This is one of the weaker Star Trek novels I've read.

There are editing problems- at one point there are 700 incoming missiles and then a few paragraphs later it is 200; Nurse Chapel gets named checked as being off screen doing something (quite plausible given the situation) with M'Benga and then a few pages later the person assisting him has a different name.

The space battles are not consistent with TOS cannon nor with themselves.

McCoy, in the first chapter or two, acts in a way that would actively sabotage the active diplomacy.

Spock's nonconsential mind melding with the aliens is inconsistent with the character.

On the plus side, the two alien species (and their characterization) are interesting and characters like Lieutenant Carolyn Palamas get some screen time. ( )

Dave Galanter takes pride of place in my command chair of TOS novels - Troublesome Minds wins bonus points for bringing back the horta, but Crisis of Consciousness is another enjoyable outing for the original crew. Spock does his mind meld thing again, this time with another alien race that are distant relations of Vulcans, and Kirk gets the Enterprise battered, again, while hunting a common foe. Bones is irascible during a crisis, Uhura showcases her brains away from the bridge, and Scotty bonds with Carolyn Palamas, the blonde from Who Mourns From Adonais? (and I didn't throw up because he stops short of flirting). I just love how Galanter knows the original series characters so well that he doesn't have to exclude/punish Kirk in order to focus on Spock or Uhura - everyone gets to play a role. His own creations are just as believable (love the space pirates that Kirk runs into).

The story is also cleverly written, drawing on the ethics of mind melding and Spock's decision to undertake Kolinahr, but also putting Kirk through his paces during an attack on the ship. The peaceful Maabas and the 'multividual' Kinisians face war over possession of an archaic WMD, with the Federation caught in the middle. Spock is held hostage, and Kirk must figure out how to get his first officer back and avert the destruction of the Enterprise and perhaps the galaxy at the same time. Another action-filled, authentic and absorbing 'extra episode' from one of my favourite TOS authors. ( )