An Empire in disarray, relations between the Klingons and the Federation on a knife’s edge, and a usurper who vows to make the Klingon Empire great again is attempting to seize power. And now, even foreign powers such as the Breen and the Kinshaya are getting involved!

After an amazing set-up in books one and two, it all comes down to this. How does the final book in the Prey trilogy compare?

John Jackson Miller has set a difficult task before himself. Up to now, the Prey trilogy has been wonderfully fresh and intriguing, with plot twists and turns that haven’t failed to surprise. Thankfully, in The Hall of Heroes, Miller sticks the landing, and even gets full marks from the judges, if you will indulge my tortured metaphor. Continuing the strong character work and tight plotting of books one and two, book three was an incredibly satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.

One character who is especially intriguing is Shift, seen in the first two books as the Orion assistant to Buxtus Cross. She would often be seen to adopt a guise along with Cross in order to lead the Unsung in their attacks on Klingons and other targets. However, with the death of Cross at the end of The Jackal’s Trick, Shift’s true allegiances are revealed.

Working for the Breen, Shift has been deep undercover in Cross’s “Truthcrafter” group, biding her time. I really loved this character. Shift’s motivations for joining the Breen and their true egalitarian society make a lot of sense for an Orion woman who has spent her entire life being valued mainly for her appearance. With their full-body suits, all Breen look alike, and that sort of anonymity would be very tempting to someone like Shift.

As with many Klingon tales, redemption is a motif that plays out in Prey. The crimes of the Unsung are at least partially redeemed by their actions in The Hall of Heroes, and by their continued service after the end of the story. Also, Kahless himself experiences a form of redemption, after having languished in isolation for many years. He once again has a purpose to serve, and his role as Emperor is once again valued by him.

A great lesson imparted in this story is the idea that history should be remembered. The Unsung became such a huge problem partly because they were forgotten by the Empire. Being discommendated made them less than nothing in the eyes of the Empire, and therefore beneath their notice, allowing them to be corrupted by Korgh and his confederates. If the Klingons had felt it necessary to keep track of them, it’s likely that these events would not have happened.

In the end, rather than seeing the end of the alliance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, Prey becomes a celebration of it. While the Federation and the Empire are both very different, it is in those differences that they find strength.

A beautiful cameo appearance by a character who had a direct hand in originally bringing the two powers together ties the story up nicely, and cements it as a perfect celebration of a half-century of Star Trek.

The end of the Prey trilogy, and the final part of The Hall of Heroes in particular, are supremely satisfying. I feel like it would be difficult to craft an ending that sufficiently matches the high notes of the previous two books, but John Jackson Miller has accomplished that and more.

The Prey trilogy continues in book two, The Jackal’s Trick! In this installment, Galdor (recently revealed to be the treacherous Korgh) has seized the House of Kruge through dishonorable means. His troops, The Unsung, believe they are being led by the legendary Kruge himself.

However, “Kruge” is actually a Betazoid con artist by the name of Buxtus Cross. Book one, Hell’s Heart, was an examination of the history of Galdor/Korgh, while this book takes a look at what led Buxtus Cross to where he is now.

Cross was a former Starfleet officer who had murdered a fellow officer. Escaping from prison thanks to some skilled “truthcrafters,” Cross now leads the troupe as they ply their schemes across the galaxy. “Truthcrafters” are basically con artists who use tricks and illusion to hoodwink unsuspecting victims — think Ardra from the TNG episode “Devil’s Due,” who used cloaking technology, transporters, and holography to convince the people of Ventax that she was their version of Satan, returned to collect on an ancient debt.

Cross, in his guise as Lord Kruge, has taken control of the Unsung in order to carry out Korgh’s scheme. However, he has his own goals in mind as well.

One thing that stood out to me in The Jackal’s Trick is the way in which the Unsung are manipulated. It has a very familiar feel to it. They have an unwavering belief in and support of Kruge, to an extent that is downright scary. It does, however, make a lot of sense. The Unsung are discommendated Klingons, which makes them among the most vulnerable in that society.

People who have had everything taken from them can be very easily manipulated. Weakened or oppressed people have always been easy targets of a charismatic leader. Germany’s disillusioned population after World War I fell under Hitler’s sway, and cults will often target new arrivals to a city because they are cut off from family and may feel lonely and vulnerable. In fact, the Unsung feels very much like a cult. One Klingon in this book says to Worf that it “doesn’t matter” that their leader may not truly be Kruge; he is nonetheless “saying the right things.” This all seems eerily familiar, which makes it all the more terrifying.

One thing that John Jackson Miller excels at is writing exciting, beautifully visual scenes. There are a few in this book that certainly jump out. At one point, the Unsung are attacking a conference being held at H’Atoria. During the battle, just when you think the Starfleet forces are completely outmatched, Riker issues a coded order and Starfleet troops emerge from beneath the water in a brilliant counterattack. Not only is the sequence amazing to imagine, but it is reflective of part of the story being crafted in this trilogy.

Throughout the narrative, Korgh and his schemes makes some headway, seeming to embarrass Starfleet and harm their standing in the Klingon Empire. However, at no point are they completely defeated, and the result is a sort of cat-and-mouse game in which both sides score their own victories from time to time. This makes for an exciting story in which you are never really sure what will happen next.

Also fun to see is Riker and the Titan getting some more “screen time.” The crossover aspect of these event trilogies are always a highlight, and it’s great to see the various crews working together to solve a problem. With the Aventine set to show up in book three, Prey is looking like a more epic story all the time. While maybe not on the level of Destiny, it’s still good to see these larger stories being undertaken by the novels.

As with Hell’s Heart – the first Prey novel – The Jackal’s Trick ends on a completely unexpected note. In this second book, we learned a lot about Buxtus Cross and what makes him tick, but in book three, it seems as though there is yet another mastermind behind what has been happening.

Her story is yet to come…