Legacy

Star Trek: The Original Series #56

by Michael Jan Friedman

A routine survey of the planet Alpha Octavius Four turns disastrous as Spock is attacked and poisoned by a huge creature and Kirk's landing party is trapped underground by a violent earthquake. As Spock fights for his life in sickbay, Scotty organizes a search for Kirk and his men. However, rescue efforts must cease when the U.S.S. Enterprise™ is called away to the Beta Cabrini system where a mining colony is under heavy attack. At Beta Cabrini, the U.S.S. Enterprise™ faces off against a Marauder named Dreen -- a man that Spock had watched his former captain Christopher Pike defeat years before. Fighting the effects of the poison, Spock struggles to his feet and takes command of the ship. Soon, Spock and Dreen are locked into a deadly game of cat and mouse -- a game driven by mad revenge that can have only one survivor!

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

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 1991

About the author

Michael Jan Friedman is an author of more than seventy books of fiction and nonfiction, half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Eleven of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. Friedman has also written for network and cable television and radio, and scripted nearly 200 comic books, including his original DC superhero series, the Darkstars.

Reviews

[Bill Riggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great classic trek tale that perfectly captures the feel of the original tv series. Spock is attacked by a huge, venomous, underground creature. Kirk is trapped by a cave in. Scotty must assume command of the USS Enterprise in the wake of these two emergencies and is immediately ordered by the Federation to depart and provide assistance to Beta Cabrini which has come under attack from space pirates. The Enterprise soon learns that the leader of the marauders is named Dreen - a man that Spock and and former captain Christopher Pike faced years ago. Been has not forgotten his previous defeat and is looking for vengeance.

[Reesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this one!

The romance for Kirk was handled in a way that was much more in line with Kirk's actual behaviour on the show, rather than the way people artificially remember him (which is always somehow way creepier). Reading in publication date order, that understanding of his character has been few and far between thus far, so I greatly appreciated it.

I absolutely loved the story of the worm creatures! Their nature was quite easy to figure out a heck of a lot earlier than the book had the crew figure it out, but I didn't even mind because they were just so darn cool!

I did have two gripes: First, I did not get the feeling that Medical was trying very hard to help Spock. Way too much standing around going on while he suffered. Second, the Pike stuff seemed shoehorned in and didn't go anywhere. I enjoyed checking in on him anyway, but I would have preferred he actually had a role to play in the story.

A solid 4 stars from me. I think Star Trek fans would enjoy it.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starbase 5258.7 The Enterprise is on a routine survey of planet Alpha Octavius Four when Spock is attacked by a creature, while Kirk and three crew are trapped underground. Meanwhile The Enterprise is ordered to respond to a distress call from the Beta Cabrini system as they are under attack by marauders.
An entertaining re-read.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in the mood for some classic Trek and this didn’t disappoint. I enjoyed the multiple story lines and thought they worked together well. Not enough Dr.McCoy . ( He’s my favourite)

[Tamara✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This starts off with a routine survey that goes haywire - Spock gets poisoned by some weird tentacle monster, then Kirk and his landing party get trapped under the earth after an earthquake, and then to top it all off the Enterprise has to LEAVE the planet and looking for Kirk because there's been an attack on a mining colony. 

Turns out the attacker is a guy that Spock met once while serving under Pike and struggles to defeat this man though poisoned. All while Kirk and his team struggle to stay alive and hope that they will eventually be rescued by the Enterprise. 

So not as fun as the Vulcan Academy Murders that I read before, BUT still fun all the same. This one really felt like a typical TOS episode to me and I am glad for it. However there was a romantic sublpot with Kirk and a crew member that I felt wasn't really necessary at all. But whatever this was originally published in 1991 so I guess I can't complain too much because at least she was important to the story and wasn't just there for Kirk to lust over... 

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[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really rather pleased with this book. The story line with Spock was very intricate and fascinating, especially towards the end where the real action is. Spock, in my mind, was pretty Spock-like.

The Kirk story line was really sort of a tangent. Nothing really happens, other than the fact there's a chapter now and then describing the place they are stuck in. I felt it would have been a better story if the crew were united and Kirk was incapacitated some other way where he wouldn't be able to interfere with Spock's stubbornness.

