Customer Reviews

The Trellisane Confrontation (Star Trek, No 14)

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

 

 

This book is a little below average. The character development was nowhere and the story, plot never really took hold for me, because at certain points it made me shake my head. Nobody seems to do really do anything when the ship is hijacked. Dvorkin (the author) tries to get Chekov to be like Kirk and save the day.Of course, the Klingons here are the scum of the earth, and the Romulans are more honorable.

Russ

This book is semi-exciting and keeps you reading, but there is little or no character development and also little depth to the story.

Three enemy ships are about to attack the Enterprise. Sulu is in charge and raises shields to 50%.

Sealons are setting up bases on the ocean floor. Kirk and Spock go out on the ocean ON A ROW BOAT with a bomb and a tricorder.

Romulans capture the Enterprise after having one of their ships destroyed and Kirk somehow negotiates his way out of this. How? The meeting takes place while we read about something happening on the planet.

The Klingons are extremely stupid and easily manipulated.

The Sealons (an extremely violent race) are just about to win the war/complete their invasion but instead offer a peace treaty.

There is nothing good about this book in any way. The people that gave it 4 stars have to be members of the author's family.

The only reason I read to the end was because it was a Star Trek book.

A relatively shallow story, action-driven and (mostly) not overly introspective -- which is good, because when it tries to be thoughtful, as at the end, it fails utterly -- still, it is well-crafted, interweaving multiple subplots well and keeping track of a fairly complex plot, it handles established characters well and shows good understanding of the personalities on the Enterprise, as well as the attitudes that one might expect from a Klingon or Romulan ship captain. The plot is not completely implausible in a Star Trek universe, and the action moves nicely. All in all, a good quick light read.

I really liked this book. Alot is going on on many fronts and sometimes the story can get away from the author and the reader and a good idea can just turn into a bad read. Everything was handled nicely in this book. An alien invasion, a planet begging the federation for help, the enterprise taken captive. It all sounds rather busy but the author does a great job of keeping the reader interested and not going too far with things. The ending seemed a little 'neat' (kind of like the tight little solution of your average brady bunch episode..lol), but I think the book was executed well. Dvorkin obviously knows these classic trek characters which is always important when delving into a trek book. Good stuff.

Perhaps The Trellisane Confrontation would merit the typical three stars a Star Trek book receives if I had not just read Dvorkin's later Timetrap - a much, much better Trek novel on every level. The Trellisane Confrontation has a story that keeps the attention but never rivets and which, in many ways, is a huge eye-roller. For example, very early on the Enterprise's bridge is taken over and only Chekov has the gumption to do anything about it - and all he does is try to "kirk" one of the female abductors. There is also, unfortunately, the problem of changed premises. Written in 1984, Trellisane's Klingons are much more like our current understanding of Romulans and vice versa. While we can hardly blame Dvorkin for that, it is discomforting to read about honorable Romulans and the treacherous, honorless Klingons.

Be warne. Whatever pleasure one can have from this book (and there is some, especially with Dr. McCoy) will be completely spoiled if you read the back of the book. Typically Pocket, it reveals plot points that do not occur until two-thirds into the book. All you need to know about the book is that it's Star Trek and it's mindless entertainment.