Josepha Sherman (1946–2012)

Epic fanwank! And I say that with love. Though the series has its missteps (Uhura and Chekov living in Picard's day? Really? Spock married Saavik? Yuck?) it provides an interesting angle on the Romulan origin story, divergent from Diane Duane's Rhihannsu mythos. Provides the kind of story-building, creating a new angle to the familiar story, that is relatively rare on modern Trek fiction. Makes the execrable film Nemesis almost palatable. No, not really. It's nice to imagine this trilogy as show more the lost film that ended the TNG movie saga. show less

It is so hard to wrap my heard around this being a banned book. The authors collected children’s sing songs and rhymes, and their variations across the US, put them in a book. They talk about how and why these songs vary the meaning behind some of them. It is full American childhood folklore. I grew up with my dad singing these songs. They always made me smile but I never knew how much of a cultural phenomenon they were. They are largely gone today. Most children do not know these, and show more they are not passed down like they were. I love that not only do I have the memory of these rhymes and singsongs, but that someone took the time to collect them and write about them before they are gone forever. So, pull up a bucket of mutilated monkey meat, and enjoy this history of gross songs from childhood. show less

Another single character Star Trek novel, focussing on the iconic Vulcan, written by two Spock-obsessed female writers. There was a lot to be wary of here. But actually I quite enjoyed it. The parallel storylines, one from Spock's adolescence and one from his adulthood, after the Enterprise years, work well. There is only a limited amount of new material that you can bring to a franchised character, but this novel does a good job of finding and filling in the few gaps left in Spock's show more biography (e.g. the circumstances around his decision to join Starfleet and his career change in later life). show less

A robust Star Trek novel, with authentic characterization and a thoughtful structure. The action doesn't move particularly quickly, but the real plot isn't in the action. It's the exploration of Spock's motivations, how he decided to join Starfleet, and then how he transitioned from a Captain in the movie era to an ambassador to the Romulans in the TNG era. Plus a lot of desert survival, with an original character who ought to seem like an expy of Kirk but emerges as his own person, show more reminding Spock just enough of his other friend. (And I loved the meaty role for McCoy, and the way their relationship works not only after all this time, but after McCoy has carried Spock's katra.) I also really liked the use of Rabin's Jewish heritage and how it resonates with Leonard Nimoy's own life and what he brought to Spock's character. It adds an extra dimension to Spock and Rabin's relationship, and how Rabin is able to reflect on Spock. A very enjoyable and readable story, despite the slow pace. show less