Customer Reviews

Open Secrets (Startrek Vanguard)

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I had doubts this series could produce an adequate follow-up to the cataclysmic events of "Reap the Whirlwind". That book seemingly resolved major threads and left the lives of major characters forever altered. If the series had stopped there it would have made a nice trilogy. How do you keep the momentum going when it seems you've blown the wad? Somehow, Dayton Ward delivers. As the Federation and Klingon Empire hurtle towards war, Diego Reyes stands trial, T'Prynn fights for her life, and the puzzle of the Taurus Reach gets even more complicated. I won't spoil anything, but if you've read the earlier books this one is a must read.

Those who suffered through Ward's last Vanguard outing (Book 2: "Summon the Thunder") likely remember an exciting tale marred by sloppy writing. What a great surprise to find the writing this time out is solid and tight, 100% improvement. There's still a habit of mixing too much exposition with the dialog. But while this was mind numbing in StT, it works a lot better here. It's also worth mentioning that the reams of bad Trekno-quips that littered StT are absent this time. Thanks Dayton.

If you're new to Vanguard I'd recommend starting with the 1st book, David Mack's excellent "Harbinger". There's enough backstory provided in OS that you could jump right in here, but you'll definitely miss out on some of this books emotional impact.

The Vanguard series is a great concept, set in the same time frame as James Kirk and the original Star Trek, it's about a star base in the distant Taurus Reach, and its secret project, searching for the mysterious Shedai who once dominated the region, and trying to understand the unfathomable technology they left behind.

In this the fourth book in the series, the station's commander, Commodore Diego Reyes, stands accused of violating his orders by allowing the secrets of the station and its mission to be leaked to the media. The whole mission grows far more dangerous as Klingons enter the area, hoping to harness Shedai technology as weapons. In the background the nearby Tholians, once slaves to the Shedai, remain hostile, and powerful remnants of the Shedai have awakened.

A parallel story takes us to Vulcan, where there are ancient mysteries in the desert and a tie-in to Spock and an episode of the original Star Trek.

The nice thing about this volume in particular is that it brings in other elements from this time frame in the original series. The prologue and epilogue refer to Kirk's confrontation with Klingons and the peace imposed by the Organians. And one of the main researchers on the station is Dr. Carol Marcus, with her son by Kirk, David, still a child, but grown up in the film "The Wrath of Khan".

On the other hand one of the frustrating elements about placing a series of different adventures in a familiar time frame is the problem of where did it all go? There's very little here that shows up in other Star Trek, which makes sense because those stories were written first. But if the secrets of the Taurus Reach are so amazing, and the technology Carol Marcus is dealing with has such ability to change science, why are there no traces of it, no references to it, in the later Star Trek time frame? Apparently less than century later the mighty and dangerous Taurus Reach has become a backwater, too familiar and too tame to mention.

It's very possible that what Carol Marcus learns on Vanguard turns into the Genesis Project of "The Wrath of Khan". The Cestus III outpost mentioned in passing here, site of the original series confrontation between the Gorn and James Kirk, has in the time frame of "Deep Space Nine" turned into the only place in the galaxy where baseball is still played. But where's the rest of it? Were all the adventures we are reading about here for naught?

The other frustrating element is the enormous length of time between the publication dates of the books in the series. The previous volume was published almost two years before this book. When you have to wait that long, it's hard to keep track of who is who and what has happened, no matter how hard the author tries to fill in the missing information.

Fortunately the wait for the next volume won't be quite so long, as it's due out about half a year after this one. But one does wish Pocket Books could bunch up such an excellent series a little more, especially when each volume has such a cliff-hanger ending.

It has been a while since I last read the previous installment of Vanguard so I had to do some reviewing of who the characters were. It didn't take long for me to come back up to speed on who the characters and players were and the politics given the way the book was written. Much of this installment focuses on the plight of disgraced starbase captain, Diego Reyes. Quite a lot of space in the book was taken up talking about his legal battle. I would have liked for the book to get more into the intrigue of the Taurus Reach, the mysterious artifact and the going ons of outlaw Ganz. I don't quite understand how the so-called "wanderer" fits into the whole scheme of things... it seems like it was pulled out from left field. Maybe I don't quite understand it because of my waning interest in this series and I have to concentrate more heavily, but it does seem out of place.

Dayton Ward ties up the loose ends left over from Reap the Whirlwind in the latest novel in the Vanguard series, Open Secrets. Commodore Reyes was arrested at the end of the previous book for allowing classified information to be disseminated by a reporter, and we get the fallout from that decision here. T'Prynn, intelligence officer who had a mental breakdown, suffers her malady and, of course, eventually recovers. The saga of the Shedai artifacts and the search for information continues as well. But unfortunately, this is about all Ward does.

Rather than recap all the action, I'll just say that if you are interested in Vanguard then this is worth reading. It's not a bad novel; it just doesn't stand on its own at all. What new material there is seems only prelude for David Mack's Precipice, which will continue the series later this year.

One of the interesting aspects of the series is the way that Shedai technology and the meta-genome are precursors to later events with which readers are already familiar. For example, a man is completely healed much like would happen with a dermal regenerator in TNG. Carol Marcus's very appearance lets us know that this will be an avenue to Genesis, at least to some extent. And Ward helps set the stage for not only the Organian intervention into a Federation/Klingon war shown in the episode `Errand of Mercy,' but also the colony of Nimbus III shown in one of the movies, Final Frontier I believe. Yet rather than this sort of thing being secondary to the story, it seems that Open Secrets is an exercise in reconciliation as story.

