Fun But Utterly Inconsequential: Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War

The Good: Moments of artwork, Moments of character
The Bad: Incredibly basic plot, Some underwhelming artwork, Fails to capture the villains in a compelling way
The Basics: Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is a marginally interesting idea with a pretty middling execution.


Back in my youth, I did not read comic books. In fact, it was not until late middle school, when I became obsessed with Star Trek that I ever recall picking up a comic book. Throughout high school and college, I read the various incarnations of Star Trek in comic book form, in addition to the vast array of novels in the Star Trek franchise. Back then, there were very few crossover events; it was a big deal when the original Star Trek crew had any sort of interaction with the crew of the Enterprise-D! In fact, the first out-of-universe crossover event I recall was when Marvel published the Star Trek/X-Men crossover.

Now, things are different and crossovers happen between even vastly incongruent universes in comic book forms. Last year, for example, I found Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation (volume 1 reviewed here!). Today, I discovered Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War. Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is set in the universe of the 2009 film Star Trek (reviewed here!) during the five-year mission, after Star Trek Into Darkness (reviewed here!). And Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is about as good as one might expect for a compilation of six issues that try to combine two such big universes.

Opening with the final Guardian about to be killed on Mogo with the last of the power rings, the Black Lantern is unable to kill him because he traverses universes. The U.S.S. Enterprises comes across a rogue planet suddenly, the dead Mogo, and on its surface they find the remains of the dead Guardian and a single example of each of the power rings. While Scotty and Kenser run tests on the power rings, a Klingon Bird Of Prey with General Chang decloaks, demanding Captain Kirk surrender to him. Scotty's test activates the power rings and Chang, Uhura, Chekov, and McCoy are chosen to be ring bearers. Hal Jordan appears with his Green Lantern ring to save the Enterprise, while Kirk advocates retreat.

While Yellow Lantern Chang seizes control of Kronos, only to be put in his place by Sinestro, the Orange and Red rings find their bearers on Romulus and the Gorn Homeworld. Hal Jordan explains how his universe ended when Nekkron tried to kill everyone in the universe again and that Ganthet must have used his ultimate escape plan to enter Kirk's universe with the rings. Hal Jordan was not teleported alone; Sinestro, Atrocitus, and Larfleeze also were saved from the destruction of their universe and they set out to stop the new ringbearers of their color rings. When Star Sapphire leader Carol Ferris arrives on the Enterprise with the near-dead St. Walker, she reveals that Nekkron was teleported to the universe as part of Last Light as well. Soon, Sinestro and the Red Lanterns are at war and Sinestro unleashes the power of fear on the Enterprise crew. With the Enterprise crew incapacitated, Hal Jordan takes control of the Enterprise and gets it to safety. When Nekkron resurrects Vulcan as Black Lanterns and Hal Jordan is rescued by other surviving Green Lanterns from his universe, the various Lanterns work to save the universe with the Enterprise crew.

Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War seems to be built on the premise that readers know who all of the various Green Lanterns are, as their characters are entirely glossed over. Hal Jordan is glossed over some in the book, while Guy Garner is given no distinct character; even John Stewart is characterized more. But the Star Trek characters are each given a few moments where readers are told explicit character traits that either contrast the DC Comics characters or apply to the ring color they were granted.

The very basic premise of Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is much dodgier than its execution. The ridiculous notion of a Star Trek/DC Comics Universe crossover is somewhat negated by limiting the crossover to the interstellar characters from DC Comics - it's not like trying to integrate Wonder Woman and The Flash into the Enterprise crew. Nekkron is the appropriate villain for the combined Corps to justify the crossover, but characters like General Chang from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (reviewed here!), get somewhat under-served by the speed of the narrative.

On the artwork front, Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is a decidedly mixed bag. Writer Mike Johnson smartly includes a named Romulan from the correct era - the 23rd Century of Star Trek - in the form of Decius. But the Star Trek fans geeky enough to know who Decius is will see absolutely no resemblance between the aged Centurion and the character on the pages of Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War. In a similar fashion , the Gorn in Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War look nothing like the Gorn of Star Trek or Star Trek Enterprise.

Ultimately, Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War is momentarily diverting and fun, but not at all an enduring, timeless or essential graphic novel.

For other graphic novel reviews, please check out:
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation, Volume 2
Star Trek: Countdown To Darkness
Green Lantern: Sinestro

4/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years Is As Much A Mixed Bag As The Exhibition!

The Good: Good photography, Nice foreword, Some impressive art
The Bad: Overpriced, Some terrible artwork
The Basics: Titan Books allows those who cannot make it to the traveling Star Trek: The Exhibition experience the Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years as a coffeetable book with as mixed results as the artwork it presents!


I own very few coffeetable books. For one, I have cats, so the coffeetable is frequently used as a feline jungle gym and, frankly, I don't need to bring anything else into the house that the cats will destroy just by being placed where their name dictates. Second, coffeetable books are a tough sell with me because their pricing follows a very predictable arc; the price is usually set artificially high to capitalize on initial hype of the book's subject, then about three months after the premiere, the price of the book plummets . . . and about a year later, the coffeetable book goes into collectible pricing ranges based on its rarity, but it is virtually impossible to find truly mint copies of the book (yes, I am a snob about book condition!). So, I tend to avoid coffeetable books as a genre, though I do have a couple. When Titan Books announced that it was publishing the coffeetable volume Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years, that got my attention.

I was genuinely surprised that Titan Books could publish a coffeetable book because the last I knew Simon & Schuester/Pocket Books had the exclusive license for publishing Star Trek books (as I have come to understand it, there are differences between the fiction and non-fiction - about productions, cultural impact, etc. - publications and that allowed Titan Books to publish Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years). I also found myself thinking that Titan Books was a good choice for publishing Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years, a book based on the art exhibition of the same name that is traveling the world during the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek (which just so happens to be today!). Titan Books did an impressive job with Watchmen Portraits (reviewed here!) and it seemed like they could do right by a volume cataloging the Star Trek 50 Artists 50 Years Exhibition.

Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years is a coffeetable photography book that captures the artwork from the Star Trek: The Exhibition traveling art display of the same name. For $40, readers, collectors and art enthusiasts get a 112 page book of photographs and blurbs that is barely over a half-inch thick (not, admittedly, the way books are usually valued, but it's a lot of money for something that is physically less substantial or impressive than other Titan Books volumes in the same price point). The unique aspect of the book is a foreword by Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan director Nicholas Meyer.

As for the rest, what Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years are photographs or images of the fifty art pieces that were contributed to celebrate the 50th Anniversary Of Star Trek. The pieces range from montages that pack characters in from virtually every episode of the original Star Trek for a single shot to stylized headshots of Star Trek (franchise) aliens. There is a photo montage of (essentially) Mayim Bialik doing cosplay and photographs of toys and a theoretical starship. One of Leonard Nimoy's photograph montages was included, as well as new retro-looming movie posters and faux-recruiting posters for StarFleet!

What Titan Books got right with Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years is the book's physical quality. The foreword is a nice touch and all of the images are credited on the page opposite the work. The photographs look good and the paper stock is thick enough so there is no image bleed from other pages; each work of art is left to stand on its own. Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years is a book that looks as good as the artwork it portrays within its pages.

That said, Titan Books cannot be held responsible for the content of those pages and that is a decidedly mixed bag. Some of the artwork is cartoonish and juvenile and the purpose behind some of the pieces eludes me (Spock leaning on a classic car, for example). It is art, but it is not like the subjects of the photographs in the book Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years were all oil paintings; some are essentially doodles by famous artists. Others are immaculate works of detailed art, clever, or have quite a bit of artistic merit (like Nimoy's photography). The inconsistency makes for a very unsatisfying book and collection.

