Customer Reviews

The Galactic Whirlpool (Star Trek)

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The last, and by far the best, of the Bantam paperbacks. The author is Star Trek veteran David Gerrold, who by this time had already written scripts for the series ("The Trouble With Tribbles") and the animated series ("The Pirates of Orion") as well as written a book about the series, with both praise and criticism ("The World of Star Trek"). Gerrold was also one of the developers of the Next Generation series. So obviously, he had an intimate knowledge of the characters. That knowledge shows, and shines like a beacon.

Our story: While on patrol of the Klingon border, the Enterprise encounters an odd sensor reading. Closer investigation reveals a slower-than-light ship, built on a huge scale--a self-contained world. Obviously a ship built to ferry thousands of colonists, for many generations, to a new star system. The questions follow: who built it? Where did they come from? Where were they going, and how long have they been travelling? Contact with such a ship is problematic, because they may not be aware that any other civilizations exist to contact them, and to do so may be a violation of the Prime Directive.

Soon, that point becomes moot, as they are found to be on a collision course for the Galactic Whirlpool: a twin black hole, rotating slowly through the galaxy and drawing everything in its path into the immense gravity well. If the Enterprise crew do not interfere, the ship will be destroyed in a matter of months. Now the problem becomes one of how to interfere, so as to cause the least panic and disruption to the peoples' lives.

Gerrold handles the characters expertly here, and finds a full role for Kevin Riley, an officer who had major roles in two TV episodes. Gerrold also impresses some of his own ideas about the series, many of which were also used in the Next Generation series. Gerrold has also researched his science, and brings us many tidbits about the 22nd century and the events that led up to it. He fills in many details that cannot be used in a TV show, due to time constraints. And he even places himself into the story, in the person of an historian nicknamed "Specks."

This is a wonderful novel to read, not just a good Star Trek novel. I can recommend this one highly.

Before the Pocket Books numbered series, several novels were written by noted authors involved in the series. This is a novel that never became an episode but was written nearer to the actual series timeframe.

This novel was actually an adaptation of an unproduced two-part episode that Gerrold wrote prior to "The Trouble With Tribbles." The build-up of multiple problems makes it an interesting story, but it bogs down here and there.

Star Trek: The Galactic Whirlpool is a novel that is both fascinating and frustrating at the same time. Written by David Gerrold-famous for also penning the teleplay "The Trouble with Tribbles," one of the most famous Original Series episodes of all time-this novel tells the story of the Enterprise's encounter with the Wanderer, a legendary lost Earth colony from humanity's pre-warp days.
First and foremost, let's get this out of the way-this novel does not follow the continuity of Star Trek's pre-warp history. Having been written shortly after The Wrath of Khan was released in theaters and a few years before the development of The Next Generation, there was no specific backstory or timeframe that David Gerrold could reference when writing this, so the liberties he takes with humanity's ascension to the stars are forgivable. If you're a stickler for continuity, this book may annoy you. If not, then it's much easier to accept the events that occur.
For the most part, the plot is standard Star Trek fare-the crew encounters a civilization in the midst of a civil war and must do everything in their power to stop it. It's not terribly exciting or groundbreaking in any way. The few things that elevate it slightly above its mediocre premise is the trademark humor Mr. Gerrold displays in his work and the above-average familiarity with the crew of the Enterprise. It's very easy to imagine these characters as if they were appearing on-screen right before your eyes.
The author's attention to technical detail is both an asset and a hindrance. Some of the stuff he throws out in this novel, such as the Enterprise's protocol when encountering a pre-warp culture, are fairly interesting. However, he tends to go into such detail that it bogs the story down, oftentimes in the middle of major plot developments.
Overall, The Galactic Whirlpool is a mediocre early Star Trek story that only hardcore fans of the Original Series will probably appreciate, and even then they would probably find it somewhat dull outside the occasional flashes of humor.

This is another one of those extensions of TV that is stretched beyond the limits of what it can bear. The story - of discovery of an old colony vessel from Earth in civil war and danger of destruction by twin black holes - is OK for a single episode, but to make an entire novel out of it is excessive. It is a book that strains to have add believable filler details and additional characters, making for a rather boring read. The whole time I was reading this, I thought: so what, someone is making this up. Nothing unexpected happens, nothing is added that is new, and then the resolution solves all problems miraculously and with complete grace. Boring.

The bantam editions of these books simply are not as good as the Pocket books. Not recommended.