Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
Star Trek (1990), Edition: 1st Printing, 279 pages
Description
In a long and distinguished career, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew have faced uncounted foes and vanquished incredible dangers. But what happens when the enemy can''t be easily seen - when it lurks in the shadows, disguises itself as polite society, or emerges from the depths of one''s own mind? These are the antagonists with which the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise must contend with in this volume, the most dangerous kind of enemy - the enemy unseen. Contains the three stories "Perchance to Dream", "Embrace the Wolf," and "The Killing Shadows."
User reviews
LibraryThing member LyndaInOregon
A "routine" diplomatic mission turns deadly as an unknown assailant attempts to subvert the process through any means possible, including murder. Meanwhile, Kirk is dealing with an old flame, and trying to juggle the three wives he has just been presented with.
V.E. Mitchell is a long-time Star Trek
The base plot is pretty straightforward – Enterprise is carrying a Federation diplomat as well as a party from an alien planetary system, to try to resolve a conflict over settlement rights on a disputed planet. But someone on the ship is determined to keep the accord from happening, even if it involves murder.
Mitchell gets props for creating an interesting alien culture, so driven by their particular codes of honor and “the harmony of all” that negotiations with them require a particularly deft hand, and the project looks pretty shaky, even before dead bodies start turning up.
Unfortunately, she’s also given Kirk's old flame a major role in the proceedings. Setting aside for the moment the fact that Kirk seems to have more old flames than a Zippo dump, Cecilia Simons remains pretty much a cardboard character – the sensuous, seductive Evil Bitch Queen, out to bend Kirk (and every other male she encounters) to her will. Because the reader is privy to information the novel’s characters lack, she emerges early-on as a prime suspect for the interference. The extra wives issue is never given more than a passing glance and is resolved as casually as it was introduced.
Eventually, the spy’s identity is figured out, largely through the skills of the original crew characters, and the discovery carries within it an answer to the settlement conflict. It also, however, reveals a gaping plot hole, which really can’t be discussed without violating the Reviewer’s Code, which essentially says “you can’t tell readers The Butler Did It when writing the review”.
Overall, “Enemy Unseen” is better than most of the pro-novels, but certainly has some flaws.
V.E. Mitchell is a long-time Star Trek
Show More
fan, and her Trek pro-novel “Enemy Unseen” shows that in the accurate characterizations of the original series’ regulars. Spock is written out early in the setup (which is disturbing to those of us who count him as a favorite), but his absence makes room for Mitchell’s original characters to take center stage and carry much of the action. (Unlike fan fiction, which merrily bumps off, marries off, or gender-switches TOS characters at random, the pro novels are bound firmly to returning all the beloved crew members to their original starting points by the last paragraph. Not surprisingly, this restriction can severely limit the dramatic action.)The base plot is pretty straightforward – Enterprise is carrying a Federation diplomat as well as a party from an alien planetary system, to try to resolve a conflict over settlement rights on a disputed planet. But someone on the ship is determined to keep the accord from happening, even if it involves murder.
Mitchell gets props for creating an interesting alien culture, so driven by their particular codes of honor and “the harmony of all” that negotiations with them require a particularly deft hand, and the project looks pretty shaky, even before dead bodies start turning up.
Unfortunately, she’s also given Kirk's old flame a major role in the proceedings. Setting aside for the moment the fact that Kirk seems to have more old flames than a Zippo dump, Cecilia Simons remains pretty much a cardboard character – the sensuous, seductive Evil Bitch Queen, out to bend Kirk (and every other male she encounters) to her will. Because the reader is privy to information the novel’s characters lack, she emerges early-on as a prime suspect for the interference. The extra wives issue is never given more than a passing glance and is resolved as casually as it was introduced.
Eventually, the spy’s identity is figured out, largely through the skills of the original crew characters, and the discovery carries within it an answer to the settlement conflict. It also, however, reveals a gaping plot hole, which really can’t be discussed without violating the Reviewer’s Code, which essentially says “you can’t tell readers The Butler Did It when writing the review”.
Overall, “Enemy Unseen” is better than most of the pro-novels, but certainly has some flaws.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1990-10
Physical description
279 p.; 4.25 x 0.75 inches
ISBN
0671684035 / 9780671684037