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djwudi's review
4.0
Originally published as six eBook novellas, this series tracks a single plot line — a natural disaster on a non-Federation planet and the resulting aftermath and recovery — through decades, from just before TOS’s “Where No Man Has Gone Before” to just after the intro of _Star Trek: Generations_. It makes for a neat look both at the Federation’s long-term approach to working with non-aligned planets (after all, how often have we seen an adventure and then never heard of the planet or culture again?), and how the core TOS crew evolve over the years. This is helped by each novella being written by an author specifically chosen for their expertise in a particular era of Trek history. Definitely one of the stronger Trek omnibus stories I’ve read.
judenoseinabook's review
3.0
Interesting idea for story line - following an event and it's consequences over several decades and an aging and developing Enterprise crew.
strikingthirteen's review against another edition
4.0
It's taken me a little bit to get through (due to time constraints, not because the book is hard) but it was a well worth trip. Mere Anarchy takes six eBooks collected into one volume. Each novel takes place during a different time period in Star Trek history (from one of Kirk's first missions on the Enterprise to the first mission of his friends without him) and follows the saga of one planet. In this case Mestiko, which is quite close to the Klingons.
Mestiko is originally just a mission of Kirk's to stop a terrible, planet devastating event. They are only partly successful in this goal but Mestiko and the Federation (namely Kirk) continue having to check in with the planet and its people and deal with any brushfires that come up. It's a neat way to commemorate the franchise's 40th anniversary.
My favourite ones have to be the ones that take place during those gaps in between films. The one before the Motion Picture ("Shadows of the Indignant"), where Kirk uses his clout as an Admiral to get McCoy to help him run a covert mission. I loved the look at how fractured everyone is before the reunion in TMP. "The Blood Dimmed Tide" (set 18 months before "The Undiscovered Country" and featuring Spock in a role that maybe should have given his shipmates a clue) and "Its Hour Come Round" (In which, fresh after Kirk's death, Ambassador Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Uhura attend a Summit as to whether or not Mestiko will join the Federation and some grieving takes place or doesn't). That one felt the rawest to me and most in character. Case and point: Neither Uhura or McCoy are needed in the mission but Spock asks for their presence anyway but will not deal with his own grief anyway but privately.
The best one of the lot is probably the multi-year spanning "The Darkness Drops Again"
It's a long book/collection but well worth it to see the ages pass with Kirk and company and see how much and how little has changed in many ways as the story goes on.
Mestiko is originally just a mission of Kirk's to stop a terrible, planet devastating event. They are only partly successful in this goal but Mestiko and the Federation (namely Kirk) continue having to check in with the planet and its people and deal with any brushfires that come up. It's a neat way to commemorate the franchise's 40th anniversary.
My favourite ones have to be the ones that take place during those gaps in between films. The one before the Motion Picture ("Shadows of the Indignant"), where Kirk uses his clout as an Admiral to get McCoy to help him run a covert mission. I loved the look at how fractured everyone is before the reunion in TMP. "The Blood Dimmed Tide" (set 18 months before "The Undiscovered Country" and featuring Spock in a role that maybe should have given his shipmates a clue) and "Its Hour Come Round" (In which, fresh after Kirk's death, Ambassador Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Uhura attend a Summit as to whether or not Mestiko will join the Federation and some grieving takes place or doesn't). That one felt the rawest to me and most in character. Case and point: Neither Uhura or McCoy are needed in the mission but Spock asks for their presence anyway but will not deal with his own grief anyway but privately.
The best one of the lot is probably the multi-year spanning "The Darkness Drops Again"
It's a long book/collection but well worth it to see the ages pass with Kirk and company and see how much and how little has changed in many ways as the story goes on.
esperata's review against another edition
4.0
While the initial story is set out much like an episode, each subsequent story builds on what has gone before to give everything greater depth and realism. They cover myriad plot lines and involve different combinations of characters at different stages of their lives. It makes for fascinating stories.
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