The Janus Gate by L.A. Graf. Series in three parts: Present Tense, June 2002, Future Imperfect, also June 2002, and Past Prologue, July 2002.

After the events of "The Naked Time" episode on the TV series (first season) when the Enterprise was thrown back in time three days, the Enterprise returns to the planet Tlaoli to pick up a research team, rather than risk stumbling over themselves and damaging the timeline (oh, if they only knew). The geology team has been having trouble with instrument failure, and one of the three groups has gone missing while investigating a cave. When Captain Kirk goes down to the planet with a team to rescue them, he finds more trouble, and then disappears. Soon the problem is found: in a cave is a device, a "Janus Gate," that can send people through time, exchanging them with a future or past self. Spock and the rest of the crew must figure out how to restore Captain Kirk and their timeline before an alternate history where the Gorn defeat the Federation in the future comes to pass.

L.A. Graf, actually the writing team of Julia Ecklar and Karen Rose Cercone, writes a trilogy of books billed as "a bold new era for Star Trek storytelling!" where the five-year mission is reimagined through the eyes of the "below decks" crew. This set was part of the 2002 "relaunch" of Original Series novels after an absence of about a year. The set aims high, but badly misses the target.

First, some nitpicking. The advertising blurbs on the back are almost hilarously inaccurate. One wonders if the blurbs were written without actually looking at the plots, or if the books were rewritten and the blurbs not changed. Either way, what is on the back cover has almost nothing to do with what is inside the book. Truthfully, what is in the blurbs would likely have made for a better book than what actually appeared.

Then, there is the writing itself. While advertising indicated that characters often ignored would be featured, this does not actually happen. This is actually a typical Graf outing by Ecklar and Cercone, in that it features Chekov, Sulu and Uhura. In fact, two versions of Sulu and Chekov are here. The authors' fascination with security and Chekov as "tough guy" also are here as usual. The typical lack of writing aplomb is here as well.

Characters who were featured in one episode, like Carolyn Palamas, or Anne Mulhall, or Geologist Jaeger, as here, as well as frequent background characters like Transporter Chief Kyle. But they don't do anything much, except stand around in the background. The authors use their own characters, Cave Specialist Spanner and Security guard Yuki Smith, much more than the "below decks" characters. That part is annoying, as we just learn about the authors' favorites rather than characters we may already have some interest in learning more about their personalities and backgrounds. Ecklar and Cercone also pick up on Diane Carey's version of "teenage Kirk as rebel" and his prickly relationship with his StarFleet security man father, shown previously in several Carey novels.

That continutity with other books is a plus, although better points could have been used. So too could better storytelling. The three books feel horribly padded, as though the events could easily have been told in 400-500 pages rather than about 750. That might have produced just a two-book set but a set that was leaner, stronger, and not filled with as much filler as "they are going through the tunnel. They are still going through the tunnel. The tunnel is dark and difficult to crawl through." That's not an actual passage, but it will seem like one if you read these. There is just not enough plot here to sustain three books.

This was my last buy of an original series novel, and that was largely because of the poor quality of this release. I couldn't stomach any more tedium with characters that I love.