A Fitting Legacy? The 50th Anniversary Trilogy

I'm still pretty shocked I burnt through these three novels in the course of just three weeks.

The Legacies trilogy consists of Captain to Captain (Greg Cox), Best Defense (David Mack) and Purgatory's Key (Kevin Dilmore and Dayton Ward) and spins a tale surrounding a mysterious object known as the Transfer Key that has been hidden aboard the USS Enterprise since the days of Captain Robert April with its secret transferred from captain and first officer to their successors which brings us neatly to Kirk and Spock.

The three novels follow on seamlessly but each has a very different story to tell using the Transfer Key as the cornerstone from which everything is built. Cox's first third of the story is the origins piece, cleanly establishing the nature of the device and relating it very closely to another item which made an appearance in The Original Series. An origins story might not sound that exciting but the gem here is that the story flips back in time to the era of April and it's discovery and concealment. 

Central to the whole thing is one character - Captain Una aka. Number One from The Cage who served under both of Kirks predecessors on the Enterprise. It is her arrival at the beginning of Captain to Captain which sparks events into motion and by the end you kind of wish she'd just stayed away and saved everyone a heck of a lot of haste. 

As a character never really explored beyond the hour of the unaired pilot, Number One is a huge blank canvas waiting to be sketched out. Or maybe not. As for background we do get some details as to her academy record and the reasons behind her numerical nickname and short chosen moniker as well as a cool nod to the Enterprise's computer voice and just how come it sounds the same as Una. 

Along with the Transfer Key at the core of the first book we also have the introduction of two alien races whom will also be featured across the anniversary trilogy and cross paths with the crew and the returning Number One. Captain to Captain however does not work solely as a standalone novel because Cox is tasked with a lot of set up and explanation which is handled well and does give the subsequent books a lot more room to breathe. I actually found this first book the most captivating for that very reason and that Cox seemed more aware of his environment than Mack who slipped in a couple of very out of place colloquialisms that did jar me a little when I was reading through. 

In relation to characterisation Cox also nails this very well avoiding turning the cast into all out action heroes and retaining a sense of The Original Series. In relation to Best Defenses especially I did sense that Mack went off on a big action adventure piece with apparent influences from the more recent reboots perhaps affecting the way in which the story evolved. While it was an enjoyable read I did feel that Captain to Captain created an epic path and prospects that weren't captured fully in the second part. While it's a good read there are a few final points that just seem to come out of nowhere to bolster the trilogy but fortunately they are managed very effectively by the subsequent writers.

Now Best Defenses is, fortunately, different to its predecessor taking that more action orientated slant but also drawing on Star Trek's rich character base to add a slab of continuity to the proceedings. Klingons, Romulans and Vulcans all have their place at David Mack's table including such franchise returnees as Gorkon (The Undiscovered Country) and Spock's father Sarek although whether all their presences are necessary is a bit borderline.

Again the action content is pretty heavy and there are now several different threads to manage so skipping book one is not an option. There's the conference, Number One's activities in the alternative dimension plus the goings on aboard a Romulan Bird of Prey to balance and remember. It's not as linear as Captain to Captain but the amount of information and development that happens in Best Defenses cannot be ignored in any sense. 

As for characters Kirk and the Enterprise crew are faithfully recreated and I find with authors such as Mack and Cox they tend to avoid the use of colloquialisms that jar you out of the 23rd Century environment. It's faithful to the show and with this being the Legacy trilogy it would be silly to expect anything less than an indulgent - and period accurate - read. While Mack has Sarek pinned well there are times he almost slips into an action hero role but one representation i just couldn't grip properly was Gorkon. The soft spoken statesman from The Undiscovered Country might be a fair few years away but there's very little hint of that personality within Best Defenses and more so in Purgatory's Key. For some reason he is most certainly cast in a more active and warrior-like Klingon role than you appreciate in the sixth classic movie. Sadly it's a blip that does give me a grumble in an otherwise highly enjoyable trilogy of books.

The supreme issue with this book and by association the trilogy is that the wrapping up of the various strands is done in a smattering of pages and seems to be over before it's even started. Ok there's a little bit of cleanup work after that but the drawing together of (most of) the story elements does feel a little rushed given the 900 page build up. As a trilogy it really does offer lots through the first two books with the second not just a place holder and instead building and adding to Captain to Captain. Problem is that there's a lot left for Purgatory's Key to do and even with a 340 page offering to round everything out it still felt a little incomplete and hurried.

