Star Trek – Memory Prime

Spock walked back to the interface console.  He inserted his hands.  Kirk winced as he saw Spock give a final push to make sure the leads were embedded directly in his nerves.  Then Spock went rigid.

It has taken me so long to read Memory Prime (#42 Pocket, #16 Titan) (1988) that I can barely remember the beginning, and that really saddens me because I was really looking forward to reading a novel by Gar and Judith Reeves-Stevens.  Why? Well, because they wrote the ‘Shatnerverse‘ novels and I’ve heard good things about them.  I wanted to enjoy Memory Prime because that means I’d be looking forward to all the other novels they have written… unfortunately Memory Prime was…

… boring …

The cover is horrible and while it contains elements of the plot it’s almost completely unrelated to what actually happens.

There, I said it.  It bored me, I simply didn’t want to pick it up.  When I read a few good books in a row nothing can stop me, Memory Prime brought me to a screeching halt.

A while ago a lady commented that the early novels were the best and that she lost interest as the Star Trek novels lost that little bit of special something, perhaps a bit of heart that the more amateur fan authors nurtured, a little bit of joyous play instead of the little too serious veneer of the professional author.

Memory Prime  is well written, but in my opinion paced poorly.  It took three quarters of the book to actually get going, I was reading a couple of pages every couple of days but I really couldn’t find the motivation to keep reading until I hit the turning point and the ‘action’ started.  The final sequence itself was full of good characterisation and then… perhaps a bit of Tron?  I felt Spock’s ability to ‘dive’ into the computer was a little contrary to the ‘canon’ they had set up in the novel, it felt clumsy and lazy.

I’m getting ahead of myself again.

Memory Prime on Memory Alpha

Unsurprisingly neither Memory Alpha or Memory Beta have a detailed summary I can link to… Perhaps other people also feel that nothing much of anything actually happens?  I’m also not going to write a summary because I can’t remember enough of it.  Which having taken a peak at the goodreads page seems to be a recurring theme.  As a side note, who keeps rating the Star Trek novels so highly on goodreads?  Even the bloody awful ones often end up with a stirling 3 stars, do people just randomly go through series of books and rating them without reading them?  Thinking about it, I really wouldn’t be surprised.

The big problem with Memory Prime is the sheer number of dead ends in the narrative, and although I guess the authors were trying to deliberately obfuscate and try to make it like a ‘real life detective story’, but still many of the digressions just feel like a waste of time.  This also goes for the characters that get developed, I don’t feel particularly invested and I certainly don’t feel the story is any richer for their inclusion.  The narrative seems complex for complexities’ sake… not for the bettering of the narrative.  In some ways this is what Diane Duane does, but done badly, and at least the fleeting characters have some use in progressing the narrative and don’t feel like cheap filler.

Speaking of Diane Duane her lore regarding the Romulans is referenced in Memory Prime.

Another issue with Memory Prime is that much there are far too many characters with ISS (inexplicable stupidity syndrome)… the plot wouldn’t function about it.  Just when you think a character couldn’t overlook another key plot point because it’s so blindly obvious, they defy your expectations and fail… badly.  As you know, I hate HATE, ISS, it’s just simply bad and lazy writing.

Screen cap from review on goodreads by ‘Robin’.  Do they ship them? I think they do.

The main plot involving the computer intelligences was actually pretty endearing, at least when you were reading about their thoughts, it was a fun addition to an otherwise dull novel.  I really liked the different characterisations of the intelligences which was related to what they had been originally or how old they were.  However Spock interfacing with the machines despite not having any of the training / equipment / implants was hard to swallow especially since it had been built up that only the people with the implants could do that and they were proud of that.

Which reminds me.  The whole subplot with Spock being arrested with absolutely no evidence and the (female) commander with a chip on her shoulder just deciding she was going to ignore any protocol and threaten everyone because she was in control now?  Literally half the tedium of the book would be cut out if that character wasn’t so contrived.

I guess what is really, truly annoying about this book is that it’s written ‘well’ but the the content is poor.  You can tell, especially once the action starts that Gar and Judith are good writers but have settled on the most mediocre content.  The fact it’s ‘well written’ is the only reason it’s not getting a 1/5.

2/5 – as exciting as scanning for iridium.

Star Trek – Battlestations!

I’m not going to let him work our windward Piper, bring the jib sheet in two pulls.  You left it too free.”

Always the cut.  Always the barb.  Why?  Didn’t he have enough laurels to sit on?  Not ten people in a million had his status.  Why pick on me?

But as I glared at the captain, ire mixed with a stab of sympathy for him…

Irritation.  Disgust.

That is my overall feeling when reading about Lieutenant-now-Commander Piper, and the strong desire to put the book down shortly after picking it up.

Battlestations! (#31 Pocket, #  Titan) is Diane Carey’s sequel to Dreadnought! 

Once again the adventures of one Piper nee Mary Sue is the last novel in a group of 10 that I had to read, and the prospect of reading another  adventure of Piper the cringe inducing wasn’t very attractive.  Now, I feel I was pretty magnanimous when I reviewed Dreadnaught!, these novels just aren’t for me… perhaps a younger me would have loved them, but not now and I can’t be forgiving now that I have read two of them.

From the outset Battlestations! is ridiculous.  The events occur mere weeks after the events of Dreadnaught! although Piper (Carey?) seems to have a weak grasp on what weeks actually means and Piper is on a sailing ship, on earth, with James T Kirk on whom she has a sizeable crush.  Dr McCoy is on the schooner (named Edith Keeler) presumably to stop any potential cheating on their respective Vulcans.  Suddenly, Kirk is whisked away on charges of stealing transwarp technology, brave Piper then has to sail the schooner (not before assaulting a number of security personnel) to a rendez-vous point where she meets up with old pals Scanner, and Merete and her new command the Tyrannosaurus Rex soon renamed S.S. Banana Republic (because renaming a ship is your first concern right)?  She also meets Spock later who informs her that Sarda (her pet Vulcan) is with the traitors who have stolen the transwarp technology.

The motley crew (Piper is in charge of course, even of Spock and McCoy) upset Klingons (while undercover in a bar on a technologically backwards planet) but eventually are joined by Kirk (having got off being arrested for stealing transwarp technology?).  They storm a research facility save(?) Sarda, get captured, watch as Spock and Kirk exchange deep and meaningful looks after they have been captured, get attacked by Klingons (again).

The moral repugnance of the main traitor is underlined as not only is she trying to sell of the transwarp technology to the highest bidder (causing an interstellar scramble) but also used a dangerous drug to knock out Enterprise’s crew, take control of the Enterprise and install the transwarp drive in her.

But.  That’s.  Not.  All.

Piper the ever annoying manages to damage one of the nacelles with the Banana Republic, she and her crew then get on the Enterprise and save the day, however the day is not saved as Klingon, Romulan and other powers start trying to take control of the crippled Enterprise.  A firefight ensues where Kirk orders the transwarp drive be repurposed as a weapon and used on the enemy ships, with… somewhat devastating effects.  After what seems like an eternity the cavalry come to save the day and finally the end of the book is in sight.

Still.  Not.  All.

Bonus(?) comedy chapter to prolong the reader’s suffering longer.  Piper is going to go sailing with Kirk again, she’s going to remain on the Enterprise, and Scanner video’d her unfortunate veil dance and initial harassment by the Klingons.  Then, when she goes to get some sleep, Scotty comes in because she broke his ship.

End.

There.  Now you don’t have to read it.  I’ve spared you from the incessant Mary-Sue-ing, the bad writing, the ridiculous contrivances, and ISS (Inexplicable Stupidity Syndrome).  And lets face it, the universe must have come down with ISS, because that’s the only way Piper(Carey?) could ever be the brightest bulb in the box.

I’m not alone!

Now, in my review of the previous book, I gave it/Piper/Carey the benefit of the doubt.  Now that I’ve had to suffer two of these unfortunately unforgettable books, I’m less inclined to play nice.  It’s getting a 1/5 (instead of Dreadnought!’s 2/5), I can’t handle the sheer amount of utter tripe I’ve had to read from this author so far.  Apparently the other ST novels she’s written are better, and from a fellow cynic!

And you know, it isn’t just a dislike of first person narratives.  I mean, I don’t particularly like them or dislike them as a narrative style… but as you know I’m picky, fussy, and critical and I just want books I read to be written well.  Even if you overlook that Piper is an awful character, even avoiding the stigma of the term Mary-Sue, both Dreadnought! and Battlestations! are terribly written.  They are simply badly written, poorly structured nonsense that frankly shouldn’t have been published.

“… hair fell around my face as I stared at the floor, cloaking me from their eyes.  I’d have liked to think of my hair as golden, but somehow it never got past pyrite.  The worse the situation got, the browner my hair felt.  Even after all those weeks under earth’s sun… 

How did my hair get into this?”

This is the level of inanity ladies and gentlemen, and this is frankly what I hate.  I really, really don’t care about this girl’s thoughts, I don’t care one iota.  I don’t care about her hair, I don’t care about her various insecurities or about how much she idolizes Kirk.  I don’t even want her reasoning for anything because it is flawed and silly and just screams ineptitude.

