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Starfleet Corps of Engineers #6
Wildfire
Wherever there is a need to fix a malfunction or rescue a damaged ship, the Federation calls in the crack team from Starfleet S.C.E. From finding a Starfleet vessel lost inside a holographic ship, to checking out new technology captured during the Dominion War, no task is too bizarre or too dangerous for Captain David Gold, Commander Sonya Gomez and their crew of S.C.E. troubleshooters on board the USS da Vinci. However their mission to Galvan VI could prove their greatest challenge yet. Not only must they salvage the USS Orion from the turbulent atmosphere of a gas giant, but the Orion is carrying the prototype of the deadly Wildfire device, a protomatter warhead that can ignite gas giants into stars. And to complicate matters still further they encounter an unknown alien life-form that may have lured the USS Orion to its destruction…
404 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
11 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
About the author
David Mack
111 books668 followersDavid Mack is the New York Times bestselling author of 39 novels of science-fiction, fantasy, and adventure, including the Star Trek Destiny and Cold Equations trilogies.
Beyond novels, Mack's writing credits span several media, including television (for produced episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), games, and comic books.
Follow him on Twitter @davidalanmack or like his Facebook page.
Beyond novels, Mack's writing credits span several media, including television (for produced episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), games, and comic books.
Follow him on Twitter @davidalanmack or like his Facebook page.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 25, 2024
It's the Corps of Engineers, so the intense use of technobabble always takes some getting used to...but the end result is another strong entry in the SCE series, which goes from lighthearted to absolutely devastating in the finale...it's been a while since I've read a genre novel that has ended in such brutal (but compelling) fashion.
November 14, 2010
I spent half of Wildfire thinking "The Abyss- IN SPACE!", (which it kinda was, minus the crazy paranoid military guy played by Kyle Reese- not that that was a bad thing) but the ending was quite a shock!
September 2, 2016
Engineer ingenuity against the odds - again. Thrilling, fast-paced, filled with action. In the second book we get a deeper insight in the backgrounds of the main characters. In book 3 raw human emotion takes center stage. Excellently written.
January 6, 2015
A tale of a real disaster. Well done for the most part. I'm wondering what the fallout will be, and that's kind of the point.
January 2, 2019
Star Trek does The Abyss!
The biggest issue I've had with the SCE books so far is the lack of character and personality they have, along with the haphazard variety in the storytelling. Twenty tales in and I could barely tell you anything but the most basic details about any of the characters. Captain Gold is... Jewish? Duffy is sarcastic?
The stories contained in this omnibus finally managed to rectify that. For the first time I felt the characters defined and they became interesting. Two of the stories are flashbacks which help fill out some of the back stories, but the two-part Wildfire tale is the best thing the series has done so far and actually brought some emotion and care to proceedings.
I was on the verge of abandoning these books, but this has hooked me back in.
The biggest issue I've had with the SCE books so far is the lack of character and personality they have, along with the haphazard variety in the storytelling. Twenty tales in and I could barely tell you anything but the most basic details about any of the characters. Captain Gold is... Jewish? Duffy is sarcastic?
The stories contained in this omnibus finally managed to rectify that. For the first time I felt the characters defined and they became interesting. Two of the stories are flashbacks which help fill out some of the back stories, but the two-part Wildfire tale is the best thing the series has done so far and actually brought some emotion and care to proceedings.
I was on the verge of abandoning these books, but this has hooked me back in.
May 9, 2020
This is a superior ST: SCE novel and is perhaps the best yet in the series. Really loved all three of the novellas collected here. Though, I think the first novella, Enigma Ship by York and York is my favorite. Great Star Trek series. It's truly a crying shame that the ST: SCE series has been discontinued.
December 9, 2017
Tear jerker
Every time I ready Wildfire I morn the characters lost in the story. The SCE books are with out a doubt some of the best stories in Star Trek and I miss the series greatly. I wish they would revisit the da Vinci and her crew.
Every time I ready Wildfire I morn the characters lost in the story. The SCE books are with out a doubt some of the best stories in Star Trek and I miss the series greatly. I wish they would revisit the da Vinci and her crew.
November 19, 2023
So this is it... Wildfire, something I truly consider the best written Star trek story regardless of format! Will it hold up? We shall find out, but first 2 preamble stories...
Enigma Ship
Another nice problem solving story, nothing really stands out in it as good or bad. Just the average SCE quality story which is pretty damn good already. I did like the how to know if you're in the matrix or not angle.
War Stories
Okay this is quite good, we finally get the background of stories hinted at throughput the seires so far, of what out crew was upto during the dominion war. I specifically liked seeing the meeting of Bart and Marc, but also to see what hell caused Lense's PTSD was fantastic. There is once again a current day framework, however this one feels a lot less clunky. It is worth noting that it does seem to set up a story line and threat that as far as I remember was never revisited. If I am wrong about that I will find out soon enough.
Wildfire
I try to stay spoiler free, but I cannot do that with this one. Without spoilers I will just say that this is trek writing at its finest. David Mack before he got famous with the Destiny trilogy. This is apparently a retelling of a story he wrote for DS9 which was adopted into Starship down, and excellent episode but if his original treatise was anything like Wildfire, it could have been the greatest episode in the history of trek. That being said I do not think this story could have worked in a mainline show in the nineties, for reasons I will cover in the spoiler part.
once recommended the SCE series to two Trekkie fans, they took the recommend and loved it. They actually read at the same pace, and we chatted about the books regularly. All was fun and games until they reached this one. They both yelled at me. They didn't know whether they were happy with me recommending the series, or angry at not warning me for the tragic masterpiece that is wildfire. If you think you fall into the latter category, but have not yet read it please continue reading.
The whole story will keep you on the edge of your seat, truly the best trek I have ever read, or even watched. Go read this book, but not until you have read the rest of the series, because only then will it hit you as powerfully as it did me. I even shed a few tears which I rarely do while reading.
Enigma Ship
Another nice problem solving story, nothing really stands out in it as good or bad. Just the average SCE quality story which is pretty damn good already. I did like the how to know if you're in the matrix or not angle.
War Stories
Okay this is quite good, we finally get the background of stories hinted at throughput the seires so far, of what out crew was upto during the dominion war. I specifically liked seeing the meeting of Bart and Marc, but also to see what hell caused Lense's PTSD was fantastic. There is once again a current day framework, however this one feels a lot less clunky. It is worth noting that it does seem to set up a story line and threat that as far as I remember was never revisited. If I am wrong about that I will find out soon enough.
Wildfire
I try to stay spoiler free, but I cannot do that with this one. Without spoilers I will just say that this is trek writing at its finest. David Mack before he got famous with the Destiny trilogy. This is apparently a retelling of a story he wrote for DS9 which was adopted into Starship down, and excellent episode but if his original treatise was anything like Wildfire, it could have been the greatest episode in the history of trek. That being said I do not think this story could have worked in a mainline show in the nineties, for reasons I will cover in the spoiler part.
once recommended the SCE series to two Trekkie fans, they took the recommend and loved it. They actually read at the same pace, and we chatted about the books regularly. All was fun and games until they reached this one. They both yelled at me. They didn't know whether they were happy with me recommending the series, or angry at not warning me for the tragic masterpiece that is wildfire. If you think you fall into the latter category, but have not yet read it please continue reading.
The whole story will keep you on the edge of your seat, truly the best trek I have ever read, or even watched. Go read this book, but not until you have read the rest of the series, because only then will it hit you as powerfully as it did me. I even shed a few tears which I rarely do while reading.
August 4, 2012
Live long and prosper Duffy. Exciting stuff. Geez. =)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews