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It's another day and a new task for the expert crew of the
Starfleet science ship the U.S.S. da Vinci. Pulled
away from a less than routine job the crew have to locate
a missing escort ship, a ship that disappeared without leaving
a trace. To save the lives of those on the missing ship the
da Vinci will put the lives of millions at risk. A
journey back into the lives and actions of crew members past
and present helps a deadly and determined enemy plot his revenge.
Still
by far the most challenging task called upon by Starfleet
will be to rescue the U.S.S. Orion. The stricken vessel
is stranded deep inside a gas giant with little hope for the
crew. Attacked by a mysterious Alien life form whose home
is threatened by the ship and Starfleet's plan.
It
soon becomes apparent that it is not the lives of those on
board that Starfleet are concerned with, there is a much more
important reason forcing the da Vinci into the perilous
rescue attempt. On board is the prototype of the WildFire
device. It is a potent creation with the power to create
or to destroy stars. If this power were to fall into the wrong
hands it could signal disaster on a scale never before seen.
Four
authors, three stories and one ship, all in one book. Enigma
by J. Steven York and Christina F. York is a run of the mill
story. It doesn't break any new ground and could slip into
most scenarios. This is a problem as it is average. It may
be well conceived but it does feel as though the authors have
lost out on a chance to make it just that little bit more
interesting.
War
Stories by Keith R.A. DeCandido does add a little more
history to the characters in the S.C.E. series - and
the stories are diverse. I like the slightly darker atmosphere
of the Dominion Wars and DeCandido captures many sides of
this with the tales in his few pages, too few in my opinion
as they warranted further expansion.
Then
the big finale, the title tale; Wildfire. I like what
I've read of David Mack's work especially that in the A
Time to... series (A
Time to Kill
and A
Time to Heal). However, Mack does tend to bring
major events from the outside world into is stories. In
the A Time to... series the books seem to be based
upon events occurring in Iraq.
Wildfire
seems an ode to the events of September 11th. It has a reference
to the event mentioned in the story, a firemans axe. As much
as I sympathise with the victims and their relatives I didn't
think this was really a situation that should have been brought
up in a Star Trek Book. Until
that moment I loved the book and it still kept me captivated
afterwards but I thought the reference was tacky and definitely
not needed.
Again,
Mack insists in killing off as many people as possible. It
creates several heroic and self-sacrificial scenarios which
gets repetitive, as does the carnage. Plus it does try to
make you reflect with the strong similarities between what
goes on in the book and what goes on outside in the real world.
This is powerful and refreshing as it goes against the grain
of most Star Trek literature I've read. It is the best
story of the lot but made me feel uncomfortable for a number
of reasons.
Still
all of the stories are good and the book is a must have for
fans of the series, but be warned if your particularly fond
of the crew of the da Vinci you might be disappointed
how this tale unfolds.
Charlie
Brine
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