Dreams of the Raven

Star Trek: The Original Series #34

by Carmen Carter

Dreams Of The Raven

A merchant ship's frantic S.O.S sends the U.S.S. Enterprise™ speeding to the rescue! But the starships mission of mercy soon becomes a desperate struggle for survival against a nightmarish enemy Captain Kirk can neither identify nor understand, an enemy he must defeat without the aid of one of his most trusted officers.

For the Leonard McCoy Kirk knew is gone. In his place stands a stranger -- a man with no memory of his Starfleet career, his family, his friends... or the one thing James T. Kirk needs most of all. His dreams.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Star Trek Original Series, Media Tie In, Adventure, Ebooks

255 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1987

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read at least a dozen Star Trek novels a year, and most of them are basically the same. It is expected that in a serial, the characters remain largely unchanged from one story to the next. In Dreams of the Raven (ST: TOG #34) the author, Carmen Carter, manages to accentuate all the things Trekkers love about Trek without seeming redundant and trite. Here, the friendship between the three primaries is emphasized as if it is a new thing, in a different way with Bones McCoy experiencing such profound memory loss that he may as well have woken from a 30-year coma. The new distinct alien enemy and the unique stress that is put on the crew as a consequence was innovative and the lyrical moments of exposition brought the narrative together in a special synthesis that is rare in Trek novels. Honestly, the books sometimes bleed together which is one of the things that we both love and hate as readers because it is also what prevents too much variation, uniqueness, specialness. I have never been impressed with Carter, but this story with its innovative flourishes will keep me on the lookout for more of her obviously stellar work.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. McCoy suffers from amnesia, triggering a deep personal struggle as his forgotten reasons for joining Starfleet come into conflict with his earlier dreams of living a quiet life as a country doctor. The story provides a compelling look at a younger, pre-Starfleet McCoy and includes a few poignant moments with Spock. However, the attempts at providing suspense, mystery, and thrills feel flat and unsophisticated, making it a less than fully engaging experience.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carmen Carter is more famous for her TNG work, but with this novel, she also demonstrates a superb command over the crew of the Original Series Enterprise. In fact, it's full of amazing character work all around, combined with an interesting plot that puts Captain Kirk & crew in the way of some very serious, yet very unique jeopardy. It's also a great deal more subtle & contemplative than the back cover blurb leads a reader to believe...and we all need a bit more subtle & contemplative in these bombastic times.

[Will Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

BONES, BONES, BONES!!
I'm a Leonard McCoy girl and this gets deep into his character, as well as the themes of death and memory, and some truly terrifying aliens.
Plus, Carmen Carter really gets the whole crew, and every character's personality quirks come out so vividly that I really believed it could be an episode of the original show. Many interactions or comments had me laughing out loud, and this was definitely one of my favorite Star Trek books ever.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually the first Star Trek novel I've read (Having read loads of the graphic novels) and I've got to say I really enjoyed it.

I think how Bones' accident happened and then how he snapped out of it was all a bit corny, but then that's what Star Trek's all about.

When he lost his memory, it became all to clear that the friendship between Bones, Spock and Kirk is so integral to every Star Trek story - it was really interesting and strange to not hear Spock and Bones bickering with each other!

Kirk's a hero as ever and the idea of Aliens who take on their victims personality, voice, etc by eating their brains, was seriously cool.

I thought Bones may have remembered the Dr.Dyson kiss at the end... the girl should of gone ahead and kissed him anyways!!

I ♥ Bones. And, as ever, I ♥ Star Trek. Bring on the next novel!

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know a lot of people think this book is absolute crap. I don't believe so. The way Dr. McCoy receives his injury is a bit... stupid for lack of a better word. But the rest is fascinating. It was more of a book for those who deeply love McCoy because it's more of a character study of what he was like 25 years before he became the Bones he is today. Of course, it isn't without flaws, and it wasn't a spectacular rendition of what I believe McCoy would have been like. He was lacking many of his admirable skills, like loving and healing no matter what, and was, quite frankly, a bit of a whiner, but it was alright. I did think the book resolved itself too prematurely. All of a sudden, everything was back to normal, even with a main crewman still "out of the picture" (at a risk of spoiling anything.) But it was a good read for those of us who love McCoy and wish to see him have more stories revolving around him.

