Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-written, excellent plot, August 1, 2001
Like many of the early TOS novels, this one really has some substance to it. Diane Duane has done an excellent job of developing the back history of the Romulan culture, explaining how and why they split off from the Vulcans at the time of Surak, etc. Her detailed description of the long generation-ship journey to the planet which would become known as Romulus is especially well done. During this journey, the Rihannsu (which is what the Romulans call themselves) consciously changed their language and social structure to reject the logical way of Surak and become an old-new version of the warrior society that once existed on Vulcan. (I found myself wondering if Duane had patterned this history on certain aspects of modern Israeli culture, which has consciously rejected the pacifist philosophy of European Jewry to go back to the biblical warrior mode -- but that's a whole other story.) The plot itself takes place in the 23rd century, long after the Romulan-Vulcan split. The Federation has lost contact with an undercover operative on Romulus, and now fears for her life. Dr. McCoy is taken prisoner by the Romulans and ends up incarcerated at the same place where the Federation agent has infiltrated Romulan society and is passing for a household servant. Now she must be very careful about acknowledging McCoy, lest she blow her cover and get them both killed. Nahraht the Horta (a silicon-based lifeform who eats rock, and who also appears in several other Duane novels) plays an important, if at times humorous, role in the rescue of Dr. McCoy. To tell you more would be a spoiler, so let me just say that this book is one of the best reads in the TOS series. It also sets the scene for a number of characters and events in future books by Diane Duane.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best ST novels, June 26, 2001
By A Customer
This was one of the books, along with "Spock's World" (also by Diane Duane) and several others, that made me a Star Trek fan. It's fascinating and compelling reading.All Star Trek novels are at heart fanfic, which can be a very bad thing, but which can also produce quite excellent results. This is an example of good fanfic---a creation of a totally original character (Arrhae, the human posing as a Romulan) who avoids becoming a Mary Sue; the exploration of Romulan history and culture; the discussion of how Romulans are changing as a result of contact with the Federation and the Klingons. It's fun to read, too. :-) I personally liked the manner in which the Romulans created their culture: they formulated, discussed, and propagated it via their Internet while they were en route to a new home. It doesn't sound terribly unlikely to me.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Of The Few Good Trek Books Out There, April 12, 2000
Finally a book that delves into the history of the mysterious Romulans. The story deals soley with Dr. McCoy, has he is inadvertantly captured by Romulans and taken to Romulous. McCoy is kept at a Romulan Cmdr's home until he can be tried for his crimes against the empire. While incarcerated, he learns about Romulan history, which acts as the main story in the book. We learn about how the Romulans were the off shoots of Vulcans, the dissention between Surak, and those Vulcans that didn't hold Logic as the way out of Vulcan's bloody and violent past. The story opens many doors into the minds of a little explored race in the Star Trek universe.
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