Star Trek: The Rift
{4.5/5} “Every single star was an invitation, a personal invitation to him, James T. Kirk. And it would be the height of rudeness to refuse such an unselfish, unqualified invitation. And so he had spent his life accepting those invitations, one after the other.”
Star Trek: The Rift by Peter David, published in 1991
Captain Pike and the Enterprise come across a rift in space. The aliens on the other side invite them to come through. They meet the Calligar, an advanced, isolationist race. Thirty-three years later Captain Kirk brings the Enterprise-A to where the rift is supposed to reopen — aboard is Commodore José Tyler, who was on the first mission.
The 1st part takes place after “The Cage” and the 2nd part takes place after Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Dr. Richard Daystrom (“The Ultimate Computer”) is also featured.
We get to visit an interesting alien society. The concept of the Worldmind is intriguing — Calligarians commune with people whose physical bodies have died but whose mental essence continues.
As with most of David’s books, there are some very funny moments. One more quotation: “‘The Shondar is dead, and every Tellarite aboard screams for vengeance!’… ‘I don’t care if you’re all screaming for ice cream,’ said Sulu sharply.”
This is the 2nd time I’ve read it.
I’ve read 26 novels, 3 graphic novels, and a bunch of comic books by David. I previously reviewed Hulk Visionaries: Peter David Vol. 1.