I really don’t want to watch as perfectly acceptable characters have to be shotgun to this girl idiot who can only exist in the position she is due to obscene plot contrivances.  One part that really irked me (one of many) was they were trying to break into the computer of the Banana Republic that Spock and Kirk had put on autopilot.  Why were they trying to break into the computer?  Because Piper doesn’t like being manipulated, also Carey has to show that Piper can out think Spock.  Everyone is amazed that Piper out thought Spock and nobody else could have come up with such a easy way to bypass the computer… after all –

“Machines are idiots.  They’re marvelous tools, but they’re stupid.  You know why they don’t put legs on computers?  Because they’d walk off a cliff if you told them to.”

Wonderful.  Thank you for you insight.  You’re fabulous Piper.  I am surely enriched by your words.  Please carry on. ((She hasn’t heard of the three laws of robotics then??))

The only down side to Piper being designated a Mary-Sue is that it gives you a false hope that she’d die at the end of the story.  Alas, she remains fully alive to the end and beyond.

Unlike the goon she disintegrates with a Klingon disrupter because she “needs to be taken seriously”.

Apparently Carey has been very open about Piper being a Mary-Sue character, well done Carey, you sold two sub par stories and got a nice little pay cheque out of it, you also ensured that there would be no further Star Trek TOS books with a focus on a main character NOT of the main cast, since after these two sorry excuses a ban was put in place prohibiting them.

1/5 – “Aw, that stinks” quoth a character with a brain cell.

Star Trek – The Romulan Way

“But if Intelligence learned of what you have just told me, hru’hfirh?”  It struck Arrhae even as she said it that the question was unnecessary, one with an obvious answer.  She was even more right than she guessed.

“Then they could have learned from only one source, and would also learn – from a similarly anonymous source – that my so-trusted hru’hfe is a spy for the Federation, suborned by her late master tr’Lhoell,” said H’daen silkily.  “Tell me, whom would they believe?”  Then he swore and scrambled to his feet with his hands reaching for her shoulders, for Arrhae’s face had drained of colour so fast and so completely that he thought she was about to faint.  “Powers and Elements, Arrhae, it was a brutal answer to the question, but I didn’t mean it!”

The Romulan Way (1987) by husband and wife team Diane Duane and Peter Morwood, is a novel of two distinct parts which is equally fascinating and frustrating.  Fascinating because I love Duane’s Romulans and the thought that went into describing their leaving Vulcan and the subsequent birth of the Rihannsu culture; frustrating because the alternating ‘story’ and ‘history’ chapters cause a ‘stop/start’ narrative which makes it difficult to settle into the story.

I feel those small figures at the bottom feature on many movie posters and book covers from the 1980s.

I honestly do love to read novels by Diane Duane (no experience of Peter Morwood at time of writing), but sometimes I do have to be in the right mood for them.  Subsequently, I didn’t pick this book back up for nearly three weeks after my surgery.  The reason?  The structure really bothered me, I really didn’t get on with the alternating chapters even though I could see the reason to them.  I think they needed to be there to set the ground work for Duane’s Romulans – her Rihannsu.  In order for her story to make sense and I think at this point to set herself up for sequels with her rogue Romulan Commander ‘Ael’, she needed to explain her Rihannsu history.  Since I doubt the powers that be would allow her to produce an independent non-canon Romulan/Rihannsu history book, the necessary history needed to be slipped into a novel, hence The Romulan Way.  The novel in its entirety is really just ground work for further novels, not only is it setting up the Rihannsu past, it is also giving exposition of their culture, their symbolism, language and their ‘current’ political situation ending with Ael taking away an ancient symbol of her people because she didn’t believe they deserved it any longer – they had become too dishonourable.

Memory Alpha in depth summaries

The ‘story’ is quite small scale for Duane, which is necessary since she and Morwood, were putting so much history in.  The blurb at the back of the book describes The Romulan Way as a ‘startlingly different adventure’, although it seems to be more referring to the history aspect, the story narrative itself is also quite different.  For much of the book the characters are all very small.  They aren’t larger than life heroes like Kirk or heinous villains – even McCoy is subdued.  Instead, the characters are fighting their own mostly inconsequential battles, making small overtures, small actions which in the scheme of things for the most part don’t have repercussions.  The main character Arrhae or Terise is one such character.  She is an extraordinary woman – no doubt – but she is just an intelligence officer who hadn’t made a report in two years while undercover as a Romulan.  She works as a housekeeper in a minor house, having worked up from the status of a slave.  She’s been changed so that she looks Romulan, and genetically changed so that she now bleeds green but she is just a Terran human.  Arrhae/Terise has been undercover for ten years living a quiet but hard life, but because of her long silence, Intelligence wants to pull her out, fearing that she’d ‘gone native’ and instigates a plan involving McCoy’s capture in order to make contact with her and bring her back to Earth.

For her part, she doesn’t want anything to do with it.  Her conditioning is so strong she is more Romulan than Human now, but McCoy’s peril at the hands of Romulan justice rouses her to continue her work for the Federation.  Of course, nothing much actually happens of much import in her sections of the story.  Backed up by the history sections, her master’s (and her) actions are explained, but Terise (or more commonly Arrhae) herself is mostly concerned with trying to live her everyday life.  At times it may as well have been ‘day in the life of a house keeper’ (although it is much more interesting than The Remains of the Day).   As such…. it’s somewhat difficult to give a summary of the story without basically telling you what happened blow for blow.

Again what I really liked was Duane/Morwood’s transient characters, the ones that fleetingly visit the narrative, and exit on their own business never to be heard of again.  This I find a real mark of an accomplished writer since there are rounded characters that the author doesn’t feel the need to ‘make a main character’ just because they’ve spent time creating them.  These fleeting characters are a bit of a theme in The Romulan Way however, punctuated with the final actions of an ensign who was only introduced a few pages previously.

I very much enjoyed the dynamic between Arrhae/Terise and her master H’daen.  Much of what you learn about H’daen is through Arrhae’s eyes, she is sympathetic to him and despite their differing status’ he is fond of her.  The end for them is very sweet I feel, and I am very much glad it ended the way it did, although I must admit I expected Arrhae to leave with McCoy since, from my perspective she was up against insurmountable odds.

Something that does bother me is that Arrhae/Terise will be significantly weaker than a Romulan woman (if they retain the strength of their shared Vulcan roots) and she will also be aging faster than the Romulans around her.  Romulans don’t have the lifespan of Vulcans, but they are still able to live some 80 years longer than humans.  Arrhae/Terise notes this a couple of times, so she is aware, but it doesn’t seem like a problem she (or anyone else) dwells on.

The Romulan Way is a good story and a great Romulan/Rihannsu history book.  It’s enjoyable once you get your head around the alternating chapters although perhaps it’s possible to read the history characters first and then read the story?  Perhaps that would be a more enjoyable way to read it?  Either way, if you’ve liked Diane Duane previously, you’ll like this novel too.  I’m not sure how much influence Peter Morwood had on this novel, since it reads like Diane’s hand throughout.  Although I’ll need to read the rest of Diane’s series of Rihannsu books to be sure, I do think that you need to read  this one to make sense of the rest, especially since Ael’s actions at the end are sure to have ramifications for future books.

5/5 – You should read this, mnhei’sahe.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention, a glossary is included at the back to help explain those pesky Rihannsu terms which are untranslatable into English!

Star Trek – TimeTrap

Kirk’s eyes were slowly growing accustomed to the light.  He squeezed them shut, forcing out the tears, and opened them again more slowly.  He had been right: he was surrounded by Klingons.

So Klanth had won.  Kirk realized immediately what must have happened.  Some of the Enterprise Security team had been knocked unconscious in the same way he had been, and the Klingons had been able to overpower the rest and take them prisoner.

There just hasn’t been enough Kirk recently, I thought to myself.  I need more Kirk! This led me to jumping ahead to Time Trap (#40 Pocket, #11 Titan) (1988) by David Dvorkin.  It just happens that this was first released in June 1988 – it was released in the month I was born!

You might remember that David Dvorkin also wrote The Trellisane Confrontation which was released four years previously in 1984.  There are similarities in that ‘the big bads’ are the Klingons, the story is quite small in scope, and although Kirk is treated as a main character (yay!) Dvorkin finds something that he can criticise him for (boo!). 

I actually enjoyed Time Trap quite a bit, even if at alternate times I had this super anxiety and periods of utter annoyance.  Mostly it had to do with Kirk’s characterization, some of which is explained away but I do just think that Dvorkin wants to punish Kirk somehow and it’s not kinky either!!

Anyway Time Trap uses the events of the episode The Tholian Web to explain the strange phenomena that Kirk and his crew encounter.  While on route to a Starbase for some much needed R&R they pick up a distress signal from the boarders of Tholian space.  Naturally the Enterprise investigates the distress signal and finds that it is coming from a Klingon ship which appears to be breaking apart in the center of an unknown spacial disturbance.  The Klingons refuse aid, but Kirk wants to know what they are doing on the boarders of Tholian and Federation space and decides to lead a security team to board the Klingon ship in order to take the commander prisoner.  They beam onto the crippled ship, but almost immediately the ship takes catastrophic damage and the human boarding party and the Klingon crew are incapacitated.  In the meantime, the ship disappears from Enterprise’s sensors and Uhura is suddenly rendered unconscious at her station from an apparent electric shock.  Enterprise itself is attacked by the strange phenomenon, crippling it.  Spock follows orders from Starfleet to leave the area and proceed to the nearest star base for repairs, much to disappointment of the crew who want to look for their captain.  Spock suspects that all isn’t as it seems and proceeds with his own research.

