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Star Trek: Vanguard #8
Storming Heaven
"I WAS THERE UNTILTHE END, MATE.THE BITTER, BLOODY END."Vanguard is under siege. Surrounded by enemies, Admiral Nogura sends the scout ship Sagittarius to find an ancient weapon that might be the Federation's only hope of stopping the alien threat known as the Shedai . . . Qo'noS is wracked by scandal. Councillor Gorkon fights to expose a Romulan plot to corrupt members of the Klingon High Council, only to learn the hard way that crusaders have few allies, and even fewer friends . . . Tholia teeters on the brink of madness. To prevent Starfleet from wielding theShedai's power as its own, the Tholians deploy an armada with one Kill the Shedai--by destroying Vanguard.
THE EPIC SAGA'SEXPLOSIVE FINALE
THE EPIC SAGA'SEXPLOSIVE FINALE
330 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 27, 2012
43 people are currently reading
413 people want to read
About the author
David Mack
123 books666 followersDavid Mack is the New York Times bestselling author of 39 novels of science-fiction, fantasy, and adventure, including the Star Trek Destiny and Cold Equations trilogies.
Beyond novels, Mack's writing credits span several media, including television (for produced episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), games, and comic books.
Follow him on Twitter @davidalanmack or like his Facebook page.
Beyond novels, Mack's writing credits span several media, including television (for produced episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), games, and comic books.
Follow him on Twitter @davidalanmack or like his Facebook page.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
April 24, 2012
Storming Heaven is a reasonably satisfactory conclusion to the “Star Trek: Vanguard” series, and – as usual – it’s largely due to Mack’s skill as a writer and his ability to weave a skein of disparate threads into a solid piece of cloth. Not another Bayeux tapestry, perhaps, but definitely a well stitched T-shirt that won’t fall apart after a few rounds in the washing machine.
I do have two problems with how the series worked out. One is the relegation of Diego Reyes to a passive observer of events. He was the most interesting and dynamic of the characters, and his absence sucked a lot of energy out of the story. I hope Mack revisits Reyes’ career at some point in the future. The second problem was the anticlimactic resolution of the Shedai –
Any tension and excitement comes from the Tholian attack on Starbase 47 as they try to stop the Federation from awakening the Shedai and unleashing them on an unsuspecting galaxy. Though they’re undeveloped as yet, the Tholians are an example of a truly alien race – not simply one with bumpy foreheads or funky noses. In the context of their history, their xenophobia and murderous actions throughout the series are perfectly understandable, and could have been played up a bit more to emphasize the tragedy of the situation.
While Mack hasn’t surpassed his achievement in the “Star Trek: Destiny” series, I’d still recommend this one for the dedicated Star Trek fan, and for any SF fan who wants to relax with a well written adventure that doesn’t demand too much from the gray matter.
I do have two problems with how the series worked out. One is the relegation of Diego Reyes to a passive observer of events. He was the most interesting and dynamic of the characters, and his absence sucked a lot of energy out of the story. I hope Mack revisits Reyes’ career at some point in the future. The second problem was the anticlimactic resolution of the Shedai –
Any tension and excitement comes from the Tholian attack on Starbase 47 as they try to stop the Federation from awakening the Shedai and unleashing them on an unsuspecting galaxy. Though they’re undeveloped as yet, the Tholians are an example of a truly alien race – not simply one with bumpy foreheads or funky noses. In the context of their history, their xenophobia and murderous actions throughout the series are perfectly understandable, and could have been played up a bit more to emphasize the tragedy of the situation.
While Mack hasn’t surpassed his achievement in the “Star Trek: Destiny” series, I’d still recommend this one for the dedicated Star Trek fan, and for any SF fan who wants to relax with a well written adventure that doesn’t demand too much from the gray matter.
May 25, 2012
This is the final volume of the Star Trek: Vanguard miniseries, which has taken quite some time to see its conclusion. It's hard to believe that there were only eight main titles in the series, and that the story as a whole managed to remain relatively tight and self-contained. There's no doubt that this is the definitive ending to the saga, and it unspools at a blistering pace.
I look back fondly on the Deep Space Nine: Season 8 series of books, and when it was clear that the momentum of "Season 9" was never going to be maintained, leaving a ton of unresolved plot threads, I was wary of any future long-form plans from the Star Trek novel line. Even New Frontier could end up being incomplete, at this rate. So the notion of Vanguard as a concept was very intriguing. That it was, tonally, "Deep Space Nine in the time period of the Original Series" only made it better. This was dark, gritty Trek at its best.
Because most of the characters were specific to this setting, and events took place on the periphery of the Federation, the writers were able to take chances with the main characters and change up the status quo in realistic ways. Few characters were safe on any level, physical or otherwise, so there was never a sense that everything would simply work itself out. That made this final novel all the more thrilling; choices had ever-escalating consequences, and there was no reason to think the author would be pulling punches. I was genuinely shocked over the fate of some of the characters I had grown to love.
I also enjoyed how well this series fed into the existing continuity. Since some of the characters from the Original Series films have been heavily featured in Vanguard, there was always a question of how they would end up in their "future" positions on the galactic board. Not only did it make sense, but those interactions and situations were used as important plot points. It works well in terms of placing these events in the larger context of that period of the timeline.
Best of all, as mentioned above, the pace is relentless. The book isn't particularly short, but there's an economy of words at work. Very little time is wasted. The result is a book that you don't want to put down, because there's no telling what might come next. Even the climax of the series, in the final third of the book, seems to escalate at frightening speed.
Of course, for those who haven't been reading Vanguard up to this point, this is not the place to start; it's essential to start at the beginning. And those who have been reading from the beginning don't need me to tell them to run out and pick this one up. But for those who may have been sitting on the fence, waiting to see if it would have a good enough ending to justify giving the series a shot, rest assured: this is one Star Trek saga that does not disappoint.
April 20, 2012
A seven year saga comes to an explosive end. While Dave is known for his pyrotechnics and earns his nickname as the Angel of Death, there are many lovely, quiet moments here that can be overshadowed. T'Prynn with Spock and T'Prynn with Cervantes Quinn are two such moments and they give the book heart. The Enterprise scenes could have been somewhat better integrated and I don't entirely buy how they managed to entrap such powerful beings as the Shedai but those are quibbles compared with the scale and scope of this series. It ends in a most satisfactory way and I remain envious of the achievement.
August 27, 2020
What a rush.
Possibly my all time favorite Star Trek work. The tie-ins and continuity nods are amazing everywhere. It paints such a nasty picture of Starfleet that David Marcus' distrust in The Wrath of Khan is not only justified but so is Commander Kruge's in The Search for Spock. The Genesis Device is a weapon created from stolen Shedai technology and after the fact Starfleet was blowing up planets with the last one, there's no reason to believe that their "galactic gangsters" accusation is actually wrong. I'm surprised he didn't make an appearance in the Taurus Reach.
The Federation has acquired a bunch of ancient T'Kon devices that could allow them to capture all of the Shedai and imprison them. This despite the Shedai are basically Great Old Ones. Unfortunately, even if they succeed, the Shedai are the only beings who can operate their godlike technology. There are elements in Starfleet who would gladly enslave them in order to use it and guarantee the Federation's power for millennia, even if it means betraying every principle they have.
The biggest moment for me was not the final coda of the Shedai really but the much more dismissive, "And now Starfleet is murdering witnesses." No Section 31, no secret sinister cabal. Just the people in charge gone completely power mad and needing to be put down. This book wraps up a bunch of the existing plots, some dramatically and some just tragically. It also ends the Vanguard project in a suitably epic way while setting up most of the events of the original series movies ranging from The Wrath of Khan to The Undiscovered Country. There's even a few Final Frontier homages here and there (is the God past the barrier a Shedai? That would actually make sense).
In conclusion, fantastic book. I was brought to tears by the stories of Cervantes Quinn, T'Prynn, Diego Reyes, Pennington, and others. Every Star Trek fan of the original series and movies should check out the Star Trek: Vanguard series. It is a dark and gritty Star Trek tale but the story works despite this. The characters were great, the action fun, and the story arcs epic. What more could you want?
9.5/10
Possibly my all time favorite Star Trek work. The tie-ins and continuity nods are amazing everywhere. It paints such a nasty picture of Starfleet that David Marcus' distrust in The Wrath of Khan is not only justified but so is Commander Kruge's in The Search for Spock. The Genesis Device is a weapon created from stolen Shedai technology and after the fact Starfleet was blowing up planets with the last one, there's no reason to believe that their "galactic gangsters" accusation is actually wrong. I'm surprised he didn't make an appearance in the Taurus Reach.
The Federation has acquired a bunch of ancient T'Kon devices that could allow them to capture all of the Shedai and imprison them. This despite the Shedai are basically Great Old Ones. Unfortunately, even if they succeed, the Shedai are the only beings who can operate their godlike technology. There are elements in Starfleet who would gladly enslave them in order to use it and guarantee the Federation's power for millennia, even if it means betraying every principle they have.
