Customer Reviews

Triangle (Star Trek: The Original Series)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Triangle by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath (Star Trek #9, 1983)

This marks the second Pocket-published Star Trek novel by the team of Marshak and Culbreath, their fourth fiction outing on the series overall. This book, like their others, is more psychological novel than science fiction. It is also, as far as I can determine, their last published work.

The story proceeds from an idea thrown out by Gene Roddenberry (or perhaps Alan Dean Foster, whispered to have ghosted the book) in the novelization of the first movie, about a group of "New Humans," a humanistic group that is opposed to Starfleet purposes and seeks a higher plane of existence. In the book, Decker is a member of this group, and this is his motivation for joining with V'Ger, as opposed to love for Ilia. Marshak and Culbreath take that further, and posit the New Humans as a group mind, and also invent another group mind that opposes them, while both oppose Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise. They also invent a new position of Federation Free Agent, something like the Federation's James Bond, 007 agents commissioned to act individually for the good of all.

Despite this wide swath of new and potentially interesting plotlines, little is done with them. A good writer could have taken any of these setups and turned in an interesting story, but the authors are caught up in their usual alpha-male gobbledygook with Spock in the role of Superman and Kirk cast as the Lois Lane captain-in-distress. This time, Federation Free Agent Sola Thane falls in love with both of them, made more complex as Spock enters the Vulcan mating cycle of <i>pon far</i>, rendering him conveniently interested and available. This is one "triangle" as mentioned in the title. The other is the two unimind groups, fighting to take over Kirk, the greatest galactic symbol of "singletons," the individual minds.

While the ideas are thick here, the book is packed mostly with long dialogues between characters reminiscent of bad comic books. In fact, much of Marshak and Culbreath's writing has the feel of a poorly-written comic book, with only a nice cover painting to provide good artwork. The idea of a powerful group mind is a good one, but the "group" minds here are actually dominated by powerful individuals, and not much here is actually "group" at all. Simply one mind dominating others, and somehow all apparently magically drawing superhuman strength from the group. A Federation secret (sorry, "free") agent is an interesting plotline, but nothing is done with it except to bring a woman into the story who outranks Kirk, and therefore one he cannot order around against her will.

So, Kirk is placed in danger, the crew is prey for the two group minds, McCoy cannot detect the group mind influence, and Sola Thane must choose between Kirk and Spock, and whoever she does not choose will likely die. It is suspenseful, and there is a certain sense of foreboding here, but ultimately the lack of good writing skills causes this book to fail. Kirk and Spock are out of character, and the other regulars do not seem to suffer the same fate only because relatively little attention is paid to them.

If you have read from the other three Marshak and Culbreath novels, and liked them, this book is very similar. But there is a reason this book is their last published work. Better writers were soon to be found to carry on the Star Trek series.

Let me preface this by saying I am a Trekker of the "old guard," and have been since Star Trek first aired on September 8, 1966. I also own every one of the Star Trek novels, and have read many of them numerous times. So I think I am familiar with the subject.

Sandra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath deserve a lot of credit for all of the work that they did in the campaign to keep Star Trek alive; and in editing and writing several of the first Star Trek short story collections and novels. If it weren't for them, the world of the Star Trek novels might not exist. Unfortunately, while the ladies are decent editors, they prove to be mediocre authors. Marshak's and Culbreath's version of Star Trek includes an odd, almost-but-not-quite-sexual relationship between Kirk and Spock (an especially stong part of M&C's "Phoenix" stories). They write a verbose, flowery, heady prose that is uninteresting and unexciting. Their stories contain little action, but do require the reader to do a lot of unwelcome mental gymnastics. While the authors' story line is quite unique, their style makes this story just as bad in the extreme as some of the "formula" novels that have recently joined the line-up.

The Star Trek:TOS novel collection includes a number of very fine, even literary-quality works. The best stories include some of the earlier ones in the series, particularly those by Margaret Bonano Wander, John M. Ford, Diane Duane, Peter Morwood, Diane Carey's earlier works, James Blish, and A.C. Crispin, to name a few. I heartily recommend reading them. Unfortunately, "Triangle" doesn't make the grade.

This novel had a hint of an interesting idea behind it; unfortunately it handled that idea so badly that it almost overshadowed how badly the characterizations of Kirk and Spock were handled.

To give just a hint of what I'm referring to, the "Triangle" referred to in the title refers to two things; one of them is a plot point in which two competing "totalities" (i.e. telepathic multiperson unities) are competing against each other, as well as against the "individualists" like Kirk and the rest of the members of Starfleet. I could have tolerated this plot point if it had been handled better, although I must say that I find the whole "oneness-totality" concept rather new-agey. But the other referent to the title is the romantic triangle in which Kirk and Spock fall in love with the same woman. (Yes, Spock falls in love.) This should give some idea of just how badly the established characterizations were abused in this book. Further, not only do the authors show a distinct lack of understanding of the characters they are writing about, they also show a distinct lack of understanding about the subject that they are writing about: love. For both Kirk and Spock, and for the woman at the center of the triangle, it is love at first sight. They meet, speak a few words together, and immediately fall in love. As anyone over the age of 15 knows (or ought to), love just doesn't work that way. Kirk might temporarily delude himself into believing that such a thing was love and not lust; Spock certainly wouldn't. In any case, neither would have a true emotional tie with the woman at that point.

