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Articles of the Federation (Star Trek (Unnumbered Paperback))

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Most individuals consider the realm of "Star Trek" to be a fancy, not worthy of significant note; this goes double for the books, which seem to be regarded as merely extensions of fan fiction. While those of us who read "Trek" novels on a regular basis know this not to be true, it is still an unfortunate label.

If only these critics were to read "Articles of the Federation." Concerned not with any particular starship or crew, "Articles" touches on an oft-ignored aspect of the "Star Trek" universe, that of Federation politics, more specifically the Office of the President of the United Federation of Planets, Nan Bacco. Picking up where the events of the "A Time to..." series, "Nemesis," and "Titan" last left us, "Articles" deals with the first year in the life of Bacco's administration.

And that lone year certainly has a significant amount of ground to cover.
Yet DeCandido makes one year fly by quickly, his writing style flourishing, fast-moving, and very, very literary. The author has stated that this was an attempt at bringing "The West Wing" to the "Trek" universe, and "Articles" is all that and more. Full of political machinations--the Bacco administration does not find itself treading water, it must struggle to stay afload--potential conflicts between Klingons, Remans, Romulans, and the Federation, there is not a dull line in the entire novel.
Simply put, this first year is a combination of Bacco finding her place and voice as leader of a vast interstellar organization and the struggle to lay to rest the demons of the previous president, one Min Zife. Indeed, this struggle culminates in the surprise (yes, I will admit to being fully floored by this next, even though I understand the reasoning for it) resignation of a decorated Starfleet officer and advisor. Visible in "Articles" is Praetor Tal'Aura's continuing efforts to solidify her power base (she should have taken lessons from Martok's tale in "The Left Hand of Destiny"), a reporter's quest to find the truth behind the Tezwa affair, one doctor's prejudice against the Tzenketh that could spark an interstellar war, and Bacco's first attempt at welcoming a new race into the Federation--the Trinni/ek. Packed to the gills with plenty of references to "Treks" past and future, "Articles" is a stunning novel that deserves to be considered not only one of the finest "Star Trek" novels written, but also a significant literary achievement for Keith R.A. DeCandido.

Political Trek, eh? Most Star Trek books deal with a Starfleet ship or station and the various crises that they encounter. Articles of the Federation is basically "The West Wing in Trek." Sounds like it might not be that interesting, right? However, this one is written by Keith R.A. DeCandido, the master Trek novel writer, so it was definitely worth a shot. And besides, politics can be interesting too, can't they? I'm happy to say that they can certainly be not only interesting, but fascinating. It helps that the author has a cool president character, the talent to write great characterization of myriad people, and the memory of an elephant for Trek continuity.

In A Time for War, A Time for Peace, Nan Bacco was elected president of the Federation. Articles of the Federation is the story of her first year in office. And what a full plate she has. The Romulan situation, as left in Titan: Taking Wing, is starting to deteriorate, as a ship full of Reman refugees approaches an outlying starbase. A first contact diplomatic mission goes awry in a very public manner. The Federation Council makes things even more difficult for her to get legislation through, and a large number of people keep seeing her as a lowly planetary governor, too small for such an immense office. The final capper, though, is when what really happened on Tezwa, as instigated by her predecessor, comes home to roost. If that gets out, there will be nothing stopping yet another galactic war.

Bacco is DeCandido's creation, and you can tell that he really loves writing her character. She is a fully-formed, three-dimensional creation who just springs off the page. She's also the unifying force in this book, as even when she's not "on screen," the events happening are going to have a great impact on what she does and who she is. She's pragmatic, willing to strong-arm two planets into negotiations by threatening to go to war with one of them (pretty much an empty threat, but she makes it believable). She loves the newly revived game of baseball, religiously following the teams in the league on her home planet, and even arranging a publicity tour in such a way that she's available to throw out the first pitch of the season. She's quick with a sarcastic remark, especially to her chief of staff, Esperanza Piniero, who gives it right back to her. Their relationship is also wonderful to read about, as their friendship that goes back decades really deepens both of their characters.