The biggest moment for me was not the final coda of the Shedai really but the much more dismissive, "And now Starfleet is murdering witnesses." No Section 31, no secret sinister cabal. Just the people in charge gone completely power mad and needing to be put down. This book wraps up a bunch of the existing plots, some dramatically and some just tragically. It also ends the Vanguard project in a suitably epic way while setting up most of the events of the original series movies ranging from The Wrath of Khan to The Undiscovered Country. There's even a few Final Frontier homages here and there (is the God past the barrier a Shedai? That would actually make sense).
In conclusion, fantastic book. I was brought to tears by the stories of Cervantes Quinn, T'Prynn, Diego Reyes, Pennington, and others. Every Star Trek fan of the original series and movies should check out the Star Trek: Vanguard series. It is a dark and gritty Star Trek tale but the story works despite this. The characters were great, the action fun, and the story arcs epic. What more could you want?
9.5/10
September 7, 2019
4.75*
I had a little problem with it, but that can be discussed in a longer review... a stellar ending to the series!! Without a doubt the best installment. And fixed an issue I'd had with Vanguard since the beginning. Nice one David Mack!
I had a little problem with it, but that can be discussed in a longer review... a stellar ending to the series!! Without a doubt the best installment. And fixed an issue I'd had with Vanguard since the beginning. Nice one David Mack!
January 29, 2015
Vanguard concluded in exactly the way I wished it hadn't but expected it would. It features a star-studded deus ex machina, the most blatantly foreshadowed death in the history of the world, and a contrived excuse for none of this showing up in any other Star Trek series.
That being said, I kind of liked this book. It had some good character beats and certainly wrapped up all the disparate plot points. But that's pretty much all it did. The prose is some of the best in the series, but sometimes comes off as a little too arrogant and unnecessary. I'm really kind of bummed to come away from this knowing it's one of the more highly acclaimed series in the Star Trek extended universe. Since I was either lukewarm or disgusted by the books in Vanguard, it's sort of killed my optimism for enjoying more Star Trek books.
Likely, I'll read more. I just really like Star Trek. And hey maybe one or two of 'em will impress me. I don't really feel like getting more in-depth with this review cause I don't think the subject matter warrants it. It's thoroughly mediocre.
That being said, I kind of liked this book. It had some good character beats and certainly wrapped up all the disparate plot points. But that's pretty much all it did. The prose is some of the best in the series, but sometimes comes off as a little too arrogant and unnecessary. I'm really kind of bummed to come away from this knowing it's one of the more highly acclaimed series in the Star Trek extended universe. Since I was either lukewarm or disgusted by the books in Vanguard, it's sort of killed my optimism for enjoying more Star Trek books.
Likely, I'll read more. I just really like Star Trek. And hey maybe one or two of 'em will impress me. I don't really feel like getting more in-depth with this review cause I don't think the subject matter warrants it. It's thoroughly mediocre.
July 10, 2025
I’m going to put together thoughts on the series as a whole beneath my thoughts on the book, but let’s start with the book: I liked it, with a couple of caveats, which is something I’ve said a lot throughout this series (again, more on that later).
As a wrap-up of an eight-book series (and it does say it’s the end, even though later another e-book was added and a spin-off series), this one drew things to a pretty solid conclusion, the stakes rose to a fever pitch, and then we had a final, massive, "it’s the end of the series" style episode with lots of explosions, all within a bookended framework of two of the main characters having a chat about it, later. The last book had Tim Pennington say he was there to the bitter end, and this book is him telling Diego Reyes about said bitter end.
I found the Shedai plot was the main reason I kept coming back for more with this series (that and wanting more Strange New Worlds but it being a month off still for new episodes and similarly so with any new SNW books), and there were some really good ethical discussions around the treatment of the Shedai—ones I kept hoping Starfleet would live up to, and instead Starfleet basically rolled into the ditch instead. Now, on the one hand, that made for compelling storytelling, a reason for Dr. Marcus to make her exit, and also an arc for Xiang, but on the other hand, I really prefer my Starfleet to being the "not perfect, but it wants to be." Starfleet screws up, doesn’t always prepare well, and has bad elements in it more than once (I mean, every freaking Admiral or Commodore in TOS was written to be a foil for Kirk, so…), but I got very tired, very fast of Starfleet’s "obey or else" (even to the point of an Admiral threatening to shoot someone at one point, and while there was some kinda-sorta moments where said Admiral says, "Look, it’s this or worse…" it still felt like Starfleet was just… "Hey, you found amazing tech? How fast can you turn that into a weapon? It enslaves a species to work? Meh, whatevs, about that weapon?" And… no thanks. Characters point out the immorality, and are told to obey orders, because if they don’t they’ll get a court martial and worse people will come who don’t care they’re being unethical so… uh… you do it because at least you know it’s bad? Or something like that. Starfleet Intelligence is even worse. In the end, there’s a singular act of noble self-sacrifice, and if it was supposed to balance all that out, I didn’t get there.
The blaze-of-glory sections were well written, and for the most part I found them engaging, with the sole exception of the cliché killing of the going-to-retire character (I’d been waiting for it every single book, assuming it was coming, and lo and behold, here we are). Also a Kirk cameo had me sighing a bit, but hey, it’s TOS-era. Of course Kirk saves the day.
The framing device then brings back a character who left a few books ago, and allows a happy-ever-after for two characters, intrepid reporter Tim Pennington strides off, and there we are. Nicely done.
Okay, some thoughts on the series as a whole:
The Frustrating:
- Reliance on killing women to motivate fellas was a recurring theme to the point where if I got a woman’s POV character shared with a fellow who had feelings for her, I assumed she was going to die and was right way, way too often.
- Bury your gays was in full effect here. We had two lesbian characters in a relationship, one dies in a useless, tragic way that sends the other into a mental breakdown that takes a book to recover from (a mental breakdown just as much caused by a psychic and physical assault said character has been actively reliving for decades). If I’m super generous, there are two other gay characters in the entire series—one begins a story dead and exists only to provide an autopsy result and a mystery to solve by lots of people who liked him, the other is his partner, who exists off page and is described as distraught and suffering because of his husband’s death. If you’re only going to include queer people to kill one of them to leave the other broken and motivated, just don’t include us, please. It’s so easy to circumvent bury your gays. You just have to have more than, y’know, a couple of queer characters and to have some of those other queer characters be happy. The Admiral. The Head of Security. Some of the other Scientists. One of the engineers on the Saggitarius. Someone on Endeavour.
- TOS-era men. Oooof. So many references, especially at first, to the men ogling women in their new miniskirt uniforms, or just horny men in general. This was all the more glaringly obvious because of the whole "there are two (four if generous) queer people existing throughout eight books." Also, the main characters really, really skewed to dudes, with only a few women. Then they killed one of the women, had another exit the series until the very end… Guest-star POV women characters seemed to die every single time.
The Really Good:
- The Shedai plot. I really liked how this unfolded, the mystery of it—even the parts never quite explained (the DNA, for instance, was that ever really completely understood?). The factions, the notion the Shedai weren’t necessarily irredeemable villains until Starfleet made them such, and ultimately, a big bang of an ending.
- The Tholians. Loved their alienness, the way they communicated, and their role in the story as a whole and their reasoning behind all their actions. They did some abhorrent things and you understood why, which also served as a stark contrast to Starfleet being ho-hum about enslaving a race to power their tech.
- The Saggitarius and the Endeavour. I liked both these ships, their very different crews, and while I found the repeated "oop, dead!" born of the freedom of writing characters not so beholden to plot-armor because they’re canon a bit overdone among both, time with either ship was often a highlight. (When the dudes on Saggitarius weren’t being horndogs.)
As a wrap-up of an eight-book series (and it does say it’s the end, even though later another e-book was added and a spin-off series), this one drew things to a pretty solid conclusion, the stakes rose to a fever pitch, and then we had a final, massive, "it’s the end of the series" style episode with lots of explosions, all within a bookended framework of two of the main characters having a chat about it, later. The last book had Tim Pennington say he was there to the bitter end, and this book is him telling Diego Reyes about said bitter end.
I found the Shedai plot was the main reason I kept coming back for more with this series (that and wanting more Strange New Worlds but it being a month off still for new episodes and similarly so with any new SNW books), and there were some really good ethical discussions around the treatment of the Shedai—ones I kept hoping Starfleet would live up to, and instead Starfleet basically rolled into the ditch instead. Now, on the one hand, that made for compelling storytelling, a reason for Dr. Marcus to make her exit, and also an arc for Xiang, but on the other hand, I really prefer my Starfleet to being the "not perfect, but it wants to be." Starfleet screws up, doesn’t always prepare well, and has bad elements in it more than once (I mean, every freaking Admiral or Commodore in TOS was written to be a foil for Kirk, so…), but I got very tired, very fast of Starfleet’s "obey or else" (even to the point of an Admiral threatening to shoot someone at one point, and while there was some kinda-sorta moments where said Admiral says, "Look, it’s this or worse…" it still felt like Starfleet was just… "Hey, you found amazing tech? How fast can you turn that into a weapon? It enslaves a species to work? Meh, whatevs, about that weapon?" And… no thanks. Characters point out the immorality, and are told to obey orders, because if they don’t they’ll get a court martial and worse people will come who don’t care they’re being unethical so… uh… you do it because at least you know it’s bad? Or something like that. Starfleet Intelligence is even worse. In the end, there’s a singular act of noble self-sacrifice, and if it was supposed to balance all that out, I didn’t get there.
