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Star Trek: Signature Edition
The Hand of Kahless
The fiercest battles and proudest warriors throughout Klingon history are said to reflect the honor and glory of the race's first emperor, Kahless the Unforgettable. But history is not always truthful. And for both the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets, the real truth may be too difficult to accept.
In the pages of a novel disclaimed by Starfleet, an enemy offers his perspective on events that transpired during the formative years of Klingon-Federation relations in the early twenty-third century. Chronicling the life story of Krenn, a Klingon war strategist who learns of peace while on a mission to Earth, the novel is a testimony to his efforts to preserve the honor of his people...by preventing total war against the then-struggling Federation.
Nearly a century later, a clone of the revered Kahless oversees the Klingon Empire. But when the myths and legends associated with the original emperor are disputed following the discovery of an ancient scroll, the new Kahless faces treason from within his own council, and impending civil war that could tear the empire apart. His sole chance for restoring his people's shattered faith must come from the outside -- specifically, from Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Lieutenant Worf of the U.S.S. Enterprise.
368 pages, Paperback
First published November 16, 2004
34 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
John M. Ford
101 books208 followersJohn Milo "Mike" Ford was a science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer and poet.
Ford was regarded (and obituaries, tributes and memories describe him) as an extraordinarily intelligent, erudite and witty man. He was a popular contributor to several online discussions. He composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated forms and blank verse, notably Shakespearean pastiche; he also wrote pastiches and parodies of many other authors and styles.At Minicon and other science fiction conventions he would perform "Ask Dr. Mike", giving humorous answers to scientific and other questions in a lab coat before a whiteboard.
Ford passed away from natural causes in 2006 at his home in Minneapolis.
Biography source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._...
Ford was regarded (and obituaries, tributes and memories describe him) as an extraordinarily intelligent, erudite and witty man. He was a popular contributor to several online discussions. He composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated forms and blank verse, notably Shakespearean pastiche; he also wrote pastiches and parodies of many other authors and styles.At Minicon and other science fiction conventions he would perform "Ask Dr. Mike", giving humorous answers to scientific and other questions in a lab coat before a whiteboard.
Ford passed away from natural causes in 2006 at his home in Minneapolis.
Biography source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._...
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 17, 2023
I don’t normally write reviews, but after some of the reviews I read here I was compelled to add my voice. This is two books, The Final Reflection and The Hand of Kahless. I was taken aback by this being two books being included under one title, I am not sure why the publisher made that choice, these two stories are only linked by their focus on the Klingons and the writer John M. Ford.
When reading The Final Reflection one has to remember this was written in 1984, the same year the movie The Search for Spock was released. Much of the backstory of the Klingon culture was still “An Undiscovered Country”. And you just have to view that story as a portrayal of the Klingon culture from a different creative viewpoint. Taken in that context this is actually one of the better Star Trek books I’ve read. You just have to get around these aren’t the Klingons we get to know in The Next Generation. There are some brilliant ideas in this portrayal of a warrior race, and some do make an appearance in later stories of Klingons, but not many. But the story is interesting and in the same spirit of most Star Trek stories.
The second book in this saga is the namesake of this review. This also was a good story, written in 2004 and set in the TNG timeline. These are the Klingons we know from the later series and movies. The author did a good job of staying true to the feel of the later television series. I enjoyed this story as well, I could clearly picture Picard and Worf and others speaking these words, and the plot was logical within the setting.
I can recommend both these stories, even though they’re different stories written at different times of both the author and the stories themselves.
When reading The Final Reflection one has to remember this was written in 1984, the same year the movie The Search for Spock was released. Much of the backstory of the Klingon culture was still “An Undiscovered Country”. And you just have to view that story as a portrayal of the Klingon culture from a different creative viewpoint. Taken in that context this is actually one of the better Star Trek books I’ve read. You just have to get around these aren’t the Klingons we get to know in The Next Generation. There are some brilliant ideas in this portrayal of a warrior race, and some do make an appearance in later stories of Klingons, but not many. But the story is interesting and in the same spirit of most Star Trek stories.
The second book in this saga is the namesake of this review. This also was a good story, written in 2004 and set in the TNG timeline. These are the Klingons we know from the later series and movies. The author did a good job of staying true to the feel of the later television series. I enjoyed this story as well, I could clearly picture Picard and Worf and others speaking these words, and the plot was logical within the setting.
I can recommend both these stories, even though they’re different stories written at different times of both the author and the stories themselves.
