Book Review: Star Trek Vanguard: Harbinger
by Jim Pappas
Published: August 8, 2005
Author |
Genre |
Publisher |
Price |
David Mack |
Sci-Fi |
Star Trek |
$7.99 US |
 |
|
With the demise of the TV series, “Star Trek: Enterprise,” and with no new feature films from the franchise currently in production (although there is something on the drawing board), those of us who are fans are left with the Trek novels to keep us company until such time as pristine material appears on TV or at our local theaters. The latest Paramount approved novel, “Star Trek Vanguard: Harbinger,” by David Mack, heralds the beginning of a new series of adventures, with different and interesting characters.
Vanguard is the name given to a brand spanking new Starbase, official designation 47, and it has been constructed in a part of space called the Taurus Reach. There are, however, other names given to the Reach, most notably by the enigmatic Tholians whose inclusion in this novel is intriguing and welcome.
Intrigue is definitely the word-of-the-day when it comes to “Harbinger,” as most of the book is concerned with the complicated lives and secrets of its principal characters. The novel is set at a time just after the events depicted on the Star Trek original TV series episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” but the U.S.S. Enterprise, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and company are only ancillary to the story here. The primary focus is on a Federation News Service (FNS, think “Fox News”) journalist named Tim Pennington, the commander of the Vanguard, Commodore Diego Reyes, Vanguard intelligence officer, the Vulcan T’Prynn, a human rogue trader and smuggler named Cervantes Quinn, and the Rigellian ambassador to the Federation, Jetanien. There are others, too, whose lives intersect with the aforementioned.
The most interesting aspect of the novel, to me, was how author Mack gives us at least a cursory glimpse into the minds of the Tholian race, who remain a mystery to fans and undoubtedly to those who write about Star Trek. It is ultimately their actions that drive the plot of “Harbinger,” and it is their relationship to the mysteries Mack presents to us that serve to draw the reader into the story, for it is mystery that “Harbinger” is really all about.
The story begins by revealing the discovery a fascinating new life form whose genetic makeup is something that had never before been encountered by Federation scientists and explorers. This find leads the Federation to create the Vanguard space station, which is built far beyond Federation borders and in between Tholian and Klingon space, an area that everyone had largely ignored up to that point. With the establishment of the base both the Tholians and Klingons develop an unwelcome curiosity, and the political ramifications leave everyone with a suddenly vested interest. The Federation has determined that what may be revealed by their discovery is so important that only a handful of personnel are privy to the information, and in its attempt to keep things quiet the Federation is willing to bend the rules so that good men and women are put into harm’s way.
While Mr. Mack’s story is compelling, and the reading easy, there is a certain lack of flamboyance and experimentation missing in his writing style. I felt like he has more or less copied the styles of other writers, and that maybe he could have taken more risks. There are certain elements that are so reminiscent of so many other writers, that I couldn’t really distinguish Mr. Mack’s prose from some of the other authors who’ve written Star Trek themed novels. Be that as it may, it is nevertheless a worthy effort and I look forward to more about the Vanguard base and the characters to which I was introduced in “Harbinger.”
Overall Rating: B
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