While these two are the main characters, the book has so many other characters that you would think they'd all start looking the same after a while. That's not so in any DeCandido book. Even those who are only in the book for a short while still have a feeling of depth to them. There are many policy advisors and other governmental positions in the book, and those characters' names do start to run together after a while, but not their personalities. How DeCandido manages to keep them all straight, I'll never know. But he does. Various other characters pop in to fill their small roles (Spock, Scotty, Chancellor Martok, Voyager's Doctor, to name just four), but their appearances never seem choreographed for a "Wow" factor, instead feeling absolutely necessary.

This brings me to continuity, as the book is literally brimming with it. In the past, I have been on DeCandido's back about the excessive continuity and how his explanations of it have ground a book to a halt. Surprisingly, in a book this continuity-heavy, he largely avoids this. All references are perfunctory, with just enough explanation to give the reader an idea of what happened and just enough information to make clear whatever the characters who mention it are doing about it. To help those who are still confused, he has created a page of annotations, saying who these characters are and where these events took place.

In fact, this book is not slow at all. Yes, there is no "action" in it (unless you consider the wheels of politics and diplomacy as action), but it still grips the reader all the same. Every two month period of Bacco's first year is given its own section, and each section is opened with somebody watching one of those news analysis show like you see on CNN or Fox News, with "experts," journalists, and former politicians or military officers as guests. This sets the stage for what is going to happen, as well as reacting to what has already occurred. I thought this was an ingenious way to move things along and let us see how the outside world thinks about what Bacco is doing. The only one that felt a little forced was the opening one, but otherwise these flowed very nicely.

The book is certainly not flawless. Bacco is a bit too flippant at times (such as in council or diplomatic meetings). I had trouble keeping the advisors straight occasionally, and a couple of the in-jokes just made me scratch my head until I heard the explanation of them (Martok saying that the Romulan Praetor sounds just like his wife comes completely out of left field and pulled me out of the book wondering until I discovered that the same actress played both characters). However, these are so small that they quickly disappeared as I went deeper and deeper into the book. I was fascinated by everything and had trouble putting the book down. It's dense for a Trek book, but that just made it all the more enjoyable. While you certainly don't have to have read any of the "A Time to" books, Articles of the Federation has a lot more impact if you have. It's a wonderful continuation of the Trek mythos, and you could enjoy it even if you don't like political books.

David Roy

Another of the most anticipated Trek book of the year, "Articles of the Federation" follows up on the events in the A Time To series as it follows the presidency of Nan Bacco through her first year in office. The book goes a long way to make up for a huge lack of any stories or scenes set in the president's office throughout much of Trek. We've been more familiar with the lineage of Klingon chancellors than we have with Federation presidents until now. On the whole, the book is very good.

President Nan Bacco has inherited a pretty sticky mess. The Romulan Star Empire is falling apart from within and Bacco has to deal with situation and keep the Klingons in a balanced equation. This is generally the main crisis that the Bacco administration has to deal with throughout the book, though it certainly isn't the only one. There's problems with the Tzenkethi, Federation Council politics and a new First Contact as well.

There's so much thrown at Bacco and her people and yet it felt like the book was wandering around, meandering from story to story. The closest thing that I'd call a climax would the retirement of a Starfleet officer in relation to a previous incident. There didn't seem to be much focus on any one thing, which is a strength in its uniqueness and a bit of a weakness at the same time in the lack of a unifying driving force in this, the author's longest novel to date.

That said, just about all of the multiple stories were of interest, from the continuing disintegration of the Romulan Empire to intrigue between Federation councilors. This helps since this book built on the A Time To series, a group of books whose plots I wasn't crazy about. I especially liked seeing Bacco's decisions affecting orders to Starfleet vessels. It might have been nice had we seen a Lower Decks-like approach and had sections set onboard these vessels affected by her orders, with the captains being the bottom rung of the ladder.

