Ranked Reading for June 2014

ridelikelionsGreetings Readers and Tiburon followers for brand new edition of Ranked Reading. For the uninitiated to this column here are the basics. First, I read a book. Then, I give the book a Star Trek rank. The higher the rank the better I thought the book was. So a Fleet Admiral tops everything and is a must read, Captain is a better read than one I rank as Lieutenant, enlisted crewman is the worst and best given a wide berth.

Up for today “Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Rise Like Lions” by David Mack. This book is set in the TNG / DS9 era of the Mirror Universe. Terok Nor has been successfully taken from the Klingon / Cardassian Alliance and General O’Brien and the Terran Rebellion have been attempting to hold their own and remove the oppressive Klingons and Cardassians from rule. Light years away Mac Calhoun and the crew of the Excaliber have formed an alliance of their own with the remnants of the Romulan Empire and is now determined to join his fleet with that of the Rebellion. The Klingons, however have a different plan in mind when the leadership of the Cardassians is quite unexpectedly changed. Others powers see opportunities to grab territory and when a major battle ends in a pyrrhic victory the rag tag Terran fleet finds itself at quite possibly the losing end of its journey. Can, or better yet will, Memory Omega (a group formed by long dead Emperor Spock more than a century before) come to the aid of the Rebellion before all is truely lost?

Overall this was a well paced story with a fair amount of action. We also find out what happens to the counter parts of several of our favorite characters from the “main” Trek universe which is a bit of a plus. My rank for this book: Commander

Until next time, the ship’s reading lamp is definitely . . . ON!

D Davenport (semi-retired Starfleet)