Review of "Star Trek The Next Generation: Starfleet Academy, Line of Fire," by Peter David

 Review of

Star Trek The Next Generation: Starfleet Academy, Line of Fire, by Peter David, ISBN 0671870858

Five out of five stars

A peek back at the development of Worf

 As a Klingon raised by humans and the first one to attend Star Fleet Academy, Worf is in a unique position. He is proud of his Klingon heritage while totally loyal to the Federation. In this book, we get a look back into his days as a cadet, where he must learn to work and play well with others. Being a Klingon, playing well generally means intense physical action.

 Dantar is a planet where a social experiment is taking place. A colony where humans and Klingons live and work has been placed there and it is being disrupted, both internally and externally. A group of Federation cadets that includes Worf has been dispatched under the guidance of Professor Trump, a well respected international diplomat/scholar. When they arrive, there is a small delegation of Klingons from the Empire and Worf encounters an adult Klingon female for the first time. He reacts in a manner similar to how a human teenage male would react.

 The story is well done and gives the reader some background on Worf as a young man as well as his experiences as a cadet in Star Fleet Academy. It would have been a difficult time for him, as he would have to learn how to interact with creatures of other species, their cultures as well as deal with elements of the Klingon civilization that he had only read about. Worf must also learn when to take orders as well as give them.

 Viewers were introduced to the characters of Star Trek The Next Generation as full members of the crew of the Enterprise. While it is understood that they attended the Star Fleet Academy, there is very little knowledge of how they performed and adjusted in that environment. This book gives us some critical background on the making of the Worf of the Enterprise.

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