Constitution (Star Trek: My Brother's Keeper, Book 2)

This book is a continuation of the story told in "Republic", the backstory of the friendship between Kirk and Gary Mitchell, and the aftermath of the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before", in which Kirk is forced to kill Mitchell after Mitchell gains superhuman psychic powers and goes insane from the experience, becoming a threat to all humanity. This book is as well-written as the previous book, giving us a close look at the continuing after-effects of that experience on Kirk, as well as a flashback look at his history with Mitchell. The flashback isn't as well-justified as it is in the previous book; it isn't a tale told to Spock, but simply Kirk woolgathering and thinking back on his time with Mitchell, but it's still well-handled. This time, the flashback deals with their time together on the Constitution, shortly after Kirk was one of few survivors on the Farragut, and was blaming himself for all of the deaths there. (This refers back to the episode "Obsession".) Once again, not all of the details are as I'd envisioned them, nor the characterizations what I would have envisioned. But that doesn't make them wrong, and the story is well-told and gripping. Further, it seems to me that it stands well on its own; it helps to have read the previous entry in the series, but it isn't essential, and the same can be said for having seen the episodes referred to: it helps, but it isn't essential to an appreciation of the story.

Constitution pick's up where Republic left off. The books starts off with the very tragic event's aboard the Farragut. The entire chain of command is killed, leaving a young Lieutenant Kirk in charge of the ship. The young Kirk feels responsible for the tragedy and is consequently emotionally hulled. He is later transferred to the Constitution where he is reunited with his best friend Gary Mitchell. Aboard the Constitution, his friend has the challenge of getting him back on track emotionally. When Kirk ends up being in command of the Constitution is a particularly intriguing part of the story.This was of course another excellent book written by one of the best Trek authors. It has everything a trek fan is looking for in a book. Intrigue, action, humor and generally a really good plot line.

First of all, the backcover blurb is incorrect. In this book, Kirk remembers the disaster on the Farragut and his first time in command of the vessel when nearly half of the crew and all superior officers wound up dead, closely followed by his first time at command of a starship during a battle situation, when he had to grapple with the notions of what command is really like and when we first see him implementing brilliant strategy. The story was very exciting and you could sympathise with the young Kirk, his friend Mitchell and a whole world on the brink of distruction.Incidentally, his commanding officers were stuck planetside during the attack, not in the comas. Who writes the blurbs?

Star Trek - Constitution - Thy Brother's Keeper 2 was every bit as good and entertaining as 'Thy Brother's Keeper 1 - Republic'. However a couple of glaring errors cost this a five Star review from this reader. First off there's Gary Mitchell's rank. He was frequently referred to a 'lieutenant' when he was in fact a Lieutenant Commander at the time of his death (This is plainly stated in the classic episode 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' and the first of the trilogy; 'Thy Brother's Keeper 1 - Republic'.) The abbreviation for that rank being 'Commander' not 'Lieutenant'. There is also the gaffe regarding the 'USS Farragut' being referred to on more than one occasion as the 'USS Republic'; the first star-ship Kirk and Mitchell ever served on. There's some nice touches in this book. The reference to Kirk's middle name with regard to his conjured tombstone in 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' 'R' for 'Rhinoceros' not 'R' for 'Racquetball'. A continuation of the 'R' theme from 'Thy Brother's Keeper 1 - Republic' when Kirk said his middle name was 'Racquetball'There's also Kirk's uneasy interaction with the crew of the USS Constitution after his traumatic experiences on board the USS Farragut. Mitchell is resolute in his moral support of Kirk at this time.Great stuff. Looking forward to the third and last instalment- Star Trek -My Brother's Keeper 3 - Enterprise.

Although I am not fond of "series books", I was eagerly anticipating this one. Michael Jan Friedman is one of the best of the Star Trek authors. The story of Jim Kirk's and Gary Mitchell's friendship is really good, but book two is filled with errors. It is in need of a good proofreader. Don't read the synopsis on the back - a lot of it is incorrect. Please, Pocket Books, enough of "series" - bring back those great individual Star Trek stories from the original series and the first five year mission! I can only hope the third book - which, of course, we have to wait for, will satisfy all the questions remaining from the first two.