Rating: 
Summary: Golly Jeez
Review: First let me say that this is one of the few (older) trek novels that read like an episode...unfortunately it would have been third season.It isn't so much that it is bad, it isn't. It's the characterization that was the more annoying. At one point Kirk says "Oh jeez, I need to contact the Enterprise." Oh jeez? How many times did Kirk say "oh jeez"? I also had a bit of a problem with the way McCoy is portrayed in command. I won't go into it and potentially ruin it, but suffice it to say I didn't realize his talents (at least according to the novel). So, if you want an ok Trek novel with really annoying characterization and dialogue this one is fine. Again, not bad but I couldn't quite get past what I would classify as the "Turnabout Intruder" form of Kirk, and some of the other main characters too.
Rating: 
Summary: Dr. McCoy, the captain of the Enterprise
Review: Have you ever wanted to see McCoy battle Klingons? Well here it is. Kirk leaves McCoy the bridge, and then dissapears on the planets surface. McCoy gets scared, but he battles his way through everything, with his mouth and his brains. Yet in the end it takes Kirk to save him. This is a good book, because you see more into McCoy. McCoy and Spock have some pretty good battles too.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, Doctor !
Review: I am not a fan of Dr. McCoy, but I really enjoy this book because it follows the path of the old TV classic episodes. The battle with the Orion pirates is well described and the behaviour of McCoy as captain is superb. The ;at are a very interesting alien species and I sorrow that there aren't more books concerning them.
Rating:
Summary: Quality Stuff!
Review: I have always felt that Diane Duane writes definitive Star Trek... Others may not be willing to go so far, but I think everyone who has read her work can agree that Duane's Trek is invariably smart, dilligently-imagined, hard SF. In this, her last TOS novel (to date), Duane strikes a decidedly lighthearted tone and -- in essence -- gives us a day in the life of Bones McCoy... Of course, it's a helluva day, chock full of missing Captains, time slips, sentient trees, and confrontations with Klingons ... all with Bones in the center seat. The fact that this is one of the least of Duane's Trek novels speaks only to the extraordinary quality of the others (not to mention her original work)... ROMULAN WAY and SPOCK'S WORLD are her best Trek novels--and Duane, unlike most of her bretheren, truly writes Star Trek NOVELS. These two serve as Parts II and III of the fan-favorite 'Rihannsu Trilogy.' (Though be warned that Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise do not appear in Romulan Way). All are worth checking out--and her pair of Next Generation novels are also outstanding.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally, 'real' space tactics combat
Review: I liked it. I liked Dr. McCoy's characterisation and his crustiness, but what I REALLY liked was how the ship acted like a ship. They discussed department head meetings and worried about things like how dehydration effects bridge crew performance during space combat. The crew of the ship did a lot of real crew things, not just sit at the com console and looko busy. Chekov was proud as heck to be the briefing officer at a staff meeting. McCoy thought about writing paper on various subjects. Spock acted as a department head and directed his staff apropriately. This is the stuff about trek novels that I REALLY like, not going up against omnipotent space beings (although this novel has that too) or making dramatic speeches. Ms. Duane always puts a lot of research into her books, be them the Spiderman trilogy she did or anything else. It was a delight to see the crew discuss and go over first contact procedures and act truly as a vessel of exploration. My biggest delight was in the obligitory space fight against the Orion pirates. The space battle wasn't just 'fire torpedoes' and stuff like that. They worried about orbits and parabolas and perahelions. There was real thought put into tactics and strategy here. Also, this book marks the second instance where trek ever used the third dimension (Star Trek II was the other). As they were involved in a fight, Kirk ordered to Sulu to go full impulse along the z axis (straight up). And finally, the way Ms. Duane dealt with the Universal Translator was just great. it really made you believe in the technology of the ship and her crew, and was not just a simple plot device like in the shows.
Rating:
Summary: McCoy's mouth gets him in and out of trouble!
Review: In this terrific book by talented Trek author Diane Duane, McCoy mouths off to Kirk one too many times and Kirk says "*YOU* command the ship!" and beams down . . . then vanishes. McCoy's search for the missing captain is further complicated by some Klingons . . . who end up on the recieving end of some McCoy yelling. A great book for any McCoy fan!
