gt3403b@gitpyr.UUCP (Ray Chen) (10/24/85)
Marshak & Culbreath also wrote TRIANGLE, a novel involving the "New Humans"
that were mentioned in the novelization of Star Trek: TMP.
I thought the PHOENIX series was very good. They did a nice job of
exploring the problems and paradoxes of body duplication, morality and
the Prime (Non-interference) Directive. I thought the characters were
handled rather well, as well.
In the Star Trek series & novels, you rarely get to see exactly what
makes a Starship Captain special. People are aware of the fact that
due to the communications lag between a starship and it's base, a
starship Captain has to be able and is *required* to be handle tricky
situations (often involving possible war) on his own as the only
representative of the Federation on hand. However, this is rarely
brought out in either the novels, series, or movies.
You can see why they don't put just anybody in command of starship because
if he screws up, the Federation may find itself out an ally, port, treaty,
or in a war.
In the PHOENIX series, you get to see the characters (heroes and "villains"
alike) functioning at their limits in near-impossible circumstances. The
glitter gets torn off, so to speak, and you get to see what kind of people
they really are. So, it's a very tense and intense book and atmosphere,
but given the story, it's definitely justified. It's also noteworthy
that the "villain", Omne, turns out to be someone you can admire.
Even considering the fact Morshak and Culbreath shatter the Star Trek
universe (bend would definitely be an understatement here), I'd
consider the PHOENIX series (along with Diane Duane's books)
the best ST novels out there.
Ray Chen
gitpyr!chen
Georgia Insitute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!chen