My first Star Trek novel was fascinating! Cox does an excellent job bringing Kirk's voice and history to the story. McCoy feels like DeForest Kelley himself with all his grumpy snark. The mystery is a fun jaunt, though the hilarity of the final clue is tempered by the extreme brinksmanship displayed during a supposed peace process. The plot is thorough, hit all the right notes, and feels almost like a solid addition to the original series.

Almost.

The 'almost' is important. While the book advocates diplomacy, peace, and hard science, I hoped it would go further. Spock and Kirk don't have many scenes together, and so the subtextual homoerotica disappears. Most disappointing is the imperialism. While Cox takes pains to paint the war as a simple Capulet versus Montague, one race is literally mounting an imperialist invasion of the other in a scramble for resources. It's the British Empire versus India, not a game of two houses, both alike in dignity. Starfleet does its best to play Prince though, and there's a happy ending for all. I look forward to more novelist Trek!