The writing itself is solid and there's no schoolboy errors here but the quality of the end result is just tarnished by that breakneck pace to clean everything up nicely. I could have more than abided a few loose strands left floating for future stories but alas that doesn't happen although I would welcome some more novels to feature Number One now that she's stepped into the limelight here - so much potential. 

The Legacies trilogy is a grand milestone in the literary series however its memory might fade pretty quickly especially since there's the rather impressive Prey trilogy right after it...

Was Legacies the trilogy we deserved for the 50th anniversary? Were you wanting more or something totally different?

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Dilmore Concludes Legacies - and Talks to SKoST!

Ian Kimmins speaks to author Kevin Dilmore.

Kevin Dilmore has worked with co-author Dayton Ward for over 15 years of Star Trek novels we had the pleasure of being able to talk the man himself

His new Star Trek novel Purgatory’s Key the conclusion to the trilogy has just been released and is now available. So I asked him what direction we can expect?

If I were to choose a word to describe our direction for Purgatory’s Key, it would be ‘metaphysical’

And about his working relationship with Dayton Ward his co-author

When dividing our work for this book, I chose to do the first drafts of each chapter that takes place in the unnamed realm beyond our own in which important parts of the story take place.

I got to use the most diverse assortment of characters in those chapters that I’ve ever used, from races we know well, to beings the likes of which we’ve not seen. I also explored relationships among the crew of the Enterprise as well as with persons they love not typically aboard the starship. For me, the characters of Star Trek are family to one another; that’s a theme we got to explore this time around.

It seems as though Kevin and Dayton have a wonderful working relationship and also the pertinent question - how much of a challenge was it to co write the conclusion to the 50th anniversary story?

Each book presents its own challenges to me personally. One challenge I don’t have is in Dayton’s and my processes of co-writing.

We have a shared voice that’s distinct from our separate writing voices, and it’s one we can snap into pretty easily at this point.

Beyond our writing partnership, Dayton’s not only my closest friend, we are practically family. Our goal is to make each of our projects the best story possible but never at the expense of each other or of our friendship. I always enjoy collaborating with him.

Did having worked with the other authors (David Mack and Greg Cox) in this series make the process easier?

Our past work with Dave and Greg certainly contributed to ease in the plotting process. We share a sensibility of what we believe makes a great Star Trek story (we learned that about each other years ago through fun conversations whenever we get together).

I then moved on to his other Star Trek novels (The Vanguard Series) and how they influence his present work. Was it easier to write these earlier books? (since you had the freedom to create a little pocket of your own in the Star Trek universe) or would you prefer to deal primarily with the established crews?

It’s been more than a decade now since Dave and former Star Trek editor Marco Palmieri invited us to contribute to their vision of Star Trek: Vanguard. At conventions, Vanguard is cited without fail as being among someone’s favorite Star Trek series of books. 

I remain very happy about my writing for the Vanguard story; I imagine I will regard it among my top accomplishments for the rest of my writing career. I felt no more or less freedom with the characters of Vanguard than I do with those from series produced for the screen because I felt no more or less responsibility to them.

While writing, I have just as much fun working with our Vanguard cast as I do any other characters in Star Trek, including those of the original series—and for me, that is saying something!

And of course, with the excitement building about Star Trek: Discovery, I had to ask about the possibility of Kevin being asked to write a novel from this pre-The Original Series era

Who was it that said, “There are always possibilities”? I have complete confidence that the creative minds behind Star Trek: Discovery will present to us an exciting and intriguing facet of the Star Trek universe, and one I would be happy and flattered to explore in prose. Whether I; or anyone I know is invited to do; so remains to be seen.

Going back to the Golden Age of Star Trek; you used to write for the Communicator magazine; how much fun was it to be involved in that period of Star Trek?

I owe my Star Trek career to Star Trek Communicator publisher Dan Madsen and Editor Larry Nemecek. These two men placed confidence in me to cover everything from the opening of Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas to the finale of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I had uncounted opportunities to meet and interview Star Trek’s writers, visual artists, crew and cast, including a few people for whom I was their first journalistic interview. I made so many friends through the Communicator, such as the contributing writers of the Strange New Worlds anthologies published by Pocket Books, including Dayton, we met when I interviewed him about his short story in the first volume of the series.

Fun is a vast understatement!

And lastly, I asked Kevin what he had in store for the rest of 2016/2017 whether Star Trek related or not.

