From the Depths by Victor Milan (Star Trek #66, August 1993).

The Enterprise must cut short its shore leave on Starbase 23 to take Federation Commissioner Wayne to Okeanos, a planet with a hot climate and little land surface, to settle a dispute between two species of inhabitants. The species are engaging in rather open warfare, and one side is being egged on by the Klingons. The situation quickly gets even more complicated when a floating city is obliterated, and Captain Kirk is blamed.

Victor Milan wrote only this one Star Trek book, but he is a very prolific author under his own name, in collaboration with others particular fellow Star Trek author Robert Vardeman, and under a number of pseudonyms including Richard Austin, Robert Baron, and James Axler. His 1985 novel "The Cybernetic Samurai" won a Prometheus Award. So, this was no newcomer to the science fiction field.

Milan uses Captain Kirk as his focus character, paying some but not a lot of attention to the other Star Trek regulars as well as using Lt. Kyle. He uses a great many characters of his own creation, including the genetically modified humans of Okeanos, refugees from Earth in the era of Khan Noonian Singh, who encountered the Enterprise crew both in the original series and the second movie. Milan also ties the Klingon Kain, the main antagonist of the book, to Kirk's past. The idea of genetically engineered humans to do the bidding of Khan and his ilk is not much of a stretch, nor is their leaving Earth in search of sanctuary. A bit convenient for the plot, perhaps, but not a big stretch. Kain is more of an implant, but acceptable.

It is in the human refugees, or "vairs" (for genetic variants) as they call themselves, that Milan inserts his politics. Every writer has his or her own point of view, and Milan is a staunch libertarian, distrustful of government. So are his creations here, and of course they are right, at least in the context of the book. The transplanted humans have no central government, and each takes care of his own and works together as they wish. It makes for a society that Ayn Rand would have liked.

Politics aside, Milan creates a very interesting alien culture. The interlocking floating residences that can form a city on the surface, or submerge if attacked, are quite imaginative. The people in that society are interesting as well, and become quite involved with the Enterprise crew. It is they who are the true heart of the book.

The other main character is a government official, Commissioner Moriah Wayne. Since she is with the government, she must be bad, but this character is a bit hard to believe. That she could have achieved such a high position with so many psychological problems, just beginning with a seemingly bipolar personality disorder, is hard to believe for someone in the 23rd century. She rapidly swings back and forth from verbally abusive to desperately seeking the approval of authority figures. While many may have this problem, few rise to such power, and hopefully fewer will in a future as Utopian as the world of the Federation.

While there are some nice science fiction touches, there are also some glaring errors. There is a nicely realistic (for the most part) treatment of the differing gravities of different worlds, although it is inconsistent, at one point the planet is reported as having an atmosphere of "20% oxygen" and Dr. McCoy questions that as low. Well, it's the same as on Earth, Bones. There are other errors as well, but that is the most glaring.

So, it is a flawed book, with science errors and rampant politicking. All that can be excused, however, because this is also a rip-roaring adventure. A lot happens here, and the excitement starts in the prologue. You, the reader, may or may not be able to put aside any beliefs of the author you may not share, or suspend disbelief long enough to look past the errors in the volume. If you can, you will read an enjoyable adventure yarn. Recommended for thrill-seekers and libertarians especially.

Shadows on the Sun by Michael Jan Friedman. (Star Trek hardcover, 1993)

Following the events of the movie Star Trek VI, the Enterprise is heading home for ship and crew to be retired. A message comes in, sending the fabled group on one last mission. On the planet Ssani, hostilities have broken out. The cult of assassins, long official but now illegal, has decided to fight back, and is killing off the leaders of society. The Enterprise is sent to negotiate a settlement, because Dr. McCoy served there briefly during his residency, during the first war, and is familiar with the situation.

To help, a pair of Federation negotiators are added to the crew. It just happens that they are Dr. McCoy's ex-wife Jocelyn and her husband. When a beamdown meeting goes badly and Jocelyn along with Captain Kirk are captured by the assassins, McCoy risks everything to save them, because he may be the only one who can.

The book is divided into three parts: "McCoy," which provides the setup to the saga and background information, "Ssan," which tells the story of McCoy's previous time on Ssan, and "Jocelyn," which gives the story's resolution. It manages to weave the "present" and the past, to give the whole tale and shed light on the life of one Dr. Leonard McCoy.

On the TV show, we were given some hints to McCoy's past, but not many. One episode was supposed to have been titled "Joanna" and featured McCoy's long-lost daughter from whom he had been separated by the divorce, but the script was changed. Still, fans have taken that bit of information and made it part of the tapestry of the series. It has helped to add depth to the doctor's character. He often seems to hate space, but we understand that it was the pain of his divorce that drove him to the stars. It has happened many times before.

Friedman is a competent writer, and he writes to his strengths here. He is best at writing conversation, character interaction. Much of the book is told in that way, as people chat among themselves. There is plot, but the focus is on the characters. Many things happen in the course of this book, but we are given a chance to care about the people to whom they happen.

One of Friedman's weaknesses, however, is giving true depth to his characters. He is able to create recognizable people, but not to make them truly three-dimensional. McCoy never emerges as a whole person, only one consumed by his work. Perhaps that is all there is to him, but when Kirk says, "he doesn't really have any hobbies," it seems very sad and odd. Certainly none were really revealed during the TV show, but couldn't "research" have been part of it? We are often told that McCoy was a force in StarFleet Medical, and he spent a lot of time on the show researching this virus or that disease.

There's really not a lot about anyone else. We learn the story behind McCoy's failed marriage, and it is a sad and all-too-common one, but there's not that much there. Everyone pretty much reacts to McCoy here. That's fine, as the book is supposed to focus on the doctor, but he doesn't come off as well as he should.

It's a good book, for a character study of Dr. McCoy, but I prefer Diane Duane's "Doctor's Orders" for the same purpose. Not bad, could have been better.