The Latter Fire

Star Trek: The Original Series

by James Swallow

An all-new novel from New York Times bestselling author James Swallow set in the popular universe of Star The Original Series !

The five-year mission of the Starship Enterprise has brought the vessel and her crew to the forefront of an important first contact situation. Under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, the ship is heading to the planet Syhaar Prime in the Beta Quadrant—the home world of an alien civilization preparing to take its first steps on to the galactic stage. One year earlier, the Enterprise came across a badly damaged Syhaari explorer vessel drifting in deep space. In collaboration with the explorer’s captain, Kirk and his crew were able to restore the ship to full function and send it on its way. And now, as the Syhaari display rapid technological advances made over the past year, hard questions must be asked. Did the Enterprise crew leak advanced technology or information to the Syhaari during their first encounter, in total violation of the Prime Directive?

™, ®, & © 2016 CBS Studios, Inc. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Star Trek Original Series, Media Tie In, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adult Fiction

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

James Swallow is a New York Times, Sunday Times and Amazon #1 bestselling author and scriptwriter, a BAFTA nominee, a former journalist and the award-winning writer of over sixty-five books, along with scripts for video games, comics, radio and television.

DARK HORIZON, his latest stand-alone thriller, is out now from Mountain Leopard Press, and OUTLAW, the 6th action-packed Marc Dane novel, is published by Bonnier.

Along with the Marc Dane thrillers, his writing includes, the Sundowners steampunk Westerns and fiction from the worlds of Star Trek, Tom Clancy, 24, Warhammer 40000, Doctor Who, Deus Ex, Stargate, 2000AD and many more.

For information on new releases & more, sign up to the Readers’ Club here: www.bit.ly/JamesSwallow

Visit James's website at http://www.jswallow.com/ for more, including ROUGH AIR, a free eBook novella in the Marc Dane series.

You can also follow James on Bluesky at @jmswallow.bsky.social, Twitter at @jmswallow, Mastodon at @jmswallow@mstdn.social and jmswallow.tumblr.com at Tumblr.

Reviews

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

I enjoyed this one.

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

A highly entertaining Trek novel featuring The Original Series crew, the novel opens with an interesting premise that throws the reader straight into the story.

The Starship Enterprise encounters a Syhaari ship which they’d helped the previous year, since then the Syhaari display an advance technological progress.
Did the Enterprise crew violate the prime directive?

I really liked Swallows depiction of all the regular cast, it was easy to picture their mannerisms.
It was a neat idea to set this story around the time of the animated series, highlighted by the fact that every character has something to do!

The story is simple but effective, it was easy to get follow the action.
I’ve only read a few Trek novel so far and this was easily one of the most enjoyable.

[Paul Bennett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess it's no surprise that a new Trek novel would be formulaic. After all, the franchise is 50 years old, so it's hard to do something new or truly novel in a Star Trek book. Sadly, this author didn't even try to do something new. The Latter Fire has all the elements of a classic Trek story, calculated and measured out with all the coldness and creativity of a butcher slicing ham.

This is a deeply dull book, a plodding plot that never satisfies on any level. The villain is one-dimensional at best (is half-dimensional possible?), a snarling bad guy from the moment he appears until the end of the book. Without this pathetically conceived and poorly created character, the book would be marginally better.

It's not awful, just...blah. Aside from one exchange between Spock and McCoy, there is no real characterization at all, just characters going through the required motions and speaking their required lines to get the author to the point where he could type "The End" and get paid.

A passionless, uncreative, plodding walk through overly familiar Trek territory.

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an ok TOS novel. I was disappointed because it was way too obvious as to why the one set of aliens were attacking the other. On one hand, after all these years, the predictability of original Star Trek is part of its charm as we know the characters so well, but when you add in new aliens their actions should at least be a little less predictable.

[Sud666 · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Latter Fire" was a good story. Not great, but still good.

Captain Kirk is on a mission with Federation Diplomats to welcome a new species into joining. This species is one that had encountered the Enterprise before and their lives had been saved. They returned to their planet to promote the Federation. Yet, not all is well with the aliens. It seems in the time that they have met the Federation till the present where they wish to join- their technology has jumped forwards by leaps and bounds. Is there a violation of the Prime Directive or is there something even more nefarious at work?

