Star Trek: The Rings of Tautee - Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Title: The Rings of Tautee
Author: Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Published: 1996
Chronological Period: 2268

Available at:
Amazon
Amazon UK

Review:
“The Rings of Tautee” is an original series Star Trek novel written by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. The story follows the crew of the USS Enterprise as it investigates a Solar System which appears to be disintegrating. Whilst the crew suspect this may be a new Klingon super weapon they are also focused on a pre-warp civilisation which will soon be wiped out. The Prime Directive limits their ability to assist this alien race, but if they don’t do something then this species and potentially the entire galaxy will be destroyed by an ever increasing wave of destruction.

This is a reasonably interesting novel which does a good job in its characterisations of the various original series characters. Considering the authors involved, I am not surprised by this as they are experienced Trek writers so know the characters well. The plot itself is entertaining enough and there are a few engaging emotional moments included, mainly related to the Tauteeans themselves.. However, I have to admit there were a few times that I rolled my eyes in disbelief at the number of issues which kept coming along.

My biggest issue though, was in regards to the way in which the novel interprets the Prime Directive. I have always hated the way in which Star Trek sometimes uses the Prime Directive as an excuse for not helping a doomed civilisation which is how it has been depicted here. In my mind, the Prime Directive should be used to ensure the Federation does not influence the growth or development of a civilisation. It shouldn’t be an excuse to stand back and allow an alien species to go extinct. As I said, Star Trek has used the Prime Directive in this way before but it always annoys me as it never feels right to me and I can’t believe that this really would be the aim.

Overall, this was an interesting enough story although nothing out right special. The application of the Prime Directive irritated me a bit but I could probably say the same about many other novels and episodes. It stands quite firmly in that middle of the road area of Star Trek novels so most readers should find it reasonably enjoyable.