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Star Trek: The Original Series
Allegiance in Exile
Captain James T. Kirk embarks on a mission that he may soon regret in this all-new Original Series adventure from the New York Times bestselling author.A beautiful green world, rich in fertile soil and temperate climate . . . a textbook Class-M planet that should be teeming with life. Scans show no life-signs, but there are refined metals, including those associated with a space-faring race . . . and a lone city. But where are all of the inhabitants? Captain James T. Kirk leads a landing party from the U.S.S. Enterprise , hoping to get some answers.The away team discovers a city in ruins, covered by dust, utterly bereft of life. Tricorder readings indicate that this is no ancient metropolis—it has been deserted only for a year. And just beyond the citadel lies what appears to be an ancient spaceport . . . a graveyard of ships that have clearly been sabotaged.With these ruins too far from either the Klingon or the Romulan Empires, the Enterprise crew can only Who could have done this? And could this unnamed threat now pose an imminent danger to the Federation?
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
February 25, 2014
Lately I've been revisiting the Star Trek universe via a combination of DVDs, Blu-Rays and streaming video as well as listening to the great Mission Log podcast.
All of that, plus reading a few heavier books (both in terms of content and page count) put me in the mood for a light, fun palate cleanser tie-in novel. And so it was that after a year of languishing on my to-be-read pile, I finally decided it was time to give David R. George III's Allegiance in Exile a look.
Set in the final year of the original five year mission, the novel finds Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise discovering an apparently deserted planet that holds a deadly cache of self-defense weapons. After the ship and landing party are attacked (including the destruction of a shuttle or two), Kirk and company discover a way to detect and disable the installations.
While Kirk struggles with what the future could hold and the next step in his career (he's not ready to leave the bridge of the Enterprise just yet), Sulu meets and falls for a member of the crew, who was part of the landing party with him. Of course, this can only mean one thing -- the crew member in question's life span is reduced to about twenty or so minute (or in this case about 100 pages).
Before you know it, the crew stumbles across another planet with a similar weapon system in place and Kirk decides to beam down a landing party, including Sulu's new squeeze. The landing party is attacked and the only person injured is, of course, Sulu's new main squeeze. Sulu's reaction to this is one of anger at Kirk, including throwing a hissy fit in the turbolift and requesting a transfer because Kirk was the one who made the fateful decision, after being counseling by Dr. McCoy that maybe beaming down isn't such a hot idea.
This might be interesting if the romance between Sulu and his fellow female crewman felt in any way authentic and if it just didn't all feel like an excuse to try and insert some off-screen conflict among the original series crew as well as show Sulu that making command decisions somethings has unintended consequences.
All of that would be bad enough, but for some reason George uses the final third of the novel to tie events here into the larger Trek canon. I won't give away exactly what the big-time revelation is, but I can say it had my rolling my eyes and muttering, "You've got to be kidding" under my breath.
This is exactly the kind of novel I didn't expect from George. He's written some enjoyable, novels that tie together various continuity threads from the TV series and other novels. But it felt like he was trying too hard to bridge too many gaps and, unfortunately, things come up a bit short. He does a solid job of recreating most of the original series characters on the printed page, but his supporting cast is a bit lacking at times.
I also got the feeling that for a stand alone novel, this one was meant to tie-into other classic series novels as well. For example, Kirk meets the assistant of Admiral Komack and the two have a couple of flirtatious conversations and then it goes absolutely nowhere. I'm going to assume that George is attempting to make us understand why Kirk might accept getting to know her better as a perk of accepting his promotion and leaving the bridge of the Enterprise, but honestly it feels more like a dangling plot thread for another novel than anything else.
All of it adds up to a less than satisfying overall experience for Allegiance in Exile. I'm tempted to say I've outgrown tie-in novels, but then I'll come across one that really pushes all the right buttons like Doctor Who: The Harvest of Time or any Trek tie-in novel by Peter David and see that they can be both a welcome change of pace and a well done, entertaining story. I don't expect great literature, but I do expect not to want to fling the novel at the wall in frustration when I'm done reading it (or at several points as I did here).
