Star Trek: Rihannsu is a series of interlinked novels, written by Diane Duane and Peter Morwood, published by Pocket Books from 1984 to 2006. The series name was retroactively applied to the first novels with the release of new installments in 2000. A fifth novel was published in 2006.

Rihannsu refers to the Romulan species first introduced in the Star Trek episode "Balance of Terror". However, the Romulan culture and language depicted in the novels are Duane's creations. The novels exist outside the continuity of the Star Trek films and television series.

An omnibus published for the Science Fiction Book Club in 2000 is also titled Star Trek: Rihannsu.'

Production

My Enemy, My Ally (1984)

Diane Duane began formulating a story inspired by the episode "The Enterprise Incident" sometime before 1983. Duane was likewise inspired by the reputation of Enterprise's Captain James T. Kirk as a relentless ladies' man. She told Jeff Ayers in Voyages of Imagination (2006) that she wished "somebody would drop in a women" who would give Kirk "a run for his money." "As frequently happens with me, these two very different trains of thought somehow wound up … running on parallel." The character that would later become Romulan Commander Ael, Kirk's foil, emerged soon after, as did the concept for My Enemy, My Ally.

Reception

C. J. Anders, of io9, said Duane's novels gave the "pointy-eared warriors" a complex backstory, and a believable world "more so than what was explored in the television series or the film Star Trek: Nemesis. Dan Gunther, host of Literary Treks from Trek.fm, lauded Duane as a master world builder, and for "creating such an interesting and vibrant culture, as well as telling a hell of a good story while doing so."

Richard Arnold, Gene Roddenberry's assistant, stated Roddenberry objected to the depiction of the Romulans by Duane and Moorwood. Arnold also stated Roddenberry attempted to "remove" The Romulan Way from publication.

The third novel begins with an editor's note explaining the Rihannsu novels were meant to stand apart from the Star Trek films and television series.

{| class="wikitable"

!

!Title

!Author(s)

!Date

!ISBN

|-

|1

|My Enemy, My Ally

|Diane Duane

|July 1984

|

|-

|2

|The Romulan Way

|Diane Duane and Peter Moorwood

|August 1987

|

|-

|3

|Swordhunt

| rowspan="3" |Diane Duane

| rowspan="2" |October 2000

|

|-

|4

|Honor Blade

|

|-

|5

|The Empty Chair

|28 November 2006

|

|}

Omnibus editions

Star Trek: Rihannsu (2000) was a Science Fiction Book Club exclusive.