As in the first book of the Excalibur trilogy, this novel follows some of the former members of the crew of the recently destroyed starship Excalibur as they go their seperate ways and have their own adventures. One storyline involves Selar, Burgoyne, and their child, Xyon,whose gender is at last revealed...he's a boy. Selar has taken Xyon back to Vulcan to be raised as a member of that species. Burgoyne is furious about this, desiring a relationship with hir son and convinced the child must be raised as both a Vulcan and a Hermat. S/he pursues Selar to Vulcan and eventually challenges her to ritualized combat similar to that seen in the famous Original Series episode Amok Time. I have always thought that episode was interesting because of Spock's repressed sexual energy being channeled as violence towards Kirk (a man he loves), so it was fun to see that sexual tension brought to the surface between these two characters in this way. The Selar/Burgoyne/Xyon storyline is brought to a satisfying conclusion, and provides a nice ending (for now) to the soap operatic relationship between those characters that New Frontier fans should enjoy. My only gripe with this section of the book involves a surprise guest star brought in at the end. I didn't really understand why this character would involve himself in Burgoyne's and Selar's domestic dispute.
Meanwhile, Robin Lefler and her enigmatic mother, Morgan, take a vacation on the pleasure planet Risa. While there, they encounter Montgomery Scott, always a welcome presence in any Star Trek story. Scotty and Morgan have a bit of a flirtatious relationship, and Robin seems to have found romance as well, but the young man she has met is harboring dark secrets. This storyline is not wrapped up completely in this novel and leads directly into the final book of the Excalibur trilogy.
I liked this book more than the previous novel in the series, mostly for the resolution of Selar and Burgoyne's relationship and the appearance of Scotty. It still feels like a bit of an appetizer before the main course, but a tastier one this time out.
No comments:
Post a Comment