Customer Reviews

Star Trek: Strangers from the Sky

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Margaret Wander Bonanno demonstrates what so many Star Trek novelists have not -- her ability to capture the voices of the characters we love. Additionally, she successfully brings out the magic of their relationships. So many of the shorter S-T novels jump right into the plot, ignoring character development and the "painting" of the scenery. Furthermore, many are mere sci-fi tales with Star Trek characters inserted, where any other characters would do just as well -- our friends don't speak or act like we know they should. Ms. Bonanno writes as if she knows Kirk, Spock and McCoy personally, and every word is totally believable and within the context of the Star Trek universe as we know it. Margaret's talent for painting with words makes the re-reading of this adventure all the more enjoyable, as I caught more of the subtlety and detail upon the second trip (and third and fourth...!) Finally, the writing is colorful and mature, requiring the reader to stretch a bit (which perhaps explains why younger readers might find the book a bit tedious.) This is, by far, my favorite!

I originally bought this book in connection with a writing project (still in progress) regarding possibly Jewish characters in the Star Trek universe. And yes, there *is* such a reference in "Strangers in the Sky" -- check out pages 228-29, where Professor Grayson (an ancestor of Amanda Grayson, Spock's mother), is wearing a yarmulke (Jewish skullcap). He then explains to Spock that he is really only an "honorary Jew" for having married his wife Dora -- who, we can assume from that remark, really is Jewish. Apparently the Graysons were not very observant of other Jewish traditions, however, because the Professor then offers Spock BACON and eggs (which he, being a vegetarian, declines.) Nevertheless, the implication here is, that Spock had a Jewish ancestor on his mother's human side.

Aside from this interesting little tidbit for my own research, I found the book itself to be a very good read. Yes, it was longer than many of the newer Trek novels being produced today, but in my opinion, that was its strength. (Remember, folks, "Moby Dick" is also a very long book, and although Lily had not actually read it in "First Contact," Captain Picard obviously had!)

The extra length of "Strangers" gave the author enough room to really develop the characters and go into some detail about the issues of fear, prejudice, and distrust that would be involved in first contact with aliens. And, like some of the other reviewers here, I like the way that Ms. Nonanno picked up on some of the early characters in the TOS series and told us about some of their accomplishments before getting killed off in "Where no Man Has Gone Before."

Live long and prosper!

In the "Star Trek" novel "Strangers From the Sky," there is a controversial best-selling book of the same title that James T. Kirk picks up to read on the recommendation of his old friend Leonard McCoy. The book by Garamet Jen-Saunor challenges the well establish fact that Earth's first encounter with alien life occurred when the UNSS "Icarus" first encountered the humanoid people of Alpha Centauri in 2048. Instead, Jen-Saunor argues that humanity's first contact with an alien species happened years earlier and whatever happened was so monumentally important and dangerous that all records of the incident have been erased and both worlds have kept the secret for almost two centuries. The theory is interesting enough as alien contract conspiracy theories go, but when Kirk starts reading the book he starts having nightmares. Then the Admiral discovers that Spock is having the same dreams and the two old friends get together to do a Vulcan mind meld, to see if they can unlock the past.

"Star Trek" fans have to be a bit confused because as the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" movie "First Contact" taught us, when Zephram Cochrane lauched the "Phoenix" on Apri 5, 2063 and achieved warp drive for the first time, he caught the attention of the "T'plana'hath," a Vulcan survey ship, which lands on Earth and makes first contact with humans. But all you need to do to make this all work out is to replace what happened in "First Contact" with the story of the "Icarus" and it still works out. In fact, the idea that we are now talking about Vulcans instead of Alpha Centaurians makes everything resonate a bit more. So I do not see a major problem with making most of what is here with the official canon and you can sort things out as you will.

Margaret Wander Bonanno divides her "Strangers From the Sky" novel into two books. The first takes place in "those nebulous years" between the encounter of the "Enterprise" with V'ger in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," and the death of Spock in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." The second book takes us back to when Captain Kirk was the new commander of the "Enterprise," and much closer to Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell, Lieutenant Lee Kelso, and Dr. Elizabeth Dehner (who you should recognize as characters from the first-season episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before"), than he is to his Vulcan first officer.