The "side story" (what I like to call it) was alright, but there was so much technical jargon and not enough action I found myself very tempted to just skip to the part where McCoy shows up again.

All in all, a good leisurely read for the beach or maybe a chapter or two a night before bed.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than usual for this series.

[Reesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I enjoyed the focus on McCoy, though the resolution was less than stellar. There is even a light romance B-plot in this one that has to be the best handled I've read in Star Trek novels so far (reading in pub date order), so kudos for that!

The new alien species was interesting, though not particularly believable, and their biology led to one of those frustrating stretches of the book where it's patently obvious why this alien body is different in this way from that alien body and yet, paradoxically, none of these super-smart Starfleet types manage to pick up on it. That misstep always makes everyone look so dumb and it's hard to stomach. On the plus side, the "how" for that difference was a genuine shock! Later on, the description of the "how" actually happening was superb.

But the real meat of this novel is the McCoy content, and that was done very well for the most part. The setup and the resolution are both a little shaky, but I'm willing to accept the occasional literary contrivance in service to a good story. I liked exploring McCoy's response to realizing he hadn't made the choices he'd always assumed he would, and his need to distance himself from what he'd become.

It's worth a read for sure.

[Pu$$y Master · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable and fun read, every book I read that centers around Bones makes me wonder what the fuck happened between him and his ex-wife. Need a book of their divorce proceedings. My only criticism is that the doctor who kissed an amnesic patient under her care should definitely be fired.

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you like McCoy? Don't you like that alcoholic, racist, Southern bumpkin who seems to be a transplant straight out of the 1930s? Well, even if you do, too freaking bad, because this book is all about getting to know McCoy is his 20's, when he's rather objectively worse.

I don't know, there seem to be quite a few fans of McCoy out there, and I'll never understand why. The man is an asshole, who constantly spouts angry rants and shoots down everyone else's ideas as if they were proposed by crazy madmen trying to get everyone else killed. I mean, I guess you can kind of interpret it as a "straight man" for the more outlandish members of the crew, but to me, he just comes across as hopelessly irascible, acerbic, and otherwise just generally asshole-ish, who's greatest career ambition is to be an "old, country doctor in the rural South" where he would presumably cure patients with bleedings and leeches whilst talking about their humors with how anti-technology he proclaims to be. And I will never understand why the writers back then made the characters the way they did. Whenever they reminisce about their childhoods, they always sound like they grew up in turn-of-the-century-Americana-land, putting little girls pigtails in inkwells and jumping naked into fishin' holes alongside Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. I get that the writers themselves grew up in the 1930s and 1940s, but the characters live 200 years later and they either lacked the imagination to breathe life into the 22nd century, or they were too worried that the audience would be unable to imagine a future world.

Anyway, even if that's the McCoy you like, here you're going to get a big strong dose of a McCoy who is even worse. Due to an accident involving some brain-eating aliens, McCoy hits his head and gets amnesia, only it turns out to be because of pure hysteria and not injury, and he suddenly doesn't remember the last 25 years. So, we have a young McCoy who has all those traits in spades. He hates space, he hates Starfleet, he doesn't know who anyone is, and as he learns about his future self, he hates who he has become, since even as a young 20-something, he just wanted to retire onto an old Southern plantation and lazily sip mint juleps whilst he made the occasional house call for consumption or falling sickness or the vapors or whatever other 19th century ailment you can think of. Am I letting my dislike for McCoy color this review? You bet I am. I just don't like him and I don't want to read hundreds of pages about an even worse version of him. I had hoped that sort of parochial provincialism would be something that died out by the 22nd century.

Now, don't get me wrong, this kind of story can and has been told well and enjoyably, "Tapestry" from TNG comes immediately to mind. But, that's because Picard was a likeable character by then, and it was fun to see the young, less-seasoned Picard...whereas McCoy is just a stick-in-the-mud. He also bones (pun intended) another doctor whilst he has this hysterical amnesia, who is 20-years younger than him and apparently always wanted to bone him...which leads to a sort of moral question about consent. For McCoy isn't really himself, and not because of injury, but because of psychological trauma, so, can he really consent at this point? Of course, it's a moot point anyway, because once he regains his memory - which seems to spontaneously occur off camera - as we cut to commercial after another doctor almost kills Spock on the operating table, but after the break, good ol' Bones McCoy is back, having saved Spock, since apparently all his memories came flooding back in an instant. Only, he has completely forgotten the last two weeks.

