Enterprise: The First Adventure
Vonda N. McIntyre
Book Description (jacket text):
He was the youngest man to captain a starship in Federation history. His crew included an untried first officer -- and a maverick ship's surgeon. In the years to come, the voyages of Captain James T. Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise would become legend.
But before their historic five-year mission began, before the crew meshed into the superb unit that would journey across the galaxy, before the legend took shape, there was the mission that brought them together for the first time.
Here, at last, is that untold story -- the first voyage of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and all the rest of the Enterprise crew -- the most eagerly-awaited Star Trek adventure of all!
Opinion:
"Enterprise: The First Adventure" is not only describing the very first mission around Captain Kirk's crew, it is also one of the first Star Trek books ever published, followed by a real mass of other novels. In all, the quality of these first stories is nearly never matched.
For real fans it is obvious that the facts mentioned in "Enterprise: The First Adventure" contradicts the official history, also known as "canon". The main reason for this is the fact that the books are not part of that official history, they are widely ignored. "Enterprise: The First Adventure", however, was written before an official canon even existed.
With this background the book is one of Star Trek's best ever. All characters are perfectly described they are even getting more depths. Even non-fans would find in Vonda McIntyre's book a good story that doesn't require any knowledge of the series since it is the first encounter all is about. The ones who DO know the series, however, will get plenty of hints that make it all more worthwhile.
Although "The First Adventure" is one of the thicker Star Trek novels, the last page is reached far to fast.