All in all, it was a pretty good read. Especially the animosity between Spock and his rival.

[Cary Spratt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kinda boring. Kirk free-climbing was the most interesting part. The Pike-and-Vina scenes were completely superfluous and Spock's memory-flashbacks, well, I found myself skimming through most of them, even if ONE of them did give Spock his idea for defeating Dreen. Not sure why Spock's illness was causing him to have the flashbacks, either. Dreen was fairly boring and cliche, too. Yeah, Kirk's free-climbing scene was the highlight of this novel, for me.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I've finally hit upon a Michael Jan Friedman "Star Trek" novel I thoroughly enjoyed. He manages the impossible: juggling 3 plot strands, an entire sub-strand of flash backs, and some spot-on character work. The final third of the book moves like lightning.

[Joachim Sjöqvist · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really like this one, but there were some great things.

Friedman certainly gets the characters right. Spock and Scotty are particularly well portrayed. It feels true to the tv-series and you recognize the entire gang. One weird thing though, was that Scotty occasionally forgets he has a scottish accent in the first half of the book. Between lines on the same page he talks like a "normal" person and then in the next he is back to his old "yer" "dinnae" and "aye". Sloppy.

Kirk's romantic thoughts and actions with the beautiful researcher were cringy, but I guess it was in line with his character traits from Mira (his creepiest episode from the tv-series).

The dialogue lines were good. Everything surrounding them horribly bad. After a while my brain decided to ignore the commentary surrounding every line, which almost always was longer than the actual lines. Why does everyone have to frown or spit or look surprised before or after every freaking line. Just get to the point. When I read it aloud (which I always do for 4-5 pages when starting a reading section) it felt very stiff and didn't flow at all.

Friedman was hung up on the word "However" in this novel. Also "Suddenly" something appears or happens - waaay too often.

The cozy scene with Chekov and Sulu enjoying a meal in the canteen, just talking and gossiping was great. I wanted more of that stuff from this book, and from trek novels in general. I much prefer that than the entire chapter describing Kirk climbing a rock, for example.

Spock's flashbacks from his time serving under Captain Pike were good. Why there were a few sections describing Pike's life on that fantasy planet I really don't understand though. It had nothing to do with anything.

[Calphamore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of my favorite Star Trek books.
The main thing I disliked was the fact that since Kirk gets stranded on Alpha Octavius Four very early on in the story, he spends the entire book separated from his crew and the Enterprise. Which means that the witty, comical dialogue we normally get between Kirk, McCoy and Spock is completely missing from this book.
Secondly, Spock gets stung by some creature on Alpha Octavius Four and throughout the book he’s fighting internally with the poison/venom in his system from the sting, meaning that Spock is not his usual self, so we got gypped with Spock’s character as well.
This book was just underwhelming because the interaction between the favorite characters was so minimal. Kirk, Spock and McCoy only talk to each other a little bit in the beginning and a little bit in the end.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5 stars but it would have been better if certain things weren't so frustrating. What was the point of having Pike in the book? He doesn't do anything to the story except remind the reader of where he is. He pops up here and there to drag the story out I guess. Was he just introduced so the reader would remember that Spock served under a different captain years ago which does play a part in the story... anyway I liked the story as a whole but I think the Enterprise would have left something on the planet for Kirk to find in case they survived. The villain was stupid but I guess that's the idea... I don't know, I wanted more but didn't get it but what is there is okay.

[Brayden Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me this feels like a piece of homage to the former Enterprise Captain Pike and Spock on their journeys. Of course that is what it is. So it works perfectly. Pike has fascinated me for some time and the more I learn of his voyages the more I crave. After finishing Legacy I also have an even deeper understanding of the determination and stubborness that Spock has within him. The added bonus of Kirk finishing an intense climb and not falling like in Star Trek V was enjoyable to say the least.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

While surveying Octavius IV, Spock is poisoned by a native creature and Kirk and half the survey team are lost in an accident.

