What do you think?
Rate this book
Star Trek: Seekers #1
Second Nature
The first in the Star Trek: Seekers series, building up on the story of the Vanguard series.
The Taurus Reach. Once the conquered realm of a powerful alien species, this region remains largely shrouded in mystery even as it brims with potential for exploration and colonization. The Federation has sent in two of its finest starships on a quest to uncover the secrets it may yet hold...
The Tomol are a primitive civilization occupying a lone island on a remote world. Their culture is an enigma, centered on every member's commitment to a painful, fiery self-sacrifice upon reaching maturity. But one of their clan has shunned this obligation, triggering a transformation into a new, powerful life form. Answering the distress call of the USS Sagittarius–which has crashed on the planet following a fierce battle with the Klingons–Captain Atish Khatami and the crew of the Starship Endeavour must now attempt a rescue mission... even as they are locked in battle with the evolving, increasingly malevolent Tomol who, if allowed to escape their home world, pose an imminent threat to the entire galaxy!
The Taurus Reach. Once the conquered realm of a powerful alien species, this region remains largely shrouded in mystery even as it brims with potential for exploration and colonization. The Federation has sent in two of its finest starships on a quest to uncover the secrets it may yet hold...
The Tomol are a primitive civilization occupying a lone island on a remote world. Their culture is an enigma, centered on every member's commitment to a painful, fiery self-sacrifice upon reaching maturity. But one of their clan has shunned this obligation, triggering a transformation into a new, powerful life form. Answering the distress call of the USS Sagittarius–which has crashed on the planet following a fierce battle with the Klingons–Captain Atish Khatami and the crew of the Starship Endeavour must now attempt a rescue mission... even as they are locked in battle with the evolving, increasingly malevolent Tomol who, if allowed to escape their home world, pose an imminent threat to the entire galaxy!
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 2014
97 people are currently reading
449 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
January 28, 2021
Just what were all the other zillion Starfleet vessels doing while Captain Kirk and the Enterprise were having fantastic adventures every time they fired up their dilithium crystals? This entertaining novel by David Mack, starring an entirely different starship with an entirely different crew, is the first installment in a series designed to answer that question. My full review is here: https://www.stevedonoghue.com/review-...
September 22, 2016
This is the first Star Trek book I've ever read after being an avid follower via TV & the 'big screen'.
Was an easy read, by the second half of the book my tortoise like reading pace picked up a little as I began to be very keen to see what would happen next & it's not always a full on Hollywood ending necessarily which brings some realism...looking forward to the second book of the four (so far) to continue enjoying the galactic adventures of the golden age of Starfleet exploration.
Was an easy read, by the second half of the book my tortoise like reading pace picked up a little as I began to be very keen to see what would happen next & it's not always a full on Hollywood ending necessarily which brings some realism...looking forward to the second book of the four (so far) to continue enjoying the galactic adventures of the golden age of Starfleet exploration.
November 27, 2015
It was a very fun and enjoyable novel. My only points of contention, were the foul language and the fact that the story does not come to a conclusion, but continues in the next novel in the series.
August 16, 2016
The short version first . . .
The Star Trek franchise is 50 years old this year, 2016, and it’s still going strong with new written and motion picture fare for its myriad group of fans. From a couple of years ago, the Seekers series of novels was started by accomplished author, David Mack. His Second Nature is the first of a series of books set in August, 2269, following the timeline established by Star Trek’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, for the original Star Trek’s series of the first five year mission of the starship, U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701, under Captain James T. Kirk. The timeline for Second Nature occurs a couple of months after the Enterprise’s rescue mission to Camus II, reported in the Historian’s Note, found in the front work of Second Nature.
The Seekers series focuses on the follow-on missions to continue explorations in depth and planetary surveys as requested or desired by the United Federation of Planets. Specifically, these explorations are focused on an area of space called the Taurus Reach by the Federation or the Gonmog by the Klingon Empire. The two Federation starships assigned to the Taurus Reach are the U.S.S. Sagittarius, an Archer-class scout vessel, and the, U.S.S. Endeavour, a Constitution-class heavy cruiser, a sister ship to the U.S.S. Enterprise. The Archer-class scout ships are smaller, more maneuverable, with a modest crew, and the ability to land on planetary bodies in ways similar to the future, Intrepid-class U.S.S. Voyager, NCC-74656.
In Second Nature Sagittarius’s sensors detect unusual energy readings coming from the ringed-planet, Nereus II. Federation directives include a requirement for investigation of unusual energy signatures coming from worlds which are considered to be developing, with little or no spaceflight capabilities. High energy sensor readings are suggestive of a more advanced civilization than initial surveys detected.