The blaze-of-glory sections were well written, and for the most part I found them engaging, with the sole exception of the cliché killing of the going-to-retire character (I’d been waiting for it every single book, assuming it was coming, and lo and behold, here we are). Also a Kirk cameo had me sighing a bit, but hey, it’s TOS-era. Of course Kirk saves the day.
The framing device then brings back a character who left a few books ago, and allows a happy-ever-after for two characters, intrepid reporter Tim Pennington strides off, and there we are. Nicely done.
Okay, some thoughts on the series as a whole:
The Frustrating:
- Reliance on killing women to motivate fellas was a recurring theme to the point where if I got a woman’s POV character shared with a fellow who had feelings for her, I assumed she was going to die and was right way, way too often.
- Bury your gays was in full effect here. We had two lesbian characters in a relationship, one dies in a useless, tragic way that sends the other into a mental breakdown that takes a book to recover from (a mental breakdown just as much caused by a psychic and physical assault said character has been actively reliving for decades). If I’m super generous, there are two other gay characters in the entire series—one begins a story dead and exists only to provide an autopsy result and a mystery to solve by lots of people who liked him, the other is his partner, who exists off page and is described as distraught and suffering because of his husband’s death. If you’re only going to include queer people to kill one of them to leave the other broken and motivated, just don’t include us, please. It’s so easy to circumvent bury your gays. You just have to have more than, y’know, a couple of queer characters and to have some of those other queer characters be happy. The Admiral. The Head of Security. Some of the other Scientists. One of the engineers on the Saggitarius. Someone on Endeavour.
- TOS-era men. Oooof. So many references, especially at first, to the men ogling women in their new miniskirt uniforms, or just horny men in general. This was all the more glaringly obvious because of the whole "there are two (four if generous) queer people existing throughout eight books." Also, the main characters really, really skewed to dudes, with only a few women. Then they killed one of the women, had another exit the series until the very end… Guest-star POV women characters seemed to die every single time.
The Really Good:
- The Shedai plot. I really liked how this unfolded, the mystery of it—even the parts never quite explained (the DNA, for instance, was that ever really completely understood?). The factions, the notion the Shedai weren’t necessarily irredeemable villains until Starfleet made them such, and ultimately, a big bang of an ending.
- The Tholians. Loved their alienness, the way they communicated, and their role in the story as a whole and their reasoning behind all their actions. They did some abhorrent things and you understood why, which also served as a stark contrast to Starfleet being ho-hum about enslaving a race to power their tech.
- The Saggitarius and the Endeavour. I liked both these ships, their very different crews, and while I found the repeated "oop, dead!" born of the freedom of writing characters not so beholden to plot-armor because they’re canon a bit overdone among both, time with either ship was often a highlight. (When the dudes on Saggitarius weren’t being horndogs.)
April 4, 2012
Amazing, amazing story. David Mack has managed the almost-impossible. He has crafted a conclusion to an amazing series that is on-par and in some ways even exceeds the quality of the build-up. Highly emotional ending to a series that has brought me great joy to read over the past couple of years.
Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2012/04/s...
Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2012/04/s...
April 7, 2012
A tour-de-force planet-killing one of a kind opus like no other. VANGUARD ends as it began: a breakneck pace, twists no one could predict, with characters that epitomize the finest Trek literature has to offer. We are in David Mack's debt for bringing VANGUARD into our world. Kudos to Mack and fellow scribes Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore and their co-conspirator Marco Palmieri for their triumph.
April 19, 2012
What a ride! I've enjoyed Vanguard every step of the way, from the beginning to the bitter, bloody end. Kudos to David Mack, Dayton Ward, Kevin Dilmore and Marco Palmieri for this epic Star Trek literary saga. It makes me look at the original series in a whole new light.
August 11, 2012
An exciting finish to a fascinating series. Oh wait! Is there an epilogue of some kind on the way?
September 21, 2014
So, this is it. The end of the books-only Trek series Vanguard. Is it a worthy ending to this very ambitious project?
"Storming Heaven" suffers a bit from its many plotthreads which distract from the station and the Shedai - which is unfortunate, given the premise of the series. But let's again take it plotthread by plotthread and work our way through to the end.
* diplomacy
After the failed experiment of collaboration on Nimbus III (none of the delegations were really capable of letting go of old customs, spying on each other and not comitting to the cause), Jetanien officially left the diplomatic circles and retired to Nimbus III - unofficially to continue his backdoor diplomacy with the Klingons and Romulans, albeit now in secret.
The Klingons and the Romulans have forged an alliance - Romulan stealth technology against free passage for Romulan ships. But some forces want more - Duras, a member of the High Council, allies himself more closely, wanting more power to eventually overthrow the Chancellor and his allies, amongst them Gorkon, which in turn would enable the Romulans to gain more influence. Gorkon asks for support in uncovering this conspiracy, Jetanien, enlisting Pennington's help comes to his aid.
While this thread might have the most impact on the Star Trek we know - Gorkon's rise to power, his attempt at forging peace, the Klingon/Romulan alliance, Duras' reach for the Empire -, it still sits very apart from the rest of the events in this novel. And frankly, in the final part of a series, I don't want too many different plotthreads unless they come together at the end. Which this one unfortunately doesn't.
* the Shedai, the Tholians and Starfleet
The end of the Shedai is a bit anticlimactic. Instead of the huge final battle, the threat of the Shedai is virtually ended by capturing them all in more of those Tkon-devices that the Sagittarius collects in a covert mission, using the navigational data Reyes got from the Orion ship.
This part felt rushed, honestly. It builds upon the mission where Bridy Mac was killed and the Apostate showed her and Quinn the building map for a weapons array against the Shedai. The array houses lots of those Myrdoniae-devices, 2 of which were already used within the series... Constructed correctly, the array can help discover Shedai, Shedai conduits and, due to the energy build up when all the devices are occupied by Shedai it can also be used to destroy planets.
But first of all, the Sagittarius only gets about half the devices that were on that Eremar statite (a remnant of a Dyson sphere) - but it says nowhere how that influences the array. Secondly, there's no way to predict the consequences of actually using the array. All experiments were done on 2 devices - one of which they managed to destroy -, but not on over 5000 linked together. And still, they just use it. And thirdly, why should a self-destruct work on the Shedai who can move beyond what we can perceive? And we are meant to believe that all Shedai just stand there and let themselves be hit by that explosion - not even one had the presence of mind to just shift away? It's one thing for them to converge on Xiong and take their revenge, it's quite another for them not to react.
And then there's the Tholians who very conveniently get wind of the Tkon-devices themselves just before the Orion ship blows up. Also, that first attack by the Tholians on Eremar only seemed to be aimed at raising the danger level of the mission - did anyone really believe the Sagittarius would fail at delivering the devices to Vanguard?!? But then again, I guess, the book had to be stretched to its usual 350 pages, and certain plotparts needed an extra helping of suspense. In my opinion it would have made more sense if they had caught wind telepathically of the situation when the array was used to capture the Shedai - then they could have assembled at their borders and, as was shown, launched their attack when the array was used again.
What's most disturbing, but unfortunately quite consistent with the rest of this series, are Starfleet Command's orders. They don't care about consequences, ethical questions... their whole focus is on getting the edge over everyone else, no matter the cost. This is quite a different Starfleet than the one we are used to, especially from the TV-series where questionable decisions are rather the exception and not the rule.On the other hand, this is the Starfleet Command that eventually plays an important role in the demise of a foreign leader...
But it's not even so much the orders themselves, it's that even the people involved get so carried away that they don't question them. Chain of Command is good and well - and perhaps it's due to the fact that I never was part of a military organization that I have problems with this -, but does being part of a chain of command preclude you from thinking for yourself? From determining what's right and what's wrong? Granted, there are innumerable shades of gray but experimenting on the Shedai, a living species? Keeping them prisoner and using them for your own gain up to and including hurting the Tholians in the process?
Reyes reached his end of the line with issuing General Order 24 and killing innocent and ignorant civilians who he couldn't warn of the danger because of his orders back in Reap the Whirlwind, Desai wasn't much behind in Declassified... how much further was Nogura willing to take it if not even the idea of using the Shedai prompted him to stand up for his beliefs? Of course he has a point. Had he granted Xiong's complaint, Starfleet Command would just have dismissed them and installed other officers more willing to cross the lines. And of course, he was in an impossible situation. On the other hand, given the time it took for *him* to come aboard after Reyes' imprisonment, how long would it have taken here for a replacement to arrive at the station? Granted, given that Starfleet Command has circumvented the chain of command on the station before (see the botched attempt at Reyes' extraction from the Orion ship), who knows what they would have ordered the station's security to do in this case... But I guess I just wanted Nogura to stand up for what he knew what was right. In fact, he argued Xiong's point to his superiors and was told that they were in fact at war - just to turn around and refute Xiong's argument that at war prisoners have certain rights...
