THE HUMAN ADVENTURE CONTINUES! -------------------------------- By Colin Gunn --------------- This column is designed to be a continuation of my guide to the complete Pocket/Titan books range. I intend to give a story synopsis and hopfully constructive comments on each novel I review, with the reader in mind. I'd like to say a big thank you to Titan books for supplying me with review copies of these books. Any way, no more of this drivel, straight on with the reviews. STAR TREK ญญญญญญญญญ RENEGADE By Gene DeWeese (Titan # 48 / Pocket # 55) ------------------------ (Sequel to the episode COURT MARTIAL) ------------------------------------- A dispute bringing to an end 100 years of peace between Chrellkan and Vancadia, comes to the attention of Starfleet. The Enterprise is sent to try and bring an end to the dispute. Spock and McCoy beam down to assess the situation and are immediately taken hostage by Delkondros, the leader of Vancadia. Kirk is devastated at, what appears to be, the death of his two closest friends at the hands of Delkondros. But all is not what it seems. Thus begins a vendetta of revenge as one of Kirk's once friends begins a plan of revenge against the Starship Captain. I liked this book and would reccomend it to any one with an interest in TREK. The story is placed within the last year of the Enterprise's first 5 year mission with Kirk and co. and if a forth series was ever filmed I think this story would happily sit in the continuity. There appears to be only one glaring mistake in the novel. At the end of chapter 3 we hear a heated battle take place as Spock and McCoy are caught in a laser battle on the planet. Kirk orders them to be beamed aboard immediately and from the transporter room we here that transportation has begun. Then both signals are lost, and their communicators destroyed. When we begin chapter 4 we step back in time slightly to see Spock's and McCoy's viewpoint of events leading to them being yanked by the transporter beam. Oops! did I say transporter beam? None of what happens at the end of chapter 3 takes place in this chapter. No failed transporter attempt. Perhaps Gene put it in for effect. Anyhow it didn't spoil the read at all. LEGACY By Michael Jan Friedman (Titan # 50 / Pocket # 56) ------------------------------ On a routine survey mission to Octavius 4 Mr. Spock is stricken with a deadly poison and is beamed back aboard the ship with Dr.McCoy. To make matters worse, Kirk and the remainder of his landing party are trapped underground. With Scotty in command of the Enterprise, Starfleet orders him to Beta Cabrini to confront a man from Spock's past when Pike was in command of the Enterprise. Leaving behind Kirk and his crew, Spock fights the poison in his body so as to confront the maruader, Hameseed Dreen. There are only a handful of writers who I think handle the TREK characters really well and Michael Jan Friedman is one of them. His handling of the interaction between Spock and McCoy on pages 144-149 is spot on (shame about how he phrased McCoy's comments to Spock on pg 9 and 99. Would McCoy really say "Don't get your knickers in a twist") How he writes Kirk is also good. When they are trapped, you can feel Kirk encouraging his crew on when even he thinks there's maybe no hope. I liked when Spock was fighting the poison, as we get to learn a little more about his time on the Enterprise with Pike. My only problem with this book was, was it nessecery to have Pike in it, albeit from time to time, as we are taken to Talos IV and his experiences now on that planet. Again an excellent book and a must have read. THE NEXT GENERATION ญญญญญญญญญญญญญญญญญญญ BOOGEYMEN By Mel Gilden (Titan & Pocket # 17) ----------------------- Wesley is beginning to feel that he is not good command material, so, with the help of Data and Geordi he puts into the Holodeck's programming a new Alien species to test him in his command training. With the assistance of Picard and Data, the three enter the Holodeck and begin the Kobayashi Maru test, with Captain Wesley Crusher in command. All seems to go well until Wesley's creations begin to take over the program and the three remain trapped in the Holodeck. To make matters worse the program, 'Boogeymen' leaks out into the main computer and begins to cause chaos on the Enterprise.