The indigenous people of Nereus II, the Tomol, inhabit the largest island, Suba, on the planet. They call their planet Arethusa. There are no individual Tomol aged older than 18 or 19 sun-turns (years in our vocabulary). The Sagittarius’s captain, Clark Terrell, discusses with his command team about the need to take a survey away team to covertly investigate the closest concentration of individuals on the surface and ascertain what and where does the energy signature exist.
In the process of learning more about the Tomol, the away team becomes involved in dangers from many sources – the Changed Tomol individuals possessing incredible power, the Shedai and their intervention in Tomol physiology, and a new threat from an old nemesis in the form of a powerful Klingon captain, Kang, and his two ship mission of investigation, capture, and return of a Changed Tomol individual back to Qo’noS, the Klingon homeworld. The business begins to spiral downward as the Changed, the away parties, and the four starships all engage in a fight to the finish to determine who will prevail in one of the more epic confrontations between the Federation and the Empire.
Recommendations:
This is a book that is part of a large franchise in science fiction circles. It includes some familiar characters including Captain Clark Terrell, Kang, and Kara. There is a small amount of expletive language, slightly more than ten occurrences. The worst things that happen are the numerous and detailed descriptions of what happens when a Changed Tomol feels threatened or is the subject of an assault. These occurrences are gruesome and graphic in their descriptions. Parents are advised to look over the material before letting younger readers interested in the Trek universe read this work. It is intended for older, mature readers, and the items noted above are important to the telling of the story since there are reasons to be concerned about what happens in the Change and what types of problems are created by the Change, for the Tomol and the other sentient beings nearby caught up in the maelstrom being created by the Changed individuals. Regardless, the mature reader and Star Trek fan will find this work to be riveting, intriguing, and Trek at its Original Series best, even if James T. Kirk does not make an appearance. It truly deserves a five-star rating, in my honest opinion. Well written, linked nicely into the Original Series events and timelines, clearly intended to be contained within the Roddenberry time line and Canon. This will prove to be a book that ensures more of the Seekers series of books.
Research for this review was conducted on the following websites:
Memory Alpha Star Trek Canon
http://memory-beta.wikia.com/
Review of David Mack's Star Trek Seekers # 1: Second Nature by Richard Buro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18870411-seekers.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at Email: permissions@simonandschuster.com.
April 13, 2017
What a fantastic surprise! A balls-to-the-wall action/adventure story that manages to link itself to past "Star Trek" novel continuity, yet stand tall as the start of a new stand-alone series with links to the past that won't alienate newcomers. Fantastic characters, great (occasionally salty & hilarious) dialogue, some visceral and shocking violence...and it all ends on a great cliffhanger. There is little more could you ask for from such first rate "Star Trek" storytelling.
November 8, 2015
Star Trek: Seekers: #1 Second Nature by David Mack Seekers is planned to be an ongoing series featuring alternatingly the Sagittarius and the Endeavour which were first introduced in the Vanguard-series on their ongoing adventures in the Taurus Reach in the aftermath of Vanguard's destruction. Therefore it's recommended to have at least some knowledge of what happened earlier - either by having read the series or by reading some spoilers (if you don't want to read Vanguard). I don't recommend reading Seekers before Vanguard if you plan on diving into the Vanguard-saga because you definitely get spoiled on major events.
After happily munching my way through Vanguard I'm sorry to say that it took me quite a while to finish this book. First of all, it lacks the multiple dimensions of its predecessors. Of course, Seekers is a series intended to be more adventurous, more like "planet of the week"-episodes, than hardcore political thriller. So, being a bit more light-hearted, more simplistic shouldn't be held against it. But coming directly from Vanguard, it's quite a difference in pace and complexity.
The second thing - to me the thing that weighs more against this book - is that I don't actually like any of the Sagittarius' crew. I said before - I think it was in my review of Reap the Whirlwind - that I can only take so many witty one-liners. And in this case, practically every sentence was such a one-liner that had me roll my eyes in exasperation. It's one thing for the crew to be unusual and full of "cool" characters, but here it went too far. I don't like the kind of leadership that Theriault displays practically the whole book - alternating one-liners with ridiculing her comrades or sneering at the information that they are offering. I quite liked her back in Reap the Whirlwind, but this version I can certainly do without. I'd rather have seen more of the rest of the away-team, because honestly they appeared more interesting than Theriault. Back on Sagittarius I quite liked Sorak and Terrell, the rest again only come up with more or less witty phrases ("One Miracle coming up" etc). It's not that I need characters to be all serious all the time - far from it because I definitely like wittiness (hail Stargate...) -, but it's a fine line between witty and cartoonish which is crossed at least half the time here. Perhaps in time the characters are allowed to become more 3-dimensional - I hope so at least.
