Customer Reviews

The Romulan Way: Rihannsu #2

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

A great pity this is out of print, as it's one of the best examples of real world-building in a Star Trek novel. It holds up as a work of pure speculative fiction, as very few other works set in this universe do. Instead of reading a juvenile history of some Terrestrial civilisation and crudely imitating it, as appears to be the practice of many Star Trek writers, Duane creates a complete and believable culture. If the people who write scripts for the shows and films had any sense, they would regard novels like this as canon and dump most of the absurd tripe that the creators of the Old Show (largely from outside real, that is to say literary, science fiction) developed.

The Romulans are the "other" bad guys in the Star Trek universe, along with the Klingons, from whom they differ considerably.

"The Romulan Way" features a fairly interesting storyline coupled with some very interesting flashbacks of early Romulan history, which explains (this author's interpretation) how the Romulans left Vulcan, and why they became implacable enemies of Earth and the Federation.

This is an above-average Star Trek novel. Its main flaw is a somewhat murky style of writing, and a somewhat slow-moving plot. It did hold my interest, however, and most Star Trek fans will enjoy this story.

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.

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.

As others here have said, this novel does for the Romulans what SPOCK'S WORLD did for the Vulcans. It follows S.W.'s structure of alternate chapters telling the story of the Rihannsu (as they call themselves) with a plot taking place one year after MY ENEMY, MY ALLY (another of Duane's ST novels).

A couple of caveats. This is one of a handful of ST novels in which Kirk and Spock barely appear, so if they're your favorite characters you may be disappointed. Rumor has it that this novel brought on the Wrath of Roddenberry since it based its picture of the Romulans on D.C. Fontana's work in the original series rather than the vastly different Romulans of ST:TNG.

With these qualifications I recommend this novel highly, esp. if you're looking for something diffferent and challenging in the ST canon.

This book is the second of a (thus far) four book "series" by the same author involving related plotlines and characters. The first is "Star Trek #18: My Enemy, My Ally", the third is "Star Trek #95: Swordhunt", and the last is "Star Trek #96, Honor Blade". This is a very well-written book, with a reasonably plausible plot, excellent characterizations, and a very interesting back-history of the Romulans told alongside the current story.

The only real flaw is that, since this book was written, the "canonical" back-history of the Romulans has been created, and it isn't this one. Worse, the back-history of the first Federation-Romulan war she writes here involves contact between the Federation and the Romulans BEFORE contact was made between the Federation and the Vulcans, and that's CLEARLY wrong. But it isn't really fair to hold this author responsible for that; she wrote her history first, it simply wasn't accepted by the canonical writers.

The only other thing that needs to be mentioned is that some Star Trek readers will doubtless be unhappy with the fact that the ONLY Enterprise regular that we see in this book is McCoy. Some will doubtless consider this a failing; I found it kind of refreshing. Not that I don't enjoy the other characters, but there's no reason why ALL Star Trek stories have to include Kirk and Spock. They've had their share of books in which they get the lion's share of the action, and McCoy appears little or not at all. No reason not to feature him for a change.

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.

One of the better Trek books, in my opinion. Diane Duane excels at world and mythos creation in this book, narrating both the history and modern day trials of the "Romulans" with a dry wit and shrewd cynicism. Yet, she managed to make me feel for them as a people in a way few authors have. There are mostly original characters in this novel, but the appearances from the bridge crew have the usual sparkle that Diane Duane lends to them.

What was done for Vulcans in Spock's World, is now done for the Romulans. They are made real, given a culture and a history. Of all the Trek books deserving reprinting, this has to rank among the top. Duane takes us on a tour not of trite and worn plots or repetitive adventures, but of a new and alien culture. Truly here, as in most of her other novels, Duane creates and takes us on a tour of an interesting, richly believeable world guided by three-dimensional characters.