Diane Carey launched a cross-generational story that swept through all four of the then-existing series, The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. Each novel featured a standalone story that connected with the other tales, and the first featured Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise.

Set a very short time after the events portrayed in the episode, Friday’s Child, Kirk and a number of his crew are involved in a skirmish on Capella IV between the Klingons and Starfleet. Spock is injured, but not critically, and the entire thing is interrupted by a Klingon general who has come to Kirk (!) for help.

It seems he’s encountered something, something that even frightens a Klingon, something that may be from their own legends and myths. But not just theirs but those of the entire quadrant.

When Kirk encounters the massive ship, he’s stunned to see that the crew resembles the demons and monsters of myth. They share a story of how they were banished from this region of space by The Conquerors, and they are now back to reclaim it.

Kirk attempts to find a peaceful resolution, a way to welcome them into this region of space and offers to find a home for them. But things aren’t going to be that easy. The Klingons are determined to fight, and wipe these furies out, to protect their empire, and they aren’t above committing murder to do it.

It’s a fast-paced tale, and honestly, I almost wanted to skip ahead on the timeline a bit and go right to The Next Generation installment. Easy right? No, I have to go in order, so I think I may start the Next Gen books now and bounce back and forth instead.

Carey tells a good story, she writes dialogue that sounds like the character and she ties the story into existing continuity. It’s a fun story, it could have leaned into the exploration of our myths and legends a little more, but it was a very enjoyable read.

I am loving my voyages with the Enterprise in book form. I spent so much time with these characters over the course of my life, they’ve been with me since childhood so when one of the books really works, it really resonates with me, and this one is one of those. It feels like classic Trek.

And as long as these books keep coming, I’ll continue to join in on the human adventure and boldly go…