Yep, back on the Star Trek novels, not that I ever really moved on! Worlds in Collision is actually two novels previously published separately by the Reeves-Stevens writing duo, Memory Prime and Prime Directive (see what they did there). The first story, their Star Trek debut, is so-so, but I absolutely loved Prime Directive - what a great idea, cleverly executed! MP was like the warm-up act for the main event, PD.

Memory Prime - artificial intelligence, Vulcan ninjas, robot Romulans, and Spock on trial. Slightly too much going on, and far too much technobabble, for a relatively brief story, but the world-building is well done and I love the AIs. The R-S's feel for the characters, particularly Kirk, is out of kilter, however. I know the captain has this reputation for being an inter-galactic skirt chaser, but Kirk would never try to cop off with his crew (well, apart from maybe Spock, but that's a whole different debate!) Here, Mira Romaine - the space cadet from third season episode 'The Lights of Zetar' - smirks that she has heard of Kirk's rep, but only has eyes for Scotty (each to their own). And the 'passion' between Mira-Sue and Scotty failed to convince me here in the same way that the original episode fell flat. Luckily the pair are kept apart for most of the action. Stick with the Enterprise, Scotty.

Prime Directive - I wasn't sure if I would enjoy reading about a disgraced Enterprise crew (shock horror!), but the R-S's play this one well (after a shaky start, where Kirk tries to cop off with yet another crew woman). The captain and his bridge crew are accused of violating the Prime Directive of the Federation, which limits first contact to suitably advanced alien civilizations, and are shamed out of Starfleet after the resultant destruction of Talin IV. Naturally the crew are innocent, but Kirk's quest to clear his name and reunite with the damaged Enterprise is surprisingly tense, and very well paced. I love how loyal and determined everyone is to get back together - 'Even when we're apart,' Kirk thinks, 'we're a team'. That sums up what I love about the show - the insularity of the ship, and the way the contrasting (and often conflicting) personalities of the crew complement each other. Highlights of the novel, getting back to the point, include Kirk's friendship with the ex-Starfleet freighter captain who offers him a lift, and the reunion of Kirk with McCoy and the rest of the team ('that's because I'm a pirate, not a doctor'). The ending could have done with being tighter, though - every time I turned a (virtual) page, expecting a rousing coda with the crew, there was another chapter about aliens.

The Reeves-Stevens are great sci-fi writers, but these first two novels show that honouring the spirit of Star Trek obviously comes second to them, at least initially. Prime Directive is more Kirk-friendly, for those who care, only there are a couple of irritating references to TNG that bugged me (about Ten Forward and the captain beaming down with the away teams). I thought they might have been mocking the show to start with - 'That was sorta all they had back then, wasn't it?' - but gradually came to appreciate the deft handling of the characters ('But when they launched it, it was the best'). ( )

http://www.sfreader.com/read_review.asp?ID=560 ( )