"Rules of Engagement" Yeah, Baby!

I know there are a lot of Trek novels out there, so I hope you'll take a
moment and review my plug for this one.

I'm lovin' this book.

I first read it about 10 years ago and liked it. I decided to revisit it
when my interest in TOS was perked by the release of the Art Asylum 1701-A.

This is a great read--highly recommended. The writing is sharp and the
characters very well drawn. It was written pre-TNG, so a lot of the Klingon
details don't hold up anymore, but I think some of them should have been
incorporated into the later series. For example, Morwood writes that
Klingons have a different dialect for battle. Stuff like that.

The plot is both topical and classic. The Klingons and Federation are
engaged in a game of brinksmanship over a planet near the Klingon border,
formerly a part of the Federation, now up for grabs after a coup. The planet
is host to a sophisticated Federation monitoring facility which A) is top
secret tech, and B) is an integral part of a chain of arrays. hence the Big
E must, without taking an aggressive stance, offload the Federation
diplomats and secure the facility.

At the same time a vengeance-minded Klingon commander has taken a top-secret
prototype battleship and plans on settling an old score with Kirk.

If you're looking for a smart, fast read. This one is a sure thing.

C.