Best Defense

Star Trek: Legacies #2

by David Mack, Robert Petkoff (Reading)

Just in time for the milestone 50th Anniversary of Star The Original Series , an epic new trilogy that stretches from the earliest voyages of the Starship Enterprise to Captain Kirk’s historic five-year-mission—and from one universe to another!

A debt of One brave woman ventures alone into a parallel universe to save her old shipmates, exiled there decades earlier by a mysterious device called the Transfer Key. She soon learns the alternate universe harbors not just an alien invasion force, but a secret that underpins its very existence.

A mission of A long-awaited Klingon-Federation peace conference convenes, led by Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan and Councillor Gorkon of Qo’noS. But both sides have enemies who would prefer the two great powers remain at war—and who will do anything to make certain hate wins the day.

An errand of Captain Kirk and his crew seek the stolen Transfer Key that opens a door between universes, but their hunt is cut short by Ambassador Sarek’s plea for help. The Enterprise crew soon becomes targets in a deadly crossfire—one whose outcome will decide the fate of two universes.

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

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Star Trek Original Series, Adventure, Science Fiction Fantasy

Audiobook

First published July 26, 2016

About the author

David 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.

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 50th Anniversary event continues!


This novel is the second book in a trilogy event to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of “Star Trek”


A TREATY ISN’T AN ACCORD

Please contact Starfleet Command and let them know we require immediate assistance. We need the Enterprise.

If you are familiarized with the political situation in the Star Trek’s 24th Century, you may know that The United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire are allies through the signing of the Khitomer Accords (shown in the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), however…

…in the 23rd Century, during the years of The Original Series, the Federation and the Klingons were in the middle of a “cold war” (and it is very cold in space!) but when the USS Enterprise under command of Captain James T. Kirk and a Klingon battle cruiser led by Commander Kor, were in contact with the species of the Organians, that alien race resulted more powerful than anyone can predict and they imposed a forced peace between the Klingons and the Federation…

…If they would began open hostilities in a formal war, the Organians threat them with destroying both fleets! And the Organians seemed having the levels of power to back up their warning.

So, now the Federation and the Klingon Empire must figure out a way to find peace or face extinction.

Nothing says peace like an armed military escort, does it?

So, while the Khitomer Accords would be the eventual real solution to an enduring peace between two political powers so used to hate each other…

…the first complicated step in the bumpy road to peace began with the Organian Peace Treaty. But have in mind that while the Khitomer Accords turned the Federation and the Klingon into allies, the Organian Treaty just barely kept them to be in war…

…so, as I indicated in the section’s title…

…a treaty isn’t an accord (at least in this context).

The first attempt of a peace conference between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, led each political party, by Ambassador Sarek and Councillor Gorkon, respectively, is held…

…However, a peace, even a fragile forced cease fire, between the Federation and the Klingons isn’t something desirable by other powers in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, therefore, the already volatile peace conference will have extra “help” to fail due the efforts of hidden forces from the Orion Criminal Syndicate and the Romulan Star Empire.

Captain Kirk, Mister Spock and Doctor McCoy never realized how personal would become this mission; and each member of Enterprise’s Senior Crew (Uhura, Scotty, Sulu & Chekov) will have to employ their particular skills to the fullest, if peace would find a chance.


THE PROMISE OF MANY CHALLENGES

The Past is never forgotten; it’s always with us.

Captain Una (aka the enigmatic “Number One” from the Star Trek unaired pilot) promised to find a way to rescue her lost comrades many years ago.

However, while Una was aware that the promise won’t be one easy to accomplish, she never imagined how many challenges would be in her path to it.

Captain Una isn’t sure where she is or what rules play there, even if there are rules at all!

Reuniting with old friends will be along with facing old foes too.

She will need all her training and experience as Starfleet Officer, and even that may won’t be enough, to rescue her lost comrades while avoiding an invasion into our universe.

We all want things we cannot have.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A home run for David Mack! There are two interleaved story threads here, both excellent. The thread following the Enterprise crew who get thrust into the midst of a volatile Klingon/Federation peace conference has the feel of a really cracking TOS episode, full of intrigue, suspense and plenty of both close quarters and space combat. And it's not just all Kirk and Spock. All the primary crew members get their share of the limelight, and Sarek plays a big role as well, his exceedingly austere and tenacious manner, to the point of exasperation, wonderfully portrayed. Plus we get some interesting POVs from inside a Romulan ship with all the internal drama, machinations and backstabbing you could hope for. The other thread, following Una/Number One and her former crewmates in the surreal alternate universe inhabited by the extradimensional gastropod aliens, with its strange effects on the crew's perceptions of time and space and changes to fundamental physics was eerily trippy and fascinating. A strange new world indeed. All in all, this was deftly executed and immensely satisfying and definitely has me on board for book three.

