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 - How Much For Just The Planet

Arizhel picked up the Cat robber and shoved him into the closet.  She pressed the lock button, since Charlotte had the key, then shut the door, listening for the click.  She heard the cat stir within.  That was disappointing; she must be out of practice.
She went back towards the door.  Stitches popped like bursts of gunfire.  Instinctively she grabbed at the scraps of black as they fell away.  It seemed to make things worse.
But she did not need the Cat costume any longer.  She could simply change back into her dress...
Which was  locked in the closet, behind the Cat.

How Much For Just The Planet (#36 Pocket, # Titan) by John M Ford is another slightly experimental story in keeping with Ford's rule not to write the same kind of story twice.   I think HMFJTP is a kind of marmite story, but very much in the style of TOS in that it could have very much been an episode of from the TV series.  Incredibly campy both in writing style and the events in the story itself, it is also very self aware.  Ridiculous things happen in HMFJTP, the whole latter half of the book is orchestrated slap stick comedy ending in a pie fight between all the characters.  The end is also moralising, and highlights one of the problems with the Organian treaty - what if the people of the disputed planet want nothing to do with either the Federation nor the Klingon Empire?

I was in two minds while reading HMFJTP, it was pure TOS through and through, brilliant characterisation, a refreshing approach to story telling, hell, I enjoyed it.  On the other hand the prolonged slapstick comedy sketch didn't quite work for me and I couldn't help cringing at this comedy of errors.

Stylistically HMFJTP is really interesting.  When the Federation and Klingon diplomatic delegations beam down to Direidi to attempt to negotiate who would be developing the planet and it's dilithium resources the reader is made immediately aware that what the crew are experiencing is all staged and an act.  The reader has been told of 'Plan C', we know it's all scripted and throughout the surreal experiences we often get given small 'behind the scenes'... well... scenes.   The Direidians break into musical-esque song at the merest provocation, much to the bemusement of the Federation and Klingon crews, who are trying to be accepting of this strange people (which of course helps to keep the ruse going).  The songs are written in italicised stanzas, predominantly in rhyming couplets, and are often quite lengthy!  The songs work as a kind of shorthand for setting the scene, much as they would in a piece of musical theatre (they're also mostly awful!).  We expect for the hi-jinx to begin when the 'worlds collide' as it were, however the strange, theatrical occurrences happen from the beginning of the narrative and in the formatting of the text itself.

Something that stands out immediately is that every chapter has a title, for example:

- In Space, No One Can Fry an Egg

- The Dilithium Crystal As Big As The Ritz

- All's Fair In Love and Dilithium

and there are also 'interlude' chapters such as:

- Educational Short Subject: Useful Facts about Dilithium

- Historical Interlude: The Only War We've Got

which are written with a theme and are written stylistically differently.  The 'Educational Short Subject' is written as if it's a sponsored children's infomercial, the 'Historical Interlude' is a comically written explanation of the terms of the Organian Treaty and the Federation and the Empire's respective opinions on it (that interlude tickled me!).

It's also interesting to note that the strange goings on or perhaps the tone of the novel starts immediately in the narrative too.  From the beginning the whole story has a certain humour to it.  Whether it's the replicator's inability to produce orange juice which isn't blue, Kirk deciding he was brave enough to try the electric blue concoction, or that the events of the story may have been put into motion by a sloppy Vulcan who spilt a minty milk shake over integral parts of her ship's computer, causing it to become quite insane.  These events continue as Kirk & Co. are brought into the story, the diplomat for the mission is an old flame (whom he'd forgotten) and the sloppy Vulcan is known to Spock (he exhibits a slight tick when he suspects she's involved); this is even before the diplomatic party arrives at the planet.

I mean... on one hand we have the expected ridiculous and scripted events on Direidi which really are laugh out loud funny (the cherry on the cake was the utterly ridiculous 'pie fight', but the multiple cases of misdirection and tongue in cheek film / theatre references) and on the other we have the 'universe' acting in much the same way which makes it both less and more absurd.  This is quite in keeping I feel with episodes of TOS which can vary between serious intellectualism to broad comedy, though HMFJTP is far beyond anything featured in the show.

