The Klingon Gambit

It’s hard to believe that the first time I read Robert E. Vardeman’s The Klingon Gambit was more than twenty years ago. But it’s true. I picked up a copy of this, the second original novel in the immensely successful and still ongoing series of Star Trek books when it was first published in 1981. The other day, whilst thumbing through a pile of paperbacks in search of something to read, I found my old dog-eared copy and decided to give it another spin around the block.

As The Klingon Gambit opens, the crew of the Enterprise are busy mapping a new planet, Delta Canaris IV. Before they can complete their mission, however, they receive orders to investigate a distress call from the Vulcan science vessel T’Pau. Upon arrival in the Alnath system, Captain Kirk and crew discover the ship is intact and in perfect working order. Mysteriously, however, each and every crewmember is dead, lying in their bunks with peaceful expressions and absolutely no sign of what caused their demise.

The mystery deepens when an Andorian archaeological team that the Vulcans had transported to the surface of Alnath II is discovered to be alive and well, and completely oblivious to the fate of the T’Pau. The Andorians, it seems, aren’t the only ones interested in Alnath II, as the Klingon dreadnought cruiser Terror, easily capable of outgunning the Enterprise, is soon found to be orbiting the planet.

Since Alnath II is a world belonging neither to the Federation of Planets or the Klingon Empire the Terror has every right to be in orbit. Her appearance and the deaths of the Vulcans, however, immediately cause Captain Kirk to suspect that it is indeed the Klingons who, perhaps using some knew and unknown super weapon, are to blame for the T’Pau’s fate.

As a result, the crew of the Enterprise must find out exactly what happened, and if necessary engage the Terror in hopes of destroying her mysterious secret weapon, if in fact it exists. But something is wrong. The captain can’t seem to make decisions. Spock has become prone to uncharacteristic emotional outbursts. Dr. McCoy eschews his medical equipment in favor of catgut and needles. And Scotty has begun cannibalizing ship systems in an obsessive quest to improve the performance of his precious engines.

When I read this book so many years ago, I really enjoyed it and I recall thinking what a great job the author had done. Perhaps that was due to the relative dearth of Star Trek novels back then. Today, after reading many of the novels in the line that now boasts more than one hundred books, The Klingon Gambit seems to be only an average effort.

To its credit, the book is short, concise, and to the point. At 158 pages, it’s a quick read and the author doesn’t waste a lot of the reader’s time dwelling unduly on situations that don’t advance the story. There are a few truly fun moments, too, and all in all The Klingon Gambit is a novel that fans of the classic Sci-Fi series will enjoy.

Unfortunately, these do not seem to make up for the book’s many flaws. This is mostly because of the characterizations, which though at times capture the feel of Star Trek seem to miss the mark more often than not. Even the Klingons are all wrong, and they just don’t seem like the fierce and warlike villains we are accustomed too.

Vardeman just doesn’t seem to know that much about Star Trek; the reader is left with the feeling that he spent a Saturday afternoon watching a few re-runs and then decided to write a novel. Add to that the fact that the author’s prose is at times clumsy and confusing, and the result is a less than perfect attempt. Really a 2 ½ star book, I can’t justify rounding it up to 3.

That said, hardcore fans may want to read The Klingon Gambit, if only to complete their collection so to speak. For casual readers and those with a passing interest in Star Trek, it might be best to boldly go on to something else.