The Wounded Sky (Star Trek, No 13)

Rating:
Summary: Often weird but the dialogue is wonderful
Review: The Enterprise is field-testing a device that can theoretically take it anywhere in the Universe. However, the chief side effect is that the Universe begins to unravel, and another Universe intrudes into ours. Some sections of this book just exceed my level of 'suspension of disbelief' for Star Trek. The scientific rationale behind the device is one of them. The other is in the concluding section of the book, where the crew comes to the boundary with the other Universe. Their 'best natures' are allowed to show through, and the results are sometimes unbelievably strange. That all said, the writing is very good, the descriptions are great, and the one combat scene is very theatrical and fun reading. The dialogue though is where the book really shines. It is excellent, and almost always humorous, no matter the situation, but also profound when required. The philosophical/scientific debates are good reading, even if I don't agree with them. This is well written and quite entertaining book.

Rating:
Summary: The inner selves of the characters in 3D.
Review: The title I gave to this review reflects one of the reasons I enjoyed reading(and rereading...and rereading) this book.The glass spider and their strange physics(and her personality) is another.And,finally - there is no fighting,murders,intrigue - just seeing the inner selves of the characters,and seeing the more philosophic side of Kirk.A worthwhile book to read,even for non-Trekkies.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favourites
Review: The Wounded Sky is definitely in my 'top three list' of Star Trek novels. The character development is simply amazing. I've never looked at spiders the same. :)

Rating:
Summary: One of my favourites
Review: The Wounded Sky is definitely in my 'top three list' of Star Trek novels. The character development is simply amazing. I've never looked at spiders the same. :)

Rating:
Summary: A voyage to the depths of space, and the human heart.
Review: This book is quite probably the best Star Trek novel I have ever read. Diane Duane has crafted a book which is filled with action, a fantastic attention to fictional-scientific detail, and still retains as its focus the profound glory that is humanity and the universe. No other Star Trek book I have read contains the depth of insight and soul searching I have seen here. This book exemplifies what is best about science fiction, or indeed any literature; the ability to see humanity struggle and triumpth over any obstical imaginable, while ever dealing with the flaws and failings of character and strength that make us what we are. The story's real climax is not a space battle or a violent confrontation, but instead a revealing of personal truth and a gift with which to build a universe. We walk briefly in a land where truth is visible, and a window is opened to show the magnificant souls of some of the greatest beings the universe of Star Trek has ever seen. And after all, what more can any story hope to give, than a window to the soul of greatness?

Rating:
Summary: A Diane Duane Classic!
Review: This book was two "firsts" for me: the first Star Trek novel I ever read, and my first introduction to Diane Duane's writing. Let me tell you, it set the standard very high. Ms. Duane has a feel for the original Trek characters I have rarely seen matched (especially Dr. McCoy!). She gets inside them like they were her own characters but still maintains the integrity of what we have seen onscreen. Her new characters are vivid and well-drawn, the mindsets of the aliens truly unique. (Including one young cat-being that has no understanding of time besides "now.") Ms. Duane's main "guest star," the alien scientist K'tl'k, is as memorable a character as she's ever written.
But even better is her completely original plot. The *Enterprise* and her crew have been selected to test the first-ever star drive that has the capacity to travel to new galaxies, through an inversion process that takes them (briefly) into a completely different dimension. But what at first seems like a simple process instead begins to break down all the barriers between the mental and the physical, between this world and the next.
The story becomes almost metaphysical from this point on, where the characters have nothing to rely on but what is at the core of their being. Yet there is still a srong current of scientific plausability, if not probability, that keeps the story solid and more-than-readable. The physics and ethics theories presented are fascinating even for the "science-challenged" and the plot is a true page-turner.
I highly recommend this book; even if you are not a Star Trek fan, there is plenty here to fully satisfy any fan of Ms. Duane. One of her very best!

