Book Review: Timetrap by David Dvorkin

Timetrap by David Dvorkin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The premise of Timetrap by David Dvorkin is a slight of hand that the reader falls for from the experience of James Kirk, who himself falls for the Klingon deception.  The Enterprise encounters a Klingon Bird-of-Prey in Federation territory near the Tholian space, Kirk beams over in an attempt to grab a Klingon for questioning only for the ship to disappear as the result of an interstellar storm that also affects the Enterprise.  Kirk waits up among Klingons supposedly 100 years in the future during a period called "The Great Peace" between the Federation and Klingons to learn he is the reason it occurred.  However, the battered Enterprise arrives at Starbase Seventeen where Spock starts his investigation into Kirk disappearance.  Events quickly transpire that sends Kirk with a Klingon fleet into Federation space, but along the way the deception starts to unravel and completely falls apart as the two hostile factions face off with one another.

While the pace and overall story of the novel were good, it was the character development of Kirk that was really off putting and though at the end of the novel his behavior is hand-waved as a product of chemical manipulation it's still off putting.  The internal conflict of the Klingon undercover spy is well done and completely tricks the reader when the true is revealed.

Overall Timetrap is an quick, average read.  If your a Star Trek fan, I halfheartedly recommend it with the warning about Kirk.  If you're not a Star Trek fan then watch out because your perception of Kirk could get warped.


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