Synopsis…
In The Gemini Agent, as first-year final exams week kicks off, several incident reports with serious allegations against James T. Kirk end up on the Commandant of Midshipmen’s desk. None of the allegations are true, of course… or are they? Kirk is being plagued by mysterious blackout periods, so he finds the allegations difficult to refute. During these blackout periods, he has no recollection of what he did, save for some very disturbing and disjointed memories. Kirk needs his friends, Bones and Uhura to help prove his innocence. Who is targeting Kirk, and why is he being targeted? And how far are they willing to go? Someone close to Kirk holds the answers to all of these questions, but can he put the pieces together before it’s too late?
Review…
This book was written by Rick Barba and is intended for young adults.
Unfortunately, this books is not as good as the first two in the Starfleet Academy series. The storyline can only be described as a mess, somehow a artificial intelligence inhabits a person and does crazy things at the Academy, but the details are so vague and contradictory that I just don’t get it. The Romulan angle can quite frankly only be understood by a Star Trek geek with years of Star Trek experience. I got it, but will others readers? Probably not.
Unlike Rudy Josephs the author of this book is also more inclined to add pieces of teen angst to the story, because it is noticeble it also distracts from the rest of the story. Furthermore the character of Kirk seems wooden, it’s like he can only do a ertain set of things in a certain way and nothing else.
There are two plusses in this book.
The first is that Spock is now officially introduced to Kirk, albeit indirectly. The second is de first occurance of Pavel Chekov. Where Doctor McCoy’s character shun in ‘The Edge’, his character is the star of this story and offers both intentional and unintentional hilarity. Especially the scene in which he almost drowns in his own dorm is very funny.
However, the book is otherwise utterly forgettable. Where ‘The Edge’ was an experience this book is a chore, and that can’t be right.
Score; 6.5/10.
So what’s next for Starfleet Academy.
Well, more books are planned for the young adult market. Sadly nothing has been announced for older more seasoned readers of Star Trek.
The next book in the Starfleet Academy series is entitled ‘The Assassination Game’ and its author is Alan Gratz. Despite its rather provocative title for a young reader book I must say I am game.
The official release date was september 2011, but that has probably slipped.
Synopsis…
The rules are simple: draw a target. Track him down and “kill” him with a spork. Take your victim’s target for your own. Oh, and make sure the player with your name doesn’t get to you first. No safe zones. No time outs. The game ends when only one player remains. James T. Kirk is playing for fun. Leonard “Bones” McCoy is playing to get closer to a girl. But when a series of explosions rocks the usually placid Starfleet Academy campus, it becomes clear that somebody is playing the game for real. Is it one of the visiting Varkolak, on Earth to attend an intergalactic medical conference? Or could it be a member of a super-secret society at the Academy dedicated to taking care of threats to the Federation, no matter what rules they have to break to do it? Find out in The Assassination Game.
