A. C. Crispin (1950–2013)

Like most people who from time to time like to read a non-episode book based on a television show they enjoyed, I’ve been disappointed on more than one occasion. Books in the Star Trek universe are notorious for the sometimes poor quality of writing and/or story, and failing to be true to the characters as portrayed on the show. Eyes of the Beholders has none of these shortcomings, and is in fact, one of the best books I’ve ever read in the Star Trek: The Next Generation group of show more stories.

The basic story of an alien artifact and the graveyard of ships it has lured to their demise, while hardly original, is wonderfully conceived and written by A.C. Crispin. He manages to make a somewhat familiar scenario seem fresh, even mysterious. The members of the crew seem themselves, and the reader feels like they are reading a well-written episode they missed somehow. The various crew members each have enough “screen” time that the reader’s desire to spend time with them again is satisfied. The answer to the mystery of whether the artifact is a weapon, or simply technology so alien that it drives humans to near madness is intriguing, and the solution rewarding.

Because the characters were themselves, it was very enjoyable spending time with them. But there is much more here. In addition to the main story, we also have Data attempting to write a romance novel. This adds humor to the narrative as he passes it to one friend on the ship after another to get their opinion on it. Crispin perhaps does his best job, however, in painting the relationship of the Vulcan doctor, Selar, and a young Andorian orphan girl who is blind, and because of her condition, is unwanted by her own people. The final solution to their story may be predictable, but it’s also warm and tender, and adds a great deal to the specialness of this entry in the Next Generation universe.

I loved this. Anyone who reads these for enjoyment, especially for the nostalgia of spending a bit more time with characters they came to know and love over the years, and looked forward to seeing each week, can’t go wrong with this one. Very highly recommended. show less

Two years after the U.S.S. Enterprise's visit to the dying planet Sarpedion, a young crew member finds evidence that, when transported to the past during his time there, Spock fathered a son. Determined to rescue the boy and his mother, Spock, Kirk, and McCoy use the Guardian of Forever to journey to the planet's prehistory, where they meet Zar, Spock's son, and bring him back to their time. Though Zar acclimates quickly to his new surroundings, bonding with his father proves difficult until show more an incursion by the Romulans forces the two to work together — and Zar to confront his future.

A.C. Crispin's novel was one of the first of the Star Trek Pocket Books series that I read, and one of the ones I remembered most fondly. I was a little worried that revisiting it would cheapen my recollection; instead it only deepened my appreciation of what the author achieved with it. Crispin manages to achieve an ideal balance between the original series (integrating details and characters from five episodes) and her own creations for the book. Foremost among the latter, of course, is Spock's son Zar; while not an original idea (with the introduction of Kirk's son in the movie Wrath of Khan predating this book by a year), he is introduced in a way that is extremely faithful to the series. Yet the strongest element of the book is Zar's relationship with his father, which manages the difficult trick of being emotionally moving while remaining true to the depiction of Vulcans. Taken together, it makes for a model of what a Star Trek novel should be, setting a high bar for the many works that followed. show less

A.C. Crispin is among that small handful of pro writers who can be counted on to handle classic Star Trek fiction well, but this is not her best effort.

Overburdened with a let’s-destroy-the-Federation plot based on complex, convoluted intrigues which have been decades in the making, and festooned with not just one, but two young-love subplots, the essential story – that of Sarek – threatens to disappear entirely.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is, Sarek is a tough old bird (as any show more devoted Trekfan already knows), and he is not about to surrender without a fight. When Crispin isn’t wrangling intergalactic warfare issues, she turns an insightful eye on the formidable Sarek of Vulcan, his human wife, Amanda, and his often-estranged son, Spock.

Father and son are again banging heads here, this time over Amanda’s impending death, when Sarek chooses to abandon her bedside to answer an ambassadorial call dealing with a political issue menacing thousands of lives. Spock is left to witness his mother’s final hours as she repeatedly calls for her absent mate. This pretty well wipes out the tenuous peace that had begun to build between the two men.

The action-adventure portion of the story sometimes forces these two into subordinate roles, though Sarek does reclaim the stage when he faces down the Main Bad Guy (and incidentally provides Peter Kirk – did we mention Captain Kirk’s nephew, Peter, is in the mix here? – with the means to deal with a third-plot-line challenge of his own).

Throughout the build-up to the adventure-plotline climax, Crispin has used flashbacks of Sarek’s early life, particularly focusing on his relationship with Amanda. Formative moments in the family structure emerge, with Amanda’s voice being kept strong in the story through the use of her journals. And once that pesky menace-to-galactic-peace issue has been resolved, it’s the journals that ultimately provide the pathway for father and son to begin a final reconciliation. There’s also some nice foreshadowing here of Spock’s far-in-the-future attempt to reunite Romulan and Vulcan civilizations. show less

A quite enjoyable Star Trek outing which takes as its starting point the relationship between Spock and Zarabeth from the TOS episode "All Our Yesterdays." Turns out Spock fathered a child with Zarabeth and now he wants to go back and rescue his son from the past. And he does. And awkwardness and Trek-adventure shenanigans ensue. Nice attention to Triumvirate interactions here, and a plot that trips along. Loses a half star for leaving Spock's awkwardness with his son sort of unresolved show more (though there's a sequel and I look forward to seeing where this storyline goes). show less