Gene DeWeese (1934–2012)

The copy on the back cover promises an exciting read: “While mapping a series of gravitational anomalies, the Enterprise is suddenly hurled millions of light-years through space . . . into the middle of an endless interstellar war.” It’s unfortunate that the book itself doesn’t live up to the potential of this premise. What James Kirk and his crew encounter instead is planet after planet blasted into irradiated ruins, with weeks passing before meeting up with the first ships in this show more far-off part of the universe. These vessels are primitive compared to the Federation’s pride-and-joy, which works for the story but also saps the encounters of any suspense – after all, what threat exists from ships that can be outrun and outfought?

Gene DeWeese seems to have appreciated this, which is why he inserts a wild-card into the plot in the form of Jason Crandall, a scientist and administrator who was aboard for the mapping mission and found himself along for the unexpected ride. As a narcissistic psychopath his existence in the story is so obviously to disrupt Kirk’s efforts to navigate their situation that DeWeese might as well have just named the character “Monkey Wrench.” Moreover, Crandall only poses the threat that he does in the novel because of Kirk’s too-trusting nature, which strains the reader’s credulity to the breaking point. Perhaps DeWeese should have paid closer attention to the episodes of the original series (which he boasts of having re-watched as research for the book) with a similar plot device, as it was much better done in episodes such as “A Taste of Armageddon” (a clear inspiration for DeWeese’s story), “The Doomsday Machine,” and “The Deadly Years,” to name just three. In DeWeese’s hands it just feels like unnecessary tension added because it was absent from his central plot. show less

This is an old The Next Generation novel, the second original one ever published. At the time Gene DeWeese wrote it, I am not sure he would have even seen any episodes of the show, probably just read scripts. I felt like the influence of "Heart of Glory" was particularly obvious here: like in that episode, a significant early sequence is about Geordi going aboard a derelict vessel, his VISOR allowing him to see what others cannot.

I was surprised to see on LibraryThing that I read this show more before. Admittedly, it was exactly twenty years ago, but there are Star Trek books I read longer ago that I still have detailed, vivid memories of. Even as I reread this, absolutely nothing struck a chord of familiarity.I assume this is because the book is dead boring. It's slow, agonizingly so, like DeWeese realized he had a 200-page idea but had to turn it into a 300-page book. Characters have long conversations, the action is repetitive for no purpose. The alien society is not at all interesting, nor is the dilemma that the book tries to set up, even though I feel like it could be. I think it would take a lot of reworking to make these basic ingredients come alive. show less

This is the one in which we learn more about Data's special abilities, and about LaForge's. Apparently Geordi can interpret infrared emanations (of at least some humans and humanoids) enough to have a sense of their emotions almost as perceptive as Troi's. Now, she's also a trained psychiatrist so she had dibs, but if he can really do that, why wasn't he used more often to aid her?

The price of power, the price of peace, gatekeepers & guardians, and technology that lasts a long long time more show more than its builders. The climax jars but is fun, and the very ending fixes what seemed 'off' about it. The Prime Directive is explored yet again.

And, yes, the cover is all wrong. Geordi and Data should be the only ones on it. Maybe Yar and Riker in the background. show less

This novel is #32 in the Pocket Book series of Star Trek novels, and was first published in February 1987. The characters we know from the TV series and films seem to be presented pretty well - no one acting in ways to make the reader groan. The jerk of the week here is a Dr. Jason Crandall who is perhaps the most unbelievable thing in a book that has a rather interesting situation to be resolved. The Enterprise finds itself in a far away galaxy unable to return home and in the midst of what show more appears to be a never-ending war between two humanoid species. Everywhere the Enterprise looks they find destroyed worlds and then they themselves are attacked.

These books aren't high literature and no one expects that. You read these for a bit of fun and there is enough excitement and twists here to keep things interesting, even though I had a rather intense dislike for the evil Dr. Crandall. This novel would have been a better story if everything concerning Dr. Crandall had been excised. His story arc adds nothing to the book and distracts from the larger story.

I have not read many of these Trek novels, but this one seems OK. I did enjoy this adventure with some old friends. show less