Kirk however finds himself injured and surrounded by Klingons, but these Klingons are different from those he is used to dealing with.  He is told that a temporal phenomenon has resulted in him being thrown one hundred years into the future, where peaceful ‘New Klingons’ are the main faction in the Klingon Empire and have brokered peace with the Federation.  The ‘New Klingons’ are charming and scholarly and Kirk easily becomes friendly with them; this is especially true of a female Klingon who is a historian and who hero worships Kirk – Kalrind.  They quickly become lovers and Kirk finds himself utterly besotted.  However health problems continue to plague Kirk, as he often finds himself often collapsing and weak.

Another scholarly Klingon -Morith- explains to Kirk that he is needed to join these ‘New Klingons’ on a trip back in time in order to ensure that the ‘Great Peace’ come to pass.  On ‘returning to the past‘ it is revealed that everything isn’t as it appears.  An elaborate plot is revealed involving Klingon sleeper agents and an attack on the heart of the Federation – Earth, by Klingons pretending to be part of a peace fleet.  Kirk himself is dying from injuries sustained on boarding the Klingon vessel caught in the disturbance, and the Klingons that were drugged -including Kalrind- are returning to their original selves and it is revealed Spock’s research paid off, as it was a massive cloaking device.  The Klingons are sent packing and McCoy puts Kirk back together again.

One of the things my partner said when I tried to explain Time Trap to him was that it sounded a lot more like a scheme that the Romulans would have come up with as opposed to the Klingons.  I kind of agree that it does seem a little too scheming for the Klingons we know, unless of course you take into account the Klingons from The Final Reflection and Dvorkin directly references parts of The Final Reflection, so I think we can safely say that this book fits in with that continuity and idea of the Klingons.

What I really liked in Time Trap was the ‘time travel’ aspect of it – not that there was any ultimately, it was all a trick, but I did like the thought that had gone into creating a believable scenario for both Kirk and the reader.  I liked how they gradually revealed the time travel scenario, and how because I knew that ultimately the Klingon Empire and the Federation would be at peace (and this is after the start of TNG) I could believe it.  I also managed to rationalise out Kirk’s periods of weakness and illness, putting it down to ‘oh it’s because he’s out of his own time, so that’s why he’ll need to go back to the Enterprise in the end‘, because I know I’ve read something like that before.  When Dvorkin used the time travel theory that they would succeed in going back in time because it had already happened, it was believable.  Kirk believed it too, so.. it all makes sense… right?  But all the while, you’re thinking about a couple of new characters that have been introduced… and Spock’s research, what is Spock’s theory?  Why did Uhura scream and keel over before the Enterprise was attacked by the ‘cloud’ in space?

I didn’t like Kirk’s relationship with Kalrind however.  It made me roll my eyes, really Dvorkin, you’re going to play up to that aspect of Kirk’s personality?  Initially, I thought that Kalrind of an interesting character, as a ‘New Klingon’ she was likeable and the backstory (forward story?) she gave about what it was like in this future was kind of strange but believable.  I liked that she had this aspect of idol worship to her… I didn’t like that the first time Kirk and Kalrind spent any time together at all they kissed and probably a bit more!  I think I was more angry that Kalrind ended up just being the  girlfriend than anything else.  She was interesting as an academic and really sweet, and it would have been fun to have a bit more to their relationship before they end up as an item.  To a certain extent Kirk’s malleability and Kalrind’s personality are all explained away as both of them are drugged – Kalrind has even been ‘reprogrammed’ herself to act the way she does.

I particularly liked McCoy’s characterization, it was just right.  He wasn’t the focus, but he was there in the same capacity as he was in the show and not sidelined by the author.  McCoy had quite a big role to play as regards the exposition of plot and making it clear that Kirk was actually dying from internal injuries and had been cured by medicines from the future.  Anyway, since there has been a Leonard drought recently, I was very happy to see him with an active role in the plot.

Spock was… how many male author’s choose to characterize him, although Dvorkin is a little more sympathetic and makes him slightly more than a talking computer.  In an effort to keep the mystery alive, Dvorkin doesn’t give any insight to Spock’s thoughts which, yes keeps you guessing somewhat however this could also have been achieved with changes to the narrative structure.

Time Trap was a little convoluted at times, which could have been solved with a bit of creative restructuring but on the whole it’s a relatively easy and enjoyable read.  I rather enjoyed being fooled as to the direction the plot was going (because, lets face it I tried to meta the story and for once it didn’t work!) and for that reason alone I’d recommend it!

There are lots of little scenes which are written rather well, and are worth reading the book for in my opinion, although for those who like a bit more introspection in their characters it might seem a little dry.  I’m going to give Time Trap the same score as The Trellisane Confrontation – 3/5 – because although I feel there has been an improvement to Dvorkin’s writing between the novels, I don’t think it is really enough to warrant giving it a higher score.  If you liked his previous book though, you will probably like this one.

3/5 – what a fabulous monobrow… I see Boris is no longer the artist?

Star Trek – Dreadnought!

“Put Piper on.”
Damn, I knew it, I knew it! “Pi-” My throat closed up.
“Star Empire, do you read?”
“P-Piper here.”
“Can you handle that helm?”
“Hell if I know, sir.”
“I can command you from h-“
The ship shuddered and lurched to starboard, pushed by a photon blast on the underside of the primary hull.

So, it was with trepidation that I picked up my final book in this selection of ten Dreadnought! (#29 Pocket, #29 Titan) (1986).   Disappointingly, books in this grouping (#21 to #30) have been majoritively misses (for me anyway) with a couple hits.  I got about half way through Dreadnought! and was ready to write a scathing review.  I wasn’t enjoying reading it, I didn’t like the style, I hated the main character, I despised the puerile dialogue… and then I thought… perhaps I’m reading this the wrong way?

I like well written books, and frankly I’ve been spoiled.  I mean, when you’ve found an author or two who just get everything right for you, you’re spoilt.  There is one particular author (not a Star Trek author) who just takes my breath away every time I read a new book by him, and damn it I want that sensation with more things I read!  Keeping this in mind, I took a step back from my own dislike of Dreadnought! and wondered who it was written for, who would like it, who would read this novel and dream they were lieutenant Piper.

It became so obvious then.  I’d been so unhappy reading it, holding it up against an impossible standard that I hadn’t given it a fair chance.  I hadn’t stepped back and thought that, well, perhaps I’m not really the intended audience, perhaps in its own way it is good, it’s just not what captures my imagination anymore.

Anymore?

Yes, anymore.  When I took a step back I realised that actually, actually I would have loved this book fifteen years ago.  A silly, awkward fourteen or fifteen year old who dreamed about being older, not realising that as an adult she wouldn’t be the same person, that she wouldn’t have that same mentality.  A girl who didn’t realise her glib remarks didn’t really do her any favours and that sarcasm wasn’t very flattering.  A girl who wasn’t interested in the latest boy band, but who idolised star ship captains, and elves, and fairies.  A girl who still secretly played make believe while running around her family’s land, making herself a main character in a myriad of games and make believe stories.  Could she rescue a borg drone from being a drone?  Yep, because she was special.  Find a magic lamp and make three wishes? Of course.  Somehow succeed against the odds, gain her peers respect, earn recognition?  As easy as breathing.

Yes, that little girl would have loved Dreadnought! and lieutenant Piper’s exploits. 

Oh, of course that isn’t going to get it completely off the hook, but once I realised some of this I started to be able to enjoy it (you might have noticed I’m a little bit mulish).

I guess my mind keeps coming back to that explanation of a Mary Sue; why they exist, what they represent, and I just get the feeling that (and I recognise I could be wrong) lieutenant Piper of Proxima may as well be called lieutenant Carey of ‘somewhere in the USA‘.  I very much think even if we discard the term ‘Mary Sue’, Piper is still a self-insert (made more likely by the rumour that Diane Carey modelled for the cover herself) and her adventures probably the outcome of many hours of play.  Carey herself says she was a first generation fan, she would have been what, thirteen or fourteen when Star Trek first aired?  It fits, doesn’t it?

Lieutenant Piper is like… the dream outcome for an awkward, dorky girl in her teens.   She isn’t one of the beauty queens or popular girls, but she’s still pretty enough to have a ‘lover’ right?  And everyone seems to love her, even though she hasn’t learned to love herself yet.  She makes friends easily, but importantly she makes mistakes with her relationships too… so she’s realistic to a teenage girl trying to make her way through the minefield of school and hormones.  Piper gets angry with herself, berates herself, asks herself why she’s being so stupid.  She makes those silly teenage comments that sound so clever to a child (what a come back!), but to an adult it makes you cringe a little bit inside (oh, why did you say that you silly girl!).  

Carey (or Piper, or both) realises that Kirk is off limits, after all no mere woman could come between Kirk and Spock (I caught all those little observations Carey, slash knows slash) so she creates her own Vulcan ‘Sarda’.  Sarda doesn’t look like Spock, his colouring is auburn hair and light eyes but he’s still a Vulcan and… also caught between two worlds.  Although he is fully Vulcan, he has a penchant for weapons design.  Piper drew attention to this, Sarda got ostracised by his fellow Vulcans, cue teenage angst.

This is naturally what will draw them together in the end – and Carey Piper will have a deep and meaningful bond with a Vulcan, just like Captain Kirk whom she idolises.  Now I completely understand her passion for Kirk, completely but good grief girl, stop making eyes at the Captain when you’ve got a Vulcan waiting in the wings (and a forgettable ex, that’s ok though).