January 10, 2022
The Final Reflection: In Klingon culture, if war is a game, it is only because life itself is the greatest game. Just as in life, war has its rules, its own codes of honour and its grand masters.
John M. Ford's novel redefined the Klingons, creating the modern concept in 'Star Trek' lore.
Kahless: When a scroll is discovered which casts doubt on the honour of Kahless the Unforgettable, the modern day clone which sits on the High Council as Emperor must redefine his place in Klingon society.
Friedman's novel contrasts the original Kahless with his clone and the novel highlights that in order to know what is truth, one must first know yourself. Although the plot is slight, the theme of truth and honour makes this an interesting addition to the 'Star Trek' body of work.
John M. Ford's novel redefined the Klingons, creating the modern concept in 'Star Trek' lore.
Kahless: When a scroll is discovered which casts doubt on the honour of Kahless the Unforgettable, the modern day clone which sits on the High Council as Emperor must redefine his place in Klingon society.
Friedman's novel contrasts the original Kahless with his clone and the novel highlights that in order to know what is truth, one must first know yourself. Although the plot is slight, the theme of truth and honour makes this an interesting addition to the 'Star Trek' body of work.
December 6, 2018
Too boring. It has two books: “The Final Reflection” and “Kahless”. The first story is boring as heck. I read about half of it before I finally realized the story is going nowhere and isn’t worth my time. I made it about ten percent through the next story, and ditto. It’s marginally more interesting than the first, but neither of them even seem like Star Trek. I’m finally just giving it up.
I haven’t been impressed with any Star Trek books, honestly. Maybe they just aren’t for me.
I haven’t been impressed with any Star Trek books, honestly. Maybe they just aren’t for me.
July 9, 2023
First 30 pages are some Klingons playing some kind of chess game with (brace for an amazing twist) live Klingons as chesspeices !!!!!
And OK maybe that could have been good but the writer was clearly picturing some kind of whoosh crikey TRON laser disco thing, but completely failed to communicate it.
Didn't get any further than that.
And OK maybe that could have been good but the writer was clearly picturing some kind of whoosh crikey TRON laser disco thing, but completely failed to communicate it.
Didn't get any further than that.
March 31, 2020
Klingons
If, like me, Klingons are one of your favorite parts of the Star Trek universe, you'll love this book, containing two of the tales that defined Klingons.
If, like me, Klingons are one of your favorite parts of the Star Trek universe, you'll love this book, containing two of the tales that defined Klingons.
September 24, 2022
One Plot Out of Two Stories.
The first story, The Final Reflection, is uncompelling mainly because the reader is unable to identify a credible plot. There is also ambiguity in discerning between the first, second, and third acts. There are a few interesting supporting characters, but the story overall is a mash of detailed scenes lacking a unified narrative structure. (3 stars)
Alternatively, the second story in this collection, Kahless, is far better. It is a well-constructed narrative moving from the Klingon Heroic Age to the Modern Age. Young Alexander is included giving the reader insight to Worf's relationship with his son and family life aboard the Enterprise. Several pleasing details are salted throughout this story integrating it with what the reader knows through the story franchise. (4 stars)
The first story, The Final Reflection, is uncompelling mainly because the reader is unable to identify a credible plot. There is also ambiguity in discerning between the first, second, and third acts. There are a few interesting supporting characters, but the story overall is a mash of detailed scenes lacking a unified narrative structure. (3 stars)
Alternatively, the second story in this collection, Kahless, is far better. It is a well-constructed narrative moving from the Klingon Heroic Age to the Modern Age. Young Alexander is included giving the reader insight to Worf's relationship with his son and family life aboard the Enterprise. Several pleasing details are salted throughout this story integrating it with what the reader knows through the story franchise. (4 stars)
January 24, 2016
This Signature Series is comprised of two books: The Final Reflection and Kahless.
The book begins with an introduction about the development of Klingon culture, albeit more focused on the fashions of the ST:TNG era rather than TOS: an argument my friend and I have had many times about which culture the Klingon's related to the most during the social issues of American History (think the Red Scare vs. Samurai Culture). Let's just say that my argument is proved right through the facts of this introduction, whereas his is yet to be proven by facts unseen...
The Final Reflection is based during a time before ST:TNG existed - in real life and in the known Canon. While I could understand the insight about the Klingon and Federation history, it was developed for the reader at a significant snail's pace. Without knowing the background information about this story, I would have given it 2 stars, but instead it gets 3.
