Kobayashi Maru

Michael A. Martin · Andy Mangels

Aug 2008 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this eBook

To protect the cargo ships essential to the continuing existence of the fledgling Coalition of Planets, the captains of the United Earth's Starfleet are ordered to interstellar picket duty, with little more to do than ask "Who goes there?" into the darkness of space.

Captain Jonathan Archer of the Enterprise™ seethes with frustration, wondering if anyone else can see what he sees. A secret, closed, militaristic society, convinced that their survival hangs by a thread, who view their neighbors as a threat to their very existence -- the Spartans of ancient Greece, the Russians of the old Soviet Union, the Koreans under Kim Il-sung -- with only one goal: attain ultimate power, no matter the cost. The little-known, never-seen Romulans seem to live by these same principles.

The captain realizes that the bond between the signers of the Coalition charter is fragile and likely to snap if pushed. But he knows that the Romulans are hostile, and he believes they are the force behind the cargo ship attacks. If asked, Archer can offer no proof without endangering his friend's life.

To whom does he owe his loyalty: his friend, his world, the Coalition? And by choosing one, does he not risk losing all of them? What is the solution to a no-win scenario?

Ratings and reviews

The Star Trek: Enterprise TV series had a few good moments... and some utterly dreadful hours. This is right up there with the worst episodes of Enterprise, the ongoing story of Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III: the worst spy in the galaxy. Every person that he meets figures out he's a spy within about one chapter of meeting him. Don't let the title fool you, this sorry tome has about as much to do with the SS Kobayashi Maru as Star Trek VI does. If this is meant to be the origin of the famous No Win Scenario then they made a lot more of it in the future since Archer very clearly wins this one by the simple expedient of walking away. The bulk of the book is more of the same deadly dull spy shenanigans from the previous volume.

A good effort. After the tv series created some headaches by having the nascent federation begin before the romulan war, someone needed to unravel the mess. This book does a credible job of it. The story to as well and reads like good TV. I could do without the aliens being humanized (gay Klingons) and I don't need to hear references about events from TV series that don't move the story along (one more transparent aluminum comment and my head will explode). Overall, though, a good enjoyable book.

The Romulan War should have been the third series of Enterprise. Instead they took the best Star Trek series and completely buggered it with time wars and Xindi wars. Then they killed Trip (canon). Thank heavens we at least have these novels.

About the author

Michael A. Martin’s solo short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He has also coauthored (with Andy Mangels) several Star Trek comics for Marvel and Wildstorm and numerous Star Trek novels and eBooks, including the USA Today bestseller Titan: Book One: Taking Wing; Titan: Book Two: The Red King; the Sy Fy Genre Award-winning Star Trek: Worlds of Deep Space 9 Book Two: Trill -- Unjoined; Star Trek: The Lost Era 2298—The Sundered; Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Mission: Gamma: Vol. Three: Cathedral; Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31—Rogue; Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers #30 and #31 ("Ishtar Rising" Books 1 and 2); stories in the Prophecy and Change, Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain's Table anthologies; and three novels based on the Roswell television series. His most recent novels include Enterprise: The Romulan War and Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many. His work has also been published by Atlas Editions (in their Star Trek Universe subscription card series), Star Trek Monthly, Dreamwatch, Grolier Books, Visible Ink Press, The Oregonian, and Gareth Stevens, Inc., for whom he has penned several World Almanac Library of the States nonfiction books for young readers. He lives with his wife, Jenny, and their two sons in Portland, Oregon.

Andy Mangels is the USA TODAY bestselling author and coauthor of over a dozen novels—including Star Trek and Roswell books—all cowritten with Michael A. Martin. Flying solo, he is the bestselling author of several nonfiction books, including Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Characters and Animation on DVD: The Ultimate Guide, as well as a significant number of entries for The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes as well as for its companion volume, The Supervillain Book. Andy is a national award-winning activist in the Gay community, and has raised thousands of dollars for charities over the years. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his long-term partner, Don Hood, their dog, Bela, and their chosen son, Paul Smalley. Visit his website at AndyMangels.com.