However, it doesn't just stop with Nogura. What about Xiong himself? He was so keen on revealing the Shedais' secrets and he couldn't wait to experiment on things he couldn't possibly understand, and later on he was so single-minded on revenge because of Bridy Mac's death (though it would have made more sense if he had reacted like that to his real mistake in letting the Wanderer escape - this one and its consequences have really been on him...) that he was willing to let himself be used to further Starfleet Command's ideas. Only later - too late - did his good conscience reassert itself. It can be argued that destroying any trace of the Shedai is just as much a crime as exploiting them for military purposes. Of course, in this instance Xiong didn't have much choice... but had there been no attack, and Nogura and Xiong been forced to, as they called it, pull the plug on the whole project, who determines that everything has to be destroyed, and consequently the whole universe deprived of a chance of peaceful exploration? Granted, the Klingons and Romulans (and all the other potentially adverserial races) would have quite certainly explored military uses as well, but maybe there truely is a race out there that would have investigated the Shedai for historic purpose, out of scientific curiosity and not for some personal gain. One can only hope that at some point we all grow beyond those petty interests and just seek knowledge for knowledge's sake.
I think it is difficult to draw the line. Many scientific breakthroughs have been made because of military advancement, many inventions have been used to hurt others, often it's hard for ethics to keep up with science. Should anything be done just because it's possible? Or is there a higher standard we should adhere to? Or let's take this the other way around: Should scientific advances be forbidden because they might be used in the wrong way in the future? Star Trek's strength has always been to put a mirror in front of its audience. And as uncomfortable as reading of this militaristic and aggressive Starfleet is, it also reflects modern society - just think of those flimsy reasons to wage war in the Middle East back in the 2000s, or the pursuit of an arms-race to put fear into your opponents.
Another topic worth discussing is the distinction between Federation and Starfleet law. Civilians on Vanguard don't fall under Federation law - because Vanguard is not on Federation territory. Therefore it's okay to commandeer civilian freighter ships for military operations or replace civilians in key positions and even dismiss them from the station entirely - as done with Carol Marcus and her team who are shipped off to remote Regula 1. It's definitely small wonder that she's not keen on any kind of Starfleet interference in Star Trek II. Any way, it's definitely a very fine and extremely gray line Starfleet is toeing here.
Interestingly, the one reason for Operation Vanguard, the exploration of the meta-genome was pretty much abandoned - again, of course, we know that Marcus continues with her work (if only Starfleet had known what military advantages the metagenome could have back at Vanguard, the torpedo would have been invented quite a bit earlier, I guess), but aside from the Shedai themselves it was this scientific issue that attracted me most to Vanguard, aside from the characters.
* sidenotes
As with the first part of the finale, Storming Heaven's frame story takes place 2 years later with Pennington at Reyes' doorstep on some remote island on Caldos II. In What Judgments Come Reyes told his story, this one here is Pennington's. And Reyes does get his happy ending since Pennington didn't find out about his whereabouts just for his own reasons. I absolutely enjoyed this part (in both books) because it lends closure - and the epilogue had some beautiful imagery with events and protagonists fading into the mist of time.
Dr Fisher was the last of the Reyes confidants on the station, and he spent the whole book resigning and getting transport off the station... This seemed awfully contrived (and longwinded), especially the ending with his abandoning medical procedures in catastrophic events (triage etc) with predictable results.
Vanguard always kept track of Enterprise's missions, tying it into the bigger picture. And while Enterprise's appearance in Harbinger was welcome to send Vanguard off, I didn't appreciate it here, especially as Kirk once again swoops in and saves the day - by driving off the Klingons, helping with the first Tholian attack and then again in the final battle. I think to have Enterprise intervene diminishes the characters and ships that were so painstakingly established here - as if they can't accomplish their mission without help by their famous (if in universe still only in their first 5-year mission) colleagues. I did like Spock helping T'Prynn recover the music within herself - though, again, it should have occurred to her on her own that without Sten's katra, of course, she's a different person, reflected in her approach to music and the kind of music she chooses to play...
Speaking of T'Prynn, she continues on her road of redemption. This time Quinn, who has absolutely hit rock-bottom, benefits from her abilites in a mindmeld - and in letting people disappear without a trace.
I've heard Vanguard being called the Battlestar Galactica of Star Trek - I don't agree. I rather liken it to Babylon 5... awakening ancient forces, experimenting with them, trying to use them. Sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it?
I like to read while listening to music - and somehow the random-setting on my stereo always seems to find just the right score for what I'm reading. Like the soundtrack to "Into Darkness" during the Shedai capture, or "LotR: Two Towers" during the siege of Vanguard. "Game of Thrones" works just as well as soundtrack to this book-series.
This has become quite a long review because of the vast amount of plotthreads that come together here - some could have been shortened or even dropped to the benefit of the bigger picture perhaps. And that's perhaps my main point of criticism here and the reason why I'm not 100% thrilled with it.
"Storming Heaven" suffers a bit from its many plotthreads which distract from the station and the Shedai - which is unfortunate, given the premise of the series. But let's again take it plotthread by plotthread and work our way through to the end.
* diplomacy
After the failed experiment of collaboration on Nimbus III (none of the delegations were really capable of letting go of old customs, spying on each other and not comitting to the cause), Jetanien officially left the diplomatic circles and retired to Nimbus III - unofficially to continue his backdoor diplomacy with the Klingons and Romulans, albeit now in secret.
The Klingons and the Romulans have forged an alliance - Romulan stealth technology against free passage for Romulan ships. But some forces want more - Duras, a member of the High Council, allies himself more closely, wanting more power to eventually overthrow the Chancellor and his allies, amongst them Gorkon, which in turn would enable the Romulans to gain more influence. Gorkon asks for support in uncovering this conspiracy, Jetanien, enlisting Pennington's help comes to his aid.
While this thread might have the most impact on the Star Trek we know - Gorkon's rise to power, his attempt at forging peace, the Klingon/Romulan alliance, Duras' reach for the Empire -, it still sits very apart from the rest of the events in this novel. And frankly, in the final part of a series, I don't want too many different plotthreads unless they come together at the end. Which this one unfortunately doesn't.
* the Shedai, the Tholians and Starfleet
The end of the Shedai is a bit anticlimactic. Instead of the huge final battle, the threat of the Shedai is virtually ended by capturing them all in more of those Tkon-devices that the Sagittarius collects in a covert mission, using the navigational data Reyes got from the Orion ship.
This part felt rushed, honestly. It builds upon the mission where Bridy Mac was killed and the Apostate showed her and Quinn the building map for a weapons array against the Shedai. The array houses lots of those Myrdoniae-devices, 2 of which were already used within the series... Constructed correctly, the array can help discover Shedai, Shedai conduits and, due to the energy build up when all the devices are occupied by Shedai it can also be used to destroy planets.
But first of all, the Sagittarius only gets about half the devices that were on that Eremar statite (a remnant of a Dyson sphere) - but it says nowhere how that influences the array. Secondly, there's no way to predict the consequences of actually using the array. All experiments were done on 2 devices - one of which they managed to destroy -, but not on over 5000 linked together. And still, they just use it. And thirdly, why should a self-destruct work on the Shedai who can move beyond what we can perceive? And we are meant to believe that all Shedai just stand there and let themselves be hit by that explosion - not even one had the presence of mind to just shift away? It's one thing for them to converge on Xiong and take their revenge, it's quite another for them not to react.
And then there's the Tholians who very conveniently get wind of the Tkon-devices themselves just before the Orion ship blows up. Also, that first attack by the Tholians on Eremar only seemed to be aimed at raising the danger level of the mission - did anyone really believe the Sagittarius would fail at delivering the devices to Vanguard?!? But then again, I guess, the book had to be stretched to its usual 350 pages, and certain plotparts needed an extra helping of suspense. In my opinion it would have made more sense if they had caught wind telepathically of the situation when the array was used to capture the Shedai - then they could have assembled at their borders and, as was shown, launched their attack when the array was used again.
What's most disturbing, but unfortunately quite consistent with the rest of this series, are Starfleet Command's orders. They don't care about consequences, ethical questions... their whole focus is on getting the edge over everyone else, no matter the cost. This is quite a different Starfleet than the one we are used to, especially from the TV-series where questionable decisions are rather the exception and not the rule.On the other hand, this is the Starfleet Command that eventually plays an important role in the demise of a foreign leader...
But it's not even so much the orders themselves, it's that even the people involved get so carried away that they don't question them. Chain of Command is good and well - and perhaps it's due to the fact that I never was part of a military organization that I have problems with this -, but does being part of a chain of command preclude you from thinking for yourself? From determining what's right and what's wrong? Granted, there are innumerable shades of gray but experimenting on the Shedai, a living species? Keeping them prisoner and using them for your own gain up to and including hurting the Tholians in the process?
Reyes reached his end of the line with issuing General Order 24 and killing innocent and ignorant civilians who he couldn't warn of the danger because of his orders back in Reap the Whirlwind, Desai wasn't much behind in Declassified... how much further was Nogura willing to take it if not even the idea of using the Shedai prompted him to stand up for his beliefs? Of course he has a point. Had he granted Xiong's complaint, Starfleet Command would just have dismissed them and installed other officers more willing to cross the lines. And of course, he was in an impossible situation. On the other hand, given the time it took for *him* to come aboard after Reyes' imprisonment, how long would it have taken here for a replacement to arrive at the station? Granted, given that Starfleet Command has circumvented the chain of command on the station before (see the botched attempt at Reyes' extraction from the Orion ship), who knows what they would have ordered the station's security to do in this case... But I guess I just wanted Nogura to stand up for what he knew what was right. In fact, he argued Xiong's point to his superiors and was told that they were in fact at war - just to turn around and refute Xiong's argument that at war prisoners have certain rights...