So, he's learned nothing. That entire adventure of potential self-discovery or learning to not take what you have for granted or any sort of growth which could have occurred from getting a fresh perspective on youth or seeing what your staff thought about you now that you aren't lording over them or even the potential thread of love that occurred from a tender moment with another person, as problematic as they may have been - nah, fuck that. It's all been erased as if it never happened...except to everyone else...who, I guess are supposed to have a fresh perspective on McCoy and like him more now, even though he has not and will not change.

Oh yah, and then the plot. So, the brain-eating bird people apparently kind of become whoever they eat (I guess they can only eat one brain) and one of them has eaten a Klingon commander who, during the climactic battle, becomes himself fully and tells Spock that he's going to go face-to-face with the bird-queen (who's a giant slug monster) and that when he gets there, Spock should transport a bomb to his coordinates and problem solved...so, hooray for someone else being a hero and risking their own life so that we don't have to potentially endanger the main cast.

As to what's going on on the cover, you got me? It's the movie Enterprise and a movie Bird-of-Prey during what is clearly a TOS-era story, based on the uniforms (and the fact that this takes place shortly after the Organian Treaty), with Kirk doing some kind of zombie pose?

So, um...yah, skip this one...skip it hard!

[Simon Pressinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pure escapism.

An unknown, malevolent alien species attacks the Enterprise, which sustains heavy damage and casualties. After falling into a short-lived coma, Dr. McCoy wakes up with no memory of the past 25 years. The ship manages to capture a curiously deserted Klingon battlecruiser, and discovers parts of an alien species with blue rubbery skin, beaked, avian features and red eyes.

"Space: the final frontier..."

This was a mostly unoriginal pulpy sci-fi romp that sadly failed to capture the unique speech and mannerisms of the TOG principal characters. The writing was also a bit ropey. ("Kirk shrugged philosophically."(??)) But! plotwise, it did at least stick to that spirit of pacey adventure, peril and speculative intrigue that I love about the original series.

[Rebekah Johnson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Downright boring. I read a lot of Star Trek books and this was easily one of my least favorites.

[David King · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Dreams of the Raven” by Carmen Carter is an Original Series Star Trek novel which is primarily focused around the character of Dr. McCoy. The overall plot follows the crew of the USS Enterprise as they attempts to deal with a new and dangerous species who are seemingly able to take control of ships and their crews with relative ease. Unfortunately, the crew aren’t helped by a head injury to Dr. McCoy which has resulted in him losing all his memories from his time in Starfleet. Devoid of all his experiences, he is more of a hindrance than a help as the crew tries to battle the new foe!

The first thing to mention about the plot is that the cause of McCoy’s amnesia is rather silly and quite unimaginative. The concept of his reversion to a younger self however was an interesting one which did keep me intrigued. It was particularly nice seeing how the effect of past experiences could change someone as was evident with McCoy and how he now acted without those experiences. However, I do think that the author maybe went a bit too far at times as some of McCoy’s core personality traits were altered beyond what I felt was realistic. Of course, it could be argued that this was potentially just another aspect of his head injury.

The plot elements around the alien threat itself were rather standard and uninspiring. It wasn’t that long ago that I finished the book but I am already struggling to remember anything of note about these aspects of the plot. Overall, this is probably best described as another average Original Series novel. The amnesia plot is a bit trite in set-up and conclusion but it was nice to see a book dedicated to McCoy and the concept of how the memory loss affected him was interesting. The rest of the story isn’t really anything memorable but it isn’t the worst Star Trek novel I have read.