While, there are better Star Trek books- this is still a good story. It may resonate more with the STOS fans. I will gladly add this to my collection of Star Trek books, but there are far better ones out there.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Communication, cooperation, and friendship; it is these ideals that Star Trek says should guide humanity into the stars. Fundamentally, this novel is about those ideas. It is Star Trek in the truest sense, and James Swallow captures the essence of "Roddenberry's philosophy," as it has become known. An excellent novel, and one of the best TOS 5-year mission stories I've read in some time.

Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2016/03/T...

[Crystal Bensley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good TOS adventure with new alien races and an amazing enemy.

[Eggith · Rating 5 out of 5]

WONDERFUL ONE SHOT tos BOOK! destruction arrogance diplomacy only thing misses is some hot action.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthwhile read of the continuing exploits of The Starship Enterprise

I really enjoyed this book. It felt almost like I was watching the show.
The author stayed true to the characters.

[Paul Lunger · Rating 2 out of 5]

With 2016 marking the 50th anniversary of the launch of the original "Star Trek", the pattern for novels being released usually weighs a little heavier on that series. With James Swallow's "The Latter Fire", this anniversary year is off to a rather bad start with a book that over-complicates itself for reasons it doesn't need to & probably could've been a far shorter book had it not done so. Things start out innocently enough with Chekov leaving the ship for training on Earth which has us almost as a bridge to "Star Trek: The Animated Series" with the introduction of M'Res. From there the crew returns to Syhar Prime to continue helping them with their efforts to get out into the greater galactic community especially since the Enterprise rescued one of their ships commanded by Captain Kaleo that was badly damaged years ago which led to their first contact with the Federation. When ships in an area known as the Veil (think of it as an opaque Oort cloud surrounding the outer reaches of the system) start being destroyed by an unknown object Swallow's story starts taking a turn it doesn't need to & the problems that I have with this book begin.

The object itself is revealed to be initially a silicon based life-form which this reader at one point thought could be the first appearance of the Crystalline Entity of TNG fame. However, Spock & Uhura determine that the object is in fact sending out a simple message of a declaration of war toward the Syhaari people. On Syhaar Prime, their leader a megalomaniac named Tormid is determined to use all of the ships that the planet has available to it to destroy the entity despite overwhelming odds. With the Enterprise crew being skeptical it's determined that this leviathan is in fact being controlled by a ship aboard it which once there reveals another twist that doesn't need to be involving a race named the Breg'Hel who in their first contact with the Syhaar were murdered en masse. The ship itself & creature are set on a genocidal rage against the Syhaari to avenge the loss of their fallen.

Swallow's tale is one that at any point in time could've simply focused on the entity itself or for that matter the simple diplomatic issues w/ the Syhaari in addition to figuring out their sudden jump from warp 1 to warp 3 ships in a generation. The introduction of the Breg'Hel in fact sends this story down a road it really didn't need to go let alone to a climax that is at times totally unnecessary. At it's heart, "The Latter Fire", means well & if you can weed out all of the places where the book jumps the rails for effect only you do have a very strong character driven story since Kaleo & Tormid both are very well developed along with the diplomatic envoys aboard the Enterprise as well. Overall a bad miss by James Swallow that is hopefully not a sign of things to come from the Original Series fiction here in 2016.

[Brandon Harbeke · Rating 5 out of 5]

<2021 comments after a reread: I still agree with everything I said below, but I raised my rating to 5 stars. The Latter Fire is basically all of the great parts of Star Trek: The Original Series married to the strengths of Swallow's writing style. It achieves what it set out to do admirably.>

Whoever wrote the blurb did not accurately describe the contents of the book. The possible breaking of the Prime Directive is brought up and resolved very early. Between that and the title based on Tennyson, it is understandable if the prospective reader has no idea what the book is really about.

The bulk of the book has the Enterprise crew visiting a prospective member of the Federation and dealing with the appearance of a gigantic (moon or planet-sized) spacegoing creature that they dub a leviathan. Leviathan would have made a better title for this book, but that ship has already sailed.

In many ways, the story plays out like a big-budget, multi-part episode of TOS. You know that the main crew and ship will make it through, but the new civilization and action make for an interesting story.