           

Looking ahead in 2016, I have a couple of children’s books to be published by Hallmark Gift Books. Dayton and I wrote a story for issue #2 of Star Trek Way-point, heading to news-stands in November from Comics. I stay pretty active co-hosting Pop Minded, a weekly YouTube series on the Hallmark and Community channel. Watch my Facebook  page for more updates.

A true pleasure it was to speak to such a talented and thoroughly nice man. Kevin’s books are available on all formats and I would highly recommend that you indulge yourself in some excellent Star Trek storytelling.

Thanks again to Kevin Dilmore for speaking to us!

Star Trek: Legacies 3; Purgatory's Key'is available from Simon and Schuster ISBN 9781501122774.

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Seekers 2: And Now the Continuation

A starship down and a seemingly malevolent alien race are in control of a planet.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that might be a great tag line to introduce a standalone novel but in this case it's a description of how the second Seekers story kicks off. 

Dropping the reader right into the middle of the story will be of no issue to those who have (sensibly) tackled Seekers 1 however for those of us that haven't it's more than a little challenging.

There is a brief recollection within the first chapter of Point of Divergence (the subtitle for the second book) as to the events that immediately preceded this release but they are pretty sparce and it's not as accessible as I found The Fall could be if you weren't reading them in a linear fashion. However I doubt that with Seekers you'd be reading the second book if you hadn't touched the first.

Anyway, let's tackle this story and see where it takes us. As with every one of our book reviews we do like to note that there may be SPOILERS ahead so if you are worried we'll give something away, click onto one of our other articles and enjoy.

Seekers 2 is a direct sequel, launching the reader back into a tense confrontation between the Klingons, led by Kang, the Federation and an evolving people known as The Changed. These Changed - and one in particular - are fairly hostile towards outsiders and aren't concerned with differentiating a Klingon from a human as we come to find out fairly soon. It's a conflict with two fronts actually as we have the surface activity involving all three parties around the crashed hull of Captain Terrell's USS Sagittarius and then the stand off between Kang and the USS Endeavour in orbit above. 

For new readers there are a lot of characters to get acquainted to fairly briskly although anyone who has made it through book one will have no trouble identifying the leads here. My issue is that they all seem very average with no-one particularly standing out or making a mark and that's a shame since the grounding of Point of Divergence is perfect, relating back to The Paradise Syndrome and the Preservers as well as exploring their legacy and secrets. But I couldn't get excited. Sorry.

You see this series (which will be receiving at least a third book in 2015) just doesn't seem to deliver the suspense and excitement factor I've felt with other recent Star Trek literary releases. It's good but standard fayre that seems to be trailing off the backend of the very successful and well regarded Vanguard series. Perhaps the hype for these books has overshadowed their purpose but that doesn't mean that authors Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore haven't done a good job because they have. This is solid and well written with solid and well written characters in a solid and well written environment however the spark just doesn't seem to eminate from the page and this really does take a long time to get anywhere. If there's one thing I can say it's that while the first book provided a great cliffhanger to draw readers back for a second helping it's continuing story has echoes of one of The Next Generation's less successful two-parters - the second round never quite lives up to the work put into the first slice.

In fact I found the first half of this book a slog. Nothing really happens once the Tomol known as Nimur completes her/its transformation into one of the Changed (close to the opening) and sets about making sure her brethren also take the evolutionary leap they have been restrained and nigh on forced to avoid for centuries by the Preservers through a life-ending ritual. That alone is a great draw as a plot point not dissimilar to Logan's Run in it's conception but when the bulk of the book is drawn into an almost cat and mouse chase sequence across the planet with the Sagittarius in the middle effecting repairs it gets a bit repetitive. 

Captain Khatami and the Endeavour are there for plot exposition, revealing the machinations of the Preservers and their relationship with the trampled Tomol but offer little heroics. Khatami herself bounces between the planet and her ship and while we might have expected the crew of the Enterprise to knuckle down and find a solution quick time, the Starfleet crew here seem to take a while going round the planets to come up with something feasible - and that's after a considerable amount of time with characters chatting about their observations of the Tomol or Kang trying to guess what's going on just about anywhere.and repair his own damaged vessel.

