The Lost Era: Serpents Among The Ruins

Star Trek: The Lost Era #2

by David R. George III

The mysterious Tomed Incident of 2311 was the Federation's definitive confrontation with the Romulan Empire. Now fans can learn the truth behind the intrigue, heroism, and tremendous personal sacrifice surrounding this pivotal event -- including the untold story of the Enterprise NCC-1701-B.
In the midst of escalating political tensions among the Klingons, the Romulans, and the Federation, Starfleet goes forward with the inaugural flight of Universe, a prototype star ship that promises to revolutionise space exploration. But the Universe experiment results in disaster, ravaging a region of space dangerously close to the Romulan Star Empire, apparently confirming suspicions that the Federation has begun testing a weapon of mass destruction.
As the military build-up accelerates on both sides of the Neutral Zone, Captain John Harriman of the USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-B, is fated for a final confrontation with his oldest enemy at a flashpoint in history -- with the Beta Quadrant one wrong move from the outbreak of total war.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy

388 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Aron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional! Exceptional is the only word I can think of to do this book justice. This novel has a lot going for it, action/adventure, espionage, political intrigue, & some awesome character development for Capt Harriman & some good moments for D. Sulu. The Harriman we've all seen at the beginning of Generations has since had 18 yrs in command & has grown & matured into a great starship captain well worthy of the starship Enterprise. DRG3 did a great job with this one, maybe my new favorite ST novel. If you're an ST lit fan or just a ST fan you should read this. Highly recommend.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you thought that John Harriman of the Enterprise-B made a poor Captain...then read this novel. Eighteen years have passed, and he has become a more seasoned, more taciturn human being...with one hell of a steel will. A very exciting thriller, that sheds terrifying light on a moment in Star Trek history only briefly mentioned on TV.

[Eggith · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this a few times. F Captain Johnathon harriman is a badass. and not only on tuesdays! Ill be rereading this. mentioned a part of this book a lot that kicks ya in the teeth

[Nicholas Heinjus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always satisfying when a Starfleet captain gets a happy ending.

[Brayden Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

These Lost Era novels are so exciting. I'd love to see a limited series take place on Ent-B or maybe Ent-C. This novel is packed with intensity from start to finish with a thrilling if saddening climax. With heavy themes throughout the author navigates a level of complexity you don't always see in Trek novels. Count me in for more from David R. George III (and More enterprise B!)

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Trek: The Lost Era (Enterprise B) Serpents Among the Ruins by David R. George III

challenging dark 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 didn't think this story would go to the places that it went, but I was impressed on how it handled what it added. 

I thought that this book would be solely a story about the NCC 1701-B, with Captain John Harriman as the captain, and Demora Sulu as his exec (Number One, though they didn't use this appellation).

It was this, but SO much more. If we've seen Star Trek: Generations (and I believe most, if not all...have), then we know about these two characters. This story takes place a little under twenty years later. I do wish we had more time with these characters (and maybe some day, someone will fill in the blank space left in this novel 🫰🏻).

There is another aspect of this book...that I wasn't expecting...which added a depth and a severity, that made the story a LOT heavier. I actually don't want to steal that reveal, but I think most people will enjoy it.

I love seeing this era of Star Trek. I've never been a fan of the Excelsior class starship, but any time you have an Enterprise, it's a story that I want to know about.

I will say that I enjoyed the continuing story of Elias Vaughn that shows up in this novel. Also, the struggles that he has...as he continues his path. Very interesting. Getting to know him as a young Lieutenant is fascinating. I've read the later novels, so didn't know how he got started down the path...that he's on. 

This was a very good novel...setting the course of what happens between Star Trek: Generations (the TOS side of it) and Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series.

The next Star Trek novel I'll be reading is probably is The Lost Era: One Constant Star by David R. George III.

[Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always thought Captain Harriman had gotten a bad rap as perhaps incompetent, fearful and even stoic, in Star Trek: Generations. I love how David R. George III turned that idea upside down, instead showing him as a brilliant tactician, willing to take quick action, and a deeply feeling man in his family relationships, friendships, and romantic love--a very successful rehabilitation of the character, which is apparently what he set out to do. Having read The Captain's Daughter (and then having it signed by George Takei at a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Star Trek convention in 1996(ish), woot!), it was of course awesome to see Demora Sulu in action again, as well as Chancellor Azetbur. The new aliens, alien races, characters and technology contained between the covers of this novel are brilliant. And Mr. George definitely knows how to write Klingons and Romulans!

The fact that this book connects to the larger Trek-Lit connected universe makes it all the more enjoyable. I love those Trek stories the most that use characters from other television episodes, comics, novels and movies.

Definitely would rank this in the top echelon of the list of Trek novels I've read. 5 out of 5 omnipresent fiber optic cables (apparently still in use in the 24th century).

