First Strike

Star Trek: Invasion #1

by Diane Carey

THE BEGINNING OF THE ULTIMATE STAR TREK SAGA! "Across time and space comes a Fury!"

Long ago, before the days of myth and legend, our worlds belonged to them. Now they want them back....

Captain Kirk is stunned when the Federation receives an urgent plea for help -- from the Klingon Empire. A mysterious starship has invaded Klingon space and resisted all their efforts to destroy it. Establishing contact with the stranger's ship, Kirk discovers that it is only the vanguard of a vast alien fleet obsessed with conquering the Klingons, the Federation, the Romulans, and all who dwell in the space that was once their own.

The Invasion has begun....

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Media Tie In, Ebooks, Star Trek Original Series, Space

289 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Diane Carey also wrote the Distress Call 911 young adult series under the name D.L. Carey.

Diane Carey is primarily a science fiction author best known for her work in the Star Trek franchise. She has been the lead-off writer for two Star Trek spin-off book series: Star Trek The Next Generation with Star Trek: Ghost Ship, and the novelization of the Star Trek: Enterprise pilot, Broken Bow.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Carey

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Furies' invasion begins here!


This is the first book in a saga of four about an invasion by a mysterious species known as The Furies


OUR DEMONS RETURN...

The unthinkable happened...

...the Klingon Empire is asking for help to the Federation!

A mysterious enemy is invading their space territory and soon enough they will expand to invade the Federation too.

We thought that our visions of demons were just myth, tales to scare us when we were children...

...but that wasn't true!

Demons were real!

And now they're returning to our galaxy to take what was theirs before!

The Furies are the very embodiment of what most sentient races in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants considered as the demons of old myths, and they have advanced technology far superior than Starfleet or any other major power in the said quadrants.

Captain Kirk, Mister Spock and the crew of the USS Enterprise need to find a way to defeat a fearsome force that anybody think were just horror tales...

...but now the horror is becoming real!

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I unfortunately didn’t find much to like here. The story feels hokey and underdeveloped, with little sophistication, nuance, or depth. The characterizations are wooden and one-dimensional, making it hard to become invested.

Had I read this 35 years ago, I might have been more satisfied. But in the years since its publication, Star Trek literature has benefited from many excellent writers who have pushed the quality of the field much further. By that standard, this feels disappointingly thin.

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 5 out of 5]

After so many disappointing Star Trek books recently, it was refreshing to have such a great book. Especially considering Diane Carey also wrote the Challenger novel “Chainmail” which was…not good.

But here, Diane Carey writes the beginning of the exciting “Invasion” series, which has mystery, intrigue, great characters and themes, action, and incredible twists.

A standout character of this book was General Kellen. He was so complex that every time I thought I had him figured out, he surprised me. His desire to both live up to the Klingon ideals as well as work with the Federation were just so fascinating.

I also really liked the “mysterious invader” characters, particularly Zennor. He had much more complexity than I expected as well.

The book also just had some great action. The Klingons in the beginning against the invaders, the Klingons vs the Federation, and the other action scenes were just so well done.

This book has a mystery that feels reminiscent of both “The Motion Picture” and “Prey Trilogy”. Really enjoyed it!

I did like how Kirk operated when Spock was incapacitated, and the way he tried to balance his duty to the Federation and his ideals were just so endearing.

The book makes a few bold choices regarding themes. Other Star Trek writers might go in the more obvious direction. However, Diane Carey just knocked this part of the book out of the park.

Overall, I loved this book. Just fantastic in just about every way. 9.5 out of 10!

[Alex Gustafson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoy the concept of the Invasion! series and the ending of this one sets up the TNG's sequel well, but I am not a huge fan of the original series crew. Spock is a limited role for this story and he's my favorite character in TOS.

Where this book wins some points is in form and voice. The fact that I don't like TOS doesn't mean Diane doesn't have that crew down pat. Bones in particular has some great dialogue. The book reads in acts like a two-parter episode. The cliff hangers aren't cheesy, they are inflection points of the plot.

Solid read for a sci-fi paperback, but I'm more reading this for the cross-over appeal.

[Brayden Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

They made Kirk a Commodore of a mixed Klingon-Federation (I guess 1 federation ship counts) fleet!!!

In all seriousness though, this was quite exciting. I really enjoyed the mix of alien civilian and folklore/history. Often sci Fi will hint at ancient past civilizations but this offered something much more concrete in the plot which I loved. I also thought Carey's characterization of Kirk was top notch here, as well their characterization of McCoy. I would have liked to see more of the rest of the crew however. All told 4 solid stars.

[Brandon Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this and the 3 other books in the Star Trek Invasion crossover but I wanted some comfort books so I am rereading them.

This is st in TOS with Kirk and company as we meet the Furies. A strong start and really interesting idea of where demons, creatures of myth, druid folklore, and more for everyone from Vulcans, Humans, Andorians, and Klingons come from.

