Customer Reviews

Spock's World

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

While I have long been a fan of the Star Trek series (from the original series through the successive spin-offs: Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, and the films), I rarely have time to read fiction, so it was only after great prodding on the part of a friend that I got this novel. I had once complained that the Star Trek universe seems to have far more affinity for the aggressive, combative Klingons (warrior schools, language camps, etc.) than the erudite and level-headed Vulcans. Perhaps that is why my friend thought this novel would have particular appeal. She was right.

This novel is a grafting-in of the original series, with Spock, Kirk and McCoy as primary characters, along with the rest of the usual crew of the Enterprise. It seems there is a Federation-threatening crisis on Vulcan, and the planet is in the process of a referendum, to decide whether or not to remain as part of the Federation with the humans of earth and other constituent planets. Entering in the situation is a formidible character from the original series episode Amok Time, the Vulcan mating time -- T'Pau, remarked by Kirk as being the only person to ever turn down a seat on the Federation council. Does this speak of a mistrust that could lead the Vulcans out of the Federation? The referendum is not merely a breaking of alliances, but rather an isolationism -- all Vulcans will be required to return home, or permanently exiled. All diplomatic, trade, and military ties will be severed.

The psychological and political make-up of the Vulcan world is explored from the very outset of Vulcan civilisation through different historical periods that would have made up the equivalent of classical, medieval and reformation times. One seed of Vulcan xenophobia is their first contact situation, which turned out to be with pirates who were intent on invasion and looting. As it turned out, Vulcan was a heavily armed planet at the time, warring with itself (Vulcan's history parallels Earth's in that respect), and that armament was unexpectedly turned against the invaders. Vulcans, far from evolving without emotions, displayed the most dramatic and intense emotions for a long time in their history. The character of Surek is prominent here, the one who led Vulcan out of its emotionalism for its own survival.

Another character who makes an appearance is T'Pring, Spock's 'intended', the woman to whom he was betrothed, and who subject Spock and Kirk to the combat in the mating ritual. It turns out that T'Pring has never lost interest in Spock, nor in the humiliation she suffered in front of T'Pau. Vulcans are not without emotions, it seems, but rather, a people who have mastered them to a greater degree. But not always, apparently.

Diane Duane puts chapters about the Vulcan history interspersed with the 'present day' action aboard the Enterprise as it journeys to Vulcan, and then the final debate and referendum vote. The text is engaging and well-developed in terms of fitting in with the overall narrative strands of the Star Trek universe.

The people of Vulcan have known the people of Earth for more than a century. The United Federation of Planets, of which both worlds are founding members, has a 75-year history behind it. Apparently the relationships forged between Vulcans and Humans are prospering, with one man - Spock, the first Vulcan/Human hybrid - standing between them as a living symbol. Yet now there's a movement among Vulcans to pull out of the Federation, and it has enough support to force first a planet-wide debate and then a vote. Sarek, Spock's father and Vulcan's long-time ambassador to Earth, goes home to testify...for secession?

This makes no apparent sense, because secession will require Sarek to choose between his Human wife, Amanda, and every other tie he has except the shared one with their son. No non-Vulcan will be allowed on the planet afterward, not even as a visitor; and any Vulcan who insists on continuing to associate with members of other species must do so by going into irrevocable exile. Yet Sarek finds it his duty to testify in favor of secession. Just as James T. Kirk, Dr. Leonard McCoy, and Spock will testify against it. What's going on here?

While a great many of this book's details have been contradicted by canon (filmed Star Trek) since its publication, that needn't stand in the way of a reader's enjoyment. Author Duane has an excellent grasp of the "big three" TOS characters, and her version of Vulcan's history stands well on its own. My only criticism is that I can't imagine how she justifies portraying Sarek, and other Vulcans of his era, in the - well - flagrantly emotional way she writes them. Sarek laughing for an hour over one of Amanda's jokes? That did NOT work for me. At all. I had the feeling that I was reading something by a fan fiction author who didn't like canon and was working hard to fix what she didn't like about it to her own satisfaction.

But that by no means spoils the book. A great read otherwise!

The manner in which this novel is written could, possibly, appeal to even non-Trekkers. It's more than just good Trek--it's good SF. This book fleshes out the Vulcans as a whole, past and present, bringing back old favorites and a slew of great new ones.

Interspersed with the history of Vulcan, from the earliest stages of their unified culture to the birth of Spock, is shown. Even though the characters only appear for one chapter (with one or two exceptions), we can identify with them. In the ghastly, murderous feuds of one chapter and the often calculating violence, the Vulcans appear like Romulans in the past. At the same time, we see them growing more and more civilized. I even found the "cave-Vulcan" chapter appealing, making me wonder what the Vulcans would have been like if their planet had been lush.

In the present, the Enterprise crew is drawn into a planetary conspiracy when a bunch of yahoo Vulcans decide that they want to secede from the Federation--and Our Heroes must get to the bottom of it, while making speeches. This part could have been solidly ordinary, but is saved by the fact that not only are the greatest SF trio in history at their funniest, but also it is populated by a motley crew of bizarre aliens in Starfleet, such as giant snowflakes and enormous dragon-creatures.

The Vulcans themselves are also fleshed out: We get to see more of them than in "Amok Time," and a wider range of them, from farmers to redheads to the Zen guy that ended up being bitten on the leg. We see Sarek, Amanda, T'Pau, and a few Vulcans (one familiar) that you will LOVE to hate. Be sure to check out Kirk's scene in the pub.

