The Flaming Arrow

After the disappointing first and third books in this series and the second book being only slightly better, Star Trek #92 "The Flaming Arrow," to me, provided some salvation for the series. This being only the second book by Jerry Oltion that I've read and, I believe, the first "full" story for his wife, Kathy Oltion, I can now say with a great amount of certainty that they're both excellent writers and their Star Trek tales are to be looked forward to.They both have a very fluidic writing style and the pacing of the novel stays on an even keel the whole way through, making for a quick and compelling read. I especially like how they threw in little tidbits of Trek trivia without making them a focal point for pages and pages and without making them the "do you remember" kind of cliché's that so often pop up in Star Trek novels. They're characterizations are "dead on" good characterizations that don't leave you, the reader, questioning the responses by the characters. The cover art for "The Flaming Arrow" is outstanding and it's good to see cover art that has gotten away from the "plaster a few character's faces on the cover and it'll be alright."The premise:After facing an alien armada bent on destroying them on the way to Belle Terre; the near destruction of the entire planet due to their moon threatening to explode and a massive flood caused by greedy olivium miners, the Belle Terre colonist face their largest challenge yet, a massive, planet killing laser beam fired at them by the Kauld. Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise, having been charged with the safety of the colony and then later, upon the discovery of the massive deposit of olivium on the Quake moon, charged with protecting the olivium at all costs, and has successfully defended both in all cases, must now come up with the impossible; how to stop a massive laser beam from destroying Belle Terre and its colonists, or evacuate them all and take their chances returning to Federation space.What follows from there, as stated above, is the best of the first four New Earth novels. I would definitely recommend this novel to any and all fans of the genre. Whether you choose to read the first three in the series is up to you though... {ssintrepid}

After the disappointing third book in this series (Rough Trails), this one is just great. The plot is thick, the characters are well developed and the story line keeps you hooked. Someone there says the average reader works up a way to cancel the effects of the laser faster than Spock. Well...I'm a 33 year old Computer Science Bachelor and I didn't work it out faster, so maybe there's still hope for you...

After the disappointing entry of Rough Trails, the New Earth series redeems itself well with an enjoyable story that is a brisk and relatively quick read. The Enterprise is forced into a difficult circumstance yet again as they are forced to fend off the Kauld--who want to the olivium mine that Belle Terre has rights to. Kirk is the only Starfleet captain in the area and faces the task of balance defending the colony with keeping the colonist's government happy with him and his actions. Add to it the Kauld have designed a weapon of devious proportions that will wipe out all life on Belle Terre if it suceeds and you've got a great Trek novel. The scope of the novel is great and we get some development of not only the crew of the Enterprise but also some of the supporting characters on Belle Terre. And the problem Kirk faces is interesting, even if the solution feels a bit like a cheat and a lot of technobabble. However, if you're looking for some great summer Trek reading this is it. And it also ends on a cliffhanger which means that yet again we have to make the long wait to August.

If you haven't been noticing these last few years, the true essence of Star Trek -- the grand scope, the hopefulness about the future, the genuine sense of humanity -- has been surviving on the printed page a lot more clearly than celluloid. This New Hope series is typical of the incredibly high quality writing that's been coming out lately: vast in scope, captivating, like a mini-serious you CAN'T miss an episode of. By all means, by the first two installments of the series, then come back and read the next two. If you're a current Star Trek reader, you already know what I'm talking about -- and if you're not, it will restore your faith in the possibilities of the genre.

The New Earth Storyline consists of Kirk and Enterprise Crew taking 64,000 non space faring people to a new Earth. The story is well written but slow at times. I think this should have been less the 6 books, but a regualar series will spin-off from New Earth called Challenger. The story has different writers, and the characters change. New aliens called the Blood and the Kauld are introduced. Over all I would reccommend the New Earth storyline. It does have some exciting moments.