[Christopher Lutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid, I had the micro- machines USS Enterprise-B from Star Trek: Generations. It was my favorite Trek toy because it was MY Enterprise. We didn't know anything about it besides it's first mission, so I got to create all sorts of adventures for it. Fast forward to now, and I find this book from the "Lost Era" between TOS and TNG that tells the story of the Tomed Incident and the Treaty of Algeron: two very significant moments in Trek history. It was so exciting to learn more about both this era of Trek history as well as the history of the Enterprise-B beyond Generations.

The story begins 18 years after the apparent death of James Kirk on the first voyage of the Enterprise-B. In that time, the ship and her crew have evolved and become much more seasoned. Captain John Harriman has come a long way from the indecisive young captain we saw on screen. He is now a veteran commander and starfleet's foremost expert on the Romulans, whose Cold War with the Federation is near a boiling point. The Federation and the crew of the Enterprise face War that threatens the entire Alpha Quadrant, with the Klingons thrown in as a dangerous wild card. The resulting disaster of the Tomed Incident avoids total war, but reshapes the political landscape of the Trek universe. It's a great story that bridges two eras of history while also feeling completely standalone, never having to solely rely on connections to the TOS or TNG eras. Every character, whether from the official canon or from the literary world, was written well and held my interest. Romulan Admiral Volkar was a particular standout for me. As an arch nemesis for Harriman he was brilliant. This one novel had to convey a backstory of 30 years of bad blood between the two that would come to a head here, and it felt very natural in it's execution. Besides Harriman, Chancellor Azetbur (from Star Trek 6) was a canon character that had an excellent role. Again tying together two eras while also feeling unique.

Featuring plenty of strong world building, political intrigue and fantastic character development, Serpents Among the Ruins was even better than I hoped it would be. A great Star Trek novel.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been wanting to read this one for a while, and it did a lot of things well. I was most interested in the sections that were character pieces on Harriman or Demora Sulu. The political plot was compelling, but felt a little bloated by the end.

I would recommend reading Peter David's The Captain's Daughter first because it gets a lot of callbacks here.

For more on Star Trek, tune in to this Howe's Thing special: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/st...

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

If nothing else

I enjoy that this book goes a long way towards repairing the reputation of Captain John Harriman. If Harriman were just the bumbler who lost Kirk on the maiden voyage of the Enterprise B, it would be more of a plot hole than anything. This book shows there's a lot more to the man. Plus, it's a fun action adventure read on top of it.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

SERPENTS AMONG THE RUINS is a Star Trek novel that deals with a subject that is often overlooked outside of Deep Space Nine: Politics. Captain Kirk is presumed dead and it is a century or so until Captain Picard takes over the Enterprise. So, this is a transition novel that attempts to sort out how the events of THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY leads to the complicated isolationist Romulus as well as warrior-caste ruled Klingon Empire.

John Harriman (played by Ferris Bueller's best friend Alan Ruck in GENERATIONS) is no longer a bumbling captain who is in charge of the Enterprise due to pure nepotism. He's become a canny political operator as well as the archenemy of the Romulan Admiral Vokar. Right now, it is a tense time in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants due to the fact the Klingon Empire is sick of receiving the Federation's charity and the Romulans are up to their usual tricks.

Much of the book deals with the fact the Romulans think they have a decent chance of invading the Federation and getting the Klingon's help in crushing it. The Klingons have not been made allies of the Federation despite the Khitomer Trilogy but, as TNG shows, have a contempt for their "allies" that never really goes away.

Gorkon's daughter and current High Chancellor, Azetbur, is not really doing a great job of playing politics as she's devoted to trusting the Federation and not even making a token effort to be confrontational. Sharks swarm around her and it is unlikely things will end well for her as she's apparently the last female High Chancellor according to a line of dialogue from Gowron. I wonder if that's since been retconned like female Starfleet captains.

In any case, this is a complicated and fascinating story that is one of the best Star Trek novels I have ever read. I admit, I think the resolution is a bit of a cop out as Starfleet does the sort of thing they would never do without Section 31 normally but still manages to prevent an all-out war. I really am impressed with the writer here and am already debating picking up his next set of adventures with this cast.