[Bon Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second book, another author, same addictive, high caloric quality. One would think you can't go wrong writing about Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the crew. You probably can, but as of yet, I didn't stumble upon a book that wouldn't make the best of their chemistry. Gene Roddenberry really gave us magic sandbox (without frontiers) to play in.

[Andrew Beet · Rating 5 out of 5]

the second book in the legacies trilogy was brilliant glad that the author continued what Greg cox started with book 1 loved that you had the three plotlines and I liked that that you found out how una was getting on and then the plotline to do with the Klingons and the peace talks and then kirk and the enterprise going after major sadira who had the transfer key have to say the bit in the book where the enterprise goes after the romulan bird of prey was well written and so action packed so thank you David mack for this brilliant novel in this trilogy looking forward to book 3

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A strong middle book for the Legacies trilogy! Many of the issues I had with the first book in the series have been improved upon a great deal in Best Defense. Both the action and the character work are terrific, and David Mack has written a great Star Trek story. I still have a few issues with the idea of the "transfer key" and the plot device of it being handed down from captain to captain, but the story was strong and quite entertaining. Five out of five!

Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2016/12/L...

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

This trilogy is great fun! Wish I had the last book on hand; I'll have to search my local library for it.

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting second part of this series. Strangely, I find that I don't have much to say about this novel. The story was interesting and entertaining, but I almost feel like we're treading water...which could just be a symptom of it being a second book in a three-parter.

The battle which takes place between the Velibor and Enterprise was quite cinematic and would no doubt look absolutely beautiful on the big screen. Although, I feel quite sad that the HoS'leth was taken out quite quickly and anti-climatically, especially in light of how little damage the same weapons did to the Enterprise in turn. Not quite so evenly matched as advertised, it seems.

I do feel like I want to be a bit nit-picky with this story, for some strange reason. I'm so far not a fan of the alternate universe, after gushing about how awesome I thought it was that we were going into it in the first novel of the series. The altered rules of perception that seem to be taking place is going to require some explanation...and since this then becomes coupled with a character's speculation that "maybe this is all a dream" is leading my expectations down a path that I don't want to take. I'm not looking forward to some reveal that they are possibly hooked up to Matrix-esque machines.

I'm also lost in believing the complete 180 shift in character that Ensign Bates/Major Sadira takes. How she was able to maintain her cover facade throughout the first novel when, we learn in the second novel, that she is a completely rabid, blind zealot, practically foaming at the mouth in her single-minded desire to achieve one and only one objective at the expense of anything and everything...utilizing a tool that she just realized existed partway through the first novel...is completely beyond me. Likewise, the wishy-washy, blind, loyalty, but not loyalty of the Centurion bothers me.

Councillor Prang's brief aside showing he really is a rational character with a depth of knowledge who is forced to play a part to maintain his position is interesting and I'd like to see more of that. I also really miss Councillor Gorkon. He's a Klingon who I always love to learn more about and read about. Especially with his appearances in the Vanguard series. He's a Klingon's Klingon. It's characters like Gorkon and Worf, to name but a few, who make me a true fan of the Klingon way of life.

All of that being said, however, the novel is a decent read and a worthy entry to the series. I would recommend it to Trekkies/Trekkers, and I do look forward to what happens in book 3.

[David King · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Best Defense” is the second book in the “Legacies” series of novels which are being written to mark the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. The story picks up several weeks after the previous book ended with the reveal that Captain Kirk's yeoman was a Romulan spy who had now stolen and alien artefact known as the Transfer Key. Whilst the crew of the Enterprise are trying to deal with this situation, Ambassador Sarek reaches out to the Enterprise to come to his aid in the peace talks which are taking place between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. If these peace talks fail that the Klingon Empire and Federation may both be doomed and therefore Kirk has no choice but to try and help Ambassador Sarek. In parallel to this, the reader also gets to follow Captain Una who is now in the Jatohr universe where she is determined to find her lost colleagues.