All of that, plus reading a few heavier books (both in terms of content and page count) put me in the mood for a light, fun palate cleanser tie-in novel. And so it was that after a year of languishing on my to-be-read pile, I finally decided it was time to give David R. George III's Allegiance in Exile a look.
Set in the final year of the original five year mission, the novel finds Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise discovering an apparently deserted planet that holds a deadly cache of self-defense weapons. After the ship and landing party are attacked (including the destruction of a shuttle or two), Kirk and company discover a way to detect and disable the installations.
While Kirk struggles with what the future could hold and the next step in his career (he's not ready to leave the bridge of the Enterprise just yet), Sulu meets and falls for a member of the crew, who was part of the landing party with him. Of course, this can only mean one thing -- the crew member in question's life span is reduced to about twenty or so minute (or in this case about 100 pages).
Before you know it, the crew stumbles across another planet with a similar weapon system in place and Kirk decides to beam down a landing party, including Sulu's new squeeze. The landing party is attacked and the only person injured is, of course, Sulu's new main squeeze. Sulu's reaction to this is one of anger at Kirk, including throwing a hissy fit in the turbolift and requesting a transfer because Kirk was the one who made the fateful decision, after being counseling by Dr. McCoy that maybe beaming down isn't such a hot idea.
This might be interesting if the romance between Sulu and his fellow female crewman felt in any way authentic and if it just didn't all feel like an excuse to try and insert some off-screen conflict among the original series crew as well as show Sulu that making command decisions somethings has unintended consequences.
All of that would be bad enough, but for some reason George uses the final third of the novel to tie events here into the larger Trek canon. I won't give away exactly what the big-time revelation is, but I can say it had my rolling my eyes and muttering, "You've got to be kidding" under my breath.
This is exactly the kind of novel I didn't expect from George. He's written some enjoyable, novels that tie together various continuity threads from the TV series and other novels. But it felt like he was trying too hard to bridge too many gaps and, unfortunately, things come up a bit short. He does a solid job of recreating most of the original series characters on the printed page, but his supporting cast is a bit lacking at times.
I also got the feeling that for a stand alone novel, this one was meant to tie-into other classic series novels as well. For example, Kirk meets the assistant of Admiral Komack and the two have a couple of flirtatious conversations and then it goes absolutely nowhere. I'm going to assume that George is attempting to make us understand why Kirk might accept getting to know her better as a perk of accepting his promotion and leaving the bridge of the Enterprise, but honestly it feels more like a dangling plot thread for another novel than anything else.
All of it adds up to a less than satisfying overall experience for Allegiance in Exile. I'm tempted to say I've outgrown tie-in novels, but then I'll come across one that really pushes all the right buttons like Doctor Who: The Harvest of Time or any Trek tie-in novel by Peter David and see that they can be both a welcome change of pace and a well done, entertaining story. I don't expect great literature, but I do expect not to want to fling the novel at the wall in frustration when I'm done reading it (or at several points as I did here).
February 9, 2013
Somewhere along the way David R. George III's "Allegiance in Exile" is a story that wants to be far more than it is instead of the absolute debacle that develops. The simple premise is the Enterprise near the end of Kirk's 4th year of the original 5 year mission comes across a seemingly abandoned M-Class world with 1 city that seems relatively harmless until missiles start raining down on the planet & out at the Enterprise. The same pattern repeats itself on yet another world in a different sector of space with slightly different results instead of missiles it's drones that attack the Enterprise & landing party. Along the way within this is a love story for Sulu that gets too far out of hand when she dies & he transfers off the Enterprise in protest of a decision Kirk made to send her essentially to her death. The concluding part involves the introduction to the Bajorans for no apparent reason & the reason for the missing cities issues being due to something that is never explained. George's story is at times what should be a tale of exploration & mystery with a love story for a background. Things go badly astray when Sulu's love interest essentially is injured fatally & his temper tantrum in front of Kirk that causes him to briefly transfer to the USS Courageous. Even throw in a flirtation between Kirk & a vice-admiral on a starbase & the story gets even more farfetched. This book is essentially only one for the diehard fans & not for the casual one & also one of the worst offerings by this author.