The plot itself... well, is rather simplistic, as said before. A society which gets rid off their adults because at a certain age they turn into beings with horrible mental powers - one of those adults succeeds in that change and disaster strikes all. Add Klingons who want to harness that mental power, the whole civilization being transplanted from somewhere else, mentions of the Shedai, the threat of those "monsters" getting out into space and wreaking havoc there - stir and step back quickly. That's it more or less. Ah, yes, and there was the idea that the same advanced people as in "Paradise Syndrome" are involved here and created the forced Cleansing as a way to prevent the Change... not to mention created another of those machines, this time hidden in a mountain. I'm not sure that story premise really warrants being split up into 2 books since it's already quite thin in just one book.
Of course, I'm going to read at least the next part since I can't stand only having half of the story. It will be interesting what will happen with the Changed... Is it possible the people change but don't abandon all morals? Can they be reasoned with? But after that, much depends on whether the characters evolve beyond what's been shown so far. There is potential there with the crew of the Sagittarius. It remains to be seen whether it will be realized. 5/10
After happily munching my way through Vanguard I'm sorry to say that it took me quite a while to finish this book. First of all, it lacks the multiple dimensions of its predecessors. Of course, Seekers is a series intended to be more adventurous, more like "planet of the week"-episodes, than hardcore political thriller. So, being a bit more light-hearted, more simplistic shouldn't be held against it. But coming directly from Vanguard, it's quite a difference in pace and complexity.
The second thing - to me the thing that weighs more against this book - is that I don't actually like any of the Sagittarius' crew. I said before - I think it was in my review of Reap the Whirlwind - that I can only take so many witty one-liners. And in this case, practically every sentence was such a one-liner that had me roll my eyes in exasperation. It's one thing for the crew to be unusual and full of "cool" characters, but here it went too far. I don't like the kind of leadership that Theriault displays practically the whole book - alternating one-liners with ridiculing her comrades or sneering at the information that they are offering. I quite liked her back in Reap the Whirlwind, but this version I can certainly do without. I'd rather have seen more of the rest of the away-team, because honestly they appeared more interesting than Theriault. Back on Sagittarius I quite liked Sorak and Terrell, the rest again only come up with more or less witty phrases ("One Miracle coming up" etc). It's not that I need characters to be all serious all the time - far from it because I definitely like wittiness (hail Stargate...) -, but it's a fine line between witty and cartoonish which is crossed at least half the time here. Perhaps in time the characters are allowed to become more 3-dimensional - I hope so at least.
The plot itself... well, is rather simplistic, as said before. A society which gets rid off their adults because at a certain age they turn into beings with horrible mental powers - one of those adults succeeds in that change and disaster strikes all. Add Klingons who want to harness that mental power, the whole civilization being transplanted from somewhere else, mentions of the Shedai, the threat of those "monsters" getting out into space and wreaking havoc there - stir and step back quickly. That's it more or less. Ah, yes, and there was the idea that the same advanced people as in "Paradise Syndrome" are involved here and created the forced Cleansing as a way to prevent the Change... not to mention created another of those machines, this time hidden in a mountain. I'm not sure that story premise really warrants being split up into 2 books since it's already quite thin in just one book.
Of course, I'm going to read at least the next part since I can't stand only having half of the story. It will be interesting what will happen with the Changed... Is it possible the people change but don't abandon all morals? Can they be reasoned with? But after that, much depends on whether the characters evolve beyond what's been shown so far. There is potential there with the crew of the Sagittarius. It remains to be seen whether it will be realized. 5/10
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 28, 2014
This book completely misses the point of what makes a story interesting and what makes Star Trek worthwhile. It need to be about people. Not cardboard, cranked out of an app (as far as I can tell) characters less interesting or believable than what I came up with when I was 18 and played Dungeons and Dragons for the last time, but real people. I'm not expecting Shakespeare of even Gatsby here. But I am expecting people who seem to have real personalities to them and not just drawn up on a chart to cover everything. I also expect them to act like adults and officers. Professionals. The best and the brightest. Instead what I see are immature, bickering people who might have been plucked out of any young adult book and slapped into a Star Trek setting. Having weird aliens may make for diversity but that by itself it doesn't make for an interesting cast. They should be fully realized people. Star Trek novels use to be interesting. They use to take chances and tell stories about people. The first few chapters of this (and that's where I stopped wasting time with it) were about as interesting watching someone else play a simple and predictable video game. Or like eating cotton candy. Pretty on the outside and not a bad taste to it, but as soon as you sink your teeth in, it's gone.