David Mack has done a decent job in building on the elements introduced in the first book, creating a fast paced adventure which nicely balances elements of intrigue, diplomacy and action. I quite simply struggled to put the book down and would probably say that I enjoyed it more than the first novel, “Captain to Captain”. There is also some decent progress being made in the storyline which was nice to see as 2nd novels in a trilogy can sometimes fall into the trap of being nothing more than filler which thankfully isn’t the case here.

The only real issue I have is in relation to the sections of the novel dedicated to Captain Una. Whilst in the previous novel I was surprised at how central she was to the story, this time it feels like she has been shunted off to the side with her sequences in the Jatohr universe coming across as being rather dull. I actually think that Mack has reduced her role a little bit too much and some more expansion of what was going on the Jatohr universe may have actually made these sequences more entertaining.

Overall this was a very satisfying and entertaining story which follows on neatly from the events seen in “Captain to Captain”. There may be a little bit too much included in the novel which does limit some sections such as those set in the Jatohr universe but this is a minor quibble. If you read the first book, then I really do recommend you pick up this novel as well. For myself, I am now looking forward to getting stuck into the finale of this entertaining trilogy.

[reherrma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Der Mittelteil der Star Trek: Legacies-Trilogie zum Anlass des 50-jährigen Bestehens des Star Trek-Francises verfasste der Star Trek-Meister himself, der gefeierte Star Trek-Autor David Mack. Inhaltlich geht es ohne Bruch zum ersten Band weiter.
Bekanntlich wurde in der Zeit von Captain April, dem ersten Captain der ENTERPRISE, auf dem Planeten Usilde ein Transferschlüssel von einer Spezies erbeutet, die von einem anderen Universum aus eine Invasion in unser Universum starten will, um Lebensraum für sich zu schaffen. Mit diesem Transferschlüssel können Gegenstände und Personen in das gegnerische Universum abgestrahlt werden. Dieser Transferschlüssel wird seither von Captain zu Captain an Bord der ENTERPRISE verwahrt, bis Captain Una, die damals als Offizierin unter Captain April geholfen hat, das Gerät zu sichern, den Transferschlüssel an sich genommen hat. Allerdings wurden damals unter ihrem Einsatzkommando mehrere Besatzungsmitglieder in das fremde Universum abgestrahlt. Diese Schuld nagt seitlebens an ihr, bis sie eines Tages auf die ENTERPRISE unter Captain Kirk zurückkehrt und den Schlüssel entwendet. Sie fliegt zum Planeten Usilde, der inzwischen sowohl von den Klingonen als auch von der Förderation beansprucht wird, um mit Hilfe des Schlüssels ins andere Universum zu wechseln und ihre Besatzungsmitglieder zu retten. Allerdings konnte Kirk, Spock und Co. sie kurz davor stellen und mit ihr vereinbaren, dass sie ins andere Universum zurückkehrt während er den Schlüssel behält und sie in wenigen Wochen wieder von Usilde abholt. Die ENTERPRISE fliegt danach zurück in den Förderationsraum, um eine diplomatische Mission zu unterstützen, die von der überlegenen Rasse der Organier zwischen Förderation und Klingonen erzwungen wurde. Während des Fluges wird der Transferschlüssel von einer Spionin an Bord entwendet und an Bord eines romulanischen Kriegsschiffs gebracht...
In diesem Band wird zum einen das Schicksal von Captain Una im fremden Universum beschrieben, wo sie ihre Besatzung unter seltsamen Umständen wieder findet, die andere und m.E. wichtigere Handlungsebene ist die "Friedenskonferenz" zwischen Klingonen und der Förderation. David Mack gelingt es, die militarisierte klingonische Politik zu schildern, wo es der moderate klingonische Verhandlungsführer Gorkon (der spätere Kanzler) schwer hat, sich gegen die orthodoxen Kriegstreiber in seinem Gefolge durchzusetzen, während der Verhandlungsführer der Förderation, der vulkanische Diplomat Sarek (Spocks Vater) Mühe hat, den Klingonen die Gefahr klarzumachen, wenn es zu keinem Frieden kommt, denn die Drohung der Organier steht im Raum, im Falle eines Fehlschlags die gesamte militärische Macht der Klingonen und Förderation zu zerstören. Nun gibt es während der ganzen Verhandlungen Undercover-Agenten verschiedener Mächte, die von einem Scheitern der Konferenz profitieren würden, u.a. das ORION-Syndikat und die Romulaner. Der romulanische Geheimdienst Tal Shiar, schickt seine Spionin Sadira, die den Transferschlüssel entwendet hat und die inzwischen das Kommando über den romulanischen Bird-of-Prey übernommen hat, unerkannt in das System, um den unerprobten Transferschlüssel einzusetzen um die Konferenz zu stören. So wird der klingonische Verhandlungsführer Gorkon in das fremde Universum abgestrahl,die Klingonen geben durch diese Aktion der Förderation die Schuld, nur das diplomatische Geschick von Sarek kann einen neuen Krieg verhindert, doch die Konferenz droht zu platzen. Der Einsatz des Transferschlüssels an Bord des romulanischen Kriegsschiffs führt zu Zerstörungen an Bord, doch Sadira setzt ihren Willen als Mitglied des Tal Shiar gegen ihre Besatzung durch, es entsteht das Klima einer bevorstehenden Meuterei. Mit viel kriminalogischen Sachverstand gelingt es Kirk einige Agenten des Orion-Syndikats zu enttarnen, zusammen mit dem Captain eines klingonischen Kriegschiffes gelingt es ihnen auch, die Existenz der Romulaner in diesem Konflikt zu beweisen, so dass es zum Endkampf mit Sadira und ihrem romulanischen Schiff kommt, man konnte den Transferschlüssel wieder zurückerobern, nachdem ihn Sadira nochmals angewendet hat, um andere wichtige Personen abzustrahlen, unter anderem Sarek und McCoys Tochter Joanna...
Eine spannende Geschichte um den Transferschlüssel und besonders über die Konferenz, die ein bischen an die Geschehnisse um den Wiener Kongress erinnerte. Schön auch die Schilderungen des Zerwürfnisses zwischen Spock und Sarek, genauso die Auseinandersetzungen zwischen McCoy und seiner Tochter. Gut, es scheinen viele Szenen konstruiert zu sein, dennoch ist es eine Geschichte, die das Star Trek-Feeling atmet, aber auch ans Herz geht, die Geschehnisse um die Familie von Spock und seine Probleme mit seinem Vater und seine innige Verbindung zu seiner Mutter Amanda, ebenso die Gefühle von McCoy mit seiner Tochter sind herzerweichend.
Auch die Klingonen werden hier nicht als die tumben Leute dargestellt, die nur Blut wollen. Denn vor allem im weiteren Verlauf der Handlung wird auch der ein oder andere engstirnigere Vertreter dieser Spezies bekehrt (zumindest etwas) und vor allem ist die Annäherung der beiden Mächte vor allem in Szenen spürbar, in denen die Crews beider Schiffe zusammenarbeiten müssen.
Auch die diplomatischen Tänzeleien von Gorkon und Sarek machen Spaß, auch wenn man als Leser weiß, dass es zu dieser Zeit noch keinen Frieden geben wird.
Der Band hat mir viel Spaß bereitet und die Lust auf den dritten Band; dies umso mehr, als dass ich eigentlich kein TOS-Fan bin...