Events move incredibly quickly, like a child recounting a story ‘and then this happened, then this, then suddenly – this!’ one minute she’s a cadet in the academy taking the Kobayashi Maru test, then she’s been made lieutenant on the Enterprise, then she’s on board and before she can change her clothes there’s an emergency.  Then she still doesn’t change her clothes (because she’s special don’t you know!) and then she breaks out, steals a shuttle type thing, gets caught by the soon to be bad guy, then escapes, then captains the dreadnought, then we’re all back home in time for an award ceremony and a buffet.  Later she’s going to go sailing with Captain Kirk and they’re both going to talk about what it’s like to be bonded close friends with a Vulcan.

It’s honestly ridiculous, I mean she wears a black jumpsuit instead of her uniform the whole way through.  Her group bunny hop down a corridor as a diversionary tactic.  The amount of contact between her and Sarda is nearing on indecent, and some of the descriptions of things – ‘orgasmic’ oh you naughty girl! – are far past appropriate!

It’s not so much a Star Trek story as a girl’s fantasy.  To be the one at the centre of the narrative (and it can’t be any other way written in the first person), to be accepted by people you admire, to work out and thwart a plot which threatens the galaxy AND manage to show that you listened in your social studies class as you talk about ideas like ‘big government’ and ‘civil liberties’.

That being said Diane Carey has made copious use of the Technical Manual, which gives the specifications for the Dreadnought class ship and the name Star Empire.  She also uses a couple of the flow diagrams which are in the technical manual that describe Starfleet hierarchy.  In addition to this, there are also two technical drawings at the back of the book which show two smaller ships / shuttles – a one man fighter ‘polliwog’ and a two man ‘arco attack sled’.

So… I guess although it’s ridiculous, thoroughly unbelievable silliness, I guess it isn’t totally terrible as long as you accept it for what it is.  Seeing that Carey wrote historical romance novels around this time, it makes sense that the Piper and this whole book should be written in this style.  Historical romances are aimed at women and the main characters are often just stand ins for the audience, and that’s what Piper is.  She’s making new friends and having encounters with men who are (in her world) possible romance options. 

Anyway, Dreadnought! has a lot of heart and despite not liking it, I’m going to give it a 2/5.  As I said, for what it is, it isn’t bad.  It’s not trying to be anything other than it is, which is a  simple teenage / young adult novel set in the Star Trek universe.

2/5 – because uniforms aren’t for main characters.

Star Trek – The Tears of the Singers

“Wait,” Maslin said, eyeing her curiously.  “You’re not like these vapid socialites.  What are you?”

She found it odd that he asked her what rather than who she was, but she ignored it, and answered, “I’m a Star Fleet officer assigned to U.S.S. Enterprise.”

“Impressive, if one happens to be awed by that institution.  But what’s a technocrat like you doing at one of my concerts, Madam Star Fleet?”

The Tears of the Singers (1984) (#19 Pocket, #39 Titan) was Melinda Snodgrass’ first published novel.  Snodgrass would later become a prolific writer and still writes today under both her own name and pen names.  Snodgrass notably wrote the script for for TNG’s The Measure of a Man, which was nominated for the Writer’s Guild Award for outstanding writing in a drama series.

The Tears of the Singers is overall a good book.  It’s well conceived and hints at the brilliant writer Snodgrass would become, however, it does regularly hiccup and suffer from an occasional heavy handedness which becomes a little wearisome.  Pacing is also a problem throughout this novel, which could be a symptom of Snodgrass’ immaturity as a writer and her difficulty in writing the quantity of characters she does.  Her writing also suffers somewhat from a certain ‘blandness‘, and it’s unfortunate that she should use a character concept similar to characters in  Diane Duane’s The Wounded Sky – when compared to Duane’s colourful language, Snodgrass’ falls short.

And that all sounds very negative I know, but I needed to get it out of my system first.

Saying all that, I need to stress that The Tears of the Singers isn’t a bad book, however unlike The Wounded Sky or The Final Reflection it doesn’t shine as bright.  When Snodgrass writes well, it’s inspired and she can get the image or the characterisation across quickly and easily… succinctly I guess?  Her characterisations are generally good, although at times a little cliched, and she does paint fine scenes with her words.  Her approach is a little formulaic and almost a ‘tick box’ Star Trek novel, but that might work in her favour a little bit as it keeps the plot moving though it makes it rather predictable all told.

Ah… the reason perhaps that I’m struggling here is because every time I think of something complimentary, I can think of two or three other things that really let the book down, and that is so frustrating!

The ‘Singers’ are pretty much these…

The Tears of the Singers is a thinly veiled eco-fable at heart, which is drawing particularly on the practice of seal clubbing – a particularly revolting ‘hunt’ (if you can even call it that) where men go out on the ice and club seals to death (or not, in some cases), in order to acquire meat and an unbroken pelt, sometimes under the guise of ‘conservation’.  The first major protests against the practice can be seen as far back as 1967, and in 1983 the EU (European Union) banned the import of white coat harp seal pup pelts (pelts from pups under two weeks of age).  More recently (2009) the EU has banned the import of all seal products, causing the value of pelts to fall from $100 to between $8 and $15 each.

Why would I go into all that?  Well, aside from standing on my soapbox, it’s because the crux of The Tears of the Singers is that hunters have been killing a seal like creature for the tears they shed at the moment of death, which solidify into gems which have become popular throughout the Federation with the wealthy… and you’d have to be wealthy since the small number of gems available fetch extortionate prices.  These creatures were deemed non-intelligent during a survey and thus are fair game to hunters greedy for easy money.  However we find out during the course of the novel that the survey of the planet and the Taygetians was cursory at best and that the creatures are in fact a people, devoted to singing a hymn of salvation for their people, bending time and space to protect their planet.  The hunters disrupt their song by killing the adults which causes their song to become discordant, causing a rift in space time, the rift of course is what causes Star Fleet to send the Enterprise to investigate the anomaly.

This however, is not the whole story.  Since this is a boarder planet between the Federation and Klingon space, the Klingons have also noticed the anomaly and sent two ships to investigate.  It just so happens that the leader of expedition is Kor, the same Kor as involved in the incident with the Organians.  Kor, it turns out, is having trouble with mutineers (even with a loyal captain on the second Klingon ship), who disagree with his more peaceful, co-operative approach.  Kor recognises Klingon shortcomings and realises that working with Kirk and his scientists would be the only way to solve the problem of this dangerous phenomenon.  Eventually however, the Klingons act predictably and mutiny causing trouble for the Enterprise and the Klingon officers.

The romantic sub-plot concerns Uhura and a mercurial musical genius Mozart Maslin.  Although it is nice to see Uhura take a more active, almost ‘lead’ role for the first time in the Pocket Books series, this narrative thread is also one of the most irritating.  Essentially Mozart Maslin is drafted in to help the Enterprise solve the musical conundrum of the singers, he’s not happy with it and is generally bad tempered, and egotistical.  Somehow, Uhura falls in love with this particularly irritating little man, who also conveniently (from a narrative perspective) happens to be quite ill, and this final musical problem will be his requiem.  I suppose love doesn’t have to be sensible, but not unlike the abominable JJ movie Uhura, love makes her stupid and disobedient.  Now, I’m no ‘feminist’ (let’s settle for egalitarian, shall we? This is not up for debate), and my reaction will generally be ‘suck it up buttercup’ as opposed to some sort of militant defence or righteous outrage, but it frustrates me that you can have a template like Uhura and still mess up characterisation!  I mean, I can almost forgive a male author for cocking up a female character, but it’s just mystifying how a woman can write Uhura as a main character and make her into a… a…. spineless, gooey, love struck fool of a woman who lashes out at her captain for doing the right thing.  That isn’t the Uhura we know!  Well, the lack of professionalism, foolish, prissy little girl character sums up the JJ Uhura, but not the TOS Uhura!

Now, perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad if there wasn’t a balancing female representative on the Klingon vessels, but there is… Kor’s wife.  Unfortunately, she isn’t characterised successfully either, in fact, the way she’s written actually emphasises the problems with Uhura’s characterisation.  The Klingon romantic subplot isn’t too much better.  Kali (Kor’s new, young, wife) is… essentially a go-between, a bridge between the Klingon parties and the Federation representatives, but she serves more to highlight Kor’s abnormality than a character in her own right, though she does have her moments.  I was a little disappointed that Snodgrass decided to make her a ‘strong because of love’ type character as opposed to ‘strong because capable’ (which she doesn’t seem to be).  She does redeem herself near the end of the book however and saves the Enterprise contingent, which was a relief.

I’ve already mentioned Uhura’s flaws as regards to her role in the romance sub-plot, but how does she react on her own?  Unfortunately, Maslin is by necessity introduced very early and Uhura’s character is basically represented and expanded on via her relationship with Maslin.  Instead of being Madam Starfleet and doing her job as an officer, she quickly degenerates into Maslin’s tag-along.  She serves a purpose, sure, she is the only one who can get Maslin to listen, and she looks after him because of his ailing health, although by the end she is also redundant in this way.  Maslin does change, he understands and listens to Kirk and the other officers and his health deteriorates beyond the point of no return.   Uhura caught in the throws of love forgets duty, her dreams, her discipline, her ability as an officer in order to take the typically female role of carer, mother, empathic.  I don’t think she really even truly contributes to the work of deciphering the language of the seal people, Maslin and Spock do most of the work.  While I don’t begrudge a woman being caring, emotional, and/or in love, I really didn’t enjoy Uhura’s characterisation in this as she just became a little too malleable and didn’t seem to retain enough of what I would consider herself in her interactions with other characters.

