The Edge (Starfleet Academy, #1)
Author: Rudy Josephs
Publication Date: 12/28/10
Publisher: Simon Spotlight


Blurb (GR): A new Starfleet Academy series for teens--filled with romance and adventure In "The Competitive Edge," Kirk finds out how much of a toll the intense training classes and grueling schedule of academy life is taking on all the cadets, including himself. But some recruits seem better equipped to handle the challenges. Is there something that is giving them an edge? Kirk is determined to find out, especially since one of the cadets with a little something extra is his new girlfriend. 




Review:
I am dying to read a YA series set at a school in space. DYING. I know, I know, Ender's Game satisfies that wish...only it doesn't. I want it to be high school students and I want it to be like Stargate/Star Trek/Firefly meets every YA high school book ever made. Anyway, this book seems to be as close as I can get. *sigh* But it was rather fun!

I've never watched any Star Trek--gasp--but I did like the most recent movie and this book is based in the movie version of Starfleet. This turned out to be both a positive and a negative for me. I was happy that a lot of my favorite characters were there and it brought up several scenes from the movie that made me feel like I understood everyone's motivations for going to Starfleet. On the other hand, I felt that the references were too blatant and it made me feel like this book was published more to ride the wave of popularity from the movie than to publish a genuinely well-written book. 

This book is described as following young Jim Kirk during his first few months at Starfleet. While it does do this, I'd say this book is actually about solving a mystery and romantic relationships between cadets. There was a lot of flirting going on and the relationship that I was most interested in was Spock and Uhura, for obvious reasons. I am a little disappointed there were no classroom scenes--it just felt a little hurried overall and, while I wanted to know more about each character, the narrative bounces back and forth between telling us about Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and Bones, and it got a little frustrating. 

I'd recommend this one to people who might be dying for a space school story or people who really enjoyed the latest Star Trek movie. 

3/5 stars

The Delta Anomaly (Starfleet Academy)
Author: Rick Barba
Publication Date: 10/28/10
Publisher: Simon Spotlight

Review: This series is like reading a YA Star Trek soap opera. The first book in the series,The Edge, got me used to jumping back and forth between characters and I felt better about in this second installment.  Though the author is different (and better), the tone felt similarly campy and fun. Kirk is still obviously a ladies’ man, and I still wish I was reading Spock/Uhura erotica. Wait, what? Did I just say that? Anyway, these books are a breeze to get through and full of action.  For those unfamiliar with this set of Star Trek books, they are set in the alternate timeline of the most recent Star Trek movie and take place with most of our favorite characters while they are still at Starfleet. This one follows McCoy, Kirk, and Uhura as they help their superiors and the San Francisco PD solve the mystery of The Doctor, a killer who somehow manages to remove internal organs from his victims with no incisions. (I can’t wait for the future!)  I’m a little iffy on whether Starfleet would actually have these cadets helping out to such an extent…as in, doing almost the entire investigation and crime-solving.  That makes perfect sense…not.

I suppose this series is just “Life at Starfleet Academy” and that’s why we are reading about Kirk’s attempts to hit on girls and his progress through school exams, but those plot points just did not add too much to the primary storyline.  The scientific explanation of The Doctor was rather interesting, though my eyes tend to glaze over anytime any word starts with “nano.” Whatever science dudes, I’ll take your word for it. And WTF was up with the ending? Talk about a tease.  This isn’t even a review, it is just my random thoughts choppily strewn into paragraphs that have no common thread.

This series is an absolute guilty pleasure of mine.  I honestly doubt whether any of my GR friends would enjoy it as much as I do but it definitely has a market.  I’ll continue reading them in my quest to find space school stories, especially because it is so easy to pick familiar characters back up. And, of course, I want to see Spock and Uhura develop their relationship to the point it was at in the most recent movie. That’s logical, right?

3/5 stars