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Summary: Star Trek: Vulcan's Forge
Review: Star Trek: Vulcan's Forge written by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz is a book that has a primary goalof filling in some of the holes in the life of Spock.The book takes us from a time period just over a year when Captain James T. Kirk was lost in the Nexus string after saving the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-B from sure destruction. But, that is not all as we go back further in Spock's life. We go back to when Spock was a teenager... his friends and one certain Captain David Rabin. As an attempted coup was being played out on Vulcan these two became very close. The people of Vulcan would not have been who the are now if the coup succeded. Later David Rubin was assigned to a planet much like Vulcan... harsh, desert, and hot. Sabotage is the foe on this planet and Rabin with Spock's help trry to get to the bottom of this unknown force. The destiny of this planet is a stake. These are just some of the stories that are recalled while Spock was reflecting on his youthful adventures. The dialog is true to the characters and their development is apparent and the authors work the story. This is a fast read and a very engaging narrative making you read ill the end. This is a book with a dramatic tale and to know Spock this is a must read.
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Summary: I just finished reading SAREK and :
Review: started Vulcan's Forge and found SAREK fascinating, because of the amount of info regarding what happened to Spock after he died onboard the Enterprise and was resurected, I was blown away by Captain/Admiral James Kirks relative nephew when he took on that Klingon slime of a leader for the love of a the Klingon woman Valdyr, that was even more thrilling than the incident of where Spock had a run in with his father regarding the fact he left Vulcan for the negotiations to save the planet when his wife and Spock's mother was on her death bed but I understand his motivation especially when "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few - or the one" - I plan to read Spock's World after this Vulcan's Forge because I'm trying to find out some more about the planet Vulcan, I find Vulcan's Forge just a little hard to get through because I am trying to find out more about Spock and what happened after he died when he was reborn or reconstituted after "The Search for Spock" movie. These books fill in some gaps that I was not aware of after seeing the movies. - And I do not want anyone to give anything away since I have not yet read 'Spock's World'
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Summary: This book does an excellent job of explaining Spock's life
Review: The only disappointing thing about this book is that it came to an end. For fans of Mr. Spock this book does an excellent job of explaining the circumstances that led Spock to make the choices he did about his life. It does an especially good job of portraying the emotional volatility (yes, I said emotional) that existed between Spock and his father through much of Spock's life. Anyone who reads this book should also read the novel "Sarek". The two books go a long way towards revealing the beings behind the logic
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Summary: This Book is SPOCK
Review: The Star Trek fan knows why the three main characters (Kirk, Bones, and Spock) went off and received a commission for Starfleet. Kirk story was in 'Best Destiny', Bones story was in 'Shadows on the Sun' and now Spock in this Story. The main jolt that I received from the story was from Nyota who bluffed a Warbird out of firing. She learned something from Kirk after all of these years. YES! Bones and Captain Rabin were there just for the ride (Although Rabin story was told injunction with the main story.) Now if only know why if Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov joined Starfleet? (Sulu story was told in the 'Koybayashi Maru').
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Summary: Who says a Star Trek book can't be well written?
Review: This book is highly enjoyable, well written and comes in the chronology at a painful time - just after Kirk's "death". Some people will nit-pick the details, or the addition of new characters, but on the whole this is an excellent piece of science fiction writing that can stand on its own outside the Star Trek genre. I really enjoyed this book. Always knew Uhura had it in her. When does she get her own ship? Why do we have to have a definitive Spock book anyway? He has evolved over time: science officer, first officer, captain, diplomat, ambassador, idealist working for unification. This spans an important gap in Spock's life and I can't wait to find out more. Don't feel ashamed to recommend this one to your non-Trekker friends. It's just a smashing good read!
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Summary: Who says a Star Trek book can't be well written?
Review: This book is highly enjoyable, well written and comes in the chronology at a painful time - just after Kirk's "death". Some people will nit-pick the details, or the addition of new characters, but on the whole this is an excellent piece of science fiction writing that can stand on its own outside the Star Trek genre. I really enjoyed this book. Always knew Uhura had it in her. When does she get her own ship? Why do we have to have a definitive Spock book anyway? He has evolved over time: science officer, first officer, captain, diplomat, ambassador, idealist working for unification. This spans an important gap in Spock's life and I can't wait to find out more. Don't feel ashamed to recommend this one to your non-Trekker friends. It's just a smashing good read!
