The Red King (Spoiler)

S P O I L E R

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As it was the case with the first book of the Titan series, also this
book is an entertaining read with an emphasis on character development
and exploration. In this book, the real exploration mission hasn`t
started yet but nevertheless: The colourful crew and guests on board
already offer a lot of exploration but there were also the Neyel,
Romulans and to a much lesser degree, the Klingons.

I am a big fan of "The Sundered" and therefore I remembered the Neyel
quite well. Already when I read that book in question I wondered if we
would ever meet them again and the idea of revisiting this people was
the main reason why I was very much looking forward to that book. This
is the kind of exploration stories I prefer: Books that feature more
than the "alien of the week" (or alien of the book). I prefer it to
watch long-term developments, also how a species and certain individuals
interact with other, regular species, including humans.

"The Red King" showed very interesting insights into the Neyel culture,
showing different viewpoints and attitudes. I still find it ironic that
these are genetically modified humans, keeping in mind that genetic
engineering is forbidden within the Federation and Starfleet and tends
to make many people paranoid. I must admit, I was somewhat disappointed
that these people will get ammunition because the Neyel in general were
extremely aggressive occupiers and oppressed so many native species. At
least it was shown that at least some individuals learned to change
their ways, which of course supports the other side of the argument.

I liked Frane from the beginning and welcome the idea to introduce him
towards the end of the book as one of the Neyel leaders. Akaar showed a
lot of wisdom when talking to the young man. After "The Sundered" I was
wondering but after this book, I am confident that the Neyel will also
be around in future Trek books. I am looking forward to find out how
this people will develop. I am hoping they will keep their own identity,
including a certain edge a people with their experiences should have. I
would be disappointed if the Neyel would simply be absorbed into
humanity. I don`t think that would be realistic anyway.

I very much would like to meet Frane again. I agree with Akaar that he
should start his own family and continue the tradition to hand over the
bracelet and the stories it represents first of all to the firstborn but
not only him or her. I only kept wondering, what is he seeing in Nozomi?
She was constantly whining and afraid. I am grateful that she only
appeared a few times because each time she got on my nerves.

Finding a home not only for the Neyel but also for the other survivors
won`t be easy. The Neyel are the biggest group. They have also proven to
be very resourceful and I am confident, they would indeed be able to
successfully colonize a planet and make it a new home. But I can
imagine, some species will only consist now of very few survivors.

Speaking of leadership, it wouldn`t surprise me at all if the Reman
Mekrikuk will become a leader of his people as well. I also liked him
very much and on some level I was hoping against hope that he will stay
on the Titan. But why should he? As with Frane, Titan has molded a
likeable, interesting character with lots of potential open to be
explored in future books, not only in the Titan series. It was nice to
see him and Deanna together, both of them relaxed in each other`s
company. I am sure, both of them (and not only them) learned a lot.

The Romulan element in this book was interesting, too. Donatra never
left the impression on me that she would endanger her life and her power
base (as, for example, her fleet) just in order to do the "right thing"
and as a matter of honour towards Riker. Her refusal to get involved
with the rescue mission didn`t surprise me, I expected that. Donatra
changing her mind afterwards left me wondering and I still do. It seemed
so very much out of character. It wasn`t said in the book but maybe
Donatra sacrificed her warp cores and took the risks because the Red
King could very well also have endangered her home territory. It was
also in her interest to help.

When Riker accepted it that Donatra and her fleet also towed the Klingon
ship I immediately thought, come on, Riker, don`t be stupid! What
happened next was so predictable to me and it very much should have been
the same to Riker. But even worse, he asked Donatra in a way that made
it clear to me that even after the Klingon ship was destroyed, he
couldn`t understand why she did it. He even was disappointed after she
explained. I would have expected a different reaction from a Starfleet
officer with the amount of experience Riker has. This naïve innocent
disgust at her actions didn`t feel right for a man like Riker. On the
one hand, it is a bit charming that even an experienced man like him can
make such an error of judgement, seeing the good in others. But what
counts much more in my book is that such errors are dangerous. I am
hoping Riker just had a bad day and made a mistake that is not typical
for him. That can happen to anybody.

The Red King itself and the surrounding phenomena and treknobabble were
a bit too phantastic for my taste but I have definitely seen and read
much worse. I think I remember that someone said in Voyager, weird is
part of the job. At least I got a rough idea what it is about and it
made some sense to me. On top of that, I admit that I got curious from
very early on how things will develop. I expected it that the plan will
succeed and that Titan won`t become another Voyager series but what
counts is how this is done and the journey the characters take. In many
ways, this was classic Star Trek.

I welcome it very much that Tuvok stays. I smiled because for an instant
I also wondered if he asked to have his whole extended family with him.
It will be nice to also have the opportunity to get to know T`Pel in
future books and I like that idea to include her very much. I am also
glad that Keru is staying and that he made good progress at dealing with
the traumatic death of his mate and Worf`s involvement. That includes
that he had to learn the hard way that sometimes especially a security
chief has to make hard choices, including the cruel decision when the
risk of saving someone is becoming too great. I think it shows his
strength of character that he was eventually able to make such a choice,
leaving a team member behind to die. I very much felt with him. I think
what happened in this book made him a better security chief and a
stronger person.

I have never been a fan of Akaar. He has his moments when I actually
like him but there were also quite a few when I certainly didn`t. All in
all, he is an interesting character and, of course, not everybody should
be a nice, likeable person all the time. That would be boring and
unrealistic. Not that I had much sympathy for his attitude towards
Tuvok, even if I understood his point of view, it is good that he
finally learned his lesson. Better late than never.

I loved the end of the book. It was a wonderful, light character story
that made me laugh more than once. Vale`s reaction showed so well how
different Picard`s and Riker`s styles are. I also had to remember how
Riker felt when he temporarily took command of the Excalibur, replacing
Calhoun. Well, I don`t think his Titan is any different - as I learned,
Riker`s crew is even more colourful than his! Bralik had a great scene
here, I loved it! I can`t wait to read more about her. And the
dedication plaque fits perfectly. It is so simple but sometimes that is
exactly why it is the best choice.

I can`t wait until "Orion`s Hounds" becomes available. The exerpt
certainly provides an appetizing teaser but maybe it is better to wait
with more comments until I can actually read the book.

Baerbel Haddrell