<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting tale with lines from many Star Trek stories
Review: As movie reviewers Siskel and Ebert once said, the success of a good versus evil story is generally not due to the level of goodness of the hero but to the strength of the villain. Khan Noonien Singh was clearly one of the best characters ever developed in the Star Trek genre and "The Wrath of Khan" is still my favorite Star Trek movie. In this book, you learn the origins and early life of this fascinating character.
However, while Khan is the emerging character, the main ones are Gary Seven and Roberta, introduced in another original Star Trek episode. Engaged in a mission to save the world from itself, these two perform many acts that are intertwined with the events that took place in the years following the time frame of the episode where they were introduced. The assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi, the mass gassing of people in Bhopal, India, the rise of Gorbachev and the fall of the Soviet Union are all woven into the fabric of the story. This makes the book one of historical fiction as well and really makes it interesting.
An additional intriguing aspect of the story is the appearance of several other characters and consequences from the different Start Trek story lines. While these appearances will be well understood by those familiar with all of the stories, it will confuse those who are not. For example, if you have not seen the episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine where Quark and Odo are transported back in time to Earth and land at Roswell, the references to the Ferengi will mean nothing to you.
There is also a separate story line where the Enterprise with Kirk at the helm is renewing contact with a colony of genetically enhanced humans. The Klingons of captain Koloth of tribble fame are also there and stirring up trouble.
I enjoyed the book immensely and was left with a feeling of loss when it ended with crises in two of the story lines. I am now searching for the sequel and can't wait to get my hands on it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good start to the series.
Review: Greg Cox has never been my favorite Trek author. I found his Q Continuum trilogy to be entertaining at first, only to fizzle out at the end and Assigment: Eternity to be just a pretty decent read, but nothing to write home about.So, I must admit that while I looked forward to the Eugenics War, I was a bit hesistant going into it. All I've got to say is--so far, so good. The Eugenics War, Book 1 is an enjoyable read. Cox takes the subject of giving us Khan's backstory set against the background of recent history and does a nice job of weaving them together. There's just enough real world, actual events in the story and reference through the actions of Khan, Gary Seven, Robert and Isis to give the book a "alternate history" feel without feeling like it's stretching the truth too much to fit the fiction Cox is trying to tell. Cox's novel gives us the first few years of Khan's life--from his creation as a genetically enhanced child to his early teens. The story is told as a flashback of sorts--Kirk is sorting out a colony that wants to use genetic manipulation and looks to Khan's story to find out the strengths and weaknesses inherent in such research. The framing story of Kirk and company is well told, though it's not too intrustive in this book. It's enough to keep interesting and neither plotline feels like it's taking away from the other in any way. And Cox has a good grasp of the orignal series crew in the limited time that we encounter them. But the real success of this books rests on Cox's recreation of Khan, Gary Seven and Robert Lincoln. Cox's Seven is intriguingly developed and we really get to see the payoff on some of the promise of Assignment: Earth. (Admittedly it's not one of my favorite Trek episodes, but Cox takes the characters and really runs with them.) Of course, there are references to the entire continuity of the first four Trek shows. I caught many of them, but I am sure that others just flew over my head. That's another strength of this book--if you get the references, it adds to your enjoyement. If you don't get them, you don't feel like you've missed anything. The book is a real page-turner, though I will admit it took about 50 pages for me to get into it. Once I managed past those, the other 250 pages flew by and left me anxious for more when part 2 arrives in April. All in all, the Eugenics War, Book 1 is a nice start and shows strong promise to this series.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining spy game set on 20th century Star Trek Earth
Review: I really enjoyed this book, one that shed a great deal of light on a very little explored aspect of history in the Star Trek universe, that of the late 20th century. Covering events from 1974 to 1989, it does not cover the Eugenics Wars per se, but the events leading up to them, largely centering around the origins of Khan Noonien Singh (and his genetically enhanced brothers and sisters) and of Khan's boyhood and early adulthood.
