Star Trek:
Section 31 Disavowed
by David Mack
***Reviews do contain some spoilers***
Pocket Books October 2014
ISBN 978-1-4767-5308-9
This is the latest Star Trek novel release from Pocket Books. This outing continues with the expanded universe mythology of Star Trek, going past the Star Trek: Nemesis time period by a few years.
In this outing, the storyline focuses on Doctor Bashir following the events in the novel series Star Trek: The Fall. Essentially, Doctor Bashir and Serena Douglas continue their desire to take on the shadow organization of Section 31.
During the original run of Star Trek Deep Space Nine on television, the Bashir character was well known to be interested in spy life, particularly of 'old earth' in movies and other forms of entertainment. It made sense to have Bashir's character eventually be involved in cloak and dagger activities in some fashion, and Star Trek's Section 31 series of novels is the best way to do it. Many years ago, there was a crossover set of four novels based on Section 31 and this novel appears to be a loosely based sequel on that concept.
The highlight of this novel is a trip into the mirror universe and a chance to see how that universe has developed and changed since we last visited there a few novels ago. It was also great to see a neat space - time loop occur at the end of the novel that wrapped up a piece of the story regarding a crashed ship.
The struggle I have with this novel, as with many works set in the Star Trek Universe currently, is that the exploration of new worlds and deep storylines that wrestle with moral issues and promote character development do not seem to be there anymore. This novel is not an exception. It is a fast paced story with a lot of action that honestly is better suited for a Star Wars novel rather than someone who prefers classic Star Trek such as myself.
Don't misunderstand this review, objectively it is a well written novel with some character development and a plot line that is fun to follow. For a great action novel, set in a sci-fi realm, this is a good one. As far as good Star Trek goes, this novel is far from that. It misses the target of exploring strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilizations.