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Summary: Good book, but must every Jew be a comedian?
Review: This book was hailed in Jewish circles as the first Star Trek novel with a Jewish character. That's not exactly true, as I have demonstrated in my Trekmania list of "Star Trek novels with (maybe) Jewish characters." But it is the first novel with a MAJOR character who is Jewish. True, Captain David Rabin never actually SAYS he's Jewish, but on page 1 he is described as a man "of Earth Israeli descent" who grew up in the Negev, and he has Hebrew inscriptions on his walls. So nu --what else can he be? There are other broad hints, too, such as the use of "Shalom" as a greeting, and a discussion about "Never again" to explain why Israelis are not pacifists.
Overall, I liked the book, but there were a few things that really annoyed me, which is why I docked it a star. First of all was Rabin's constant wisecracking. Why, oh why, does every Jewish character have to be a comedian? For Jews to have "a good sense of humor" is as stereotyped as blacks having "a sense of rhythm." (This problem is not limited to this book. Whenever I mention my own research into Jewish themes in Star Trek, people invariably laugh. Would they laugh if I were researching African or Asian characters in Trekdom?)
My second annoyance was the idea that Spock had learned how to to "deadpan" jokes from Rabin in his youth. I have never seen Spock as a jokester. True, there is humor in the scripts, but this is from the POV of the audience, not Spock himself. We might laugh at Spock's literal interpretations of idioms and metaphors, but it is out of character for a Vulcan to be actually cracking jokes -- especially a young half-Vulcan who is trying so hard to fit into the Vulcan way.
Lastly, I found the constant references to "Lawrence of Arabia" rather strained. I realize this was an attempt to include Arabs along with the Israelis, but surely there is a better way to do this that by citing old movies. Would people in the 23rd century really pick up on obscure references such as "Aqaba by land"? And how do Arab readers feel about using a movie to define their culture? I would certainly be offended if a writer used "Fiddler on the Roof" to define Judaism.
In spite of these nits, I did enjoy the story. It provided some interesting background about why Spock chose to go into Starfleet, and some good conversations about war and peace. The characters were well-developed and the writing was excellent, especially for a first Trek novel. I look forward to reading more collaborative books by these two authors.
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Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: This is a great book. It definitely tells a lot about what Spock is really like, beneath that logical exterior. It also gives us a new perspective on Uhura. The crew of the Intrepid II is called to Obsidian to help a childhood friend of Spock's, Captain David Rabin. Rebels are sabotaging Star Fleets attempts to help the residents on Obsidian, who suffer from malformations because of solar flairs. This book also takes us back to where Spock decided to join Star Fleet. As you would expect, there is the typical struggle between Spock's human and Vulcan halves, not to mention a heated argument with his father (if you can call the way Vulcans argue heated). You also see a side of Sarek you wouldn't expect to see, unless you've read Spock's World (which I also highly recommend). The conflict that Bones has with Rabin adds to the humor of the book, and the fight scene with Sered is wonderfully depicted. A wonderful novel that has both humor, suspense, and a few touching moments. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Disappointed
Review: This is the very 1st Star Trek book that I've read. Although I find the story interesting, I can't help but be disappointed with all the terminology that relates to the authors being Jewish. Nothing against the Jewish religion, I just don't want to read a STAR TREK book and have so much of it forced on me. I was fed up with it and not even halfway through the book! Leave that stuff out, and you have what I hope is a bonafide Star Trek story.
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Summary: Insulting to People with Schizophrenia
Review: This was actually an exellent book except of one thing. At the begining of chapter fourteen is written "...and that traitor of a Vulcan--a paranoid schizophrenic, assuming McCoy could even apply that diagnosis to Vulcans.." (165)It is the height of misinformation to charecterize this villian as "a paranoid scizophrenic". This charecter has a particular madness reserved for totalitarian dictators and cult leaders and is nothing at all like paranoid schizophrenia.Sered is cruel and in league with the Romulans. Paranoid schizophrenics are mostly gentle, and don't even trust their families--never mind Romulans. Contrary to the authors belief p.sz. do not seek out glory and leadership--they hide from the world.The authors' blunder is insensitive, untrue and such ignorance would never be thought by Bones.
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