[Patrick Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Enterprise's R & R at Wagner's Trading Post is cut short after receiving a distress call from a ship stating it's been attacked by Klingon's in disputed space. Upon discovering the ship something unexpected happens to cause distress to the Enterprise and its crew, especially Doctor McCoy who suffered a head injury. His damage is so severe he's lost his last twenty-five years of memory, losing all his past serving in Star Fleet. The book focuses strongly on McCoy's adjustment to being surrounded by people he doesn't know, and to a lesser extent how the crew can survive their plight.

The mystery of what's occurring to the races the Enterprise encounters is fantastic. I love the second vessel that the crew encounters and what's done with it. If only Sulu and Chekov had gotten further adventures on this vessel! When the alien mystery is revealed it's undeniably gross and wonderful. I can't recall Star Trek villains so despicable. They seemed more suited for Doctor Who, but were fantastic in this book.

McCoy's tale is the primary focus of this novel, with twenty-five year-old McCoy not happy to be trapped in the past of the forty-three year-old legend. He goes through the expected emotions of anger and surprise, but author Carter does an impressive job in making his journey believable. His actions are understandable and I found myself rooting for him to snap back to his old persona. Fans know that the book will end with this occurring, but how it happens is perfect. The final two pages of the book were wonderfully heartbreaking, though telegraphed by one of the characters earlier.

This doesn't get a five out of five because the title is misleading: yes there are "Ravens", but they are the lesser part of this tale. What the title could have been, I don't know, but this had me thinking the aliens would dominate more of the story.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

During a visit to an orbital trading post, the U.S.S. Enterprise responds to a distress call from a freighter reportedly under attack from the Klingons, When they arrive at the scene, however, the crew find themselves facing a new threat, one that leaves their ship temporarily crippled. Now they face a difficult journey back while under the threat of a renewed attack, and all while one their chief medical officer, Leonard McCoy is recovering from a trauma that has left him with no memory of the previous 25 years.

While known for her works set in the Next Generation universe, Carmen Carter's first contribution to the Star Trek franchise came with this 1987 novel, which was her only book published featuring the original crew. To me this fact is regrettable, as her contribution to the Pocket Books series is one of the best in it that I have read. Part of this is that unlike so many others by more prominent authors there is no universe-threatening crisis or other rehash of a series trope in it, just a good, gripping story about a ship overcoming a threat that is nicely enriched by her characterization of the crew. None is better explored than Doctor McCoy, who goes from being the captain's curmudgeonly conscience to a conflicted figure questioning the choices he made. It's an interesting plot device that succeeds better than it should, thanks to Carter's effective development of McCoy's turmoil and his engagement with his surroundings. When combined with one of the more unique threats ever devised for the franchise, the result is an entertaining story that reflects some of the best-realized possibilities of the book format for the Star Trek universe.

[Katharine Holden · Rating 2 out of 5]

Muddled, melodramatic Star Trek novel featuring the Original Series cast. McCoy loses a chunk of his adult memory and only has the memories and skills of the recently qualified and traditional M.D. that he was before he entered Star Fleet. It's an interesting premise. Unfortunately, Carmen Carter tries to make drama and nightmare out of the fact that the Bones we all know and love was created by his years in Star Fleet; without them, he is someone else and that someone else is immature. Well, of course, he would be different. Aren't we all shaped by our years of experience? Weren't we all immature just as we were starting out in our careers? She even tries to make us believe that the pre-Star Fleet McCoy was a run-of-the-mill young doctor without much humor. It's unlikely that a man with mediocre medical skills would have turned into the McCoy who can face an unknown space disease and come up with a vaccine in record time. I wish she had focused less on trying to show how the non-Star Fleet McCoy is less-than-Bones in contrast to the "real" Bones. More interesting are the moments in the book when she focuses on the difficulties McCoy faces as a person with amnesia trying to function in a world he no longer recognizes.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quite a bit. We learned more about Bones, and I thought the characterization was well done. I liked the alien enemy the Enterprise had to deal with, although maybe it was a bit close to "Alien" in some ways. A good solid story. I thought the title was a bit misleading. Bones was having some dreams about the aliens apparently, but this was never developed and never turned out to be important in the story. The ending was strong, though.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ship's distress signal puts an entire sector at risk and an incident leaves Dr McCoy with a case of amnesia which regresses him twenty five years, risking his crewmates when they need him most.

