Shadow Lord

(Star Trek 22)
by
Laurence Yep

Pocket, March 1985, 279 pp.
ISBN: 0-671-47392-1

Genre: Science Fiction
Subgenre: TV Tie-in
Reviewed: 10/16/2000

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Excerpt

Sulu, Swordsman

The bandit yelled in pain and Sulu slid his blade free. There was blood on the point. From somewhere to his left, another bandit screamed—Urmi’s work. The prince was still busy with Lord Tayu.

Panting for breath, Sulu turned back to the other bandits. But they weren’t nearly as enthusiastic as they had been before. Finally, a large man with a huge cutlass started toward Sulu. And Sulu tensed. The man’s cutlass was large enough to break Sulu’s own blade if he wasn’t careful. But on the other hand, it ought to be a clumsier weapon. It would be a test of Sulu’s own quickness—and perhaps his luck . . .

Synopsis

Captain Kirk and the USS Enterprise escort Prince Vikram back to his home planet, Angira, after he spent 10 years on Earth learning about the Federation. Spock and Sulu escort him home to adjust the planet’s starcharts. Lord Tavu decides that Vikram’s father, the King, is injuring their sacred traditions with his new Federation reforms. He massacres just about everybody in the palace, including the king and all eight of Vikram’s older brothers.

Vikram escapes with his servant, Bibil, Bibil’s neice, Urmi, Spock and Sulu. All fighting on the planet is done with swords, and Spock and Sulu feel right at home with a sword in their hands.

During their escape, Spock saves Urmi’s life, but also gets impaled by a spear. Injured, he remains hidden in Urmi’s town while Vikram, Sulu and Urmi try to reach a distant city, where the Vikram can be declared king. But Lord Tavu is hot on their heals and only has one thing on his mind…Revenge!

Shadow Lord is a science fiction book in the Star Trek world and was written by Laurence Yep. It is Star Trek number 22.

Review

Shadow Lord takes place somewhere during the original 5-year mission. This story mostly revolves around Prince Vikram and Sulu. Spock is also a main character, but after he is impaled, he kind of disappears for a while.

When I first started reading this story, my main thought was that the author had a story in mind, needed an audience, so added in a few Star Trek characters to sell the story. It just seemed that way because Spock and Sulu were kinda background characters for a while.

As the story heats up, Sulu becomes a main character. At first I was a little disappointed with this. But it turned out to be a really good story. The usual characters: Kirk and McCoy are in the beginning and at the end of the story, but that is all. They are not really necessary.

The story moves right along and is action-packed. This is almost not a science fiction story, but rather a fantasy tale.

Shadow Lord is a Star Trek book, and a good read. If you love Star Trek, this is the kind of story that you usually don’t get. It is quite enjoyable.

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.