Set during Kirk’s original five year mission as portrayed in The Original Series, Heart of the Sun is an interesting exploration of isolationism and its effect, combining two story threads that end up having more in common than you initially realize.

The Enterprise has arrived in a remote system, helping restore a planetary database that was lost due to a virus introduced into the system via its Federation uplink. The people of the planet are reclusive but polite, and this problem has opened up a political debate on whether a continued membership in the Federation should be pursued.

At the same time, Spock has detected an unusual item, it seems there’s a strange alien artifact heading in-system, making its way towards the planet’s sun. The landing party, when they are sent to investigate, discover a strange interior that is mentally distressing and seems to stir elements in fear in them.

There’s life here, but where is it?

Spock, the least affected by the conditions of the artifact, explores it in search of answers, and a way to divert its course away from the sun, as it may pose a threat to the inhabited planet of the system.

With one of the planet’s representatives watching every move he makes, Kirk is determined to find an answer to the mystery of the artifact, and hopefully continue diplomatic relations with the planet and its people.

It took a while for me to get into this one, perhaps about a third of the way, but once I was into it, I really enjoyed it. It needed a touch more sense of wonder and exploration when it came to the artifact, but it definitely played to The Original Series’ strengths by making the resolution centred around the relationship between Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

The authors definitely play to the established continuity of the series, and give Riley a few moments on the bridge. There’s also a great little i-joke that sees Kirk talking about how one of his ancestor’s farms was overrun by spiders, referencing Shatner’s role in the film Kingdom of the Spiders.

There are references to previous adventures, and the authors work to make it part of the continuity. The characters sound right for the most part, there are a few moments when things don’t sound exactly right coming from certain characters, but overall it’s a solid and entertaining read.

There’s always something fascinating about ancient alien artifacts passing through systems that I really enjoy, and I like how this one played out.

The Human Adventure is just beginning, and I’m going to continue to boldly go with Star Trek: The Original Series novels. Let’s see what’s out there.