Maslin, otherwise known as Mozart is an insufferable character who gets some character growth but overall makes you seriously dubious about Uhura’s taste in men.  He is an arrogant, selfish, mercurial man who is unfortunately talented enough to get away with it.  He does have some redeeming qualities in that he is a hard worker however, I feel that he isn’t so much working hard for the good of others, but for the achievement of working out a puzzle, that’s what motivates him.  I think he’s a good character but I disliked him because he was just, so irritating.  I both liked and disliked his growth in the end that he would end up accepting that Starfleet wasn’t as he perceived it to be after all.

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy were pretty standard characterisations.  Kirk was quite passive for much of the novel (much to his chagrin), Spock was ever pragmatic, and McCoy was the emotional ‘heart’.  They basically worked in  their standard dynamic where Kirk has to make a decision (this time, regarding Maslin and his health / sacrifice of one for many or few for the many) and Spock and McCoy come in on opposing sides of the argument.

Kirk of course does get his action, and proves that what he expects of Maslin is something he himself would do – and more.  Their final experience focuses on Kirk, so I imagine he is mollified!

There are two sets of antagonists in The Tears of the Singers, firstly the human hunters who are pretty much the kind of people you’d imagine who would club baby seals to death for money and who get dealt with satisfactorily.  Secondly there are the the Klingons, who are pretty well behaved for much of the novel – until Kor’s second in command decides to incite mutiny in the two Klingon ships.  Kor’s problem is mainly that he has grown to disagree with the Klingon Empire’s policies, and… he likes Kirk and grows to like the the humans he meets as representatives of the Federation.  His young wife is also forward thinking and significantly more empathic than the average Klingon.  I mean, sure, they have no problem with executing people, but certainly they are cuddly Klingons.  Ultimately, I liked Kor, he is reasonable and pragmatic and someone I’d definitely have a drink with!

Kind of like how small groups of Romulans can get along with the Enterprise crew too… and their crews mutiny…

Finally…

Although Snodgrass sort to expand the character of Uhura, she ends up falling short and limiting her (Uhura) by her own narrow horizons and by using plot elements that had been used before and better.  Uhura ends up still caught in this web of generic female characterisation, which is disappointing coming from a female author who has deliberately placed her as the supposed centre of her story.  Uhura ends up defined by a male character which is galling, considering in the 60s she was defined by her own parametres, not that of a man and here we see in the 80s a step backwards where her ‘leading’ role is as a support to a weak but talented man who arguably is actually the main character.

On a particularly immature and disappointing note is Uhura’s consideration of whether she has to become a lesbian to be a captain.  Oh Snodgrass, did you feel a little bit naughty using the term lesbian?

Generally my feelings for this book can be summed up with ‘but someone else did it better’, and that someone else happens to be Diane Duane.  Uhura’s sections of The Wounded Sky for example, do more for the characterisation of Uhura than the whole of The Tears of the Singers.

3/5 – disappointing but worth a read (probably).

Star Trek – The Final Reflection

“There is always,” Manager Akten said, “the Komerex zha.“
“I do not acknowledge the existence of the Perpetual Game,” Margon said without turning.  “Society is society, war is war.  If they are games at all, surely they are not all the same game.  I deny it.”
“That is a favoured tactic,” Akten said.
“Green Lancer to Level Nine.”

If I wasn’t systematically working through all these Star Trek novels and gave myself an option of whether to give myself a pass on ones I didn’t like the sound of (based on the blurbs), The Final Reflection (#16 Pocket, # Titan) (1984) by John M Ford would have been one of them.  If I had indeed done this and not just forced myself to read something that sounded ultimately uninteresting to me I would have seriously missed out on a top notch Star Trek novel from the Pocket Books series.

Spock and Krenn play a game of chess while Sarek looks on? (Sarek isn’t there in the book)

Saying that, I wouldn’t say that it has converted me to novels with this kind of focus, it is still not really to my taste, however saying that I can’t deny that it is well written, well plotted, well paced.  Characterisation is very strong, the narrative is consistent and well framed.  The suggestions about Klingon society believable and well thought out (unlike the later novel Pawns and Symbols).  It’s almost a shame that this is a Star Trek novel because I think it could almost be better not constrained by Star Trek.  Much of the novel is I suppose speculative in a way and set well outside most fans knowledge of Star Trek bar the framing narrative it could be its own standalone story.  I expect that the framing narrative was bolted on in order for it to be published by Pocket Books as a TOS novel since although the narrative works it isn’t the strongest.  Although I generally like framing narratives and the like (this is pretty much the earliest example of it in a TOS novel) I do feel it is the worst aspect of The Final Reflection.

The late John M Ford seems to have been an interesting character to say the least (he died in 2006).  The Final Reflection was his fourth published novel and was released hot on the heels of his 1984 World Fantasy Award winning novel The Dragon Waiting.  Ford would go onto write another Star Trek novel ‘How Much For Just The Planet‘ and also write a Klingon orientated RP scenario for the FASA RPG series.  Ford was known for his aversion for doing things that had been done before, which would explain his framing narrative (not seen until now in the Pocket Book series) and his introduction of ‘Klingonaase‘.

The framing narrative is an effective if perhaps a little ham fisted way of getting rid of the TOS cast for the duration of the actual ‘story’ that Ford wants to tell.  In essence, you start The Final Reflection, the Pocket Books version you are holding in your hands, read the prologue, and then start the book that Kirk is reading in his cabin; title page, contents, prologue and all.  I think it was a nice touch to have the contents page there and the ‘note from the author’, as well as quotes from the characters who reportedly took part in the events of the novel within the novel.

As a consequence of the novel within a novel format, we end up with three dates to take into account.  The Final Reflection of our world was released in May 1984, the events of the framing narrative take place in the 2270s (I’d say between TMP and TWOK), and the events of the novel within the novel take place over about 15-20 years… ish… in the 2230s.  It’s interesting to note that TSFS came out in June 1984.

The acknowledgement by Ford at the front of the book asserts that Ford had been developing this story for about 15 years… and it shows in two ways.  Firstly, it is an excellently constructed story which frankly, only comes about from serious time and work.  Secondly it is also regularly confusing as some characters / sections seem to have been added in to account for the change in looks between the TOS Klingons and the Klingons from TMP onwards.  As far as I understood while reading the main character is of the ‘new’ style Klingons (pointy teeth and forehead ridges), although sometimes it seems he isn’t (especially as he seems to be a ‘fusion’ – hybrid to you and me).  There is a notable character who seems to be a ‘TOS era’ Klingon who is definitely a ‘fusion’.  However, I could be misunderstanding, it would however possibly fit in with various fan theories at the time (one being that the Klingons seen in TOS were a group used for diplomatic purposes etc.).  Of course we now have an explanation for the change in appearance thanks to Enterprise, but at this time there was no such explanation.

The bulk of the novel follows the life of Krenn and his fortunes, starting as a talented youngster and ending as an established commander and one could say, diplomat.  There are through necessity frequent time jumps, some of which can be a little confusing.  Krenn is generally a likable character for a Klingon, I mean, he’s still a murderous bastard but he is intelligent and charming in his own way.  The friendships he builds up and his relationships especially with Dr Talgore are endearing.  Although I think the sweetest moment of the whole novel is that he ends up romancing his childhood sweetheart… well as sweetheartish as Klingons get anyway.

Of course, this low key but super cute (do I need to add for a Klingon again?) beats the Kang relationship in Pawns and Symbols hands down.  It’s quite obvious that The Final Reflection heavily influenced Pawns and Symbols, as there are quite a few cultural parallels between the Klingons and the narrative is similar in that the ‘main cast’ are excluded from much of the action.

There are a good few scenes/characters that stick out to me.

– The death of Krenn’s adoptive father and his household.
– Sarek & Amanda – then the chess game between Krenn and Spock
– Scene with McCoy’s grandfather.

Honestly, the assassination of the ‘Thought Admiral’, his consort (who happens to be an Orion), and his servants is possibly the most gut wrenching event.  Testament to Ford’s writing ability, I actually felt appalled and saddened by the deaths of these characters he barely told me about.  The death of the ‘winged’ alien was particularly nasty.  Krenn thought so too, although all he was doing was watching a video of the assassinations taking place.  I thought it particularly moving that he realises ‘love’ between his father and the Orion consort, although he doesn’t understand it until much later.

The chess game depicted on the cover is a very minor cameo of a young Spock, and Sarek never sees it, Amanda does.  Some nice observations here.

McCoy’s ‘cameo’ is by reference.  Some people have derided the choice of actually referencing him instead of making it more ambiguous, but I actually like the way it’s done and I don’t actually think it detracts at all.  I had to laugh though since Kirk was no where near born at this point, but I think McCoy has been aged a little?  I could be wrong.  I think Spock is just a child (much younger than the picture, so I think it makes sense… I haven’t done the maths).

Life as a Game – Klingons and the Perpetual Game.

At the forefront of The Final Reflection is the idea that everything that occurs is part of a universal and never ending game.  Some people subscribe to it, some people reject it, some are players and others are pawns.  Ford suggests that Klingon society revolves around this belief and that Klingons see their actions, their lives and interactions with others as a game – this to a certain level accounts for the Klingon distrust of each other, and their devious nature.

Excluding the framing narrative and the book ‘bumf’, the opening of Krenn’s story is a game in which he is a pawn – a lancer – in a bloody deadly game where the ‘players’ move pieces (children in this case) around a board.  When they meet an opponent they have to fight until one is incapacitated defending a ‘goal’.  The one who reaches the top wins the match.  Characters are introduced and just as quickly exit the story; their games are elsewhere for the time being.  Eventually some characters will come back as pawns or players in their own right.  Ford does very well in creating the illusion that the universe is bigger than just Krenn, characters weave in an out of the narrative playing their own games, Krenn is just one player amongst billions.  Krenn doesn’t know all the characters (nor does the ‘novelist’ persona) but there is just enough information about them to make you want to know more, which, for the most part you are never given.

Krenn (or perhaps more accurately the novelist) plays games in a broad sense with the reader.  One of the lessons Krenn learns young is not to say anything you do not wish to be heard, basically ‘keep your own council’, because of the constant surveillance of the Empire.  The reader is also kept in the dark at several points, which sometimes makes Krenn’s actions inscrutable.  At times the reader does not realise that Krenn knows something, which can make him hard to follow.  This actually fits into the framing narrative, because the novelist also doesn’t know everything, he’s recreating events that sometimes, not even he understands.  Not even the author understands the rules of the game.

Different games are mentioned and/or explained.  They are predominantly board games which resemble to a differing extent, chess.  A few are referred to throughout the novel as events unfold and they are reflected in the moves and goals of the games themselves.  Like the first game we see, the game of life is lethal and Krenn relearns this lesson early as he witnesses the fall of his adoptive father, his father’s consort, and his household, because his father is outmanoeuvred in his play.  It takes some time for Krenn to realise the extent of his father’s love for Rogaine (his Orion consort), even when watching his father reaching toward her as he died.  Krenn realises his own feelings later, and no doubt acts with his father’s actions in mind.

Krenn’s final ‘play’, which prevents galaxy wide war isn’t just an altruistic action.  Although it prevents war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire which is obviously a good thing from our perspective, it also prevents the Federation from fully allying through fear and pooling all their resources against the Klingons.  Krenn’s stance?  It is left up to the reader, but from my perspective Dr. Talgore was successful in his influence of Krenn and although his actions benefited the empire in the long run, I think Krenn, with his exposure to the other races and his strategic mind had decided peace would be a better option if not joining with the Federation.

For his part, Krenn influences those around him by changing the way he is perceived in order to get the upper hand in an exchange of words and wits.  He has many masks, which are assets to him in his game.

So, what is the final reflection? Humans and Klingons reflect each other, or at least the Klingons reflect an aspect of humanity which is pretty much how they were developed (although sparingly) and then developed through the future series and films.  In The Final Reflection, we see instances of humans playing the same games as the Klingons, corrupt games of power, misdirection, and devious strategies – even inciting a war is not too great a price to pay in these games.  However, the reflection is like looking into an infinity mirror.  Even whilst we point out the flaws of the Klingons, Ford points to their humanity, to Krenn, and his trusted friends – the ‘other’ isn’t so different after all.

Essentially Ford is drawing attention to the way we perceive and treat our enemies.  Klingons, Conservatives, Socialists, Liberals, Muslims, Jews, Christians, pro-life, pro-choice,  people gain from demonising the other, they benefit from dehumanising and preventing conversation.  Even in the final section, the closing of the framing narrative Kirk reports that Star Fleet are announcing that The Final Reflection is all fiction, even though its effect appears to be positive.  The Final Reflection, a novel within a novel tries elicit understanding beyond the Organian Peace Treaty, which does not facilitate understanding at all (it’s essentially mutually assured destruction – a cold war). 

The Final Reflection contains some of the best that Star Trek has to offer.  Star Trek is always at its best when being used as a vehicle for asking (and answering) the big questions of our time.  Ford shows us a story told without the main cast can be done and done well, however I still think some of the charm is lost without their presence.  Even though the development of the series took the Klingons in a different direction to Ford’s vision, this is still a great read and well worth your time.  Call it an AU or put The Final Reflection as a work of liberal Federation propaganda, either way I seriously recommend it.

5/5 – Let the games begin!

“Be a storyteller, an embellisher, a liar; they’ll call you that and worse anyway.  It hardly matters.  The Tao which can be perceived is not the true Tao.” 

– Dr. Emmanuel Tagore, to the author.

Star Trek – Corona

Kirk was eternally fascinated by the procedures for making the Enterprise ship-shape for a long voyage.  He was familiar with every action as a man watching his wife dress in the morning, and yet… it had that same sort of fascination, of responsibility mixed with a perverse and impossible kind of ownership.  No individual could own a star ship, any more than a man could actually own his wife.  Still, the Enterprise was his.  He wondered what the day would be like when he had to give her up, and whether, if any of his Starfleet colleagues assumed her command, they could possibly remain friends.

Corona by Greg Bear (#15 Pocket, #24 Titan) (1984) is a really interesting instalment in the Pocket novel series for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, we’re seeing the theme of entropy again, and this is really exciting for me because I’m finally seeing what I expected to see in the novels that is patterns and trends in themes and content of the novels.  Secondly, for the first time I’m seeing direct references to Gene Roddenberry’s 1979 TMP novel and in Greg Bear’s case, he has borrowed (to a certain extent) the writing style, characterisation of Kirk, and taking relationship cues from it too.  I was most surprised at the relationship inferences because I didn’t expect them from a male author.  Finally, it’s interesting because its time line is incredibly kooky which makes it a little confusing as to when exactly the novel takes place – I’m going to run with any time.  I can only imagine that the majority of the story was cooking for a long time (pre-films) and so there’s some artistic license in there too.

Greg Bear himself is still an active author and although Corona was his first and only Star Trek novel, he is still active in the community.  Bear writes a wide selection of fiction, including tie-in novels for the Halo universe.

Find more about the author at his site www.gregbear.com and on his page on imdb.

Corona itself is, for me at least, a ‘so-so’ novel.  Whilst I was reading it I would visualise a big 3/5 stamped across the cover.

Read a brief summary of Corona here (memory beta).

There are lots of problems with it for example the time line is pretty much as kooky as you can get.  The novel listing I often refer to lists Corona as taking place in 2270, which is just after the original series.  Keep in mind that TMP occurs in 2273, got it?  Ok, there’s this funny ‘dating’ (not that kind) paragraph:

Spock sat stolidly on his immaculate stone meditation plank, eyes closed, deep in mathematical exercises he had taken up lately, conditional to his entry into the third stage of Vulcan life at age seventy-nine.

Hold up!  Seventy-nine?!  Spock was born in 2230 and if this is 2270…  That makes him forty, surely?  Much of the narrative implies that it is within the scope of the five year mission, but why age Spock this way?  Is Kirk supposed to be older too?  And where does this leave poor Amanda and her age, and Sarek for that matter?  Anyway, I think it’s safe to assume that it is 2270 and not later because the rest of the crew are present and in their same positions – even Yeoman Rand is there!

Bear has an odd take on Vulcans at times too, strange little rituals and ticks.  The story very hinges on the Vulcan ‘otherness’, but in making them a little too ‘other’ or ‘strange’ they kind of feel a little odd to me.  I can’t pin it down well, but it’s like seeing through a glass darkly.  I can accept a certain amount of artistic licence but sometimes there’s some strange ‘insight’ from these authors, possibly because it is before much of the ‘official’ details of the Vulcan species had been finalised.  It was interesting however to have Vulcan children play a role as we don’t often see Vulcan children portrayed (there’s little reason to).  I guess they are essentially little adults, ignoring of course the brats who bully Spock in the AU (who frankly just act like bully children, not something ‘other’ as I imagine Vulcan children to be).  The resolution of Corona hinges on the fact that the child Vulcans haven’t gone through a ritual to make them adults, and although this does happen canonically I don’t think it is supposed to be an event which comes from without, but instead it’s the completion of a trial which marks them as adults.  This kind of ties into a loose theme of ‘coming of age‘ but it doesn’t really dwell on this too much and appear somewhat accidental (even if this links into ‘Mason’s’ story line.

Anyway, none of that is really that interesting, I just needed to get some of those thoughts out the way.

The first thing that I really noticed while reading Corona was that it is the first novel that has really drawn from Roddenberry’s TMP novelisation.  The characterisation of Kirk, his somewhat uncomfortable phrasing and too-long idling over sexual thoughts – they are all there in Corona.  References to the telepathic connection between Kirk and Spock are in there too – and certainly their closeness.  Furthermore, I think that this is the first instance of the brain implant being referenced, which also makes its first appearance in the TMP novel.  I am surprised that it has taken this long for these features to make their appearance in the novel series thus far, or at least a real indication that writers have read the first book in the Pocket Book series (the TMP novelisation).  Ok, perhaps I’m deliberately ignoring Marshak and Culbreath because of their blatant agenda and kinks, their two additions to the series (Triangle and Chains of Prometheus).  I really like that it’s a man picking up on these aspect too, quietly adding in the telepathic link between Kirk and Spock that kind of rumbles in the back ground of their relationship.

Of course, it does fit in with the story with Kirk should have the implant as mentioned in the TMP novelisation.  Much of the novel is given over to ‘the monitors’, a computer system installed at the beginning of the story, with the capacity and authority to override commands / requests of personnel on board the Enterprise.  They are meant to prevent for example, captains from making bad decisions, if the monitors disagree with the captain’s decisions then they will override the captain and take action without anyone else’s say-so.  There are also monitors for sick bay too, much to McCoy’s chagrin.

Does anyone else find this uncomfortable?  I certainly do!