The story is presented during Captain Kirk's reign on the Enterprise, when McCoy hands Kirk a book written roughly 100 years prior to the TOS timeline by Dr. Tagore. Tagore's story provides a different perspective of Federation history - through the eyes of Krenn, a Klingon war strategist. The story begins with an introdution from Dr. Tagore himself, followed by the development of Krenn's character and about how Krenn became the Klingon he is. Tagore's story continues on and on to build an honorable character about Krenn with some insights about the types of advanced technology the Klingons have that the Federation has yet to achieve and/or perfect: Cruisers, warp 6, and transport systems. The story focuses more on historical contexts rather than a fast-paced, action oriented story line, but it has various components of suspense, conspiracies, and ironies, as well as a few name droppings here and there. After the climax of Tagore's story, the reader returns to Kirk's present day time in which the reader is provided with an epilogue that sums up the reaction of Kirk's response to the book.
Kahless was far more action packed than the first story. I would give this story 4.5 stars if I could because it takes place during Picard's reign of the Enterprise. The story revolves around a conspiracy that tries to take the modern-day Kahless out of the picture because of the ideals he represents which are based on the legendary Kahless. Through this achievement, the conspirators can effectively bring down Emperor Gowron as well, something that Worf, Kurn, and Captian Picard hope to prevent for the sake of the Empire and Federation alliance while at the same time trying to restore the Klingon faith that seems to be lost. The story also focuses on the legendary Kahless's biggest triumphs, as the saying goes: there are always three sides to every story. The chapters are defined in their headers as present/modern ages and the historical/heroic ages. This story spoke to me more because I'm in the phase of preferring ST:TNG over TOS as well as it having a relatively faster pace than The Final Reflection.
All in all, this book gets a combined 4 stars and, although, it didn't include an author's interview like the first Signature Editions I've read (most likely because there are two different authors in this series), the book was still a good read.
The book begins with an introduction about the development of Klingon culture, albeit more focused on the fashions of the ST:TNG era rather than TOS: an argument my friend and I have had many times about which culture the Klingon's related to the most during the social issues of American History (think the Red Scare vs. Samurai Culture). Let's just say that my argument is proved right through the facts of this introduction, whereas his is yet to be proven by facts unseen...
The Final Reflection is based during a time before ST:TNG existed - in real life and in the known Canon. While I could understand the insight about the Klingon and Federation history, it was developed for the reader at a significant snail's pace. Without knowing the background information about this story, I would have given it 2 stars, but instead it gets 3.
The story is presented during Captain Kirk's reign on the Enterprise, when McCoy hands Kirk a book written roughly 100 years prior to the TOS timeline by Dr. Tagore. Tagore's story provides a different perspective of Federation history - through the eyes of Krenn, a Klingon war strategist. The story begins with an introdution from Dr. Tagore himself, followed by the development of Krenn's character and about how Krenn became the Klingon he is. Tagore's story continues on and on to build an honorable character about Krenn with some insights about the types of advanced technology the Klingons have that the Federation has yet to achieve and/or perfect: Cruisers, warp 6, and transport systems. The story focuses more on historical contexts rather than a fast-paced, action oriented story line, but it has various components of suspense, conspiracies, and ironies, as well as a few name droppings here and there. After the climax of Tagore's story, the reader returns to Kirk's present day time in which the reader is provided with an epilogue that sums up the reaction of Kirk's response to the book.
Kahless was far more action packed than the first story. I would give this story 4.5 stars if I could because it takes place during Picard's reign of the Enterprise. The story revolves around a conspiracy that tries to take the modern-day Kahless out of the picture because of the ideals he represents which are based on the legendary Kahless. Through this achievement, the conspirators can effectively bring down Emperor Gowron as well, something that Worf, Kurn, and Captian Picard hope to prevent for the sake of the Empire and Federation alliance while at the same time trying to restore the Klingon faith that seems to be lost. The story also focuses on the legendary Kahless's biggest triumphs, as the saying goes: there are always three sides to every story. The chapters are defined in their headers as present/modern ages and the historical/heroic ages. This story spoke to me more because I'm in the phase of preferring ST:TNG over TOS as well as it having a relatively faster pace than The Final Reflection.
All in all, this book gets a combined 4 stars and, although, it didn't include an author's interview like the first Signature Editions I've read (most likely because there are two different authors in this series), the book was still a good read.
January 29, 2015
It's a shame I could only get the Final Reflection as a bundle, because I might have given it five stars. The second book in this volume (Khaless) is unimaginative and more than a little boring.
October 1, 2016
John M Ford wrote an incredible story.
April 18, 2013
Every Star Trek fan will enjoy reading this!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews