In the Star Trek original series, we were introduced to a genetically engineered “superman” named Khan Noonien Singh in an episode titled, “Space Seed.” Khan tries to take over the We jump ahead to the second Star Trek movie and see Kahn and his followers discovered by another ship which they take over and he sails forth to have revenge on Kirk. He mentions that his planet was devastated by the explosion of a neighbor planet, and his wife was killed by a grotesque desert eel, but we really don’t know much else about the 15 years he spent in exile. Until now.
Greg Cox took the few known facts and framed a story to tell us what happened and how Kahn and his slowly dwindling tribe of super humans survived the 15 years of exile. He has Kirk and his fellow senior officers visiting Ceti Alpha 5 to see if they could gather any clue about how Khan and his followers lived and survived there. They discover Khan’s hidden sanctum where he has left a journal chronicling the story of what happened to them from when Kirk left them there until the USS Reliant accidentally found them and they were able to escape.
The story is one of tragedy upon tragedy, and we see that Khan truly did reign in Ceti Alpha 5’s version of hell. Khan and his genetically engineered followers endure constant setbacks and adversity. First the local fauna are large and dangerous, and there are several attacks and casualties. Then, just when there is a bright hope beginning to emerge from their settlement, the explosion that destroys the neighboring world causes heartbreaking hardships that nearly wipe out everyone. Khan leads his people to a temporary sanctuary where they wait out the first frightening days until things begin to quiet down some, and then they spend the next 15 years living a marginal existence where their lives are only a hairsbreadth from death. They live on too little food and too little water and have to be on the watch for the Ceti eels, which kill many of their numbers over the years. The constant strain whittles away at Khan’s sanity. Finally, the last blow to him comes when some dissenters among his followers cause the death of the Marla McIvers, the Starfleet officer who loves him and went into exile with him. This is the start of a short and deadly civil war against his rule.
The author absolutely captures Khan in this story and presents him to us is such a way that you hate him and admire him all at once. You come to believe that only Kahn could have led his people through this series of incredible hardships and setbacks. By the end of the book you might find yourself beginning to feel a little sorrow for Khan. Rarely has a story been written that describes so completely and believably how an arrogant person with supreme belief in himself can be so thoroughly crushed and beaten down as this one does. And yet, in the face of everything, Khan maintains his belief in his own superiority and his desire for revenge on Kirk. You don’t have to be a Trekkie to appreciate this well written story about hardships meeting iron will. - Steve Cram
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