One interesting detail: Duane wrote in the Enterprise having what is essentially a posting board, before there were posting boards (I think). Good job keeping the future here, Ms. Duane!

If you love people with pointy ears and bowl haircuts, read this book. Oh, and "I want popcorn!"

SPOCKS WORLD, logically enough, focuses on Vulcan and its citizens. The story shifts through various turning points in Vulcan's history, ranging the 'present day' crisis concerning Vulcan's proposed withdrawal from the Federation to the earliest days of Vulcan prehistory.

The Enterprise crew is called to Vulcan to testify in favor of Vulcan remaining a part of the Federation. Many 'old friends' from both the TV series and previous books are included in this book. Among the more well known are T'Pau and T'Pring as well as Spock's parents, Amanda and Sarek. The real star of this novel is Vulcan itself. We are given much background into the workings of the planet and its society, background that is well thought out, consistent with the original series and immentiently logical.

This is one of my all time favorite Trek novels of any series (of the 100+ I've read so far) and definitely a must for any Trek fan. This one could also be enjoyed by someone with only a passing acquaintence with TOS but would probably not be of much interest to anyone completely unfamiliar with the original series.

Vulcan is considering secession from the Federation and this dramatic predicament provides the backdrop for an examination of the history of Vulcan down through the years from its most primitive origins up to the present day. Stories from many different stages of Vulcan history provide a tremendous insight into one of the most interesting alien races portrayed in the Star Trek universe. The only downside is the tacked-on ending. I mean come on! Spock's Ex? Alas, even on Vulcan, there is no fury like a woman scorned! Fascinating!

I guess someone has to disagree...

Diane Duane is one of the better writers to work on the Trek novels. Her skill as a writer, at creating characters and at creating an intriguing history for an alien world, is hard to miss and is welcome in a series of books that often lacks such skill.

However, the characters are not the ones we know from Trek. The Vulcan she creates, where the repression of emotions is replaces by a simple control of them, is a long way from the Vulcan we've seen on TV and in the films. She might be right in not liking the inconsistencies or the oversimplifications of Trek, but we don't read these books for a reinvention of the ideas but for a mere refinement. Whatever world she's writing about, it's not cold, logical Vulcan in the end.

Still, you could do worse than this book. Duane is no PAD or Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens in terms of plot, but few can match her skill with words.

Diane Duane is probably the best writer to ever do a Star Trek novel, mostly because she understands literary science fiction, not just the television/movie genre. The two are completely different animals, and most Star Trek fiction fails because of a lack of this basic understanding. Duane doesn't stick to the generally shoddy "canonical" world-constructions, instead she builds effective and believable cultures. The Vulcan and Rihannsu (Romulan) languages she has created are particularly nice, and should really have been picked up by the screenwriters for the more recent Star Trek shows and films. After all, if Klingons can become something more than a ridiculous stereotype, surely the same can happen to the peoples of the Vulcan diaspora. Unfortunately, this novel isn't quite as good as some of Duane's other work. Although the 23rd century Vulcan political issues were mildly interesting, they didn't compare to the historical information in the alternating chapters, and in fact at times seemed just slightly unreasonable. The scenes with Jim Kirk in Ireland were a nice idea, but didn't entirely convince me; I've lived there for extended periods in the past, and speak both the languages of the country. A phrase in the Irish language was grammatically incorrect and used some rather unlikely vocabulary--this is something many English-language writers screw up, but that is no excuse for a lack of research. Those of us who speak minority languages find it rather offensive when writers cobble something together out of a dictionary and don't bother to find someone to check it with. The only reason I've given this five stars is because it's still head and shoulders above the vast majority of Star Trek novels. BTW, a text based messaging system is perfectly reasonable for the Enterprise; contrary to the beliefs of many culturally-deprived techies, literacy is not something which can be substituted for by voice mail or animated icons (like Neal Stephenson's "mediaglyphics"). The crew of the Enterprise are capable, well-educated people, even the common sailors. They are not the drunken, illiterate, whip-ruled "scum of the earth" of a Napoleonic-era man of war. It stands to reason that they would have something like an electronic message board, and it stands to reason that it would be written, as this is the most effective way to hold a semi-civilised discussion among 400+ people who live on three different schedules.

If anything, this should be made into a classic for Star Trek novels. Granted one thing kind of disputes with what we know as "Star Trek History" which is the First Contact incident between Earth and Vulcan, but aside from that the book is excellent, not to mention very griping.

It's a time when Vulcan has it's paranoia of emotions and outsiders brought out, to the point of proposing secession from the United Federation of Planets, expelling all off-worlders and closing itself up into it's own world. The story also has the progression of Vulcan from creation to "today", which is very interesting in itself. I would say this is a must for fans... possibly even for non-fans.

This title certainly will help the reader to understand parts of the planet Vulcan's history much better. Overall, the novel is mostly faithful to the broader Star Trek universe, and the sections on Vulcan's history are compelling reading. The only portion that I wondered about was the section that covers the life of Surak, where he is placed in an industrial Vulcan society very similar in style to that of contemporary earth, which is definitely not the image that I had of Surak from previous Trek lore. Nevertheless, this was a fairly good read.

This informative as well as historic account of Vulcan and how it came to be, makes you understand Spock, his bond to Kirk, his relationship with his father and his respect for change.

You must read this book to understand Vulcan and how it related to Romulus. You should read this book to understand Spock. You should read this book to understand why Star Fleet was his only option at a life of his own.

A must read for any serious Star Trek fan. Read also Sarek which is a great partner to this book. Again, a must read!