Customer Reviews

Rihannsu: The Bloodwing Voyages (Star Trek)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
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Fed up with dull Star Trek novels? here's something far better. Journey through time to the founding of the Romulan Empire, with a people devoted to passion over reason, elemental powers, and an unutterably complex form of honor. Noted fantasy author Diane Duane has written a series unlike any others. Along with Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and other friends, this book features Ael, a Romulan traitor who values her personal honor over the empire, the crystal spider and Hamalki physicist K's't'lk, and other brilliantly original characters. A great series for any Star Trek fan, definitely not to be missed.

Diane Duane is simply the best writer in the Star Trek universe. Every novel she has written has been exciting, engrossing, and entertaining. With her, you gain a keen insight into the minds and histories of all aspects of our favorite Universe - the crew of the Enterprise, the other members of the Federation, the Vulcans, and in this series, the Ri'hannsu (Romulans). One should read everything she writes; you won't be able to put them down. She makes it very real, and she has the skill to make readers believe that they are there. She is exacting in her research (she accurately conforms to the ST series) and science, physicists will appreciate her details, but she makes it understandable to the scientifically challanged. She is also a brilliant psychologist and political analyst. She can even make her villians likeable and well-rounded. Her books are better than chocolate.

This was the first Star Trek book(s) I ever read! I wasn't even much into the Trek franchise, even though I was a major Sci Fi fan. This changed everything for me! The story of Ael & the Romulans/Rihannsu is simply EXTREMELY GOOD (oh my god, it's great!) To be fair, I like the 2 first best, simply because they delve into Rihannsu culture, emotionalism, religious beliefs, language and honor, while the latter 3 contain too many space battles for my liking... but they are all worth reading. I only wish they'd make a hardcover omnibus containing all 5 novels, not just the first 4. (Hardcover, because you will want to re-read them a lot.) As a result of these books, I tend to side more with the Romulans in the canon series/movies, than the Federation;-)

Bear in mind that the first books were written BEFORE NextGen, so there will be canonical differences, although Diane Duane has corrected some in the omnibus, compared to the original/individual novels. But IMO this is the way they should have developed the Rihannsu, errr Romulans. The concept became so popular that fans even went so far as to lobby for the books to be considered canonical. Unfortunately Roddenberry refused, and banned the development of Rihannsu culture/language from later books, though some hinted at it even when it was banned (Diane Carey.) The ban was lifted in the 2000s. And in new books, you will find a lot of references to Diane Duanes original Rihannsu culture/language. Just goes to show just how good Diane Duane is; new trek writers still base their culture on her Rihannsu series 25 years later. Most notably: Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin & David R. George III. - be sure to check out their books if you like the Rihannsu concept;-)
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Very well wrtitten and with good plots, it's the book all the Romulans loving people should read.

This is a fantastic, and invaluable book for any who would like to learn about the deep and intricate culture of the Romulan Star Empire. The Star Trek universe is largely devoid of info on Romulans and this work does for the Romulans what was done for the Klingon race through out the 1980's. The book even goes so far as to establish "Romulan-isims" with a word glossary in the back.

Rihannsu The Bloodwing Voyages was some priity good story's I really liked the first one the best.Ok so this is old books that you may still be able to get now but someone like me that is new to star trek book for about 3 years now this was a first time read for me and was great.

The Romulans used to be my favorite Star Trek villains. I read the Rihannsu series because I thought it would be a fun exploration of Romulan culture and history. However, I barely recognized the Romulans in Rihannsu. The book degrades them and seems to radically alter their characters. The main character, Ael, seems too perfect, while the rest of the Romulans seem like a bunch of buffoons. Furthermore, the book radically changes Romulan history that just doesn't seem realistic. It's too bad - the Romulans as presented in the Original Series were fascinating characters who had both honor and deviousness. The Romulans in Rihannsu have little of either.

I really hate it when authors make substantial changes to the Star Trek universe and call it Star Trek. The timeline in this book doesn't match the established timeline from the series and movies, too much emphasis is placed on new and unlikely characters, way too much of the story takes place in the recreation room (so as to give time to a new character), and too much emphasis is placed on using Romulan - excuse me, Rihannsu - terms to the point that our historical heroes don't even call the home planet Romulus (yet they start doing it again in the Next Generation?). Also, the story moves so slowly that you need the 4-book anthology for anything to ever really happen.