Which brings us to why Titan Books bothered to publish Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years. Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years was a massive undertaking and I suspect licensees like Titan Books and Rittenhouse Archives (which created a trading card set based upon the artwork from the exhibition, reviewed here!) had to bid and produce their products in something of a vacuum. They took a risk on the subject and, sadly, none of the licensees or museums that are hosting the Star Trek: The Exhibition knew that it would be so thoroughly spoiled online. StarTrek.com published images of all fifty works to promote the project and it completely guts the need for something like Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years. The book ends up feeling, sadly, like a cashgrab and to be fair to Titan Books, they did get screwed by startrek.com.

But, Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years exists in the same world as the internet and is attempting to appeal to the same fanbase. Unfortunately, in this instance, it makes Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years utterly unnecessary. Given the opportunity, I suspect most fans will look over the artwork on startrek.com and realize there is little thrill to be had in seeing the displays in person. Moreover, some of the artists are likely to offer prints of their work directly; that would allow fans to get the exact work or works that they loved from the art exhibition, without the works they did not. I would be surprised if there were fifty Star Trek fans in the entire world who would want all fifty pieces of artwork from the Star Trek 50 Artists 50 Years project hanging in their homes.

Ultimately, that makes the appeal of Star Trek: 50 Artists 50 Years surprisingly minimal, even for a coffeetable book that one glances at only occasionally.

The artwork within this book utilizes images based upon elements of the Star Trek franchise, most notably:
Star Trek
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
Star Trek: The Next Generation

For other Star Trek reference books, check out my reviews of:
Where No One Has Gone Before: A History In Pictures
The Star Trek Compendium
The Official Star Trek Prop And Costume Auction Book

5/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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A Cute, But Fairly Insubstantial, Parody: Fun With Kirk And Spock Is Not Essential Trek!

The Good: Decent artwork, Moments of amusement
The Bad: Fails to appeal to either of its target demographics
The Basics: Fun With Kirk And Spock tries to be a children’s book, but uses too much irony and diction too complex for young readers . . . and is not smart or complex enough for adult fans of Star Trek!


Since Go The Fuck To Sleep (reviewed here!), I have pretty much avoided reviewing children’s books. I am not a good judge of what is age appropriate (generally) and as someone who does not have children and avoids interacting with children or young parents, I find little appeal in reading and reviewing children’s books. But then I saw Fun With Kirk And Spock. My Trekker instincts kicked in and I had to read the book right away. And I did . . . and it’s not worth more than one read-through.

Fun With Kirk And Spock is a picture book in the style of Fun With Dick And Jane. Written by Robb Pearlman with (mostly) simple diction and large drawings of iconic Star Trek characters, Fun With Kirk And Spock is a sixty-four page book that tries (unsuccessfully) to balance between being an educational tool for young Trekkers and a source of amusement for the elders in the same fandom.

Fun With Kirk And Spock introduces readers to the iconic characters of Star Trek (reviewed here!) and gives readers simple statements about them. Written in a simplistic, mildly poetic, style, Fun With Kirk And Spock has many of the things one would expect of a Star Trek-themed parody of Fun With Dick And Jane. So, there are the lines, “See Spock,” ”See Captain Kirk,” etc. followed by simple statements once readers have visually tied the character name to the picture on the page (“Sulu’s sword goes swish!”).

In addition to the iconic characters of Star Trek, Fun With Kirk And Spock introduces readers to key episodes and concepts of Star Trek, albeit in a humorous fashion. The Mirror Universe is designated “bad” because Kirk avoids the advances of women (not because of the tyrannical Empire that keeps humans in fear and Vulcans enslaved); there is commentary that Kirk should let Khan sleep and so forth. Some of the key Star Trek locations are presented with great humor – how secure the Bridge is is a particularly amusing page, for example.

Unfortunately, Fun With Kirk And Spock is a ridiculous educational tool. The transporter is not a useful device about which to educate children and some of the vocabulary is well beyond the age/reading level of those who would need a “See Kirk, See Kirk shoot his phaser, Shoot Kirk! Shoot!” style book. Similarly, the frequent use of irony is unlikely to be something that children learning to read will either get or appreciate, so the book is a tougher sell as a children’s book than it ought to be.

On the flip side, Fun With Kirk And Spock is way too simplistic to be worth it for adult Star Trek fans to give the time of day outside skimming the book once in the store. The diction is simplistic and the humor too safe to engage, so it is more like a Mad Magazine parody than something truly deep and worth returning to. Hopefully, if a Fun With Picard And Data book is ever written, it will pick a target audience and be written to truly satisfy it.

For other humor books, please visit my reviews of:
The Sinner's Guide To The Evangelical Right By Robert Latham
The Tribble's Handbook By Terry J. Erdmann
Bloom County: Penguin Dreams And Stranger Things By Berkeley Breathed

3/10

For other movie reviews, please check out my Film Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Other Masks For Star Trek: The Next Generation Is A Mediocre Novel.

The Good: Interesting basic concept
The Bad: Somewhat predictable plot, No real character development, Does not quite “get” all of the characters
The Basics: One of the earlier Star Trek: The Next Generation novels, Masks is more interesting for the planetary culture it creates than the story it tells.


One of the nice things about having a standing personal library that one schleps all around the country with each and every move is that one feels like they are building something. Perhaps the nice thing about having time to read again is discovering which books in that standing library deserve to actually be kept for the rest of one’s lives. Lately, I’ve been making my way through some of the more pulpy novels of my young adulthood, like the Star Trek franchise books. Lately at work, whenever I have had a break, I’ve picked up the Star Trek: The Next Generation novel, Masks.

Masks is Star Trek: The Next Generation novel #7 and it is a particularly easy novel to read. In fact, reading the book in fifteen minute to half hour bursts did not detract from the experience. Perhaps as importantly, this book – which I had not read in at least twenty years and was (inexplicably) noted in my possession database as being one of the Top Ten Star Trek: The Next Generation novels – hinges on such a predictable twist that when I encountered the seed element for the twist, I recalled the entire rest of the book without problem. Masks is not stunningly good literature, but it does establish an interesting setting well-enough to be memorable. Set during the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation (reviewed here!), Masks is in no way related to the seventh season episode “Masks” (reviewed here!).

The Enterprise arrives at Lorca, a planet where Federation colonists were lost two hundred years prior. They are ferrying the arrogant Ambassador Fenton Lewis, who has a murder conviction from the Ferengi on his record and a Lorcan Ambassador’s mask acquired through mysterious circumstances. The Lorcans all wear masks as part of an elaborate social system (and protection from the volcanic ash spouted up all over the planet). When the Enterprise arrives at Lorca, Riker begrudgingly allows Picard to accompany Lewis on his mission to find the leader of the Lorcans, the Almighty Slayer, wearer of the Wisdom Mask. But the magnetic ash from the planet’s volcanoes quickly cuts Riker off from the Away Team and leaves Picard, Troi, Worf and Lewis to fend for themselves. Riker insists on leading a second team, with Data and Pulaski (and two security officers) to the surface.

There, Riker’s team encounters Day Timer, an old peddler, who takes the Away Team on as apprentices. Picard’s team encounters Piercing Blade, an enigmatic woman who is headed to the same fair as Day Timer, though she hopes there to assert herself as the rightful ruler of Lorca. When Fenton Lewis is challenged for his right to wear the Ambassador’s mask, he loses it to Piercing Blade in combat and is shamed. While Picard cheats to survive his own combat with Piercing Blade, being forced to wear a Messenger’s mask is too much for Lewis and he runs off. The other Away Team gets to know Day Timer and his companion, a werjun (slothlike animal that fishes for the humanoids) named Reba. When Riker’s party encounters Fenton Lewis, the ambassador claims that Picard, Troi and Worf are dead. While Riker both searches for the bodies and tries to complete the mission of making peaceful contact with the Almighty Slayer, Picard tries to resist his growing attraction to Piercing Blade and keep neutral in the planet’s development. But when a Ferengi ship arrives in orbit, both Away Teams are put in peril.