Luckily there is a turn of events but it could have come earlier in the book when the Tomol/Changed finally arrive at the Sagittarius but as a new reader to the series I wasn't gripped. The key character here is, of course, Terrell and we all know that he's destined for more wriggly things in The Wrath of Khan which totally detracts from any sense of forboding that could have been created here. Had this been another captain, another name and character specifically for this series then we might have cared as we would have come to know them in the course of one and a half novels. Given it's Terrell you can't take the danger seriously and that's where this whole series might fall down. The premise is good, the idea is good but one captain just lets the realism slip because of our knowledge of the "future".

The Tomol themselves, complete with morphing ability that makes them sound uncannily like the Hulk at some points and Superman at others aren't evil but driven to eradicate all that isn't pure from their home and cause some damage along the way to make the outsiders pay for apparently stunting their growth - in other words thinking the Starfleet crews are their former "jaliers", the Preservers aka the Shenai. Point of Divergence does get very wrapped up in the whole situation with what is causing the change and genomes, DNA and all sorts of biological tech get blasted in to help explain the challenge but I wasn't sure how this would work out and what the point was when the mission seems to be to ensure the Sagittarius crew are rescued. Ok, so it's a reaction to make sure the Tomol/Changed remain on the planet as they can become airbourne but these abilities seem to hinder the plot and make the apparent adversary a super-race and therefore seemingly unstoppable by any normal convention which is equivalent to writing yourself into a very tight corner.

I do feel for the authors of this second book and also for David Mack who wrote the first book. Perhaps my view on the series would be different had I chosen to read and review the first chunk of the tale but sadly that wasn't possible on this occasion but it does go to prove how sometimes just picking up a book from a series can make it incredibly inaccessible. As I'd missed a lot of character build-up and establishment in Seekers 1 I did find all of the characters distant and perhaps a little one dimensional. I didn't understand who they really were because those following the story already knew that and for me not engaging in that formation of a narrative relationship and believing in the characters absolutely shut down my engagement with this book. Had I got to know the crews in the first place I may well have approached this novel much more openly and positively but as it stands, as a standalone, I felt it doesn't hit the mark.

For all of you thinking of reading Seekers you absolutely HAVE to read book one otherwise book two will be a waste of your time and money. I just hope that having taken the time to dabble with the second book I might stand a chance of understanding book three next year. That and I'll have to grab a copy of book one.

Following the Seekers saga? Do you think we're right? Let's discuss!

Hot for 2014

With a new year we have to ask what is there to look forward to in the Star Trek universe and the answers might just lie here. Read on and discover what our top tips for 2014 could be...

Star Trek: Axanar

Billed as the story of Garth of Izar this is one that we really wanted to find out more about as soon as whispers of its existence found their way onto the internet. Luckily it looks like we're going to see this project through almost from its inception. Checking out out calendar we think there will be a lot on this in the next few months with some access to cast and creators (we hope) through this site.

Set 21 years before the adventures of Kirk and the USS Enterprise we're in the midst of the Klingon war at an event that would shape one of the most important figures in Starfleet history.

Already signed, according to the website, are Richard Hatch, J G Hertzler and Gary Graham. Having been in contact with those behind the scenes we know there's more amazing news to come in regards to Axanar but even now it looks like a real winner. I just can't wait and we will be covering this as events progress.

Star Trek: Renegades

Every man and his beagle know about this sort-of sequel to Of Gods and Men. Directed by Tim Russ and starring both him and Walter Koenig as well as a host of well known names from both inside and out of the Star Trek universe it looks set to be available very, very soon judging from the two trailers we've already seen recently. Add into that we'll be looking back at Of Gods... too.

As with the Axanar project we fully intend to be giving this movie the coverage it deserves in 2014. From what we've seen the quality looks pretty impressive as does the cast but will it mean the start of something new for the franchise or is this going to be another one off that ends up sitting in the YouTube archives until the end of time? Is the world ready for another twist on live-action TV-based Star Trek - and I don't want to hear anyone mentioning Captain Worf or Captain Sulu thanks. One notable point is that this show doesn't seem to be totally leaning in the direction of Starfleet which will definitely be a first for the Star Trek universe.

Star Trek: Seekers

The big novel release of the year could well be Seekers. From the minds of David Mack, Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore this series will be numbered - and have no titles as the anthologies of the 1970s did. Set on two starships - the USS Endeavour and the USS Sagittarius - in the Original Series era, the books are a direct sequel to the earlier Vanguard novels. 

