Customer Reviews

Shadow Lord

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

 

 

Star Trek: Shadow Lord wriiten by Laurence Yep is a Sulu/Spock with a flavor of "Highlander" to give it some character. So sword fights are the norm and phaser fire is kept to a bare minimum.

This book starts out on a mission to a primative and very violent planet called Angira where Sulu/Spock are to accompany Price Vikram to his home planet... then all hades breaks out as they are caught in an ambush. This book features the sword fighting skill of Sulu and those of Spock as well making for an interesting tale as modernization is shunned. With the future of Angira hanging in the balance, it is upto the skills of both Sulu and Spock to carry on with the mission as their survival and that of Angira are all dependent upon their abilities with the sword.

The older Star Trek paper paperbacks had a character and life all their own I miss that. They at least tried to tell new tales even if some of them managed to stretch believability a bit. This book actually reads more like something written by George RR Martian then a Star Trek book, if you are looking for a lot of time spent on the Enterprise this is probably not the book for you.

"Shadow Lord" deals with politcal intrigue, samurai-style warfare, and tribal politics on a planet poised to join the Federation. It is hardly a Star Trek novel. Spock and Sulu are the only characters who are present in the entire story. Kirk and McCoy appear briefly at the beginning and end, and that's it for the Star Trek personalities. The writing is decent enough, but the story line is often one-dimensional. The descriptions of sword fighting and equipment are detailed (and graphically violent), but the author doesn't offer very deep insights into any of the characters. Particularly disappointing was the glossing over of Sulu's having broken the Prime Directive.

Shadow Lord is an entertaining yarn, although it has precious little Trek in it. Spock and Sulu end up on a world with the technology level somewhere akin to 16th century Japan. They become embroiled in a coup and end up on the run - think "Friday's Child" with gory sword fights.

The plusses here include likeable secondary characters (a rarity in a Trek novel) and . . . well, there's not a lot else that's exceptional. Shadow Lord is enjoyable and quick, but not much else.

There are a couple of huge negatives however, which warrant the two star rating. The first is not Yep's fault, but it is enormously aggravating. The cover art. First, it has Sulu in a blue uniform. Second, the "shadow lord" is pictured as a late 70s porn star; seeing him, you picture a man full of his own machismo who tries to hit on Uhura. In reality, however, the "shadow lord" is a large, furry mammal which looks like an otter, with a keen sense of humor. The second involves the whole backstory. The shadow lord's world, Angira, wants to learn more about the Federation . . . great, but how did this medieval society learn about the Federation in the first place?? When one is able to put this issue out of mind, Shadow Lord is amusing, but then it comes back and the eyes start to roll.

In my opinion, Laurence Yep has never read a Star Trek novel in his life, and the editor probably hadn't either. Often, facts become distorted and don't concur with previously established facts. The story did have a decent plot line - for a fantasy novel, not a science fiction novel.