Where James Swallow shines is in the details and perspectives used. Certain parts pull away to show the cosmic perspective of what is happening in the system. Other times, we get to see inside the mind of characters like Kirk, McCoy, or Arex, and the events become a bit more personal. Though the book is on the longer side, everything is there for a purpose. Each chapter moves the story forward, and all of the pages contribute to character, plot, and/or theme.

If you want to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Star Trek by reading a novel with the classic crew acting heroically, this is a great choice.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sometimes, sir, I think this ship is a magnet for everything strange the universe has to throw at us." - Scotty

Another excellent read. Action, adventure, politics, and the repercussions of reactions and assumptions. James Sparrow did an excellent job placing the Enterprise crew into a new challenge between two races and a raging alien referred to as the leviathan. All of Sparrow's characters are well-rounded and things are not exactly as they appear to be, especially with the leviathan. It's a classic Trek story that can make a social commentary without being preachy and it's entertaining to boot!

[Christopher Backa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really enjoyable read. The story is classic trek. The enterprise is caught in the middle of a clash of two civilizations. The story combines many elements we have seen on the original series. This book also includes some classic animated series characters as well. It's worth the read

[Aron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, excellent characterization, & three new alien species. Swallow did a great job on this one,...highly recommend.

[V · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Latter Fire was a bit of a surprise to me. The summary at the back of the book lead me to believe that the whole story was going to be like a political thriller trying to figure out if Kirk and his crew broke the Prime Directive or not but that issue was resolved in the first third of the novel by Kirk denying the accusation and the Federation diplomat assigned to the mission he was undertaking choosing to believe him. In actuality the story turned out to have way more action.

The novel starts out with Chekov returning to Starfleet for training so he can change specialization and being replaced by Arex from The Animated Series. I liked that the author nodded to TAS like this, and M'Ress was also present and had an important part in the novel. It helped fit the story into a rough estimated place on the timeline, but I'm gonna sidetrack here and say not I really like how many aliens were included in this story and the diversity in alien life represented. I like it when authors do things in books that the show at the time could not have done with the budget they had. I want to see diverse aliens who don't just look like humans with one exaggerated feature. I like a bridge that is not just all humans. It makes Starfleet feel more realistic that way. I will put away my soapbox now and get back to my review now.

Basically the Enterprise is going to meet the Syhaari, a people from Planet of the Apes, for a formal First Contact with Federation a Rhaandarite diplomat and her dour Andorian aide in tow to make sure no funny business goes down re: Prime Directive and pave the way for a possible future alliance with the UFP. Kirk once helped Captain Kaleo fix her ship when the Syhaari were pre-warp explorers, saving the lives of most of her crew. Now everybody's klaxons are blaring full force due to the fact that the Syhaari have reached warp 3 in mere decades. What is more unsettling is the obvious way they have hidden their engines and the designs of their new ships are a great departure from what they were working with before. One would think Kaleo and her crew had somehow stolen plans from Enterprise maybe if (a) Kaleo were not like a Kirk kindred spirit albeit hairier and with less swagger and (b) all the advancements weren't attributed to Tormid, an absolute asshole who can immediately be pegged as a villain. Dude wrote the books on villainy; he has all the cliches down to a science and pretty much believes he's his peoples' savior.

Suddenly! New aliens emerge from the cloud barrier surrounding the Syhaar solar system and they're ushering what the crew dubs a Leviathan, which is basically giant space Horta that can shoot lightning, to destroy the Syhaari in a fit of revenge. This is where things get as campy as the original series because when both the Horta and the giant space amoeba are referenced to help understand a space phenomenon you know shit's wild.

Then a lot of action and negotiation happens. Kidnapping! Space battles! An extended literary reference that the title is taken from! The Breg'Hel who ushered in the leviathan losing control of it! Everybody falling all over the damn place again because the Enterprise has no seat belts! Tormid being captured and trying to sabotage the Enterprise to pull some dumb shit! A patented Kirk double fist punch! Ultimately the day is saved with love to overcome the misunderstanding that caused the Breg'Hel adorable gecko people to attack in the first place.

