STAR TREK (2009 Film Novelization) by Alan Dean Foster
Pocket Books, 2009, 274 pages, 978-1-4391-5886-9, Trade Paperback, $15.00

Genre: Science Fiction

Well, here’s a novel where there’s no need for me to summarize the plot. If you haven’t seen the 2009 Star Trek movie, chances are you won’t and don’t much care to read this book anyway, or else you just haven’t gotten around to it and wouldn’t want to be spoiled. And if you have seen the film, then you really don’t need for me to sit here and pretend like you don’t remember the plot.

Because the book does follow the plot of the film, and pretty closely. Oh, sure, there are those pesky divergances that tend to happen in any movie novelization, but that’s all right. If you’ve ever read novelizations before then, chances are, you’ve come to expect that, and it won’t really make that much of a difference to you.

That said, there’s really not much for me to say in terms of the book itself. I mean, movie novelizations are pretty similar across the board, right? Well, I suppose. And I’ve only read two or three of them in my time, to be perfectly honest, so if there’s a a truly dynamic and expectation defying novelization out there, I probably don’t know about it.

In this case, the book is pretty much what you would expect. It follows the course of the film and does its best to capture the sometimes chaotic events. A lot of times this results in lightning fast point-of-view changes that will leave you feeling dizzy, and it doesn’t leave a lot of room for extra insight into the characters or much of anything else. The story itself moves slowly up until the midway point where, all of a sudden, things start happening at a rapid pace.

On the other hand, there are a few additions that fans might appreciate. Some of the dialogue scenes are extended (not always for the better, but for the most part they make interesting additions), and there are one or two additional scenes that some may wish had been included in the movie. Without giving details, I’ll just say that these scenes are in chapter one and at the end of the epilogue.

This book is something you’re going to pick up only if you’re a fan and interested in seeing what kind of extra information you can glean from it after seeing the movie. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s why I read it, after all.

~

MINDSHADOW (Star Trek: TOS) by J. M. Dillard
Pocket Books, 1986, 252 pages, 0-671-70420-6, Mass Market Paperback, $4.50

Genre: Science Fiction

If you thought I was joking in my last review, when I said that it was always Spock who ends up getting himself critically injured, then this is where I get to say I told you so.

In Mindshadow, the Enterprise arrives at the planet Aritani where pirates have been attacking the native inhabitants and devastating their land. An arrangement is made to help protect them, which prompts the captain to beam down to meet the settlement’s leader. Spock undertakes the duty of investigating the nearby mountains and, as a result, falls victim to an accident. It causes extensive physical damage as well as critical injury to the left side of his brain – the side which generally controls his logic and the mental rules which allow him to function properly as a Vulcan. Additionally, he has lost his memory, which becomes increasingly frustrating as he’s certain that he has information that the captain needs.

As McCoy cares for him in sickbay, something goes wrong on the planet below. Despite the newly erected protective shield, the pirates manage to wreak even more havoc than before. As Kirk struggles to discover how this has happened, he must also deal with several onboard incidents and the possibility that Spock may never recover.

Now, I’m going to skip a lot of my usual rambly whatsit and just get to the point – I liked this one. I liked it more than Legacy, which wasn’t too bad in its own right. A heck of a lot was packed into a book that only has 252 pages, and for such a tight space the story was pretty interesting. Of course, what I particularly liked was the clearly visible relationship dynamic between the Big Three. I’m pretty sure any fan of the original series would agree that this was a huge element of that crew’s success, and I enjoy seeing it so well reiterated in the novels. Mindshadow did a very good job in that regard.

And, for what it’s worth, I also enjoyed watching Kirk get “owned” by McCoy when it came to the ladies. That was worth it for both the amusement factor and the bit of friction it created between them.

If anything could have been expounded upon, it was probably Spock’s struggle to hold it together despite his loss of the Vulcan mind rules. While Dillard handled it well enough given the space of the novel, it would have been interesting to see that played out a little further.

All in all, good stuff, and there are even a few allusions to other stories, such as Journey to Babel. Incidentally, I’ve noticed that the last two books that I’ve read have done an excellent job of seamlessly incorporating references to previous stories; which differs greatly from my opinion of how it was handled in Q & A. Part of this may have to do with the fact that, while Q & A seemed to do nothing but reference other plots, Legacy and Mindshadow used them quite sparingly and focused on the events of that moment.