The novel also suffers from time lapse between its publication and its predecessor's. Frankly, I had a hard time remembering what happened, even with a short primer at the novel's beginning. It is always a delicate balance between killing a previous reader with unnecessary exposition and helping an unfamiliar or forgetful reader gain some sort of orientation, but I felt Ward erred on the side of too little here. While I have seen his prose style being ripped in reviews, I found it adequate if uninspired. The author likely would be served well by spending a little more time on style, but it was hardly sub-average for contemporary Star Trek fiction.

And with the title of the novel being Open Secrets, one would expect that some secrets would be revealed. Unfortunately, what is revealed leaves the reader with more questions than answers. A novel that seems to just be dealing with the fallout of the previous entry while moving characters around to set them in place for the next, Ward's book is adequate though unsatisfying.

STAR TREK VANGUARD: OPEN SECRETS is the fourth entry in the VANGUARD series, and the second written by Dayton Ward. It wraps up a two important plotlines set in motion in its predecessor, REAP THE WHIRLWIND -- the court martial of Commodore Reyes and the internal mental battle of Lt. Cmdr. T'Prynn. The former is handled in a perfunctory, by-the-numbers fashion, while the latter is more interesting, entailing a trip to an oddball Vulcan commune, a fight between T'Prynn's ex-fiance Sten and healer Sobon, and an encounter with T'Prynn's heretofore unknown sister T'Nel.

Beyond that, the novel mainly sets the stage for the anti-war intervention of the Organians (from ST:TOS episode "Errand of Mercy"), and the emergence of a Shedai threat that is much greater than that posed by the Wanderer or the Apostate. In the end, the novel is about 2/3 filler, and it's not very satisfying. The problem is not Ward's writing -- which is pretty typical for Trek -- but simply that there is very little new, exciting, or surprising in the novel. VANGUARD fatigue is setting in, at least for me.

Those not having read the earlier books should start at the beginning ... and all of us can hope that PRECIPICE, the next (final?) volume in the series, will offer more than this tolerable but unexceptional entry.

Interesting crossover with the events on Organia at the beginning and conclusion, I enjoyed the tie-in and that books 3 and 4 shed light into the level of hostiles between the UFP and Klingons in that episode.

Ward sets up the new CO, Nogura, nicely, setting the stage for a new tough lead character from the very beginning. I want Reyes back but I am so enthused with Nogura's opening behavior that it helps me accept the change. I was also thankful for the added development of Zett's character as I find him as fascinating as Ganz. I laughed heartily when Nogura is told the Klingons are angry and his response is, "The Klingons are angry? Make a note of that. I'd like an update on the station's water supply. Is it still wet?"

Rana Desai has been well described and characterized by both Ward and Mack. She is so sexy and loyal that I can't help but find her attractive. She is one of the best scratch-made female characters in Trek novels.

Reyes' courtroom speech was one of the most powerful I've read in judicial drama (though I usually don't enjoy judicial dramas). It made you really think about what is more important- the letter of the law or the intent/spirit of the law. "I swore an oath to defend Federation citizens and that duty comes before any other rule or regulation. If that's changed, for whatever reason, then I'm in the wrong business."

It was funny how in the acknowledgments Ward "thanks David Mack for leaving so much to work with after the series' third book, Reap the Whirlwind. Here's hoping I returned the favor." He certainly did. This is only the third Dayton Ward book I've read after Typhon Pact 4 and Vanguard 2. I wasn't sure about him at first, but this book has concreted him as a good Trek author for me as I've come to highly value his style.

I am charged for more Vanguard! Can't wait for Book 5 and the new releases.

Admittedly, a little slow on the start, but the storyline grows stronger with every page, and the character development is absolutely amazing. A very well written and fascinating addition to the Vanguard series. Thanks Dayton Ward. Excellent work!

My order was received quickly and hassle free. Price was good and no shipping with larger order. My book is in perfect condition. Thank you. It is nice to pay for a product and have no worries and everything is done professionaly without problems and stress.

I have enjoyed the Vanguard series more than most recent Trek novels. Great characters, and an intriguing setting. This novel starts the new arc, and as a result a lot of time is spent getting the pieces to the proper places for the rest of the arc.

Reinforcing my theory that in most licensed fiction there are only a few dozen people in the universe, we see Admiral Nogura and Carol Marcus. And Kirk and the Enterprise are mentioned a couple of times.

The most disappointing thing about the novel is that we don't learn much about Nogura, who has been a shadowy figure since the first Star Trek movie.

Overall, a good read, and a good continuation of the whole Shedai saga. And best of all, written with a sense of continuity to the TV series.

On the one hand, reading this encourages me to finish my novel because if this level of bad writing is acceptable to a publisher, then almost anyone can get published...

That being said, it forwards the plot in three major ways, but I'd recommend just reading reviews to get the highlights rather than suffering through 400 pages of mindlessly wordy sentences. I find myself re-reading whole paragraphs because of how this author drags out a point without actually coming to the point.

Agree with other reviewers: author was shooting for page count rather than readability. I suffered badly through his previous one (Vanguard #2) and had hoped this one would be better, but this author is just not someone I'll ever read again. If he writes another vanguard story I'll be skipping it.