I really did like that Ford continued with his expansion of Klingon society.  I really did like the internal thoughts of the Klingon characters who were by Klingon standards, quite pleasant.  'Proke' was quite the match to Uhura and was definitely a development from Ford's Klingons.  Proke and Uhura both worked out what was going on on Direidi, and so their adventure was the most strange (and the shortest) as they were preempting the directed events and essentially identifying the tropes and their origin films / series as they came across them.

I think the most fun comes from the variety of different adventures the different groups of the diplomatic party had.  One section was shamelessly drawing from 'She' (which made me chuckle), another with the party running over a golf course amid shell fire I know I've seen but I can't recall the film.  Eventually the sets start to fall apart but by that time everyone is ready for a stress reducing pie fight!

Of course, unless you're a director, you're not going to escape a situation like this without egg on your face, and in this case the people of Direidi who don't want any part of politics manage to manipulate the situation in such a way that their preferred proposal for Dilithium mining on their planet has to be accepted by the diplomats of both the Federation and the Empire.

Like I said How Much For Just The Planet is a reader's marmite, I can't guarantee you'll like it, but I can honestly say that it is a well written Star Trek novel with a premise that could only be pulled off in practise by someone with Ford's ability. 

If you know your 1940s, 50s, and 60s cinema and contemporary theatre, you'll have a good time picking out the references!

4/5 - Here's looking at you, kid.

Star Trek - The I.D.I.C. Epidemic

"Yer right,"  Beau said.  "Only..."  His voice trailed off.
She looked at him.  "What's the matter?"
"Well," he began.  "I can't - 'ere, maybe it's easier if I just show you."  He lifted his robe to reveal a long, angry gash along the length of his thigh.  T'Pina gasped involuntarily, her own pain forgotten.

Not a very inspired cover all told.
Not much of these three in it either...

I selected Jean Lorrah's second Star Trek book The I.D.I.C Epidemic (#38 Pocket, #7 Titan) in a strategic move to get rid of what I expected to be one of the weaker books in this selection of ten (#31 to #40) so I could enjoy the rest of them peacefully (ignoring Battlestations!), and because I knew that if The Vulcan Academy Murders are anything to go by this book should be quite easy going.

Now I can't answer to whether The I.D.I.C Epidemic is one of the weaker books or not yet (I suspect that expectation will still be proven correct) I can happily report that although Lorrah is at this time still lacking in a lot of areas as a writer, she has improved considerably since  she wrote The Vulcan Academy Murders.  I can't say anything as dramatic as 'you'd never know it was Lorrah', ultimately her girlish silliness is still there, her basic narrative formula stops prevents any kind of mystery, and her clumsy, overly simplistic science makes it difficult to accept the greatest medical minds were unable to come up with a solution to the problems presented.  I can say however that Lorrah has matured a great deal since The Vulcan Academy Murders, all aspects seem a lot tighter and better thought out in The I.D.I.C Epidemic and she does a considerably better job on her characterisations generally.  I think this may be partially to do with the fact that she uses the 'canon characters' very sparingly and concentrates more on developing her cast of original characters (and her versions of Sarek & Amanda).  Usually I wouldn't encourage this, but in the case of Lorrah her strength lies with developing her own cast of characters within the Star Trek universe as her grasp on existing characters is tentative.  She tends to bend characters to the narrative as opposed to having the narrative bend to the characters.

The I.D.I.C Epidemic follows directly on from the end of The Vulcan Academy Murders, so I guess if you were set on reading these two books, you may as well read them together and in that order.  Unfortunately, when Titan published these books they were published backwards and four books apart (TIE is #7 and TVAM is #12) which must have been confusing for readers at the time, especially because characters like Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are very minor characters and much of the story is building on characters and events of TVAM.  Lorrah says in her foreword that you can read these two books out of order because 'all the Star Trek novels are designed like episodes, so that it doesn't hurt to miss some or read them out of order'.  I think Lorrah is over estimating her own ability here (as she does in much of her foreword).  Her writing although much improved is not good enough to really make this a stand alone novel, not with her transplanting of characters which had significant development in her previous book but who aren't redeveloped or explained well in the second.  Having read TVAM I still had some difficulty following some of the characters until TIE jogged my memory enough about the previous book.

The I.D.I.C Epidemic starts rather slowly I feel, which contributed to me taking far too long to read it, the story didn't really become interesting to me until over half way through; once I reached that point however I finished it pretty quickly.

