While we here at CineMcCollough are proud of our strategy of random selection and review of the first fifty Pocket Books novels, it DOES have its drawbacks... take today's adventure, for example, where the dice of destiny selected "Time For Yesterday" by A.C. Crispin... which, while it is a sequel to the TOS third season (underrated) episode All Our Yesterdays, it is not a DIRECT sequel, because Crispin had an EARLIER novel that sets up THIS one, "Yesterday's Son" - which, because of the Dice of Death, we have not yet reviewed.
So, this IS a bit awkward, but a strategy is a strategy, so we are sticking to it. If you are not familiar, in the TOS episode on which this is based, McCoy and Spock travel back in time on the planet Sarpeidon, soon to be destroyed by a supernova, and encounter the mysterious and beautiful Zarabeth, a political prisoner exiled to a frozen wasteland. We the reader are encouraged to, shall we say, fill in some gaps from that episode, and learn that Zarabeth gave birth to Spock's son at some point thousands of years ago... and that son went on (presumably in the first book) to become a king or chieftain in ancient Sarpeidon.
But NOW, we learn that the Guardian of Forever (from the rightfully celebrated episode The City on the Edge of Forever) is malfunctioning, and Spock and Kirk both know that, for whatever reason, Spock's son on ancient Sarpeidon may be the only one that can fix it... so off to Planet Gateway to travel back for a family reunion!
If the above doesn't make a ton of sense, don't fear, the book does a better job explaining things, for the most part. Give us a listen, then give it a read - or do it in the opposite order, if you like!