Even the covers have a retro 1970's style to their artwork from the illustrator Rob Caswell. The first two volumes will make their debuts in August and September 2014 with more to follow. While I missed out on Vanguard I find the whole concept of Seekers really intriguing and it's definitely a read I'm eager to dive in to. Indeed, since my return to Trekdom this will be the first non-canon material I will have read that doesn't deal with characters already established on the TV. At present we've not had any plot or character details however it's certainly going to give the Kirk/Seven crossover novel a run for it's money when we look back at what titles were the top for the year.

Star Trek: Equinox

We only discovered this gem in the last 24 hours or this post would've gone live earlier. Yes, it's true - there is work in progress to return us to the Nova Class USS Equinox in 2014.

First up there's the news of a "possible" TV movie starring John (Captain Ransom) Savage (read that as fan-made movie) which appears to be in pre-production now. Entitled The Night of Time it includes Gary (Gary Mitchell) Lockwood among the cast and has signed WWE's Matt Striker as a Romulan. Secondly the starship is reaching our ears via an audio series from the same stable. You can check out their progress in both areas via the Facebook page and the website which is gradually taking shape. Indeed, it appears to be focusing on two different  ships from two different eras - the one we know and a Miranda Class version in The Original Series era. Fascinating as one might say.

Are we excited? You bet - and a great find on New Year's Eve thanks to a news search. We're thinking this could be one of the big developing Star Trek stories of the year!

These are the Voyages Seasons Two and Three

The first book was a revelation and we fully expect the concluding two volumes to be just as indepth and jaw-dropping as the initial edition. Once again scribed and researched by Star Trek luminary Marc Cushman along with Susan Osborn, we can expect more of the same. Now that phrase usually instils fear and dread in most people but not here. More of the same with Cushman means intricate attention to detail and then some to bring together the best resource books on The Original Series. Fact.

Aside from actually having been on set and in every meeting during production which would have been physically impossible, this is as good as it gets. We'll also be covering the expanded work that's been going on with the first book in an extra little blog piece in the next few weeks. Amazingly Leonard Nimoy has helped add a further 80 pages to the tome, bringing personal recollections into the mix. Season Two will over some of my favourites including The Doomsday Machine and A Piece of the Action but the real intrigue will surely be the car-crash third season with budget cuts and management changes. Better clear a few weeks in the diary to read them. If you want more information our review has been featured on the Jacobs Media Publishing site and you can buy the first book direct here.

Star Trek: Phase II

Formerly New Voyages this show is now in its tenth year, releasing Kitumba on New Year's Day 2014. Picking up, as with Continues, after season three of The Original Series these guys are looking to bridge the gap between Turnabout Intruder and The Motion Picture and show the transitions that took place from one to the other. 

We'll be honest we found it really difficult to split the two because of their differences (Continues/Phase II) and what they have to offer. While Continues goes for total originality, Phase II offers a chance to see some classics that never made the screen and has David Gerrold as it's showrunner. That's clout right there.

It looks like a great prospect and we'll hope to get stuck in to the library of episodes that already exist as well as looking at the future of this fan-made series which seems to have done extremely well. Using scripts from luminaries including David Gerrold, the Phase II team have even filmed the legendary Blood and Fire as well as their own version of The Child. The newly released Kitumba was, as you will probably know, a script for the original version of Phase II.  2014 is likely to see a lot of work on the production of their next episode, The Holiest Thing. Exciting times indeed!

The Green Girl

The brainchild of George Pappy this movie had massive impact last year across the internet as it went into production. Detailing the life and times of the original Orion slave girl, Vina, it looks set to be launched this year with much anticipation. We're hoping to bring you a review of the movie as soon as we can get our hands on a copy plus (we hope) some inside information on The Green Girl project. It's perhaps not our usual fare but Oliver had such a big presence back in The Cage and graced the closing credits of the first season that we felt it was important to give this production the time and space it deserves - and we're intending to find out a lot more about the life and times of the actress into the bargain.  

...And More

Those might be the things we've highlighted as hot topics for 2014 but let's not forget some of the other elements of the Star Trek universe that we'll no doubt encounter in the next twelve months. In fact we're probably already finding new stuff as you're reading!

For certain the rumour mill around Star Trek 3, it's script, cast and director will kick into second gear with the 2016 launch not that far away oh and anyone fancy mentioning the Netflix Enterprise season five campaign too?!

Stick with us in 2014 as we take some new steps forward and introduce a few new faces to the Some Kind of Star Trek contingent who will bring their own twist on the franchise in its many different forms.

Is there anything we've failed to pick up on? Is there an element of the Star Trek universe that has evaded our sensors? Let us know.

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