Masks is not bad, but it is not at all incredible. Fenton Lewis is characterized as a strange combination of Okona and Dr. Stubbs from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He seems rough and tumble, but is just an arrogant jerk. That makes some of the conflict he creates seem belabored and hard to bear as opposed to making one truly care about it or him. In a similar fashion, some of the primary crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise do not sound like their television counterparts. Guinan has a much more active voice in Masks than she ever did on the television show. Geordi and Worf do not have quite the right narrative voices either, though some of that may be forgiven by how little source material was available when the novel was originally written. Kate Pulaski, interestingly enough, sounds fine.

What novelist John Vornholt does exceptionally well is create a setting. Lorca is a very distinctive planet and the idea of fire-resistant moss that protects the trees on the planet is a clever one. The bogs and volcanoes make for a setting that is dynamic and interesting. The use of the masks on Lorca then takes on a sensibility that goes beyond being a novelty, which is nice. The setting has a sense of being truly developed and original, as opposed to something cobbled together to service the plot.

As for the plot, Masks is somewhat droll on that front. There are reversals, almost all of which are centered around Fenton Lewis and that undermines the main characters familiar to readers from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The pace of the book might be fast, but not much happens and when it does, it is largely unsurprising.

Part of the problem is that the characters are more swept up in events than they are truly motivating them. As such, usually active and dynamic characters like Picard, Riker, Data and Worf are stuck simply going along with the guest characters . . . being led from point to point to an inevitable climax at the oft-foreshadowed fair.

In the final analysis, Masks is good light reading for Star Trek: The Next Generation fans, but it does not rise above what it is: a book based on a television show.

For other Star Trek: The Next Generation books, please visit my reviews of:
#3 The Children Of Hamlin By Carmen Carter
#61 Diplomatic Implausibility By Keith R.A. DeCandido
Imzadi By Peter David
The Return By William Shatner

5/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Rediscovering Enjoyments In My Roots: Star Trek: The Next Generation The Children Of Hamlin Is Enjoyable!

The Good: Concept, Guest characters are interesting, Decent plot structuring
The Bad: Long build-up to the obvious revelation, Terrible editing/inconsistencies, No real character development, Illustrates a stunning lack of understanding of the Star Trek Universe
The Basics: Carmen Carter is given the unenviable task of an early Star Trek: The Next Generation novel, but delivers some interesting ideas in The Children Of Hamlin!


As part of this year’s renewal of reading (and a commitment to read quite a bit more than just graphic novels each and every day), I have been going back through my library to both enjoy books I have kept in my collection for years as well as new-to-me books I have lugged around for several moves and not gotten around to reading before now. Star Trek: The Next Generation The Children Of Hamlin, the third Star Trek: The Next Generation novel published by Pocket Books, falls into the former category. In fact, when I was barely into the book again, I checked into my database of all my possessions and I was surprised that I noted that this was one of my top ten favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation books of all time. I think that notation was probably a reflection on my youth, more than the inherent quality of the book.

That is not to say that Star Trek: The Next Generation The Children Of Hamlin is bad; it is not. In fact, the idea of The Children Of Hamlin is a good one, it is unfortunately plagued by two things: 1. It allows for no real character development among the main crew and 2. It is set in the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation (reviewed here!) – in fact, perceptive readers will easily realize that the conference that Deanna Troi is alluding to in the wrap-up at the end of the novel is the one from which she is returning at the beginning of “Skin Of Evil” (reviewed here!), which saw the demise of Tasha Yar – and novelist Carmen Carter admits in the acknowledgements that she did not know the show all that well when she wrote the book. Carmen Carter was the writer of one of my favorite original Star Trek novels, The Dreams Of The Raven, but after rereading The Children Of Hamlin, I am somewhat dreading rereading that book.

Fundamentally, the problem with The Children Of Hamlin comes down to the character front. Carter creates an engaging plot concept for the book, but because it is so plot-heavy, it leaves no real room for character development among the main crew. As a result, the two main guest characters largely overshadow the familiar characters. This is accented by the fact that the main characters sound just a little off from the familiar Star Trek: The Next Generation characters viewers of the series are used to (and it one was just picking up the book to read, the novel gives no character insights or descriptions of the characters!).

Following a devastating attack on the U.S.S. Ferrel, wherein two civilians appear to be at the center of the ship’s destruction by an alien race, the U.S.S. Enterprise arrives to save the survivors and fend off the attacking aliens. The Enterprise is engaged in a simple transport mission at the time, ferrying a colony of Oregon Farmers to their new colony world when they get the Ferrel’s distress call. The Enterprise rescues much of the skeleton crew of the U.S.S. Ferrel from a large ship that seems to be made up of giant bubble-like constructs. When the Ferrel’s captain dies, Captain Picard and his crew discover most of the survivors are surprisingly tight-lipped about exactly what happened, though Picard learns the mission they were on had to do with the survivors of a destroyed colony some fifty years prior.

Picard’s authority is soon trumped by special orders which give mission control of the Enterprise over to Andrew Deelor, one of the two civilians. He reveals that the Hamlin Colony Massacre fifty years prior – where all of the adults were killed, metals were stolen, and the children of the colonists disappeared without a trace – resulted in the children being taken hostage and the Federation has quietly been working to recover the hostages . . . and their offspring who were born in captivity. The alien race, the Choraii, are willing to trade their human captives (one at a time) for only a few pounds of metal and the Enterprise is assigned to trade some lead for a child, a baby, the Choraii ship B Flat has in its possession. But when Deelor’s translator, Ruthe, knowingly leaves behind an adult human on the B Flat, the Enterprise’s mission becomes more aggressive, much to the chagrin of the colonists aboard.

First, what is wrong with the book. Am I the only one who actually watched Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (reviewed here!)?! Seriously. I ask this because in that film, Dr. McCoy utilizes a specialized medical device (that he carries on him as part of his standard medkit, apparently, given that the crew was aboard a commandeered Klingon ship at the time!) to heal Chekov’s brain when Chekov drops several stories, lands on his back, and presumably crushes his skull and suffers massive brain damage. Don’t like it? Too bad, the movie made it canon for the Star Trek Universe! So when, very late in The Children Of Hamlin, Dr. Crusher is bitching about how, during an evasive maneuver, a crewmember got hit on the head with a plant and might never recover, I literally did a facepalm move and groaned. If you’re going to write in the universe, know the universe!

Similarly, the underlying concept of the trade in The Children Of Hamlin is a sloppy or ridiculous notion. Deelor and Ruthe are trading one of the “hostages” for five to twelve pounds of lead, lead which they brought with them from the Ferrel. Does Carmen Carter not understand, even at this point in the run of Star Trek: The Next Generation how replicator technology works?! The Star Trek universe has, essentially, alchemy technology and given the ridiculously low quantities of metal the Choraii are willing to trade for their humans, the Enterprise could conceivably track down every Choraii ship (or lure them out of hiding by beaming hundreds of pounds of pure metal replicated from the ship into space) and trade for all the humans, no problem.

Finally, Carmen Carter’s editors fell down on a number of details. On page 17, the U.S.S. Ferrel is a Constitution class starship, but the rest of the book it is a Constellation-class starship. And while I applaud Carter’s initiative for naming characters, the Oregon Farmers names are just ridiculous and unimaginative. How the human name Dennis evolved into Dnnys (the Oregon Farmers are all human) makes little sense, but as ridiculously, there is no way I can figure to read “Dnnys” and not pronounce is “Dennis,” so the names just become needlessly complicated.

So, how does The Children Of Hamlin even rise into the average territory and get a recommendation from me? First, the alien race is an imaginative one and Carter very cleverly never lets the readers “see” them. The Choraii are defined through music and sound and that level of originality is truly inspired.

Second, the character conceit surrounding Ruthe may be belabored, but it works. As a young person, I am sure that Carter actually caught me with who Ruthe was supposed to be. However, re-reading the book as an adult (and as a writer), her “secret” seems terribly obvious. In fact, Carter goes to such lengths to avoid giving any of the character’s backstory, while giving her clear, extensive knowledge of the Choraii (no one ever asks how she was able to translate musically for the Choraii?!) that there almost seems to be a big glowing arrow above the woman throughout the book. Carter plays a nice red herring – she has a very underdeveloped plotline that has Riker attracted to her and her being indifferent to his advances – so the execution of the final reveal for her character is surprisingly good.

