Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Five star concept, three star execution., January 6, 2003
The concept, or should I say concepts, behind this book are excellent. It's a delight to see something truly different, and a novel set during Captain Pike's tenure as captain of the Enterprise certainly qualifies; the only regulars from the original series that we see in this book are Scotty (who mainly shows up in a minor subplot) and Spock, who the story centers around. And while stories centering around Spock are hardly novel, the concept of exploring the background of the character before he met Kirk, et al, is certainly a nice change.Another concept behind this book is to explore the "hidden" emotional lives of Vulcans. This concept is handled much less well than the background concept; those of us well-versed in the lore of Star Trek know that it is a mistake to believe that Vulcans have no emotions, and we've certainly seen Spock's emotional side before. But Vulcans in general, and Spock in particular, are FAR more circumspect about acknowledging those emotions openly than they are shown to be in this book. Disappointing, because D.C. Fontana ought to know better; she wrote for the original series, including the episode "Journey To Babel", in which she showed a much better grasp of the way Vulcans display (or fail to display) their emotions. The peeks into the respective personalities of Captain Pike, Number One, and Doctor Boyce was nicely handled, though. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more books from this time period.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love, Hate and Hooch, August 11, 2008
Two forbidden love stories run parallel to one another and a young Scotty goes into the distillery business in "Vulcan's Glory," by D.C. Fontana. Fans of the original series will recognize Fontana, who produced and wrote for the show.
In this tale, Fontana has a lot going on. A young Spock is torn between an arranged marriage with the cold and heartless T'Pring and longs to start a relationship with the beautiful widowed Vulcan, T'Pris, on the Enterprise, where he has just joined the crew under Captain Pike. Meanwhile, Pike and the Enterprise are en route to Areta, a planet visited by Pike before and on which he hopes to see some sort of unification between the three distinct groups of inhabitants on the planet. Like Spock, Scotty has also joined the crew of the Enterprise. He immediately finds himself making (and hiding) engine room hooch in a humorous subplot.
As always, the Enterprise is sidetracked on the way to its primary destination. The crew uncovers a highly revered (and long thought lost) emerald called Vulcan's Glory and decide to return it to Vulcan once their business on Areta is complete. Pike beams down to Areta and finds himself caught in the middle of feud between city dwellers and nomads whose children have fallen in love and run off together.
On board the Enterprise, a murder has taken place and the Vulcan's Glory is missing. All clues point to a Vulcan assassin, but which Vulcan would do such an emotionally charged act? Spock, T'Pris, Number One and Doctor Boyce try to figure it out as well as determine what's in the hooch that's making everybody so "happy" so quickly.
Despite a lot of plots and subplots bouncing around, Fontana manages to keep things moving at a solid pace and filters out most of the confusion pretty well. Scotty's misadventure aboard the Enterprise is drenched in classic Star Trek humor. The bickering on Areta is pretty funny at times also. Some might think that Spock is a bit too emotional to truly be himself, but stay with the book until the end and you'll understand what's going on. Don't let the fact that Kirk, Bones, or any of the other crew aren't around for this adventure. Fontana has built up some wonderful characters in Boyce, Number One, and other members of the crew. Pike doesn't get too much development here, but it's nice to see him in action and to see his chemistry build with Spock.
Overall, this is a quick read that's enjoyable and quite funny at times. Original series fans will enjoy it and those who aren't familiar with Trek at all will have no problem following what's going on.
Recommended.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great look into a young Spock and Captain Pike, September 4, 2000
This is just a great Star Trek novel in every way. It provides an incredible amount of insight into the early crew of the enterprise during a very key mission in Spock's career. You also get a refreshing look at a young engineer we're all familiar with. D.C. Fontana - great job!
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