Demons (Star Trek: The Original Series #30) by J.M. Dillard

Demons (Star Trek: The Original Series #30) Reviews

• 
  Louie the Mustache Matos

  Demons is the 30th novel in the Star Trek: The Original Series set of Pocket novels based on the television show. The story is about a force that has been rediscovered by deep space explorers who have returned from the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Unbeknownst to them, they have been taken forcefully, possessed by said alien force, and carried it back to Vulcan and the Enterprise. Spock, Anitra (a woman possessed of telepathic type abilities), and Dr. McCoy must confront a possessed Sarek and Amanda and attempt to overcome Spock’s parents without harming them, while also mitigating the influence the alien has on Federation personnel. The story quality is top-notch, believable, suspenseful, and not just a little bit horrific. I thought it was a very strong effort by J. M. Dillard.
• 
  ⚧️ Nadienne Greysorrow ⚧️

  The author inserts herself into this story as a super-sexy, super-psychic, seductress Ensign, who just so happens to be a particle physics expert, an agent for Starfleet Intelligence, and best buddies of the big three (seriously, the character on the cover, Anitra, looks just like the author). Using only her wits, she helps Kirk, Spock, and McCoy (who becomes her love interest - oh god, gag me with a spoon) overcome an "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and/or "Puppet Masters" esque story which takes place on Vulcan and the Enterprise. Only, this time its subatomic beings that take over people and turn them into murdering savages...but also somehow work together to infect other people...and they are beat just like the 'Borg, by putting them to sleep for about a day or so, until the little things starve...
  
  And the climax happens "off screen"...I'm not even kidding. McCoy seems to be overwhelmed and about to lose, we fade to black / chapter break, and he's somehow overcome all three opponents, drug their unconscious bodies a considerable distance, transported them via air car to the hospital, set them all up in observation bays, and begun treatment...in a fucking break between paragraphs?!?!? Oh, and Kirk and some random Security Lieutenant manage to overcome all 400+ other infected crewman on the Enterprise through the power of...something "off-screen" between chapters. Keeping in mind, that there's a lot of sitting around for a day or two for the things to starve inside someone to help out, whilst they are somehow completely safe from the other few hundred infected crewman on the Enterprise...or the billions of people on Vulcan...there's even a little battle between the USS Surak (a Vulcan-crewed ship) and the Enterprise, but when the Enterprise shoots back, they just leave...
  
  Based on the cover this must take place sometime before the Wrath of Khan, as Spock is still alive, and its definitely not post Voyage Home...but, for some reason, my mental image wouldn't shake the Original Series aesthetic. And, I would say, just don't read this one...like, at all.
• 
  Mike Crate

  Long before the Federation was born or humanity even hoped for the Stars the population of the Hydrilla sector were wiped out and an extensive study by a Vulcan led expedition is unable to explain why. There were however some strange deaths within the expedition and upon their return the relatives of Sarek pay him a visit with a gift found when excavating the ruins of the civilization. Meanwhile the Enterprise is returning the last of the expedition to Vulcan when there is a brutal murder, the pattern is repeated again and again even on Vulcan, slowly a madness spreads consuming rational and intelligent beings turning them into sadistic killers...
  Demons was a good read, I always enjoy stories that center on the Vulcan culture and to see part of Spock's extended family was interesting. You'll also recognize the well used scifi theme of alien possession and it's done in a clever way in the novel and never gets absurd. What adds a lot of depth is the writing for the secondary characters which is very strong and allows the main group not to be the focus of the novel, in many ways it's the Vulcans and Enterprise security personnel who make the story shine rather than Kirk and Co.
• 
  Tommy Verhaegen

  The story plays for a big part on board of the Enterprise, for the rest on Vulcan. Spock and Kirk play very important parts while Doctor McCoy looks a bit pathetic. Up to the end where roles change due to the virus.
  A virus worse than COVI-19, that is for sure. A pademic on a galactic schale, with death assured for every living being. A beatiful woman that for once is not smitten with Kirk but drives a split between Bones and Spock. Spock's parents also play a big be at very unexpected part.
  Well-written, in the tradition of the TOS Star Trek series.
  Action, fear, tension, romance, humour, death and destruction.
• 
  Christopher

