wife T'Pel who fits seamlessly into the story. Tuvok also comes across as a much more interesting character than he did for most of Voyager. The only one I feel that suffers is Riker as outside of his relationship with Deanna he seems very like a "generic Starfleet captain".
In short Orion's Hounds is a well written story and while not the best one in this continuity it is the best Titan book by far.
Google Image of USS Titan from Tobias Richer's Lightworks.
Follow us on Twitter
+1 us on Google+
Add us on Tumblr
No comments:
Post a Comment