Nisus is an inter-species science colony, so inter-species in fact that there is even a Klingon representative (who turns out to be quite a decent main character) of the 'Final Reflection' mould, and Orions are also involved.  Being a colony, there are whole families there and within them, many mixed heritage children, the implication for much of the book is that the diversity of the people there and in particular the children has caused the terrible mutating plague.  It begins with introducing the plague, the Klingon main character and emphasising the mentality  / presence of the Orions.  Lorrah also introduces the strange additional peril of ice damaging turbines and spring melts potentially flooding the colony; this whole side story I find quite a strange inclusion to be honest and ultimately just adds more silliness and drama to the plot.

The Enterprise leaves Vulcan some time after the events of The Vulcan Academy Murders carrying Sendet and a band of aggressive Vulcans which are supposed to be delivered to a penal colony of some form.  Also on board are Sarek and Amanda (now recovered from their ordeals in TVAM) on their way to a diplomatic meeting and two more characters from TVAM Sorel, the Widowed Vulcan Healer and Daniel Corrigan, a human doctor who married Sorel's daughter after the events of TVAM.  Also included in this group are T'Kar a Vulcan nurse and widow, and her adopted daughter T'Pina who were to be returning to their home Nisus which is now coincidentally plague ridden.  You following?  Good.  

The plague itself is found to mutate within the bodies of mixed-species or hybrid individuals, creating various strains and sub-strains in both iron and copper based blooded persons.  The interest that arises in this is the reaction to the mixed heritage people by people on Nisus - and here is the peril - even if Nisus is saved, can it still continue and an inter-species colony if indeed the plague is proven to have been caused by their diversity?  The answer to this is that Lorrah decides to cop out from tackling this question and instead devises a work around so that it becomes apparent that the hybrid children and inter-species couples were not the cause of the development of the plague at all.  This of course makes the resolution of the story relatively simple since one point of friction is easily removed all together.

But really the whole idea of the plague is secondary to Lorrah, what she really wants is a stage for her modified Vulcans and inter-species couples whom she had developed extensively in fanzines  in the 1970s.  She has a particular love of Sarek and Amanda's relationship and has developed these characters in her fanfic writing.  I think this is why I felt (and I guess still feel) a disconnect when reading TVAM and TIE; Lorrah has developed this characters to such an extent in her own mind that they have changed significantly from their incarnations in the series.  I guess if you haven't read her fanzines then meeting these two characters in her novels can feel a little bit disjointed, if you see what I mean.  The same goes for Lorrah's Vulcans who I find are characterised a little strangely, but again I feel this is due to her own development of Vulcan culture... I think definitely influenced by her friend Lichtenberg and her Kraith series.

Lorrah wants to make sure her characters are happily paired off in the end.  Her Widower from TVAM is pared with her new main character's mother - a widow - and by the end of the book her new girl character (who ends up being a Romulan... yep just let it roll) is paired off with the charming and probably cockney (sigh) half Human-half Orion pirate son, 'looks human, bleeds green' Beau Deaver.

There isn't really too much more to this book, since it's really about showcasing these original characters and their thoughts and feelings and actions.  McCoy and Kirk appear every so often.  Amanda ends up ill and on the verge of death again.  Spock ends up ill and we very briefly hear a bit of angst from Kirk.  Uhura is a voice over the intercom and Scotty pops into the narrative a couple of times before going back to doing whatever he likes with the Enterprise engines.

A real weakness to this story however is the premise that medical personnel wouldn't be able to spot plague transmission vectors and a say, Klingon engineer would because he's not thinking like a medical professional but like an engineer.  Once you kind of pick up on how ridiculously simple the answer to the problem is and how silly it is to be so far in the future and apparently they still don't know how to deal with plague outbreaks... it somewhat breaks your suspension of disbelief.  If Lorrah had understood a little bit more from a medical perspective, perhaps it would have worked a little bit better.