Kirk doesn’t care for it much either, but with little choice given to him he has to play by the rules.  He ends up with an additional monitor as well, in the form of a young woman reporter.  I was actually really happy to see this story line used, because this is the first instance of the ‘reporter / monitor’ character and really the first time we see this kind of… conflict within Starfleet where they are trying to tighten control of their fleet and personnel.  Bureaucracy of course is seen in the original series, but certainly in TMP we know there are problems on earth and Starfleet is under pressure from ‘New Human’ groups.  A later novel that I have reviewed with a similar theme of Kirk having a monitor is The Starship Trap.  Ultimately, the female monitor in both novels ends up being a boon to Kirk, but interestingly there is no romance involving Kirk in either of them.  The ‘monitor’ storyline is tied up by them being judged not fit for purpose, with the moral that commanders (and medical officers etc.) should be able to act as they see fit in the circumstances, without any computer intervention.

Interestingly, the monitors do take control away from Kirk in the end, because he chooses to hold fire.  He felt conflicted about firing on the station and thus possibly killing Spock and Mason in the process.  The monitors fired on the station because Kirk didn’t want to act, because he was ‘too concerned’, and that possibly he didn’t act because he knew the monitors would take the weight off his shoulders and make the decision for him.  In a way this is a challenge, would the imposition of these monitors stop people growing?  Stop them from being the best humanity has to offer?  Additionally, Kirk’s humanity and respect for life makes him who he is, his judgement not to fire, his empathy being over-ridden by an algorithm… would a captain ever be truly followed when the crew knows their judgement is going to be constantly judged and changed by an algorithm on a computer?

Just a thought.

Finally, I was really interested to see the theme of entropy appearing again.  It certainly seems to be the strongest / most common theme so far, especially since the last use of it was in The Wounded Sky, the last book but one, the first was The Entropy Effect.  All three stories have dealt with the theme a different way however.  The Entropy Effect was caused by the actions of a man and has to do with time travel, The Wounded Sky again is to do with the actions of scientists but concludes with the meeting of a new, God-like, life form.  Corona handles it differently again, a non-corporeal life form wishes to accelerate entropy in order for it to cause the end of  our universe and the rebirth of the environment needed for it and its species to exist (essentially the big bang).  Funnily enough, it also has to use technology to achieve its goals, which it achieves through using the Vulcans as its arms and legs and the frozen ‘sleepers’ as memory storage units.

The ‘action’ of the story is a little bit messy and at times the author seems to forget which crew members are present (poor Chapel!) and whether they are capable of critical thinking at all.  The story itself feels like it was written some time before publication, perhaps even before TMP but was revised afterwards to add in extra bits of lore.  Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to have been edited enough to make the old and the new mesh and the story can be somewhat bitty as a result and unfortunately at times, pretty contrived.  However, on a whole its passable, and it is obvious by Bear’s success that he improved greatly in subsequent books to working on other popular sci-fi franchises and series of his own design.

For the modern reader, the story feels quite tired.  I think in particular using the trope of ‘possessed children’ but then not really building on that as something scary was a bit of a let down.  Perhaps that was somewhat endemic in the whole book, things were kind of introduced but the ideas weren’t really developed, almost like the author didn’t know quite where he wanted the ideas to go.  The idea of the monitors was built on, but when it came down to the execution of their orders over Kirk’s it was a little… anticlimactic.  Mason’s xenophobia never really peaks, and her character development just doesn’t seem that compelling.  That being said, on the subject of characterisation, I did enjoy the Roddenberryish portrayal of Kirk’s character, Spock’s wry moments and McCoy’s humourous, cantankerous nature.  I think Bear was a little weak on the development of the female characters though – Chapel’s description as ‘spinsterish’ was particularly harsh!

3/5 – take a cold shower Kirk!

Star Trek – The Wrath of Khan – Novelisation

“Jim,” he said, “I have been, and will be, your friend.  I am grateful for that.  Live long, and prosper….”

His long fingers clenched into seared claws; the agony of the assault of radiation overcame him.  He fell.

“Spock!” Jim cried.  He pounded the glass with his fists.  “Oh, God no…!”

McCoy tried to make him leave.  Jim snarled and thrust him violently away.  He hunched against the window, his mind crying denial and disbelief.

I find it singularly incredible that an author could be given a gift – a gift – of an adaptation to write, and still manage to faff it up with her own bias and preferences.

It’s actually a remarkable skill, to cock up writing one of the most powerful scenes in cinema.

Good ol’ Vonda has that skill though.  Not only can she manage to make Spock’s iconic death scene a spectacle of mediocrity she also manages to, once again make the mind numbing decision to give more thought and reflection to an ‘original character’ of sorts, and skip merrily past any in depth consideration of you know, an insignificant character like Admiral James T Kirk.

I swear, Star Trek – The Wrath of Khan by Vonda McIntyre could be renamed Star Trek – Biography of Lt. Saavik because that’s what it is.

If you’ve followed my blog before, you’ll know I have a particular antipathy towards a particular author (no prizes for guessing it’s Vonda McIntyre), and it’s not without good reason!  I swear it!

Here read my other reviews, I’ll wait.

#2 Star Trek – The Entropy Effect

 Enterprise – The First Adventure

Put it this way, I knew what to expect and she didn’t surprise me one iota.  I mean, if there’s information you didn’t need or want to know, Vonda will provide.  If there’s a female sub character / original character she can give more pages than necessary, she’ll do it.  If she can somehow give more page time to Sulu, he’ll get it and, frankly, she hates Scotty.  She adores Spock though, so I guess the depressingly badly written death scene might have been a little unexpected… but then again, shorter death scene means more time to lavish on Lt. Saavik.

Well at least after this book I only have, what, three more Vonda-cides to go?

I guess I better start at the beginning?

I don’t know what your feelings are on books and film adaptations and where you draw the line between canon and not, but I think they need to be taken on a case by case basis.  For example, the previous film novelisation I would call canon, it was written by Gene Roddenberry after all and I feel he added significant insight with the novelisation, the novelisation actually makes the film make sense, fills in the gaps;  I reviewed it here.

This adaptation… I’d say should be in the category of don’t touch it even with a stick, there’s so much utter rubbish inserted, so many liberties taken I just can’t accept it.  I mean, I know I don’t like Vonda’s writing style in the first place and have very little patience for her generally, but come on!  If you’re going to write a film novelisation at least leave your bias at the door!

Lots of people have positively reviewed this ST:TWOK novelisation and said that it ‘explains it all’ and that they ‘didn’t enjoy TWOK because they didn’t understand it and this fills in all the gaps’… no, it doesn’t it makes up page count with utter trash filler that, if you’ve read a couple of McIntyre’s ST novels you know it is just self indulgence on her part.

What kind of trash filler you ask?

I don’t need to know that two of the scientists on Carol and David Marcus’ team are jokers with a thing for Lewis Carol.  I don’t need a whole poem by Lewis Carol reproduced for me to read.  I don’t need to know that these two genius scientists make games in their spare time and leave that as data for Khan and co to pick up instead of the genesis project information.  Why did you have me read pages of utter rubbish about nothing characters that are shortly going to die?

Is Scotty really a prissy, thin skinned uncle?  Do we really need to know that his nephew has a crush on Saavik and has maths lessons with her?  Do we really need that painfully written scene with Spock trying to explain a ‘crush’ to Saavik?  Or that Saavik really doesn’t like omelette because it’s bland and has to use chilli on it to make it palatable, or a vegetarian diet makes (half) Romulans sick?

On that note, I know the director pretty much edited out everything to do with Saavik being a Vulcan/Romulan hybrid because she never really acts like a Romulan, so he decided to simplify it with the view of if she always acts like a Vulcan, make her Vulcan, in fact, the actress was a pretty big Spock / Vulcan fan and so she pretty much acted like a Vulcan would – as she had done in make believe as a child (she used to pretend she was Spock’s daughter).  So, if we keep in mind that her background in regards to Romulan heritage was edited out, a large section of the book which is dedicated to her and her tragic background is now erroneous.  Why wasn’t this caught and edited out?  Couldn’t they at least keep it consistent?

Speaking of consistency, wouldn’t it be fantastic if dialogue actually in the films was accurate?  Especially for the most important scenes?  It probably didn’t escape your notice that the dialogue quoted above does not fit with the dialogue in the film?

Found this wonderful comparison on facebook  a while back.  Sorry I don’t know where it was originally from!

And really, this dialogue proves to be some of the most important when it comes to Spock / Kirk relationship analysis (doesn’t matter if you think that it is a platonic or sexual relationship), as in the graphic above the scene is a reflection of Spock’s response as early in the series as Amok Time.

This is how it plays out in the film:

Ergh.  Gets me right in the feels every time.  Every. Single. Time.

I think what really characterises that whole scene is its quietness.  Kirk’s quiet agony at watching his friend die, his t’hy’la (soulmate/brother/lover) die and Spock’s characteristic calmness… but with that obvious pain and distress.  What really gets me is that the charismatic leader that is James T Kirk is struck virtually dumb, such is his utter despair and pain.  What does he say, ever so quietly?  ‘Spock’.  ‘Spock’.  ‘Yes’.  ‘No’.  Spock reaches out for contact he can’t have, a contact he should have had, which was even expected by Sarek as we see in the next film.  If there was ever a perfect piece of cinema, it is this scene.  What does McIntyre do, well aside from mutilate it with her clumsy writing and stilted sentences?  She makes it loud.  Gone is the quiet despair of Kirk, instead we have outbursts.  Instead of a distressing, intimate moment between two souls saying good bye, we have an interjection by… Saavik.  I read it and wanted to scream, shut up Saavik!  You are not in this scene, of course Kirk will not understand because you are intruding, intruding I say!