What is interesting in this novel is seeing more of the Kirk-Mitchell relationship before it all when horribly bad, and contrasting that with the awkward early stages of the Kirk-Spock relationship. This would be worth pursuing against lots of storylines, every without (yet another) time travel plot, although involving the Vulcans does bring the relationship between Kirk and Spock into sharper focus. Bonanno also does a nice job of working in Kelso and Dehner into the plot as well, so that a much better appreciation of their characters. So this is an above average "Star Trek," which does fill in some of the blanks for the early years of Kirk and Spock, which is always a plus with these books. You can also see "Strangers From the Sky" as part of the long string of stories, part of the canon and otherwise, that have explored the tensions between Earthlings and Vulcans. There sure are a lot of those.

Consider the fact that Admiral Kirk in the future is reading this book in regards to how the Vulcans crashed into one of our oceans to be discovered by humans who must decide if these aliens are here as friends or possible invaders as well as what to do next. As great a sci-fi as: "2001", "Rendezvous with Rama", "Childhood's End", "Foundation", "Ringworld", "Advent of the Corps", and so forth.

A thoroughly outstanding effort. Margaret did a wonderful job joining together time itself, as well as pointing out the basic fears we have of the unknown. While at times, the story seemed drawn, it became a fast-paced novel as the individual story lines began to collide. I found the tie to one of the original Star Trek episodes intriguing, with the development of character relationships that actually went a long way toward explaining the TV episode itself. An even more intriguing relationship was the tie to Medievil lore. I highly recommend it.

You won't find a better book in the Star Trek genre. Well written, close to canon. Bonanno captures Kirk,Spock and McCoy thoroughly, you can hear their voices as you read the story. Excellent, if you are a Trek fan don't miss this classic.

A controversial best seller has been sweeping through the Federation and the Enterprise was no exception but when Dr. McCoy offered his copy to Capt. Kirk, Kirk was oddly resistent to reading it. When he finally began reading though he found that he could not put it down, that it even began to invade his dreams and sent him on a pilgrimage to one of the locations of the story. Had Kirk's obsession with the book driven him to madness?

When McCoy called in Spock to help him save Kirk they discovered that Kirk was not the only one who had a strange reaction to the novel, leading them all to question what was fantasy and what was reality. After all, everyone knew when Vulcans and humans first made contact and it was long before Kirk and Spock were born. Wasn't it?

Bonanno has woven a compelling story, her characterizations of the Enterprise crew that we all know and love is excellent. They, and the rest of the characters in the book all come to life as reasonable, believeable and engaging. She also manages to keep the various threads of the story interesting as they begin to wind their ways towards the climax.

This is a definite 'don't miss' for fans of the series and would also be enjoyable to anyone with more than a passing interest in classic Trek, particularly the earliest episodes.

If you did not like the First Contact sequence in Star Trek: First Contact, here is another storyline published ten years earlier.

Strangers From The Sky was published near the height of the new Star Trek novel publishing craze. It was published with over 400 pages, when most of the Star Trek novels were only 250 pages. This allowed the author much more time to create better characters and describe the plotline in more detail.

This is one of the better Star Trek novels from the 1980's. It is worth picking up.

When I bought the book I thought: two afternoons and I finished another great Captain Kirk story. Nah, I'm still busy reading it (almost done) but I needed two whole weeks! The first part with admiral Kirk is great, but it's hard. Sentences are long, al lot of flashbacks and forwards. The mix of book and reality is great! Kirk flying of, fleeing for his friend Bones. And Spock chased by nightnmares! It's wonderful. The second part of the book reads easier. More action, no more flashing through history, just a wonderful story. I really can't wait to finish the book. I know it has to have a great ending. It's still Kirk you know!

This is the rerelease of a book written in the early-to-mid 80's. It's still a great read. Bonanno brings the strengths of book-writing to a film property - flash backs, out-of-sequence story-telling and a wider landscape, and makes it all work.

Since it was written pre-almost-everything-else, there are a few anachronisms that must be forgiven, but I didn't find them distracting. The characters are spot on, the dillemma interesting, and the pace brisk. I remember reading this when it was first written and really enjoying knowing what was going on after the TV show and before the second movie. This time it takes a bit to re-orient where everything takes place (has this happened yet? No? Okay...)
The new characters are likable and instantly accessible. Of all the 40th Anniversary books, this is the one to read.