Star Trek - The Starship Trap

'He did not normally have such thoughts.  A starship captain must be an optimistic and clever person, in addition to the other attributes he or she might have.  For one thing, Kirk was philosopher king, a supreme and benevolent leader in his twenty-three deck realm.'

I didn't pick this one!  I actually asked my partner to pick one this time, which is probably why the cover is unlike the others!  I was somewhat put off by the woman on the cover, don't be afraid, she is not a romance option (I'm not biased at all nooooo....)!  I had to laugh though, she's illustrated wearing a Starfleet uniform, but it is an important part of the storyline that she isn't part of Starfleet at all.  I formulated all kinds of theories about how she would end up in a uniform, like, she was an undercover Starfleet spy keeping an eye on an errant anti-Starfleet Federation politician - needless to say, it was not the case.  Which leads me to ask, who did brief the artist on what these covers should be?  Mind you, can't complain, the artist put Kirk on the front at his best (3/4) angle, and since the cover of the last novel I reviewed was Kirkless, well, I'm glad my eye candy is back!

The Starship Trap (#64 Pocket, #59 Titan) (1993) by Mel Gilden opens with a quote -

To see a world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

                                       - William Blake

                                          1757 - 1827

- and quite a lofty one at that!  It's a very well known piece of poetry, and I have to admit I was a little dubious because of it.  Why?  Well, I sometimes feel that authors try and oversell their work by putting a 'deep' quote at the beginning, trying to make it more that it is.  That might have coloured my expectation of it a little and perhaps my perception of the narrator.  The narrator's voice comes  across as pretty arrogant, and slightly aloof but his observations are usually smirk inducing.  The narrator's main focus is Kirk, his thoughts, feelings and perspectives.  I think the narrator has a strong synergy with Kirk, or perhaps Kirk overwhelms the narrator a little... he's charmed by him and the narrator digs in to Kirk's smarmy nature for the best observations and reactions.  Spock and McCoy are strong supporting characters, well characterised especially when the narrator's gaze moves from Kirk for a short while and reads their inner workings.

Much of Kirk's interactions in this novel are characterised by a distinct weariness, which you can occasionally see in the series, there are certainly a couple of episodes in season three in which Kirk (or Shatner... perhaps both) is really fed up with the general state of things.  Short tempered, likely to say something with a 'devil may care' attitude, tired of responsibility, tired of politics and bureaucracy.  This may sound like it's going to be a heavy book with a description of Kirk's temperament like that, but it's not so!  The Starship Trap is an offbeat but funny novel that just seems to hit the right key.  I guess Kirk's attitude in this story is best described as sardonic, which ousts McCoy from his usual role as resident cynic-come-humanitarian to bold-optimist.  It's nice seeing Bones being cheery, and also RIGHT about someone!  Spock remains Kirk's right hand, companion and quasi-computer, I'm fairly sure that he's relieved that Kirk couldn't go chasing tail this time!

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, I haven't even summarised the story yet... but for once I don't know where to begin!

The story begins with the Enterprise crew on shore leave, this gets interrupted with orders to go pick up one Conrad Franklin Kent and his assistant.  Kent is a Federation politician, Federation presidency hopeful and noisy critic of Starfleet, he is joined by his able assistant Payton, a woman who 'gets things done.  On picking the Kent and Payton from Pegasus IV, Kent then orders Kirk to travel to Starbase 12.  You can imagine Kirk's disapproval at this turn of events, especially since the Enterprise is being used as a taxi to a man such as Kent.  During this trip we are introduced to Payton's mental augment; she has an implant which allows her to record everything she experiences for her records - this of course goes down a treat with Kirk, already not in the greatest of moods.  While on route to Starbase 12, the Enterprise is confronted by a Klingon starship, the captain of which claims that the Federation have been the perpetrators of attacks on Klingon vessels and responsible for their subsequent disappearance.  The easily dislikable Kent refuses to confirm or deny a weapon's existence to the Klingons.  A truce is eventually brokered and the Enterprise continues on its way, Kirk still in the dark as to the purpose of the journey.

On reaching Starbase 12, it is revealed that the Enterprise is to firstly engage in the testing of a new shield configuration designed by the reclusive Professor Omen (who also designed weapons such as the photon torpedos)  and then go search for the weapon (with Omen's help) which has been causing not only Klingon ships to disappear but also Federation and Romulan ships too.  Payton also is required to come along on the expedition in order to record the mission with her device and write report for Kent.  Naturally nothing goes to plan and the Enterprise is drawn into a trap, causing the Starship and crew to be thrown into another empty universe which they have to escape in order to stop a madman from sending the crews of hundreds, perhaps thousands of starships into other, unknown universes. 

I actually don't want to give too much of this one away, because it's one of those books which will be a pleasure to read and discover yourself.  The Starship Trap is probably more story development orientated than character development, but it is a good balance and Mel Gilden's writing is really uplifting and enjoyable to read.  The twists and developments in the story aren't incredibly obvious and I was kept guessing as to whether some characters had more information about the big bad than they let on.

Kirk and Payton are the strongest characters in The Starship Trap.  The way the narrator presents Kirk's narrative is humourous and his slightly off colour mood just really works.  I think I just really wanted a Kirk-centric novel, and this fit the bill!  Aside from the narration of Kirk's thoughts, I did like a particular section where Kirk wants to be involved with looking for a solution, only to find that he simply can't be involved.  Payton is an unusually strong original character who is well developed and is actually useful!  I particularly like the use of her augment, and how it is used as a way to develop her emotionally.  It was also nice that she was out of reach for Kirk (she had absolutely no interest in him and is engaged to another man), which meant they develop a better relationship.  By the end of the book, I was sorry to let the original characters go, I would happily meet them again in another outing (even Kent!)!

Mel Gilden just does a seriously good job with this book, and part of me isn't happy just seeing this in print.  I think it would have made a really good episode, which I don't think is accidental.  Mel Gilden has written a huge amount of TV scripts as well as four Star Trek novels, but it's clear he has a mind for television, the scene changes are often sudden but they are just in the right place to cut out any time wasting dialogue or actions.  At one point Gilden introduces us to an alien race in an alternate universe called the 'Klingee', they are of course that universe's Klingons, but their ships are a dusky pink and they are less warriors and more playground bullies who are easily manipulated into retreating.  The Klingee just felt very in keeping with the humour of TOS, again television friendly, and aren't we reading these novels because we love the television series so much?

4/5 - Yes, the poem does relate to the plot!