Star Trek, Spock's World

SPOCKS WORLD, logically enough, focuses on Vulcan and its citizens. The story shifts through various turning points in Vulcan's history, ranging the 'present day' crisis concerning Vulcan's proposed withdrawal from the Federation to the earliest days of Vulcan prehistory. The Enterprise crew is called to Vulcan to testify in favor of Vulcan remaining a part of the Federation. Many 'old friends' from both the TV series and previous books are included in this book. Among the more well known are T'Pau and T'Pring as well as Spock's parents, Amanda and Sarek. The real star of this novel is Vulcan itself. We are given much background into the workings of the planet and its society, background that is well thought out, consistent with the original series and immentiently logical. This is one of my all time favorite Trek novels of any series (of the 100+ I've read so far) and definitely a must for any Trek fan. This one could also be enjoyed by someone with only a passing acquaintence with TOS but would probably not be of much interest to anyone completely unfamiliar with the original series.

While I have long been a fan of the Star Trek series (from the original series through the successive spin-offs: Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, and the films), I rarely have time to read fiction, so it was only after great prodding on the part of a friend that I got this novel. I had once complained that the Star Trek universe seems to have far more affinity for the aggressive, combative Klingons (warrior schools, language camps, etc.) than the erudite and level-headed Vulcans. Perhaps that is why my friend thought this novel would have particular appeal. She was right. This novel is a grafting-in of the original series, with Spock, Kirk and McCoy as primary characters, along with the rest of the usual crew of the Enterprise. It seems there is a Federation-threatening crisis on Vulcan, and the planet is in the process of a referendum, to decide whether or not to remain as part of the Federation with the humans of earth and other constituent planets. Entering in the situation is a formidible character from the original series episode Amok Time, the Vulcan mating time -- T'Pau, remarked by Kirk as being the only person to ever turn down a seat on the Federation council. Does this speak of a mistrust that could lead the Vulcans out of the Federation? The referendum is not merely a breaking of alliances, but rather an isolationism -- all Vulcans will be required to return home, or permanently exiled. All diplomatic, trade, and military ties will be severed. The psychological and political make-up of the Vulcan world is explored from the very outset of Vulcan civilisation through different historical periods that would have made up the equivalent of classical, medieval and reformation times. One seed of Vulcan xenophobia is their first contact situation, which turned out to be with pirates who were intent on invasion and looting. As it turned out, Vulcan was a heavily armed planet at the time, warring with itself (Vulcan's history parallels Earth's in that respect), and that armament was unexpectedly turned against the invaders. Vulcans, far from evolving without emotions, displayed the most dramatic and intense emotions for a long time in their history. The character of Surek is prominent here, the one who led Vulcan out of its emotionalism for its own survival. Another character who makes an appearance is T'Pring, Spock's 'intended', the woman to whom he was betrothed, and who subject Spock and Kirk to the combat in the mating ritual. It turns out that T'Pring has never lost interest in Spock, nor in the humiliation she suffered in front of T'Pau. Vulcans are not without emotions, it seems, but rather, a people who have mastered them to a greater degree. But not always, apparently. Diane Duane puts chapters about the Vulcan history interspersed with the 'present day' action aboard the Enterprise as it journeys to Vulcan, and then the final debate and referendum vote. The text is engaging and well-developed

Would Vuclans leave the federation ? That's the (excellent) background used by the authors to show us the main steps of vulcans history.A huge book that you MUST read !

The manner in which this novel is written could, possibly, appeal to even non-Trekkers. It's more than just good Trek--it's good SF. This book fleshes out the Vulcans as a whole, past and present, bringing back old favorites and a slew of great new ones.Interspersed with the history of Vulcan, from the earliest stages of their unified culture to the birth of Spock, is shown. Even though the characters only appear for one chapter (with one or two exceptions), we can identify with them. In the ghastly, murderous feuds of one chapter and the often calculating violence, the Vulcans appear like Romulans in the past. At the same time, we see them growing more and more civilized. I even found the "cave-Vulcan" chapter appealing, making me wonder what the Vulcans would have been like if their planet had been lush.In the present, the Enterprise crew is drawn into a planetary conspiracy when a bunch of yahoo Vulcans decide that they want to secede from the Federation--and Our Heroes must get to the bottom of it, while making speeches. This part could have been solidly ordinary, but is saved by the fact that not only are the greatest SF trio in history at their funniest, but also it is populated by a motley crew of bizarre aliens in Starfleet, such as giant snowflakes and enormous dragon-creatures.The Vulcans themselves are also fleshed out: We get to see more of them than in "Amok Time," and a wider range of them, from farmers to redheads to the Zen guy that ended up being bitten on the leg. We see Sarek, Amanda, T'Pau, and a few Vulcans (one familiar) that you will LOVE to hate. Be sure to check out Kirk's scene in the pub. One interesting detail: Duane wrote in the Enterprise having what is essentially a posting board, before there were posting boards (I think). Good job keeping the future here, Ms. Duane!If you love people with pointy ears and bowl haircuts, read this book. Oh, and "I want popcorn!"

Diane Duane is probably the best writer to ever do a Star Trek novel, mostly because she understands literary science fiction, not just the television/movie genre. The two are completely different animals, and most Star Trek fiction fails because of a lack of this basic understanding. Duane doesn't stick to the generally shoddy "canonical" world-constructions, instead she builds effective and believable cultures. The Vulcan and Rihannsu (Romulan) languages she has created are particularly nice, and should really have been picked up by the screenwriters for the more recent Star Trek shows and films. After all, if Klingons can become something more than a ridiculous stereotype, surely the same can happen to the peoples of the Vulcan diaspora. Unfortunately, this novel isn't quite as good as some of Duane's other work. Although the 23rd century Vulcan political issues were mildly interesting, they didn't compare to the historical information in the alternating chapters, and in fact at times seemed just slightly unreasonable. The scenes with Jim Kirk in Ireland were a nice idea, but didn't entirely convince me; I've lived there for extended periods in the past, and speak both the languages of the country. A phrase in the Irish language was grammatically incorrect and used some rather unlikely vocabulary--this is something many English-language writers screw up, but that is no excuse for a lack of research. Those of us who speak minority languages find it rather offensive when writers cobble something together out of a dictionary and don't bother to find someone to check it with. The only reason I've given this five stars is because it's still head and shoulders above the vast majority of Star Trek novels. BTW, a text based messaging system is perfectly reasonable for the Enterprise; contrary to the beliefs of many culturally-deprived techies, literacy is not something which can be substituted for by voice mail or animated icons (like Neal Stephenson's "mediaglyphics"). The crew of the Enterprise are capable, well-educated people, even the common sailors. They are not the drunken, illiterate, whip-ruled "scum of the earth" of a Napoleonic-era man of war. It stands to reason that they would have something like an electronic message board, and it stands to reason that it would be written, as this is the most effective way to hold a semi-civilised discussion among 400+ people who live on three different schedules.