[Kristoffer Scanlon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 was not an option, but it's a solid 3.5. Not a huge TOS (the 'old' series) fan, but it was definitely entertaining. Bonus, reading Kirk's lines without Shatner's insidious pauses was also a bonus. Looking forward to starting the second book in the series.

[Dianah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read an original series Star Trek book in about 15 years, but I wanted to read the Star Trek: Invasion! series in order so I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. While it starts off slowly, it quickly picks up once Kirk et. al., come on the scene.

A conglomerate of alien races has come a very long way to investigate the possibility that they originally came from the Klingon and Terran sectors. Who are these nightmarish creatures and can a war be averted? Enter Kirk!

My favorite part of the book is Diane Carey's characterization of Kirk. He's a leader, friend, tactician, and still merely human. Well done! I'm hoping the next book in the series, a Next Generation story, can keep up the momentum.

[Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't even read the rest of this series--since I'd never seen an episode of any non-original series Trek at the time--but I remember finding this strangely compelling.

Also, unless I'm confusing it with another Star Trek tie-in, I'm pretty sure this is what taught me the correct way to pronounce the word "Celtic," so: entertaining and educational!

[Jorge Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

So these novels aren't canon obviously but the best thing about these sort of stories is that you can have the TOS crew involved in situations that would have been impossible to film back in the day. Invasion! First Strike shows us a large scale skirmish between the Enterprise crew and 200 Klingons at the start that would never have been attempted on screen but is fantastic. Anyway, this novel involves Kirk, Spock, McCoy etc. encountering a species of aliens who appear to be archetypes of demons, witches, medusas and devils from the collective memories/mythologies of all the alpha quadrant species (but mainly they look like monsters from earth's early stories lol). These awesome space demons claim that they were banished 5000 years earlier by the 'conquerors' and they are back to reclaim what's theirs. Sound's daft and it is daft but it's also . . .Star Trek so just read it and enjoy the interactions of your favourite childhood characters with a bunch of Klingons and space monsters.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Klingons need the help of the Federation as a mysterious ship has arrived in their space with a crew reminding them of past demons and demanding that the space belongs to them
An entertaining re-read

[Octavia Cade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would dearly like to give this four stars, but the first third was so unnecessary, and so monumentally dull, that I seriously considered putting it down and never picking it up again. I find reading about battles boring at the best of times, and there were two in a row here. The book opened with a fight between the Klingons and a ship of alien invaders, with a very lengthy digression into changing gravity and mass that never went anywhere and so seemed like an utter waste of time. (Granted, this is the first book in a miniseries of four, so the gravity weapon might come up again, but it was pointless where it was.) Then there was an equally long and equally boring hand to hand fight on a planet between the Enterprise crew and the Klingons again, a fight which was essentially tossed to the side when the invaders came in. Both these lengthy scenes were tedious in the extreme, and both of them added nothing to the overall story.

It was a relief, then, when Kirk started building what seemed to be a friendship with one of the invading leaders. I want more from Trek than people endlessly smacking the shit out of each other and I got it here, eventually... albeit it ended tragically. The more books I read in this franchise, the more it becomes clear that the stories I really warm to are about two mortal enemies who build friendship and respect while still representing the interests of their own culture, and who manage to maintain that relationship even in the midst of serious conflict. I got that here for most of the book, so I ended a great deal more pleased than I started... but my goodness, that start was a drain on my interest.

[Justin Rees · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent beginning to this series that spans across the Star Trek universe. Kirk and the Enterprise crew are summoned by the Klingons of all people to battle an unknown force from across the galaxy, and frankly it's thrilling. Kirk and Spock together are at the top of their game and an ending that is superbly fitting that will make you breathless. Cannot wait for the next one which they give a little prelude to at the end of this book. Must read Trek.

[Erin Burnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first Star Trek novel I have read. It was well worth the 50p I paid for it in a charity shop!
Although it starts off a little slow, the pace rapidly picks up towards the end. For me the best thing about TOS are the well-written characters, and Carey has captured them perfectly. Would recommend to any TOS fans.

[Chris Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical annoying writing style of Diane Carey. Partial sentences. Like talking. Always reminding you that you’re reading a book instead of letting you get lost in it. Such poor attempts at clever wording: “Let the greeting distill, see what will happen.” Say what? “Like the last upbow on a cello’s low note.” Okay…

And, of course, forcing nautical terminology. “Probing like a sea lawyer.” “Every ship’s master is responsible for its own wake.” And Kirk giving an order to the helmsman of “Midships.” When did Kirk ever say that? Never. And these are just a few examples. I drowned in wave after wave of them, so to speak.

