oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious Oyster) (10/24/85)
In article <153@caip.RUTGERS.EDU> eyal%wisdom.bitnet@WISCVM.ARPA writes: > >The authors are Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath. > >I'm in the middle of it now (so you needn't be afraid of spoilers :-), >and it is definitely worth reading. It has a great plot, it really >brings to life the characters of Kirk and Spock, and it is also >thought-provoking on more than one level - it deals with the >"duplication" problem, and also raises interesting questions about the >validity of the "Directive of Non-Interference". > >I read one review which claims that the Star Trek novels by Marshak and >Culbreath are among the best SF novels written in recent years, and are >better than the TV series in terms of profound, thought-provoking >ideas. Other Star Trek novels by the same authors are The Fate of the >Phoenix, Triangle, and The Prometheus Design (which, according to the >reviewer, is not as great as the other three, but still very good). I >bought all four novels in a recent visit to the USA, and now finally >got around to reading them. > And now a dissenting opinion: An ST-bedazzled friend of mine (Hi, Rob... I'll return the books someday) lent me several ST books by the above-mentioned authors, knowing full well that I didn't particularly care for that type of thing, saying "But you'll *like* these! They're *good!*" Well, I've read three of them, and, after a 4-5 month hiatus, will give them just one more chance by reading "The Fate of the Phoenix" (currently on my nightstand, having just finished "The Image of the Beast", a must for Phil Farmer fans). I rate them on par with "The Sword of Shannara". Yeah, that's kinda harsh, but it's like they were books that I finished, but had no real desire to keep reading. Furthermore, I may have missed something of deep philosophical import, but it seemed that the same plot line was carried from book to book, with a few characters changed here and there. "Well, a beautiful woman with superhuman capabilities? Gosh, Kirk is falling for her? What? His duties to his ship come between them? Oh, he's wrestling with his conscience *again*?!" Sure, I'm reducing the plot line to a single idea, and ignoring the all-important (set sarcasm mode) treatment of walking the fine line of the Non-interference Directive, but face it: how many times can the same story be written by an author or authors before it gets stale? Once is enough for me. Call me an Art-Snob (though dht would disagree), but I prefer being confused by whatever it is that Delaney is saying in "Stars in my Pocket..." than rereading the same adequate story several times. - joel "vo" plutchak {allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster Can you say "opinion"? I *knew* you could! P.S. Rob and I now have an agreement: he won't try to make me read any more Star Trek books if I don't try to make him read Brust.
todd@reed.UUCP (Todd Ellner) (10/28/85)
> I rate them [star trek novels] on par > with "The Sword of Shannara". Yeah, that's kinda harsh, but it's like they > were books that I finished, but had no real desire to keep reading. > Furthermore, I may have missed something of deep philosophical import, but it > seemed that the same plot line was carried from book to book, with a few > characters changed here and there. "Well, a beautiful woman with superhuman > capabilities? Gosh, Kirk is falling for her? What? His duties to his > ship come between them? Oh, he's wrestling with his conscience *again*?!" > Sure, I'm reducing the plot line to a single idea, and ignoring the > all-important (set sarcasm mode) treatment of walking the fine line of the > Non-interference Directive, but face it: how many times can the same story > be written by an author or authors before it gets stale? > > - joel "vo" plutchak > {allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** There is at least one star trek novel which doesn't follow the formula, _Final_Reflection_ by, I believe,John Ford. It's about a Klingon starship commander and takes place long before anything in the series. It's pretty good reading and has some nice ideas about everyone's favorite villains. Todd
ins_amap@jhunix.UUCP (Mark Aden Poling) (10/30/85)
> There is at least one star trek novel which doesn't follow the formula, > _Final_Reflection_ by, I believe,John Ford. It's about a Klingon > starship commander and takes place long before anything in the series. > It's pretty good reading and has some nice ideas about everyone's favorite > villains. > > Todd Which makes me think to ask, has Mr. Ford published any Alternities Corporation stories since "Slowly By, Lorena" in IASFM some time (years) ago? They were the best things the magazine published under Scithers, other than maybe the "Adventures in Unhistory" by I believe Algis Budrys. Have the Alternities stories been anthologised? Where? -- "Bibliographers. Never there when you need 'em." ;-) Mark!