The real stand out of this novel is Uhura which I am very pleased about and elevates this book a star point on its own in my eyes. A happy ending for all parties involved (except Tormid, that fucker) would not have been possible without her. Her team ups with Spock, Kirk, and later McCoy to use her expertise to communicate with the Breg'Hel and calm the leviathan's murderous rage absolutely save the day. She's such a BAMF. She stands up to Tormid even though he has super ape strength and no qualms against killing her in the thrilling final scenes of the story. Uhura is a queen, and I'm glad someone appreciates her and lets her be more than a glorified space switchboard operator.

Now for the most important question of all: how is the McCoy?

While I'm sad to say my fave did not have a huge part in this novel, he was used very well. He does that thing where he just kind of hangs out and sasses everybody to make sure they're okay psychologically. He snipes at Spock but also acknowledges that he's smart and talented like a true frienemy. He's an absolute piece of shit to the Federation diplomat and kind of culturally insensitive (though to be fair if I had gone to a cannibal dinner party and was offered myself to eat I would freak out too), but he pushes for solutions that will save the most lives possible, even the leviathan with the power to destroy worlds.

He's a good McCoy, like a tasty blue cherry on a delicious Star Trek cake.

[A.J. Blanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of story that Star Trek is all about. Meeting new species and facing the hardships that may come with that. The Latter Fire is a fairly simple story, and the characters all feel true to their on screen persona... except maybe Scotty, but perhaps that's just me. The write up provides all you need know going in, so I won't get in to that, but the most common complaint I've noticed in the reviews is that TLF is predictable. While there are certainly plot elements that some can say they've seen before, there's still plenty of surprises to make up for that. I did however find a few things that caught my attention:

The first is that there is a civilian-ran diplomatic corps. I don't know if this is a new thing, from the mind of the author, or if I simply don't remember any reference to it. Regardless, why do we need a diplomatic corps that's separate from Starfleet if they don't have any of their own resources (ships, supplies, security...)? Seems a little redundant when there's six ST shows where SF officers do diplomatic work. There's also a scene that takes place in the brig, and it uses a force field to contain the captive audience. I don't believe TOS-era ships used fields for their cells just yet, but the only evidence I have off the top of my head is ST V so that may be a non issue.

My biggest criticism is of the book's antagonist. Memorable villains are those who the reader/viewer can understand their motivations, and even empathize with their actions to some degree. The one here was so rigid and malicious that he became insufferable very quickly. There are definitely people like him IRL, but they make for poor fictional characters. Nobody would ever take a person like this seriously, and the dialog to/about him because tedious almost instantly... actually there's several conversations that discuss the same things multiple times. The climactic action scene would've been better if it was something other than including the villain one last time, IMHO of course.

Other than those nitpicks, I highly recommend this book to the hardcore and casual fan alike. There is some genuinely interesting things here that will be new to a lot of people. It's also very refreshing to read a ST book that actually feels like Trek. Live Long and Prosper!

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow-so much goodness! The story is an exciting one, melding a story about warring planets with a tense "monster on the loose" theme. All the characters are well done. McCoy is close to the TV version, irritable and too outspoken but a dedicated physician. I loved the addition of Arex, he's a great character and I'd like to see more of him. (Yes. I know. He's from the animated series)

The writing is spot-on: the alien's talk sounds like aliens but the dialogue is still accessible to us 21st-century earthlings. The nautical vernacular is the real deal, there is a reference to the ship's "aft section" which sounds correct for a space-going vessel. Also, a treat for those of us who love language: the vocabulary is absolutely fantastic: words like bifurcate, mendacity, bilobed, cosmozoan and my personal favorite: "tertiary spatial domains". Lots of science in there, folks.

Two tiny nitpicks (spoiler alert) when the antagonist escapes, wouldn't the brig have some sort of alert sensor activated? And why does McCoy have to stagger up to the bridge to tell Kirk? Can't he use the wall comm?

Except for those tiny issues: altogether a fantastic addition to the Star Trek universe.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a competent Star Trek novel that sometimes rose above its genre with some enjoyable writing. I think the author Swallow made some good efforts to write about the technology of the Enterprise and the unknown phenomenon that the ship faced in this book with good detail in a way that made it feel believable and impressive, which fans of the original show would have loved.

The characters all behaved believably, and the use of Arex and M'Ress was a nice tie-in to the Animated series.

I enjoyed it, but it was not a compulsive read. The perspective shifting of many characters was fun, but it decentralized the viewpoint a bit. It felt fun but odd.

