It's Joe Haldeman, so it's very well written and engaging; but in my opinion the plot is a bit of a reach. Still, no more of a reach than what's in TOS all the time, I suppose. I would have liked it better if there was more attention paid to the female crewmembers—I really felt their lack, given the setup.

One of the earliest Trek tie-in novels produced (I believe it was the fifth) from 1977 and it reads like it was written by someone who had half watched the show and only had vague memories of it. There is very little characterization of the crew, and many of the operational details just seem wrong. This also feels like two separate tales as several characters, situations and plot devices are set up in the first half that are never resolved or simply forgotten about. It goes from being a tale of survival on an alien planet to Kirk and Spock suddenly having to play literal mind-games to stop a galactic invasion force. I may be doing Haldeman, an award winning SF author with his own creations, a disservice but I get the impression he just wasn’t comfortable playing in the Trek universe. ( )

Star Trek had an obsession with its heroes encountering God-like intelligences and somehow surviving, often by outwitting them or exploiting hubristic tendencies. Not sure what that's all about but here's another example, which at least avoids such a cliched resolution. Passable at best. ( )

While transporting an esteemed Starfleet scientist to his new posting, the U.S.S. Enterprise encounters a situation seemingly in defiance of the laws of science: an M-class planet orbited by a tiny black hole. As the crew proceeds to investigate the implausibilities of the new planet quickly mount: teleporting down to the planet via transporter is impossible, shuttlecraft no longer function after landing, and phasers can be used to stun the aggressive fauna but will not function when set to kill. Soon the crew of the Enterprise encounter the reason for the mystery — and in the process discover a threat to the existence of the entire Federation.

Regarded today as one of the giants of the genre, Joe Haldeman was just beginning his career as a science fiction author when he was approached by Bantam to write for their series of Star Trek novels in the 1970s. This, the first of two he would write, demonstrates all of his skills as an author: gripping action, interesting scientific ideas, and a plot that engages the reader throughout its length. Like many an episode what starts as a puzzle becomes a problem, then a challenge that threatens like lives of the Enterprise crew. Though Haldeman incorporates a trope from the original series, his employment in it is done in a way that is both fresh and with real consequences for the story. All of this makes for a delightful novel that shows the possibilities inherent in the series in the hands of a true master of the craft. ( )

This was outstanding: 150 pages of tremendously interesting SF ideas and a terrific grasp of the Kirk/Spock/Bones dynamic (which is really all I want out of my Star Trek novels). I could have done without the five-page recap of Amok Time, but eh. ( )