Taking Wing

Minor Spoilers if you care about that.

This is the first Star Trek book I've read since I was a kid. First I need to say that despite all of its many, many flaws, I still found this book rather enjoyable. That said, if this book didn't take place in an already established universe with characters I already know and like, I likely would have put this book down after only a few chapters.

As a literary work, this book is not great. The writing is a bit clunky. And the characters feel pretty shallow. And the poker analogies are far too numerous. We get it. Captain Riker players poker (which he never once does in the book btw, you're just presumed to know this from the show), you don't need to make a reference to his poker face every single time he's in a conversation.

The plot is similar to a standard TNG episode. Nothing particularly interesting there. They try to make it feel different by throwing some new characters and species into the mix, but none of those characters or species are developed at all. They have no depth, they are just talking cardboard cut outs that presumably look different from other talking cardboard cut outs.

The action sequences near the end of the novel are fast paced and fun. The events allow the author to have Tuvok join the crew which is exciting. Mostly because this character already has depth established by the Voyager TV series, and because he was one of the few characters in the novel who felt like a real character. They also bring aboard the Reman Mekrikuk who helped Tuvok escape. I am very interested to see what they do with him. He is definitely the only new character that struck my interest. I hope they use him well in future novels.

You will definitely need to already enjoy Star trek to have any hope of enjoying this book. But if you do, you will find a fast paced, fun, light read that leaves open the potential for some interesting character development (Tuvok and Mekrikuk).