Seasons of Light and Darkness

Star Trek: The Original Series

by Michael A. Martin

An ebook in the Star Trek: The Original Series Pocket line. This short novella is set during the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and it focuses on the character of Leonard McCoy.

Published in April 2014.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Ebooks, Star Trek Original Series, Fiction

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 2014

About the author

Michael A. Martin's solo short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He has also coauthored (with Andy Mangels) several Star Trek comics for Marvel and Wildstorm and numerous Star Trek novels and eBooks, including the USA Today bestseller Titan: Book One: Taking Wing; Titan: Book Two: The Red King; the Sy Fy Genre Award-winning Star Trek: Worlds of Deep Space 9 Book Two: Trill -- Unjoined; Star Trek: The Lost Era 2298 -- The Sundered; Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Mission: Gamma: Vol. Three: Cathedral; Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31 -- Rogue; Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers #30 and #31 ("Ishtar Rising" Books 1 and 2); stories in the Prophecy and Change, Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain's Table anthologies; and three novels based on the Roswell television series. His most recent novels include Enterprise: The Romulan War and Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many.

His work has also been published by Atlas Editions (in their Star Trek Universe subscription card series), Star Trek Monthly, Dreamwatch, Grolier Books, Visible Ink Press, The Oregonian, and Gareth Stevens, Inc., for whom he has penned several World Almanac Library of the States nonfiction books for young readers. He lives with his wife, Jenny, and their two sons in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[David King · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Seasons of Light and Darkness” by Michael A. Martin is an Original Series novella which focuses on part of Dr. McCoy’s life before he joined the Enterprise that was mentioned in the TV episode, “Friday's Child”. This period of his life is when he spent time on the planet Capella IV as part of time sent there to look at accessing a highly valued mineral. Whilst there he discovers that the natives have a rather warrior like ideology where people live and die by their own wits and it is wrong to interfere in that with medicine or other sciences. McCoy of course doesn’t appreciate this view point and must try to walk the line between his oath to Starfleet in regards to respecting other cultures and his oaths as a Doctor to try and save lives.

In addition to this main storyline there is also a framing story set in 2285 which focuses on McCoy trying to relate his own experiences to that of Kirk who was suffering from his time as a desk bound Admiral. This was actually one of things I didn’t really get with the novella to be honest. I saw the link between the two points but the story he tells just didn’t feel like something that McCoy would have only finally revealed at that point.

In regards to the Capella part of the story, well it was fun to follow and I found the titbits about Capellan culture rather interesting to follow. In addition McCoy felt in character and I appreciated that this novella was being used as a character piece rather than just trying to be a short version of standard Star Trek novels. Although I do have to say that whilst I did enjoy reading it I am not sure if really revealed anything new about the character.

Overall, this is a okay novella that acts an interesting character piece on McCoy. I do think the framing story didn’t work as well as it could have done and I am not sure if we really learned that much new about McCoy but I still enjoyed it and appreciated the way in which it reminded me of DeForest Kelly who created this great character.

[Christopher Backa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this McCoy short story. McCoy shares with Spock the details in his first mission to Capella. This planet was shown in the episode Friday's Child. McCoy is forced to decide between his principles and the interests of Starfleet and the Federation. The framing story is McCoy's concern for his friend Admiral Kirk who is rotting away at Starfleet command instead of commanding a starship I highly recommend reading this novella. Great character moments between McCoy and Spock. The author also captures the voice of the characters as seen in The Wrath of Khan and a younger inexperienced Dr. McCoy.

[Mark Oppenlander · Rating 3 out of 5]

This ebook novella focuses on Leonard McCoy's character. A framing story, set near the outset of Star Trek II, has the good doctor coming to Spock's doorstep late at night with a bottle of Romulan ale in hand that loosens his tongue. He then shares a tale from early in his Starfleet career, where he was forced to choose between saving a native patient on Capella IV and following regulations. Most of the book plays out in flashback, with McCoy being the only character from the regular series in the mix.

Martin emphasizes the inherent tension, long present in McCoy, between his fundamental love of being a physician and his status as a Starfleet officer, stuck in a bureaucratic chain of command that doesn't always align with his values. I don't know that anything particularly revelatory comes out in this piece, but Martin handles the characters with aplomb, providing them with mostly believable dialogue and action. There are a few nuggets thrown in that add color about McCoy's estrangement from his wife and daughter, and there are a few tidbits about how Kirk developed his rogue command style. None of it is particularly new or profound, but it is comfortable, like an old slipper that slides easily onto one's foot. The book ends with the Enterprise setting out to face Khan.

