Daedalus
Star Trek Enterprise
By Dave Stern

      So far, books set during the fifth incarnation of the classic series have been few and far between so it is good to find a new one, and a two-parter at that. This tale focuses on the character of Trip, and we learn a little about his past, as well as how he is tried and tested under exacting conditions. Thirteen years previously he was one of the team working on the ill-fated ship Daedalus, the first ship capable of a warp-5 speed. Prior to its maiden voyage he discovered a problem, but the flight still went ahead with disastrous consequences – it exploded, killing all aboard including his mentor, the brilliant Brodesser. Now, a captured Suliban vessel brings it all back again as Trip attempts to analyse its construction. Soon events take a strange turn when a planet with a supposedly pre-warp civilization turns out to be rather more advanced, and Trip and Hoshi find themselves taking part in a war that seems to have nothing to do with them. Or does it?

       This is an exciting and entertaining tale with quite a few surprises in store for the reader; the strongest entry yet in the series of novels based on Enterprise. In a series that can perhaps be faulted for not having enough main characters, it is inevitable that most of the people in this story are not from the ship. Here it is played to advantage as Trip and Hoshi meet some interesting new aliens and if this had been an episode it would have been a particularly strong one. I, for one, look forward to an equally suspenseful conclusion to this adventure.