The first volume at least might be well sub-titled "The Further Adventures of Gary Seven, Roberta Lincoln, and Isis," characters we first encountered in a Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) episode set in 1968 Earth, where Kirk and company encounter a genetically enhanced human operative from an alien world (operating for a mysterious organization called the Aegis), posted on Earth to save humans from themselves (mostly from nuclear annihilation). Readers may remember that Roberta Lincoln was a young woman native to Earth that became caught up in events in that TOS episode and subsequently became an agent working for Gary Seven. Isis is never really truly explained, but is apparently an alien cat that is able to take the shape of a human woman at times and is highly intelligent. Together the three have apparently had many adventures much in the mold of James Bond, playing behind the scenes spy games to save the world countless times. It is in this role that they become involved in the events described in the book, namely trying to discover what is happening to the some of the world's top geneticists (who are disappearing) and rumors of some mysterious organization that is dabbling in genetic engineering and biological warfare. I do not intend my statement that the book focuses on those three as a criticism, as it is understandable that they are the main characters, if for no other reason then that Khan ("Noon" as a child) and his enhanced brethren are children for much of the book. Khan for the main adventure of the book is barely present or marginally involved most of the time, though later in the book becomes more and more important as he grows up and starts to flex some of his tremendous abilities. Genetic engineering is an understandable theme running through the book; Khan and his "supermen," the genetically enhanced nature of Gary Seven, the villainous geneticists in the book, and a framing story set not long after the first encounter with Khan in TOS episode, where Kirk is considering a request by the Paragon Colony on the planet Sycorax request to join the Federation, a human colony long isolated from the Federation and one that had a population comprised entirely of genetically enhanced individuals. The framing story - the "present" of the novel - is interesting though rarely visited, and is a tool for telling the main plot of the novel, as it shows Kirk researching the history of the Eugenics Wars as preparation to the decisions he has to make upon arrival at the colony. I really enjoyed the interweaving of the novel's plot with previously established events in Star Trek history in the past (such as Kirk and company's visit to 1986 San Francisco to look for whales) and in real world history, many of which are quite cleverly made fundamental parts of the storyline, their importance taking on a whole new light. These historical events are addressed in a nice after word at the end of the book. All in all I really liked the book; Greg Cox is certainly one of the best Star Trek writers out there. The writing that produced the previous book of his that I read, his excellent Q Continuum Trilogy, is still top notch evidently, demonstrating a very good grasp of the characters and history of the Star Trek universe. My only minor criticism is the cover has little to do with the events of the novel; it appears to show American forces fighting Vietnam (not a part of the novel) and shows Khan a bit older than he appears in the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Khan: Strong Story Hurt by Multiple Points of View
Review: I suspect that the majority of readers of Star Trek are also inveterate fans of both the various incarnations of the original series and the movie sequels. It is no surprise, then, that Star Trek novels, while containing the standard plot devices of all novels, also feature a myriad of allusions to episodes from the moving screen. In THE EUGENICS WARS (volume one), author Greg Cox brings back one of the most celebrated cinematic villains of all time: Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically enhanced ubermench of the twentieth century. In the original Star Trek episode 'Space Seed', Captain Kirk revives a group of previous earth rulers from suspended animation, each of whom is the result of genetic manipulation that enhanced their strength, intelligence, and viciousness. These supermen are led by Khan Noonien Singh, a brute whose lust for power nearly wrecked a pre-Federation earth. In THE EUGENICS WARS, Greg Cox has written the first of a two volume prequel that fills in the gaps between the time Khan is born and when he next appears in 'Space Seed.' It is very nearly impossible to read Cox's book without keeping in mind the superlative job Ricardo Montalban did as Khan. There was much to admire about the swaggering Khan that even Kirk could admire. Cox takes this multifaceted Khan from the moving screen and, in placing him on the printed page, loses nothing of the fearsome if not perverted strength and allure of Montalban's Khan. Cox uses a writing device often used by dozens of other Star Trek authors--a framing sequence. Here Kirk is discussing with Doctor McCoy the virtues and vices of human genetic tinkering. McCoy reminds Kirk that it was just such a tinkering that led to a ruinous war that exterminated much of earth's 20th century population. Fascinated with the topic, Kirk uses his ship's computers to spin out the complete story. It is this computerized version of history that forms the bulk of the novel. Despite a strong story line and an equally strong Khan as antagonist, much of the power of the tale was reduced by Cox's overuse of a multiple narrative viewpoint and an annoying use of coincidence to make the plot work. Essentially, THE EUGENICS WARS is told from three perspectives: Gary Seven, who is himself the result of genetic manipulation; Roberta Lincoln, who began the televised episode as Seven's secretary but in this book is his trusted assistant; and Khan himself. As I was led from one perspective to another, I had trouble keeping straight as to who the protagonist was meant to be. Was it Seven, who represents the right use of advanced power? Was it Ms. Lincoln, in whose trendy flip women's lib attitudes that the reader should focus? Or was it Khan, whose unwavering sense of destiny stamps him as the world leader that he surely thinks he is? Ironically enough, Khan's criticisms of Seven as one who has the power to change the world but chooses not to do so are not far off the mark. Seven tries mightily to keep the earth from self-immolation, but he clearly fails at critical times. Clearly, Khan and Seven are opposite sides of the same genetically altered coin. As for Roberta Lincoln, she is the weakest of the viewpoints. Her flippant and juvenile remarks about the many villains she faces leads the novel seriously astray. All too often she comes off like a school girl annoyed at a teacher who has given her detention for chewing gum in class. Much of the novel was a delight with its many references to the original series and its many spinoffs: the Borg, Q, Jack the Ripper, and Roswell. I have not yet read the second volume, although I suspect that it recounts Khan's gradual grabbing of the seat of world dominion. Even though I know the end of the Khan saga from both the television series and from the movie THE WRATH OF KHAN, I still found THE EUGENICS WARS a fun read. More than once, Khan's use of his enhanced body brought to mind that great power breeds great ambition, which, if unchecked by compassion and humanity, must ultimately lead to great ruin. The calamity of a ruined earth surely attests to that.