August 30, 2023
Challenging, dark, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-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? It's complicated
3.75 ⭐
I was surprised that this series (Seekers) is a direct continuation to the Vanguard series (which I loved). Unfortunately, this book had to do a LOT of heavy lifting...from the transition of what had happened on the Vanguard Station, with the Shedai, and Starfleet, the Klingons, the Tholians and the Shedai.
In this story, we see the possible origins of how the Shedai became what we had seen of them in the Vanguard series. From what we currently know...they are the descendants of the Tomol from the planet they call Arethusa.
From primative Logan's Run type society that has the termination age at around 18 (before the change). For hundreds of years, this tradition was accepted, but Nimur fights back against it.
Starfleet realizes that the planet is inhabited by a pre-Warp society, but by other circumstances, finds their landing party in the midst of a fire fight between the priests/priestesses and the fleeing Nimur, and a Klingon landing party.
The Klingons have a nefarious purpose there...and that is their mission.
Tensions rise as Nimur (and her changed) the Klingons and the Federation are at a standoff.
A good start to the series, but it just didn't gel as much as I would've wanted. Oh, well. Hopefull the rest of the series course corrects.
Will read more in this series during Space Opera September 2023.
Medium-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? It's complicated
3.75 ⭐
I was surprised that this series (Seekers) is a direct continuation to the Vanguard series (which I loved). Unfortunately, this book had to do a LOT of heavy lifting...from the transition of what had happened on the Vanguard Station, with the Shedai, and Starfleet, the Klingons, the Tholians and the Shedai.
In this story, we see the possible origins of how the Shedai became what we had seen of them in the Vanguard series. From what we currently know...they are the descendants of the Tomol from the planet they call Arethusa.
From primative Logan's Run type society that has the termination age at around 18 (before the change). For hundreds of years, this tradition was accepted, but Nimur fights back against it.
Starfleet realizes that the planet is inhabited by a pre-Warp society, but by other circumstances, finds their landing party in the midst of a fire fight between the priests/priestesses and the fleeing Nimur, and a Klingon landing party.
The Klingons have a nefarious purpose there...and that is their mission.
Tensions rise as Nimur (and her changed) the Klingons and the Federation are at a standoff.
A good start to the series, but it just didn't gel as much as I would've wanted. Oh, well. Hopefull the rest of the series course corrects.
Will read more in this series during Space Opera September 2023.
February 12, 2015
Let me freely admit, I bought this book for the retro cover. That being said, a story that starts a little slowly gets to be a pretty interesting tale and far less derivative than I thought it would be at the beginning. Only two minor complaints: the dialog is very contemporary in nature which doesn't always sit well with me. Secondly, without spoiling anything, it is definitely the first of a series and leaves you hanging. Otherwise, it is worth a read.
January 25, 2015
I was honestly worried, picking this up, that Mack & co. would not be able to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was Star Trek: Vanguard. I needn't have worried.
Second Nature is both a good reintroduction to the series and a good yarn on it's own. The only annoying bit is that it's part one of two.
Second Nature is both a good reintroduction to the series and a good yarn on it's own. The only annoying bit is that it's part one of two.
November 12, 2017
Mit "Seekers" erscheint eine neue Star Trek-Serie auf deutsch, sie ist angesiedelt nach den Ereignissen von "Star Trek: Vanguard", also in der Zeit von Captain Kirk und der ENTERPRISE. Sie baut auf die Erkenntnisse aus "Vanguard" auf und den Shedai-Mythos. Die Fördeationsschiffe SAGITTARIUS und ENDEAVOUR forschen auf einem unbekannten Planeten in der Taurus-Region und endecken dort die Tomol, die zu Beginn ihres Erwachsenenalters Selbtmord begehen. Auch die Klingonen sind auf den Planeten aufmerksam geworden. Es stellt sich heraus, als eine Tomol, die die Zeit des Selbstmords erreicht hat, sich diesem entzieht, und durch ein Shedai-Artefakt gigantische mentale Kräfte übertragen bekommt...
Wieder eine interessante Serie, spannend und mit interessanten Charakteren, die dem Star Trek Universum wieder neue Aspekte hinzufügen könnten. Leider wurden die Klingonen wieder mal holzschnitzartig als eindimensionale, einfältige Charaktere gezeigt, was sie in dieser Zeit vieleicht auch waren; aber dennoch ist das etwas zu eindimensional.
Die Tomol sind jedoch interessant und ausbaufähig, mal sehen, was die Autoren in dieser neuen Serie daraus machen ?
Wieder eine interessante Serie, spannend und mit interessanten Charakteren, die dem Star Trek Universum wieder neue Aspekte hinzufügen könnten. Leider wurden die Klingonen wieder mal holzschnitzartig als eindimensionale, einfältige Charaktere gezeigt, was sie in dieser Zeit vieleicht auch waren; aber dennoch ist das etwas zu eindimensional.
Die Tomol sind jedoch interessant und ausbaufähig, mal sehen, was die Autoren in dieser neuen Serie daraus machen ?
August 28, 2019
I was initially taken by the premise of this Star Trek derivative, but halfway through I lost all interest. It was a total struggle to even finish the book, hence taking over a month to read a short novel that should have taken less than a week. Urgh.
The suspension of disbelief is necessary and even familiar for many Star Trek fans but this went too far. At too many points throughout the novel I thought, "Yeah, there's no way." And it's disappointing to have that happen, considering the infinite possibilities of the Star Trek universe.
The plot is fine, the characters are interesting, the trials and tribulations are much the same as they are in the series, movies, comics, and other novella. It just didn't have the necessary "oomf" to carry it through to the end.
The suspension of disbelief is necessary and even familiar for many Star Trek fans but this went too far. At too many points throughout the novel I thought, "Yeah, there's no way." And it's disappointing to have that happen, considering the infinite possibilities of the Star Trek universe.
The plot is fine, the characters are interesting, the trials and tribulations are much the same as they are in the series, movies, comics, and other novella. It just didn't have the necessary "oomf" to carry it through to the end.
September 26, 2018
The Seekers series is intended to be a follow-up to the Vanguard series. I haven't had a chance to read those yet, but I didn't feel lost or disconnected from the characters that are featured on the USS Sagittarius and the USS Endeavor. Quite frankly, I absolutely fell in love with First Officer Theriault. She's exactly the kind of strong female character that I like reading about.
I found this story to be very exciting in both pacing and plot. I enjoyed learning more about the Tormol and how their species and traditions came to be. I was even shocked and slightly terrified by Nimur's insane powers.
I wish it hadn't ended on a cliffhanger, but at least I have book 2 on hand already. :D
I found this story to be very exciting in both pacing and plot. I enjoyed learning more about the Tormol and how their species and traditions came to be. I was even shocked and slightly terrified by Nimur's insane powers.
I wish it hadn't ended on a cliffhanger, but at least I have book 2 on hand already. :D
April 2, 2018
Good overall, but a little slow in spots.
Nice to see a tie-in to, and continuation of the Vanguard series. One has to wonder however if the Preserves are the origination of the Shedai, or if they were at war with each other. Hoping that gets addressed in this series
Nice to see a tie-in to, and continuation of the Vanguard series. One has to wonder however if the Preserves are the origination of the Shedai, or if they were at war with each other. Hoping that gets addressed in this series
March 17, 2020
First startrek book I've read in a while, and also the first time I've heard of the seekers. I really liked this addition to the startrek universe, though I'm certain not all trek fans will. Plan to read the next one in the series as well, interested to see where this series goes.
May 8, 2022
Better than some
I found this book to be a more interesting read than this author's other works. The story is still set in the TOS era, but unlike the Vanguard storyline, it actually seems like a Star Trek story.
I found this book to be a more interesting read than this author's other works. The story is still set in the TOS era, but unlike the Vanguard storyline, it actually seems like a Star Trek story.
February 11, 2018
Wonderful. David Mack doesn't disappoint here. Classic prime directive problem, a race against time and beings capable of great power and destruction.
August 15, 2018
AWESOME! I loved the Vanguard series and this is an excellent follow-on. I hope more will be coming in the future, as I see only 4 books have been published! *fingers crossed*
May 19, 2019
The book's pacing was slow at the start, but the build-up to the confrontation between the Starfleet and Klingon vessels more than made up for it.
August 25, 2019
Every inch a page turner
March 24, 2021
A good start.
I liked this fast moving novel. New characters and familiar advisories.Hoping that an even better story will follow. Can't wait.
I liked this fast moving novel. New characters and familiar advisories.Hoping that an even better story will follow. Can't wait.
June 18, 2021
This was ok but a bit slow for my liking. It was difficult for me to stay engaged in the story. Since it’s only the 1st book in the mini-series I am hopeful the storyline will get better.
October 17, 2021
3.5*
I really enjoyed this as the beginning to the Seekers series!
It's been a while since I've finished Vanguard but David Mack did a great job of catching the reader back up. And it was great to be back with the old crew - Thierault and Khatami are the only ones I really remember, other than Kang, but I managed!
I've really missed the way Star Trek novels are written - with characters consistently competent as well as the assumed knowledge of all this Trekky stuff I've learnt over the past five years or so.
Onto the story - I loved the idea of a planet of super beings, and although it's obviously not very original, I think it was done in a super entertaining way. It bordered on horror in some parts - it could have leant into that more. And the entertainment factor of seeing these beings take out a whole Klingon ship was great. Keeping all the ships on one planet was great as well, with downing the Sagittarius and the bird of prey.
I ship Vanessa and Dastin very much but since this is Star Trek I highly doubt that will go anywhere. I also really liked Tormog's character. He's smart and cowardly, which is a great character combo IMO (as long as there are other perspectives to balance it out).
Predictions? Other than Starfleet just leaving the planet well enough alone, I think potentially they'll have to knock out the Changed with some kind of strong gas, and then relocate the other villagers. Or splice their DNA with human DNA rather than Shedai?
I really enjoyed this as the beginning to the Seekers series!
It's been a while since I've finished Vanguard but David Mack did a great job of catching the reader back up. And it was great to be back with the old crew - Thierault and Khatami are the only ones I really remember, other than Kang, but I managed!
I've really missed the way Star Trek novels are written - with characters consistently competent as well as the assumed knowledge of all this Trekky stuff I've learnt over the past five years or so.
Onto the story - I loved the idea of a planet of super beings, and although it's obviously not very original, I think it was done in a super entertaining way. It bordered on horror in some parts - it could have leant into that more. And the entertainment factor of seeing these beings take out a whole Klingon ship was great. Keeping all the ships on one planet was great as well, with downing the Sagittarius and the bird of prey.
I ship Vanessa and Dastin very much but since this is Star Trek I highly doubt that will go anywhere. I also really liked Tormog's character. He's smart and cowardly, which is a great character combo IMO (as long as there are other perspectives to balance it out).
Predictions? Other than Starfleet just leaving the planet well enough alone, I think potentially they'll have to knock out the Changed with some kind of strong gas, and then relocate the other villagers. Or splice their DNA with human DNA rather than Shedai?
August 14, 2014
When Star Trek: Vanguard ended in 2012 with probably the best 2 book finale in a planned spin-off, the Star Trek book universe lost its only series set in the original series era. Never fear though as that series has it's own spin off in Star Trek: Seekers with which David Mack writes it's first installment "Second Nature". The series set 6 months after the destruction of Starbase 47 follows the adventures of the U.S.S. Sagittarius & U.S.S. Endeavor as they continue to explore the Taurus Reach & the worlds within it. The initial offering takes us to Nereus II where the Sagittarius is looking at reports of an unusual energy signature on that world that seems to have mysteriously disappeared upon arrival. The world is inhabited by a race called the Tomol who commit a ritual suicide around the onset of adulthood to prevent "the change" from happening. When Nimur (a Tomol female) defies the wishes of the wardens & not undergo this ritual, the reality of what this transformation does becomes apparent as she transforms into a sadistic killer who believes her god-like powers have been taken away by her people over the centuries. With the Sagittarius crew investigating they get caught up in this as well as coming across a Klingon landing party that wants to capture a Tomol & use this change as a weapon.
For an opening book in a series, David Mack tries to do far too much in a plot that is overloaded with just about everything under the sun including references to both the Preservers as well as a new mystery involving the Shedai whose legacy to the worlds of the Taurus Reach continues to expand piece-by-piece. The use of Kang as the captain of one of the 2 Klingon ships in orbit of this world is a nice touch & the crew of the Endeavor does make a brief appearance at the end in order to try to save the Sagittarius from itself. The book itself is actually a decent story with action galore & enough character involvement based on these crews that we technically already know via Vanguard to potentially make this very viable in the future. Also the cliffhanger ending in this case is either a very good plot device or a case of Mack not knowing how to end this opening novel. Overall though while this isn't the strongest opening novels for a new series it has potential which is why this reader will be seeking out the 2nd novel in this series next month just to see what direction this series will go.
