Open Secrets is the fourth volume in the popular Star Trek: Vanguard novel series, taking place concurrent with the original series and chronicling the events concerning a starbase in a remote region of space called the Taurus Reach and an operation to unlock the mysteries of a genome and technological remnants of an ancient and extremely powerful race. That is Vanguard’s premise at its most basic; it says nothing of the complex politics and military ramifications involving several races, including the Klingons and Tholians. Popular Trek author Dayton Ward takes the reigns solo on this volume, writing the volume based on a story by himself and his usual writing partner, Kevin Dilmore. Open Secrets picks up in the aftermath of the previous volume, Reap the Whirlwind. Starbase 47 commander, Commodore Reyes, has leaked top-secret information on Operation: Vanguard, leading to a court-martial and trial. The Klingons begin to make bold moves into the Taurus Reach, and intelligence office T’Prynn faces a psychological battle that will change her life forever.
Open Secrets resolves a few dangling plot threads from the previous books in the series, and as is typical for an ongoing narrative, leaves a few more. Ward’s writing style is straightforward, with lean prose and solid pacing that, for the most part, briskly takes the reader through a lot of territory. Open Secrets has a rather large scope, another hallmark for the series; not only covering a number of characters and locales, but over the course of months. As with his previous entry in the series, Summon the Thunder, you feel like you’ve read through an entire season worth of material by the time you are done with the novel. It is a credit to Ward as a writer that the novel, for the most part, rides along smoothly. Only in a couple of parts does the plot drag a bit. For example, T’Prynn’s internal, dream-like struggle gets repetitive and then is resolved rather abruptly. This is probably just a nitpick, and is not that bad considering her current character arc reaches its conclusion.
Ward has done another great job in the latest Vanguard entry; he has a love for the era and it shows. He is able to evoke a variety of drama in this novel: court room, political, military, diplomatic, and does it with ease. New station commander, Admiral Heihachiro Nogura, is very well fleshed out and is wisely developed as a very-much different type of officer than Reyes. Open Secrets continues the very high quality for the Vanguard series, and thankfully we only have to a wait a few more months until volume five, Precipice.
Rating: A