As a quick read, this novella is fine, but it may not offer enough unique material for the casual fan to go out of there way to read it. If Goodreads allowed half-points, this would be a 2.5 star read.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4

Really enjoyed this novella which concentrated on McCoy.
Felt like you got a lot of story in very few pages.
To me the voices of the 3 TOS characters rang true and my minds eye could see the original actors performing this story.
A new author for me so no idea if they have done anything else in the universe. Haven’t read much ST fiction of any era for a lot of years but this was excellent.

Definitely recommend

[Ben A · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good story about Doctor McCoy's (who has become a favorite character of mine as of late) first visit to the planet Capella IV and how he was forced to decide between his oath as a healer and the good of the planet and even the Federation (as referenced in the TOS "Friday's Child" episode). It was also cool that the framing of the story was set after we see him bring Romulan Ale to Admiral Kirk's quarters during The Wrath of Khan.

[Peter Rydén · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eftersom detta var en novell kunde författaren satsa på EN historia, en kortare sådan, där friheten då även kunde bli större för att utveckla karaktärerna inom berättelsen. Martin gjorde detta med bravur. Att vi samtidigt fick lära känna en intressant och karaktärsdrivande period i doktor McCoys liv som tidigare varit okänd är ju då en stor bonus dessutom.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doctor

This story is an interesting take on Dr. Mcoys origins. The story taking place in the Star Trek timeline works really well with the flashbacks to his history told extremely well. A goid knowledge of TOS and the early movies is definitely a plus but probably not an absolute. A good short story that is worth a read.

[Chris Townsend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of this story takes place during Wrath of Khan, but most of it takes place before McCoy's time on the Enterprise as a prequel to Friday's Child. It's a character story that explains part of why he is the way he is. The story is short, and a lot of it wasn't all that compelling. I struggled to finish it. However, it does come around toward the end and is worth reading.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick little novella that expands on McCoy's time on Capella IV, the planet featured in the original series episode Friday's Child. Good characterization of McCoy (and Kirk & Spock, who feature in the prologue and interlude chapters).

[Kristina Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A philosophical look back at an interesting juncture of McCoy's life, between wife and divorce, and still finding his way in Starfleet. Set on Capella IV, the choices made here clearly reflect through his life afterwards, making him the doctor we know and love. The tale is being told to Spock just pre-Wrath of Khan thereby also giving us an insight into their unique dynamic.

[Kris Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this expanding of the McCoy and Spock dynamic

[Preston Pendergraft · Rating 3 out of 5]

A unique story of McCoy.

[Kim Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, short read focused on a tale of Doctor McCoy's past. My only problem with this book was that the weapons were referred to as lasers, not phasers. Other than that an excellent book.

[Mike Grady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting short story centered on Dr McCoy of the TOS series. The story centers around a conflicting choice he has between the Hippocratic Oath and the Prime Directive.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting interactions. Glad it was just a novella though.

[Al Menaster · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was just OK. Almost all of it is an early mission of Dr. McCoy. Very short.

[Bruce Stephenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

After his visit with Kirk (as portrayed at the beginning of Star Trek II), a drunk McCoy goes to visit Spock and shares with him the story of his first visit to Capella IV as part of a team trying to obtain topaline mining rights for the Federation. Within the Capella IV part of the story, McCoy is portrayed well - as the compassionate, slightly ornery doctor that he is. It is his discussion with Spock that doesn't play quite right. Unfortunately, the reasons for the visit to Capella IV and the questionable competence of the Star Fleet team reflect negatively on the overall story.

[Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short story that features Dr. McCoy backstory on how he came to be on the Enterprise. Excellent execution by the author.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting character piece that gives insight into the character of Dr. McCoy. Martin has a good handle on his character, and I could definitely hear the late Deforest Kelley's "voice" as I read this novella. A fun read that one is able to get through in an afternoon. The author uses the e-book novella format very well here. This is one that I recommend for any fan of McCoy.

Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2014/06/s...

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realize it was a short story. I tend to pre order a year in advance so when the titles finally download its a mystery as to what I'm getting.

I found it pretty fun read, adding some perspective to the key moments in the beginning of Star Trek II. A fun quick read that reminds you of DeForest Kelly who created such a great character we all enjoy.