For an opening book in a series, David Mack tries to do far too much in a plot that is overloaded with just about everything under the sun including references to both the Preservers as well as a new mystery involving the Shedai whose legacy to the worlds of the Taurus Reach continues to expand piece-by-piece. The use of Kang as the captain of one of the 2 Klingon ships in orbit of this world is a nice touch & the crew of the Endeavor does make a brief appearance at the end in order to try to save the Sagittarius from itself. The book itself is actually a decent story with action galore & enough character involvement based on these crews that we technically already know via Vanguard to potentially make this very viable in the future. Also the cliffhanger ending in this case is either a very good plot device or a case of Mack not knowing how to end this opening novel. Overall though while this isn't the strongest opening novels for a new series it has potential which is why this reader will be seeking out the 2nd novel in this series next month just to see what direction this series will go.
July 7, 2015
A nice little story continuing the adventures of the valiant starship-let Sagittarius (known from Vanguard) after the big showdown in the Taurus Reach.
The good things first. This is kind of "Roleplayer's star trek" in book form. And that's not meant derigatorily, all but that. You could really imagine a group of geeks sitting around a table and coming up with a story like this as their campaign. and the novel felt every bit as lovechild-ey as such a campaign would be for any RPG group. I already liked the quirky crew of the ship during their Vanguard appearances and this just adds on more persons, more characterization, more depth to the already known faces and names. At times it was slightly TOO much, you can't really keep up with two dozen "new" characters in only 300 pages. That the focus then changed mostly away from the ship to a smaller away team was fortunate in that it allowed a more intimate identification with the protagonists without too many redshirts cluttering everything up.
And now for the not so good. The story plot was pretty cliché ridden and simple enough to fit into any TOS episode. Which is not quite the compliment it used to be forty years ago. The native characters stayed pretty pale and insubstantial, the "monstrous" angle was a bit tiresome to read in first person perspective and the culture stayed shallow beyond the "everybody has to die before they turn 18" aspect... It could have been nice to explore the whole Preserver angle a bit better, but that was as so much in this novel doomed by the low page count of 300. My only hope is that the other three volumes will be slightly less hurried and make better use of the setting and potential of such a wonderful playing field.
Ultimately... even if you have the finest raw materials and the perfect kitchen to prepare it in, if you hasten through the cooking process and in the end slather everything with sauce it will just end up as better fast food and not as the most delicious meal in the world. Second Nature feels just like such a missed chance to do something great all due to the constraints on space and possibly time for the author to write... the result is a solid but absolutely average ST novel showing how nice a thing a completely new ship to play with can be in the right hands.
The good things first. This is kind of "Roleplayer's star trek" in book form. And that's not meant derigatorily, all but that. You could really imagine a group of geeks sitting around a table and coming up with a story like this as their campaign. and the novel felt every bit as lovechild-ey as such a campaign would be for any RPG group. I already liked the quirky crew of the ship during their Vanguard appearances and this just adds on more persons, more characterization, more depth to the already known faces and names. At times it was slightly TOO much, you can't really keep up with two dozen "new" characters in only 300 pages. That the focus then changed mostly away from the ship to a smaller away team was fortunate in that it allowed a more intimate identification with the protagonists without too many redshirts cluttering everything up.
And now for the not so good. The story plot was pretty cliché ridden and simple enough to fit into any TOS episode. Which is not quite the compliment it used to be forty years ago. The native characters stayed pretty pale and insubstantial, the "monstrous" angle was a bit tiresome to read in first person perspective and the culture stayed shallow beyond the "everybody has to die before they turn 18" aspect... It could have been nice to explore the whole Preserver angle a bit better, but that was as so much in this novel doomed by the low page count of 300. My only hope is that the other three volumes will be slightly less hurried and make better use of the setting and potential of such a wonderful playing field.
Ultimately... even if you have the finest raw materials and the perfect kitchen to prepare it in, if you hasten through the cooking process and in the end slather everything with sauce it will just end up as better fast food and not as the most delicious meal in the world. Second Nature feels just like such a missed chance to do something great all due to the constraints on space and possibly time for the author to write... the result is a solid but absolutely average ST novel showing how nice a thing a completely new ship to play with can be in the right hands.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2017
New adventures with new - mainly, crew and ships. Fast moving interesting plot.
