Star Trek: The Captain’s Daughter
{4.5/5} “But helmsman… steering the ship… looking straight ahead and seeing the stars clustered in front of you… that’s what I was really going out there for, Ling. For the stars. To go out there and lose myself in them.”
Star Trek: The Captain’s Daughter by Peter David, published in 1995
Captain John Harriman aboard the Enterprise-B responds to a distress call and leads a landing party on an unknown planet. Ensign Demora Sulu volunteers to join the landing party. But when she’s out of sight for a few seconds she’s somehow transformed into a human-looking beast who growls and scratches and withstands a phaser on stun. Harriman is forced to increase the power on his phaser to get her to stop — and she dies. Harriman gives the order to return to Earth — he must explain himself to Captain Hikaru Sulu personally.
If you’re a fan of Captain Sulu, this is the book for you.
Chekov, Uhura, Rand, and other people you know make appearances here and there. Kirk is gone by the time of the main storyline but he’s very much a presence in the story.
Although much of it is serious there are some funny parts, particularly when Sulu and Chekov are together. The way the events of Star Trek III are described is very funny.
It’s about risking it all for family, and figuring out what your own personal sense of honour is.
This is the 2nd time I’ve read it.
I’ve read 28 novels, 3 graphic novels, and a bunch of comic books by David. I previously reviewed Star Trek: New Frontier — Gateways: Cold Wars.