Star Trek: The Eugenics Wars #1: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Reading this novel was like watching the prequel to one of my favorite movies, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. (In my opinion, the part where Khan puts the slimy Ceti Eels in Chekov's ear is classic sci-fi cinema!) Greg Cox, author of the bestselling Q Continuum trilogy (Q-Space, Q-Zone and Q-Strike), takes us back in (Star Trek) time to 1974, to the years leading up to the Eugenics Wars -- back to when the evil Khan was a four-year-old prodigy known as Noon.

Just like the classic television episodes, Cox effortlessly pulls readers in within seconds: "Captain's log, Stardate 7004.1. Under top-secret orders from Starfleet Command, the Enterprise is en route to the Paragon Colony on the planet Sycorax, to evaluate that colony's recent request to join the United Federation of Planets. At issue is one of the Federation's fundamental principles, a centuries-old taboo perhaps second only to the Prime Directive in its scope and sanity..."

Captain James T. Kirk and his crew don't know exactly what they'll find on Sycorax -- a planet that has had little or no contact with outsiders for more than 300 years, but they do know that the colony has been allegedly genetically modifying their children's DNA for generations. Before arriving at Sycorax, Kirk takes a crash course in eugenics by researching the very beginning of the Eugenics Wars -- specifically information concerning a top-secret operation known as the Chrysalis Project. The goal of the project was to create a society of super humans and then wipe out everyone else with bacteria that was harmless to the genetically modified.

Kirk's history lesson revolves around Gary Seven, a genetically enhanced undercover operative working for an advanced alien species; his "pet" black cat Isis; and his assistant, Roberta Lincoln. Their mission was to uncover the Chrysalis Project and make sure the genetic manipulation was stopped before humankind inevitably destroyed itself.

Although I highly recommend this book to all Star Trek fans, be warned of the torturously frustrating cliffhanger. The novel ends abruptly at a major turning point in the story. Cox has positioned the action to literally explode in the first pages of the second volume, and has left me dying to find out what happens to Kirk, Khan, and the Klingons. (Paul Goat Allen)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Even centuries later, the final decades of the twentieth century are still regarded as one of the darkest and most perilous chapters in the history of humanity Now, as an ancient and forbidden technology tempts mankind once more, Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise™ must probe deep into the secrets of the past, to discover the true origins of the dreaded Eugenics Wars — and of perhaps the greatest foe he has ever faced.

1974 A.D. An international consortium of the world's top scientists have conspired to create the Chrysalis Project, a top-secret experiment in human genetic engineering. The project's goal is the creation of a new super-race to take command of the entire planet.

Gary Seven, an undercover operative for an advanced alien species, is alarmed by the project's objectives; he knows too well the apocalyptic consequences of genetic manipulation. But he may already be too late. One generation of super-humans has already been conceived. Seven watches as the children of Chrysalis-in particular, a brilliant youth named Khan Noonien Singh — grow to adulthood. Can Khan's dark destiny be averted — or is Earth doomed to fight Singh a global battle for supremacy?