Customer Reviews

The Pandora Principle (Star Trek, Book 49)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I deeply appreciated this book. The characterization was excellent, both in portraying Saavik's traumatic childhood, and her relationship with Spock. Independent of it being a Star Trek book, I found the depiction of Saavik's life a moving portrayal of the effects of an abusive childhood, and the fight to overcome early traumas. In terms of Star Trek, I enjoyed seeing one of the main characters (Spock) have a lasting and powerful relationship with someone outside the normal cast of characters, and a life beyond his starship existence.

I was thrilled when I saw this book on the stands years ago! I've reread it many times since then. It's a fantastic look into Saavik's history, building on Vonda McIntrye's premise in the ST II and ST III novelizations, and going much more in depth for this wonderful character. Now with the chapter in "Enterprise Logs" dedicated to Spock and Saavik's relationship and the novel "Vulcan Heart", "The Pandora Principle" is becoming the historical reference for this character. And it deserves it. Filled with humor, adventure, and touching moments, it's a great read. It's a real shame it's out of print since with the two above stories out, fans might be trying to pick up this book as well. Search your paperback exchanges and libraries; you won't regret it.

This novel is absolutely fabulous, especially if you are a fan of Vulcans, particularly Spock and Saavik. Not only is it a great Star Trek story, but a beautiful indepth characterization of Saavik and her relationship to Spock. I love anything with her in it, and if you are lucky enough to find a copy of this novel I highly recommend it. Live long and prosper!

This is one of my favorite Star Trek novels. I was hoping to build up a collection on my Kindle, as it's so much more convenient. This particular title is terribly formatted and makes me want to run and find the old, faithful paperback in a box somewhere. Missing quotation marks, numerous sentences cut off, missing punctuation, words running together, italics font every which way. It's a good thing I already have had the pleasure of reading the story as it should be. If a new reader got the Kindle edition, he/she would be lost! *sad face*

A Romulan plot to destroy the Federation hinges on the curiosity of humans and Vulcans. Mysterious boxes are left for Federation ships to find, boxes that when opened wreck havoc and destruction, very like the original box that the first Pandora opened. The Federation has reason to hope that they will not be destroyed, hope in the form of Saavik and her past life before she was found by Spock.

This is a wonderful find for anyone who was intrigued by the Saavik character introduced in The Wrath of Khan. Her childhood and first meeting with Spock are revealed as well as her parentage. The description of her relationship with Spock is particularly well written.

This is a definite 'must read' for any fan of Saavik, and of interest for fans of Spock. Fans of McCoy might be less impressed however.

This is not a novel I felt the need to trade in, but I do think many of the criticisms pointed out by other reviewers are accurate. The backstory given to Saavik, although compelling to read, can be rather difficult to associate with her character as portrayed in the Star Trek movies. It seems more fitting to Valeris of Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country, who was also clearly a protege of Spock, and much more of a loose cannon. I could much more believe her a product of a feral childhood than Saavik.

Also, some of the characterizations other than Spock and Saavik can be thin, even annoying, especially in the case of Dr. McCoy. McCoy unfortunately is turned into an irritating screamer that I dreaded to see any time he entered the room. Rather than the intelligent sparring of wits between Spock and McCoy seen in novels by other authors, he simply seems to rant rather unintelligently. McCoy was easily the thinnest character in the entire novel.

The plot does seem cliched--for instance, the pair of novels Demons and Possession seem to deal with such "superweapons", as does the book Thin Air from the Belle Terre miniseries, and sometimes I think the other books handled it better. It's a bit far to annihilate an entire city on Earth with no precedent in the Star Trek canon. Also, the entire description of the alluring, hypnotic power of the boxes, and existence of a large cache of them seems too derivative of Demons.

If you can suspend disbelief and notice of these many flaws, however, the portrayal of the effects of feral childhood, and Spock in the mentor role is actually very compelling. I would probably have awarded this book a 2.5 due to its many flaws--however, since I did keep the book I round up to 3.

I was very tempted to give this one only two stars; reading the other reviews changed my mind. The novel reads like an *almost* great novel yet ultimately doesn't rise above the average Trek book. There are two significant issues. First, Clowes has great difficulty keeping the narrative voice constant. She changes perspective without warning, to jarring effect. Perhaps she was deliberately aiming for a third-person omniscient voice rather than limited third-person, but she doesn't succeed. The other major issue is one that usually doesn't bother me: Saavik does not seem like Saavik at all. Try as I might, I could not see either Kirstie Alley or the other one in this Saavik, and it really, really grated.

There is some good, though. The "Saavik" we're presented with is interesting enough, and the story opens with a poignant conflict between Spock and Sarek. It is difficult to say why this one left me fairly cold when others were greatly moved. No Trek fan will be wasting his or her time reading it, though.

It's a shame it's out of print but if you can find a copy, pick it up. Since this is a book it's not cannon (that is "official" Star Trek), but if they ever decide to do an officail history on Savvik they should use this as a guide. The films gave us hardly any info on her; just enough to wet our appetites for more. This book fills in all the blanks.

Star Trek-The Pandora Principle, by Carolyn Clowes, is a must-read for all Star Trek fans, especially if you like the character of Lieutenant Saavik. The Pandora Principle gives you a lot of background on Saavik herself, her half- Vulcan, half-Romulan heritage, her relation to Spock, and how she entered Starfleet. I especially like the passages in which Saavik's desire to fly among the stars are described, and in which she, a halfbreed born on a deserted colony, describes the stars as her home. The plot is very good also, realistic and interesting, and it takes a twist you wouldn't expect. I highly recommed this book, one of my favorites, because I really enjoyed reading it (the second and third time also), and you will too.

I read this book when it first came out and I made the mistake of starting it at 10PM on a Sunday figuring that I would read a chapter or two before going to bed. Big mistake. I wound up reading the whole book that night and went to sleep at 3AM!!! The story is very compelling and the characters richly fleshed out. This book is impossible to put down once you start it.