Customer Reviews

Star Trek: The Next Generation

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

 

 

Howard Weinstein is one of Star Trek's early and better authors. In "Exiles" he sets up a plot that is in every way true to Roddenberry's theme behind Star Trek and its dealing with moral issues in the future. Unfortunately, in "Exiles" despite having a grand theme and plot, its execution is somewhat lacking. Had this story been written later in Star Trek The Next Generation's run on television, the author might've had a little more to work with in reference to character development and the overall "atmosphere" of the series.

The premise:

For three hundred years the people of Alaj and Etolos have been bitter enemies, wishing nothing to do with each other. Disasters strike both worlds leaving them both dependent upon each other in the hopes of survival and a future. Called in as a third party negotiator, Captain Picard and crew must find a way to peacefully settle the issues between these two worlds and rescue as many people as possible. They're soon plagued by terrorists who do not wish to change from the old ways.

What follows is an intriguing yet unfortunately not too entertaining early STNG story that despite high praise from Gene Roddenberry himself, doesn't live up to its potential.

I recommend this Star Trek tale as collector's addition to their Star Trek library! {ssintrepid}

But it's more than a bit preachy and overly simplistic.

The plot is good, (except for the deus ex machina toward the end) the characterizations well-handled, the dialogue good if unspectacular. But this is a book with a message, and its message is the same one as in Dr. Seuss's "The Lorax", and this book's presentation of that message ("pollution bad") is every bit as detailed and nuanced as the presentation was in that children's story. There is no discussion of HOW one would go about reducing the pollution and overuse of natural resources in a society, or what level is acceptable, or what sacrifices it might be appropriate to expect people to make to save the world, or any of the other difficult questions that such an issue deserves or any acknowledgement that the issue is a difficult one at all; as in Dr. Seuss, it is simply assumed that if people are poisoning their world, it is because they're too stupid to figure out that they need to stop, or to see the obvious things they need to do to stop. If they'd merely listen to wise people of good will, the problem would go away.

Now, obviously, I have nothing against "The Lorax". It's a marvellous children's story and conveys the danger of pollution very well for its intended target audience. As a children's story, it isn't EXPECTED to have nuance or balance. And while I'm sure that there are people out there saying, "This is a mass-market Star Trek novel; why would you hold it to a higher standard than you do Dr. Seuss?", my response is, that's true of Star Trek stories that are intended to be no more than entertaining action/adventure stories. This (again) is a book with a message. But its message conveys little or nothing; I'm reasonably sure that all us Star Trek fans are already well aware that pollution is bad. The question is, "what do we do about it?" That question isn't even addressed, much less answered, in this book.

In Exiles, the Enterprise crew is faced with trying to rescue two worlds, Etolos, which is facing natural disaster through massive volcanic eruptions, and Alaj, which is facing problems from horrible pollution. The inhabitants of the first world were exiled from the second world centuries before because they tried to tell them to stop polluting(huh?) and now, of course, thier wise message is needed and the Enterprise is sent to negotiate between the two worlds. As others have noted, a very simple "Polloution is bad" message is in the forefront.

Meanwhile(insert dramatic organ chords here), an energy field is moving towards the pollution ravaged Alaj. On thier way to Alaj, Riker and a small crew for a shuttlecraft are captured and find themselves inside a massive ark of a ship. Ironically, this ship is on a path to destroy Alaj, as the culture which built it was exiled a few centuries before the Etolosians. See a patern here? Can we see where this is going?

When it comes to accurate portrayla of the charachters it's on target for the most part, with the exception of Data, who is thrown back to his inept social interactions of the first season or even sooner. Something interresting to read, but not one of the greats of the TNG series of books.