Carter's novel is a charming 'Star Trek' story, which captures the characters expertly and places them in a believable jeopardy.

[Cary Spratt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. McCoy's amnesia (cause & recovery) is mostly just annoying, and the bad-guy-alien plotline was okay, but not good enough to earn additional stars.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better titled "Bones Gets Amnesia". (What up with these Star Trek covers that all look the same anyhow?) A handful of minor characters get screentime.

[Darran Summerfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very first star trek novel I ever read, and I loved it

[Stacey L · Rating 5 out of 5]

My fave of all the 1,000 Star Trek novels i've read. i think i read this one 4 times.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little Star Trek story that gives Dr. McCoy much of the spotlight as the crew tries to deal with a mysterious race of aliens and a nasty sort of conflict that keeps sending enemies at them while the ship is crippled from an accident.

McCoy is the character from the "trinity" that usually gets the lease focus in Trek novels and frankly any media, and it's a little too bad: he's an interesting character who had more of a life before Star Fleet than any of the others and brings that weight of history to his character. Too often he's the quippy supporting player, there to be the sounding board for Kirk or to pick a fight with Spock. But he's character who can really shine when given some run, although I do understand how as the ship's doctor he can be a little harder to thrust into the forefront of a plot.

The other problem that comes up is because McCoy doesn't get as much of the spotlight you have authors changing things around in his backstory and leaving some of his stuff a little inconsistent. About the only thing that stays intact all the time is the bitter divorce from his wife that sent him into the stars. (often they forget he has a daughter, which is a shame)

This one is pretty good, because the amnesia plot device puts a different Doctor McCoy into the mix, and seeing Kirk and the crew struggle to deal with him (while he struggles to deal with the world he's in that he has no memory of...and doesn't particularly like) changes a lot of relationships and forced people to operate out of their comfort zone, Kirk in particular.

Carter does a solid job with the rest of the Enterprise crew, though Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov are mostly bit players, but I think she doesn't have the best grasp on Spock, who is a bit too robotic at times (and then oddly actually shows enough contempt for a new and thoroughly unlikable character that it seems odd as well.) As new characters, Dyson is a solid one-off but Cortejo is such an ass that it's hard to see why they would have put up with him on the ship, no matter how good a surgeon he was. (Points to Carter for not making her new crewmember an insufferable Mary Sue as well)

The mystery of the Ravens is decent enough, but this book rises and fall on McCoy's struggles with his own life and loss of memory. It's pretty interesting, and the petulance and immaturity he shows is appropriate for someone catapulted back to being a 1st year resident, now stuck in what he sees as an old man's body in a place he has no interest in being. (it also leads to a couple of epic verbal hammer downs that he 100% deserves)

This was a pretty great era for Trek novels; this one is solidly above average.

[Angelica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dreams of the Raven is such a fun book. It’s got action, it’s got scary alien antagonists, it’s got good characterization and gives the side characters important things to do, and best if all, it dives into the past and psyche of Dr. McCoy—something sorely missing from TOS.

Author Carmen Carter uses the amnesia trope to explore how Leonard McCoy has grown as a person. By regressing his memory back 25 years, we not only get to learn what he was like as a 23-year-old medical resident, but also how this younger self grapples with the choices the older McCoy made throughout his life. It’s common for people to reflect back on their past mistakes, but how would you react to an older version of yourself who has lived a life so different from what you imagined? This is a really great use of sci-fi concepts to invoke self-reflection.

Bones is characterized very faithfully in this book, as are the rest of the characters. All of the dialogue and actions were very believable. An edited version of this book could have made a great TOS episode. But the book format benefits from its length, which allows more time for side characters like Sulu, Uhura, and Nurse Chapel shine. Everyone had a job to do here, and they did it well!

Character relationships also really shine in this story. I especially enjoyed the exploration of Bones and Spock’s relationship, and Bones’s relationship with Jim. But we also get to see some fun interactions between Bones and the rest of the Med staff, which really highlight their affection and respect for him. I didn’t even mind the weird, ethically terrible romance that was shoehorned in. (Okay, maybe I minded a little…) It’s all good, man! Just a fun romp in space.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an exceptional Star Trek novel and let me explain...