April 12, 2025
Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) Allegiance in Exile by David R. George III, David R. George III, David R. George III
challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense
Medium-paced
Plot or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes
4.25 Stars
I loved this story. We are in The Original Story (TOS) era. There is a connection to stories about a people we will hear about, many years later. Love the setup and introduction of this people.
I love that we were able to follow Lt. Hikaro Sulu and Ensign Mai Duyen Trinh. This is such a powerful story, who's ending I was NOT prepared for, and keep thinking about...past the finish of the novel.
This story takes place at the end of the Five Year Mission (the original TV series), and before The Motion Picture.
Being back on the Enterprise (when there were NO letters after N.C.C. 1701 - Enterprise. I can still hear Scotty saying this in the TNG episode. It keeps ringing in my ears.
There is one section of the book, that I feel streched credulity a bit, and it was about the holographic aspecs that they added to the original Enterprise. It seemed (to me) that the author pulled too much tech from the TNG time period. It obviously was NOT the holodeck, but it seemed to modern for the TOS era. I could be wrong in my way of thinking, and I'm okay with that, but to me...it seemed odd. Sorry, not sorry.
Overall, I want more from this period of time, but I'm currently in the mode of backstory for DS9, so the next book I'm reading is Star Trek: Cast No Shadow by James Swallow.
challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense
Medium-paced
Plot or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes
4.25 Stars
I loved this story. We are in The Original Story (TOS) era. There is a connection to stories about a people we will hear about, many years later. Love the setup and introduction of this people.
I love that we were able to follow Lt. Hikaro Sulu and Ensign Mai Duyen Trinh. This is such a powerful story, who's ending I was NOT prepared for, and keep thinking about...past the finish of the novel.
This story takes place at the end of the Five Year Mission (the original TV series), and before The Motion Picture.
Being back on the Enterprise (when there were NO letters after N.C.C. 1701 - Enterprise. I can still hear Scotty saying this in the TNG episode. It keeps ringing in my ears.
There is one section of the book, that I feel streched credulity a bit, and it was about the holographic aspecs that they added to the original Enterprise. It seemed (to me) that the author pulled too much tech from the TNG time period. It obviously was NOT the holodeck, but it seemed to modern for the TOS era. I could be wrong in my way of thinking, and I'm okay with that, but to me...it seemed odd. Sorry, not sorry.
Overall, I want more from this period of time, but I'm currently in the mode of backstory for DS9, so the next book I'm reading is Star Trek: Cast No Shadow by James Swallow.
March 10, 2019
Here's an unusually dark TOS novel. Set during the final year of the Enterprise's original five-year mission, veteran Star Trek writer David George attempts to push his characters into psychologically more difficult terrain, pitting Sulu against Kirk and forcing both characters to make hard decisions.
The story begins when the Enterprise discovers a lone settlement on a class M planet that has been abandoned for less than a year. The city has been deliberately destroyed, so Kirk and his crew investigate. They find automatic defense mechanisms under the planet's surface; banks of missiles that have now targeted the Federation explorers. The mystery deepens when the pattern repeats several months later on another planet in the same sector.
Meanwhile, Sulu falls in love with Ensign Mai Duyen Trinh, the ship's new Archaeology and Anthropology officer. But life in the service can be dangerous, and eventually their romance is threatened by the perils of exploration. Sulu begins to question Captain Kirk's command capabilities. At the same time, Kirk contemplates what he will do after the five-year mission is up. Conversations with Commodore Robert Wesley and Vice Admiral Lori Ciana make him question where his allegiance lies and what would be the best use of his gifts. By the end, both Sulu and Kirk must make challenging decisions about their futures.
David George certainly knows his way around the Star Trek universe and the canon characters. Nonetheless, I found a few things in this book a bit disappointing. For one, the love story between Trinh and Sulu didn't work for me. The writing in the romantic scenes feels stilted and melodramatic; it's just not as natural as I would have hoped. (True confession: I may also be struggling with thinking of Sulu as a straight character.) Given the importance of this relationship to the plot of the novel, the relative weakness of these parts makes it feel like the book is built on a shaky foundation. In addition, the solution to the missile crisis feels a bit too direct for Kirk and company. I expected a more clever or elegant answer to the problem.
