Dwellers in the Crucible is a 1985 science fiction novel by American writer by Margaret Wander Bonanno, part of the Star Trek: The Original Series franchise.

A bestseller, it was the author's breakout novel, retelling the central Star Trek story of the friendship between James T. Kirk and Spock through the experiences of two female civilians, Egyptian Cleante al Faisal and Vulcan T'Shael.

"[4]In a 2019 interview, Bonanno described the practice of taking hostages to maintain peace with an enemy power as "a custom that [goes] back to ancient times.

While Fantasy Review emphasised the regular cast's incidental appearance in the novel, they recommended it highly despite its "minor flaws": "Dwellers in the Crucible is an excellent study of values ... [t]here are things here to think about which belie the Star Trek image.

"[3] Later, recalling Dwellers in 2009, author Keith R. A. DeCandido would describe the impact the "cool" story had on him: "I didn't know that a Star Trek book could do that.

This had not been a difficulty in 1985, but by 1992 Paramount Pictures had introduced new standards for Star Trek tie-in novels, which outlawed extensive use of original characters.