Summon the Thunder is the second Star Trek: Vanguard novel after the wonderful Harbinger. While the previous book set up the entire situation, this book takes it and runs with it. We (along with the characters) learn a little bit more about the secrets harbored in this vast region of space called the Taurus Reach. Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore pile on the political problems as well as the scientific ones, and basically ratchet the entire thing up a notch. The only thing marring this a bit is that it's a little slow. Summon the Thunder is huge, and at times slows to an almost glacial pace. But once things start happening, this book is hard to put down.

Station 47, also known as "Vanguard," occupies a region of space between two rather violent empires: the Klingons and the Tholians. The Starfleet presence in the Reach is ostensibly to facilitate colonization, but it also has a deeper purpose. Remnants of an ancient civilization have been found, including bits and pieces of a huge genetic construct that could be a weapon, or something even worse, and it must be kept secret from all outsiders until they know. This has already cost the Federation one starship, and it appears that another one may be doomed as well, when something on the planet Erilon awakens, and it's not happy. Could this entity also be responsible for the destruction of a Klingon world too? And how is it related to the meta-genome that Starfleet scientists are desperately trying to solve? Tensions are heightening between the Tholians and the Klingons, and even the Romulans are wondering what's going on in this region of space. Will the political situation explode before Starfleet can figure out what's going on? The conspiracy of silence is broadened as Commodore Reyes is once again forced to try to explain what happened to a ship without letting every conceivable cat out of the bag.

Summon the Thunder is an awesome book, suffering in comparison to Harbinger only in the pacing issues, and since that is the only real problem with the book, I'll get it out of the way quickly. The first third of the book explains a lot of stuff, with a lot of characterization and rearranging pieces for the rest of the story. A lot of the characterization is good stuff (I love the sequences between disgraced Federation reporter Tim Pennington and rogue trader Cervantes Quinn as they go off on their mission), but some of it just seemed a little too detailed and started to drag. There is one action sequence, incredibly told, and there is some plot movement, but it smacked more of setting the table than anything else. I read this book more slowly than many Trek books, and while part of it was the size (it's 135,000 words) part of it was the slow pace at the beginning.

Surprisingly, given my problems with the last Ward-Dilmore books I read (A Time to Sow and A Time to Harvest), this had nothing to do with continuity references. There is a fair share of them, and they do have to give some idea of what happened in Harbinger for those who missed it, but these references were extremely well done and didn't affect the pacing at all. In fact, I'd have to say this is the best written book by them that I've read (granted, I've only read three of them, and one by Ward himself). The plotting is dense but completely understandable, and a lot is happening, especially once you get to the half-way point. The action scenes are almost up to David Mack level, especially those in the claustrophobic setting down on the planet.

Exceptionally good are the characterizations. There are too many to go into, but I loved Quinn and Pennington (who also added some much-needed humour to the proceedings) the most. Quinn feels guilty for his part in Pennington's downfall (though not guilty enough to admit to it, of course), so he's taken him in. The dialogue between the two of them during their trip to their various destinations is a riot, creating a relationship that is two parts frustration and one part grudging respect between the two. I don't think they particularly like each other, but subsequent events bring them just that little bit closer, and the authors do a great job on them. While I can't really detail any of the others, I can definitely say that there is not one characterization misstep in the book. All of them are interesting and have their own quirks that make them human (rather than quirks that sound like they come out of a character profile).

Ward and Dilmore also do the plotting tap dance with precision. It must be hard in an open-ended series with an overarching plot to give the reader some sense of plot advancement without giving too much away too early. Summon the Thunder does that in spades, where we find out some tasty tidbits about the history of the Taurus Reach, the Federation makes some discoveries of its own, and some of the character subplots are brought forward too. Especially interesting is a revelation about the diplomat's assistant who is really a Klingon spy. We find out that she's much more than a spy, and the authors reveal this in a very low key way. I actually had to stop myself and ask "did we already know this?" Of course, we didn't, and I like the fact that attention wasn't drawn to it.

Summon the Thunder is a worthy sequel to Harbinger. A wonderfully told story that just whets your appetite for more of these vivid characters. Some claimed that the characters weren't that sympathetic in the first book. I think those who feel that way will be pleasantly surprised. Bring on Reap the Whirlwind!

Star Trek: Vanguard
Harbinger
Summon the Thunder
Reap the Whirlwind

Recommended: Yes