However, it doesn't just stop with Nogura. What about Xiong himself? He was so keen on revealing the Shedais' secrets and he couldn't wait to experiment on things he couldn't possibly understand, and later on he was so single-minded on revenge because of Bridy Mac's death (though it would have made more sense if he had reacted like that to his real mistake in letting the Wanderer escape - this one and its consequences have really been on him...) that he was willing to let himself be used to further Starfleet Command's ideas. Only later - too late - did his good conscience reassert itself. It can be argued that destroying any trace of the Shedai is just as much a crime as exploiting them for military purposes. Of course, in this instance Xiong didn't have much choice... but had there been no attack, and Nogura and Xiong been forced to, as they called it, pull the plug on the whole project, who determines that everything has to be destroyed, and consequently the whole universe deprived of a chance of peaceful exploration? Granted, the Klingons and Romulans (and all the other potentially adverserial races) would have quite certainly explored military uses as well, but maybe there truely is a race out there that would have investigated the Shedai for historic purpose, out of scientific curiosity and not for some personal gain. One can only hope that at some point we all grow beyond those petty interests and just seek knowledge for knowledge's sake.
I think it is difficult to draw the line. Many scientific breakthroughs have been made because of military advancement, many inventions have been used to hurt others, often it's hard for ethics to keep up with science. Should anything be done just because it's possible? Or is there a higher standard we should adhere to? Or let's take this the other way around: Should scientific advances be forbidden because they might be used in the wrong way in the future? Star Trek's strength has always been to put a mirror in front of its audience. And as uncomfortable as reading of this militaristic and aggressive Starfleet is, it also reflects modern society - just think of those flimsy reasons to wage war in the Middle East back in the 2000s, or the pursuit of an arms-race to put fear into your opponents.
Another topic worth discussing is the distinction between Federation and Starfleet law. Civilians on Vanguard don't fall under Federation law - because Vanguard is not on Federation territory. Therefore it's okay to commandeer civilian freighter ships for military operations or replace civilians in key positions and even dismiss them from the station entirely - as done with Carol Marcus and her team who are shipped off to remote Regula 1. It's definitely small wonder that she's not keen on any kind of Starfleet interference in Star Trek II. Any way, it's definitely a very fine and extremely gray line Starfleet is toeing here.
Interestingly, the one reason for Operation Vanguard, the exploration of the meta-genome was pretty much abandoned - again, of course, we know that Marcus continues with her work (if only Starfleet had known what military advantages the metagenome could have back at Vanguard, the torpedo would have been invented quite a bit earlier, I guess), but aside from the Shedai themselves it was this scientific issue that attracted me most to Vanguard, aside from the characters.
* sidenotes
As with the first part of the finale, Storming Heaven's frame story takes place 2 years later with Pennington at Reyes' doorstep on some remote island on Caldos II. In What Judgments Come Reyes told his story, this one here is Pennington's. And Reyes does get his happy ending since Pennington didn't find out about his whereabouts just for his own reasons. I absolutely enjoyed this part (in both books) because it lends closure - and the epilogue had some beautiful imagery with events and protagonists fading into the mist of time.
Dr Fisher was the last of the Reyes confidants on the station, and he spent the whole book resigning and getting transport off the station... This seemed awfully contrived (and longwinded), especially the ending with his abandoning medical procedures in catastrophic events (triage etc) with predictable results.
Vanguard always kept track of Enterprise's missions, tying it into the bigger picture. And while Enterprise's appearance in Harbinger was welcome to send Vanguard off, I didn't appreciate it here, especially as Kirk once again swoops in and saves the day - by driving off the Klingons, helping with the first Tholian attack and then again in the final battle. I think to have Enterprise intervene diminishes the characters and ships that were so painstakingly established here - as if they can't accomplish their mission without help by their famous (if in universe still only in their first 5-year mission) colleagues. I did like Spock helping T'Prynn recover the music within herself - though, again, it should have occurred to her on her own that without Sten's katra, of course, she's a different person, reflected in her approach to music and the kind of music she chooses to play...
Speaking of T'Prynn, she continues on her road of redemption. This time Quinn, who has absolutely hit rock-bottom, benefits from her abilites in a mindmeld - and in letting people disappear without a trace.
I've heard Vanguard being called the Battlestar Galactica of Star Trek - I don't agree. I rather liken it to Babylon 5... awakening ancient forces, experimenting with them, trying to use them. Sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it?
I like to read while listening to music - and somehow the random-setting on my stereo always seems to find just the right score for what I'm reading. Like the soundtrack to "Into Darkness" during the Shedai capture, or "LotR: Two Towers" during the siege of Vanguard. "Game of Thrones" works just as well as soundtrack to this book-series.
This has become quite a long review because of the vast amount of plotthreads that come together here - some could have been shortened or even dropped to the benefit of the bigger picture perhaps. And that's perhaps my main point of criticism here and the reason why I'm not 100% thrilled with it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2023
Challenging, dark, emotional, hopeful, inspiring, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
Fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25 ⭐
This was/is the most action passed book of the series. This was the climax of everything that had come before. I'm really interested in the last book...and what it will be about.
I do NOT like Admiral Nagora, but then again...I usually don't like MOST of the admirals of Starfleet.
Ming Xiong did his best to both be a hero and a mass murderer. This was his Kobyashi Maru.
T'Prynn was amazing in this story. One of emotional small moments, and the heights of tension, her calm resolve to do the right thing...trying to make up for all her "missteps" of her earlier career.
I didn't like a certain line in this book about Cervantes Quinn...and I hope it was wrong, but for some reason...I feel we may just have to accept it. Ugh.
Tim Pennington was a character that I didn't like at the beginning of the story, but by the end...he was/is one of the "good guys".
The crew of the U.S.S Sagitarius and Endeaver were amazing. RIP for the U.S.S. Buenos Aires and Panama.
The Tholians are 'hardcore' and hope to never have to deal with them again, and their ancestors, the Shedai. Yikes!
Commodore/Mr. Reyes was not always a person that I liked, but he turned out to be an honourable person.
...and there are so many other.
The Prologue and Epilogue were in 2270, and it was made to feel like the series ended, but there IS a ninth book...so I'm encouraged (for I was NOT ready to say goodbye, though it DID feel like a final book.
I really liked how the U.S.S. Enterprise was used in this book (2269). There were some epic lines and the characters seemed SO true to the end of Season 3 (2269) of TOS TV Series and before Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2273).
Now...there is something that I want to say...
Spoiler👇
In this book, Starfleet/Federation have discovered a power SO powerful that it reminds me of the book written by Kai Bird called American Prometheus (what was adapted into the movie called Oppenheimer). Like those scientists, who "dared" to test a weapon thought SO powerful that it may extinguish all life on earth, in this story...a powerful similar is being tested...the power to destroy the very existence of planets (without trace), but also using enslaved labour (the Shedai). Is this ethical? IF it continues to be experimented, it MAY even destroy the race of creatures that power the weapon, so in fact causing the genocide of this hostile race.
SO, to continue down this road of experiments may have a two-fold result. To build a weapon SO powerful to destroy another planet without trace that it ever existed AND by doing so, could (most likely) to cause a hostile sentient race to cease to exist. Honestly, this is a horrible position to be put in. Neither option is something that should be thought of, or put into motion. It is one thing to have built such a weapon and at such a cost, but what IF this weapon was stolen and used against US? No, this weapon and its research should be (for the sake of humanity and the Shedai existence) be destroyed and never spoken of again. That's my opinion.
Fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25 ⭐
This was/is the most action passed book of the series. This was the climax of everything that had come before. I'm really interested in the last book...and what it will be about.
I do NOT like Admiral Nagora, but then again...I usually don't like MOST of the admirals of Starfleet.
Ming Xiong did his best to both be a hero and a mass murderer. This was his Kobyashi Maru.
T'Prynn was amazing in this story. One of emotional small moments, and the heights of tension, her calm resolve to do the right thing...trying to make up for all her "missteps" of her earlier career.
I didn't like a certain line in this book about Cervantes Quinn...and I hope it was wrong, but for some reason...I feel we may just have to accept it. Ugh.
Tim Pennington was a character that I didn't like at the beginning of the story, but by the end...he was/is one of the "good guys".
The crew of the U.S.S Sagitarius and Endeaver were amazing. RIP for the U.S.S. Buenos Aires and Panama.
The Tholians are 'hardcore' and hope to never have to deal with them again, and their ancestors, the Shedai. Yikes!
Commodore/Mr. Reyes was not always a person that I liked, but he turned out to be an honourable person.
...and there are so many other.
The Prologue and Epilogue were in 2270, and it was made to feel like the series ended, but there IS a ninth book...so I'm encouraged (for I was NOT ready to say goodbye, though it DID feel like a final book.
I really liked how the U.S.S. Enterprise was used in this book (2269). There were some epic lines and the characters seemed SO true to the end of Season 3 (2269) of TOS TV Series and before Star Trek: The Motion Picture (2273).
