I just read the whole Rhihansu series and thoroughly enjoyed it! I am a Trekker from way back. I began my"love affair" with Star Trek back in the seventies, and I have been a fan ever since. The Rhihansu series by Diane Duane is an in depth look at Rhihansu(Romulan)society, with lots of action, adventure, and strong characterization.There are five books in the saga: My Enemy,My Ally, The Romulan Way, Sword Hunt, Honor Blade and The Empty Chair. The story arc is an ever deepening look into what happens when Kirk and his crew are pulled deep into a situation that could end with the destruction of Earth, and that of the Romulan home worlds. Ael, a Romulan renegade Commander, has been branded as a traitor by her own people. She, and crew who fly The ship Bloodwing become unsure allies of Captain Kirk and his own stalwart crew in a bid to restore not only her honor, but to restore the Romulan Star Empire back to it's former glory. Her government has fallen into the hands of treacherous people who care not at all for the people they rule, but only for their own "glory" and personal gain. The history of the Romulans, or the Rhihansu, as they call themselves is explored. The series tells the story of two crews who, in normal circumstances are sworn enemies. They work together to restore balance in a situation that could, if mishandled result in war between their peoples, and even the destruction of both Earth, and the Rhihansu home worlds. This is a story that explores what true honor is, who real friends are, and how sharp a sword betrayal can be. If you like strong characters who do more than just swoop about in star ships shooting things up, and want a plot that pulls you deeper and deeper in. If you want a story that will keep you engaged, and want to keep turning pages to find out what happens next, then I recommend not only the first book, but the whole series to you! I read the whole series over the course of a weekend, and was highly entertained. This is a good yarn. This is the kind of story that will draw you in. The characters come alive, the more you read about them. This is a good read, and great Trek! A must for fans, and I expect even non fans will find this engrossing.
This book is one of my favorite rereads: I can't believe I've never reviewed it. Duane's Trek novels come from a parallel universe where Trek, and its classic characters, are better than they actually were - in a way, truer to canon than canon, pure Roddenberry. There's a profound joy to her work: aliens are wonderful, exploration is amazing, everyone has the potential to become their best self. My Enemy, My Ally came from an era of Trek novels when really good writers could be tasked with expanding the universe established in the original series: it's of a piece with John M. Ford's The Final Reflection - a road not taken in fleshing out the Klingons. Duane here gives us a rich Romulan culture which fits much better with what we saw in TOS than the canon of TNG and later ever did: a people reserved but intensely passionate, a culture in decay, slipping from military honor to bureaucratic expediency. It's also an exploration of a slightly more whimsical, slightly more intellectual Kirk, by contrasting him with a Romulan woman who's perfect foil: his equal, and with no sexual tension between them. One of the strengths of the book is how the reader (well, me) could fall madly in love with the Romulan Commander while still believing that she irritated and disturbed the living hell out of Kirk. There's humor, horror, space combat, ground combat, psychology, culture, superb characterization, and a turning the cardboard-and-blinking-lights TOS into a real, fleshed universe. I love this book.
Do You like book My Enemy, My Ally (2000)?
This book (the entire "Bloodwing" series, really) is IMO the definitive EU examination of the Romulans. Written before TNG, the early books draw their cues from the depiction of the Romulans in the classic series episode "Balance of Terror". Both the honorable and worthy Romulus of old and the scheming, power-hungry "new Romulus" (that would come to dominate in TNG) draw their origins from this ep.Duane skillfully extrapolates from "Balance..." and shows us what Romulan society could have looked like (using Imperial Rome as a reference).As far as I'm concerned, Duane's books are as canon to understanding Trek as anything filmed.
—Greg Price
I have to admit this is a re-read, however, I read it about ten years ago, and I only remembered a chess game result from the second chapter, so I think we can call it square. I'm not usually a fan of Original Series, I prefer Next Generation or DS9, but this book grabbed me and didn't let go. It took a race that was at the point of writing incredibly unknown and expanded them and built a story of intrigue, and then weaved the Enterprise into it. The climax of the book was well executed, but the ending left me feeling a little flat.
—Steve
As a novel, it's okay. It's a standard adventure story within the Star Trek setting. It was nice to learn more about Romulans, but it felt like they were space natives with high-tech weapons. The assault portions are illogical and poorly written, and the final chapters are thrown together to resolve the plot. They were far too convenient and filled with technical improvisations that would take far longer to complete if it weren't needed in five minutes to resolve end the book. And then, of course, you have Kirk falling for another alien woman. Ugh.
—Generic Human
