ERRAND OF VENGEANCE
Star Trek The Original Series
By Kevin Ryan
Pocket Books (Simon & Schuster) - August (I) & September (II & III) 2002
THE EDGE OF THE SWORD (I) ISBN 0743445988 PB
KILLING BLOW (II) ISBN 074344602X PB
RIVER OF BLOOD (III) ISBN 0743446003 PB
SF/TV Tie-in

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde, MyShelf.Com
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This is a trilogy that focuses on the lives of those who serve under Captain Kirk and thus the emphasis is on the more junior crewmembers rather than the usual bridge crew seen in the series and most of the TOS books. The security force has the most dangerous job of all: to protect the rest of the crew. This also means that anybody not in sympathy with the Federation has a unique chance of killing any important figures, such as Captain Kirk. Unknown to any but each other the Enterprise has been infiltrated by Klingons, surgically altered to look just like humans. One such is Kell, masquerading as one "Lieutenant Jon Anderson." His mission is to kill the Captain as a first strike to undermine the Federation and thus lead to a war. But before he does that he has some hard lessons to learn.

This is an impressive and action-packed trilogy that is a fast read, despite its combined length of over 700 pages.

Anderson discovers what humans are truly like, as well as learning more than he wanted about his own people. Each book contains a separate mission, but the three read like one continuous story, so they need to be read in sequence for the best effect. Ryan is highly adept at the fight scenes and there are some edge-of-the-chair set pieces, especially the final showdown. It made a change, too, having the dramatic burden shifted from the bridge crew to lesser mortals, which made the series seem even larger as a result. There is only one plot strand here as with most Trek books, but with such a dizzy mix of action, danger and stirring Klingon honor who can complain? Thrilling stuff.