[Eric Cone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe he did it; he did it; he did it! I can't believe Mack did it; but - indeed, he did! Woohoo! Mother-father, what a good book! Wow, oh, wow!

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 50th Anniversary Trilogy continues in this blockbuster book written by fan favorite David Mack!

While the first book of the Legacies trilogy was a much more traditional TOS book featuring new life forms and new civilizations, this book felt more like a TNG era book, or at least a TOS Movie era book as opposed to the television series. I am all for the TOS movie era and the TNG era, as those are my two favorite types of Star Trek. However, going into this series, I was prepared for and expecting an epic TOS style trilogy truly celebrating 50 years of Star Trek, and that isn't what this trilogy is feeling like. Instead, on the whole, it feels like a run of the mill Star Trek trilogy.

Don't get me wrong, this book was really well written. The whole plotline featuring Sarek, Gorkon, and the Peace Talks was utterly fascinating. I wish we had more scenes with Gorkon and Sarek sitting in a room talking. The action in this book was brilliant and the political intrigue was top notch.

Unfortunately, this book suffers from it's lack of exploration of the Jatohr universe and from a lack of Una's character. I was all prepared for this to be the exploration book where we got to see what this new universe is like. Unfortunately, that portion of the book is incredibly short, less than 80 pages long. I'm hoping it is the full focus of book three, but at this point I don't have my hopes up.