Rating:
Summary: Dr. McCoy's Finest Moment - 2 Raised Eyebrows!
Review: Several years ago I spent the summer checking out Star Trek paperback novels. There were two that I went out and purchased so I could have my own copy and "Doctor's Orders" was one of them. While orbiting yet another strange planet, Captain Kirk beams down to handle diplomatic negotiations and places Dr. McCoy in charge of the Enterprise. It seems Bones has been wearing himself down in Sick Bay and he wants to give the good Doctor a rest. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. No sooner does McCoy take the center seat then Kirk disappears and the Klingons show up looking to pick a fight. The situation is a bit contrived since I find it hard to believe that Starfleet regulations do not allow Spock to assume command, but who cares? The scenes where McCoy talks to the Klingons or goes toe to toe with Spock are well worth it. Duane's humor in these conversations is entirely grounded in the characters, which was always the strength of Star Trek. This is not a big epic like many of the Star Trek novels tend to be, but there are only so many times the gang can save the universe (I believe the number is 56). This is a delightful tale and well worth the reading.
Rating:
Summary: Dr. McCoy's Finest Moment - 2 Raised Eyebrows!
Review: Several years ago I spent the summer checking out Star Trek paperback novels. There were two that I went out and purchased so I could have my own copy and "Doctor's Orders" was one of them. While orbiting yet another strange planet, Captain Kirk beams down to handle diplomatic negotiations and places Dr. McCoy in charge of the Enterprise. It seems Bones has been wearing himself down in Sick Bay and he wants to give the good Doctor a rest. Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. No sooner does McCoy take the center seat then Kirk disappears and the Klingons show up looking to pick a fight. The situation is a bit contrived since I find it hard to believe that Starfleet regulations do not allow Spock to assume command, but who cares? The scenes where McCoy talks to the Klingons or goes toe to toe with Spock are well worth it. Duane's humor in these conversations is entirely grounded in the characters, which was always the strength of Star Trek. This is not a big epic like many of the Star Trek novels tend to be, but there are only so many times the gang can save the universe (I believe the number is 56). This is a delightful tale and well worth the reading.
Rating:
Summary: Kudos to Duane - a great read!
Review: Thanks so much for this, Ms. Duane! A humourous, thought-provoking, complex novel that, above all, presents the Star Trek characters with their dignity intact, doing what the Enterprise crew is supposed to do: helping out folks in need and, at the same time, learning lessons of their own.
And what else does this novel offer, you may ask? Surly Klingons, cute little protoplasmic beings, amoral pirates, and walking trees. And don't forget the time-travel. Oh, yes, and the snortweed!
Dr. McCoy was always my favourite Star Trek character, and this novel really gives him a chance to shine. We're inside his head a lot of the time during this novel, and one of the things I really enjoyed was watching McCoy, in his role as unwilling captain, realize why Kirk has developed some of the quirks which the good doctor hitherto criticized. It was ... er ... fascinating (and refreshing!) to see how well McCoy and Spock functioned together as captain and first officer. I also very much enjoyed McCoy's interactions with the Klingon captain. Psychology, psychology. And a little medical knowledge to pin down a case of Klingon Arthasomiasis Syndrome surely gave the good doctor even more of a much-needed edge.
In some of the Star Trek series novels I've read, the characters seem very stereotyped and predictable. It's as if the author has a checklist for each crewmember's gestures, appearance, thought-patterns and dialogue. Doctor's Orders presented well-developed characters who grew and changed as the novel progressed. I didn't want it to end!
Rating:
Summary: Star Trek #50: Doctors Orders
Review: The U.S.S. Enterprise is on a diplomatic mission to a distant planet nicknamed Flyspeck. While there, the crew is to open relations with the three races that inhabit the planet. No sooner are the talks underway, when the Klingons show up, claiming the planet for their own. And then another alien race arrives, threatening to destroy them all. Sound like another mission Captain Kirk can handle, right? WRONG! Captain Kirk has vanished from the face of the planet, and he left somebody behind in the center chair for a lesson in the rigors of starship command. Dr. McCoy. And how can an "old country doctor" resolve the situation? Great starship combat! It gets a little techy, but that comes with the territory. Excellent novel! One of my favorites! And refreshing new command viewpoints from someone who has never commanded a starship! A classic! Enjoy!
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