That's a minor quibble because we still got updates on several different ships. I guess the Enterprise's mission mentioned will be the basis for a future book. If it weren't for the mystery being solved in this book, I'd say we could have been looking at a future SCE story as well with the da Vinci dispatched to Klorgat IV. I did notice that there was a lack of updates from the Bajoran sector. Well, this book does end many years in the future (the farthest into the current timeline from what I can tell), so there's several years difference between this and the DS9R.

President Nan Bacco was a good mix of strength and humility and humanity. I also liked all of her staff, especially the Nasat and Hermat. Though my only other quibble with the book is here: the banter back and forth between the characters like Bacco and Esperanza just didn't work for me. This was the same as "A Time for War, A Time for Peace". Much of it felt forced. The characters have a familiarity with each other, but it didn't leap off the page for me. Perhaps if this were a TV or film that I could hear, it would come across different. Instead, it felt a bit belabored and hammered home. There's been much made of this being West Wing. INNNN. SPAAAAACE. The kind of rapid fire dialogue back and forth certainly seems inspired from the show. I just find it a bit distancing and too self-aware.

Overall, "Articles of the Federation" is a very good read, with a unique approach to the narrative that may or may not work for you depending on what you like. There's been a couple of interesting tidbits dropped about events coming up (Selelvian War) for other series that I'm looking forward to. A strong recommendation.

Those who describe this novel as Star Trek meets The West Wing are pretty accurate. The characters in this book are as entertaining & idiosyncratically annoying as those on Aaron Sorkin's show. The President is just as big a know-it-all as Bartlett and she and her staff are just as apt to use humor at inappropriate times. I like The West Wing for the most part but as a Trek fan I prefer to keep my fictional universes separate. And while DeCandido is a talented writer who spins a good yarn, he borrows too much from TWW. His Federation government also seems somewhat confused as to whether it's supposed to represent the U.S. with President Bacco as a stand-in for the American President or the U.N. with talk of a Security Council with permanent & non-permanent members. And while there is no indication of separation of powers in the Federation, Bacco seems to have even more power than either an American President or Secretary-General. She acts as President, Speaker of a legislative body (i.e. the Federation Council), and as Chief Justice of the Judiciary Committee (which contradicts established Trek canon of a Federation Supreme Court.) But then again, canon also established that the Federation Council meets in San Francisco and Paris only serves as the location of the President's office. What bothers me the most about the main character of Bacco is that she seems unhinged at times, half-jokingly (or perhaps she is serious) threatening to beat up witnesses with her podium during open council sessions. Joking around in private is one thing, but no sane President would carry-on in such a manner while presiding in an official capacity.

Before its release, "Articles of the Federation" was dubbed as Star Trek meets The West Wing. Now, I, admittedly, am not a fan of The West Wing. However, I do have an interest in politics, and the opportunity to explore the political aspect of Star Trek was rather alluring. With that said, there were things that I greatly enjoyed about this novel and things that I did not.

The characters of the story and the president, in particular, are real, no nonsense, and down to earth (ha ha ha). Some of the political machinations are interesting enough to entice a turn of the page and some BIG events happen in this novel, showing that Pocket Books is starting to take risks in the scope of their storytelling. However, my biggest gripe with the novel is that the characters seemed so peripherally involved in regards to actually effecting change in the story. The Federation government comes across more like a cleanup crew for the rest of the galaxy's mistakes.

Maybe that type of storytelling is realistic in this case. But I was rather hoping for the epic scope and cutthroat politics (often literally) seen in shows like 24. Still, an enjoyable read that shouldn't be missed if one wishes to grasp the shifting power play of the Star Trek universe.

I finished the "Articles of the Federation" in about a week's time. It's a good book. It's different from any Trek book out there. There are no big space battles, the usual suspects such as Picard and others don't appear, and there's no real threat to Earth or one big planet. "Articles" focuses on the least explored frontier in Star Trek; the political sphere.