Ironically, I felt that Mack had a difficult time nailing the character of the main cast, particularly Kirk. Kirk seemed more like his Post-Undiscovered Country self and not as much bitter and anti-Klingon as he was during this era. Perhaps there were moments of TOS where he was more amendable to his enemies, but I felt that Kirk's character was out of place. I believe that this difficulty lies in the fact that Mack primarily writes for the 24th Century characters and rarely gets a stab at TOS characters, so he is not quite as experienced at writing them as Greg Cox.

One of the strengths of this book lies in Doctor McCoy's storyline with his daughter, Joanna. McCoy is the easiest character to write for in my opinion and Mack definitely got his character right. He also had an interesting dynamic with his daughter that I hope to read about in other TOS books.

*By the way, the cover is very misleading as we spend absolutely 0 pages at the Citadel on Usilde in this book. I understand why they included it, for the trilogies continuity sake, but it's still misleading. The saving grace is that the Blue tint of this book stands out with the Green tint of the first one and the orange tint of the third book*

Also, I caught that West Wing reference, as well as the "I'm a Doctor, not a ..." line. Both made me chuckle and were handled well.

Overall, this is a good Star Trek book with some great action. Unfortunately, I don't think this was a good middle book for the trilogy and certainly did not feel like a TOS-show era book. I believe that Captain-to-Captain has a slight leg up on this book in that regard. Overall, I give the book a 7.0 out of 10! Good work David Mack.

[Judy Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Defense is the third book in the Legacies Trilogy, which was a celebration of Star Trek's 50 years. The story began on the Enterprise under Captain Robert April. Now we are under the command of James T. Kirk. This chapter takes place during the Organian driven Peace Talks.

While the woman we know as Number One is in an alternate universe trying to save the shipmates she was forced to leave behind, Captain Kirk and the Enterprise are called to the site of the talks after the Klingon Ambassador disappears. Sarek is concerned that this will lead to the war they are trying to avoid.

The book jumps between several storylines: the Enterprise, the Peace Talks, a Romulan ship, and the hospital where Dr. McCoy's daughter is studying. It wasn't always easy to keep up with all these stories since I did this as an audio book, but the reader did an excellent job of separating out voices.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started so slowly I would have sworn it was stuck in reverse for the first quarter or so. The action did then pick up through some plot twists and turns. It then culminated into a climax, which was rather brilliant, but then sadly, the wheels completely fell off again. Given the state of how this book was left, I'm going to have to complete the series rather soon.

[Paul Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must say I enjoyed this novel much more than the previous one in the series.

It was definitely more like a TOS episode and there was a ton of action and consequences.

Well done. 3.7 stars for this one.

On to the finale of this 50th anniversary trilogy.

[Aron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pure excellence! I know I've said this before but ST has some really good writers writing books these days, but I think David Mack is at the top of that list. His imagination & knowledge of the characters always makes for a great read. Looking forward to book 3,...highly recommend!

[Bingo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good pace, good Star Trek. Volume two satifies as it covers a lot of ground, keeps things interesting and features some exciting action.

[Bj Olsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was slightly better than book 1. Overall still painfully slow and technobabble to the nth degree. Best part is narrator.

[Daniele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice follow up from book one. Lots of action, connections to ST-TOS episodes and ready to continue with book 3.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my review for the first book in this massive three-part Star Trek 50th anniversary trilogy, Captain to Captain, I stated that I had not really read a Star Trek book in a long time and that I was completely out of touch with how they were written and their canon status within the franchise. Unlike a lot of these tie in novels that I read, such as Doctor Who or Star Wars, everything here was very cohesive and felt every bit in line with the parent property that one would expect. I’m sure there are awful books in this franchise as well but the quality of these is astounding. Captain to Captain was, in fact, one of the best science fiction novels I have read all year and I absolutely adored the fact that it took characters and settings that are normally not fleshed out too much in Star trek material and ran with it. Being a fan of the new show Strange New Worlds means that I have been somewhat eager to learn more about some of the characters that pop up in the show such as Captain Pike and even Una (Number One), so having an entire storyline built around that character was awesome.

Best Defense picks up right after the end of the previous book – Captain Una has bucked command to attempt a heroic rescue mission for members of her crew that were lost, presumed dead, almost twenty years prior. The destination for her mission is smack in the middle of disputed Klingon territory, and as such any incursions into that space are a diplomatic disaster waiting to happen. So, why is that planet in Klingon territory so important? Every Enterprise Captain has kept a doomsday weapon secret since the command of Robert April, and said weapon is also a key to an entirely separate dimension where Una assumes her crew is being held. It’s as easy as going in there and waiting for Kirk to bring her back! Everything MIGHT have been okay if The Enterprise didn’t have a Tal Shiar spy on board that has ruined everything!


While we had glimpses of the original TV Star Trek Crew, including Spock, Bones and Captain Kirk in Captain to Captain, but they were definitely the B storyline of the plot with Una’s adventure at the forefront. This time everything has flipped around and the majority of the plot centers around the original crew coming face to face with a Romulan threat that has the potential to put the entire Federation at grave risk. While I was kind of disappointed that the book shifted so much towards the classic Star Trek crew, I assume the intention for this was to do kind of a half and half thing where the two groups kind of flipped prominence from book one to book two, with book three likely being the convergence point where everything kind of comes together. If this is the plan, this trilogy has a very cool concept.

The way the author writes the classic characters, especially the character Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy was definitely in line with what one would expect from the franchise. Not one moment of the interactions between any of the crew members felt off character in any way and in fact I could hear the characters voices in my head while I was reading it. I mentioned Bones specifically because he largely sits at the forefront of the plot involving The Enterprise Crew due to his finding out that a peace summit between the Klingons and Federation just happens to be the same place that his long estranged daughter is training to be a doctor in. What follows has aspects of a murder mystery plot, a hostage crime thriller, and a diplomatic showcase. With all this and the continuing rescue mission from Una, this book has a lot going on, but it never feels messy or clunky despite the different plot points.

Overall, I somewhat liked Captain to Captain more than Best Defense, but this is an absolutely solid book based on the adventures of the original Star Trek crew. The books wraps up some loose ends and moves the plot towards what should be an absolutely amazing third part, and hopefully a bit of lasting peace for the various powers involved in this. David Mack is an excellent writer, and I plan to seek out more of his Star Trek books in the future.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

2026 Review 006.Star Trek Legacies Book 2 - Best Defense by David Mack, narrated by Robert Petkoff.

Total Length : 9 hours 54 minutes

This book is linked to 2 episodes :

linked to S2.E10 Journey to Babel
linked to S2.E13 Obsession

Continuing the events from book 1, this is another fantastic story.

Like every book I've listened to that has been narrated by Robert Petkoff, he did a fantastic job with the number of different characters and their accents. He did especially well when some of the characters had to speak in the Klingon language.

After the events of book 1 in particular one event from near the end of the book, this book has even more surprises in it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this continuing story which is the 2nd part of the 3 part story.

Not only does this story have more of the story from book 1, but also includes a sub plot about a peace conference between the Federation and Klingon Empire which is disrupted by the Romulans.

I am looking forward to starting the 3rd and final book in this story.

This is the 5th book I've finished in my Star Trek 60 Challenge.

5*
*****

[Jimyanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fine follow-up to "Captain To Captain", usually, the second book of a trilogy is the weakest link; that isn't the case here. This book is a fine story in its own right, and suffers only very slightly from the "has no beginning, has no conclusion" syndrome that it common to middle books. Yes, those of us who read the first book have to be given redundant background information so that those who haven'[t won't be totally lost, and yes, it ends without finishing. But the background information is only marginally irritating, and the ending comes at a reasonable break-point. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the conclusion to the series, but this book is worth reading all by itself.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this book was packed with any more plot, it would explode...along with the kitchen sink thrown in for good measure. There is enough sequeling, prequeling, and fanwanking in this novel to fill half a dozen books, and it leaves the head spinning. It also, unfortunately, relegates the one original plot line -- Una's rescue mission in the alternate dimension -- to the short shrift side of the spectrum. It's also, sadly, the least exciting part of the novel. Somehow, everything manages to hold together in the end, and the final battle is viscerally depicted. This is quite the "Star Trek" head trip.

[Whiskeyjack · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok, so this is better than the first book in the series, but not much and I found it very disappointing that the story didn't finish in this book. I am used to longer stories and this feels as the tv series where the story has been split up into episodes. It could easily have been put in 2 books. I am not going to pick up the next one. Perhaps I will still watch the latest movie as I used to like Star Trek, although I have become hesitant now ;-)

[Shawn Manning · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first installment was just OK. This volume was a tad bit better. I enjoyed the addition of Sarek to the plot. It still feels as though the plot is unnecessarily padded, however. The third volume will, for me , be the deciding factor as to whether of not this was a success.

