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| "Breakdowns" by Dayton Ward, Kevin Dilmore, Scott Ciencin, Heather Jarman, Keith DeCandido The seventh solid-form S.C.E. book has finally arrived, and after Wildfire, it had a lot to live up to. David Mack's stunning two-part tale saw the da Vinci devestatingly crippled, and half the crew killed, and it's up to Breakdowns to show us the aftermath. The first story, Home Fires, sees Domenica Corsi and sometimes-partner Fabian Stevens meet Corsi's family. Her father deeply resents her choice of a career in Starfleet, and tells a story of an adventure in which he collaborated with Starfleet, only to see his brother killed. The story is moving and unpredictable, and the extra background for one of the series' best characters is a long-awaited and much-welcomed development. Age of Unreason is the second tale, and is penned by Scott Ciencin. Bart Faulwell and Carol Abramowitz set off to investigate a revolutionary new technology on an alien world which allows the user to create temporary duplicates of themselves. And, as if a potentially deadly device such as that isn't bad enough, one of Carol's friends is being held captive by the planet's inhabitants. With so many Trek stories around, it's nice to find something as wholly original as this. This second story picks up speed as you read on, and the concept is flawless in its execution. Heather Jarman's Balance of Nature is next, taking P8 Blue back to her homeworld -- a township in an enormous forest. The Nasat have been an intriguing addition to the S.C.E. series so far, but never more so than here, as the tantalizing glimpses of their society are some of the most completely alien ideas Star Trek has provided. Jarman's writing is as engaging as ever, and the gentle pace is handled well. However, the book climaxes at the end with series editor Keith R.A. DeCandido's own contribution, the eponymous Breakdowns. Featuring Sonya Gomez and David Gold, the most senior of the da Vinci's surviving crew, DeCandido has turned out an emotional and at times explosive tale, with an unexpected but thrilling confrontation to top it off. Breakdowns is a collection of stories that go from strength to strength, and the five authors have a good (and successful) stab at making the follow-up events as dramatic as the Galvan VI incident itself. Newcomers to the S.C.E. series should start elsewhere, but for fans, it doesn't get much better than this. |
This review originally appeared on the BookTrek website, between 2004-2007.
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