[Burns Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book with forgettable characters
I’ve been enjoying the Lost Era series so far, and I was really excited to read about the Enterprise-B. Serpents Among the Ruins delivered a decent story, but there were a few things that kept this book from greatness. The first is that there are only a handful of characters that have actual depth, and these characters just happen to be the ones that have appeared in other stories. I enjoyed seeing more mature portrayals of Captain Harriman and Demora Sulu: they were definitely the highlight of the book. I also enjoyed seeing Elias Vaughn again; I’m intrigued to see where his story goes. Other than these three, I can’t say there were any other memorable characters. Vokar, the Roman antagonist, was okay, but nothing special. It’s disappointing that the Enterprise crew didn’t have more time in the spotlight; that seems like a missed opportunity. Hopefully, more time is spent with the characters in the sequel, One Constant Star. Another thing that plagued this book was loooooong chapters. Most chapters were at least 30 pages, and one of them was 70 pages. I really don’t understand why authors write long chapters sometimes; it can be really discouraging to readers.
Despite this books flaws, I did enjoy it. There were some fascinating moral questions about the greater good and the sacrifices that are often made to protect others. As I suspect this series will continue to do, Serpents does a good job of slowly progressing the Federation and other factions from the state we see them in the TOS movies to the TNG show.
If you’re interested in the story of the Enterprise-B, this is the book for you. Just be mindful of the long chapters.

[Bookreader1972 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars. I liked this book a lot.
David R. George III is not my favorite Star Trek author, but I don't dislike him as much as some have written on here about other books of his.
One of his very recent DS9 books, some of the reviews were nasty about his writing.
I thought he did a very good job with this story, of an incident with the Romulans we have only ever had one mention of in the first season of TNG. He smartly brings back Capt Harriman & Demora Sulu (Mr. Sulu's daughter), both of whom appeared in the beginning part of the movie Star Trek Generations.
This take place 18 years after that time of the movie. It is well written & there is some tense moments, however I knew who would live due to the book being 15 years old. Some of the characters have appeared in books since then, set after these events. Hope that's not a spoiler. It wasn't for me.
I look forward to read more of the Lost Era books.

[Josh · Rating 1 out of 5]

This novel is baffling, not in the sense of understanding the narrative, but in the sense of why the author thought his choices would at all be compelling to his readers. Much of the novel is not really focused on anything but the personal travails of crewmembers (including some kind of insectoid alien shedding their exoskeleton and thus undergoing some kind of puberty) on the U.S.S. Enterprise, captained by the lunk only seen in the seventh Star Trek film. Then it zeros in on a Star Fleet operation that is so patently stupid that one wonders if everyone in the Star Trek universe was a moron between The Original Series and The Next Generation.

Indiana University academic Murray Sperber appears to make a cameo appearance as a crew member; as best as I can tell the author had no connection to IU.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to give this a 4 or 5 but the explanation of the "secret mission" really soured me on this book. Spoilers ahead.

The mission is to launch a 9/11 style false flag attack on the Federation and blame the Romulans, because "they were gonna start a war anyway" well that doesn't sit right with me at all. After this happened the writer did put in a few lines of some guff about how all the destroyed outposts were actually empty and they faked all the deaths, so no-one really died etc, but come on... pretty lame attempt to have your cake and eat it too.

It was good up to that point though and I'd probably read some of the authors other Trek books in the future.

[Red · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author used a lot of weird words. Archaic words, big words that were used slightly wrong. It felt like the author wrote the book then sat down with a thesaurus to make half the words more complicated, the result being that it feels choppy. I don't mind learning new words when reading, but these feel so out of place.

[Frank Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great. It had a bit of a repetitive storytelling style, but the diplomatic content was full on. The Starfleet side of the story is not exactly the usual good guys role, it was certainly ethically questionable.

We hang out with TOS-Sulu's daughter, Commander Sulu, also serving on the Enterprise some time after her father had moved on.

[Toby Quaranta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good little gem

One of the more enjoyable novels, this fills gaps in some TNG story lines (treaty of Algerian. the Tomed incident) as well as providing some DS9 and post DS9 cover (Vreenak, Gell’s backstory). Through it all, the book remains fun

[Oz Trekkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant novel. Twists and turns all through the novel. Hope the rest of the series is as good as the first two.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpectedly good book from the ST Universe.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good re-read...

[Robert Lewter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read on.

As always a terrific story. The journey continues. I hope it continues until long after my end. Boldly go. Trek.

[Aaron Eichler · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful read

It was interesting to see John Harriman as someone more than just the Captain of the first part of Star Trek Generations, it let him grow into more of a character.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any Trekkie will enjoy this book. It redeems Harriman and makes him a badass.

[Steven Shinder · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I’m in a slump, but I just did not connect with this one.

[Michael T Bradley · Rating 1 out of 5]

David R. George III (DIRGE) is one of the most frustrating writers out there. Here's why: he can sometimes turn a beautiful phrase, and he has a way of making certain imagery come alive, and he obviously thinks his strength is a lot of good navel-gazing, but ... instead, what happens is he gets so far twisted down the path of a scene that he can't see the forest for the trees. I'm convinced if you took a chainsaw editorial approach to his writing, you'd have some awesome Trek novellas. Instead, we get overly wordy piles of garbage like Serpent Among the Ruins, supposedly about the Tomed incident during the "lost years" between TOS & TNG. I don't know. I read over half of it, and I still don't know what was going on because I'd get so bored so often.

