"Loneliness is the first thing that God's eye named, not good." - John Milton
Troublesome Minds is a Star Trek novel written by Dave Galanter and first published in 2009 by Pocket Books. It's one of the newer books and as such unnumbered which is either a licensing issue or a case of trying not to put off newer readers from the novels by presenting them with a large back log. If the latter is the case, how wrong they are! As long as people know that the books don't have to be read in order then it isn't really a problem.
The cover is pretty attractive, harking back to the painted covers of older novels, although, unless I am very much mistaken, I think the cover is an edited screen cap or promotional image made to look like a painting. Either way, it's a pretty thing and ties in with the other modern covers which use the same style. Annoyingly the cover is easily damaged, even with the best of intentions, if you're going to actually read your copy and not keep it in plastic the edges are going to scuff although the spine is quite resilient to bending. The collector in me wants to buy a book and keep it sealed, but what's the point of books if nobody is going to read them? Back to the book, I estimate the word count at about 73,000.
As the cover of the book might suggest, the story is pretty Spock-centric. The book revolves around a telepathic species (the Isitri) and a particular troublesome mind, a member of the species with telepathic abilities so strong they can dominate a whole planet with their will. A neighbouring species the Odib know first hand the results of a hostile troublesome mind and their (justified) fear of the Isitri push them to an ultimatum, either dispose of the troublesome mind or risk genocide.
The Enterprise responds to a distress call and saves the life of Berlis, the troublesome mind and his two attendants. Berlis was left to die by his own people but he claims not to know why, they want him dead but Kirk is left between a rock and a hard place, he can't leave Berlis to die or give him over to those who want to kill him. Although others on the Enterprise are affected by Berlis' powers, Spock, being a telepath, is particularly susceptible and begins to behave erratically. While trying to decide the best course of action, Berlis escapes the Enterprise's protective custody and returns to Isitra. Berlis takes control of all minds on Isitra and the neighbouring colony, provoking the Odib.
Kirk must then find a way remove Berlis and save both the Istri and the Odib before it's too late.
I genuinely enjoyed Troublesome Minds. I have to admit this time around I chose covers with Spock on them, so it was hardly surprising that I received two new novels which were pretty Spock-centric. In my last review (Enterprise - The First Adventure) I raised a Vulcan brow at the characterisation of the Enterprise crew, Galanter colours within the lines in his offering and although Spock does go a little crazy and indeed ends up crying near the end, I can forgive it.
One thing that strikes me though, is that many of the TOS novel authors over the years have really overused the 'emotional Spock'. In particular they like the image/drama of Spock being overwhelmed and crying. It's not a secret that Spock is emotional despite his best efforts and that Vulcans, despite their protestations do feel something they just override their emotions with logical thought. However, the crying Spock image loses it's impact when used as much as it is. Isn't the whole point that the Vulcans are tragic in that they struggle to control their emotions so much they cut themselves off from such a large portion of the experience of living? Isn't it more heartbreaking to see someone unable to feel, or refusing to feel rather than the image of 'the strong man crying'. I digress, but I will admit in the case of this novel, the displays of emotion are well handled.
Most of the successful Star Trek stories explore a human emotion or need. In the case of Troublesome Mind it's loneliness. Berlis the 'big bad' of the book is a victim of his own incredible telepathic ability, he has influenced others for so long, and they have served him 'willingly' for so long that he is more a spoilt child than anything malevolent. Berlis' people the Isitri are powerful telepaths who are constantly aware of each other and speak telepathically, a troublesome mind however can Network the minds of an entire planet, erasing the wills of his fellow Isitri. The Isitri influenced by one such as Berlis lose their time, when they are released from their thrall, it is as if waking from a dream.
Berlis needs to be connected to his people, it's innate to him and through the guidance of a mind like his the Isitri can make huge technological leaps and become incredibly industrious. In this state the Isitri love and celebrate him, however, like many leaders, loved for their charisma and their public face, the more minds Berlis touches the more paranoid he gets and the once peaceful leader twists into a paranoid despot focusing on production of weapons and war with the Odib. Berlis gradually looses sympathy of both the Enterprise crew and the reader as the book progresses and we meet another troublesome mind who was sent into exile and who recognises the danger of her abilities and believes that her own happiness must be sacrificed for the good of the many. She's a recognisable character from throughout history and literature, the individual enlightened by suffering and experience, willing to suffer further for the good of the many.
One of the most interesting things about the Isitri is that they speak telepathically, and many of the population are deaf. They have developed a 'manual' language, essentially sign language. This is mentioned in the author's own notes as one of his goals, himself able to use sign language. As such, there is a lot of description of the various gestures the Isitri make, which is pretty immersive. Some actions are noted repeatedly by characters such as Kirk which makes the language seem real.
The characters are pretty well written, and there weren't any jarring instances which made me Vulcan-brow. The only part I did have a problem with I have already mentioned, but that can be explained away in the circumstances, so I'll give that one a pass. In fact, ingeniously the author can explain away any strange or out of character behaviour by the mere presence of Berlis, the effects of which he's pretty subtle about.
Kirk and Spock are the main focus of this novel, their relationship especially strong. Galanter is pretty hot on body language (especially because of his interest in sign) and so there's a lot of physicality, a lot of physical expressions of the characters' emotions and relationship. The other members of the crew essentially tick over throughout the story, they are there but the focus is firmly elsewhere.
Kirk has a particularly driven and intelligent characterisation in this novel, even with Spock essentially removed from him for a while, he compensates. He is diplomatic, he grasps concepts quickly - essentially Galanter recognises that the reader doesn't need to be spoonfed. Kirk's actions are recognisable as Kirk's from the original series; the muted expressions and reserved reactions and the sudden bursts of activity and forcefulness on making a decision which is quintessential James T Kirk.
Spock's character is the most erratic in Galanter's story, but this is approached sensitively. Being a telepath he's more susceptible to Berlis' suggestions (again, this really overused plot device and another reason this offering isn't getting higher than a 4/5) and almost from meeting him is overwhelmed and coerced. However, he isn't consistently presented as weak, with Kirk's help he regains control of himself and is finally instrumental in restoring Isitri. He proves that his own mental disciplines are enough to keep Berlis out once aware of the influence however, his susceptibility to emotions, to Kirk's aggressiveness and his relationship with the Captain strongly highlights that his nature is essentially an emotional one.
There are quite a few strong scenes, and I don't want to give too much away, but of particular interest to those who like character interactions would be when Kirk manages to get through to Spock while he's in Berlis' thrall and the banter afterwards between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Another touching scene is when they collect Meshu, the exiled troublesome mind and their trump card.
Enterprise itself has a chance to shine too, as it is positioned between two warring fleets with the intention of disabling as many as it can before too many casualties occur on either side. This takes place as Spock and Meshu attempt to free the Isitri home world from Berlis.
The resolution of the tale is satisfying, posing an unanswerable final question and wrapping up loose ends. Really strong characterisation and food for thought at the end. It's not a 5/5 for me, no matter how I look at it. I seriously enjoyed it, it was successful and thought provoking. The inclusion of sign was a great idea and well implemented, but the use of Spock being overwhelmed telepathically (again) and crying (twice) really bothered me. I'm probably being unfair, since the last book I reviewed also had Spock overwhelmed telepathically and losing himself (and crying!), and that one really got my goat! At least there weren't and pink and purple monkeys in this one (just pink and orange bird people...).
Either way - highly recommended! While not being jaw dropping, a really great entry into the series.
4/5
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