While DeCandido lists Bill Clinton's "My Life" and the show "The West Wing" as bits of inspiration, this isn't a book that's trying to speak out against one political party today or one person's actiosn and such. Instead, it takes on the broad subject of the Federation's President and the issues they face. There are also members of the president's cabinet that are focused on greatly. So really, this is Star Trek's take on "The West Wing." It's also a continuation of the plot-threads of the "A Time to..." series, among many other books that are pulled in here.

It's a good book. I liked that it managed to work in cameos and plot threads mentioned in past books, along with unanswered questions from the different Trek series and movies. Yet, the biggest problem I had with the book is that it takes on a lot of stuff, a lot of characters, a lot of plot threads and situations, and tries to handle them all accordingly in 391 pages. I found it hard at times to move through some chapters, knowing that it referenced a character that appeared in a book that was printed last year, or in a comic book a decade ago, or in an obscure, one-line mention in a television show.

As I guess would be expected, there are a number of issues that President Nan Bacco deals with in this "first year" of her administration. There's the fractured Romulan Star Empire (a plot carried on from the book "Taking Wing" and the movie "Nemesis"), there's fall-out from the actions of Min Zife (from "A Time to Heal," amd "A Time for War, a Time for Peace"), there's also some on B-4's future (from the movie "Nemesis,") Bajor's position in the Federation (carried on from the book "Unity") and the conflict between the Remans and the Romulans, just to mention a FEW. It gets rather overwhelming at some point, trying to seperate out all the plot threads, while trying to remember where some of these plot threads have come from.

Another slight complaint is that the book takes place over the course of a year, and it sort of spoils other plots and books. If you haven't read, or plan to at some point, the Deep Space Nine relaunch, I wouldn't read this right away. You'll know what happens to Bajor and a few characters in it. If you read this, you'll also get a vague spoiler for the upcoming post-Nemesis book "Death in Winter." It also spoils most of the final books in the "A Time to ..." series. As well as what's become of the characters in Voyager, if you haven't read that Re-Launch series. You get the idea. I personally would have delayed this novel, for this reason. It's rather frustrating to know that while you're getting a great story, you're also losing out on a dozen others without much warning.

With those perhaps minor and personal flaws, "The Articles of the Federation" is an interesting book. Nan Bacco doesn't just inherit the presidency, but she also inherits the problems of the former president. She has to keep the alliance with the Klingons together while dealing with the aftermath of "Star Trek Nemesis." Bacco, and those she surrounds herself with, learn what it means to be the president of a entity like the Federation. She's a very different, amusing, intriguing character that takes the spotlight. It does, perhaps naturally, make you think of politics and leaders in our own day and time.

I'd say pick up this book for the plot and story but be aware; it spoils many other books and deals with characters and plots that will or have been the subject of their own books and novels int the past.(...)

It's helpful to look at this guide as you read, for it'll explain where this or that characters comes from and a little on thier background, if there is one. I wish it had been made available at the back of the book instead of the guide to the Federation's past presidents, but, I guess it couldn't be completed in time. It will definately help with the understanding and making necessary connections. Definately worth your time and money, when you're ready for a book of this magnitude and have caught up on your reading.

In terms of quality writing that could stand up against some of the best episodes of West Wing, Articles of the Federation does not disappoint. The author has created a very believable and compelling cast of characters which presides over the Federation and the interaction between the President and her Chief of Staff, and the Chief of Staff and everyone else is especially strong. This story covers pretty much the entire gamut of things that a president (and her staff) would encounter in a year: crisis, brink of war, scandal, conflict, resignations, negotiations and pretty much everything in between. This book achieves a nice balance and despite being very light on typical Sci-Fi type action, and paints a picture of what it would be like behind the scenes if a person of integrity were faced with the decisions that the President has to make.