A buddy of mine bought me a lot(20-30 books) of these off ebay a few years ago and whenever the mood strikes or I need a palette cleanser, I pull one off the shelf. Similar to Dragonlance or Forgotten Realms - these books (for me) start at 3 star books and we'll see what happens to drag it down or pull it up.

Star Trek will remain superior to Star Wars forever because of two things - a better universe and better characters and that's what makes this book shine.

The enterprise responds to a distress call only to be attacked by something/someone never seen before and when they need McCoy the most he has an accident and winds up with amnesia, forgetting the past 25 years of his life. Carter does a really good job of developing the characters that we've loved for decades, making them better, fully flushed out. If you didn't care about these characters before, Carter makes you care all the more with this book, it really is wonderful to watch/read.

Really good read. Makes me want to pick up the next one :)

[Rosemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Star Trek tie-in novel, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story is very focused on McCoy, and the Kirk-McCoy friendship, Spock does play a role, but to a lesser degree, so if McCoy is one of your favourite characters you will probably enjoy this. It was fascinating getting inside the head of a young McCoy, I found myself liking him, but also missing the McCoy we had come to know. The book was very character focused, mixed with spurts of action. I found the mystery of the abandoned ships and the mystery alien race interesting and entertaining, although, there are a few gross bits. I really liked a minor character, Dr Diana Dyson, her dynamic with McCoy was great, and I am kind of sad to learn that she exists solely in this novel. The ending of this novel was bittersweet.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing through my pile of TOS novels...objectively more of a 3.5 but emotionally a four, so I'll round up. SUE ME.

The "main" plot of this one isn't that interesting...mysterious alien race attacks and damages the Enterprise, and Kirk and crew have to play a game of cat-and-mouse while trying to figure out the aliens' deal and booking it for a nearby space station. If you've read Star Trek novels you probably know the drill. The secondary plot of McCoy's amnesia has kind of a silly beginning and resolves a bit too easily...but the book does a GREAT job of showing the effect of "Bones" being "gone" on both Kirk and Spock. If you, like me, love the relationship and interplay between the three of them, this book really has your back (that miraculous resolution to the amnesia referenced above is outlandish but really hits the spot re: this dynamic). It's a fun one!

[Katrina Veerkamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve discovered that I love these books when McCoy is the main thing. He hits his head and reverts back 25 years. Wants off the Enterprise to go back home to be country doctor in Georgia. He’s a first year resident. Knows no one. No real surgical skills. He’s so polite to everyone which is a sure switch from normal McCoy. The acting chief is an asshole. He gets involved with a neurology resident. The aliens are quite interested in that they can sound just like their prey once they eat their brains! Kirk gets fooled once and the Enterprise is severely damaged. But he’s not fooled again and uses his cunning to survive. Aliens go from larvae to adult with a queen. Takes awhile to get that figured out. Then Spock gets really hurt. Won’t tell you the end but McCoy is involved. I read this so fast. It was so good! Read it and enjoy!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read more Star Trek books then I care to admit (at least two dozen) and book has shot up to the top three best. I love Dr. McCoy and so any story that centers around him I grab. This story deals with memory loss/amnesia and while how the doctor received the initial head injury is a bit weak plot wise; however, the rest of the book deals with the question of if we could have our memories and mistakes wiped clean and start again would we become the same person? How would the 'death' of who we had become effect those around us? This book does a great job of not only show the imapct of the amnesia on McCoy but his two closest friends - Kirk and Spock. As Spock so wisely pointed out to McCoy, that the maturity and wisdom he had gained as a man and doctor came from the mistakes he had made. A great read.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

All right, this was a solid read from start to finish. The struggles that the Enterprise found herself were really interesting and the issue with McCoy exacerbated it that much more. I enjoyed them struggling to repair the ship, how to deal with McCoy's problem (which had shades of Tuvix) and the mystery to what they were dealing with. Then the disturbing reveal to what it actually was. That was the grossest thing I have read in a while and a very demented pre-Borg idea for assimilation which was very imaginative. I was borderline if I was going to give this 5 stars but McCoy's solution and how his issue tied to the plot I found a little weak. However, I still really enjoyed this one.