Star Trek: The Original Series: Excelsior: Forged in Fire

If you all recall the STVOY episode where Tuvok and Capt Janeway were on the Excelsior, this was supposed to be the spin off for Excelsior's own TV series, but didn't happen. This book is great on filling in the Back story of a Deep Space Nine, season 2 show where Dax teams up with 3 Klingons to fulfill a blood oath. A must read!

Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels have produced some of my favorite Star Trek novels and I believe they single handedly resurrected the Enterprise series with the cogent and brilliant "Last Full Measure" & "The Good That Men Do." So I had high expectations for "Forged in Fire" as we would find out the history of the nebulous Albino character from DS9. David Roy gives a great synopsis to the book in his review so I would just add that I enjoyed the tapestry that these authors bring to this story. One of the great aspects of Star Trek is that the TV series and movies gave us many broad strokes of story arcs that has allowed talented authors like these to fill in the details that flesh out our favorite universe. Michael & Andy reward the Star Trek fans who have viewed all of the shows with the immense and accurate detail that they seemingly do without straining credulity and all so seamlessly. Yet, the story is so accessible that it will satisfy fans who are familiar with Star Trek but who do not possess every detail of the Trek canon. This is a Star Trek novel that I highly recommend to the full spectrum of Star Trek and Sci-Fi fans. My only complaint is that these authors don't publish more stories as they are certainly at the top of their game.

A great book featuring some of the more underused TREK characters (Janice Rand, Christine Chapel, etc.). Everything fits together perfectly. Also, we FINALLY find out why the Trills seen on TNG's ep. "The Host" look different from all of the other Trills shown on DS9 (I am going to use the reason to also explain why a few other TREK species underwent different looks at different times). I really wish that there were more EXCELSIOR novels out there, BTW (listen up authors!).

One of the strengths of many Star Trek novels is the ability to fill in continuity gaps left by the various television series. At times they can go too far, but if the book tells a good story as well as filling in the hole, I'm all for it. Thus, when a novel like Excelsior: Forged in Fire comes along, I have to stand up and take notice of it. This book is fairly dense, but it is marvelous. I enjoyed it so much that I could hardly find any flaws in it. I'll get the first and only real criticism out of the way here. The threat to Sulu and his daughter seems tacked on, to make him even more involved in the story than he really needs to be. I think it's enough that he's involved in the events that set the blood oath into motion. Due to his past history with the Albino, he had every reason to take part in the events here. Tacking on the attempt to murder Demora seemed pointless. That being said, the rest of this novel is riveting. Almost 500 pages, with small text, it has to be one of the longest Trek books ever (certainly the longest not written by David R. George III), yet it's almost impossible to put down. Martin & Mangels' prose just flows off the page. Whether it's a tactical briefing, a discussion between a former first officer and his new acting first officer who doesn't appear to like him, or whether it's an action scene, it all just grabs you and won't let you go. I've always enjoyed their storytelling, and Forged in Fire is no exception. Even better is the characterization, with not a false note in the bunch. Sulu is his typical self, having learned from Jim Kirk when it's time to go against orders and follow what you believe is right. They get Captain Styles down pat, fleshing out his character from the arrogant boob who was in Star Trek III yet still making him recognizable. It seems Starfleet brass has seen fit to force Sulu upon him, despite the fact that it was Sulu's mentor who embarrassed him in front of the entire fleet. Yet despite not liking Sulu, he demonstrates why he deserves at least some respect as a captain. Finally, Dax and the three Klingons are picture-perfect. They even manage to give the Albino a believable and interesting back story. The best thing about Forged in Fire, at least in my eyes, is the way Mangels and Martin handle the continuity. Filling this many holes in Trek history (Sulu taking command of Excelsior, Dax and the Klingons, they even manage to throw in how these three Klingons went from having a smooth forehead to the bumpy ones between the two television series!), it would be very easy to mire the book in a swamp of continuity references. But they don't do that. In fact, they seem to make a lot of assumptions that readers will generally know all of this stuff. The references are there, but they pass by quickly and then move on. Forged in Fire is a must-read for almost any Star Trek fan. Not only does it explain a lot of things, it's just a rollicking good Star Trek novel.

While this novel really isnt an Excelsior novel as much as a Lost Era novel about Curzon Dax and the 3 Klingons and their quest to catch the Albino its a great read and a well told story. While the Excelsior and crew pretty much take a back seat the times they are there are very well done. I look forward to seeing more Excelsior novels and highly recommend the story