In whatever endeavors you pursue in life, it is important to be wary of the expectations you set for others. It’s a simple fact of life that we can’t always live up to the lofty standards we sometimes erect for ourselves. When this happens, a disappointment more intense than we might otherwise undergo can (and often will) result.

Such is the case with the Star Trek novel Vulcan’s Glory. Number 44 in the ongoing (to this day) line of books based on the original television series, Vulcan’s Glory promises much but fails to deliver on all counts. The back cover offers the following teaser:

Here is a very special Star Trek novel- from the woman consistently voted by the fans as their favorite writer from the original Star Trek television series.

The woman in question is D.C. Fontana, who penned such famous episodes as Journey to Babel and This Side of Paradise. Thus, I expected much from the book. In addition, Fontana set her story on a pre-Captain Kirk Enterprise, a possibility which intrigued me since the character of Captain Pike, Kirk’s predecessor who appeared in the TV episode The Cage, has definitely been under explored in my view. Throw in a young Spock and Scotty, and you have the makings of a good Trek story. Or so I thought.

The story follows the above mentioned characters in their quest to find the Vulcan’s Glory, a long-lost giant gem of great cultural value to the Vulcans. After Spock and a party of Vulcan crewmembers retrieves the jewel, it is stolen from lockup and a series of murders occurs aboard ship, all related to the theft of the Vulcan’s Glory.

While the crew of the Enterprise attempts to unravel the mystery, Captain Pike is off on a mission to a primitive planet, and Mr. Scott is involved in a subplot regarding an illicit still producing whiskey in engineering. All the while, a love story is brewing with Mr. Spock and a female Vulcan crewmember.

Unfortunately, the subplots and the main story don’t all merge together seamlessly, and the main mystery plot (ala Journey to Babel just never takes off. The subplot with Scott might have worked well enough with James Doohan to bring some humor to it on screen, but here in novelized form it just doesn’t have the same punch. Ms. Fontana gives evidence to the suspicion that screenwriters don’t always make good novelists.

For the most part, characterization is good (with Captain Pike well represented even if wasted on a somewhat trivial subplot), and Spock brought to life quite convincingly. Dr. Boyce is downright boring, and is used as a foil for Pike exactly in the way Dr. McCoy is for Kirk. Been there, done that. The enigmatic Number One doesn’t work simply because the character doesn’t even have a name other than, well, Number One. In one particularly ridiculous scene, she’s sitting at a table with a friend she has had for years who calls her nothing but Number One.

For many reasons, Vulcan’s Glory just doesn’t live up to its promise. Trek fans will be disappointed, and other readers will be lost. Most certainly not a very special Trek novel, it barely scrapes by as a mediocre one.




Recommended: No