By BWilliams / 00:24, 22 April 2005 / Reviews - Books

Beam This Story to a Friend
Complete the form below to e-mail a link to this story to a friend.

Your Name:
Your E-Mail:
Your Friend's Name:
Your Friend's E-Mail:
Subject:
Message (optional):

"Do you remember the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold?" - Khan Noonien Singh, THE WRATH OF KHAN

In 2002 Pocket Books published the ERRAND OF VENGEANCE trilogy, a series of novels that took readers back to the days of the first season of the Original Series with a look at events that transpired during those classic episodes and the stories of the men and women who made up the crew of the Federation flagship. Now, writer Kevin Ryan has returned to the Original Series era with SEEDS OF RAGE, the first book in his latest series, ERRAND OF FURY, that sees tensions mounting all around.

Set just before the days of the classic episode "Errand of Mercy", Starfleet has received crucial information that the Klingons are arming for war, and it's up to Robert Fox, one of the leading ambassadors and negotiators in the Federation, to convince the Klingons of a peaceful alternative to war. Aboard the Enterprise, upgrades are in progress to turn the peaceful ship of exploration into a ship of war, and Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, and the crew are not happy about it one bit. But it's not just the crew of the Enterprise who are unhappy. Personal vendettas are at hand on both sides, and they may just cost Starfleet a crucial victory in the battle to come.

SEEDS OF RAGE is a story of two men on different sides of the conflict. Michael Fuller, the father of a young Starfleet security officer killed during the ERRAND OF VENGEANCE trilogy, has come back to action on board the Enterprise. But is his mission one of defense or of revenge? On the other side is Karel, brother of the Klingon operative Kell who infiltrated Starfleet's ranks by posing as a human and was ultimately killed for his betrayal of his oath to the Klingon Empire. Karel holds the Federation in general, and James Kirk in particular, for corrupting Kell's spirit and twisting his beliefs, and he's out for blood at any cost.

Between the mounting tensions on both sides, Ryan takes the reader back in time to the decisive battle of Donatu V, one that could have ended very badly for the Federation but ended even worse for the Klingons. Stalemate is not an option for the Klingons, Ryan posits, and the only way to avenge that stalemate is through war. But the cost of the conflict takes a dramatic toll for both sides, leaving no one for the happier as a result. It is this uneasiness and tension that Ryan keeps at the forefront of SEEDS OF RAGE, and through his straightforward and personal narrative he paints a very human portrait of men and women affected by war in both great and small ways.

This is just the first chapter of Ryan's story. His second novel, DEMANDS OF HONOR, should be just as exciting and filled with the same tension and yet the same dedication to humanity that the original STAR TREK was so noted for observing. This futuristic equivalent to Erich Maria Remarque's ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT is one tale that I look forward to seeing continue in the months to come.

	More Top Stories	Comments
Nov 22	Quinto, Urban, Saldana, Cho and Greenwood on Their Hopes for Star Trek XII	0
Nov 22	Exclusive Digital Content Now Available With New Star Trek Movie on iTunes	1
Nov 22	No J.J. Abrams Version of the U.S.S. Enterprise in the Star Trek Online MMORPG	0
Nov 21	Faran Tahir on His 10 Minutes as Captain Robau in J.J. Abrams Star Trek Movie	2
Nov 21	J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman on Shatner and Nimoy	7
	Story Archives...Browse:   AllBits - Miscellany Deep Space NineEnterpriseGamingGeneral Genre/SciFiGeneral Star Trek PeopleStar Trek: NemesisTodays TribbletsTrek BooksVoyagerFeatures

	Recent Reviews
Oct 23	40th Anniversary of STAR TREK Celebrated With New Anthology Collection, CONSTELLATIONS	5
Oct 14	Four Classic STAR TREK Novels Reissued for Franchise's 40th Anniversary	15
Oct 9	Lives Touched, Impacted, Explored in First Installment of CRUCIBLE Trilogy	0
Oct 2	Manga Enters the Final Frontier in Tokyopop's New STAR TREK Manga	5
Sep 27	The Life Story of Christopher Pike Revealed in Pocket Books' BURNING DREAMS	6
	More Reviews...