The Enterprise visits a trading post on the edge of Federation space, but is called away by a distress signal. However, the ship they go to rescue instead initiates a sneak attack on the Federation vessel. The Enterprise is badly damaged, warp engines broken beyond repair. In gravity fluctuations during repairs, Dr. McCoy is hurt, and suffers amnesia, losing the last 25 years of his life, back to his first year of residency.
Captain Kirk is without his chief medical officer and trusted friend, and an unknown menace is out there. Spock and the science team must examine clues for this apparent new and beligerent species, while Scotty repairs the engines sufficiently just to reach the trading post again. Help is days away, and the menace is still out there....
In Carter's first novel, and only Star Trek novel, we find a character study of Dr. McCoy set against a backdrop of suspense and foreboding. Carter is a sociologist and educator by training, but has worked in publishing and especially technological publishing. Carter resume' can be viewed online at
The book is an interesting exercise. There is action here, but not a lot. The author does a good job of keeping the suspense palpable in what is largely a character novel. I am not sure this is how I picture McCoy, but it is an interesting study of a man who recedes into his past when faced with the mistakes of his life, from a failed marriage to a daughter left behind, and dreams of family practice at home in Georgia fading into the service and starship life.
While stories have focused on how Kirk relies on Spock, this one looks at how much Kirk relies on McCoy. Spock's logic provides a needed point, but McCoy's humanity provides the counterpoint of the relationship. That relationship is well explored here. McCoy's reluctance to mix it up with Spock, and discomfort with authority figures, is done well here. The good doctor even enters a relationship with a junior staff member, who is about the age he remembers himself to be.
The flow is good, the language is good, and the plotting works. The new alien race, the Ravens, is interesting and fulfills the series' horror quotient. I can feel good recommending this.