I wanted to like "Miasma" more than I did. I was introduced to Trek largely through "The Wrath of Khan", so, on its surface, this book -- set in between the 4th & 5th movies, with Lt. Saavik still a member of the Enterprise-A bridge crew -- should have been a winner, featuring as it does my favorite cast.
However, excepting Saavik, this really plays out like a Season 3 episode of the original series, circa 1969. The story is set in motion when Captain Kirk diverts the Enterprise away from a diplomatic mission (featuring more of the aliens last seen in "Elaan of Troyius"), in order to chase down a mysterious signal. The ship winds up off course, circling a planet full of deadly horrors. Most of the story features the "away team" (Spock, McCoy, Chekov, and three red-shirts -- who are each given names, but it doesn't matter) who are plunged into deadly danger after deadly danger (I'll leave it to you to guess who survives), with Kirk not really getting anything heroic to do until the final act.
I say "final act" advisedly; this short novel could easily have been adapted into a 45-minute script, with a faintly ludicrous ending. What turns the bare-bones story into a proper novel are three things: 1) the continuity references; author Greg Cox doesn't miss too many opportunities to mention beloved alien species, fictional chemicals or minerals, or popular lines of dialogue from the original series (the improbable line "Well, I'll be a Mugato's uncle" is delivered at a particularly climactic moment); 2) another chance to explore the relationship between Spock and Saavik, which kind of dead-ended in the movies after Saavik was replaced with Valeris in Star Trek 6; and 3) a chance to imbue the crew with emotions that they often weren't allowed to express on TV. This latter bit works sometimes, but not always; the three leads get a lot to do, as does Saavik, but the others barely feature. Chekov gets a lot of dialogue, but none of that dialogue sounds remotely like the lines that Walter Koenig was given on TV almost 50 years ago.
So this is Trek's 50th anniversary year, and "Miasma" is not a bad way to spend 45 minutes of your time. However, the definite ST:TOS episode, this is definitely not. It plays out like a fair-to-middling TV episode from early 1969 rather than a movie adventure from 1985.
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![Miasma (Star Trek: The Original Series) by [Greg Cox]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51+XXDXXbjL._SY346_.jpg)
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Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2016
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Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2016
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That position for this story at least is being filled by a fan favorite Lieutenant Saavik who shares as bond with Captain Spock
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2017Verified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2018
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Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2016
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Top reviews from other countries
Alan Cook
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 6, 2017Verified Purchase
Greggorio!
A COMPELLING TREK READ, INDEED!!!!!!
Reviewed in Australia on June 1, 2016Verified Purchase
Ricardo Junqueira Fujii
Bom mas sem empolgar
Reviewed in Brazil on September 30, 2017Verified Purchase
Angelo
Entretenido pero monotono - amusement with slow motion
Reviewed in Mexico on March 11, 2016Verified Purchase
Marco A. Puig Ferre
Un relato corto pero entretenido
Reviewed in Spain on August 11, 2016Verified Purchase