  I have not been a Trekkie for very long; I began The Original Series in January, moved on to The Animated Series, watched the The Original Series films, and am now currently on the fourth season of The Next Generation. Demons, the thirtieth release as part of the original Star Trek novels, is the first Trek novel that I have ever read, and I am impressed. I will begin by commenting on Ms. Dillard's writing style, clearly exemplified as soon as one begins reading the novel. "The afternoon rains had just ended, and the leaves, coated with tiny droplets, made the glade glisten like a jewel," as is found on the very first page of the novel. This is incredibly beautiful language that evokes incredibly beautiful imagery. Dillard is a fantastic writer who knows what she's doing, and I am very excited to read more of her material, such as her original vampire series, a The Next Generation novel titled Resistance, and Possession, which is a TNG novel that reprises the malevolent species of Demons. Demons does so much, in my opinion, for Trek fans; it calls back a great deal of Spock's family history, something of which TOS does very little; we even learn that Spock had an uncle named Silek, a character that I don't believe is either seen nor even mentioned on TOS. The novel is full of gut-wrenching suspense, constantly leaving its readers on the edge of their seats wondering what could possibly happen next, who is going to land into trouble, and so forth. It also becomes clear to the reader, given the plot of the novel, that one can never be sure which characters to trust and which not to trust, as the novel is full of surprises. Characters that were more or less silenced on TOS, such as Uhura, for example, are of great importance and do much to move the story forward, and the novel even has a few new characters that are easy to love, especially Anitra, a character that I love so much that I wish had been in the series, and although the novel does not explicitly mention Anitra's species, I think that, due to her abilities, she, like Troi of TNG, may very well be a Betazoid. Demons is well-written, features strong characters, and is very fast-paced and exciting, and for all of these reasons, I don't regret having chosen it as the first Trek novel to read, and I recommend it to any Trekkie who may be interested.
• 
  Daniel Kukwa

  Holy moley! This book simply launches into its exciting, tense, action-packed story...without any preamble, or apology for newcomers who might not be familiar with "Star Trek" in general, and Vulcan culture in particular. Dark as a pair of black socks from the Sears store in hell, this novel grabbed me by the throat and didn't let go until the end. The only thing wrong with it is the PREPOSTEROUS cover. What were the editors thinking?
• 
  Jarrod

  Fun romp with possession and the TOS crew plus Sarek, Amanda, Tomson, and a Mary Sue.
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  John Yelverton

  I really wish that this book could have been made into an episode. It incorporated the entire crew, while fully developing new characters. It was quite scary in places, and the pacing and inherent drama were spot on target.
• 
  Mathew Smith

  This books starts of very slow. So slow, in fact, that I almost put it down and moved along to one of the other three Star Trek books I have waiting on my bedside table. Thankfully, I pushed through the first third of the book because the last part more than made up for it with tons of action, adventure, science, and Doc McCoy! Yes, McCoy is the hero in this story.
  To me what really sets Star Trek books apart is they are not afraid to go into some pretty complex science. For eg, in this story they start testing the subatomic particles of brains and go into an explanation on the weights and densities of subatomic particles! Very cool. Combine some deep learning and deep thinking with some cheesy action/adventure and you've written a great Star Trek book. That is what I like about them. They are like the Big Bang Theory of their time. That show combines geeky science terms/ideas with great comedy - another fantastic combo.
  Back to the actual book; this story is a classic. An unidentified virus has infected an archeological mission. When the Enterprise arrives to help out the virus is spread throughout the ship...and nobody notices until they arrive at Vulcan for some R&R. When it is spread to the planet that is when someone stumbles upon the problem. At this point the virus is spreading so fast and so far that the entire universe seems doomed. Of course, the virus spreads exponentially until it seems only two characters are lucid enough to save the galaxy - McCoy and Spock! As in classic Star Trek format they come up with a far out in the stars idea (I won't spoil what it is exactly) involving bombing the entire planet....it could save the universe or fail and killl millions. What do you think happens?
  For more of my reviews check out my blog
  www.bookwormsfeastofbooks.blogspot.ca
• 
  Oleta Blaylock

  I wasn't sure I was going to like this book initially but I stayed with the story. Finally fell into the story and then couldn't put the book down until it was finished. This story is little different I guess. Yes, the crew of the Enterprise has had other aliens take over their minds and some of those aliens weren't very nice. This madness that takes over most of the Enterprise and parts of Vulcan is subatomic and it is intelligent. These intelligent things are sadistic. They thrive on torture and terror. It takes that crew a little longer than normal to find out what is going on since Vulcans normally are peaceful and no one wants to believe they would torture and kill anything.
  
  The Vulcan's find these sadistic parasites in a long dead star system which they have been investigating for 40 years. At first the deaths are attributed to accidents but some of the Vulcans that are free from the influence of the entities start to ask questions and they notify Starfleet of problems. Most of the expedition goes back to Vulcan with most of the artifacts that have been uncovered. The few Vulcans that remained behind to finish up are picked up by the Enterprise. It isn't long before there is a murder aboard the Enterprise. Things go downhill from there.
  
  I think that hardest part of the book to get through was when Sarek is possessed. Amanda and Sarek are two of my favorite characters and to read as Sarek starts to make Amanda miserable is very difficult. Then Amanda is possessed and she almost takes over Spock. The story can get very disturbing the farther you get into it.
  
  The last few chapters Spock and McCoy discover the cure, quite by accident and the crew of the Enterprise and Vulcan go back to the way they have always been. Short a number of crewman and of course dead Vulcans.
• 
  Alyce

  I picked this book up for a light, interesting read and had to put it back down before finishing it because -nothing- made sense and well... It also sucked.
  
  The plot tries so hard to be interesting but really just ends up choppy and all over the place. The original character is an annoying mary-sue who beats spock at chess, makes scotty swoon with her engineering prowess and humiliates Kirk for no reason other than to show how smart she is while still somehow getting him to like her?
  
  Oh and there's this wierd scene where Spock's mother is in danger and he sends the mary-sue off to Kirk and McCoy where she just... decides to go ham on the drinks. I'm not kidding like dear- there's a literal crisis why are you not informing them? People could literally die but instead we reeeallyy needed to jam in a cute bar scene to establish how all these characters fall all over her for literally no reason. And McCoy, honestly buddy c'mon how creepy and gross can you be over the span of one book??
  
  I could go more into all the shades of crap this book is but honestly why waste the time? Save your money.
• 
  Craig

  Well just in case people think I hate new female characters because I despised Lt. Piper so much, here's a great example of two strong female characters who aren't annoying, who can be talented and contribute to the solution but are not always the solution like she is. Anitra and Thomson are two strong female characters introduced in this book who play an important part, who completely overshadow the other supporting characters like Sulu, Uhura, Scotty and the like but are not so in your face about it (honestly was Chekov even there until the end). The story was meh but I liked some of the solutions and approaches but the timeline got a little muddy at the end so I was a little lost there. Overall, though, I liked the book as it was short and sweet and McCoy played a prominent role so I enjoyed that part about it.
• 
  Patrick Hayes

  Something is possessing people's bodies.
  
  A group of Vulcan archaeologists leave Beekman's Planet aboard the Enterprise and "things" happen. However, some members beam down to Vulcan where even Spock's parents are not immune to the influence of something evil.
  
  A nice possession story that had me turning pages quickly to see what would happen next. I was surprised at which of the big three characters was absorbed so suddenly into the dark group. The characters of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are really well written, with their dialogue a perfect match to their screen personas. The new character is also a lot of fun, especially with what she does to some Kirk and Spock. I also enjoyed seeing so much of Amanda and Sarek, with both heavily involved with the story.
  
  This comes across as a missing episode of the classic series because it doesn't require much of a budget. Fun, solid read.
• 
  F. William Davis

  I always get excited when a story starts with an archaeological dig, but almost invariably this doesn't form much more than the seed of the story. Surprise! An archaeological expedition finds some relics that unleash an ancient terror. Well, aside from the cliches this is actually a top notch story.
  
  Murder and mayhem. Demonic possession. Lust confused with love. Spock and McCoy on each other's nerves. It's a recipe that sounds fairly average but the meal is delightful.
  
  Unexpectedly, this story included some early experiences of Sarek and Amanda's "romance" which was a pleasant surprise and was handled well. It was a bit of a jarring jump back in time from the main events of the book but nonetheless pleasant.
• 
  Taaya

  A lot of things in this book are really annoying. The Mary Sue character that everybody loves, no matter how immature or even insulting she acts. And she's a better telepath than every Vulcan, can do a technician's job she never even heard of faster than the chief engineer, beats Spock in chess,... She can do everything and every man finds her attractive. Honestly? Insufferable!
  
  And then killing of people of colour? Somehow all the non-Vulcan dead we learn of are all either Asian or Arabian. That's a bit... Well, it smells fishy.
  
  But in the end the plot wasn't bad and it was nice to learn more about Spock's family.
• 
  Kat Steinke

  Having read Bloodthirst first, this seems like a slightly more meh take on a similar theme (infectious whatsit makes people murder others). The structure seems a little confusing in the beginning, the original characters feel a bit less solid, and the eventual explanation holds up less to me.
  Still, there were moments I really enjoyed, and I am a *sucker* for any worldbuilding bits about Vulcan.
• 
  Kieran McAndrew

  A Vulcan expedition returns from Beekman's Planet in the Hydrilla Sector with millennia old artefacts.
  
  As the artefacts open, ancient life forms take control of Vulcan and are soon bent on destruction.
  
  Dillard's novel reads as if the 'Enterprise' is a victim of the Body Snatchers in this eerie adventure.
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  Graham

  Having been a fan of the TV series since I was about 12, I decided to read this Star Trek adventure. It's the first time I've read one. It's a captivating story and the dialogue of the characters of Spock, Kirk and the others is completely believable and in- character. Well worth a read for any sci-fi reader, Treckie or not.
• 
  Laura Gallant

  I really liked this one. Very fast paced. Involved Vulcan, Sarek and Spock (my fav characters and setting). My only complaint is was that Bones was useless mess in this book, but I guess that's not so different from the show.
• 
  Wetdryvac

  Huh. One of those books that turns out not to be as nifty as my eighth grade self thought - but still a good bit of fun, and some interesting ideas.
• 
  Maija

  I was disappointed by this book, it had a strong start, but I lost interest when Anitra was introduced.
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  Kristyna

  My first time reading a Star Trek novel and I absolutely loved it!
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  Bradley

  Eh, typical Star Trek fare. Not bad. =)
• 
  Mark Bates

  Kind of a hurkyjerky read.