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| "The Red King" by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin With the Star Trek: Titan series having had such a fantastic start in Taking Wing, I wondered whether the following volume -- The Red King, also by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels -- would be able to match up to the same standard. My worries were unfounded, however -- after a mediocre opening, the book is a solid one and certainly worth your time, easily reaching the same heights as its predecessor. In their Lost Era novel The Sundered, Mangels and Martin introduced the Neyel, a genetically-modified off-shoot of the human race. Having been flung far out of our galaxy and into the Small Magellanic Cloud in Book One, it's the turn of the Titan crew to encounter the Neyel Hegemony -- but this time, their existence, and that of all the other races in the area, may be under threat. The main storyline is brilliant, and the smaller themes of the book -- such as the first deaths aboard Titan and the consequences of those losses, the Lewis Carroll analogy of The Red King, Keru's ongoing struggle with the loss of his long-term partner, and Riker's growth as a captain -- are well-developed and attention-holding. Everything you'll need to know from The Sundered is explained quickly and unobtrusively, and the book stands strong as a decent science-fiction romp as well as one of the better recent Star Trek tie-in novels. Once again, the diversity of the crew is at the forefront of the novel. All the weird and wonderful races introduced previously are present and correct, and the alien customs (ritually ingesting the ashes of a dead crewmember in honor of them, for example) are particularly interesting. The eclectic bunch of characters manages to be a fascinating part of the story, without seeming too excessive or undermining opportunities to relate to the crew. Tuvok's characterization seems a bit "off" at times, and not all of the folks we met in Taking Wing are as well catered-for as they were in the former book, but there's a lot to like here -- especially in the golden character-building scenes. The Red King is, overall, a nice well-rounded book with something for most readers. It's generally good fun and entertaining as a whole, and will definitely whet your appetite for the third book in January. |
This review originally appeared on the BookTrek website, between 2004-2007.
Published: October 2005 by Pocket Books Format: Paperback, 362pp UK Price: £6.99 |