Rating:
Summary: Gary Seven is back!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I was thrilled to see a new book about Kahn, about time. But I was overjoyed to see that Gary Seven had also returned. The link between these two great Trek characters is exciting and well conceived. The two storylines take place on the Original Enterprise and in the 1970's (The last time we saw Gary Seven was on episode Assignment Earth). Mr. Seven's assignment is to make sure the earth of this time period does not destroy itself. Mr. Seven does this with the help of Ms. Lincoln and the alien cat Isis. Mr. Seven investigates the start of the Eugenics War and the beginnings of Khan Noonien Singh. Kirk and Spock are assigned to a human colony that has been developing genetic improvements. This is forbidden under Federation law. The colony, confronted with the unwanted advances of the Klingon Empire, now seeks acceptance in the Federation. I can't wait to learn more about the mysterious Mr. Seven and his shape changing cat. This is one of the best Star Trek stories I have read to date.
Rating: 
Summary: um... no.
Review: These Khan books are just plain bad. Full of cute trekkie references, they are for die-hard trekkies only. And I'm a huge Khan fan, so I was pretty let down. Really, this is not how I imagined the Eugenics wars at all. Did I mention the writing is atrocious? Some of the worst I've come across. Maybe that's because these were the first Trek novels I've read, so I didn't know to lower my expectations... Do yourself a favor and skip this junk. Get some real sci-fi instead!
Rating:
Summary: Pure fun
Review: This book starts where the series episode "Space Seed" and movie "The Wrath of Khan" only briefly referenced, namely the origins of the figure Khan Noonien Singh and the historical context in which he rose to power. The book is fun to read, and the author brings in some characters from the series and movies, and also real characters from history. Tainting a Star Trek episode, movie, or novel with real history can cause problems with accuracy issues, but the author does it only sparingly and so the story is believable. The presence of Gary Seven in the story was a surprising move, and one which I found a little troubling. One would like to believe the future was brought about solely by human action, with no assistance from extra-terrestrial agents who take it upon themselves to guide humanity to the "correct" destination. Much time is spent in the book on how Seven and his delightful female assistant are working to prevent a certain high-tech eugenics project from carrying out its plans. As with most Star Trek stories, this one has a strange admixture of optimism and cynicism. And, despite the enormous statistical evidence to the contrary, the Star Trek view of history paints the human being as a brutal, inconsiderate savage, who only occasionally exhibits compassion and reason. Indeed, this is exemplified by the character Seven, who has no confidence in the efficacy of the human mind to be able to resolve social, economic, and political problems. In addition, the view of intelligence in the Star Trek series is quite narrow. The reader is supposed to believe that Khan has superior intelligence, in spite of his zeal to use violence to achieve his ends. But the initiation of force by any individual is never a sign of intelligence, but rather of stupidity. The character of Spock, who is quoted in the book as saying that "superior intelligence breeds superior ambition", to warn against the use of genetic engineering to create Khan-like monsters, is also another example of the restricted view of human intelligence in the Star Trek series. Emotions are thought of as having a disruptive, irrational effect on the human ability to reason effectively, instead of a set of natural processes that assist in the estimation and mental concentration of the human mind. The book also reflects some of the current anxiety about genetics as a science and its application in genetic engineering. There is valid reasons for concern about the use of genetic engineering, but like all human problems, we can solve them by employing more science and technology, not less. Minds capable of creating a human clone can indeed find solutions to the concerns thus generated. The optimistic view of the future though is one that makes the Star Trek series such a pleasure to participate in. It uses the medium of art and fantasy very effectively, and allows one to take part in an era, not very far distant, that is populated by beings (human and otherwise) who hold as an axiom that reason and mutual respect are the keys to a successful life. The characters of Star Trek have their faults and personal conflicts, but with their optimisim and their sense of adventure, they are worthy of contemplation.
<< 1 >>
|