The dialog is probably the best, most believable and compelling dialog I've read in a Trek book to date and went a long ways to keeping my interested in how the story even when I didn't necessarily care about the situation or the players involved. It's creative in how it frames these conversations sometimes as a news-feed where we're watching the events unfold from a college dorm room, sometimes as historical documents being read from far in the future and often write inside the "oval office" itself. The book also helps one appreciate what it must be like to be a position of power like that and be faced with the tough decisions and even though the situations rarely work out like they had hoped, they push on to achieve the best balance possible.

All in all, it makes for some pretty interesting and compelling story telling most of the time which was more thought provoking than I would have guessed going into it. In fact, I suppose if I were more politically minded and cared about what goes on behind the scenes of a govt., I would have even found this book to be a brilliant novel. However, for a jaded person like myself who thinks very lowly of his own govt. and most of the people in power, it was difficult for me from time to time to stay plugged into the story. So, while I found the writer very good and often compelling, there are times when I wasn't as engaged in the story or the discussions that were going on because I just didn't care at times about the players involved or the outcome. This isn't an indictment of the writing, however, just an indication as to where my own interest lay.

I will say that this story adds a whole new dimension of realism to the Star Trek Universe as it fleshes out an aspect of that universe that was previously occupied by rather 1 dimensional and somewhat pointless figureheads up until now. The author has created a president who is both wise and compassionate and yet tough and knows how to fight her battles well. If only America had anywhere near as good a president in the last 20 years as her............

All in all I found this to be a high quality book that for many people would probably rate 5/5 stars, but for me personally didn't hold my interest all the time, but enough that I enjoyed the book and would gladly read another by the author.

I was hesitant to read this one because of all the reviews comparing it to West Wing (which I don't watch) and that it sounded like it would be nothing but a bunch of political junk based in the Star Trek universe. I'm the type who likes a good adventure with Kirk or Picard saving the universe.

Am I glad I read it anyways! It is chocked full of the political going-ons of a year in the life of President Nan Bacco. After the first few chapters I realized it was full of exactly what I was afraid it was full of - politics - but I liked it!

Quit reading all these Amazon reviews and read this book!

Picking up where the events of the "A Time to..." novels, "Star Trek: Nemesis", and "Titan: Taking Wing" leave off the Bacco Administration has inherited a whole host of problems, the ramifications of the now fractured Romulan Star Empire being just the most obvious. As the year unfolds the reader is taken inside the day to day workings of the administration staff where we get to experience their struggles with the Federation Council, their mistakes, and their successes. Who knew that politics could be so spellbinding?

In actuality "Articles of the Federation" is more than a novel about the politics of the Federation. Rather it is a recounting of a series of crisis and potential crisis as viewed from the perspective of Federation politicians, bureaucrats and at times average citizens. "Articles of the Federation" tells the story of how this particular administration chooses to deal with the various calamities they face.

Nan Bacco and her staff spring from DeCandido's extremely fertile mind and were first introduced in his novel "A Time for War, a Time for Peace" which was published last October. They are a very appealing group of characters who you very quickly feel sympathy for and want to see succeed and they elucidate the notion that a leader is only as good as those they choose to surround themselves with. Bacco herself is the most noteworthy; witty, intelligent and at the beginning of her term a bit naive. When it comes to interstellar politics however she proves to be a quick study and more than up to the task.

The way DeCandido has chosen to structure the plot of "Articles of the Federation" is one of the reasons the novel works so well. It would be very easy to become overwhelmed by the numerous plot threads and large cast of characters but by breaking the overall story down into six distinct parts the reader is never inundated with too much at once. The action and events flow along quickly but the narrative is never rushed and the transitions are seamless.

I could go on at length about the numerous reasons that "Articles of the Federation" is an outstanding novel, the many ways it is both original and exceedingly entertaining. Based on the authors previous writings by the time I had finished reading "Articles of the Federation" I became firmly convinced that DeCandido is incapable of writing an archetypal Star Trek novel. He has demonstrated time and again that he has too much talent and imagination to be predictable. With "Articles of the Federation" he has cemented that reputation.

This is, hands down one of the best Star Trek related books that I have read. If you like the West Wing you will like this book. Second only to 'The Lives of Dax'