It isn't a stand alone story though so be warned - it ends fairly abruptly and you need to get the 2nd installment to find out what happens
It isn't a stand alone story though so be warned - it ends fairly abruptly and you need to get the 2nd installment to find out what happens
April 29, 2015
This was an extremely well-written book; I've docked it a star for a bit of an incomplete ending, but it was a near thing; I was almost willing to overlook what I consider a serious flaw given how much I enjoyed the rest of the story. The is a Star Trek story set during the time of the original series, but not centering on the Enterprise but rather on the Sagittarius and the Endeavor, the two ships that had been support for Vanguard before it was destroyed; in fact, this series could be seen as a sequel to the "Vanguard" series. The basic plotline seems to be a bit of a cross between the Vanguard "Shedai" plots, the original series episode "Miri", in which a planetary population is composed entirely of children who die when the reach maturity, and "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (second pilot) in which individuals develop godlike powers which are signaled by their eyes beginning to glow. These "demigods" don't seem to have QUITE the potency of Gary Mitchell in that episode; they don't have the telepathy or the clairvoyance that he demonstrated. But the parallel is close in spite of that; I'm sure that there's some connection that will be revealed later. I would have preferred a more satisfying ending; it's not like I wouldn't have bought the next book in the series without the cliffhanger. But all in all, this is a very well-told story.
January 19, 2015
If you judge the first two Seekers books against the Vanguard series, they suck. But once you step back and evaluate these by normal standards and not Vanguard standards, these are decent books. These are advertised as classic exploration stories, and in that regard they are enjoyable.
This is the beginning of a two-part story. Book one follows the Sagittarius, and book two follows the Endeavour. Before you finish book one it will be obvious why that is. I could see where the story was going well before the middle of the second book, which is how mostnon-Vanguard normal books are.
One minor complaint - I really need a list of characters in the front or back. I'm also a little bit weary of paying attention to characters that David Mack writes because he (Vanguard spoiler!) . You can never tell which characters will be important and which ones will be classic redshirts...
This is the beginning of a two-part story. Book one follows the Sagittarius, and book two follows the Endeavour. Before you finish book one it will be obvious why that is. I could see where the story was going well before the middle of the second book, which is how most
One minor complaint - I really need a list of characters in the front or back. I'm also a little bit weary of paying attention to characters that David Mack writes because he (Vanguard spoiler!) . You can never tell which characters will be important and which ones will be classic redshirts...
June 6, 2015
This was a pretty fun read. Originally I wasn't gonna start Seekers until I read the entire Vanguard saga, of which I have only read Harbinger. But I Love David Mack & Seekers sounded cool so after a little research I decided it wouldn't totally spoil Vanguard if I read the first two Seeker novels. Having read Harbinger I was a little surprised how much different the books felt. Where i thought Harbinger to be a heavy handed political thiller, Second Nature comes off pretty light hearted, but that being said i still enjoyed it. Although I can't say I'm a big fan of all the characters, especially Theriault & Dastin. I didn't really like Theriault's command style which was all over the place or maybe just non existent. Under her command the team just wasn't very disiplined & didn't seem to have any real military bearing. As for Dastin,....he was just a smart ass. But I really did like Capt. Terrell which I think is everything he should be.
All in all this isn't my favorite David Mack book but I still enjoyed it & I'm looking forward to the next installment.
All in all this isn't my favorite David Mack book but I still enjoyed it & I'm looking forward to the next installment.
January 30, 2016
David Mack used to be one of the rising stars of the Trek universe, along with David R. George III (is he still doing anything for them?). I remember reading Vanguard and being really excited because I love the old Trek era, but feel it's a bit too saturated with familiar faces. Then I tried rereading it once the whole series was out, and realized it's REEEEEEALLY dull.
The chapters here switch between the crew of the Sagittarius, and the natives of a planet where people have to give up their children while they go crazy around the age of 18. The scenes with the natives were dull as hell, with ridiculous sounding names, and a culture that didn't seem sustainable. The Sagittarius crew scenes were full of people I didn't know, and less description of races and more name dropping of them. All in all, it seems like, if you've read the Vanguard series, probably at least half of this book will read OK, but if you haven't, you're going to be alternately lost and lulled to sleep.
Frustrating.
Gorgeous cover, though.
The chapters here switch between the crew of the Sagittarius, and the natives of a planet where people have to give up their children while they go crazy around the age of 18. The scenes with the natives were dull as hell, with ridiculous sounding names, and a culture that didn't seem sustainable. The Sagittarius crew scenes were full of people I didn't know, and less description of races and more name dropping of them. All in all, it seems like, if you've read the Vanguard series, probably at least half of this book will read OK, but if you haven't, you're going to be alternately lost and lulled to sleep.
Frustrating.
Gorgeous cover, though.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews