Things Fall Apart

Star Trek: Mere Anarchy #1

by Dayton Ward, Kevin Dilmore

Mere Anarchy
A new six-part epic covering thirty years of Star Trek history, continuing with an adventure that takes place before the historic five-year mission!

Book 1: Things Fall Apart

Mestiko: a world on the brink of interstellar space travel – and under covert Federation observation. When the Payav, Mestiko's dominant nation, learns of a rogue pulsar sweeping through their star system and threatening to destroy all life on their planet, the Federation is faced with a daunting choice: stand by and witness the extinction of a thriving civilization, or violate the Prime Directive and mount a desperate effort to protect the planet from total devastation.

The Starship Enterprise, newly under the command of James T. Kirk, is sent to aid the doomed planet. Kirk and his officers – Spock, Mitchell, Kelso, Scott, Sulu, and Dr. Piper – must use an experimental, untested technology to save the planet before it's too late!

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Star Trek Original Series, Ebooks, Fiction, Novella, Adventure

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Dayton is a software developer, having become a slave to Corporate America after spending eleven years in the U.S. Marine Corps. When asked, he’ll tell you that he left home and joined the military soon after high school because he’d grown tired of people telling him what to do all the time.

Ask him sometime how well that worked out.

In addition to the numerous credits he shares with friend and co-writer Kevin Dilmore, he is the author of the Star Trek novels In the Name of Honor and Open Secrets, the science fiction novels The Last World War and The Genesis Protocol, and short stories which have appeared in the first three Star Trek: Strange New Worlds anthologies, the Yard Dog Press anthology Houston, We’ve Got Bubbas, Kansas City Voices Magazine and the Star Trek: New Frontier anthology No Limits. Though he currently lives in Kansas City with wife Michi and daughters Addison and Erin, Dayton is a Florida native and still maintains a torrid long-distance romance with his beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Reviews

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well setup story with the TOS characters. The author definitely nailed the characterization of the main characters.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating setup for the stories to come in this series. Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore capture the tone of this particular slice of Trek history quite well, especially given the limited view of this period we've gotten in the past. I would be interested in seeing more stories featuring this crew, but who am I kidding, I love Bones too much to have him away from the rest of the crew for too long. Regardless, the authors kept my interest and made me genuinely care about the fate of the people of Mestiko. While this was an interesting tale, I'm excited to explore the repercussions of the events in this story in later incarnations of the TOS era.

Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2015/07/M...

[Oz Trekkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was a quick read!!!
Managed to read most of it on the way home from work!
Interesting little story set before Where No Man Has Gone Before. Not a lot of time for deep character development but lots of nice moments in there.

[Frank Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

For such a short read, this story manages to create a classic scenario with very real characters. I liked the dialogue around the prime directive and how it feels to be on the receiving end.

I squeezed this into the last four hours of 2020.

[David King · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Things Fall Apart” by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore is the first book in a six part Star Trek mini series entitled “Mere Anarchy”. The interesting thing about this series is that the stories were originally released only in ebook format only which seems to have resulted in a shorter length in comparison to other Trek novels.

In this story the readers are introduced to the inhabitants of the planet Mestiko who have been under observation by a small team of Starfleet cultural specialists. However, the future is not looking good for the planet as a rogue pulsar has been detected approaching their star system. The lethal radiation given off by the pulsar is expected to destroy all life on Mestiko. The Federation must therefore decide if it is willing to step in and try to assist when it is limited by the strict definitions of the Prime Directive.

I actually found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable introduction to the series as it expertly sets the stage for future instalments. I liked how the authors have split the narrative between Mestiko’s inhabitants and the crew of the Enterprise. This ensures that as well as getting to see the familiar crew, the readers are able to identify and understand the people on the planet who I suspect we will see more of in the future stories.

One thing I really noticed about this story is that it really did seem to capture the feel of the original series era. I could easily envision this as the same crew witnessed in the episode of “Where No Man Has Gone Before”. I don’t think it offered any new insights into the crew but with the short length of this story I don’t think there was much opportunity and I was more than happy just to witness the crew acting in the manner I expected.

Overall this was a very engaging and enjoyable introduction to the “Mere Anarchy” series that sets the scene admirably and leaves the reader looking forward to the next instalment.

Note: Whilst this story was originally released in ebook format only, a collection of all the Mere Anarchy stories is available in a paperback edition.

[Yuan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Star Trek novel, this book was not written poorly, nor did it characterize anyone badly. However, nor did it offer any particular insights into James T. Kirk, or any other character, for that matter. It reminded me a bit of The Next Generation episode "First Contact," in which the Enterprise crew initiate first contact with an alien world which has just developed a functioning warp engine; however, in this short novel, the stakes are upped by a 'rogue pulsar' which threatens to wipe life out on that alien planet.

Essentially: a very light, easy read.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first part of a six book series covering thirty years in the history of the Enterprise, this part takes place shortly before the events of "Where No Man Has Gone Before," the second pilot for the series (and third episode of the original series). A rogue pulsar is threatening the planet Mestiko, but the Federation's Prime Directive prevents them from being overtly helpful.

Very well-written with great characterization, and features such "forgotten" crewmen as Dr. Piper, Lt. Kelso, and Gary Mitchell. Definitely recommended!

[Gene Coatney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read a Star Trek novel in a few years and unfortunately this one just didn't grab my attention the way some of them do. but since I started the series I feel slightly compelled to finish. The idea was a good one. Six stories following a planet hit by a world shattering natural disaster being visited by Kirk and crew over the span pre-show to their last film together, each by a different author. Of course there is the hope for better writing now!

[Andrew Maddox · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good short story that introduces an intriguing plot that will be continued in future instalments. It's an interesting way to celebrate the history of a show by writing a story that takes place throughout a 30 year period. I cant wait to see how this story goes as we go through the different periods of the TOS crews lives. Well worth a read, especially if you are a TOS fan :)

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this first of the Mestiko Saga. I have read this series before, about 5 years ago, but revisiting it now, it felt fresh. I recommend reading this if you're a fan of the original series!

[Jeff Chase · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good intro to what I hope will be a good series.

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set before kirk takes command of the enterprise

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not do much for me. Fairly procedural, though it did hint at some interesting issues like what does a culture do when faced with a global annihilation that is denied by some. Hm.

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

A good start to the series.

[Timewarp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is part one of six. It is a natural disaster story. I will write more about this when I have read all six parts.