The most egregious example of DIRGE's ridiculous overwriting is the scene where John Harriman goes to see his gf (Asinine? Something like that). I'll paraphrase:

"John walked lovingly down the corridor, approaching the door of the woman he loved, Asinine, whom he loved. He felt a stirring in his chest. It was probably love, which he felt for Asinine. He smiled slightly, the smile of one feeling love. He reached the door and pressed the call button with a slight touch of love in his digit. She answered, and her face made love blossom inside him.
'I love you,' he said. 'No, in fact ... I LOVE you,' he said, lovingly, as he smiled a loving smile. He lovingly stepped across the lovely doorway."

ARRRRRGH. It could have been two sentences!!!

Needless to say, I left the book feeling frustrated.

[Bjoern · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had hooked me completely for the "Lost Era" idea. Restoring the honor and dignity of Captain John "not until tuesday" Harriman, telling the story of how the federation came to sign the infamous Treaty of Algeron AND why the Romulans kept to themselves for almost a century behind the limits of the Neutral Zone AND doing so in a simply enjoyable, funny and entertaining way is marvelous on it's own, but amongst the Star Trek books (of that time) Serpents was a giant by itself, almost a league of it's own. It might even have introduced (me to) the new time of growing continuity, interaction and exchange of ideas, figures and timelines between the authors as it surely was one of the first truly fan-written ST books i ever got to read. There are tons of cameos and a loving dedication to the so harshly unterrepresented Ent-B that there cannot be any other explanation. Lost Era and especially SATR is a work of fanfiction that got the chance to whirl the old guys writing for a living for ages and occasionally doing so for Star Trek, quite a bit around. (Okay, Peter David had much of the same elements always gracing his books and especially the New Frontier series, but there never was this level of interaction between David and the other hard writing names in ST during the nineties and early 2000s)

Half a decade later almost every new ST book follows this kind of style, but back then it was the dawn of a new age

[Nicky2910 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Trek: The Lost Era: Serpents Among the Ruins by David R. George III Set in 2311, this second installment of the Lost Era-series (novels which can be read independently but which all cover the time between Generations and the start of TNG) deals with the background story to the Romulan absence from galactic affairs which lasts 40 years.
 
George spins an intriguing tale about politics, negotiations and secret operations, all aimed at preventing an alliance between the Klingon and Romulan Empires against the Federation. Of course, the worst-case scenario is prevented, but is deception and subterfuge really the base upon which to build a lasting peace? Granted, in this case, as TNG shows us, it was, but still it's incredibly risky to use such methods.
 
Captain Harriman of the Enterprise-B finally gets to shine in the spotlight, and a young Elias Vaughn is introduced as special ops officer. Perhaps George sometimes concentrates too much on advancing the plot, sacrificing characterization, but those instances are few and far inbetween. This is an exciting novel which will keep you at the edge of your seat right from the start to the finishing line.
 
~~
 
review originally written in 2007

[Furby · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first third of the book sets up a great Cold War scenario, with the Federation, Klingons and Romulans on the edge of conflict. Diplomats play a large part in this tale and it's always nice to see alien races fleshed out and made multi-dimensional. George also gives us a look at the Frunalian race, which I later found out was only mentioned once in Deep Space Nine and he's since adopted in his novels. Weird aliens are always welcome.

I'm a sucker for neglected characters (my favourite Doctor is Paul McGann) and so I was happy to see David R. George do a good job characterising the laid back Captain Harriman recognisably. The idea of making him the most tough, dirty captain in Starfleet came from left field but hey, it's set 18 years after Generations and we only saw ten minutes of him. Some of the actions taken in this book are equal or even more dubious than anything Sisko did in "In The Pale Moonlight", so if that's a deal breaker you should avoid.

All in all, worth a read if Cold War drama is your thing.

[John Carter McKnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

George's Star Trek novels are an exercise in frustration: he's an absolutely terrible writer, but tells a great story. Here, the first chapter or so is godawful, an overwritten, stilted mess. I'd given up twice there, but finally, stuck in an airport, persevered - and I'm glad.

George hits his stride after the first act, giving us a deeply twisted tale of covert ops within covert ops, a mature captain making peace with his father, growing into a relationship, and confronting the choice to settle down. I enjoyed the quiet scenes with his longtime girlfriend as much as the action and intrigue, which is nail-bitingly deft.

Serpents does its job well as an entry in the "Lost Years" series, restoring the dignity of a character not used well, while providing detail on an often referred to but never before described chapter in Trek history.