There are things to admire here too, though. For one, George explores a lesser-known part of the timeline, and his willingness to look at the last stages of the five-year mission merits praise. Kirk has begun to have more serious doubts about command and the weight of many challenging missions and decisions have clearly taken their toll. We also see George attempting to tie in other storylines and characters, going backward in time and forward. The finale of this book even hints at plot points that won't be fully realized until the Deep Space Nine series. I appreciate when series authors attempt to make their individual stories feel like part of a larger whole, and George does a nice job of that.
This novel may not be as fun to read as some of the lighter, stand-alone TOS books, but I give George a lot of credit for an ambitious undertaking, even if he doesn't consistently hit all of the right notes.
The story begins when the Enterprise discovers a lone settlement on a class M planet that has been abandoned for less than a year. The city has been deliberately destroyed, so Kirk and his crew investigate. They find automatic defense mechanisms under the planet's surface; banks of missiles that have now targeted the Federation explorers. The mystery deepens when the pattern repeats several months later on another planet in the same sector.
Meanwhile, Sulu falls in love with Ensign Mai Duyen Trinh, the ship's new Archaeology and Anthropology officer. But life in the service can be dangerous, and eventually their romance is threatened by the perils of exploration. Sulu begins to question Captain Kirk's command capabilities. At the same time, Kirk contemplates what he will do after the five-year mission is up. Conversations with Commodore Robert Wesley and Vice Admiral Lori Ciana make him question where his allegiance lies and what would be the best use of his gifts. By the end, both Sulu and Kirk must make challenging decisions about their futures.
David George certainly knows his way around the Star Trek universe and the canon characters. Nonetheless, I found a few things in this book a bit disappointing. For one, the love story between Trinh and Sulu didn't work for me. The writing in the romantic scenes feels stilted and melodramatic; it's just not as natural as I would have hoped. (True confession: I may also be struggling with thinking of Sulu as a straight character.) Given the importance of this relationship to the plot of the novel, the relative weakness of these parts makes it feel like the book is built on a shaky foundation. In addition, the solution to the missile crisis feels a bit too direct for Kirk and company. I expected a more clever or elegant answer to the problem.
There are things to admire here too, though. For one, George explores a lesser-known part of the timeline, and his willingness to look at the last stages of the five-year mission merits praise. Kirk has begun to have more serious doubts about command and the weight of many challenging missions and decisions have clearly taken their toll. We also see George attempting to tie in other storylines and characters, going backward in time and forward. The finale of this book even hints at plot points that won't be fully realized until the Deep Space Nine series. I appreciate when series authors attempt to make their individual stories feel like part of a larger whole, and George does a nice job of that.
This novel may not be as fun to read as some of the lighter, stand-alone TOS books, but I give George a lot of credit for an ambitious undertaking, even if he doesn't consistently hit all of the right notes.
July 30, 2017
A book with ups and downs.
The discovery of what looks like an abandoned and destroyed ancient city, attack by hostile automatic defense systems, heroic rescue of Sulu by what is going to be his girlfriend. A mystery to solve. So far so good.
They find the city is not so old after all. And discover a second city in almost the same conditions. This time the book concentrates very dramatically on Sulu's tragedy and the breakup with Enterprise and most of all it's captain Kirk. Kirk himself is hunted by the thought what is going to happen to him at the end of his 5-year cycle in his tour of duty on the Enterprise. I really don't like this part no matter how much is may be necessary to explain the next part of the book or what happens overall in the franchise or to explain mr. Sulu's behaviour and character.
By discovering a third city that is still under construction and Sulu showing up with another space ship as backup we are back in a Star Trek story that i love. Action, aliens, mystery.
The discovery of what looks like an abandoned and destroyed ancient city, attack by hostile automatic defense systems, heroic rescue of Sulu by what is going to be his girlfriend. A mystery to solve. So far so good.
They find the city is not so old after all. And discover a second city in almost the same conditions. This time the book concentrates very dramatically on Sulu's tragedy and the breakup with Enterprise and most of all it's captain Kirk. Kirk himself is hunted by the thought what is going to happen to him at the end of his 5-year cycle in his tour of duty on the Enterprise. I really don't like this part no matter how much is may be necessary to explain the next part of the book or what happens overall in the franchise or to explain mr. Sulu's behaviour and character.
By discovering a third city that is still under construction and Sulu showing up with another space ship as backup we are back in a Star Trek story that i love. Action, aliens, mystery.
August 15, 2022
The end of the five year mission is drawing ever closer and Captain Kirk is warned by an old friend that a kick upstairs may be imminent. Two unexplored worlds show signs of recent colonisation and even more recent total destruction and some of Captain Kirk's command decisions are called into question by a subordinate officer when an Away Team member is left permanently disabled by his orders.
George writes 'Allegiance in Exile' at an interesting turning point in the 'Enterprise's story and manages to make the argument between Kirk and his officer realistic. The first contact arrives almost with a sense of inevitability and, even though there is a sense of everything returning to the status quo at the end of the novel, readers are encouraged to place the novel in the context of an ongoing narrative.
George writes 'Allegiance in Exile' at an interesting turning point in the 'Enterprise's story and manages to make the argument between Kirk and his officer realistic. The first contact arrives almost with a sense of inevitability and, even though there is a sense of everything returning to the status quo at the end of the novel, readers are encouraged to place the novel in the context of an ongoing narrative.
April 17, 2017
This one didn't do too much for me.
May 21, 2020
Now I have finally read the novel where Kirk meets the Ascendants and Bajorans, it’s been bugging since I read about it in the DS9 relaunch novels. Great novel though I’m not sure Sulu would act that way to Kirk but I suppose grief makes people react in different ways.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2024
The advertising copy for this book talked about the Enterprise finding a planet where there was only one city on it, and it was destroyed. It's exactly the kind of science fiction mystery that grabs my attention, and is the reason why I picked up this book. Now, I'm not discounting the non-mystery stuff, the interpersonal drama between the crewmembers of the Enterprise. I think the author does a great job capturing the emotional rollercoasters these characters go through. At the same time though, the "mystery" that opens the book becomes something of an afterthought by about half-way through, and in my mind has a very unsuitable "conclusion", and so I felt kinda robbed.
The book really isn't about the mystery at all. It's actually about the relationship between Lt. Sulu and a new member of the crew, Ensign Trinh, as well as the upcoming end to the Enterprise's 5-year mission, and Captain Kirk's future in Starfleet. I don't mind that at all. In fact, I felt it was done quite well -- although at several times the author seemed to belabor the point a bit, especially at the beginning when introducing Ensign Trinh. It was just a few pages, and maybe it was my ADHD, but I felt my eyes glazing over in spots. Yet by Act II that's all shaken out and it proceeds more smoothly from there. I do question some of the character decisions, namely Sulu's, but since I always consider Star Trek novels to be utterly non-canon and "what ifs", it doesn't bother me *that* much.
But what really ticked me off was how they "solved" or "explained" the mystery. First of all, the attackers who destroy the colony are very briefly shown, they say some very odd things -- and then just blow themselves up, so you don't really know who they are. (According to Memory Beta, they appear in several DS9 novels, so I may just have to read more.) But what super annoyed me was when the Enterprise finds a functional colony, and it turns out the people who have been under attack are, wait for it....
...Bajorans.
A hundred years before they show up in DS9, the Federation makes first contact with the Bajorans. Now look, I did say that I consider all of these books non-canon. But this still rankles me, just as such a direct shot across the TV shows' collective bows. As much as I like people exploring new angles and things, this is too much. It doesn't fit anywhere in the storyline, and as this was written after DS9 and even Voyager had left the airwaves, it shouldn't have happened.
All in all, not a terrible book, but at the end I was still unsatisfied.
The book really isn't about the mystery at all. It's actually about the relationship between Lt. Sulu and a new member of the crew, Ensign Trinh, as well as the upcoming end to the Enterprise's 5-year mission, and Captain Kirk's future in Starfleet. I don't mind that at all. In fact, I felt it was done quite well -- although at several times the author seemed to belabor the point a bit, especially at the beginning when introducing Ensign Trinh. It was just a few pages, and maybe it was my ADHD, but I felt my eyes glazing over in spots. Yet by Act II that's all shaken out and it proceeds more smoothly from there. I do question some of the character decisions, namely Sulu's, but since I always consider Star Trek novels to be utterly non-canon and "what ifs", it doesn't bother me *that* much.
But what really ticked me off was how they "solved" or "explained" the mystery. First of all, the attackers who destroy the colony are very briefly shown, they say some very odd things -- and then just blow themselves up, so you don't really know who they are. (According to Memory Beta, they appear in several DS9 novels, so I may just have to read more.) But what super annoyed me was when the Enterprise finds a functional colony, and it turns out the people who have been under attack are, wait for it....
...Bajorans.
A hundred years before they show up in DS9, the Federation makes first contact with the Bajorans. Now look, I did say that I consider all of these books non-canon. But this still rankles me, just as such a direct shot across the TV shows' collective bows. As much as I like people exploring new angles and things, this is too much. It doesn't fit anywhere in the storyline, and as this was written after DS9 and even Voyager had left the airwaves, it shouldn't have happened.
All in all, not a terrible book, but at the end I was still unsatisfied.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2024
The first half of the book was all set up.
The Enterprise has just ended year 4 of its mission. Kirk starts to become worrisome about what will happen when the 5 year mission ends. (That theme pops up a few more times in the book and it a bit of a distraction.) The plot revolves around the Enterprise exploring an unknown portion of the galaxy and running across the city of a civilization that has been destroyed. Evidence points to it having been a colony but a race with warp capable craft that were also discovered on the planet. While an extended away mission conducts an investigation of the ruins they are attacked by missiles. Kirk and the crew locate the missile bases and destroy them, but not before the research crew has had several casualties.
Sulu and a new character strike up a romance, and when the Enterprise encounters another alien world with a similar destroyed colony city they again send down a research party. Only now with Sulu's love interest on the planet. When the planet is again attacked the Enterprise manages to destroy the attacking ships but the away team is again injured. This eventually leads to Sulu quitting the Enterprise in anger of his perception of how Kirk callously risks people when danger is present.
The second half of the book has Sulu on another ship that gets assigned to assist the Enterprise when a third colony city is discovered, this one still being active and not yet destroyed.
At this point the plot seems a bit rushed. The narrative is split between the ships and the planet. There doesn't seem to be the comradery of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the TOS crew. You need to be aware of the lore of DS9 to fully understand what's going on and appreciate the significance of the villains.
The Enterprise has just ended year 4 of its mission. Kirk starts to become worrisome about what will happen when the 5 year mission ends. (That theme pops up a few more times in the book and it a bit of a distraction.) The plot revolves around the Enterprise exploring an unknown portion of the galaxy and running across the city of a civilization that has been destroyed. Evidence points to it having been a colony but a race with warp capable craft that were also discovered on the planet. While an extended away mission conducts an investigation of the ruins they are attacked by missiles. Kirk and the crew locate the missile bases and destroy them, but not before the research crew has had several casualties.
Sulu and a new character strike up a romance, and when the Enterprise encounters another alien world with a similar destroyed colony city they again send down a research party. Only now with Sulu's love interest on the planet. When the planet is again attacked the Enterprise manages to destroy the attacking ships but the away team is again injured. This eventually leads to Sulu quitting the Enterprise in anger of his perception of how Kirk callously risks people when danger is present.
The second half of the book has Sulu on another ship that gets assigned to assist the Enterprise when a third colony city is discovered, this one still being active and not yet destroyed.
At this point the plot seems a bit rushed. The narrative is split between the ships and the planet. There doesn't seem to be the comradery of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the TOS crew. You need to be aware of the lore of DS9 to fully understand what's going on and appreciate the significance of the villains.
April 24, 2024
Wasn't a huge fan of this one. The book sets up a mystery that takes the characters a year to solve, and neither they nor the reader get much satisfaction in the end, other than learning the lengths the enemy will go to complete their goals. I guess you have to read other books to learn anything else about them. Meanwhile over the course of that year, Kirk and Sulu both struggle with where the course of their lives had taken them up to now and what they want to do next, while getting to know a new science officer on the enterprise. Her first scene or two I enjoyed, when she was doing her job and conducting science experiments in the rudimentary holodeck, but then her character gets into very sappy and emotional territory and I was suddenly less interested. There is a twist that I didn't see coming, but sadly it doesn't lead much of anywhere, except for a nice conversation at the end of the book that I did like. Ultimately I wouldn't recommend this book, and I hope this writer's more well known TOS and DS9 books are better reads.