Finally, I'd like to draw attention to Lorrah's foreword (N.B. In this case I read from the Titan edition) which has a couple of interesting points.  Firstly, she talks about the fandom, the Welcomitee and the Star Trek Offical Fan Club, she then moves on to drawing the reader's attention to fanzines (which of course she was heavily involved with and where she developed much of her Vulcan/Sarek/Amanda headcanon).  She also talks about how to pursue the lofty position of 'professional author', and perhaps... perhaps I should just quote this bit:

"They cannot collaborate with you, write the stories you want to tell (you'll have to do that yourself), or critique your novels (they're busy writing their own).  All authors though, are happy to receive comments about their books, and most will answer questions."

Now, it's all very reasonable... I guess, but the tone of this (and the rest of the foreword) just rubs me the wrong way.  It seems a strange thing to put into a foreword but then again, looking at her fanzine history (and her slightly strange demands/requests as part of that) I'm not incredibly surprised.  I get the feeling that Lorrah has a lot of ego, in some aspects deservedly, but in others...

I think that in her foreword she is writing in her 'academic' style.  I haven't read any of her academic writing, but I suspect it will read rather like the foreword.

Thing is, in my opinion the quality of the novel and her ability as I have experienced it doesn't really warrant the arrogance with which she writes.  In her academic / non-fiction writing she could well be brilliant, or even her short stories which she produced for fanzines could well be top notch but at the time this novel was produced she really isn't a very good novelist.

Which isn't to say the novels I've read from her aren't enjoyable per se.  The Vulcan Academy Murders was enjoyable because it was ridiculous even if the writing wasn't that good and The I.D.I.C Epidemic is similar in that it's so silly and saccharine at times you can't help but laugh.  So... depending on your taste, you might want to give The I.D.I.C Epidemic a go, certainly if you enjoyed Lorrah's previous book The Vulcan Academy Murders but equally if you just want a bit of light read with OC characters as a focus.  I think this is the last Star Trek TOS novel which was released with side characters / OCs as the main protagonists to the story; it might be worth reading just for that!

3/5 - Plague! Crashes!  Flash Floods! Romance! A nearly absent main cast! 

Sorry for the delay, although I'm feeling much better than before the operation I've been somewhat out of sorts!  Hopefully back to normal programming soon!

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 - Dwellers in the Crucible

Some small part of her mind marvelled at the words that came out of her mouth.  She who had been known for the quality of her silences was transformed by her own rootlessness and her need to save one other.

Kaiidth! She would bargain with the Klingon and she would win, though the winning kill her.  The crucible of the t'hy'la could also immolate. 

Dwellers in the Crucible (#25 Pocket, Giant #2 Titan) (1985) by Margaret Wander Bonanno is very much the spiritual successor of its two cited inspirations The Final Reflection by John M Ford, and My Enemy, My Ally by Diane Duane.  Not only does Bonanno use the concepts of the Klingon and Rihannsu (Romulan) empires explored in Ford and Duane's respective novels, but she also minimises the impact of the Enterprise crew and characters, instead telling a story where the cast we know are incidental and two original characters take the fore.

I have to admit, I initially skipped over this one because I thought it wouldn't be an easy read, especially if it did follow in the footsteps of The Final Reflection and My Enemy, My Ally.  Truth be told, I was right, however the two mentioned instalments turned out to be fantastic, so what was I worried about? 

Margaret Wander Bonanno was already a professionally published author having penned three novels previous to Dwellers in the Crucible.  She is a talented writer and her previous experience in world crafting and character development is clear from the outset of Dwellers and her previous independence leads her to create an adventure within the Star Trek universe, using lore from other successful authors, but outside of the usual tinted lens of the Enterprise and her crew.

However, however, although Dwellers in the Crucible has the pedigree: good material, talented writer, good characters, it doesn't have the illusive something, that little bit of stardust which would elevate it into something (in my opinion) great.

Have you ever read The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro?  There's a film of it too starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.  It's a very clever book; cleverly written, a sad character analysis with a sad, hopeless ending.  It's a prize winner, a literary masterpiece - it is also one of the most dull, unrewarding, uninspiring books I have ever read.  It's a lesson in drudgery, of patience and dogged determination, AND frankly if a reader manages to get through it on their own steam they should reward themselves (a slice of cake will do) because you get not a jot from the book.  The film isn't much better, brilliant but good grief I shall not watch that exercise in dreary fatalism again!

