Okay, having broken my Original Series books duck with Vulcan's Soul, a safe bet in many ways as it's actually set in the days of Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, although featuring The Original Series characters, I've taken the plunge and read a "proper" Original Series book, Kirk and all.

I enjoyed it too.

Vanguard of the series title is Starbase 47, a rush-construction job, a base set in The Taurus Reach, the area between the Klingon Empire and Tholian Space. It's also a project shrouded in mystery, the Taurus Reach is far from the centre of Federation Space and no reason has been given for the Federation interest in the area.

So when the USS Bombay is destroyed in mysterious circumstances, in what should have been a routine mission to re-supply an outpost within The Reach, the Enterprise is the nearest ship to Vanguard, and so Kirk and his crew are sent to investigate, together with an officer from Vanguard.

They are, however, not told the full details of the outpost and the reason behind the Federation's presence in The Reach, a secrecy which not only annoys Kirk, but which could severely limit their chances on this mission.

As the first part of a trilogy you must expect that this book is more about set-up than resolution, and it does set up a quite wonderful way. There are many, many layers and levels of intrigue in this book.

We have a journalist who, having had an affair with one of the officers on the Bombay is determined to uncover the truth behind the mission that led to her death, and a mercenary at the hire of organised crime whose actions may have lead to the perilous situation the Bombay headed into. We have an undercover Klingon operative, surgically altered to pass as human, and then here is the intrigue of the top secret mission behind the station in the first place.

This feels right for the TV series, Kirk is Kirk, this is the Star Trek of The Original Series, although with a plot a little more complicated than you have found in an episode of the show. But the real joy for me in this novel is the supporting cast – the journalist and merc already mentioned, the doctors on the station and so on. These people are far more than the one-dimensional stereotypes that could have filed out their roles. They bring life to this tale.

And now all I want is book two, oh - and then book three...

Synopsis
Imagine Alias combined with Star Trek and you a have the idea behind for VANGUARD, a new concept for Star Trek fiction that takes it in a compelling new direction, presenting a new perspective on the classic Original Series era, with novels running parallel to Kirk's original five-year mission. VANGUARD is a Starfleet space station charged with the exploration and colonization of a region of space that holds a highly coveted, mysterious, and potentially cataclysmic secret - one that the Federation must solve before anyone else. The race is on and at the centre of this intrigue is an eclectic mix of Starfleet and civilian protagonists unlike any crew previously seen in Star Trek. Their turbulent lives aboard the station and on the ships they travel are painted against the backdrop of an evolving storyline that will gain momentum as the series progresses and the layers of ancient mystery are steadily peeled back, one after another.