Heart of the Sun

 Heart of the Sun (1997) by Pamela Sargent & George Zebrowski

The Enterprise is sent to help the Federation colony on Tyrtaeus II repair their planetary database after a computer virus attacks their computers. The Tyrtaeans are a very insular people--their ancestors left Earth in search of a planet where they could keep themselves to themselves and not have the influence of other cultures. They reluctantly joined the Federation when it became clear that their location near the Romulan Neutral Zone put them in greater danger than cultural influence. But they still aren't happy about their limited contact with others. 

When the Enterprise crew detects an artificial world hidden among the cometary ring of the Tyrtaean solar system and that world suddenly shifts out of orbit, sending it in a collision course with the system's sun, it becomes clear that the Tyrtaeans are going to need more help from the Federation crew. The craft won't respond to any attempts at communication and Captain Kirk and his crew must find a way to keep the craft from destroying itself and possibly causing damage to the system's sun--which could result in the destruction of the colony as well.

A fairly standard classic Trek plot. Sargent and Zebrowski do a pretty good job bringing Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Lt. Kevin Riley to life--though there are places in the narrative and dialog where things didn't ring quite true. I also have to wonder...where the heck is Chekov? Does he have a case of Denebian flu? It's nice to see Riley get some page time (I always wished he'd shown up more in the episodes), but not a mention of our favorite Russian? The story is okay--but it sure drags for a little over half the book. Lots of talk and very little action. Once they start investigating the artificial world, things pick up nicely. The aliens aboard the world (craft?) are very interesting and I think the book would have been better served by more time spent with them. Still, it was nice to visit with the Enterprise crew again. ★★★

First line: "Right here--" Commander Spock said as he pointed to the flashing dot on the sector display, "--in the cometary ring of this solar system, there is an object that does not belong."

Last line: And when he was finally asleep, Spock dreamed that he was awake and at his post.