Wesley Crusher and the Oregon Farmers plotline is surprisingly well-executed, despite their names. The Children Of Hamlin is a simple, fast-read and while it seems like it might be an obvious set-up for a sequel, none ever came. Carmen Carter did the best work possible given the time the book was released and it may have some flaws, but an imaginative story of desperately working for a higher principle is not something The Children Of Hamlin has a deficit of!

For other Star Trek: The Next Generation books, please visit my reviews of:
#61 Diplomatic Implausibility By Keith R.A. DeCandido
Imzadi By Peter David
The Return By William Shatner

6/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Mundane, Glorified Fanfic: Star Trek: Triangle Reinvents Star Trek To Sell Its Own Convoluted Premise.

The Good: Moments of character insight, Moments of concept
The Bad: More convoluted than clever, original, or complex, Mundane writing, Lack of genuine character understanding.
The Basics: Triangle collapses as a small book that reads as an exceptionally bloated and contrived pulp novel.


As part of the New Year, I am refocused on reading more. Having finally finished reading Thomas Pynchon’s Against The Day (reviewed here!), which became something of a Herculean task, I intend to get more reading done (and more than just graphic novels) this year. That means that I am going through the library I have moved with me across the country and reading all the books I have never reviewed and culling out the ones that I do not enjoy enough to want to reread in this lifetime. The first casualty of its own lack of quality is sure to be Triangle.

Triangle is Star Trek novel #9 and it is one of the slimmer volumes of Pocket Books’ Star Trek novel line. In fact, at 188 pages, Triangle is one of the least hefty books I have read in years and one that is unfortunate for its lack of substance, character insight, and true originality. I can understand how Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath managed to get the book published. Marshak and Culbreath were two of the writers that kept Star Trek alive in novel form for the time that Bantam owned the license to the Star Trek novel franchise, before Star Trek: The Motion Picture made its cinematic debut. The pair were custodians and fandom owed them a debt of sorts.

Unfortunately, Triangle is a tough sell, even for a devoted Star Trek fan. To be honest, it is hard to go back to Triangle, which was originally published in 1983 and complain about one of its apparent faults (lack of originality). In fact, given that Triangle precedes Star Trek: The Next Generation’s introduction of The Borg, it is almost tempting to claim that Triangle is, in fact, wildly original in its incorporation of science fiction ideas. Unfortunately, the main villains in Triangle are basically an amped up version of the space hippies from “The Way To Eden” (reviewed here!) and that severely diminishes the claim of menace presented by the collective consciousnesses in this novel. Triangle reads as a skeleton of a story that tries to mix a love story with a possession story and services neither particularly well.

The Enterprise is assigned to ferry Ambassador Gailbraith of Zaran back to Zaran through the treacherous Marie Celeste Sector of space, where several other vessels have gone missing in the past. Kirk is feeling severe fatigue and he is already irritated by Gailbraith and the New Humans who are experimenting with a collective consciousness they call Oneness. When the Enterprise receives a message from a Free Agent within the treacherous space, Kirk diverts the Enterprise to investigate. After a tense meeting with Gailbraith, Kirk confines the New Human to the V.I.P. area, though Gailbraith is mysteriously able to leave that confinement.

Beaming down to find the Free Agent, whose scout ship has crashed, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy meet Sola Thane, who was presumed lost years before. Sola Thane, who is half human, half Zaranian, bonds psychically with Kirk moments before he is wounded by animals on the alien planet. Rescuing the exhausted and injured crew, Spock and Sola Thane experience a powerful drive that leads them to mate, despite Sola Thane’s love for Kirk and both knowing that Kirk reciprocates those feelings. But soon, their romantic entanglements become minor complications as the Enterprise faces off against the Totality, a collective consciousness of the natives of Zaran. Facing the villainous collective consciousness on one side and the arrogant collective on the other, Kirk must put his trust in a woman who loves him and Spock, perhaps equally, to help save the galaxy.

By the time Soljenov and the Totality make an explicit appearance in Triangle, the book is so muddied and emotionally confused that it is hard for the reader to will themselves through reading the last fifty pages. Quickly degenerating into a variation of “Arena” (reviewed here!), Triangle pits Kirk, Spock, and Sola Thane against wildlife and natural dangers before settling on a preposterously simple conflict for Sola Thane to resolve in order to stop what is supposed to be the biggest menace in the galaxy.

If the quality of the hero is judged by the quality of the villain and the conflict, Triangle does no service to any of the recognizable protagonists in the Star Trek universe. On the love story front, Marshak and Culbreath make a mess out of the romantic entanglement between Kirk and Thane and Spock and Thane. Sola Thane is explicitly declared to be the next Edith Keeler, alluding to what many fans (not me, because I actually watch what’s in the episode) consider the seminal Kirk romantic relationship in “City On The Edge Of Forever” (reviewed here!). Like in that episode, the love is more declared than shown in Triangle. Kirk’s feelings for Sola Thane are essentially an exaggerated love at first sight.

In a similar fashion, Spock’s sudden relationship with Sola Thane is regarded as the work of pon farr, essentially making Triangle the logical successor to “Amok Time” (reviewed here!). Sadly, though, the relationship has one quickie (to keep with, apparently, Pocket Books and Paramount wanting to keep the Star Trek franchise PG at this point, the sex scene is a blink and you miss it implied scene!) and then Spock acting like a lovesick puppy dog the whole time.

The conflict between Spock and Kirk over who should get to have an actual relationship with Sola Thane is ridiculously drawn out and is basically eighty pages of both men saying, “You take her!” Perhaps Marshak and Culbreath thought they were being clever when they tried to pair a romantic triangle with two villains both of whom seek to reduce masses to One, but the conflict reads as a remarkable non-starter. In fact, it doesn’t take the mind of a slash fiction reader (which, admittedly, I have never genuinely been) to consider that the solution to Sola Thane’s problem is not to either choose neither or choose one of the two men, but to pitch a polyandrous relationship. Kirk has never shown any real commitment or sense of monogamy, so it seems like he might be game. So, the resolution to the romantic subplot is a lot of build-up to something entirely uninspired (it doesn’t even have the benefit of “tragic” to it) and the reader who actually experiences love will be sorely disappointed. Just as the villains always compare individuals to amoebas in Triangle, Spock, Kirk and Sola Thane feel passion simply by the words “feel passion,” as opposed to actually illustrating that emotion in truly demonstrative ways.

As for the villains, so much build-up, such a pathetic resolution, they hardly seem villainous. Rather than waste any more time on them, I’d like to take one final moment to discuss the writing.

Triangle reads like fanfiction, and half-assed fanfic at that. I have no objection to adding to the universe one is playing in when one writes something new for that franchise. However, when one has to add so much to it that it is almost unrecognizable for what it is supposed to be, that is some combination of sloppy, lazy or simply not wanting to follow any of the rules. Under those circumstances, I always say, “Go start your own universe!” With the addition of so much about psychic potential, equipment like life sign detecting belts, and sensors that cannot distinguish human life forms from bear-cats (as well as references to giant wolves as “werewolves”), Triangle contains an unfortunate number of references that seem like the authors either are making it all up as they go along or are not really interested in the characters they are writing about and the Star Trek universe.

Triangle could have been a strong, character-centered novel that took the familiar Enterprise crew to somewhere new emotionally. Instead, it reads like a bad mash-up of original Star Trek episodes with new elements that do not successfully gel. It is a book that may easily be passed by.

For other Star Trek novels, please visit my reviews of:
#1 - Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Gene Roddenberry
Ashes Of Eden – William Shatner
Federation – Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

2.5/10

For other book reviews, please check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing of the novels I have reviewed!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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How Failures Become Collectibles:A Place Among The Stars, A Star Trek: Voyager Postcard Book Flops!

