"Star Trek: Corona" sets too fast a pace

Summoned by a 10-year-old distress signal, the Enterprise rushes to the Black Box Nebula Station One to rescue a team of scientists lead by Spock's cousin, T'Prylla, and her family. Hampered by the presence of an inexperienced young reporter and a new computer system that has the power to over-ride Kirk's command, they arrive at Station One only to find that all seems well - on the surface. But T-Prylla, her family, and the team are being controlled by a sentient force - a force that threatens the entire Universe as we know it.

Corona is not, alas, an illusion to alcohol, but the name of the sentient being that controls the hapless Vulcan scientists that Kirk and crew have come to save. A fast-paced novel with an intriguing sci-fi basis, this episode rushed along too quickly for me to really get into the story. This is really too bad, as there are several elements to the story which could have been drawn out and delved into. At 192 pages, it's not the shortest Star Trek book I've read, but it felt like it.

The characters come off pretty well, with Bear's Kirk being more thoughtful and less gut-instinct than Shatner's. While entertaining and fun, Corona will not rock your world and adds nothing to the Star Trek universe. Rating: Meh

Characters:
Kirk and Spock - B
McCoy and Uhura - B+
Checkov - B-
Everyone else: too little seen to judge

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