Also, in Chapter 1: “…but it would take four or five light-hours for that effect to reach the decimated outer planets…”. Ugh. Light-hours are a unit of distance, not of time. Do better! There were other technical oddities as well related to gravity, visuals, and sensors. Oh well.

I will admit, however, that Kirk’s response upon first contact at the end of Chapter 7 was gold—quintessential Kirk.

Ok, now that I’ve freed myself of the weight of Diane Carey’s writing, this book started a bit slow, but somewhere around page 100 it got rolling and was very good from that point forward. (Unfortunately, still hindered by the terrible writing style. Guess I wasn’t done venting yet.). There is a required suspension of belief (which sounds silly to even say when discussing Star Trek) with the premise of who the aliens are—wrapped up in another of Star Trek’s insistences on explaining away religion. Ugh.

So, this book was a roller coaster. Terrible writing style, good base story, old school TOS premise. Because the base story is good, I look forward to the remaining books in this series. Especially because Diane Carey didn’t write them.

Note: I’m also pleased that this book is self-contained, rather than requiring that you read the next book(s) to get any sort of closure.

[kangeiko · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5* stars, maybe? Look, I bought a giant box of ST books off eBay so I have the whole mini-event, and I hope the other books in the Invasion storyline are better written because this? This was TERRIBLE

1) The dialogue was laughably bad. A lot of yelling, a lot of ridiculous exchange is “as you know, Bob,” and an apparent terror of using “he said”. Page 87? Kirk droned. DRONED. You can accuse Shatner of many things, but droning isn’t one of them.

2) the characterisation was abysmal. Kirk doesn’t know if he has a linguist on board. Kirk. The captain. He is surprised that Uhura is the linguist. What the hell? The Klingon admiral famed for remaining calm under pressure completely loses and acts like a raw recruit. In fact, EVERYONE seems to be acting like raw recruits, making inane observations and yelling mid-battle.

3) the premise is hilariously bad. I’m really not spoiling anything when I tell you that it’s “bad guys come, turns out the conflict is inevitably, yet Kirk somehow triumphs”. Not through cleverness, but hand-waving.

Look, I’m going to try the other 3 books because they’re written by other authors and maybe they do better with the generic premise of “big bad turns up to fight”. (I don’t know what the big deal was with the mini-event btw, the big bad is generic and in a ST universe which has the *Borg* they don’t seem particularly interesting or even threatening.) BUT. I will persevere. At the very least, these are quick reads.

[Vorik · Rating 3 out of 5]

durchschnittlicher Kirk-Roman
Diane Carey hat mit diesem Buch ein recht durchwachsenes Werk abgeliefert. Die Geschichte unterhält über weite Teile, was vor allem den fremden „Dämonen“ zu verdanken ist. Zumindest kann das Kennenlernen einer fremden Zivilisation auf den Leser einen besonderen Reiz ausüben. Wie auch hier. Leider scheint es der Autorin jedoch an genialen Einfällen gemangelt zu haben: Die Auflösung zum Schluss und einige Entwicklungen in der Handlung sind wenig überraschend. Zu den Hauptfiguren der Buches zählt ein klingonischer General, der sehr eindimensional beschrieben ist. Er verhält sich so, wie es die Geschichte gerade erfordert. Darüber hinaus sind die Klingonen generell recht unglaubwürdig skizziert (lassen sie sich doch allen ernstes von Geistergeschichten verängstigen). Zudem gesellen sich einige Merkwürdigkeiten: Warum trägt ein klingonischer General eine Brille? Warum muss sich Spock in seinen wenigen Auftritten stets mit einer schweren Rückenverletzung plagen? Weshalb suchen die Klingonen ausgerechnet bei Erzfeind Kirk Hilfe? Auch, dass Kirk in einer kritischen Situation auf der Brücke nach einer Tasse Kaffee verlangt, lässt vermuten, dass die Schriftstellerin ihr Werk selbst nicht ganz so ernst nimmt. Schade, da hätte mehr daraus werden können.

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I want to change my scoring by 0.50 or more of a star. -- I tend not to read reviews until after I read a book, so I go in with an open mind.)

I'm finally going through my physical tv, film etc. tie in library owned book list, to add more older basic reviews. If I liked a book enough to keep then they are at the least a 3 star.

3.5*





First time read the author's work?: No

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Jeremy Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This will get me barred from most Star Trek fan sites or whatever but this is why I struggle so much with TOS. Kirk is over glorified in this era-he’s the only one allowed to feel loss for a crew member, he can’t let his people operate without his say so, even his two closest friends he berates in this book. Give me Picard any day who trusts his crew to do their duty and when it’s time for the Captain to make a call he does.
The story of this book is fine. I’ve read the other Invasion books but hadn’t read this one. It’s interesting the Klingons have almost an immediate fear of what’s to come from the Invasion and not the usual lust for battle and to conquer.
This book probably rings true to the era of the original broadcast of TOS but I found it disappointing with the lack of real technical details (crew would say system burned out instead of say manifold or EPS are blown out). I think if this book had been during the movie era where the characters are all more mature the technical details are there I would’ve enjoyed this so much more.