Now...there is something that I want to say...
Spoiler👇
In this book, Starfleet/Federation have discovered a power SO powerful that it reminds me of the book written by Kai Bird called American Prometheus (what was adapted into the movie called Oppenheimer). Like those scientists, who "dared" to test a weapon thought SO powerful that it may extinguish all life on earth, in this story...a powerful similar is being tested...the power to destroy the very existence of planets (without trace), but also using enslaved labour (the Shedai). Is this ethical? IF it continues to be experimented, it MAY even destroy the race of creatures that power the weapon, so in fact causing the genocide of this hostile race.
SO, to continue down this road of experiments may have a two-fold result. To build a weapon SO powerful to destroy another planet without trace that it ever existed AND by doing so, could (most likely) to cause a hostile sentient race to cease to exist. Honestly, this is a horrible position to be put in. Neither option is something that should be thought of, or put into motion. It is one thing to have built such a weapon and at such a cost, but what IF this weapon was stolen and used against US? No, this weapon and its research should be (for the sake of humanity and the Shedai existence) be destroyed and never spoken of again. That's my opinion.
May 21, 2025
Starting on the last (maybe) book of the Vanguard series is weird in that it’s two characters talking in flashbacks.
”This is one of the most reckless, dangerous mission plans I’ve ever seen, in all my years in Starfleet.”
”Is that a ‘yes,’ Admiral?”
”And if any of those great monkeys start some shit, you have my permission to kick their asses.”
This feels like real Star Trek to me!
One of the pleasures of this series is that the original Star Trek episodes are going on behind the scenes and this series reflects the effects of those episodes we never saw. I’ll always wish this was the direction new Star Trek series had gone.
Yes, Nogura thought, this is how I imagined Kirk the starship commander. Aggressive, direct—and in need of an ego check.
”I read a report from Starfleet Command last year that said you’d met the Greek deity Apollo. I was just wondering… did that really happen?”
”I would not ask you to permit so profound an invasion of your privacy if the security of the Federation and the safety of its people were not at stake.”
”Like I give a shit?”
”I see. You like the idea of serving the people, but you don’t actually like the people.”
”Regardless of what direction the Federation tries to expand it’s slamming up against foreign powers that don’t want us there, and a few that actively want us dead.”
”To be precise,” he said, continuing his report, “Lieutenant Klisiewicz made three very alarming discoveries.”
”Well, it might sound crazy, but… maybe we should put in a self-destruct system.
Nogura couldn’t muster much gratitude, because he suspected Severson’s parade of praise was merely camouflage for an impending barrage of bullshit.
”’Blowing up planets’ wasn’t in the original program specs.”
”Who’s ready to volunteer for a free court-marital?”
Which meant he had just less than five minutes to think up a dignified and confidence-inspiring way to convey the message, We are completely screwed.
Damn these weak internal dampers, he cursed to himself.
Well, that was a good eight book series! I enjoyed most every bit of it.
This book was also exceptionally good. Though I understand there is an eBook sequel and I know these characters have popped up again in other books.
I’m giving this book 5 stars. It was a great wrap-up and actually did surprise me at the end!
It was also kind of ingenious that it used the ideas to solve many long standing Trek problems that had never been resolved.
I’d recommend this to any Original Series fans. Pretty much a must-read.
”This is one of the most reckless, dangerous mission plans I’ve ever seen, in all my years in Starfleet.”
”Is that a ‘yes,’ Admiral?”
”And if any of those great monkeys start some shit, you have my permission to kick their asses.”
This feels like real Star Trek to me!
One of the pleasures of this series is that the original Star Trek episodes are going on behind the scenes and this series reflects the effects of those episodes we never saw. I’ll always wish this was the direction new Star Trek series had gone.
Yes, Nogura thought, this is how I imagined Kirk the starship commander. Aggressive, direct—and in need of an ego check.
”I read a report from Starfleet Command last year that said you’d met the Greek deity Apollo. I was just wondering… did that really happen?”
”I would not ask you to permit so profound an invasion of your privacy if the security of the Federation and the safety of its people were not at stake.”
”Like I give a shit?”
”I see. You like the idea of serving the people, but you don’t actually like the people.”
”Regardless of what direction the Federation tries to expand it’s slamming up against foreign powers that don’t want us there, and a few that actively want us dead.”
”To be precise,” he said, continuing his report, “Lieutenant Klisiewicz made three very alarming discoveries.”
”Well, it might sound crazy, but… maybe we should put in a self-destruct system.
Nogura couldn’t muster much gratitude, because he suspected Severson’s parade of praise was merely camouflage for an impending barrage of bullshit.
”’Blowing up planets’ wasn’t in the original program specs.”
”Who’s ready to volunteer for a free court-marital?”
Which meant he had just less than five minutes to think up a dignified and confidence-inspiring way to convey the message, We are completely screwed.
Damn these weak internal dampers, he cursed to himself.
Well, that was a good eight book series! I enjoyed most every bit of it.
This book was also exceptionally good. Though I understand there is an eBook sequel and I know these characters have popped up again in other books.
I’m giving this book 5 stars. It was a great wrap-up and actually did surprise me at the end!
It was also kind of ingenious that it used the ideas to solve many long standing Trek problems that had never been resolved.
I’d recommend this to any Original Series fans. Pretty much a must-read.
February 2, 2023
In 2004, I read the first book in this series - and LOVED IT!!! I was (and still am) a fan of Trek series that are set in the world of Trek, but doesnt necessarily use the main characters from the screen.
New Frontier.
SCE/ COE
Vanguard
Yeah, I love them all.
And that first book had it all - love, sex, booze, betrayal, death, destruction, and an underlying mystery.
And plus - the author was one who I admired and enjoyed his work. And then I learned of the 2nd book in the series - also filled with excitement and destruction and written by other favorite authors of mine.
But, things started getting in the way. Working 45 hrs a week. Going to Grad School for 6-9 hrs a semester. Helping my elder father. Getting divorced. Burning the candle at both ends.
Sadly, keeping up with the latest Trek books started falling behind. And so a couple of years would pass before I would pick up the 3rd book in the series. And another year after that....
Flash forward to 2023. I set out a goal to finish the series - and that meant I ended to finish this last book. (I have issues with ending things - I will avoid watching the final episode of a show, just so, in my mind, it never ended. There's always just one more I havent seen). So, a few weeks ago, during some free time between books, I started reading this one. (BTW, as a refresher, during the fall, I listened to the Kindle Text to Speech versions of the previous books in the series. All so I could remind myself that _______ would end up dying, and ______ would be ________ or that the authors played games of "I just destroy a planet - top that" with each other).
This time around, it was a much quicker read - and much higher stakes involved. Since it is a David Mack book, you know - People are going to die. Some in ways that will break your heart. And some will have long term effects on characters. And since this is Mack and Ward/ Dilmore series, they found fun little Easter Eggs to throw in, to connect the characters and actions to other parts of Trek.
Did I enjoy the series - damn right I did. And since there is still one last Novella left, and a 4 books spin off like series, I dont feel bad about finishing the books.
New Frontier.
SCE/ COE
Vanguard
Yeah, I love them all.
And that first book had it all - love, sex, booze, betrayal, death, destruction, and an underlying mystery.
And plus - the author was one who I admired and enjoyed his work. And then I learned of the 2nd book in the series - also filled with excitement and destruction and written by other favorite authors of mine.
But, things started getting in the way. Working 45 hrs a week. Going to Grad School for 6-9 hrs a semester. Helping my elder father. Getting divorced. Burning the candle at both ends.
Sadly, keeping up with the latest Trek books started falling behind. And so a couple of years would pass before I would pick up the 3rd book in the series. And another year after that....
Flash forward to 2023. I set out a goal to finish the series - and that meant I ended to finish this last book. (I have issues with ending things - I will avoid watching the final episode of a show, just so, in my mind, it never ended. There's always just one more I havent seen). So, a few weeks ago, during some free time between books, I started reading this one. (BTW, as a refresher, during the fall, I listened to the Kindle Text to Speech versions of the previous books in the series. All so I could remind myself that _______ would end up dying, and ______ would be ________ or that the authors played games of "I just destroy a planet - top that" with each other).
This time around, it was a much quicker read - and much higher stakes involved. Since it is a David Mack book, you know - People are going to die. Some in ways that will break your heart. And some will have long term effects on characters. And since this is Mack and Ward/ Dilmore series, they found fun little Easter Eggs to throw in, to connect the characters and actions to other parts of Trek.
Did I enjoy the series - damn right I did. And since there is still one last Novella left, and a 4 books spin off like series, I dont feel bad about finishing the books.
November 14, 2017
This is the last book in the Star Trek: Vanguard series. This book along with the entire series is well crafted and a great story. What i appreciate is a Star Trek series that had its own characters and not based on the other Star Trek books. Yes, Kirk, his crew and the Enterprise make a few appearances in the series, but mostly the story "off the books" of the regular Star Trek stuff. I wish there was more but the series ends in a convincing manner, no loose ends. Star Trek fans, read the Vanguard series!
