Demons by J.M. Dillard (Star Trek #30, 1986)

A Vulcan archaeological team in the Hydrilla sector has discovered an ancient evil: an entity which can take over a person’s brain function, and cause them to perform sadistic acts. Even Vulcans become capable of murder. The entities are passed when eye contact is made between infected individuals and others. When the Enterprise transports scientists from the team back to Vulcan, members of the crew also become infected, and the plaque soon spreads over the normally peaceful planet. Hopelessly outnumbered, Kirk, Spock and McCoy must find a way to overcome the evil before it overwhelms the whole galaxy.

Dillard’s second Star Trek novel is far superior to her first, and is at the level of “average.” The book is somewhat reminiscent of several “possession” episodes of the original series, particularly “Wolf in the Fold” featuring Scotty possessed by the same spirit that drove Jack the Ripper, and “Operation: Annihilate” with jellyfish-like creatures that attacked and attached themselves to a victim’s nervous system. This book is sort of a pastiche of those two stories with a bit of extras thrown in together. The Vulcan setting and inclusion of Spock’s parents in the story serve to heighten tension. The housing of the creatures in impenetrable clamshell-like casings gives the story a certain spookiness.

The new character is Anitra Lanter, an ensign who is also an accomplished telepath. She is able to detect infected individuals. She is also tall, red-haired, and has a pointy chin, as does the author. I think we have a “Mary Sue” in this book as well, although it isn’t quite as blatant as some other examples printed shortly before this publication. Lanter is instrumental to the plot, but is no worse a character than, say, Dr. Miranda Jones.

Dillard brings back her security chief, Lt. Tomson again, with somewhat better results. Tomson functions somewhat better in this book than the last, but still hardly seems competent. It is difficult to judge Dillard on writing for the characters here, as they necessarily spend much of the book acting out of character. The suspense is palpable, and Star Trek has often worked well with a horror-type story.

McCoy is a featured character here, but is not as well-used as he could be. He tends to stand by while Spock runs tests to determine an effective counter-measure for the plaque, when McCoy should be in the forefront of the research. McCoy is not a physical character, but should take a back seat to no one in the laboratory.

It's not a great novel, but it's not bad. Dillard was obviously learning.