June 30, 2024
This is the first Star Trek book I have read and I am kinda disappointed. Though I felt the characters were genuine to the series there were some odd things that bothered me in the story.
1- Early on the Enterprise is attacked by relatively archaic missiles fires from the planet’s surface but they didn’t see them coming until they were about to hit the ship. Wouldn’t they have seen them coming with all their sensors a long way off?
2- At the end there is no real resolve as to why the people on the planet were being attacked. Other than a very short confusing conversation with the aliens, there was no get together with the planet’s people to hear their side of the story to understand why the aliens had it out for them. And in the discussions the never happened, the planets people would have thanked the Enterprise for saving their civilization.
1- Early on the Enterprise is attacked by relatively archaic missiles fires from the planet’s surface but they didn’t see them coming until they were about to hit the ship. Wouldn’t they have seen them coming with all their sensors a long way off?
2- At the end there is no real resolve as to why the people on the planet were being attacked. Other than a very short confusing conversation with the aliens, there was no get together with the planet’s people to hear their side of the story to understand why the aliens had it out for them. And in the discussions the never happened, the planets people would have thanked the Enterprise for saving their civilization.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2021
Some notes from this novel:
Based on this blurb I didn't expect Allegiance in Exile to take place over the span of most of Year Five.
Hope you're ready for some Sulu pain! (As in, we created a character for Sulu to fall in love with and lose all over the span of year 5. I can hear Richard Arnold apoplex if he were still at Paramount directing how novels were written)
A lot of maudlin thoughts as is the case of any story at the end of the five year mission, but also two pages of fully unprompted "what the fuck was i thinking in A Private Little War? Arming a whole tribe? that was weird, right?"
Lori Ciana: origins!
Also Bajorans are here.
Based on this blurb I didn't expect Allegiance in Exile to take place over the span of most of Year Five.
Hope you're ready for some Sulu pain! (As in, we created a character for Sulu to fall in love with and lose all over the span of year 5. I can hear Richard Arnold apoplex if he were still at Paramount directing how novels were written)
A lot of maudlin thoughts as is the case of any story at the end of the five year mission, but also two pages of fully unprompted "what the fuck was i thinking in A Private Little War? Arming a whole tribe? that was weird, right?"
Lori Ciana: origins!
Also Bajorans are here.
March 19, 2021
Exciting and Captivating Star Trek Yarn.
This book was well composed and easy to read and follow.It was quite interesting to behold but was not exactly a tremendous masterpiece of science fiction. The story proceeded at a moderate pace and kept the reader engaged but not enthralled. All in all it was a 'normal' Star Trek tale which was pleasant to read.It served as a typical story of an episode of Star Trek. It was great to see an expansion of Hiraku Sulu's character in the Star Trek mythos.
This book was well composed and easy to read and follow.It was quite interesting to behold but was not exactly a tremendous masterpiece of science fiction. The story proceeded at a moderate pace and kept the reader engaged but not enthralled. All in all it was a 'normal' Star Trek tale which was pleasant to read.It served as a typical story of an episode of Star Trek. It was great to see an expansion of Hiraku Sulu's character in the Star Trek mythos.
February 19, 2022
An excellent ST novel. It gets the vernacular correct e.g. starboard instead of right. Additionally, the characters are true to the widely accepted canon. There is a strong emphasis on Sulu and some TAS characters are in the story as well, which I really appreciated. The female characters (with the exception of the Admiral) are treated as adults who make valid contributions to the mission. If you are a McCoy fan, you might be disappointed, he only has a few lines.
Highly recommend this one, it's REALLY good.
Highly recommend this one, it's REALLY good.
November 3, 2017
I enjoyed this book. It focused on Sulu and gave some insights into the last year of the first five year mission. The destruction of a single city on an unexplored planet sets the mystery scene. The author takes some time filling up the book with a personal story about Sulu, so the action is not at the forefront. The ending could have wrapped up a bit more conclusive, but overall I found it satisfactory.
