Kirk had been staring into space, not lost in thought, but helpless and hopeless, stunned by the loss of his ship. He had never felt quite so abandoned, so lost, his very foundation removed. McCoy leaned toward him and said softly, "Jim. Captain Kirk!"
I have to say I was elated on reading The Trellisane Confrontation by David Dvorkin (1984) (#14 Pocket, #31 Titan), after all I was bracing myself for a literary blooper after having three excellent books on the trot. After the hit and miss approach to the first ten books in the series, I have to admit I was getting a little downhearted at the prospect of having to suffer more of the same in books #11 to #20. Honestly, it's like they turned a corner at Web of the Romulans, hopefully they don't look back?
That isn't to say The Trellisane Confrontation doesn't have problems, it does... a surprising amount in fact considering how short it is but it does have more of a feeling of an episode than the previous three books, which felt like they could never really be episodes (I acknowledge The Wounded Sky was adapted to a certain extent for an episode in TNG).
Okok, note on the cover. Accurate uniform on Spock, this novel takes place in 2269, so during the original five year mission. I actually like this cover a lot, it's colourful, it's fun... it's... who is that woman in the middle? I was waiting for a damsel to appear but uhm... she doesn't? I had a thought that it was supposed to be Chapel, but then why not put her in uniform, and I don't really think she fits the description of the warrior women of Nactern either, other than those mentioned and other than Uhura (who it most definitely isn't) there aren't any other female characters?
Edit: Ok, people seem to think it's Christine Chapel... I'll believe them, I suppose Spock looks facially squiffy too...
The Trellisane Confrontation follows a quite a simple plot. The Enterprise is transporting dangerous criminals who are affiliated to a political faction who wish the Federation to go to war with the Romulans. Whilst transporting them, Kirk decides to go to the aid of a peaceful, neutral, planet being attacked by it's aggressive sister planet in a system in a precarious position between the three powers (Federation, Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire). Spock and McCoy express their reservations about going to aid this planet with dangerous prisoners on board, but Kirk is adamant and proceeds without confirmation from Starfleet.
Naturally, everything goes wrong. The prisoners on the Enterprise escape and gain control of the ship in order to try to start a war with the Romulans while Kirk, Spock and McCoy are on Trellisane. The Trellisane people are not the peaceful progressive people they appear to be, the attacking Sealons and Klingons step up their invasion plans, and Spock and Kirk are captured by the Klingon and Sealon forces, leaving McCoy to organise a the Trellisane people and uncover their dark secrets.
That's the set up for The Trellisane Confrontation, and although a little simplistic at times the first half is a pretty strong and enjoyable read. The pacing is good, it doesn't sweat the small stuff and expects the reader to fill in some gaps. However, in the second half of the novel Dvorkin appears to lose impetus and aside from a very interesting section with Christine Chapel melding with an alien it doesn't have many other high points, in fact I became quite irritable about some inconsistencies I couldn't un-see! The novel resolves itself a little too quickly not allowing Dvorkin to really get the meat (ha) of his story. We get a need to know exposition via McCoy of the Trellisane culture, a rather pathetic bunch who are essentially cowards and cannibals. The Sealons, the species being manipulated by the Klingons turn out to be a bit on the rough side but rather more likeable than the Trellisane people, despite never hearing a word directly out of their mouths. The political situation gets resolved in a couple of pages... and Klingons and Romulans beam straight onto the bridge for discussions?
My main complaint however is what I can only suggest are strange, loose, narrative threads that by the end of The Trellisane Confrontation are not resolved. The odd moralising at the end which attempts to give an illusion of tying those threads but really just leaves them broken. This is really shame because it really does spoil the book, in my estimation, after a well paced and pleasant first half.
Here's an example; Spock notices behaviour he doesn't like in Kirk, and this rattles him and his confidence in Kirk. Personally I didn't see a problem or out of the ordinary behaviour, but I ran with it. I spent from that time onwards waiting for some sort of revelation that something was wrong with Kirk, like, there's something in the air on Trellisane, or there was something in that delicious delicious meat her ate... but it's nothing. It turns out that Spock hero-worships Kirk and just hadn't seen this aspect of him before... We are in the same year as The City on the Edge of Forever guys... you know each other quite well at this point!
The slave/cannibal aspect of the Trellisanians was interesting, especially when reflected by McCoy. I particularly liked the 'not all as things appear theme' which was prevalent, and probably does the best job at holding the story together.
The subplot (?) on the Enterprise where Hander Morl and his five alien allies take control of the bridge was actually pretty enjoyable, and I especially relished my least favourite character Sulu being the one to cock up utterly and cause the whole situation. Chekov's scenes were excellent, and his trying to emulate Kirk was wonderfully written and very funny. Uhura was very much in the background but what did surprise me was as mentioned before, Chapel's section. I think that was very well done although ultimately she doesn't reveal her experiences.
Ultimately, The Trellisane Confrontation is an enjoyable book and well worth a read. It doesn't reach the heights of The Wounded Sky or the tension of Mutiny on the Enterprise, this book is smaller in scope and less detailed than the previous couple of novels. Characters are a little out of character at times, although Dvorkin seems to be better at characterising the likes of Sulu and Chekov than Spock and Kirk. Action is a little disjointed and at times frustratingly sparse on details, but not necessarily bad. I don't think The Trellisane Confrontation adds anything to the existing characters, Dvorkin does create an interesting culture in the Trellisane species.
3/5 - don't order the steak.
I have to say I was elated on reading The Trellisane Confrontation by David Dvorkin (1984) (#14 Pocket, #31 Titan), after all I was bracing myself for a literary blooper after having three excellent books on the trot. After the hit and miss approach to the first ten books in the series, I have to admit I was getting a little downhearted at the prospect of having to suffer more of the same in books #11 to #20. Honestly, it's like they turned a corner at Web of the Romulans, hopefully they don't look back?
That isn't to say The Trellisane Confrontation doesn't have problems, it does... a surprising amount in fact considering how short it is but it does have more of a feeling of an episode than the previous three books, which felt like they could never really be episodes (I acknowledge The Wounded Sky was adapted to a certain extent for an episode in TNG).
Okok, note on the cover. Accurate uniform on Spock, this novel takes place in 2269, so during the original five year mission. I actually like this cover a lot, it's colourful, it's fun... it's... who is that woman in the middle? I was waiting for a damsel to appear but uhm... she doesn't? I had a thought that it was supposed to be Chapel, but then why not put her in uniform, and I don't really think she fits the description of the warrior women of Nactern either, other than those mentioned and other than Uhura (who it most definitely isn't) there aren't any other female characters?Edit: Ok, people seem to think it's Christine Chapel... I'll believe them, I suppose Spock looks facially squiffy too...
The Trellisane Confrontation follows a quite a simple plot. The Enterprise is transporting dangerous criminals who are affiliated to a political faction who wish the Federation to go to war with the Romulans. Whilst transporting them, Kirk decides to go to the aid of a peaceful, neutral, planet being attacked by it's aggressive sister planet in a system in a precarious position between the three powers (Federation, Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire). Spock and McCoy express their reservations about going to aid this planet with dangerous prisoners on board, but Kirk is adamant and proceeds without confirmation from Starfleet.
Naturally, everything goes wrong. The prisoners on the Enterprise escape and gain control of the ship in order to try to start a war with the Romulans while Kirk, Spock and McCoy are on Trellisane. The Trellisane people are not the peaceful progressive people they appear to be, the attacking Sealons and Klingons step up their invasion plans, and Spock and Kirk are captured by the Klingon and Sealon forces, leaving McCoy to organise a the Trellisane people and uncover their dark secrets.
That's the set up for The Trellisane Confrontation, and although a little simplistic at times the first half is a pretty strong and enjoyable read. The pacing is good, it doesn't sweat the small stuff and expects the reader to fill in some gaps. However, in the second half of the novel Dvorkin appears to lose impetus and aside from a very interesting section with Christine Chapel melding with an alien it doesn't have many other high points, in fact I became quite irritable about some inconsistencies I couldn't un-see! The novel resolves itself a little too quickly not allowing Dvorkin to really get the meat (ha) of his story. We get a need to know exposition via McCoy of the Trellisane culture, a rather pathetic bunch who are essentially cowards and cannibals. The Sealons, the species being manipulated by the Klingons turn out to be a bit on the rough side but rather more likeable than the Trellisane people, despite never hearing a word directly out of their mouths. The political situation gets resolved in a couple of pages... and Klingons and Romulans beam straight onto the bridge for discussions?
My main complaint however is what I can only suggest are strange, loose, narrative threads that by the end of The Trellisane Confrontation are not resolved. The odd moralising at the end which attempts to give an illusion of tying those threads but really just leaves them broken. This is really shame because it really does spoil the book, in my estimation, after a well paced and pleasant first half.
Here's an example; Spock notices behaviour he doesn't like in Kirk, and this rattles him and his confidence in Kirk. Personally I didn't see a problem or out of the ordinary behaviour, but I ran with it. I spent from that time onwards waiting for some sort of revelation that something was wrong with Kirk, like, there's something in the air on Trellisane, or there was something in that delicious delicious meat her ate... but it's nothing. It turns out that Spock hero-worships Kirk and just hadn't seen this aspect of him before... We are in the same year as The City on the Edge of Forever guys... you know each other quite well at this point!
Spock followed him, and as Kirk leaned over to offer him a hand to help, Spock was amazed to see that his captain's face wore a broad grin. It was something beyond simple levity or the release of long suppressed tension, Spock thought; it seemed more the joy of a young boy on a long-awaited long-delayed holiday.
(...)
Now, suddenly, the control seemed to have disappeared. In this earnest, deadly business, James Kirk was behaving with boyish glee rather than the calm determination Spock night have expected. Kirk was dropping to the level of the average human, and Spock, who would have been greatly insulted had anyone suggested to him that he was capable of hero worship, was deeply disturbed.This actually connects with analysis of the criminal who takes control of the Enterprise. In several sections the criminal (Hander) is likened to Kirk and in a final exchange with Spock and McCoy, they underscore their similarities. Now, I might be a Kirk devotee, but I think this is a bit of a stretch and Spock and McCoy's final condemnation? criticism? of Kirk's character and actions during the events of the novel was quite inaccurate and very unfair. Kirk was right to be angry about what they were saying!
The slave/cannibal aspect of the Trellisanians was interesting, especially when reflected by McCoy. I particularly liked the 'not all as things appear theme' which was prevalent, and probably does the best job at holding the story together.
The subplot (?) on the Enterprise where Hander Morl and his five alien allies take control of the bridge was actually pretty enjoyable, and I especially relished my least favourite character Sulu being the one to cock up utterly and cause the whole situation. Chekov's scenes were excellent, and his trying to emulate Kirk was wonderfully written and very funny. Uhura was very much in the background but what did surprise me was as mentioned before, Chapel's section. I think that was very well done although ultimately she doesn't reveal her experiences.
Ultimately, The Trellisane Confrontation is an enjoyable book and well worth a read. It doesn't reach the heights of The Wounded Sky or the tension of Mutiny on the Enterprise, this book is smaller in scope and less detailed than the previous couple of novels. Characters are a little out of character at times, although Dvorkin seems to be better at characterising the likes of Sulu and Chekov than Spock and Kirk. Action is a little disjointed and at times frustratingly sparse on details, but not necessarily bad. I don't think The Trellisane Confrontation adds anything to the existing characters, Dvorkin does create an interesting culture in the Trellisane species.
3/5 - don't order the steak.
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