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diane Carey is such a fantastic writer. There are moments where I just have to pause and admire her choice of words in a particularly well-written sentence. I really loved the whole series when I was a kid, but I recently decided to re-read them off my shelf as a quarantine comfort read. I remember when I was younger that the series as a whole didnt really make much sense, while the individual books were fairly solid. I think it was because all the books were written by separate writers all working at pretty much the same time off of an outline, as opposed to sequentially.

Carey's first entry into the series is certainly up to her lofty standards. I thought there was a good twist at the end, where what you would expect doesn't really come to pass, but both sides are in their own way, correct.

[Darryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Diane Carrey's style of writing for Star Trek. This is the 2nd book I've read from her in the ST:TOS universe. The story had an interesting plot, and benefited from the Klingon Kellen having depth and nuance as a main character. I also appreciated an effort to provide some minor ship's crew some characterization, and that Kirk pondered and seemed to take an interest in these minor crewmen. The story moved at a good pace, though the final act seemed a little too quick. The primary trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy were given most of the spotlights, and unfortunately Sulu, Scotty, Uhura and Chekov were just placemarks.

Overall an entertaining TOS novel.

[Katrina Veerkamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bit of a tough read. When they finally determine what’s going on it leads to earth, Vulcan, etc 5000 years ago. It brings up our laths and stories of witches and others that we consider to be just legends. Kirk tries to work with them. Befriends their odd Captain with horns and hooves. Tries to work with the Klingon as it’s in their space. Finally they do! It’s a complicated story. Spock gets very seriously injured. McCoy is almost burned alive. Get ready for a crazy ride. It was good but a bit hard to follow all the nuances

[Peter Rydén · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spännande bok som ställer Kirk mot en fruktansvärt dödlig ras som hävdar sin absoluta rättighet till vår del av universum. Man hålls i ett sträckband hela tiden. Detta är en bok som absolut visar vem Kirk är, bakom tjejtjusandet och det hetsiga humöret som man ser mer av i serien.

Del 2 (TNG) och 4 (VOY) verkar vara slutsålda, i alla fall i Sverige, men del 3 (DS9) har jag köpt och håller på att sluka den nu. Snart kommer en recension.

[Emmali · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was an amazing book! I really like it. In Top five of my favorites. I need to buy another copy though because it was recently destroyed and all that’s left is the cover… it took me forever to realize there are snakes on the cover representing one of the aliens. I think my favorite part was when the Klingon killed one of the aliens. That and when Spock just kinda got up and started walking (barely) with a broken back.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

After 5000 years, a united group of different alien races that were banished from an area now occupied by the Klingons returns to claim their birthright.
Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the crew from the original series form a tenuous alliance to combat a menace that is reminiscent of mythical creatures from Earth's ancient past.
I liked this more than I thought I would. Lots of action and an open end that sets the stage for sequels.

[Jonathan Harbour · Rating 5 out of 5]

I get Diane Carey and Diane Duane confused. I think Carey is the Irish one? Anyway, excellent start of I believe the first ever Star Trek book crossover event (borrowed from comics). Next up is the TNG for book 2. The writing was excellent, beyond what I would expect from a fixed genre book with known characters. Carey can turn a phrase that makes me smile. Like "The ship basted space with radiation". I'm going to have to look up her non-ST novels.

[Cora Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Furies

Standby for lots of action in this one, as the crew of the Enterprise fight the Klingons but eventually join forces to beat a common enemy that has returned home after 5000 years to reclaim what us rightfully theirs. At first it looks like Kirk's diplomacy will won the day until data is stolen and the very formidable enemy determines to take the Klingons and the Federation down....

[Ramona · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very scary foe has come up against Captain Kirk and his brave crew! The Furies, who are bent on ruling the Alpha quadrant, are unlike anything Kirk has experienced so far. Lots of outer space action, suspense and surprises. I plan on reading the whole series if only to keep up with the experiences of the crews, and how the series involves other generations of Star Trek crews.

[David]

I loved Star Trek, the original series, when I was a child. I am still fond of the series. But of all the Star Trek series, the original is the weakest link. I seem to have only small interest in reading ST: TOS novels. Though what I did read was fairly decent. I'm not going to rate this book as I did not finish it. Perhaps I'll come around to it again sometime later.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic star trek. Blurred lines of good and evil, Kirk with inner turmoil, Spock being indispensable even under extraordinary circumstances. Wonderful new species and ship settings. The dialog between all the characters was wonderfully believable. I had one little "meh"moment near the end, but it didn't ruin the book or anything. I love Diane Carey and will be reading more of her work soon.