Ishtar Rising, Part 2

Star Trek SCE (ebooks) Novellas #31

by Michael A. Martin, Andy Mangels

Project Ishtar -- the bold endeavor to terraform Venus, the most volatile planet in the solar system -- has reached a critical juncture. The project's first phase has had unexpected consequences that could tear Venus apart -- and mean the deaths of dozens of project workers and the S.C.E.'s computer expert, the un-bonded Bynar now called Soloman. Now, with time running out, Soloman must move past the prejudice of his fellow Bynars -- who view his "single" status with disdain -- and find a solution before disaster strikes!

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Ebooks

53 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Michael A. Martin's solo short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He has also coauthored (with Andy Mangels) several Star Trek comics for Marvel and Wildstorm and numerous Star Trek novels and eBooks, including the USA Today bestseller Titan: Book One: Taking Wing; Titan: Book Two: The Red King; the Sy Fy Genre Award-winning Star Trek: Worlds of Deep Space 9 Book Two: Trill -- Unjoined; Star Trek: The Lost Era 2298 -- The Sundered; Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Mission: Gamma: Vol. Three: Cathedral; Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31 -- Rogue; Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers #30 and #31 ("Ishtar Rising" Books 1 and 2); stories in the Prophecy and Change, Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain's Table anthologies; and three novels based on the Roswell television series. His most recent novels include Enterprise: The Romulan War and Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many.

His work has also been published by Atlas Editions (in their Star Trek Universe subscription card series), Star Trek Monthly, Dreamwatch, Grolier Books, Visible Ink Press, The Oregonian, and Gareth Stevens, Inc., for whom he has penned several World Almanac Library of the States nonfiction books for young readers. He lives with his wife, Jenny, and their two sons in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Michel Albert]

Part 2 of Ishtar Rising starts in a desperate situation and keeps up a breakneck pace until, well yes, the pressure is relieved in the plot and the personal subplot, a neat combination of theme, style and story. As usual for this series, the engineering solutions are clever and don't strictly rely on technobabble magic. And in this case, the personal story avoids strict formula too. I thought for sure we were headed for a scene where the Bynars came to respect the "singleton" in their midst, but no, the book takes a more realistic route and is the better for it. After all, who cares about Bynaus? It's the da Vinci we call home too.

[Stephen Robertson]

The author is a Gay activist. So you can essentially replace the name Solomon with "Gay GUy" To Mr. Martins credit the story is good but being Gay is still wrong. A three star story tainted with an agenda.

[John Barclay]

Why on earth was this two books? One story, no real twists and turns, simple and predictable.