Memory Prime by Gar and Judith Reeves-Stevens (Star Trek #42, October 1988)

A Vulcan on a lawless planet is approached to take on a contract to kill someone. On the Enterprise, Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy surprise Mr. Spock with the news that the Enterprise will be ferrying scientists to the Nobel and Z. Magnees Prize ceremonies, to be held on the new Federation library computer planet, Memory Prime.

Then everything begins to fall apart. Commodore Wolfe comes on board the Enterprise and takes Spock into custody. An tragedy is narrowly averted during a tour of the engine room. On Memory Prime, a sort of martial law is declared and administrator Mira Romaine is at a loss. Finally, all concerned figure out that one of the Prize nominees is marked for death. But which one?

This book serves as a sequel to one of the poorest TV episodes, "The Lights of Zetar," and also as the first book by the Reeves-Stevens couple, the first of many in a career that has also seen them become staff writers for the final season of Enterprise. They have become William Shatner's collaborators on his Star Trek novels as well.

"Zetar" featured Mira Romaine as a technician going to Memory Alpha, travelling on the Enterprise to set up the new data at the Federation library. She fell in love with Scotty, and became "possessed" by disembodied creatures bent on destruction for some reason. The episode was one of the poorly-filmed group from the third season. It was written by puppeteer Shari Lewis and her husband Jeremy Tarcher. The book is much better.

The authors have put together a serviceable first effort, with some first-time writer mistakes but an overall good story. It plays a lot like an episode, although longer, and could be adapted into a screenplay for the movie series to gain a better story than the movies have had recently. Of course, technology has jumped ahead of the ideas presented here. With the World-Wide web and delocalized information storage, such a facility as Memory Prime would likely be unnecessary. Of course, several other facilities are mentioned, so these could be interpreted as sites of "servers" like we know today.

The new stuff here are the Pathfinders, computer intelligences of a type postulated once or twice on the series (most particularly on Next Generation) and interfacers, humans outfitted with leads so that they can directly communicate with the Pathfinders. They are the only "enhanced" humans allowed in the Federation. It is an interfacer featured on the book cover with Spock, in one of the most misleading covers of the series.

The plot is solid, the dialouge a little stiff but similar to many TV episodes (might sound better spoken) and the story resolution is a bit convoluted, but does bring things to a satisfying conclusion. It's not high art, but it is a fun read.

Spock's World by Diane Duane (Star Trek hardcover #1, 1988)

Vulcan is one of the founding members of the Federation (one of four, according to another source). But there is a movement on Vulcan to pull the planet out of the Federation, and to close it to outworlders. The referendum issue, to be voted on by the entire planet, would close the borders of the world and recall all Vulcan personnel elsewhere, whether in StarFleet or anywhere else. Those who do not return, would be declared non-citizens.

Due to the importance of the issue, a series of speakers are scheduled to present arguments on both sides of the issue prior to the voting. Among those to speak are Captain James T. Kirk, Doctor Leonard McCoy, and first officer Spock of the Enterprise, the planet's most famous son. Also recalled are ambassador to Earth Sarek and his wife, Amanda Grayson, Spock's parents. To complicate things, Sarek has been asked to speak in favor of the resolution to withdraw from the Federation.

This is the first hardcover published by Pocket Books, a sign of how successful the publishing series had become. Between the improving quality of the books themselves and the greater interest in Star Trek brought about by the movies and the Next Generation TV series, book sales were going well, and the extra-length paperbacks were morphed into actual hardcovers. There was, arguably, another hardcover that came first, a 1968 book in a "Hardy Boys" type format, which is admirably discussed at Steve Roby's website dealing with Trek publications: http://www.well.com/~sjroby/lcars/

Duane is always at home with the Star Trek characters, and writes deftly and superbly. Her dialogue and situations are so wonderful that you will hardly notice this book has almost no action in it. The plot, as it stands, is about a series of debates on a legislative issue! There is certainly tension here, but no physical action. This would not play as a TV episode or a movie. But it makes an excellent book, and a wonderful use of the printed medium.

The chapters alternate between "Enterprise" and "Vulcan," with scenes in the here-and-now juxtaposed with chapters showing vignettes from the history of Vulcan, from its prehistory to the recent days. One chapter deals with Surak (with a lot of similarities to Ghandi, appropriately enough) and another with the appointing of Sarek to his ambassador's post and meeting with Amanda.

In the hands of another writer, this would be a slow and boring book. With Duane doing the wordsmithing, it's a pleasure from cover to cover.