© 2013 James Swallow
395 pages
Without warning or reason, the starship Titan – specialized for deep space exploration – has been recalled and ordered to patrol…Earth. Captain Riker has been promoted to admiral and shoved in an office, while several members of his command crew have disappeared on secret missions that not even the Fleet Admiral knows about. Who’s giving orders around here? It’s a troubled time in the Federation, with one head of state assassinated only weeks before, and the president pro temp acting in ways that make Chancellor Gowron look compassionate and conscientious. More mystery and more stress are not what the Federation needs….but they do make for another great novel in The Fall series.
Schemes are the name of the game here, as everyone is Up to Something. The fleet admiral suspects the president is up to something, Riker suspects the fleet admiral is up to something, and the crews of two starships suspect Riker is up to something. Commanders Tuvok and Nog know they’re both being put up to something, because they and a few other officers have been ordered to the middle of nowhere to meet a group of mercenaries who are obviously up to no good. But what is going on? All these secret goings-on are the ripples around the schemer in chief, President Pro Tempore Ishan Anjar. Anjar was chosen not for manifest competence, but to assure Bajor – in the light of the Federation’s growing ties with Cardassia – that Bajor’s history was not forgotten, and its place is secure. Throughout this series he’s proven himself to be petty, mean, obnoxious, and other sundry adjectives, prolonging crises for political gain. That is coming to a head, however, and things are unraveling.
The Poison Chalice brims over with intrigue and terse conversations, with a healthy bit of action and a little comedy as well. I was spellbound, still enjoying the drama of Starfleet officers wrestling with questions of conscience and duty, and can’t wait to see how this ends. I hope it involves Anjar getting a right sound lecture from Picard. Or a right sound backhand from Worf -- I'm not particular.
this is reminiscent of that early episode where the highest executives were replace by aliens; i plan on reading the Fall series-it's just a matter of time... haha.. groan...
ReplyDeleteEarly episode..I'm thinking either TNG's "Conspiracy", or DS9's "Homefront/Paradise Lost"?
Deleteit was the TNG i think... where they all started eating grubs out of a bowl; kind of shocking, it was...
DeleteThat could be the Ferengi or the Klingons, heh. Conspiracy involved creatures like the Trill, but evil.
DeleteI like love the fact that this involves characters from the various series years after we have seen them last. I always thought that Nog would do well in Starfleet :)
ReplyDeleteThat's one of the best parts, having not just novel ensembles but crews that bring together people from different ships. At one point Tuvok tells Tom Riker that he reminds him of another Tom he used to know..
DeleteBrian: i always thought Quark should have been a naval general... they would have won every war without knowing how it happened...
ReplyDeleteQuark had many talents, but I don't think military action was one of them. He did OK in "The Magnificent Ferengi", though!
Delete