I will now go and save the original rambly whatsit for a later post.

~

LEGACY (Star Trek: TOS) by Michael Jan Friedman
Pocket Books, 1991, 280 pages, 0-671-74468-2, Mass Market Paperback, $4.95

Genre: Science Fiction

I run the risk of overriding TRE with an onslaught of Star Trek novel reviews, sparked, as you may well imagine, by the release of the film on May 8th. While part of me wonders whether or not I should do that, the other part of me says that I should read whatever I’ll enjoy, and right now I’m enjoying this.

But don’t take me for a Star Trek newbie. I’ve got over 20 years of love and adoration for this series, despite its occassional missteps. That love begins with the original crew because, while I’m nowhere near old enough to have seen the show when it first aired, I was fortunate enough to have regular reruns when I was growing up and a father who went out of his way to purchase the series for me on VHS ♥.

As such, the original crew has been and always will be my favorite (parodied phraseology not intended), and it only follows that the Star Trek novels I most want to read will be about them. Of course, nowadays the old series of novels has been discontinued, and you can only find them in used bookstores or online. Well, if I like anything, it’s a used bookstore, and I happened to find Star Trek: Legacy during a foray into what is, quite possibly, the most disorganized and absolutely amazing used bookstore in Panama City, Florida (photo courtesy of my best friend).

Let’s summarize, shall we?

What should have been a routine planetary survey turns into a series of disasters as Spock is injured by an indigenous creature, and Kirk, along with the other members of his party, are trapped underground following a landslide. While Spock’s condition remains uncertain, Mr. Scott sends a rescue team to look for the captain. However, an attack on the mining colony of Beta Cabrini by the Merkaan Acquisitor Hamesaad Dreen causes the Enterprise to be called away before the search can be completed.

I’d say this isn’t the best Star Trek novel I’ve ever read, but it was pretty darn fun. What I like about it is that, through the entire thing, it rather felt like watching an episode of the old series. I mean, you’ve got your A, B, and C plots, returning friends and enemies, Kirk’s interest in a woman (though he held himself back for the most part — I was shocked and amazed!), a mad frenzy over someone potentially dying (why is it always Spock, by the way?), alien dog things, attack and rescue schemes, McCoy doing something that could get himself killed, and a chase over rocky terrain. That’s pretty much everything you ever needed in a Star Trek episode plus the pleasure of giant, tentacled grub worms. Awesome!

But in all seriousness, I did enjoy it. It was easy reading and Friedman definitely had a handle on the characters’ voices. During the dialogue I had no trouble whatsoever imagining the gestures and facial expressions that would go along with the words had I been watching it on my television screen. Even Captain Pike — whose presence in the story irked me at first, but I quickly got over it — is close to what I remember from watching “The Menagerie.”

Overall, it’s pretty much the kind of thing you would expect. It doesn’t deviate too far from what’s already known about the characters, and that’s okay. Not everything has to be about epic character development (despite what I say in other reviews on occassion). Sometimes it’s just about relaxing in familiar territory, and this book will certainly allow you to do that.

~

Q & A (STAR TREK: TNG) by Keith R. A. DeCandido
Pocket Books, 2007, 304 pages, 978-1-4165-2741-1, Mass Market Paperback, $7.99

Genre: Science Fiction

It’s been a long time since I read a Star Trek novel, and I certainly don’t recall having reviewed one before this. My memories of the ones I have read are good ones, though I’m uncertain whether that’s because they were well written or because I was too young to differentiate between a good and a bad novel.

Well, I can certainly tell the difference now, and while I wouldn’t classify Q & A as a “bad” novel, I also wouldn’t put it high on my preferred reading list. In fact, my reaction to this story has largely been ambivalence.

Q & A takes place after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis (the film) and Star Trek: TNG: Resistance (the book). The Enterprise has been assigned to visit Gorsach IX (for reasons I’m still not particularly clear about), which is an exciting prospect for the captain and the crew, as simple exploration has gone by the wayside due to all of the battles and crises they’ve had to deal with. But Gorsach turns out to be stranger than expected, and, meanwhile, rifts are opening up across the galaxy. Add to that the appearance of Q, and the crew of the Enterprise finds itself in yet another sticky situation.

I’m not even going to pretend that there aren’t spoilers here….