Why have I told you about The Remains of the Day?  Well.. Dwellers in the Crucible elicits the same feelings from me.  I love the fact Bonanno knows how to write, I love that it's a 'quality' book, I like it's cleverness, it's structural peculiarities, I like the different focus.  I also think it is rather unrewarding and often painfully dull.  I can't truthfully call it bad (it simply isn't), but I also can't say I enjoyed it (because I didn't).  I'm glad I read Dwellers but on the other hand I had to force myself to pick it back up; the experience can probably be summed up as all stick and no carrot.

The Story

Dwellers in the Crucible is a story of captivity, friendship and survival of powerless civilians.  It's not a pleasure to read; it is heavy going and often hard to continue.  It contains torture, sadism, murder and suicide, but also loyalty, self sacrifice, compassion and love.

The Federation has adopted an initiative based on an ancient Vulcan practice - The Warrantors of Peace - an important person or people to the current world leaders are held hostage with a capsule embedded in their hearts which will detonate if removed or if the planet commits an act of war/violence on another.  The concept boils down to the threat mutually assured destruction should one planet commit an act of violence toward another (an agreeable cold war?).

The Romulans and Klingons in their uneasy alliance, formulate a plan to kidnap a number of Warrantors in order to destabilise the peace of the Federation.  Once the Romulans kidnap the Warrantors they are passed into the hands of the Klingons (frankly a terrible idea on the part of the Romulans) who amuse themselves by torturing their civilian charges whom they have under their control for about six months.

Meanwhile the Enterprise is on 'standby'.  Sulu is dressed up as a Romulan and sent undercover in the Empire (which we barely hear about), Scotty gathers information from the Klingons, and Uhura sets about sowing incorrect information for the Romulan listeners to decipher.  Kirk... well Admiral Kirk is getting rather agitated about the whole thing, while Spock keeps him company?

Eventually the remaining Warrantors are saved, and Kirk and Spock see a reflection of themselves in the two women.  The Federation finally decides this whole 'Warrantors of Peace' concept was a terrible, terrible idea and is in the process of scrapping the whole program by the end of the book.

The overarching story isn't at all well developed.  Some reviewers have had a problem with the 'Warrantors of Peace', however the Federation is capable of doing remarkably stupid things so I can give it a pass... plus the Vulcans suggested it so I can conceivably imagine the Federation diplomats and higher ups agreeing it was a good idea.  Other problems include the under developed Sulu mission which could have been a book all by itself, Admiral Nogura's strange decisions about what Kirk should or shouldn't be doing, and the fact that the Enterprise is left idling for six months.  I imagine Kirk was climbing the walls!  However, Dwellers in the Crucible is not concerned with 'the big picture', but with the relationships between the Warrantors, and the Warrantors and their captors.

The Crucible(s)

The term crucible in the title applies to different aspects of the story, but is most strongly summed up in the following quote:

The Vulcan friendship mode is a crucible.  There is that in it which can purify, refine, strengthen.  There is also that which can immolate, destroy.

Just remove the reference to 'the Vulcan friendship mode' (I really hate the 'mode' terminology since Vulcan Command Mode) and replace it with 'love'.  Love is the crucible.  Poignantly this novel is set between TMP and TWOK, and in TMP love is the word which is never mentioned except in euphemism.  In Dwellers, love of the same flavour as Kirk and Spock's is explored - t'hy'la - through the guise of two women, Cleante al-Faisal - a human female, and T'Shael - a Vulcan female. 

However, love isn't the only crucible in Dwellers, although it is the most poetic.  There are several events which act as crucibles, some are in the novel's 'present' others in the characters' pasts.  The shared pasts of Cleante and T'Shael (which is a significant portion of the book) highlights moments of change which would eventually lead them to the realisation of their status of t'hy'la.  Some of the moments of dramatic, others are moments of understanding for one, or both of them.

I think the most obvious 'crucible' is their prison on the abandoned planetoid - certainly a place which can purify, refine, strengthen or immolate and destroy.  The situation as engineered by the Klingons (or specifically Kalor) causes the deaths of the three Deltans.  The Deltans lived for love both physical and mental however in the crucible that love destroyed them.  On the other hand, the pressure felt by Cleante and T'Shael to save the other caused both of them to be forged into something better both as individuals and as a unit.

Cleante & T'Shael

Cleante and T'Shael are Kirk and Spock's stand ins respectively.

