Vanguard, "Precipice" review.

Vanguard is one of my favorite novel series, if not my absolute favorite, and I was pretty psyched to read the latest installment, “Precipice.” If you haven’t read it, I’d liken “Vanguard” to a TOS-era DS9—very much worth checking out. David Mack, Kevin Dilmore, and Dayton Ward have each contributed to the series, which now spans five novels beginning in Trek’s mid-23rd century. Mack, who’s penned a great deal of excellent novels, took the reins on “Precipice.” Classically Mack, the story begins with an intense burst of action, a few deaths, and then promptly returns to the plot developed in previous novels. The previous novel, “Open Secrets” hardly featured my favorite characters: Diego Reyes, the former commanding officer of Vanguard Station, and Cervantes Quinn, a sort of Han Solo who’s met more twinkies than tie-fighters. “Precipice,” however, shown much of the spotlight on those two in particular, as well as T’prynn, the Federation Intelligence Officer gone AWOL, and her companion, Tim Pennington, a FNS journalist. The novel delves less into the Shedai and the Tholian Assembly, but spends more time on developing the series’ regular characters. There is, even more so than most of Mack’s works, an incredible amount of action. “Precipice” shows an improvement in Mack’s ability to heighten the narrative tension, while still maintaining a fair balance between action and plot. Without revealing any spoilers, I’d recommend the series for this book alone—it’s definitely a page turner. Unfortunately, as of yet there hasn’t been another Vanguard novel planned in 2010—will I really have to wait over a year?

(5/5)

Links:
Star Trek: Vanguard at MemoryBeta
David Mack's Website