The Good: Good pictures, Valuable if one has it in mint condition
The Bad: Utterly unworth the price, Ridiculous concept, Obvious image choices
The Basics: A Place Among The Starsa postcard book of twenty-two images of the women of Star Trek: Voyager illustrates theStar Trek franchises turn toward trading on sex appeal as opposed to substance.


As a Star Trek fan and a Star Trek collectibles dealer, a lot of things cross my desk that I have found reason to review over the years. Some of them are great, some of them are terrible, but few are so worthless and disturbing as A Place Among The Stars, which is a Star Trek: Voyager book of postcards. I write "disturbing" because this collection of twenty-two post cards of the Women of Star Trek: Voyager originally sold for less than ten dollars . . . or rather, failed to sell at its cover price. The value plummeted down into the $3 - $4 range as bookstores put them on their clearance racks and now . . . years later, they are highly sought after collectible books. Go figure!

For those who do not follow my reviews, I am part of the die-hard Star Trek fans who were offended when the franchise sold out to the Baywatch audience. This happened with the fourth season of Star Trek: Voyager (reviewed here!) when the character of Kes - one of the most intriguing conceptual characters of both the series and the entire franchise - was replaced with Seven Of Nine. Seven Of Nine was a former Borg drone who wandered the halls of the starship Voyager wearing a skin tight catsuit with her breasts thrust forth like two obvious highbeams. Okay, lousy analogy; Seven carried herself in such a way that her breasts looked like big breasts and the whole point was to try to revive the sinking ratings of the listing program by attracting people who were happy to sit and watch forty-three minutes of Seven Of Nine's breasts.

This becomes problematic - or obvious - in a book like A Place Among The Stars when one looks at how it is broken down. This is a simple book of 5" X 7" postcards connected on the left spine to the binding and perforated for removal of the postcards. The front of each postcard has an image of one of the four primary women of Star Trek: Voyager and the back has a place to write a note to a friend and mail. The back of each card also tells the actress and character name of the person on the front of the postcard.

The thing is, the postcards are broken down in a way that clearly illustrates what Star Trek: Voyager had become: obvious pandering for sex appeal. As a result, Seven Of Nine is the focus of nine of the images, while the Captain of the U.S.S. Voyager, Kathyrn Janeway is honored with only seven postcards. Yes, after Seven's breasts arrived, it was what the show - and especially the merchandising surrounding Star Trek: Voyager - became about. The other postcards feature Chief Engineer B'Elanna Torres (on three postcards), Kes (on two postcards) and images of Janeway, Seven and Torres together on the final one.

Conceptually, a Star Trek: Voyager postcard book is not a bad idea. Indeed, a Star Trek: Voyager postcard book focusing on the women of Star Trek: Voyager is not a bad idea either. After all, women in science fiction offer a great mix of role models for young women and sex symbols for men. It just makes good business sense to trade on the women of science fiction and Star Trek: Voyager has some truly great ones to trade on.

The problem comes from the title and the mix of images. A Place Among The Stars clearly puts the emphasis on the idea that women have a place in the future, at least in science fiction visions of the future. It is reprehensible, then, that the thrust of the postcards would not be on the decisive leadership of the Captain of Voyager, but rather on the local sex kitten. Seven Of Nine was not brought in to raise ratings by providing a Borg character and revitalize the science fiction ideas of Star Trek, she was brought in to parade around in a catsuit and if that is a woman's place among the stars, it's time to defund NASA (or StarFleet) altogether.

A Place Among The Stars would have been worthwhile if it has traded on Janeway's position as an authority, a leader of women and men and illustrated that with postcards of her making the tough decisions and leading. The concept would have worked if the half-Klingon Lieutenant Torres had been featured in an image of her performing an engineering miracle that saved the starship. Even an image of Kes being kind and/or nurturing the crew would have been a step in the right direction.

Instead, most of the images in this book of postcards feature publicity stills of Seven Of Nine. Seven Of Nine is posed, usually from the bustline up, in the various late-season publicity shots that traded on her assets (sometimes, um, literally) to try to sell her to the audience and the postcard buying public. This leads us to the other fundamental problem with this postcard book. As a dealer of Star Trek memorabilia, I can say with some authority that none of these images are unique to this book. Every one of the postcards in A Place Among The Stars is featured on a standalone postcard that is legally licensed and easily available at most Star Trek conventions. In fact, most of the shots are the same bland publicity stills released by Paramount Pictures Studios to promote each season of the show and are licensed on 8x10s, magazine covers, trading cards, t-shirts and postcards. The freestanding postcards are usually available for $1.00/ea or 6/$5.00 at conventions and makes the practical value of this book quite low.

In "Books" we tend to look for thorough reviews with insight, but lacking any writing or commentary on the postcards in this book, one is left with twenty-two publicity stills, most of which are easily available elsewhere and most of which illustrate the unfortunate concept that in science fiction, a woman's place among the stars is much the same as it is beside a politician these days: to stand there and look good.

This postcard book culls images from:
Star Trek: Voyager - Season 1
Star Trek: Voyager - Season 2
Star Trek: Voyager - Season 3
Star Trek: Voyager - Season 4
Star Trek: Voyager - Season 5

2/10

For other book reviews, be sure to check out my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Deep Space Nine’s The Soul Key: Another Piece Of A Larger Puzzle That Stands Up!

The Good: Well-written, Engaging, Sense of movement/development
The Bad: Largely focused on characters with little empathy from readers, Technique is annoying at times.
The Basics: Fun, but very self-referential, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine The Soul Key wraps up the Iliana Ghemor story!


For those who might not know – and my wife and I had a discussion about this this morning when she revealed to me that she did not think I was as much of a science fiction geek based upon our first few communiqués – I am a big fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!). In fact, I am a big enough fan that it is almost shocking how ling it has taken me to get into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season Eight, which is happening in novel form. As the books have developed and the characters from my favorite television show have progressed, I have been more wary, much the way I suspect some fans of Buffy The Vampire Slayer are about the continuing effort with that franchise in comic book form. Still, I may be late to the party, but Season Eight of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is continuing and the nineteenth adventure has finally arrived (I had no conception how late I was until I counted up the book list at the front) as The Soul Key.

The Soul Key is a misleading title to the book, as it implies that the artifact in the title might be even remotely important to the story and it, shockingly, is not. Instead, The Soul Key continues the story of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and it does so with a self-referential tint that makes it rather inaccessible to anyone who hasn’t been keeping up with the books. As such, it is a very true sequel to Olivia Woods’ previous Star Trek: Deep Space Nine outing, Fearful Symmetry (reviewed here!). This novel picks up – sort of – right where the other one left off and it continues, possibly concludes, Pocket Books’ obsession with the Mirror Universe. As such, this is a very true sequel, but at the same time, it actually manages to hold up pretty well as its own work for those who might not remember the content of Fearful Symmetry as well as they ought to.

What makes The Soul Key difficult for fans of the series who have been keeping up is that much of the book is spent filling in gaps from prior installments and as a result, there is the sense that this is finally putting specific puzzle pieces together to allow readers to finally understand events they have read in other stories. And while most of that works, some of it is a little annoying or just plain sloppy. But before Olivia Woods is criticized for being sloppy – in truth the only real example that comes instantly to mind is in Chapter 16 (beginning on page 224) – most of The Soul Key is based upon a clever idea and is rewarding because it finally resolves dangling elements of the story of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine while building something bigger. The Epilogue, though, is also annoying because for some of us who have missed prior installments are lost until the very last line of the book and then it is a piece in a completely different puzzle!