Intending to send a rescue party, the 'Enterprise' is interrupted in its mission and diverted to Beta Cabrini, where a former foe of Christopher Pike's has taken the colony hostage.

Friedman captures the essence of 'Star Trek', both in his sense of character and of plot. Well worth a read.

[Vorik · Rating 1 out of 5]

Der Prolog war wirklich verheißungsvoll. Aber danach sinkt das Niveau erstaunlich schnell. Der Autor enttäuscht mit einer Fülle an plumpen und abgegriffenen Metaphern, benutzt eine zu saloppe Wortwahl für einen Star-Trek-Roman und der Erzählstil wirkt viel zu lax und einfältig. Schade. Michael Jan Friedman hatte mit anderen Büchern bewiesen, dass er wesentlich Besseres zu Papier bringen kann. Nach 54 Seiten hatte ich dann keine Lust mehr.

[Joe Seliske · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic TOS novel bringing in various characters from different episodes and time periods. Spock's struggle with the poison reminds one of his efforts to supress the results of the Denevan organism that attacked him in the episode Operation: Annihilate. Kirk once again shows us that he is a red-blooded American boy (form Iowa) who can't resist a beautiful woman. Good Michael Jan Friedman fare.

[Sunday Hollis · Rating 4 out of 5]

good story, but highlights that it was always silly to me that they beam down to strange planets with NO basic survival tools, just communicator and phasers. A decent knife and matches as well as carrying water is essential. just my opinion

[Ian Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun story that captures the feel of the Classic series nicely, complete with dodgy science and a foe that could be either a Klingon or a Romulan without any copyright issues.

[John Majerle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this attempt at a STOS novel disappointing. The original series characters didn't read like the TV series, the plot felt contrived, and the science weak.

[Davinder Sangha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was okay. I skim read the last few sections, but a standard, decent Trek adventure and relatively easy to read.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extra half star for McCoy calling Spock "sloppy seconds".

[Tobias · Rating 2 out of 5]

Die USS Enterprise untersucht den Planeten Octavius IV der scheinbar von keiner höheren Lebensform bewohnt wird. Während der Erkundung kommt es aber zu einem Unfall. Spock wird von einem krakenähnlichen Lebewesen angeriffen und mit einem Substanz infiziert , die für Spock tödlich ist. Kirk wird mit einigen Crew Mitgliedern in einer Höhle verschüttet. Da plötzlich ein dringender Notruf eintrifft, muss die Crew den Captain auf dem Planet zurück lassen und zur Föderationskolonie Beta Cabrini fliegen, die von merkaanischen Freibeutern überfallen wurden. Trotzt seiner körperlichen Einschränkungen übernimmt Spock die Leitung der Rettungsmission und trifft auf dem Planeten auf einen alten Bekannten der auf Rache aus ist.
Leider nur ein durchschnittlicher Roman aus dem Star Trek Universum. Kaum spannend und fesselnd.

[Benn Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

While doing a survey on the planet Alpha Octavius Four, Mr. Spock is poisoned by a sting from a living plant like creature. Shortly after Dr. McCoy beams back up to the Enterprise with Spock, Captain and three other members of the landing party are trapped underground by an earthquake. Before Lt. Commander Scott and the rest of the starship can rescue the captain and crew, the Enterprise, being the only nearby ship (again) is called away to assist colonists on Beta Carbonia who are being enslaved and held hostage by a band of space pirates lead by one Hamesaad Dreen. Ten years previously Dreen was defeated by the crew of the Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike. Dreen's defeat was humiliating and he's looking for revenge. Spock, who was a lieutenant on the starship at the time, must use his logic and Vulcan discipline to fight the poison streaming through his body as well as the Merkaan pirate.