October 31, 2021
Decent, but clunky.
As far as I know, it's a stand alone, but it feels like I got the middle book of a trilogy.
The main story, listed on the back cover, is one of three story threads.
All three are interesting, but feel like stuff that wasn't strong enough to be its own thing, so they were sitting in the 'to be written' file and the author decided to jam them together.
Kirk, having bit of a mid-life as he sets off on the final year of the five year mission, is probably the strongest arc.
While it's nice to see Sulu get some time in the spotlight, his arc feels off, in that he borders on feeling out of character.
The main story, is the weakest, almost saved by a cute reveal.
The writer does some decent stuff with the day to day of how a star ship would run, and makes good use of Trek history, but the interesting pieces make an uneven whole.
Decent time waster.
As far as I know, it's a stand alone, but it feels like I got the middle book of a trilogy.
The main story, listed on the back cover, is one of three story threads.
All three are interesting, but feel like stuff that wasn't strong enough to be its own thing, so they were sitting in the 'to be written' file and the author decided to jam them together.
Kirk, having bit of a mid-life as he sets off on the final year of the five year mission, is probably the strongest arc.
While it's nice to see Sulu get some time in the spotlight, his arc feels off, in that he borders on feeling out of character.
The main story, is the weakest, almost saved by a cute reveal.
The writer does some decent stuff with the day to day of how a star ship would run, and makes good use of Trek history, but the interesting pieces make an uneven whole.
Decent time waster.
March 21, 2023
A fairly dull novel, most of it is Enterprise tangling with mysterious alien missiles and ships. The narrative limps along with a contrived arc for Sulu, including a love affair with a red-shirt and a conflict with Kirk. It isn't until the last 15% or so of the novel that pieces fall into place, although the antagonists are still mysterious to me. This is apparently a setup or tie-in to other novels featuring them, but not having read them it meant nothing to me.
September 8, 2022
This is a really bizarre book, not at all what I was expecting. It's hard to write this without spoilers, but the story is based off some universe lore from the shows, but not lore that I think anyone really cares about.
I certainly don't.
Also, let's stop having Sulu fall in love with every woman he encounters, that would be cool.
I certainly don't.
Also, let's stop having Sulu fall in love with every woman he encounters, that would be cool.
March 20, 2017
In Allegiance in Exile, Captain Kirk is exploring a world with an abandoned destroyed city. When the scouting crew lands they discover the city was a year old. Soon they find warp capable space craft on the border of the city. When the landing party lands the Enterprise finds missiles shot at them. Soon Spock finds hidden silos and the landing party quickly transports to it. Inside is automated missile makers and targeting systems. Kirk regretfully gives the destruction order. Allegiance in Exile is an awesome book in the Star Trek series.
December 27, 2018
I really enjoyed this story. It's my favourite ST TOS so far, well-written, interesting story focusing on the relationship between Kirk and Sulu, and an alien colony with an unexpected surprise. Action takes place near the end of the Enterprise's 5 year mission, and that's all I've got to say.
September 27, 2024
Allegiance in Exile is a bit scattered in the plot but they have a really cool and subtle reveal near the end. It's also interesting to hang out with Kirk as the five-year mission comes to a close. Who are you, who am I, when the thing is done and the future awaits?
September 26, 2018
This was a very enjoyable Star Trek novel. I like how the author tied in novel canon, TV show canon, and time jumping action all while maintaining his own flair for character development.
August 23, 2019
I could have just read the third part of the book and I'd have been fine. Finished in one sitting, though.
December 20, 2021
Sulu’s love story is weak, Kirk sulks, and Spock/Bones are hardly there at all. Not my favorite.
August 27, 2022
A first class Star Trek novel.
March 23, 2023
Great book dealing with the burdens of Command. Very well written and captured the characters of Star Trek.
June 24, 2024
Good book it was nice to see someone from the enterprise fall in love but you know its not going to last and I liked there was a little bit of conflict with kirk and sulu butting heads
January 22, 2021
Great novel! In a way, Sulu focused, and I loved the cold open. I also thought that the mysteriousness of the attacking aliens works well, and gave us alot of thrill to it.
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