Customer Reviews

Constitution (Star Trek: My Brother's Keeper, Book 2)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After a grueling debriefing where he is forced to go over the particulars of his friend's death, James Kirk returns to The Enterprise. Prior to leaving he answers a question for a lieutenant ready to transfer to another ship. For some reason her question sparks numerous memories in his head and Kirk goes back to another time and another place.

Meet the young James Kirk on the Farragut where he finds himself one of the few survivors of the ship. Later he is transfered over to the Constitution where he is greeted with open arms by his friend Gary. But this Kirk is hollow. The zest for life has escaped him. His ambition to become a starfleet captain has died. Gary has a challenge on his hands and even more so as the Constitution is attacked by an alien vessel. Kirk is the senior officer and most make the right choice. Can he?

Constitution, part two of the three part series of My Brother's Keeper, follows Kirk as he once again reflects over the life of his friend Gary. This time he remembers when he had to struggle to make some right choices in command and felt utterly useless until Gary intervened. Did he make the right choice in killing Gary as he attempts to find the answers in his past. Once again you are bombarded with a thrilling action packed story that keeps your attention yet stays in step with the first book of the series. The only problem with this book is the various distractions of fact and numerous grammatical errors. For example, the first part of the book says he was on the Republic left as one of the only surviving crew then switches over to say it was the Farragut. Although a minor error it takes away from the integrity of the book. Otherwise we have a good story and receive further insight as to what makes a starship captain.

Star Trek - Constitution - Thy Brother's Keeper 2 was every bit as good and entertaining as 'Thy Brother's Keeper 1 - Republic'. However a couple of glaring errors cost this a five Star review from this reader. First off there's Gary Mitchell's rank. He was frequently referred to a 'lieutenant' when he was in fact a Lieutenant Commander at the time of his death (This is plainly stated in the classic episode 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' and the first of the trilogy; 'Thy Brother's Keeper 1 - Republic'.) The abbreviation for that rank being 'Commander' not 'Lieutenant'. There is also the gaffe regarding the 'USS Farragut' being referred to on more than one occasion as the 'USS Republic'; the first star-ship Kirk and Mitchell ever served on.

There's some nice touches in this book. The reference to Kirk's middle name with regard to his conjured tombstone in 'Where No Man Has Gone Before' 'R' for 'Rhinoceros' not 'R' for 'Racquetball'. A continuation of the 'R' theme from 'Thy Brother's Keeper 1 - Republic' when Kirk said his middle name was 'Racquetball'

There's also Kirk's uneasy interaction with the crew of the USS Constitution after his traumatic experiences on board the USS Farragut. Mitchell is resolute in his moral support of Kirk at this time.

Great stuff. Looking forward to the third and last instalment- Star Trek -My Brother's Keeper 3 - Enterprise.

This book is a continuation of the story told in "Republic", the backstory of the friendship between Kirk and Gary Mitchell, and the aftermath of the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before", in which Kirk is forced to kill Mitchell after Mitchell gains superhuman psychic powers and goes insane from the experience, becoming a threat to all humanity. This book is as well-written as the previous book, giving us a close look at the continuing after-effects of that experience on Kirk, as well as a flashback look at his history with Mitchell. The flashback isn't as well-justified as it is in the previous book; it isn't a tale told to Spock, but simply Kirk woolgathering and thinking back on his time with Mitchell, but it's still well-handled. This time, the flashback deals with their time together on the Constitution, shortly after Kirk was one of few survivors on the Farragut, and was blaming himself for all of the deaths there. (This refers back to the episode "Obsession".) Once again, not all of the details are as I'd envisioned them, nor the characterizations what I would have envisioned. But that doesn't make them wrong, and the story is well-told and gripping. Further, it seems to me that it stands well on its own; it helps to have read the previous entry in the series, but it isn't essential, and the same can be said for having seen the episodes referred to: it helps, but it isn't essential to an appreciation of the story.

One of the best features of the series of Star Trek books is that it allows for prequels to be created. Stories that fill out the background that is mentioned but not described in episodes of the original series.
In the original series episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", the relationship between Jim Kirk and Gary Mitchell was clearly stated as being a very close one. Which made the death of Gary at the hands of Jim so tragic, even though it was necessary to save so many lives. It was the original statement of "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."
This is the second book in the trilogy of the early relationship between Jim Kirk and Gary Mitchell and it is a continuation of the aftermath of Gary's death and a flashback to when they were shipmates on the USS Constitution, where Kirk is the second officer. The timeframe is after the events on the USS Farragut that is mentioned in the episode "Obsession." Kirk is still reeling from the effects of not firing the phasers on time and he believes that it was his error that led to the mass deaths on the Farragut at the hands of the creature.
The Constitution is sent to the defense of the Sordinians when an alien force attacks them and the captain and first officer are stranded on the planet. Command then devolves to Kirk and he must devise a strategy to defeat a foe with superior firepower. Still beset with uncertainties after his actions on the Farragut, Kirk must right himself, convince uncertain crewmates that he is the leader and find a way to defeat his foe. With the help of Gary Mitchell and the professional actions of his crew, Kirk is able to solve the problem.
The early Captain Kirk was nothing like what we see in the original series. He is uncertain, full of self-doubt and in need of a friend. At first he rejects Gary's attempts to rekindle their relationship, but then Kirk rights himself and emerges as the Jim Kirk we knew. An accomplished lady's man, charismatic and never wavering or uncertain in his role as commander of the starship Enterprise. This is a good story for we see Kirk before he was Kirk, still molding himself as well as being molded by circumstances into a powerful galactic force.

Constitution pick's up where Republic left off. The books starts off with the very tragic event's aboard the Farragut. The entire chain of command is killed, leaving a young Lieutenant Kirk in charge of the ship. The young Kirk feels responsible for the tragedy and is consequently emotionally hulled. He is later transferred to the Constitution where he is reunited with his best friend Gary Mitchell. Aboard the Constitution, his friend has the challenge of getting him back on track emotionally. When Kirk ends up being in command of the Constitution is a particularly intriguing part of the story.
This was of course another excellent book written by one of the best Trek authors. It has everything a trek fan is looking for in a book. Intrigue, action, humor and generally a really good plot line.

First of all, the backcover blurb is incorrect. In this book, Kirk remembers the disaster on the Farragut and his first time in command of the vessel when nearly half of the crew and all superior officers wound up dead, closely followed by his first time at command of a starship during a battle situation, when he had to grapple with the notions of what command is really like and when we first see him implementing brilliant strategy.

The story was very exciting and you could sympathise with the young Kirk, his friend Mitchell and a whole world on the brink of distruction.

Incidentally, his commanding officers were stuck planetside during the attack, not in the comas. Who writes the blurbs?

Although I am not fond of "series books", I was eagerly anticipating this one. Michael Jan Friedman is one of the best of the Star Trek authors. The story of Jim Kirk's and Gary Mitchell's friendship is really good, but book two is filled with errors. It is in need of a good proofreader. Don't read the synopsis on the back - a lot of it is incorrect. Please, Pocket Books, enough of "series" - bring back those great individual Star Trek stories from the original series and the first five year mission! I can only hope the third book - which, of course, we have to wait for, will satisfy all the questions remaining from the first two.