friedman@uiucdcs.UUCP (11/21/84)
Book review (non-spoiler; you can get most of the plot facts given here from the cover blurbs): Lorrah, Jean. The Vulcan Academy Murders. Pocket Books, 1984. This is a combination SF and detective novel, with lots of interaction among your favorite Vulcan characters and some of your favorite Humans. It is set about two years after the events of "Amok Time", and prior to the time Dr. M'Benga joined the crew of the Enterprise (an event for which the groundwork is laid). Kirk, Spock, and McCoy go to Vulcan for medical treatment of a severely injured crewman, using an experimental technique developed by a Vulcan/Human partnership working at the Vulcan Academy of Sciences. Sarek's wife, Amanda, is udergoing the same treatment, and the Vulcan doctor's wife is added to the patient list early in the novel. (The Human doctor had been the first patient to try the technique, on himself.) Then something goes wrong, and two of the patients die. Kirk deduces murder, and in the absence of anything like police on Vulcan (crime is unknown among Vulcans), he sets out to track the culprit. The main plot is a plain old detective story (that's not meant as a criticism; I happen to LIKE detective stories). But I think the subplots are what make the book really enjoyable. Lorrah explores Spock's relationship with his parents, especially Sarek, after "Journey to Babel"; the telepathic bond in Vulcan marriages; the use of the mind meld by Vulcan healers; the Vulcan Academy; T'Pau's attitude toward outworlders; the nature of Vulcan emotions (we all know they exist); etc. She also seems to tie together a lot of little facts about Vulcan society gleaned from the TV episodes, the movies, and even the cartoon episode in which Spock visits his childhood self on Vulcan (I forget the episode title, but I think it was the best of the cartoon episodes). All in all, better than the average ST novel from Pocket Books. You might or might not "buy" everything in the book, but I think you'll enjoy it.