Rating:
Summary: A Diane Duane Classic!
Review: This book was two "firsts" for me: the first Star Trek novel I ever read, and my first introduction to Diane Duane's writing. Let me tell you, it set the standard very high. Ms. Duane has a feel for the original Trek characters I have rarely seen matched (especially Dr. McCoy!). She gets inside them like they were her own characters but still maintains the integrity of what we have seen onscreen. Her new characters are vivid and well-drawn, the mindsets of the aliens truly unique. (Including one young cat-being that has no understanding of time besides "now.") Ms. Duane's main "guest star," the alien scientist K'tl'k, is as memorable a character as she's ever written.
But even better is her completely original plot. The *Enterprise* and her crew have been selected to test the first-ever star drive that has the capacity to travel to new galaxies, through an inversion process that takes them (briefly) into a completely different dimension. But what at first seems like a simple process instead begins to break down all the barriers between the mental and the physical, between this world and the next.
The story becomes almost metaphysical from this point on, where the characters have nothing to rely on but what is at the core of their being. Yet there is still a srong current of scientific plausability, if not probability, that keeps the story solid and more-than-readable. The physics and ethics theories presented are fascinating even for the "science-challenged" and the plot is a true page-turner.
I highly recommend this book; even if you are not a Star Trek fan, there is plenty here to fully satisfy any fan of Ms. Duane. One of her very best!

Rating:
Summary: A Diane Duane Classic!
Review: This book was two "firsts" for me: the first Star Trek novel I ever read, and my first introduction to Diane Duane's writing. Let me tell you, it set the standard very high. Ms. Duane has a feel for the original Trek characters I have rarely seen matched (especially Dr. McCoy!). She gets inside them like they were her own characters but still maintains the integrity of what we have seen onscreen. Her new characters are vivid and well-drawn, the mindsets of the aliens truly unique. (Including one young cat-being that has no understanding of time besides "now.") Ms. Duane's main "guest star," the alien scientist K'tl'k, is as memorable a character as she's ever written.
But even better is her completely original plot. The *Enterprise* and her crew have been selected to test the first-ever star drive that has the capacity to travel to new galaxies, through an inversion process that takes them (briefly) into a completely different dimension. But what at first seems like a simple process instead begins to break down all the barriers between the mental and the physical, between this world and the next.
The story becomes almost metaphysical from this point on, where the characters have nothing to rely on but what is at the core of their being. Yet there is still a srong current of scientific plausability, if not probability, that keeps the story solid and more-than-readable. The physics and ethics theories presented are fascinating even for the "science-challenged" and the plot is a true page-turner.
I highly recommend this book; even if you are not a Star Trek fan, there is plenty here to fully satisfy any fan of Ms. Duane. One of her very best!

Rating:
Summary: Probably the most spiritual of the Star Trek books
Review: This is one of the few Star Trek books to get better in the second half. There's a bit of a conceptual problem with the thought of introducing a "speck of infinite mass" as the basis of the inversion drive. If the mass were infinite, a "speck" or "big hunk" would be the same. The technobabble is a bit on the weak side, but the spiritual aspects of the story really shine. The concept of the extragalactic drive throws a big wrench into the Star Trek continuity's works. Of course, this story was written before Next Generation came on the scene, so that's forgivable. Yet, there is a problem in that this mission had to have taken place during the "first five years" (Kirk is a Captain, not an Admiral, and the book was written before he was busted). So, it's difficult to wedge this one into the continuity. That doesn't mean that it's a bad story. In fact, it's one of the better Star Trek books, a vintage one.

Rating:
Summary: New to Star Trek? Start with this book!
Review: This is the first of a series of Star Trek books that Ms. Duane has written, and it introduces a completely new dimension to the characters we've come to know through the Original Series. What do I mean by that? Simply put, Ms. Duane's exquisite prose allows the heros to jump right off the page and become quite real. We get to see how Kirk really feels about his staff, or how crotchety yet caring McCoy is with the crew; we see how talented Uhura, Sulu and Chekov can be -- but were never given the chance during each episode. Above all, we are given incredible insight into how the crew of the Enterprise pulls together during a mind-boggling crisis. Want to read the best TV Episode that never was? This is the one. Trust me, you'll be hooked!