|
The
Jefferson Randolf Smith, a Federation resource exploratory
vessel, finds a planet that is rich with dilithium crystals. Before they
have a chance to contact Starfleet, the Fire Blossom, an Imperial
Klingon commanded by Captain Kaden, also discovers this planet, Diryedee.
The captain of the Jefferson Randolf Smith sends out a distress
signal that the Enterprise receives before having to abandon ship
with her two other crewmembers to the planet. The Enterprise soon
arrives and both the Klingons and Starfleet personnel beam down to the
waiting humans that live on the planet. But these are not ordinary
humans. They want nothing to do with either the Klingons or Starfleet
and have enacted Plan C. Right from the get-go; things don't go exactly
as planned for either of the landing parties, as the inhabitants of the
planet often burst out into song, as if they were in a 1940's musical.
Are both of the crews getting the run around? Will either of them have
the right to farm the dilithium crystals? Will any of them figure out
why everything seems to be like one big sitcom? This Star Trek book takes
place during the original 5-year mission. The
number of the book is 36. This Star Trek is book is a little different
from other Star Trek books in that the dialog is fast and clever, and
the action is non-stop. Right from the beginning the reader will notice
the difference. This book is more of a comedy that the normal Star Trek
book. For a comparison of the type of comedy, see the movie Oscar
starring Sylvester Stalone (I love this movie). The book is quick,
witty, and a heck of a lot of fun to read.
First of all, the title of
the book led me to believe that this was not going to be the typical
Star Trek book...and I was right. Never one who enjoys reading song lyrics
in a book, I usually skip over them, I found myself analyzing why this
was happening. Why would the inhabitants of the planet break out into
song and dance? One thing I would have liked to know was what the tune
was I supposed to be thinking of when I read the lyrics. Some were easy,
like the theme to Rawhide, but others I could not figure out. The
last 75 pages or so is a huge well-thought out routine, like in the
movie I mentioned above, with multiple misunderstandings that lead to a
brilliant piece of comedy. I found myself smiling a lot and actually
laughed out loud once! But you may ask yourself, "Is this what Star
Trek is really about?" Well, who could ever forget the most popular
episode of the original run, The Trouble with Tribbles? Yes, Star
Trek can do comedy and it works in this book. I did find Kirk to be a
little out of character, but it didn't bother me enough to really be a problem.
So, if you are looking for something a little to the left of the normal
Star Trek book, pick this one up and have a laugh on me.
I rated this book an 8 out of 10. |
