Star Trek: The Final Reflection
{4.5/5} “Krenn squeezed another sip of brandy down his throat. He knew perfectly well — and these officers must know that he knew — how often best qualified for a special mission meant most expendable.”
Star Trek: The Final Reflection by John M. Ford, published in 1984
After everyone else has read the novel “The Final Reflection,” Captain James T. Kirk reads it as well. It’s the story of Vrenn who becomes Krenn. After doing well at klin zha kinta, he’s adopted by House Khemara. When his father is killed for conspiring with Romulans, his captain allows him to live — but he must change his name. Later he’s asked to escort a Federation ambassador to Klinzhai.
There were some idiosyncratic Star Trek novels published in the 1980s, perhaps none more so than this. Like Diane Duane’s Romulan novels, this is a unique representation of Klingon culture that was contradicted by everything that came after it. It is, nevertheless, fascinating.
Spock appears in the novel within the novel — as a boy he met Krenn at a diplomatic event and played chess with him. Other than that, the characters we know are only in the prologue and epilogue.
It’s about beings who want war, and beings who want peace. It’s about beings from such different cultures that they don’t understand each other.
It’s about strategy, diplomacy, and friendship.
This is the 2nd time I’ve read it.
I’ve read Ford’s 2 Star Trek books. I previously reviewed Star Trek: How Much for Just the Planet?