"Legacy" is a decent, serviceable and entertaining novel. Fast paced, it does keep the reader's attention. Writer Michael Jan Friedman does a good enough handling both the characterizations of the main STAR TREK cast (though Scotty and McCoy seem a little off from time to time). He does an excellent job of writing dialogue for those characters that you can hear the actors' voices while reading the lines he gives the Enterprise crew. And because Dreen is a villain from the Enterprise's past, specifically the Captain Pike era, we get some interesting looks at what some of the missions and events that crew might have undergone. On the other hand, Freidman does devote several pages to the now retired Captain Pike's life of illusion on Talos IV with Vina. While it's nice to see how Pike's doing nowadays, these scenes really add nothing to the story and could easily have not been written or used in another novel where they actually matter. Here, they're merely throwaway bits. Fun, but absolutely unnecessary to the plot.

Still, Friedman provides us with a standard, exciting action filled STAR TREK adventure. A book that works as a Trekkie's next fix of ST until the next movie or TV show comes out.

[Andy Stjohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

TOS #56: Legacy by Micheal Jan Friedman

This book was ultimately disappointing. I really really wish it was just a tale of Pike and Spock and Dreen instead of the story we got. I have never been the biggest fan of Friedman’s writing as I always found his stories lacklustre and the writing not always the strongest. I’ve read most of his books and I don’t know why I keep reading them. The only ones I’ve outright enjoyed is Crossover, Requeim and the Brothers Keeper trilogy. There’s probably more but that’s all I remember.

This book had an interesting idea and it’s always interesting to see Spock pushed to his absolute limits, facing an impossible solution. I really enjoyed the book up to the ending. After that, it kinda petered out. Kirk’s subplot felt pointless and added little. The brief parts focusing on Pike could have entirely removed but I enjoyed them as we don’t really know in canon what happened to Pike after he returned to Talos IV (Burning Dreams answers that but it’s non canon). I really enjoyed as you did feel nostalgia and also given SNW, it just felt good. Dreen was also a decent villain but ultimately dispatched way too easy at the end.

6/10

[Stephen Fender · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well written novel. I liked the antagonist, but I think there could have been more development there. While he was more than 2 dimensional, he still felt a little... fake? Contrived?

The use of Pike in the novel seemed a little too much. The book could have been better if the author focused less on what Pike was doing on Talos IV (really, do we care? He's happy, let’s just forget about him) and had focused more on character improvement. This is a very Kirk-Spock centered novel, but with Kirk stranded planet side and Spock on the bridge several light years away.

A good adventure and well written, but I wont be revisting this one anytime soon.

[Jean-Pierre Vidrine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great Star Trek story that is not just wildly spun yarn, but is a great novel. Essentially we have a number of parallels and juxtapositions here: Kirk's thoughtful consideration of how his survey team might interfere even with a planet with no sentient life and Dreen's thoughtless siege of the mining colony, Pike's guilt over the people lost under his command and Dreen's shame of failing in an act of piracy, and so on.
Friedman displays a good grasp of these classic characters while putting them into situations that the TV show would not likely have done.

[Stephen Cluff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another enjoyable Star Trek novel. I love what ifs. That explains my fascination with alternate histories as well as my attraction to this book. It deals with, in part, adventures of the crew of Captain Pike’s Enterprise, something never shown and only hinted at on the televised series. I especially enjoyed the characterizations of the lesser character only seen during the series original pilot episode and in its recompiled form in The Menagerie. Fun.

[Joe Pranaitis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good story where we see Captain Pike on Talos IV wondering about his former science officer Spock who at the time is on a survey mission, while on the mission Spock is attacked and then taken back to the Enterprise while Captain Kirk is stranded as the Enterprise is called away to fight a villan from the ships past. While I was reading this book it felt like an episode from the TV series so I would say that Mike did a great job writing it.

[Frank Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

That cover is great! Seeing Pike lurking back there is very exciting and I feel like the other two are looking right at each other even though Spock is clearly drawn in front of the Merkaan!

The separation of the Senior Officers spread this story out really well.

I really thought that this was a great story, much better than I'd anticipated. There were lots of really nice moments, plenty of classic moments and it was an enjoyable adventure!

[Dan Contrino · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book! There were three story threads that were all maintained and tied up nicely. It was great to have Captain Pike in the story, even nominally. I was pleased with the lack of gratuitous violence(no Red Shirts were harmed!). The character of Dreen was a really good and realistic villain. An all around fast and entertaining read.

[Howard]

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