Boldly Reading Book Club #5 – Their Finest Hour: Fire and Rain, Parts One and Two by Funngunner

Boldly Reading Book Club #5 – Their Finest Hour: Fire and Rain, Parts One and Two by Funngunner

Our next Boldly Reading Book Club selection is Funngunner’s Their Finest Hour: Fire and Rain, Part One and Part Two. The stories are both rated T. They take place during the ENT time frame.

Introducing Their Finest Hour: Fire and Rain, Parts One and Two

Xindi (Star Trek) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In canon, the Xindi attacked Earth and killed seven million people, and created a huge gash in the planet, stretching from Florida down and into South America. The attack itself was shown for less than a minute on television. In canon, the Enterprise crew deal with the aftermath.

But they weren’t on the ground.

The Characters

The cast is small, and easy to follow. There are, mainly, JJ Carmichael, Ariah Richards, and Seth McClusky, plus Admiral Emilio Alvarez. Carmichael comes across as a bit of a cocky soldier. Richards, as a competent one. And McClusky seems like the kind of guy who’s always pulling Carmichael’s bacon out of the fire. This time, that’s literally the case, as the characters realize that this is no training mission and something is horribly wrong.

In the second story, when the action shifts to survivors, a woman named Anne Ortega, and a little girl named Penda Uhura are followed. Sharp-eyed readers will recognize this name as being a possible (yet ultimately rejected) full name for Nyota Uhura.

Talking Points

In Part 1, Carmichael, Richards, and McClusky volunteer to go to the site of the devastation for the rescue and recovery operation. In Part 2, some survivors are followed, and the devastation is truly seen.  In particular, the Xindi Insectoid bombardier’s last moments are shown, to great, chilling effect.

What were the climaxes of the stories? Did they devolve to satisfactory conclusions?

What happens right after the curtain comes down on the story? Where would you take these characters next?

Author’s Commentary

While there is no specific commentary, there is a prequel book, A Sense of Honor.

Do these origins make sense for these characters? 

Discussions

Miranda Fave gave us –

• Book Club #5