The Entropy Effect - Vonda McIntyre

If you've been on my blog for any amount of time, you've probably learned that I have a slight Star Trek obsession. Within that obsession, this book is like a sub-obsession; it is hands down my favorite Star Trek novel based on the original series. Keep reading for the summary!

The U.S.S. Enterprise has been orbiting a naked singularity for 6 weeks while Commander Spock takes observations that may prove to be critical for understanding the life span of the universe. Unexpectedly, Captain Kirk receives a top-priority order to proceed to Aleph Prime, a mining colony, and weeks of meticulous observations are ruined on the cusp of proving a shocking discovery. Upon arrival at the planet, however, Kirk finds that there is no real emergency; brilliant physicist Georges Mordreaux, once Spock's teacher, is being transferred to a rehabilitation colony after being convicted of murder and the Enterprise has been diverted to take him. Mysterious circumstance seem to follow Mordreaux wherever he is taken and unexplainable bouts of hypermorphic botulism are responsible for the deaths of key individuals related to the case. Spock, unable to believe that his former teacher is capable of performing the crimes he was convicted of, tries to read up on his latest research and finds that a virus is systematically removing all mentions of Mordreaux and his work from computers universally. Mordreaux is transferred to the Enterprise along with the prosecuting attorney on the case, but Spock insists he be confined in a guarded guest cabin instead of the brig.

On the way to the rehabilitation colony, Mordreaux appears on the bridge and uses an outlawed weapon on two of the crew, killing both of them. When security mounts a search for Mordreaux and the weapon, the former is found in his cabin, seemingly unaware of what happened, and the latter is nowhere to be found. Spock, in temporary command of the Enterprise, visits Mordreaux to get his side of the story and learns that the professor had been working on time travel technology and, in fact, had sent some of his friends back in time. Realizing that time travel was involved, the two piece together the solution to the mystery of the Mordreaux that couldn't have been on the bridge and the weapon that was never found. The final conclusion reveals a stark reality; messing around with time has created a disruption in the very fabric of reality, which manifested as the naked singularity, that threatens the future of the universe with hundreds of alternate realities that shouldn't exist. With this in mind, Spock and the present Mordreaux work to reverse the damage and restore the reality that was meant to be.

As I said previously, this is my favorite Star Trek novel. It's almost like a Doctor Who/Star Trek combo because of the time travel factor. There's a major shock scene (the result of which I tried to conceal as best as I could in the summary) that may result in a few tears. We get a lot of backstory on Sulu because he does more in this novel than just sit at the helm, and, fun fact, this book is the origin of some of the information we get on him in the TV series (or so I've heard). Additionally, since Spock is the main character in this one, we get to see a side of him we don't usually get to. The other thing I love about it is the complexity of the plot; virtually nothing is what it seems to be and it keeps you guessing throughout the novel.

The main complaint I have of this book is more format-related than textual, and that is the length of the chapters. They. Are. So. Long. With the schedule I've had recently, I've had to sneak in a bit here and there instead of chugging through like I normally would, but the lack of chapter breaks made it really hard to keep track of where I was between readings. I know what you're thinking - "Why didn't you just use a bookmark?!" Well, while it is true that I have an abundance of bookmarks, it's also true that I never seem to have them when I need them. But, such is life. Aside from the long chapters, I also noticed that there are a few things that aren't really fully addressed at the end; you can definitely imply the answers, but they aren't explicitly stated. Overall, it's a great read that I would definitely recommend!

Pros:

• Time travel!
• Lots of interesting backstory on Spock and Sulu
• Interesting, complex plot

Cons:

• Really. Long. Chapters.
• Still a couple of loose ends at the conclusion of the novel
•  Teeny bit of inconsistency between book and TV series, but nothing major

Since this post is about my favorite Star Trek novel, I can't resist sharing my favorite piece of Star Trek fan art to go with it. I wasn't able to track down the artist, but whoever you are, you're my hero. This is some seriously amazing skill, especially considering the only art I can do is abstract. You can almost feel the emotions being portrayed here. Okay, done ranting, I'm gonna just leave it here.