You can have a picture ’cause I aint typing it all out.

Even if this was in the original script she saw, if that was how it was done, I don’t know, an editor should have caught all this.  Oh wait.  Hold on.  If you edited out Saavik from this section then you would have no reason to return to her for almost three solid pages as she visits Spock’s coffin and comes out with zingers like ‘Admiral Kirk’s opinion was of no significance‘.  Well if his opinion is of no significance Saavik, then I don’t know whose is!  In comparison, Sulu (another Vonda fav.) gets about a page of shared dialogue with Chapel, while Kirk gets a page of shared dialogue with Carol Marcus.  Then we are straight back to Saavik again for a paragraph before we get to Spock’s funeral.  Where Saavik is the first one mentioned.  Again.  I don’t care about a character introduced for this film, I really don’t.  I want to know about the characters I’m invested in.   And I have a real problem with those three scenes that McIntyre has inserted.  They aren’t in the film, that’s fine, but they don’t add anything either.  They could have been brilliant scenes, revisiting all the old crew, but no, we get too much Saavik, we get Sulu (urgh) and a pretty rushed scene with Kirk and Marcus (double ergh).  Honest to God, she loves her side characters!  That is a Bones and Kirk moment, absolutely, 100%, but no, Carol Marcus it has to be, why use the original cast anyhow?  Additionally, having Saavik as the ‘bread’ of the sandwich in these scenes makes her too important.  She is used to hold the *two* scenes involving original cast together, she isn’t that important, just WHY.

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻)

And you know, the really unfortunate thing about all this, is that it makes me really dislike Saavik, which really isn’t fair on the character.  In the film Saavik is enigmatic, she;s Vulcan with a little bit of extra emotion.  Perhaps it’s youth, perhaps it’s just in comparison to Spock she’s a little bit more dynamic, but she is acted superbly and the tears at Spock’s funeral are poignant because as far as we know, she’s Vulcan and displays of emotion like that are a faux pas.  She reflects Kirk at this time, who is unable to hold it together, just about getting the words out.

And I do understand she acts as a kind of audience surrogate… oh, no she doesn’t.  Saavik does not work as an audience surrogate, she’s new blood as Decker was in TMP, but she is not a surrogate because she is an enigma even to us.  She is a very strange choice to base the much of the perspective of the book from, personally I would have gone for third person omniscient, and not focused on Saavik.  Sure, she can have her exposition, but enough is enough!

Right, I think I have gone on enough about this.  There are serious problems with this novelisation of ST:TWOK and frankly, unless you have some morbid curiosity about Saavik’s non canon origins I don’t really see the point in reading it.  In contrast to the ST:TMP novelisation, McIntyre’s first novel adaptation of the film series adds nothing to our understanding of the film as much of it can’t be considered canon.  It does highlight however a severe lack of editorial oversight.

In my opinion, a novelisation should at least be accurate to the scenes included in the film and any extra content should be relevant and add to the reader’s understanding of it.

The author should also be competent and not struggle with sentence structure and flow.  McIntyre never, improves on this front (at least in her Star Trek novels).  I have no desire to read any of her other series to see if she actually does improve, I fear I’d feel the urge to claw my eyes out.  Just these will be enough.

1/5 – Don’t bother.

((McIntyre’s work to me is as a red rag to a bull…))

Star Trek – Web of the Romulans

A gleam was born in the captain’s eyes.  Spock, watching it glow, felt a stab of trepidation.  He was always nervous when Kirk began to work from inspiration instead of logic.

“Countess…” said Kirk in a voice that made Uhura, Yeoman Kouc and Ensign Stewart blush.  Spock looked startled and McCoy incredulous but the captain continued in his dark, velvet voice.  What he had in mind was a long shot, but it was all he had.

As I’m reading these ST:TOS novels I’m often thinking about how I’m going to review the book.  At about half way through on a shorter book, perhaps every quarter on a longer one I stop and think and start forming my opinions.  I ask questions to myself, what’s the theme, is the characterization good, is the story compelling, are there any memorable moments so far?

So as usual at about page 130, I did the same to Web of the Romulans (1983) (#10 Pocket, # Titan) by M S Murdock.

What’s happened so far?  Um…  Not much.

What’s the story?  Romulans… are attacking but not attacking the Federation?  A disease!  Yeah, there’s a disease and they need to, uh, get medicine!

You’re just remembering what you read in the blurb, aren’t you?  Yes…

So… what you’re saying is that you’ve read half the book and if you hadn’t read the blurb you still wouldn’t know what was going on and nothing much has happened?  Correct.

Fascinating.

Essentially, Web of the Romulans is, well, for lack of a better word… slow.  Not in a boring, arduous sense but in a I really feel that by about half way through there should be some sense of something happening.  This is somewhat deliberate, the whole story is a series of waiting games and a lack of action which wears on the readers and the characters alike.  Saying this however without expressly saying that it is also enjoyable would be doing it a disservice.  I was actually surprised to find myself approaching the middle of the book.  But nothing has happened yet! I thought.  And furthermore, I’m not bored!  And that was the surprising thing, despite nothing really happening and getting to half way though with virtually no action what so ever, I didn’t really mind.

On the flip side, I wasn’t in a particular rush to finish it either.

I must quickly comment on the cover.  Notice anything strange?  Well aside from Bones’ rather dapper get up (so suave)!  Spock and Kirk’s insignia are on the wrong side!  Not only that, but the insignia are flipped too.  You’d think that that meant that the image had been flipped, but the artists signature is the right way around… I’m sure there’s going to be a story behind this mishap!

It became apparent in the first page that M S Murdock is a female author.  Her descriptions on the first page gave the game away.  Her descriptions paint a detailed picture with a feminine eye, and although her imagery is often somewhat overwrought it is none the less pleasurable to read.  As the plot develops at it’s sedentary pace it becomes very clear where her focus is – love and relationships.  It shouldn’t surprise anyone who reads Web of the Romulans that at least part of it was written by Murdock for a fanzine.  Web of the Romulans has a definite division in the stories the more developed ‘computer loves Kirk’ plot and the less refined ‘Romulans need medicine’ plot.

To some extent, the slow pace of the novel is explained by the two story lines.  Initially the plot with the Romulans is introduced however, the narrative with the computer has to be resolved before the Romulan plot can continue, since the story with the computer effectively disables the Enterprise.  Since the computer plot is essentially a standalone, go nowhere, what if, silliness found frequently in fanfiction, it’s an interesting if lengthy diversion.  This somewhat explains my confusion re. ‘nothing has happened, why aren’t I bored?’ Basically, I was occupied for most of the book with the amusing problem of the computer devoting all its resources to Kirk and an understanding of love (a follow on from ‘Tomorrow is Yesterday).  This problem isn’t so much solved by the end of the book so much as bypassed.  Reminding us of auxiliary control serves a purpose for the other narrative, which was a neat link.

The Romulan section of the narrative which is utterly unrelated to Kirk’s problems is pretty well written however, I would like to have seen more of it.  S’Talon and the Centurion were likeable, sympathetic characters, as was the aged mentor and his friend.  The Praetor was a little tropey and predictable but served his purpose in the narrative.  I wanted to read more about the Romulans and their problems, more character development, just more!  The weakest part of the story was probably the reasons given for the Romulan’s actions, the Praetor’s role, the under developed bit about the planet where the miracle drug is.  On the other hand, if you don’t look to closely at it, it is fine!  Mixed in with the Romulan intrigue is some Federation intrigue, in which an admiral who works in intelligence believes that the Romulans intend to start a war with the Federation.  He is completely obsessed with the idea and so manipulates the situation to be in the frontline.  However, this isn’t his only problem, he also wants to conduct a war with the Romulans like a game, and he wants to be the victor.  So… basically he’s completely off his rocker.  Through this story line we’re introduced to three or four Federation characters who are generally likeable, interesting characters.  I also wanted to read more about these characters but I was denied this too!

So frustrating!  Perhaps this bothers me most there’s a really good story line concerning the Romulans but Murdock’s main concern is that silly fanfiction she wrote.  If the book had been one hundred pages longer, the Romulan narrative would have had more room to breathe and develop, as it is there is a frustrating amount of potential that just isn’t utilised!

Of course, this just highlights the main problem of this book – nothing much happens.  I mean, it’s impossible not to realise that two large sections of the book are comprised of 2 or more star ships sitting for days on end looking at each other over an invisible boarder in space.

It’s also hard to miss that the cash poor Romulans mount an invasion force, get to the planet with the drug that they need and then… sit and negotiate?  Or that these very same cash poor Romulans buy the whole supply of this miracle drug – enough to save their whole Empire?  No boots on the ground?  No drama with S’Talon?  The Romulan ships get fired at and they just… sit there?

There’s lots of cameo scenes recognisable from the series, Rand being stuck in a turbo lift is one, for example, and characters are generally well written.

So, in essence, Web of the Romulans has some serious problems, which are mitigated somewhat by a pleasant writing style and a good sense of humour and timing from the author.  It is just a pleasant sojourn, not stressful, not exciting, just a bit of a ramble.  Read it by all means, but don’t look too hard / think too much about it.

3/5 – Countess of…. what?

I must add that I am laughing hard at people calling it misogynist.  Dear me.