The Cry of the Onlies
Judy Klass
Book Description (jacket text):
Boaco Six, a once-tranquil Federation colony, is now caught up in the throes of revolution. The Enterprise's mission is to re-establish contact with the planet, and determine whether or not formal ties between the Federation and Boaco Six should be strengthened.
Negotiations between Captain Kirk and the planet's ruling Council of Youngers proceed smoothly, until the atmosphere of goodwill is shattered by the sudden destruction of a Boacan ship, at the hands of an experimental Starfleet vessel!
In order to prevent full-scale war from breaking out, the Enterprise must recapture the stolen Starfleet vessel and its abductors, a mission that will require the aid of the galaxy's most reclusive genius, and bring Captain Kirk face-to-face with the long-buried secrets of his past.
Opinion:
This Star Trek novel - set during the first five year mission - uses the background of three episodes: "Miri", "Requiem for Methusalah" and in part "Dagger of the Mind". Therefore, the note at the book's beginning, saying that the novel should take place between two of these episodes, can not be accurate. Be that as it may, it is only important that some knowledge is necessary to comprehend "Cry of the Onlies".
The episode "Miri" had dealt with children that barely age for hundreds of years until reaching puberty which condemn them like all grown-up ("grups") to death. "The Cry of the Onlies" follows that idea and shows what happened to the "Onlies" afterwards. The question whether it is justified to normalize resp. shorten the extended life span of the Onlies or not is addressed as well which I liked very much since originally it is the aim of medicine to prolong life.
There are other scenes with which the novel can impress. Another subplot deals with the planet Boaco VI that had suffered under a dictatorship supported by the Federation. That way, the Federation appears in bad light. The situation on the shaken planet including disaster tourism is well displayed.
The joining element is "Flint", the man of "Requiem for Methusalah" who didn't age for hundreds of years, too. Of course, he and the Onlies have much in common.
In general, this novel didn't get a too high rating and it is true that
despite some good ideas plenty keeps stuck on a superficial level. In
addition, there is indeed other stuff to read which is better written. Then, it
is also true that the book shows clearly on nearly every page that Star Trek
was pretty close to the author's heart - she actually loves her characters, something that
the reader must notice and value.
That's why "The Cry of the Onlies" belongs to my all-time-feel-good-Star Trek-novels to be read again from time to time and it is recommended to everyone with certain TOS background knowledge.