Olivia Woods does something the very best Star Trek writers do, which is to tie together elements of the Star Trek universe that were created for single episodes or incidents and makes them have larger meaning or significance. So, for example, the Soul Key itself takes an element from the tragically unpopular “The Storyteller” (reviewed here!) and finally gives it context. As well, in order to truly understand The Soul Key, it helps for readers to understand the Mirror Universe episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and “Second Skin” (reviewed here!). In fact, even more than “The Storyteller,” like Fearful Symmetry, understanding The Soul Key is hinged upon seeing “Second Skin.” The elements that are germane to this book that aren’t in that episode tend to be found in Fearful Symmetry, which makes sense as the characters focused on most in this book were actually introduced in Fearful Symmetry.

With the mirror universe’s Iliana Ghemor advising Captain Kira Nerys to the threat to both universes, Captain Kira and first officer Vaughn have gone into the Mirror Universe to stop our universe’s Iliana from becoming the Emissary there. Flashing back, then, the backstory of Iliana Ghemor is filled in more with her time on Harkoum explored following her escape from Dukat’s private prison. After building a small army and taking control over Taran’atar – Deep Space Nine’s Jem’Hadar officer - Iliana captures Ke Hovath, the keeper of a Bajoran artifact used to keep the Dal’rok at bay over a small village on Bajor. Taking the artifact, Iliana becomes convinced that she can infiltrate the Mirror Universe and open the wormhole there, thus installing herself as Emissary and taking control of the Mirror Universe.

Iliana’s plan, though, is far more self-serving. She wants to use the Wormhole and the Prophets to move through all realities to kill Kira Nerys in each and every dimension. As she manipulates General Kurn with the idea that she can provide a loyal army of Jem’Hadar soldiers from the alternate universe, she works to stay alive and gain access to the Celestial Temple. While her machinations develop, Kira and Vaughn make contact with the Bajoran dissident movement which offers the best chance of thwarting Iliana . . . if only it can keep it together long enough to succeed, an unlikely possibility given that the Rebels in control of Terok Nor appear to have bombarded the Bajoran capital from orbit!

The biggest liability to The Soul Key is that it is so self-referential as to be stifling to those who have not been fans of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. But as a fan, it was enjoyable to see how Olivia Woods managed to tie together the disparate elements of the series in order to create a tense, engaging character study. Unfortunately, the liability is not entirely limited to new readers. Almost the entire book is focused on Iliana Ghemor, a character who Woods fleshed out almost entirely in the prior novel. The character is intriguing and Woods finally makes her make sense, but the end result of The Soul Key is an overall lack of a sense of real consequence to anyone the reader is likely to care about. After all, the Mirror Universe characters are almost all dead and they are recurring guest stars in the overall narrative of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. So, too, is Iliana Ghemor and what happens to her ultimately only matters to most readers for how it affects the characters we care about.

Most notable among these is Kira Nerys, who is Iliana’s doppelganger. Unfortunately, Kira’s growth is stiflingly small in this book and most of it is related to her dealing with the Taran’atar. Taran’atar actually has a fairly decent arc in this book as he makes the inevitable leap from Iliana’s tool to an actualized character. If nothing else, while the other characters may seem peripheral, Taran’atar finally feels like he has an arc worthy of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Ever an outsider, the Jem’Hadar officer finally comes into his own as a character who is more than just the Deep Space Nine “type.” And Woods gives him an interesting character path one is actually interested in seeing the consequences of.

As for Iliana, the character finally becomes a villain worth watching when she has a motivation – if flimsy – for her plan. Until now, readers have seen the effects of her machinations, but not known why she is doing what she is doing. The Soul Key satisfactorily explains that and the sense of revenge is a very classic one.

Unfortunately, because of the gaps in the prior novels, Olivia Woods is left filling in vital pieces of information throughout The Soul Key. For the most part, it works because after the “teaser,” Woods sends the reader back to the gap of time on Harkoum nine months prior where Iliana’s story left off before. Woods then works up to the present day and she does a decent job of painting in the details in Iliana’s story that one needs to make sense of the convoluted machinations the character is engaged in. This sense of telling the story as details become necessary becomes problematic when the reader reaches the “present” and Woods seems stuck with her own technique. So, for example, in on page 224 a line comes up mid-chapter that is instantly flashed back for several pages from and the reader has to work back up to the line and it seems more sloppy than a matter of technique. So, it works when Woods clearly labels the timeframe and jumps around, but when she jumbles the times up within a chapter, it seems less engaging and more confusing.

And things are confusing enough in a book with two Iliana Ghemors, at least one of whom looks like Kira Nerys! But for those looking for a good character study, The Soul Key is a pretty classic revenge tale with a madwoman who is bent on manipulating two universes out of her sense of injustice. Woods does what all of the best writers working in the Mirror Universe do, which is to bring familiar characters into play in the alternate universe with little twists and readers will delight at the way she places Martok, Kurn, Entek and Dukat in the Mirror Universe.

And if this sounds very confusing, it is because The Soul Key is exactly what it promises to be, a science fiction adventure set in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine franchise. It is not designed to be overly accessible to those who do not know the television show. That said, if one has read Fearful Symmetry, it is remarkably easy to follow and is quite enjoyable.

Finally, for all of my problems with moments of sloppy narrative technique, Olivia Woods deserves a lot of credit for her level of diction throughout The Soul Key. Instead of making the language more adult-oriented by including curses in made up languages, she peppers the books with words that are a higher level of diction than most Star Trek novels. There was even a word I had to look up (I can’t even find it now, but it impressed me that Woods was writing at something above a high school level of vocabulary).

Anyone who likes science fiction and alternate identity stories will enjoy this, but it truly is only for the fans. But those who might have been more lukewarm to Fearful Symmetry will find this justifies their faith in Olivia Woods and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

For other books featuring Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, check out my reviews of:
The Best Of Deep Space Nine – Mike W. Barr
Twist Of Faith
Millennium – Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

7.5/10

For other Star Trek books, be sure to check out my specialized Star Trek Book Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Somewhere In The Middle Of A Convoluted Story, Fearful Symmetry Underwhelms On Its Own.

The Good: Interesting plot, Strong sense of knowledge of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Cool gimmick
The Bad: Light on character development, Predictable, Terribly incomplete story
The Basics: In a VERY weak recommend, Olivia Woods sets to cleaning up the mess from the last Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel while telling the story of Iliana Ghemor.


It has been quite a while since I picked up a Star Trek novel. I stopped collecting them when Star Trek: Voyager began and Pocket books began churning out so many books that it became clear they were just in it for the money. That may sound like a silly overstatement of the obvious, but the truth is, reading the first Star Trek: Voyager book, it became clear that the writers were going off original notes for the series; none of the characters sounded like they were supposed to and the book just stunk. I've picked up a few since then, but my time has been pretty limited, so it has been a while . . .

But on my recent trip out to Las Vegas, I found myself absolutely fascinated by Fearful Symmetry, the latest novel in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine storyline. For those unfamiliar with my reviews, I absolutely love Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (reviewed here!). It is my favorite Star Trek series and, to date, my favorite television program of all time. As I understand it, Pocket Books has been given license to freely develop the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine storyline as it has become apparent that it is one of the portions of the franchise that is cinematically dead and buried. Fearful Symmetry instantly intrigued me because it is a book with two covers and no indication of what is inside outside those covers. Arranged like an old audio cassette or record, the book starts with "Side One," as a book with Kira Nerys on the cover. Midway through the book, the story ends and the novel must be physically flipped over to reveal "Side Two," a book with Iliana Ghemor on the cover.