There are better and worse Star Trek novels.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A somewhat formulaic Star Trek adventure ends up being a little above average due to strong and clear writing and good character work. Particularly happy with the crew, as a good Star Trek book lives and dies by how well the crew is realized. Swallow does a good job not only with the Big Three, but also works to give everybody a moment to shine. Uhura, in particular, is important in this book, a refreshing change from older books where she mostly sits in her chair and says "no contact, sir."

Anyone looking for a big change of pace will be disappointed. The themes and plotting here are mostly pretty standard for Trek. But it reads like comfort food: it would be a good second-tier episode on the original show, one that doesn't maybe explore new ideas but showcases them fine.

[Luke Sims-Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all a fun solid read. I remember thinking a while back that it'd be quite fun if was had a novel that was set during the animated series and while this isn't quite that, it's close! James Swallow does a good job at making this book feel like a transitional novel between TOA and TAS and giving the crew the sort of conflict that might have worked with animation.

The story and set up was great though i will admit the middle was kinda slow for me, but the last 100 pages or so picked right back up. I'd recommend this one, its a fun read and all the characters rang true. In very animated series style Uhura is given a lot to do and that's always great in my book.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS...this wonderful, multi-layered, beautifully-characterized, exciting, tense, triumphant novel...THIS is why I'm a "Star Trek" fan. If you ever meet anyone who needs convincing why this series -- especially in its original archetypal form -- is so special, then have them read this novel. This is everything Trek, distilled to its purest form. Everything the series stands for, in sublime prose. A magnificent read from start to finish, and one that delights in overturning all reader expectations.

[Christopher Lutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Trek novels go this one was better than most. A very interesting story of opening relations with a new society and the consequences of a disastrous first contact. All of which felt very true to what Star Trek is all about. The new characters were just as interesting as the Enterprise crew which can often not be the case, and the resolution felt very satisfying. Loved that it took place during the timeframe of the Animated Series as well. It was fun imagining Arex and M’Ress in a live action TOS adventure.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always a joy to read something from the original series. The chemistry between Kirk, Spock, Bones and Scotty is undeniable, no matter who penned the story.

With Captain Kirk, the action is usually thick and fast, with less of the elaborate (and deliberate) philosophical musings prevalent in some other series. However, while The Latter Fire is an entertaining read, the plot is a bit formulaic.

[Bearcatgary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this Star Trek adventure. It is a well conceived story, however the book moves slowly. It never became a page turner for me. I did like several things about it. The author used not just the original series characters, but also the animated series characters. Uhura was given a big role and other strong female characters are deployed throughout the book. Finally, the story references several original series episodes which is always nice.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good Star Trek novel. Plenty of tension, risk, and all the excitement that a good Star Trek story entails. I save 5-star ratings for the rare book that is so exceptional I tear through it and really can't put it down. In the case of The Latter Fire, it was a 4+. I finished it in just over a day, which is the sign of a book I really liked, so that says a lot. All in all, a fun read.

[Scotty · Rating 3 out of 5]

A middle-of-the road TOS episode

This is a well-written book in terms of style, pacing and plot. I can totally imagine this book as an episode of the original Star Trek (or more appropriately, an episode of the Animated Series). All of the main officers get their moments to shine and all of the characters act as you expect. From that standpoint, it’s a satisfying story. If you are looking, however, for some new insight into the principal characters, or even a new moral/philosophical take on things, then you’ve come to the wrong place.

[Keith B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story, Swallow surely knows his stuff and the characters come to life. More detail is provided than I needed though in some scenes. Walking from one area to another requires some description but describing each turn is not always necessary. Good read though.

[Sharon Lipsett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awsome book read!

Mr Swallowed writing is packed with adventure, each character, situation, dialog, and action true to the original that won all of our hearts and turned us into Trekies so many years ago. I look forward with snticipation to sharing his next adventure!

[Violet · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

The story is very engaging, very true to the crew we know so well, and Swallow is a good writer. My only complaint would be that the book is just a bit too long (definitely *feeling* too long at certain points) and would have benefited from harsher editing.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did Not Finish. This was my first stand-alone Trek novel I've read and to be fair it was much better writing than the ST:TMP novelization I had read previously. But it just didn't grip me. Just not my thing.