Star Trek: Once a Hero!
{5/5} “Here is a young man who won’t be returning to his family, who will never have the chance to experience a tenth of the wonders we’ve experienced in our careers.”
Star Trek: Once a Hero! by Peter David, published in May 1991
Captain James T. Kirk is trying to write a eulogy for a young security ensign who died. Ensign Lee died while in a landing party, and he died saving Kirk’s life. Kirk doesn’t know anything about him, so he asks Chekov, then the security teammates who worked with him on the planet, then Spock who mind melded with him to ease his pain at the end.
It’s a beautiful story about how even if you’ve been around for a while you can still reconsider how you look at things. It’s about how one person’s death is significant, even if it’s someone we don’t know very well.
I’ve read 28 novels, 3 graphic novels, and a bunch of comic books by David. I previously reviewed Star Trek: The Return of the Worthy.