And as I leap into my review of Fearful Symmetry, it is worth noting right off the bat that reading this book on its own is futile for two reasons. First, it relies so heavily on specific information presented in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Second Skin" (reviewed here!) that anyone who has not seen that episode will be so completely lost and unable to suspend their disbelief long enough to even enjoy Fearful Symmetry. It helps, as well, to have seen "Ties Of Blood And Water" (reviewed here!), though for most of the rest of the book, there is adequate explanation or the inside jokes can be safely missed without truly missing anything essential. (So, for example, only the true die-hard fans are going to catch the beautifully obscure reference to Gul Danar on page 95 of "Side Two." In a discussion on how many aliens look like Cardassians and they could be surgically altered with minimal effort, Gul Danar is referenced as being an ideal match for humans, Klingons, and Romulans, a reference that means absolutely nothing save to those who know that Danar was played by Vaughn Armstrong, who appears in various episodes of various Star Trek series' as a human, Klingon, and Romulan - as well as several others.). But even more than being an Alpha Geek in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, it quickly becomes apparent in reading Fearful Symmetry that one needs to have read the other Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novels, most notably Warpath, which immediately precedes this one. Sure, the reader can fudge through the changes in personnel, but all of "Side One" is a reaction to events in Warpath and as a result, it is singularly insular. This has, almost from its outset, the feeling of being a middle act in a much bigger piece and that is carried through to the last pages of both sides.

The problem with Fearful Symmetry boils down to a simple truth: the writers and executive producers of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine earned my trust by planting threads and paying them off, allowing for a few episodes wherein nothing truly happens, but it bridges a larger story. Author Olivia Woods has not earned that trust (yet) and whether she is creating on her own or working from another's larger sense of where and what the Star Trek universe ought to be (Pocket Books, just scanning their current Star Trek reading list, does seem completely obsessed with alternate universes and the Mirror Universe in particular), Fearful Symmetry is a bridging novel and some aspects of what it appears to be setting up are terribly predictable, at least to astute readers (loyal Star Trek: Deep Space Nine book readers, I'd be expecting a casualty in the near future!).

Following an assassination attempt by the station's resident Jem'Hadar, Captain Kira Nerys of Deep Space Nine welcomes home her first officer, Elias Vaughn, only to relieve him of duty for disobeying orders after she was nearly killed. Recovering from being stabbed through the heart, Kira finds herself interrogating a prisoner recovered from Harkoum, Iliana Ghemor. Iliana, however, is not native to this universe, she is the Mirror Universe Iliana and she has made a crossover to try to stop our universe's Iliana Ghemor - who is disguised as Kira Nerys - from entering the Mirror Universe to replace their Intendant Kira, become the Emissary and overthrow the Alliance. Kira slowly validates Ghemor's story and . . . [her story ends, flip the book]

Starting during the Occupation of Bajor, Iliana Ghemor (our universe's Iliana) is raised by Tekeny Ghemor as an artist. She falls in love with an officer who is assigned to Bajor and as a result, she joins the Obsidian Order until she is given a deep cover assignment. Unfortunately for her, her assignment is cut short after she is surgically altered to look like Kira Nerys and she spends the next fifteen years imprisoned, being raped by Gul Dukat.

Yes, it's a thrilling story. Actually, to her credit, Olivia Woods makes two (potentially) good observations in Fearful Symmetry. The first is in the character of Benjamin Sisko as he relates to the Mirror Universe. Woods observes that there is a certain naivete that allows fans to believe that the incursion into the Mirror Universe in the episode "Crossover” (reviewed here!), which happened while a Runabout passed through the Wormhole was a random event. With everything else in his life being orchestrated by the Prophets, Woods rightly notes (in the guise of the Prophets) that it can hardly be considered random that the Wormhole was involved in the crossover. This would be a compelling and actually insightful observation that worked the way Woods wants it to, save for one nagging detail: Sisko wasn't in that Runabout in that episode. The idea that the Prophets were guiding our Sisko to the alternate Sisko only truly works if Sisko were involved in the crossover (which he wasn't). Woods is making do with the best she has at her disposal, but it's still a bit of a stretch.

Sadly, this results in a rather convoluted plot being spelled out over the course of the first 137 pages ("Side One"). The thing is, all "Side Two" then becomes is an explicit explanation of the backstory divined in "Side One." The pieces that are slowly put together in the first half of the book are reassembled in order in "Side Two" and lead to the lack of resolution that sets up the next volume. This allows Woods to make a very neat, if convoluted, connection between Iliana and Kira that works. Borrowing from a few lines of "The Darkness And The Light" and the story of Silaran Prin, Woods connects Iliana and Kira in a very close way.

Unfortunately for Woods, the connection - by that point - is predictable. Many of the things that seem set up to try to surprise the reader, like how much Entek and the Obsidian Order have orchestrated is obvious from the outset to those who are savvy with Star Trek or spy stories. Whether from watching all of Alias or Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, from the moment Woods puts Iliana in a holodeck scenario against her first Bajoran, it is obvious to the reader that the Bajoran is not a hologram. Sorry, it's not a huge plot point and, as noted, it's not a surprise to the caliber of reader who will be engaged by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The final problem with Fearful Symmetry is that it makes one big leap that was never made in "Second Skin," a leap that stretches the suspension of disbelief for the reader. In "Second Skin," Kira is used as a pawn by the Obsidian Order because of her resemblance to Iliana Ghemor. Iliana had been surgically altered to appear like a Bajoran, just as Kira is surgically altered to appear like Iliana in the episode. The problem with Fearful Symmetry is that it operates on the premise that Iliana was surgically altered to appear like Kira Nerys. Given Kira's relative unimportance for most of the Occupation, this seems a big leap and it only works in the narrow terms of this plotline. In other words, if Ghemor had been altered to look like Kira, it would have given Tekeny and the agents searching for her something solid to look for, something that they did not have in the television series. In the case of this book, it is explained (rather horrifically and without a lot of respect for the character of Gul Dukat, who is taken from being the smarmy football captain who might date rape the drunken cheerleaders, obliviously believing that they wanted it to an outright serial rapist motivated by hate), but the answer stretches our suspension of disbelief and seems patently designed to fit the rather convoluted direction this book insists on going in.

And that direction is truncated because this is very much a middle act and the story is far from complete. Instead, this is a piece in a puzzle and the puzzle continues an obsession with the Mirror Universe that serves only to further convolute the Pocket Books version of Star Trek. After all, William Shatner gave his interpretation of the Mirror Universe in his mini-series that began with Spectre (reviewed here!). This might be a more complete and intetresting vision, but it is no better so far.

Ultimately, I'm giving Woods this one. Despite the typo on page 41 (Side One, hey, my first novel had several so I'm blaming the editors - who still seem to be rushing these books to press - here!), I'm giving Woods the benefit of the doubt, but if the book that follows this one doesn't pay off, I'm coming back for this one. The story of Iliana Ghemor is interesting enough - even if it is a bit obvious - to thrill Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fans with the concept, even if it will have no real appeal to a mass audience.

Then again, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine never did . . .

For other Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novels, be sure to check out my reviews of:
Millennium
Twist Of Faith

5/10

For other book reviews, visit my Book Review Index Page for an organized listing of all the books I have reviewed!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Better-Than-Average Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Novel Demons Of Air And Darkness Satisfies!

The Good: Interesting concept, Good pacing, Good character moments, Nice overall story development
The Bad: Plays the same card the last book did.
The Basics: Keith R.A. DeCandido presents a chapter in a larger story of the Iconian gateways with the Defiant and Deep Space Nine crews on a humanitarian mission!


As Star Trek: Deep Space Nine continued in novel form, the publishers at Pocket Books tried to integrate it into the larger Star Trek universe better. As a result, when there were crossover series', this oft-forgotten corner of the Star Trek universe was brought in. One of those few - to date - crossovers was a little series about Iconian gateways and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel in that series was Demons Of Air And Darkness, by novelist Keith R.A. DeCandido.

I was not all that impressed by the other Star Trek novel of Keith R.A. DeCandido, Diplomatic Implausibility (reviewed here!) that I had read. However, I was not about to avoid the next Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel in the rebooted series simply because of the author. The novel was Demons Of Air And Darkness and it appears to have been both a stand-alone Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel and a piece of a larger crossover in the various elements of the Star Trek franchise. As such, it has cameos by Jean-Luc Picard and Calhoun and Shelby from the novel-only "Starship Excalibur" series. But, largely, this is the new face of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and it works pretty well.

