A vicious pirate known as the Albino is cutting a deadly swath across space, creating turmoil in the Klingon Empire that threatens to spill into the Federation. But this criminal also has a secret that could shake the halls of Imperial power, and his genocidal plans against the race that bore him will have consequences even he cannot imagine, as several unlikely allies join swords to bring the Albino to justice: Hikaru Sulu of the U.S.S. Excelsior; Klingon captains Kor, Koloth, and Kang; and a hotheaded young Federation diplomat named Curzon Dax. Tempered in the flames of their shared adversity, a captaincy is forged, a Blood Oath is sworn...and a hunt begins that will stretch from one generation to the next.
Well written, though ultimately disappointing... On the surface, the new Captain Sulu novel, Forged in Fire, is full of a number of good ideas. How did Sulu gain command of the Excelsior? What precisely led to Curzon Dax's blood oath with Kang, Kor, and Koloth to feast on the still beating heart of the Albino'? And how did the smooth headed Klingons get their ridges back?
However, these ideas are presented in an ultimately unsatisfying way. While the ridges subplot was handled well, it didn't really fit with the overall narrative of the story. But the story is ultimately going to be unsatisfying when you start from such a flawed premise. The events of the DS9 episode `Blood Oath' are the basis for pretty much the entire novel, and it establishes that not only did the Albino escape from the Klingons and Dax, he also managed to kill their firstborn sons. Therefore, we know when starting the novel that the Albino won't be brought to justice within the novel, no matter what happens. 480 pages that lead up to an unsatisfying conclusion that we already knew was coming. Of course, this is assuming that a reader is familiar with the episode; if one isn't, the book probably seems to just abruptly end without any real resolution at all.
If Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels couldn't bring something new and compelling to the story to give the reader a sense of closure, then maybe the conception of this novel should have been rethought. That said, their prose was capable, as always, and their characterizations were well done: from people we know well, like Sulu and Sarek, to original characters like Cutler, all seemed like realistic, believable people.
Limited scope is also an issue. While the plot appears at first to be complicated and spanning a range of times, the flashbacks merely serve to set up small plot elements in the story and aren't returned to afterwards. The narrative essentially boils down to a terrorist attack, followed by our heroes chasing the terrorist for the next 300+ pages. It's not any more complicated than that.
I sat down to watch `Blood Oath' this afternoon after finishing the novel last night. I'd forgotten how uneven and undramatic it was. (Not to mention how bad an actor I find Terry Farrell to be.) But it did help me put a point on something that I find monotonous and unrealistic.
I understand that vengeance is not accepted behavior by the Federation of the 24th century, but why does every damn Klingon story have to drive this point home? Both Sulu in the novel and Sisko in the episode take great strides to make their abhorrence for the Klingon's oath known. But are condemnation and understanding really irreconcilable things? Have we not all had feeling of vengeance that we haven't acted upon? Could we not look at a man whose son has been killed and understand why he would seek the death of the killer even if we felt it would be the wrong thing to do.
For all the permissiveness and acceptance the Federation supposedly has for other peoples and culture, we don't really seem to actually see it all that much. Perhaps it is the writer's fault; they use humanity (the Federation) as the inflexible moral line, the white in what is actually a grey situation. But it would be nice to see some of the novel authors try and combat this practice, given that they tout their freedom to go places that the television shows couldn't.
Not bad Good to know a bit more about curzon dax and sulu in this book, get to learn more about klingons too
Awesome novel If you all recall the STVOY episode where Tuvok and Capt Janeway were on the Excelsior, this was supposed to be the spin off for Excelsior's own TV series, but didn't happen. This book is great on filling in the Back story of a Deep Space Nine, season 2 show where Dax teams up with 3 Klingons to fulfill a blood oath. A must read!
The Story Of Sulu's Rise To Captain Finally Told. Finished reading Forged in Fire and I have to say that it is one of the best Trek books I have ever read. Even better then Sword of Damocles which was just a boring read... Just a few qualms about the book..
1) I don't buy the fact that Qagh had easy access to obtain the means to create his weapon.
2) Wouldn't Starfleet have been happy that Sulu, even though he defied orders, help resolve the situation and bring the Klingons and Humans closer together? Why didn't they make a big deal when Curzon went against orders?
3) Is the Ensign Paris shown towards the end the same one who becomes the father of Tom Paris?
4) What became of the Albino? Did Kang ever find him after meeting that woman?
All in all, a great book if a bit to long but the team of M and M have done it again.
Can't wait for Kobyashi Maru.
Martin & Mangels add a great epic to the Star Trek Cannon Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels have produced some of my favorite Star Trek novels and I believe they single handedly resurrected the Enterprise series with the cogent and brilliant "Last Full Measure" & "The Good That Men Do." So I had high expectations for "Forged in Fire" as we would find out the history of the nebulous Albino character from DS9. David Roy gives a great synopsis to the book in his review so I would just add that I enjoyed the tapestry that these authors bring to this story. One of the great aspects of Star Trek is that the TV series and movies gave us many broad strokes of story arcs that has allowed talented authors like these to fill in the details that flesh out our favorite universe.
Michael & Andy reward the Star Trek fans who have viewed all of the shows with the immense and accurate detail that they seemingly do without straining credulity and all so seamlessly. Yet, the story is so accessible that it will satisfy fans who are familiar with Star Trek but who do not possess every detail of the Trek canon. This is a Star Trek novel that I highly recommend to the full spectrum of Star Trek and Sci-Fi fans. My only complaint is that these authors don't publish more stories as they are certainly at the top of their game.
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