Perry's Planet

Not a bad novel, though it had some flaws. Could easily have been an episode. Read the first two chapters at odd times over the last two weeks, finished it today - it's a quick read.

All of the major cast members are represented here, with McCoy and Scotty given some spotlight time. The author writes Kirk to phone in the performance, perhaps because the major thing he responds to is a serious MacGuffin. Even the ships failing Dilithium Crystals make an appearance in this relatively short story.

The MacGuffin is a Klingon captain who has gone rogue, somehow able to bypass the Organians and call for vengeance on the man who killed his brother, Kirk. They've also got some gizmo that allows them to baffle the Enterprise sensors - all of which is neatly tied up in a bow in the last few pages. Meh.

The planet story is much better, even if it is largely a rehash of Return of the Archons. The cover, on my paperback anyhow, gives away the ending, which is unfortunate. The real props go to Spock, who could essentially run the whole episode by himself. I know he's the superman of Star Trek, but this book is a bit over the top.

That's how a decent story gets knocked down to 3 of 5 stars for me. It was supposed to be the 12th book of my 2022 "Star Trek books" challenge from WorldsWithoutEnd. I do plan to finish out the Bantam Trek line this year - probably in the next few months.