Shadows on the Sun

I have become a Friedman fan after having read SHADOWS ON THE SUN. Friedman's writing style is a breath of fresh air; his dialogue is witty, funny, and emotinally moving. McCoy comes alive as his ethics are put to the test on Ssani when presented a choice whether to save an assassin who will likely escape and kill again. The conflict between McCoy's ex-wife's new husband and himself is highly entertaining. Overall, Friedman has imbued the Star Trek universe with an impressionable flair that resonates in my memory, even after having finished it.

Star Trek: Shadows on the Sun written by Michael Jaan Friedman is a flashback novel with the primary character being Dr. Leonard McCoy. McCoy confronts his past in order to save the future, also we read of McCoy's past and why he left a wife behind.It is refreshing to read a Star Trek book that kicks the James T. Kirk character to the back burner and highlights someone else as the lead character, is the case of "Shadows on the Sun" is just such a book.We read about the successful young doctor McCoy with a storybook family, but McCoy is in for a betrayal from the woman he loves. Now, McCoy leaves everything he had on Earth and heads for outer space and a career in Starfleet. Everything is fine for forty years as McCoy makes a career in Starfleet, now a crises has developed on the planet of Ssan.The Ssani have a long history of being assassins and the U.S.S. Enterprise and her crew are sent to negotiate a settlement with a group of mediators aboard. As the Enterprise is on the way McCoy meets his ex-wife after forty years as she is one of the negotiaters.Of course nothing is going right with the Ssani as a matter of course, they use assassination as a matter of fact and a way of life."Shadow of the Sun" is a Ssani saying that means Sun is the image of viewing the life cycle and Shadow is the individual life. The individual casts a shadow on the the Sun of all life.The mediators and Captain Kirk are now taken hostage as a Civil War rages and it is upto McCoy to draw from his past to save the negotiations and save the day. The narrative moves very quickly and the prose are true to the characters and McCoy is the stand out hero of the book. If you are a Dr. Leonard McCoy fan this is your book to read as the character of McCoy get fleshed out early in McCoys career through flashbacks.

I wasn't gonna write reviews today. I was just gonna read... Till I read this one. I would like to say this is my favorite Star Trek novel by my favorite author. McCoy was a trainee in a portion of this, they called him "trainee" ... so what? Some people have such strange reasons for hating novels. I agree with a previous review, the Shadows on the Sun ideal was described so perfectly. Ok, now what I thought: I love the flashback stuff, LOVED IT. The history of these characters we love so much is THE entire reason we love them. Where they came from IS who they are. This book does great in fleshing out the "trainees" (hehe) past. I love Friedman he's gutsy, would you want to take a character with a 30 year history and invent his past before the glaring eyes of millions? I wouldn't. Micheal Jan Friedmans novel is a must for McCoy fans and anyone who wants to know more about the "trainee" than they already knew. Buy it.

Any Dr. McCoy fan has got to read this!!! Wonderfully amazing!!! The best McCoy book out there. :) :)

After reading this book you couldn't blame him for being cranky. Friedman offers a highly entertaining look into the life of Leonard McCoy. From his early Medical School days to his last mission, this is wonderful read.