October 13, 2021
This book ends the story of Project Vanguard, although there is one more book (In Tempest's Wake) that retells the final episode from a different perspective. There were multiple author's that wrote for this series. I found David Mack's "episodes" to be the best and this one was an outstanding climax to the overall story. You'll find lots of ties back to canon Star Trek in the Kirk era. I thought the series was well done, and this particular volume a great read.
April 17, 2025
Probably the best book of the series. Wraps things up with just the barest promise of more adventures for some of the characters. This is a great book series for die hard TOS fans as it does a great job connecting the dots between events and characters across the whole era of the Original Star Trek. I look forward to the spin-off books to learn more as we were left with several unanswered questions about the alien race and their technology that Starfleet was studying.
December 12, 2024
What a great end to the Vanguard saga. I’ve loved every step of this journey and it’s great to see it wrapped up in a conclusive manner. They end is full of action and emotion. I appreciate that not everyone survives the end. And u appreciate that happy endings are possible if only on the small scale.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2018
This series just never regained momentum after the 5th or was it the 4th book. Not bad, and I liked it, but I expected so much more - and to have the "surprise" rescue at the end of the book was almost comic...
April 28, 2022
Finally
Finally it's done. Well maybe, another book after this one? Why? The author killed of most of the characters,except a few he let have a melancholy ever after, what more can be torture the readers with?
Finally it's done. Well maybe, another book after this one? Why? The author killed of most of the characters,except a few he let have a melancholy ever after, what more can be torture the readers with?
August 3, 2017
A stirring conclusion to one of the best Star Trek series ever written.
Seriously - if you like Star Trek, but have never read any of the novels, I heartily recommend the entire Vanguard series.
Seriously - if you like Star Trek, but have never read any of the novels, I heartily recommend the entire Vanguard series.
June 30, 2018
Wasn’t expecting much from the Star Trek novels, but this series was absolutely brilliant.
May 30, 2020
Perfect end. Thrilling on every page
July 10, 2016
I can't recall devouring a Star Trek novel quite so enthusiastically in a long time! I'm still reeling from the last two chapters, my oh my David Mack doesn't pull his punches.
This is science fiction/drama on an epic scale: a clever, well-though out combination of interstellar conflict, less-than-perfect characters, ethics, morality and personal demons. Mack's task certainly wasn't enviable; with such a large cast of primary and supporting characters along with their associated storyarcs, wrapping up all of these threads in under 400 pages is bound to leave even the most accomplished writer with a fair amount of sleepless nights. Yet here I am, on the other side of Storming Heaven, happily content at a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.
After losing their mojo for several books, Mack finally sets Pennington & Quinn pack on the right track. Their unlikely friendship was always a highlight in the Vanguard series, and both are allowed to reach their ultimate destinations via a rekindling of the bromance that first got me invested in them as well-written 3 dimensional characters.
The gradual re-positioning of Carol Marcus is rather genius, and ties in so nicely with where we pick her character up in The Wrath of Khan. What's more, it *feels* natural and unforced, which was one of my biggest concern when it came to characters like Marcus (and, to a certain extent, Gorkon). Speaking of which, Duras' temporary allegiance with the Romulans was a brilliant idea. I could quite happily have read a whole book on the cloak-and-dagger goings on behind the scenes of the high council as Duras attempts a power play behind Sturka's (and Gorkon's) back. Again, there's some glorious re-positioning going on here, so all the chess pieces are perfectly lined up for the events of The Undiscovered Country. Gorkon's ruminations and consternations about Chang are deliciously well written, set in the splendor of a rather aristocratic sounding dining room in Qo'noS's first city.
And then we have the "bitter, bloody end". The Shedai story has taken so many twists and turns over the previous 7 books that I was happy to see them confined to the containment array for the majority of this novel. There's only so much you can do once aliens are afforded god-like abilities, and Mack was wise to realise that any other attempt to best them would have been one trip to the suspension-of-disbelief well too far. The pivot to the Tholians as the imminent threat is rather creative, although the way Severson railroads Nogura left a disgustingly bitter taste in my mouth. I'm not sure if that's from implausibility, disappointment, or just hatred of the argument he used.
I can't say much else without descending into spoiler-central, but the climax of both Zeke Fisher and Ming Xiong's story-arcs are both thrilling in their own ways, and Ming's evolution of views on ethics, morality and the greater good is great fun to read. I found myself genuinely rooting for him so many times throughout this final book.
Slight annoyance was due to the spoiler-filled cover of the book. Placing the Enterprise there in the center of the battle takes the wind out of what could have been a rather cool surprise in the final chapters. Still, surrounded by so many other moments of suspense and shock, I suppose I can't complain too much.
Vanguard - I shall miss you. This series has reignited my desire to plunge back into the labyrinth of Star Trek novels that criss-cross the various incarnations of this 50 year old behemoth of a franchise. But not before one final trip to the Taurus Reach in the form of Dayton Ward's ebook coda.
This is science fiction/drama on an epic scale: a clever, well-though out combination of interstellar conflict, less-than-perfect characters, ethics, morality and personal demons. Mack's task certainly wasn't enviable; with such a large cast of primary and supporting characters along with their associated storyarcs, wrapping up all of these threads in under 400 pages is bound to leave even the most accomplished writer with a fair amount of sleepless nights. Yet here I am, on the other side of Storming Heaven, happily content at a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.
After losing their mojo for several books, Mack finally sets Pennington & Quinn pack on the right track. Their unlikely friendship was always a highlight in the Vanguard series, and both are allowed to reach their ultimate destinations via a rekindling of the bromance that first got me invested in them as well-written 3 dimensional characters.
The gradual re-positioning of Carol Marcus is rather genius, and ties in so nicely with where we pick her character up in The Wrath of Khan. What's more, it *feels* natural and unforced, which was one of my biggest concern when it came to characters like Marcus (and, to a certain extent, Gorkon). Speaking of which, Duras' temporary allegiance with the Romulans was a brilliant idea. I could quite happily have read a whole book on the cloak-and-dagger goings on behind the scenes of the high council as Duras attempts a power play behind Sturka's (and Gorkon's) back. Again, there's some glorious re-positioning going on here, so all the chess pieces are perfectly lined up for the events of The Undiscovered Country. Gorkon's ruminations and consternations about Chang are deliciously well written, set in the splendor of a rather aristocratic sounding dining room in Qo'noS's first city.
And then we have the "bitter, bloody end". The Shedai story has taken so many twists and turns over the previous 7 books that I was happy to see them confined to the containment array for the majority of this novel. There's only so much you can do once aliens are afforded god-like abilities, and Mack was wise to realise that any other attempt to best them would have been one trip to the suspension-of-disbelief well too far. The pivot to the Tholians as the imminent threat is rather creative, although the way Severson railroads Nogura left a disgustingly bitter taste in my mouth. I'm not sure if that's from implausibility, disappointment, or just hatred of the argument he used.
I can't say much else without descending into spoiler-central, but the climax of both Zeke Fisher and Ming Xiong's story-arcs are both thrilling in their own ways, and Ming's evolution of views on ethics, morality and the greater good is great fun to read. I found myself genuinely rooting for him so many times throughout this final book.
Slight annoyance was due to the spoiler-filled cover of the book. Placing the Enterprise there in the center of the battle takes the wind out of what could have been a rather cool surprise in the final chapters. Still, surrounded by so many other moments of suspense and shock, I suppose I can't complain too much.
Vanguard - I shall miss you. This series has reignited my desire to plunge back into the labyrinth of Star Trek novels that criss-cross the various incarnations of this 50 year old behemoth of a franchise. But not before one final trip to the Taurus Reach in the form of Dayton Ward's ebook coda.
July 30, 2012
In hindsight it's a pretty nice closure to one of the best miniseries Pocket books has published yet.
Still.. i'm satisfied, but not completelly happy with the developement of the series and the characters. For one thing... i'm not averse against "dark and gritty" as a more realistic outset to write Science Fiction today, but it isn't a cure-all for every story idea and setting either.
So seeing here basically the Federation (or Starfleet) go rogue and thus cause an interstellar war in the timeframe of the original series wasn't something i really could enjoy... the ethical and morally decisions that were made are despicable and unworthy of any Starfleet or Federation setting, doesn't anybody ever learn out of disasters like "Insurrection" that it's a bad idea to force characters to decide between their conscience and stuff like "national security"?
This is NOT the USA of 2269 and it should not shown as degenerate and inhumane as out big friends from over the big pond are often presenting themselves this days!
A court-martial happy Starfleet of this degree is in my eyes not different from the big threats we were originally shown Klingons and Romulans were supposed to be... and while i wholeheartedly agree with Manons last thoughts in this book it's not enough to be multi cultural and diverse with lots of tolerance and next to none discrimination... the peaceful, scientifically curious but conscient and politically wise aspects also belong into this setting, this interstellar confederation. If it starts lacking these it's just another marauding pirate nation and loses its special place in history and the whole ST setting! When the good guys become simple criminals there aren't any good guys anymore...