[Kristīne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so fed up with this book by the end.

[Joshua Horvath · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh, it was okay.

[Christopher Lutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both continuing story threads from book one and expanding the narrative, Best Defense finds Kirk and crew on the front lines of political intrigue as Captain Una strives to save lost comrades from a strange alternate universe. Una’s story was probably my least favorite part. Since she was in a universe that has basically nothing in it I’m glad it was left as the side plot here. Was not expecting the major lore connections with regards to the Organian peace treaty and the characters involved. Loved seeing Sarek and Amanda and especially Gorkon, even if his presumed death derailing peace seemed very derivative of Star Trek 6. As a non canon book I can just sit back and enjoy the story without worrying about those kinds of details though. Joanna McCoy was a great addition to the story as well. I can’t recall if I knew that McCoy had an estranged daughter or not, but I’m so glad they included her, especially since she was in the series bible for TOS and therefore was always part of McCoy’s story. The Romulans were the MVPs of this story however. Our Tal Shiar operative was a great villain as was the perfect wild card in this book.

Chocked full of Star Trek references and still feeling very true to the world of The Original Series, Best Defense makes for a great part two of this 50th anniversary trilogy. 🖖

[Chad]

As it goes, this functions as a pretty entertaining middle act. If you read the first book wishing that there was a more substantial role for the primary characters of the franchise, you get your money’s worth with a ton of story involving Kirk, McCoy, Sarek and even a surprise character from the movies. The Organians once again loom over the relations between the Federation and Klingons as they struggle to maintain what is essentially a precarious cease fire. And the whole while the Romulans are dropping matches all over the kindling. It makes for a intriguing story of one side being played against the other and it all blows up nicely in the end.

The story itself is fine, although it feels pretty safe and familiar. My main criticism is that I often found myself forgetting the part of the book involving Una and her side of this entire secret mission story. To be honest, I felt like her parts of the book were a little flat and what I think would have been more effective would have been to set up her situation in an extended prologue, then leave her behind until the end of the book as we are left wondering what happened to her while having to hope that Kirk is able to make it back in time to recover her.

As with the previous installment, this story feels steeped in the Star Trek universe and I thought it was great.

[Frank Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Defense flows perfectly from Captain to Captain and feels like it could have been written by the same person, the characterisations, the pacing and the level of detail. Of course Mack and Cox are both trek heavyweights, but I can usually pick the differences. The story builds in complexity and by the end it's positively geared up for a wild finale.

The central concept, the key, the tech and the new alien races are all fresh ideas but what happens in this book is largely between well known alpha quadrant associates and plays out exactly how you'd expect it to. That's not a bad thing, everyone we know is recognisable, but it feels mighty predictable at times.

The story throws in a red herring, but not for us, it's for the Federation. We know exactly what's going on while we watch the team try to figure it out.

Now my conclusion so far is mixed. I've enjoyed all of the events in the story, but I'm most excited about the new universe stuff. We're definitely in for a big finale but it's a little disappointing to me that we're bringing old friends (or rather they invited themselves)... it's not padding, it's not useless filler, but it's a bit of a distraction.

Now let's go get Purgatory's Key and play out this wild adventure.

[Chris Friend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mack presents an engaging story here with a compelling plot. That's not a slight, either—Trek books rely more on plot than on things like character development, so I intend that compliment as a significant and genuine one.

The author also flexes his vocab, showing markedly more creative turns of phrase and strategic SAT-quality words precisely when they enhance the narrative. It stands out both because it's good and because it's unusual—and a significant contrast to the writing style used in the prequel to this novel.

Unfortunately, the differences between the authors' styles serves to highlight frustrations, not strengths, of the texts. Mack's careful phrasing makes Cox's prequel feel less significant in hindsight. But Cox's characterizations (the strength of his book) highlight how Mack is slightly less-familiar with the intricacies of how the characters behave and present, event to themselves. Again, these differences are rather minor, but they were just consistent and noticeable that I found them a touch distracting.

Within the context of the trilogy, though, this book works really well, offering a creative solution to the problems established in Book 1 while also clearly calling for a Book 3 to conclude the story.