Moments after bringing a new communications array in the Gamma Quadrant back online in preparation of the U.S.S. Defiant's renewed interest and ability to explore that quadrant, Commander Vaughn and the Defiant are recalled. StarFleet has gone to a fleet-wide yellow alert when the mysterious Iconians return after two hundred thousand years of being absent from the Alpha Quadrant. They activate all of their gateways and the potential represented by the appearance and activation of the space and planet-bound gateways is astonishing to the leading governments of the Alpha Quadrant. While Quark goes on a mission to represent the Orion Syndicate's interests in acquiring the gateways, Kira, Vaughn, Taran'atar and Tenmei head to Europa Nova to deal with an environmental crisis while Nog and Shar try to figure out why there are no gateways near Bajor.

Quark is soon faced with a serious problem; he is negotiating against his cousin Gaila, a Ferengi who absolutely hates him. While Ezri remains in command of Deep Space Nine, Nog and Shar reason that the Denorios Belt might be responsible for the lack of gateways in the Bajoran system, before Shar is waylayed by his politician mother with additional pressures to return home. But the situation at New Europa is the crisis that seems most devastating. As Bashir works to save lives by evacuating colonists using a small fleet of ships, Kira and Taran'atar pass through the Iconian gateway to try to disable the Malon freighter that is dumping antimatter waste into New Europa's atmosphere. Unfortunately, the Malon themselves are dead, fallen prey to a Hirogen, whose hunt may cost more than just Kira and Taran'atar's lives!

Demons Of Air And Darkness is a surprisingly well-plotted book, save that DeCandido mixes up one important detail and plays the same card that Dean Weddle and Jeffrey Lang did in the prior Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel, Abyss (reviewed here!). The card is a very simple and increasingly annoying writer's trick that makes use of the novel format, because this is not a television series. Simply put, subterfuge is much easier in a novel than it is on television. Characters are, quite simply, recognizable by their casting. As a result, simply writing "a Jem'Hadar" or "a Bajoran dabo girl" becomes a great way to escape that particular problem in the novels. This sets up reversals when the reader finds out which Jem'Hadar is menacing our protagonist or which Bajoran has truly accompanied Quark on his mission (readers who have been with the series thus far will not be surprised as the dabo girl is the noticeably absent character from the cast list). And DeCandido might have gotten away with it were it not for the fact that the same reversal was used in the prior novel and, frankly, it would be refreshing to read something a little more original than simply omitting the name and description of a character so that when it is revealed it is a surprise. In the case of the Jem'Hadar in Abyss and the dabo girl in Demons Of Air And Darkness, the clandestine aspect would have been evident the moment the characters appeared on screen. It would have been refreshing for the reader to have the facts the opposition didn't have and enjoy that secret knowledge more than banking on the reversal (classic problem with Star Trek: Voyager, for example). The mixed-up detail is significant enough that it is annoying to the careful reader: Kira and Taran'atar realize that the Malon ship must have powerful transporters because the Hirogen is aboard, but the Hirogen beamed aboard from his ship moments before it was destroyed, using his transporter, not the Malon's.

Most of the story, though, is well-paced, clever and well-executed. Demons Of Air And Darkness - a phrase used to describe the Iconians in Star Trek: The Next Generation - presents the return of the Iconians and the only real flaw with them is the lack of intellectual curiosity presented in this novel in relation to the Iconians. None of the StarFleet officers in this book seem especially curious as to the nature and existence of the Iconians after two hundred thousand years. This plays a minor part in this particular novel, though it's fairly predictable to fans of the series to guess that the people in negotiations with Quark are not entirely in control of the gateways. The Iconians are given dialogue bits where they communicate between one another and the reader picks up pretty quickly their true nature. Still, DeCandido plays that card well, holding it until the last possible moment.

The whole idea of the Iconians, of course, was brought up in the television series. The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Contagion" (reviewed here!) introduced the concept of the Iconians and their gateways and the idea was revisited on Star Trek: The Next Generation with "To The Death" (reviewed here!). It helps to watch one or both of those episodes before reading this book as the nature of the Iconians is otherwise somewhat vague and alluded to more than explicitly described.

That said, this chapter in the gateway story that overcame the Star Trek franchise when the novel was originally published, is remarkably strong on its own and the way it manages to stay distinctly Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is through its emphasis on the characters. More than that, Keith R.A. DeCandido is given the task of fleshing out some of the new novel-only characters. Bashir and Ezri are largely neglected in favor of Elias Vaughn, Shar, Taran'atar, Quark and Kira. Three of those are unique to the book series. Far more than plot-driven, much of the action in Demons Of Air And Darkness is refreshingly character-driven.

Take, for example, Elias Vaughn. Outed in the prior novel as the father of the Defiant's new conn officer, Prynn Tenmei, Vaughn is the new commander of the Defiant and the first officer at Deep Space Nine, effectively filling the niches Worf and Kira previously held. Vaughn represents a pretty astonishing concept in the Star Trek novel world and the overall concept of the Star Trek franchise. Over one hundred years old, Vaughn represents the chance to expand the backstory and depth of the Star Trek universe by creating a guy who has been around doing things off camera for the whole time (and longer) the modern Star Trek series' have been without contradicting what is established canon. So, for example, in this novel, we learn that the two on-screen missions involving the Iconians were not the only ones and that Vaughn participated in a highly classified mission involving the Iconians. It's a clever idea and it seems like one that could work extensively in the novels, so long as it is properly used. Vaughn is a great source for referencing various episodes of Star Trek as he supposedly has an amazing security clearance. His part will work better - I suspect - when we encounter something he has heard about or has peripheral knowledge of, but not direct experience with. We can buy that he was on a mission involving the Iconian gateways, though. It is nice to see Vaughn commanding and commanding well in this book, establishing himself as a fairly vital character.

Thirishar ch'Thane, the new Andorian science officer, is also featured prominently in Demons Of Air And Darkness. Ch'Thane - or Shar as he is commonly called - is the son of, among others, the representative from Andor to the Federation Council. Shar's mother makes an appearance in this novel and the badgering for him to return to Andor persists, pretty much as it has since he was first introduced. He and Nog continue to develop a friendship and it is refreshing that Nog's character is not so abandoned that when the refugee crisis from New Europa comes up Nog is disappointed they have to give up searching for Jake Sisko, who disappeared a few books back! Shar, though, is becoming likable and his character works especially well, giving Nog a decent companion.

Taran'atar continues to grow on the reader as he continues to do Odo's bidding by following Kira's orders. While his part is relegated once again to a battle scenario, it works, especially with his pairing with Kira. They make for an unlikely mentor/student relationship with Taran'atar in the role of the curious student. Kira, for her part, comes into her own well in the last half of the book.

For those fearing that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is becoming unrecognizable in its novel form, there is relief in the form of Quark. Quark's presence in the book is surprisingly active and while Quark never truly grows as a character, it is refreshing to see him doing things, like negotiating and weaseling around the Orion Syndicate.

Fans of the Star Trek franchise will find a lot to like about Demons Of Air And Darkness, though while many of the vital points involving the Deep Space Nine crew are wrapped up neatly, there are a number of threads still unresolved by the end of this book. Fans of science fiction in general and action-adventure stories will also find enough to be intrigued by in this one, though there are no overwhelming philosophies in this book and it is somewhat simplistic on the science fiction front. There's enough action adventure for fans of that and fans of the Star Trek franchise will likely enjoy seeing StarFleet and Federation personnel working on a humanitarian problem. In other words, this does not degenerate into yet another stupid "kill the villain" scenario.

Keith R.A. DeCandido does a fine job with the writing, though few Star Trek novels are a source of sophisticated or complicated diction, this one is good enough. In other words, Demons Of Air And Darkness is more likely than most Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novels to intrigue the reader and keep them coming back for more!

This book is part of the Twist Of Faith omnibus, reviewed here!

7/10

For other Star Trek book reviews, be sure to visit my Star Trek Book Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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