Set between the dates of October 28th and November 16th 2385, Star Trek Prometheus kicks off as the United Federation of Planets race to find out the perpetrators of a series of terrorist attacks that look set to pit the Klingon Empire and the Federation against each other in a politically volatile era. Enter the USS Prometheus, flagship of the Federation as it tears through warp to the Lembatta Cluster to open talks with the Renao, a race who hold the Federation with little regard.
Published in German last year under the title Feuer gegen Feuer and the first licenced by CBS, Fire with Fire is the first foreign language Star Trek novel to be translated into English. Written by Bernd Perplies and Christian Humberg, we’re now six years beyond the events of Star Trek Nemesis with the galaxy in a very different place and Perplies and Humberg effectively treat Prometheus like a pilot for a new series.
We join the action as the Prometheus enters the cluster after leaving the Tzenkethi border and heading for the new DS9. While docked at Starbase 91, an unknown assailant attacks the station, destroying it along with 4000 lives. The IKS Bortas, last seen on screen in The Next Generation’s sixth season episode Rightful Heir, also comes under attack and the two ships rendezvous to figure out who perpetrated the attacks.
Prometheus is absolutely loaded with familiar locations, vehicles and characters. The USS Aventine, USS Bohr, IKS Bortas, and the USS Valiant all make appearances, while we travel from DS9 to Earth to Qo’nos via Romulus and Starbase 91. We have a Kirk, James T’s descendent and Chief Engineer Lt. Commander Jenna Winona Kirk and some very familiar faces including Worfs son Ambassador Alexander Rozhenko, former USS Enterprise D crewmember the Benzite Mendon and Ambassador Spock, still a few years shy of his encounter with Nero in the 2009 Star Trek movie. Their appearances anchor the take into the literature canon (which is a busy area indeed) and compliment the introduction of the Prometheus’ own roster of characters, which the authors handle well. The terrorist organisation the Purifying Flame are well fleshed out, as are the mysterious inhabitants of the Lembatta Cluster the Renao.
There are some sweet nods in the book. The books Stardate is 1966.9, which of course refers to the ninth month of 1966, the month the original Trek launched, and the book – originally released in Germany last year – was referenced in John Jackson Millers recent trilogy of novels. With two more tales to follow in this series, Trek novel readers will likely be eager to see where the adventure takes us next.
STAR TREK PROMETHEUS – FIRE WITH FIRE / AUTHORS: BERND PERPLIES AND CHRISTIAN HUMBERG / PUBLISHER: TITAN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
