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There are diplomatic intrigues and hidden Federation agendas, of course, but the story puts Kirk in a new role.Kirk is recruited by Star Fleet Command to perform a civilian murder investigation after Spock is reported killed in a bomb blast assassination at a Romulan Peace Rally on Romulus.The Next Generation crew join the mission as support for the mission in a disguised ship, though thing get confusing and the story becomes puzzling when their additional role of watchdogs becomes apparent. This story is set in the period following the movie Nemesis, about 6 years after his marriage to Teilani, narrated in the story Star Trek: Ashes of Eden. This story takes a turn form the traditional starship battled and Kilingon intrigues. An old opponent shows up to plague Kirk, and his son is in danger from an unstated plot the crew and Star Fleet Command are unaware of.A good murder mystery with interesting turns, much in the vein of Sherlock Holmes. Even non-SciFi fans will enjoy this story.
I'm not especially convinced that I care enough to read the next one and find out what happens.Although the beginning and end of this novel didn't really do it for me, the middle was good enough that I am glad I read it. About halfway through this novel, I couldn't put it down any more.
As with most books in the series, it brings Jim Kirk into the 24th century and puts him in the thick of things, being heavily involved with contemporary galactic events, and hanging out with the TNG crew like they're old friends. To me, it takes a bit to get over this premise, but it's not especially worse in this book than it has been in Shatner's past forays into Trek writing.However, I did find that this book took a long time to get going.
This book is the seventh original Star Trek novel penned by Shatner and the Reeves-Stevens couple. Although the book is slow at first, once it got going, I was hooked.
Even though it is in many ways a plot continuation of the last book "Captain's Peril," it develops an entirely new storyline of its own, one that I did not at first find especially interesting. I believe this in large part due to its focus on a murder mystery that the reader will probably solve long before the protagonists of this book.
The book leads directly into a cliffhanger at the end, providing a segue to the next book "Captain's Blood," although I can't say it was entirely effective in its climax. And, if you've enjoyed Shatner's other books, this one will probably be no different.
How wrong can a murder investigation go, when its being carried out by two of the most celebrated and best Captains the Federation's ever had.Kirk is in for a big surprise, as things go wrong from the beginning.Kidnapping, murder, double-crossing, double-dealings, hidden agendas abound aplenty in this story and will leave you satisfied in the time you spend to understand the complex plot, and see the real villain behind the carnage that threatens to soon engulf the entire galaxy in it's wake - painfully reminiscent of the Dominion Wars.The plot is well crafted, the twists and turns well executed and I almost felt as if Shatner has learned from his earlier writing exercises and grown to be a mature and big-picture writer. Kirk is asked by Admiral Janeway (from ST VOY) to go in to investigate along with Picard and a small crew hand-picked on a ship specially retro-fitted with secret weapons by Starfleet.
In fact, in the last two books I have read, he draws it from even outside the galaxy.No wonder this book betters the first one in the "Totality" Series.The book starts with an innocent battle between Kirk and his five-year-old son Joseph, who has a genetic code mixture fed into him from his mother's side, which Kirk has been trying to decode with help from McCoy but to no success so far. Right away you get an inkling - Joseph is going to be central to the plot of this book.
Captain Kirk seems to be able to draw out action and adventure wherever he goes in the galaxy. The Romulans and their estranged and enslaved brethren Remans have never been on good terms, and things have just taken a turn for the worse.Spock is killed while trying to convince the warring factions of Romulans and Remans (and Vulcans) to reunite and bring their ancient common ancestry together once again.
And boy. are you right or what.The story begins with Spock being killed in a bomb blast that rocks the Federation to its core, and they realize something big is afoot in the Romulan star system.
Kirk has nowhere to leave Joseph behind, so he takes him along. No doubt there are some (gaping) holes in the plot, but if you disregard them, the book is well written and I really liked the fact that, for a change, even though Kirk is the center of the universe, he is not it's master.Well worth the 4 / 5.
Tagging along with him are McCoy, Scotty, Captain Picard, La Forge, Dr. Without giving away too much, just know that Spock is at the center of a lot of the chaos that happens in this book. He's being used to investigate the assassination of a key Trek figure. I did not read "Captain's Peril" yet, but this book did whet my appetite for it and the third book in the series, "Captain's Glory."In this go round, Kirk finds himself as a pawn for the Federation. Getting into (and out of) a seemingly impossible situation, griping with McCoy, being overprotective of those he loves and always itching for one last fight is exactly what you'll find Captain Kirk doing in "Captain's Blood," the second book in William Shatner and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens' "Captain's" trilogy. It's fun, quite unbelievable, and enjoyable all at the same time. The rest of the cast, including Worf, Riker, Troi and Admiral Janeway, are drawn out in a manner that regular fans of Trek can see as normal behavior for each of them. He's supposed to do that sort of thing.
It's a very good read for fans of Trek as well as fans of sci-fi in general. The group finds themselves taken prisoner by Remans, caught on the cusp of a civil war and facing off against the harbinger of an enemy known as the Totality.It's all done at an excellent, action-packed clip. This is actually the first "Trek" story that I've read by Shatner and co. Kirk's son is also a primary catalyst for what happens in the tale.As stated before, this book did make me wonder what happened in the other two novels. Crusher and his own son, Joseph. Sure, Kirk moves pretty good for being an elder stateman, but he's Kirk. I especially recommend it to fans of sci-fi with a good dose of action thrown in for good measure. Recommended.
As such, he is superior to all others in the novel and represented as the guy who knows the truth and Starfleet is in his way. There are two Kirks. Part of this Kirk is having no depth. The Kirk from the original series, and the Kirk from "ST III:The Search for a Script" and beyond. The Kirk in this novel is the latter. He is a cardboard hero who solves all the problems with little difficulty.What is more annoying is the premise, from Spock's ideas to StarFleets. I'll not give anything away, I'll just say I had a few roll my eyes moments.Now, if you can get past the innane plot, and the shallow characters, you definitely have an ok read that is really the prologue to the next book.
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