What makes it quite interesting however is that Cleante and T'Shael are civilians and come from very different backgrounds to Kirk and Spock.  I think it would be interesting to speculate what changes there would be to this story if they weren't civilians or if it was Kirk and Spock in this same situation... No doubt there there is a fanfiction on this subject somewhere.

I can't talk too much about the characters without giving away too much of their story.  However Cleante is very much an impulsive, young, human woman with altogether too much pride; T'Shael is a reticent, reserved young fully Vulcan woman who is humble and 'known for the quality of her silences'.  Both women come from less than ideal families, Cleante's mother never affectionate and work driven while T'Shael's parents are dead - her uncaring mother died on the Intrepid while her father died of an incurable wasting disease.  However, both women are incredibly lonely and this loneliness brings them together despite their difference.  I think this is also what is brings Kirk and Spock together initially, command is a lonely place.

I think it interesting that although Cleante and T'Shael are the analogues of Kirk and Spock, that they are not copies.  T'Shael is humble however Spock has great pride (as I think most Vulcans do), while Cleante is prideful while Kirk will lower himself for the greater good.  These differences in both relationships evaporate however when they are truly 'bonded' and when the other is in danger both pairs gain the capacity for great self sacrifice.

I think perhaps most women will find something of themselves in either or both Cleante and T'Shael, perhaps that's what made their situation (their captivity and torture) so horrible to read about.  It's much easier to read about the appalling treatment of a male hero character; it's not so close to home and you know that the hero character is trained for this and they can handle it.  In Cleante and T'Shael's situation you don't have any of that reassurance, you're wondering when they are going to break.  I think it's most galling because you can't even put your trust in Vulcan fortitude, you're wondering when T'Shael will break too, not just the highly strung human.

Ford's Klingons and Duane's Romulans

To me it seems odd to set out to use existing lore by other novel writers and then use so little of it that it almost seems wasteful to have considered it in the first place.  Although there are nods to Ford and Duane's ideas, the Klingons and the Romulans remain more Bonanno's creations that the other writers.

Ford's Klingons were sly gamemasters, and if a Klingon should rise through the ranks from a lowly background you'd expect them to be intelligent - not so apparently.  Krazz is one of the more stupid villains despite his rise to a position of power.  Ford spent much of his novel The Final Reflection giving a different reading of the Klingons, trying to find common ground that perhaps even Kirk could in some way empathise with.  However Krazz and Kalor (Krazz's second in command) are simply exactly like you expect a Klingon to be - and to be honest, if I were Kirk the actions of Krazz and Kalor would have closed me down to any possible positive feelings towards the Klingon species.  Kalor is the worst of the two, a cruel sadist who engineers the deaths of the three Deltans under the premise of science.  Lets face it, if he was a 'scientist' doing experiments on rabbits and enjoying causing them suffering, you wouldn't want to know him right?  Ok, well now apply that to three Deltans, one of which is a child.  No Bonanno, he can't have my sympathy now that he's found he has a soft side now that he's coerced Cleante into sex in order to save her friend from his sadistic experiments.  Nor am I going to listen to Cleante when she starts sympathising with him as her mind is breaking.  His 'redemption' came too late in the game, I think he's a poor representation of Ford's Klingons.

Duane's Romulans / Rihannsu are represented a little better perhaps, but this may be because we don't see them half as much.  Bonanno seems to have used some key points from Duane's Romulan development like the term Rihannsu, and the imagery associated with the Praetor / Empire.  Much of what could have been included regarding the Romulans (and perhaps there was more in the first draft) would have been Sulu's adventure undercover in the Romulan Empire,  but since this is barely touched once introduced (and consequently the results of the investigation is only a confirmation of what they already know - they would have gone to the same place without confirmation anyway), so it isn't really important in the long run.  I found it interesting that one of the main plot points to Duane's story My Enemy, My Ally is that the female Romulan/Rihannsu Commander whom Spock tricks in order to get the cloaking device is disgraced and sent into exile,  however in Bonanno's iteration she still has the favour of the Praetor - surely this is a major change to Rihannsu thought?

All in all, I don't think Bonanno uses enough Ford and Duane's ideas to have really warranted her giving them credit at the beginning, although... there is mild influence.  I don't think the representation of either species is bad though, don't get me wrong.

Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty

Odd.  Just Odd.

I don't know whether it's because Bonanno is doing her best to keep them out of the limelight, but the established characters are often a little 'off'.  Out of all of them, I'd say that Scotty and Uhura have the most true to form characterisation.  Uhura certainly feels like she's presented similarly as in other novels (although some of her dialogue with Spock is a little saccharine), while I could vividly see Scotty on his mission in my minds eye - shame it was so short.

Sulu was... out the way for much of the novel, doing something simultaneously important and unimportant, which ultimately didn't lead anywhere.  It was kind of annoying really as for once I wanted to know what Sulu was actually doing (my dislike for Takei unfortunately bleeds into my feelings for Sulu) as his mission was the most dynamic of the lot.

Kirk, Spock and McCoy only really get going in the final section of the novel when we're beaten with the t'hyla stick - but frankly if you hadn't got that Bonanno has made a parallel couple out of Cleante and T'Shael in order to investigate the depths of the concept of T'hy'la whilst circumventing the radars of certain audiences then perhaps you deserve it.

No need to open her eyes this time.  What little strength she had left she raised one hand.  It was gently embraced by two human hands, and T'Shael's pain receded in the emanation of love from those hands.

Did she dare smile? If death were to claim her before she could let Cleante know the depth of her gratitude, her yes - call it love - even in the presence of strangers -

For the first time in her life, T'Shael smiled.

"I'm here," was all Cleante said, and it was all that was needed.

Jim Kirk looked at Spock, who acknowledged the scene in silence before setting the controls (...). 

Sound familiar by any chance?  It's pretty much a verbatim rendition of Spock and Kirk's scene in TMP.  This book is also set between TMP and TWOK... Whodathunk.

McCoy knows everything, and even when Kirk is being dense he makes sure to hit him with the t'hy'la hammer:

"(...): whatever happens to her depends in large part on Cleante.  And vice versa."

Kirk gave him a puzzled look.

"Explain." 

 "Oh, come on Jim!  You've seen it as well as I have, and so has Spock.  These two are forged together for life.  They're almost a mirror image of you and Spock, both of them falling over each other in self sacrifice.  There's an old phrase in Latin - amicus usque ad aras. 'A friend in spite of all differences; a friend to the last extremity.'  There's even a Vulcan word for it, isn't there Spock?"

"The word, Doctor is t'hy'la," Spock murmured, ignoring McCoy's obtuseness.

There is also a section where McCoy leads Cleante away and sees the same look of devotion in her face as he had seen so many times in Jim Kirk's.  McCoy's role here is very much to draw attention to the parallel couples and I guess his character development / exposition is the depth of his understanding of his two closest friends.

So regarding Kirk and Spock... sure they have only a small part to play in this novel ultimately, but despite this the novel is about them or at least their relationship.  Nobody really cares about a couple of one off characters who disappear into the ether at the end of a novel, not really - what do they change ultimately?  Well nothing at all except perhaps our understanding of the term t'hy'la and the personal transformations which take place in a relationship of that depth.

While thinking about Dwellers and the concept of the 'crucible' and forging an unbreakable bond, I thought... when was the point that where at least one of them realised he was bound to the other?  When was Kirk and Spock's 'crucible' moment?  I thought about it for a while, but certainly Spock's 'moment' had to be Amok Time; I think that would be the time he realised he was bound to this human for life (that smile when he realises that Kirk is still alive...).  What about Kirk?  Well... like Cleante I think Kirk innately knew and recognised the other part of his soul, perhaps he didn't think about it in poetic terms until later, but from Kirk's reactions and the way he looks at Spock from the beginning (aided by Shatner's phenomenal acting), I think he knew all along.

So yes ultimately Dwellers in the Crucible is a very good, well thought out character study.  A little bit subversive, a lotta bit clever - I would recommend reading it for the questions it asks and for the thoughts it provokes.  However it is not an enjoyable book, I didn't take a lot of pleasure in reading it and it was at times a chore to read which is not a feeling I like.  I did feel like I was forcing myself to turn the pages, so this leaves me in a strange position.

I didn't like the book, but I liked the points it made and the questions it evoked... which is why I'm going to give it 3/5!

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.