From Library Journal
Building on the more than 70 million Star TrekR novels in print, this entry by a pair of veteran Trekkies tells of Spock's close encounter with a childhood enemy.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
This deft presentation of a well-written Star Trek novel features a single reader, with occasional interjections by other voices dramatizing background shouts and discussions. Leonard Nimoy is obviously a master of the major character, the half-Vulcan, half-human Spock, but he also captures with eerie precision the intonations and inflections of other famous characters, most particularly Doctor McCoy and Spock's father, Ambassador Sarek. The narrative is punctuated by the appropriate sound effects of a good space opera: phasers blasting, red-alert sirens sounding, desert winds howling. The story itself takes place a little after Captain Kirk's apparent death, as featured in the movie STAR TREK GENERATIONS. D.W. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Book Description
Just over a year ago, Captain James T. Kirk was lost to the Nexus while saving the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-B from destruction. Aboard the science ship Intrepid II, Captain Spock, commanding some of his old crewmates, must face the loss of his closest friend. But while still in mourning for one friend, he must come to the aid of another. Decades ago, Spock had teamed up with David Rabin, the young son of a Starfleet Captain, to fight an attempted coup on Vulcan that would have turned the planet's people away from the path of logic. Now a Starfleet officer, Captain David Rabin has been assigned to a harsh desert world much like Vulcan, where the Federation is determined to protect the lives of the inhabitants. But Rabin's efforts are being sabotaged and he has asked for Spock's help against the unknown forces that may well destroy the society he had come to save. While reflecting on his youthful adventure with David Rabin, Spock joins with Rabin to face and enemy out of their past and confront deadly Romulan treachery. In the process Spock will decide if the path of his life now leads back toward the family traditions he had once sought to escape.

Simon & Schuster
Just over a year ago, Captain James T. Kirk was lost to the Nexus while saving the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-B from destruction. Aboard the science ship Intrepid II, Captain Spock, commanding some of his old crewmates, must face the loss of his closest friend. But while still in mourning for one friend, he must come to the aid of another. Decades ago, Spock had teamed up with David Rabin, the young son of a Starfleet Captain, to fight an attempted coup on Vulcan that would have turned the planet's people away from the path of logic. Now a Starfleet officer, Captain David Rabin has been assigned to a harsh desert world much like Vulcan, where the Federation is determined to protect the lives of the inhabitants. But Rabin's efforts are being sabotaged and he has asked for Spock's help against the unknown forces that may well destroy the society he had come to save. While reflecting on his youthful adventure with David Rabin, Spock joins with Rabin to face and enemy out of their past and confront deadly Romulan treachery. In the process Spock will decide if the path of his life now leads back toward the family traditions he had once sought to escape.

About the Author
JOSEPHA SHERMAN is an author and folklorist whose novels include The Shattered Oath and Forging the Runes. She lives in Riverdale, New York.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Decades ago, as a teenager, Spock had teamed up with David Rabin, the young son of a Starfleet captain, to fight an attempted coup on Vulcan that would have turned the planet's people away from the path of logic. Now a Starfleet officer, Captain David Rabin has been assigned to a harsh desert world much like Vulcan, where the Federation is determined to protect the lives of the inhabitants. But Rabin's efforts are being sabotaged and he has asked for Spock's help against the unknown forces that may well destroy the society he had come to save. While reflecting on his youthful adventure with David Rabin - the adventure that set him on the path to Starfleet - Spock joins with Rabin to face an enemy out of their past and confront deadly Romulan treachery. In the process Spock will decide if the path of his life now leads back toward the family traditions he had once sought to escape.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Here's a Trek novel that truly does go where none has gone beforeinto genre excellence. The story, by two seasoned fantasy authors (Sherman: The Shattered Oath; Shwartz: The Grail of Hearts) opens a year after Captain Kirk's disappearance (in the film Star Trek: Generations), with Captain Spock commanding the research vessel Intrepid II. Uhura is his executive officer and Bones McCoy his medical officer. All three find trouble on the desert planet Obsidian, which is afflicted with an unstable sun, a vanished ozone layer and an insane renegade Vulcan plotting with some formidably competent Romulans. In dealing with the crisis, Spock encounters an old friend, Captain David Rabin, who, when they were both teenagers, helped Spock in a previous encounter with the mad Vulcan and also influenced Spock's decision to join Starfleet. The novel is comprehensively excellent, marked by brisk pacing, lovely dry wit, gripping action scenes, detailed world-building (both Obsidian and Starfleet), insightful handling of the classic characters and inventive creation of new ones. Even non-Trekker readers unfamiliar with the whole backstory will appreciate this bright addition to the canon, and dedicated fans will find it a feast. (July)

Library Journal