The whole thing has the feel of a Junior High School Creative Writing class project; young female Trek fans create an extremely talented and dynamic alter-ego in their story, and both Kirk and Spock fall madly in love with her at first sight. And frankly, the writing style itself is only slightly better than that. As a Junior High School project, I'd give it a B+; as a professionally published novel, it is the next thing to utterly worthless.

I never thought there would be a Trek book soooo bad that when given a choice between reading it and staring at a blank wall, I'd choose the wall every time.

What is so terrible about this one? "Farcical melodrama" truly sums it up. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy meet a Starfleet secret agent. Kirk, Spock, and the agent fall madly, deeply, passionately in love - in less than five minutes. And, my friends, this is a love without boundaries, destined for each from years back. The agent was fated for Kirk, but Spock needs a lover to survive pon farr, but Spock is conflicted because she's Kirk's woman, but Kirk is willing to sacrifice her for Spock, and oh my God it just goes on and on like that, enough to nauseate even those with the strongest stomachs. And keep in mind that this one takes place shortly after V-ger; so the reader is stuck with a mental image of Bad Hair Kirk playing the seducer. Yuck and double yuck.

As if that wasn't enough, we are forced to deal with the same hyperbolic descriptions of Kirk and Spock we got in the authors' Phoenix series. Spock is the Supreme Vulcan Male, you see, and while Kirk is Supreme Human Male, he must still be tenderly protected by Spock from the Big Bad Universe. This melodrama was, somehow, tolerable in the Phoenix novels. After less than a hundred pages of this one, though, my eyeballs hurt so much from all the rolling that I had to take an Advil.

You'll notice I haven't even tried to talk about the primary plot involving pathetic "one-minders."

Avoid this one at all costs. If you want a Trek love Triangle, stick to Peter David's Imzadi II.

The title sums it up. This book is so bad that the only way it got published must have been that an editor knew s/he was getting canned, and bought the rights to this book to stick it to his bosses.

The plot is dragging, the behavior of the characters is no where near canon, and elements of the Trek universe seem to be made up on the spot.

It sucks. Thats all there is to it. Avoid at all costs. If only there were a zero star option.

I really enjoyed this book which is very similiar in style to the authors earlier Star Trek work (for Bantam book). The character interplay between Kirk and Spock is fascinating reading (and reminds me of some of the better fan fiction written during the 1970s). The plot, which revolves around a new mind state of being, truly makes one wonder (something that the better epsiodes of the classic series did). I really think that this book belongs in the collection of any Star Trek Kirk/Spock fan.

If you see this novel's herione, Sola Thane, as a high end "Mary Sue", this novel makes a lot more sense. That doesn't make it a very good novel but does give it a sort of consistency. And hey, it's better than "The Vulcan Academy Murders."

once again another cool premise proposed by the co authors which fails miserably...

love..between kirk, sola thane...and..spock?!?!? that love triangle makes a very interesting premise for a star trek adventure only to be ruined by poor writing and a convoluted parallel plot...

as with the prometheus design, the authors dwell on metaphysical 'villains' (for lack of a better word), who's motivations aren't very clear...

in addition, when reading books by these authors I feel like I'm comming into a movie 20 minutes late..as if there were three or so chapters missing from the book...no character backgrounds, no exposition..just thrown violently into a story that they feel you SHOULD know what they're talking about..

bad..just bad...

The interactions in "Triangle" are marvelous. As another reviewer said an amazing amount of character depth was created over a very short span. I guess people who insist that Spock be a totem pole will not care for the story, but I like seeing him unfold a little. It made him fresher and newer for me. Ok the story does not race along quite as fast as other Star Trek novels. Some readers might not like that, but I didn't mind at all.

This is a simply wonderful story, but STphiles might cry that the authors allowed character growth. Isn't that horrid? Actually having a character exceed the cardboard limitations set upon them by the original series? Spock's human side gets a workout in this one, and for those who can get past STphile's obsession with his stoicism it's done marvelously well. Such depth in such a short novel is surprising, especially in a series not known for character development, but that's good. Very good.

"Love" is handled the way it is in reality. Instinctively. The author's intelligently did not set it to some inane analytical standard. For those with blinders on, here's a reminder; Spock is still half human.

If I have a problem with Spock's emotions it's this; too many of the ST novels have shown Spock in such an emotional state. In each of them his actions are explained away as the lone exception to his normal behavior. Unfortunately, it's happened so often that it's more a standard than an exception. Mr. Spock acting very unSpockish is no longer shock, for me. It borders on trite. Of course, "Triangle" was the first of the novels to hit on this, though it also happened in the series, and in the movies he has openly embraced his human heritage.