I'm quite happy that they did not go through with the worst ideas and ended up with a pretty clean sheet, even going so far as to NOT kill everybody that wasn't already known to survive from later settings, but the fear that almost every figure they invented had to go was very real for a big part of the book... And as Star Wars has already begun to rigidly cannibalize its best book universe characters in the newer stories i had a real worry that ST would now follow foot, strictly in concurrance of the "dark and gritty" mood of course, but still... in a series that has been so widely connected with the tv series, books, movies and comics of several eras (okay, the emphasize is on TOS, but there's more) it would be a shame if they would off all their precious personae they had brought through 8 volumes of hell ;)
So there were good parts, there were not so good parts and there were very tragical parts... but all in all it did a decent job in bringing the story line that had gone completelly overboard since the fifth book round in a circle and one of the highlights is indeed the cameo at the end of the same ship that started all the fuzz many years and books ago! Vanguard had its heights and depths and somehow the last book manages to mirror all of these highs and lows perfectly...
Still.. i'm satisfied, but not completelly happy with the developement of the series and the characters. For one thing... i'm not averse against "dark and gritty" as a more realistic outset to write Science Fiction today, but it isn't a cure-all for every story idea and setting either.
So seeing here basically the Federation (or Starfleet) go rogue and thus cause an interstellar war in the timeframe of the original series wasn't something i really could enjoy... the ethical and morally decisions that were made are despicable and unworthy of any Starfleet or Federation setting, doesn't anybody ever learn out of disasters like "Insurrection" that it's a bad idea to force characters to decide between their conscience and stuff like "national security"?
This is NOT the USA of 2269 and it should not shown as degenerate and inhumane as out big friends from over the big pond are often presenting themselves this days!
A court-martial happy Starfleet of this degree is in my eyes not different from the big threats we were originally shown Klingons and Romulans were supposed to be... and while i wholeheartedly agree with Manons last thoughts in this book it's not enough to be multi cultural and diverse with lots of tolerance and next to none discrimination... the peaceful, scientifically curious but conscient and politically wise aspects also belong into this setting, this interstellar confederation. If it starts lacking these it's just another marauding pirate nation and loses its special place in history and the whole ST setting! When the good guys become simple criminals there aren't any good guys anymore...
I'm quite happy that they did not go through with the worst ideas and ended up with a pretty clean sheet, even going so far as to NOT kill everybody that wasn't already known to survive from later settings, but the fear that almost every figure they invented had to go was very real for a big part of the book... And as Star Wars has already begun to rigidly cannibalize its best book universe characters in the newer stories i had a real worry that ST would now follow foot, strictly in concurrance of the "dark and gritty" mood of course, but still... in a series that has been so widely connected with the tv series, books, movies and comics of several eras (okay, the emphasize is on TOS, but there's more) it would be a shame if they would off all their precious personae they had brought through 8 volumes of hell ;)
So there were good parts, there were not so good parts and there were very tragical parts... but all in all it did a decent job in bringing the story line that had gone completelly overboard since the fifth book round in a circle and one of the highlights is indeed the cameo at the end of the same ship that started all the fuzz many years and books ago! Vanguard had its heights and depths and somehow the last book manages to mirror all of these highs and lows perfectly...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 24, 2012
What can I say? I haven't read published Trek licensed fiction since I was a teenager -- for good reason. Most of it is absolutely terrible.
However, Vanguard blows all of that away. It may not be high literature, but for what it is (basically professional fanfic), it is absolutely amazing. The four principle authors of this series have managed to craft deep, evolving original characters that you actually find yourself caring about, which is a feat in a genre dominated by Kirk/Spock slash fiction and peppered with intolerable Mary Sue characters.
Vanguard is best described as a combination of the best of TOS and DS9 -- there's some good old-fashioned Kirk & Co. style swashbuckling, and more than a fair share of political intrigue. It feels like a natural hybrid, and it works very, very well. There's very little hamfisted inclusion of familiar Trek characters or important references to other things happening in the timeline, so non-fans can still read the series and get a lot of enjoyment out of it -- that being said, there are also plenty of occasions where fans will recognize background characters or events mentioned in passing to really frame the story in the context of broader Trek canon.
Overall, the series is great, and I plowed through all eight books in just a few weeks (I read the last three books in the last week, they're quick reads). There are some pacing issues throughout, but on the whole it's not a major issue. This isn't your dad's whitewashed utopia Trek either, as it borrows a lot of DS9's themes of the "dark underbelly" of the Federation.
I really don't know what else to say here, except that I really recommend this series for any Trek fan, casual or otherwise. It does a lot to capture the nostalgia for classic Star Trek and repurpose it into something entirely new and exciting. The last act of the series is just non-stop action and wraps things up really, ridiculously well. Sure, I want to know what the future (of the future) holds for the characters, but David Mack just does such an amazing job of capping off the series that I'm actually okay with -not- knowing it.
Definitely check it out if you want a sample of what is probably the best Trek fiction published in a very long time.
However, Vanguard blows all of that away. It may not be high literature, but for what it is (basically professional fanfic), it is absolutely amazing. The four principle authors of this series have managed to craft deep, evolving original characters that you actually find yourself caring about, which is a feat in a genre dominated by Kirk/Spock slash fiction and peppered with intolerable Mary Sue characters.
Vanguard is best described as a combination of the best of TOS and DS9 -- there's some good old-fashioned Kirk & Co. style swashbuckling, and more than a fair share of political intrigue. It feels like a natural hybrid, and it works very, very well. There's very little hamfisted inclusion of familiar Trek characters or important references to other things happening in the timeline, so non-fans can still read the series and get a lot of enjoyment out of it -- that being said, there are also plenty of occasions where fans will recognize background characters or events mentioned in passing to really frame the story in the context of broader Trek canon.
Overall, the series is great, and I plowed through all eight books in just a few weeks (I read the last three books in the last week, they're quick reads). There are some pacing issues throughout, but on the whole it's not a major issue. This isn't your dad's whitewashed utopia Trek either, as it borrows a lot of DS9's themes of the "dark underbelly" of the Federation.
I really don't know what else to say here, except that I really recommend this series for any Trek fan, casual or otherwise. It does a lot to capture the nostalgia for classic Star Trek and repurpose it into something entirely new and exciting. The last act of the series is just non-stop action and wraps things up really, ridiculously well. Sure, I want to know what the future (of the future) holds for the characters, but David Mack just does such an amazing job of capping off the series that I'm actually okay with -not- knowing it.
Definitely check it out if you want a sample of what is probably the best Trek fiction published in a very long time.
May 1, 2012
Never before in the history of the Star Trek fiction has a series been given an actual ending & never before has a series gotten quite the attention of the spin off series Star Trek: Vanguard. In "Storming Heaven", David Mack wraps up the story of Vanguard & finishes the concluding chapters of last year's "What Judgements Come". This time we finish the story being told around a visit by Tim Pennington to Diego Reyes & learn exactly how Vanguard ends & the consequences of those actions. In those events we see the attempts to recover the Tkon artifacts by the Sagittarius & the hope that Vanguard's mission in capturing the Shedai will succeed & end this threat in the Taurus Reach for good. Mack shows his mastery of the characters & the emotions as we the reader come to grips with what will be the end results of this story & mission. He also provides all of our characters with endings that will either launch them forward towards other events still to come in the Star Trek universe as well as brings back the Enterprise for an appearance that isn't out of place in the finale either. Even the epilogue which wraps this up for good provides us the reader with the closure we need as readers for these characters & this story we've had the pleasure of reading since 2005. A well done finale to what is perhaps the best spin off series ever done in the Star Trek fiction.
October 28, 2013
This is the bitter, bloody end (as Tim Pennington described it at the end of What Judgments Come). All hell breaks loose in the conclusion to the outstanding Vanguard series. As you can see from the cover, Kirk's Enterprise gets thrown into the fray during the long-anticipated Tholian attack.
David Mack wraps things up well. Reyes, T'Prynn, Pennington, Quinn, Xiong, Fisher, and Carol Marcus all receive enough time here. That doesn't mean that everyone survives though...
Was reading all eight books in this series worthwhile? Absolutely. Some of the middle entries weren't five-star material, but overall the series is engaging and creative. (And incredibly destructive too.) The events tie into established canon, yet still bring a lot of suspense.
David Mack wraps things up well. Reyes, T'Prynn, Pennington, Quinn, Xiong, Fisher, and Carol Marcus all receive enough time here. That doesn't mean that everyone survives though...
Was reading all eight books in this series worthwhile? Absolutely. Some of the middle entries weren't five-star material, but overall the series is engaging and creative. (And incredibly destructive too.) The events tie into established canon, yet still bring a lot of suspense.
December 11, 2014
This was, for the most part, a well-written book with good pacing, characterizations, and plot. I dock it one star for a HUGE hole in the plot: if activating the array temporarily incapacitated the Tholians, and that's why they attacked the station, and that attack was so overwhelmingly overpoweing that there was no way to defend against it successfully, nor even to escape it without tremendous loss of life on both sides, why not just activate the array once the Tholians were within easy range, disable their ships without killing them, evacuate everybody from the station, and THEN self-destruct the array? It's an obvious solution and much less likely to lead to disaster than the one used. Surely SOMEBODY would have thought of it. If there was a reason for not doing it, at least have somebody make the suggestion, and have it refuted. (Somebody did suggest using the array as a weapon against the Tholian armada, and that suggestion was shot down. Did it occur to NOBODY, at that point, that even trying to do so would have solved all of the problems?)
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