Customer Reviews

Starfleet Academy (Star Trek: All)

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

 

 

Take 49 per cent of those highschool series that tell plotless "stories" of succesfull, beautifull, popular young people. Add 50 per cent "Baywatch" and 1 per cent Star Trek, and Voilá!; you have the novelization of the game Star Trek: Starfleet Academy.

We have the story of a young, cocky, white, human, american man named David Forrester (!), who gets to command a group of (other) disagreeing stereotypical cadets. Including the most annoying Star Trek character I've ever seen: Geoffrey Corin, the rich guy who bought his way to the academy. As if that would be possible in the world of Star Trek.

Cadet Forrester is written to be perfect. His hero Captain James T. Kirk (surprise, surprise...) is written as a god. It doesn't help one bit that the other characters are portrayed too stereotypically to feel real. Furthermore the relationships of the characters progress as if in a soap opera. Things are started, but never remembered afterwards.

The actual, weak and uniqually predictable, story of the book tells us the tale of a Federation-era Ku Klux Klan, and tries to make some points about racism, failing miserably.

The issue is over-simplified and underestimated, without even really touching the matter, by stating only the obvious = denying the importance of the issue, with the end result of hurting the very same important point the novel was probably trying to make.

The message of the book? Being a racist is not nice.

This is the kind of the book I read very often. It shows intrigue. Only very disappointing aspect of this book is Diane Carey didn't really develop Forester's relationship with Vanda M'Giia further. This book left me to wonder what will happen to Forester and his team afterwards.

I am a fan of Ms. Carey,and have found her Star Trek books very entertaining.This is no exception. It follows what we've seen of Starfleet Academy,as well as the game.The plot twists are nice,but one thing nags me.I hate David Forrester.He is the mo- del cadet,no quirks,nothing.It was him who jumped at the chance of interfering in the mock attack in the beginning of the book,and it was him who help- ed Sturek find out who was attacking the colonies. I mean,it would be believable if he just went thr- ough the Academy,nothing happening to him.But NO, he had to become friends with Captain Kirk,it was him who helped stop the Vanguard and save the Fed- eration.But besides that,the book is great,and I recommend it to everybody!

Watch out future starfleet cadets! Read this book. Consider it required reading from me, Admiral James Trekker Jo. Seriously, I really loved this story. It was full of adventure, and a little mystery too. I love a good mystery. Diane, you got to keep making more stories featuring these characters, I would really enjoy reading more about them. Perhaps a story about them now as old starfleet officers in the TNG time period?

When i first read this book, I was so hooked I kept reading and rereading this splendid book. Man, i never had enough of this book.

The only thing this book disappoints me is that Carey didn't explore Forester's and m'Giia's relationship further.