The Unsettling Stars

Star Trek (Kelvin Timeline)
The Unsettling Stars by Alan Dean Foster
Release date: April 14^th 2020
Read April 27^th 2020

Previous book (Kelvin Timeline): Star Trek Into Darkness

Next book (Kelvin Timeline): More Beautiful Than Death

Purchase The Unsettling Stars:

Trade Paperback: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

E-Book (Kindle): Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Audiobook: Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk

Publisher's description:

Taking place in an alternate timeline created when the Starship Kelvin was destroyed by a Romulan invader from the future, this bold new novel follows Captain James T. Kirk and an inexperienced crew commandeering a repaired U.S.S. Enterprise out of spacedock for a simple shakedown cruise. When a distress call comes in, the Enterprise must aid a large colony ship of alien refugees known as the Perenorean, who are under siege by an unknown enemy. But Kirk and his crew will find that the situation with the peaceful Perenorean is far more complicated than they bargained for, and the answers as to why they were attacked in the first place unfold in the most insidious of ways…

My thoughts:

This novel was a long time coming. Originally written around the time of the first "Kelvin Timeline" film, Star Trek (2009), the publication of this and three other novels were delayed indefinitely. The reason for the delay? According to the powers that be, there was concern that events depicted in the novels might contradict future plans for films set in the Kelvin Timeline. Then, a decade later, two of the shelved novels were resurrected, and apparently the prior concerns were no longer an issue. This one, by Alan Dean Foster, was originally titled Refugees. The novel was given a name change, and according to the author, a small part of the ending was revised, but other than that, The Unsettling Stars is relatively unchanged from the original draft that was turned in a decade earlier.

The original solicitation cover for this novel, back when it was first announced in 2009.

So, after waiting a decade of waiting to actually read the book, how is it?

The plot of the novel centers around a group of refugees, the Perenoreans, whose situation has special resonance for Spock. Remember that in this reality, the surviving members of the Vulcan species are also refugees, their homeworld having been destroyed in Star Trek (2009). It was interesting to see Spock relate to the Perenoreans and their plight from his unique perspective. The Perenoreans themselves are fascinating; they are highly advanced technologically, with an innate desire to be extremely helpful.

A second species, inhabitants of the planet SiBor, offer their moon to the Perenoreans to settle. In response, the grateful Perenoreans offer their advanced technology to aid in solving all manner of problems and difficulties, a situation that is initially very enticing. However, as the story progresses, it becomes clear that having all of your issues "magically" solved isn't always the best thing. Eventually, the Perenoreans prove to be so helpful that the SiBorians themselves end up seeming superfluous and unnecessary on their own world. As the plot unfolds, the reader continually expects the Perenoreans to have some sort of villainous motive behind their actions, but the truth of the matter is that it is simply their penchant for being overly helpful that fuels the conflict. This makes for a very interesting dilemma to focus the plot of the novel around.

The story of The Unsettling Stars is, overall, very cerebral. The dilemma presented to our heroes is unique, and is quite relevant given what is happening in society today. More and more, we are seeing artificial intelligence inhabiting spaces that are typically filled by human labor and creativity. But what happens if AI turns out to be much better than us at writing, for example? We're already seeing AI-generated writing in advertisements and other written works. Like the SiBorians in this novel, we humans may soon become superfluous in the face of superior artificial intelligence.

Seeing the Kelvin Timeline crew in novel form was a fun change, and I'm glad this novel finally saw the light of day.

For the most part, I was impressed by The Unsettling Stars. The voices of the characters are familiar, and would fit in well with the Prime timeline, but with just enough of a flavor of the Kelvin timeline to distinctly be those versions of the characters. The Perenoreans, as the drivers of the primary conflict of the novel, aren't your typical "bad guys." The species themselves are truly alien, both in how they are described physically, and in the way they think and view the universe. They are sympathetic in some ways, while unsympathetic in others, remaining refreshingly unpredictable throughout the story.

Final thoughts:

A worthy entry in the ever-expanding Star Trek literary universe. It was nice to finally get to experience the "Kelvin Timeline" crew in novel form, and Alan Dean Foster does a great job of capturing their unique voices, setting them apart from their Prime universe counterparts. The dilemma at the heart of the story is a unique problem that resonates with issues we are dealing with today. I fear the story of The Unsettling Stars will only become more relevant as the years go by.

More about The Unsettling Stars:

• TrekBBS Review and Discussion Thread
• Podcast: Literary Treks 302: What if A.I. Becomes Mommy? - Interview with Alan Dean Foster

Also by Alan Dean Foster:

• Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Next time on Trek Lit Reviews:

Next up: Star Trek: Voyager: String Theory, Book I: Cohesion by Jeffrey Lang.

Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness by Alan Dean Foster
Novelization of the film from Paramount Pictures
Release date: May 21^st, 2013
Read May 25^th 2013

Previous book (Kelvin Timeline): Star Trek

Next book (Kelvin Timeline): The Unsettling Stars

Click to purchase Star Trek Into Darkness by Alan Dean Foster from Amazon.com!

Spoilers ahead for Star Trek Into Darkness!

From the back cover:

Months after the dramatic events seen in the 2009 blockbuster film Star Trek, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise—including Captain James T. Kirk, First Officer Spock, Doctor Leonard McCoy, Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, and Ensign Pavel Chekov—is called back home. But an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has declared all-out war on Starfleet and everything it stands for, leaving Earth in a state of crisis. Now with a personal score to settle as a result, Kirk must lead a covert manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction. As these valiant heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Captain Kirk has left: his crew.

My thoughts:

Readers of this website may have noticed that I haven't done reviews of novelizations in the past. In fact, when reading Star Trek, I tend to steer clear of them for the most part. However, since beginning this project in 2010, I have made a point to read every new Star Trek novel as it is released. Initially, I went back and forth on reading Alan Dean Foster's novelization of the new film, but obviously, I decided to go ahead with it in the end.

Star Trek Into Darkness - The novelization. My first foray into books made from films on this review site.

In my mind, novels excel at telling stories that are not necessarily possible in a visual medium. The best stories are those that communicate ideas and images in a fun and exciting way, allowing the reader to form those images in his or her mind with only imagination being the limit, without a thought to effects budgets or casting limitations. Novelizations, however, are simply re-telling the story that has already been presented in a film or on television. While reading this novel, I couldn't help but visualize it in my mind the way I had already seen in in the theatre. Aside from a few short snippets of extra dialogue or a little bit of extra insight into what the characters are thinking, it's difficult for me to find any sort of added experience from reading this book that the film didn't already provide me.

The Wrath of Khan by Vonda McIntyre.
A Star Trek novelization done perfectly.

This is not to say that novelizations can't be great. One need only look to the novelizations of The Wrath of Khan, The Search For Spock, and The Voyage Home by Vonda McIntyre for truly great reading experiences. Those novels not only recounted the events of the film, but expanded upon them, using material from scenes that were cut from the films as well as the author's own imagination. Relationships between the characters were examined in greater detail, and the reader got a great deal more insight into the story. It seems to me that writers of past novelizations had a great deal more freedom in crafting their stories. I wonder if today's novelization writers simply aren't allowed to take the same sort of liberties that writers like Vonda McIntyre were previously able.

As for the book itself, the story is competently adapted by Alan Dean Foster. Regardless of my personal feelings about novelizations, I found that his style of writing was particularly suited to a project such as this. Because the vast majority of readers will have seen the film, Foster doesn't spend a great deal of time on descriptive prose, instead launching the reader into the action and presenting the story in a fast-paced manner. After all, we've already seen the sets, characters, and action sequences; why waste time describing every minute detail over again? As far as the plot of the story goes, because the author didn't have much of a hand in crafting it, criticism or analysis of the events of the story feels far too much like a film review. I will say, however, that the written word allows for more careful analysis of the plot, and parts that passed by too quickly in the film are allowed greater scrutiny in this medium. In that way, I suppose I can see the value in a film novelization.

Foster doesn't waste time with lengthy descriptions of visuals. After all, we've already seen this on the big screen!

Why are film novelizations made? If I were to allow myself a certain amount of cynicism, I might say that they are simply made to make money and cash in on the popularity of a film at a particular time. Although, is that even necessarily a bad thing? Publishing in general tends to be a little more cash-strapped, particularly now. How can I possibly begrudge something that makes the industry more money?

Looking at it from a somewhat less cynical perspective, perhaps film novelizations stem from the perception of books as inherently valuable experiences, a viewpoint that I can definitely appreciate. However, I prefer when the various mediums are able to do something different with the story. For example, many people complain when television or film adaptations of books don't strictly adhere to the story as laid out in the book. However, I understand that the two mediums are very different, and I find myself separating the two in my mind. Game of Thrones is an excellent example. A few of my friends complain bitterly that the HBO series doesn't follow the plot of the books exactly. To my mind, however, we've already gotten that story in the books; why shouldn't the series do something a little bit different? I suppose I feel the same way about novelizations. We've already gotten the film. I would love for the novel to take it in a different direction, or perhaps even just offer us a little bit more. Reading the exact same story I saw on the screen is superfluous.

Novelizations, in my opinion, work best when providing details and insights not in the original film. I would definitely have appreciated more information on Benedict Cumberbatch's character's background and recent experiences, for example. Alas, such detail seems to be beyond the scope of the Into Darkness novelization.

Final thoughts:

Well, this review turned into more of an analysis of novelizations in general than a strict review of Into Darkness! As for the book itself, I found Foster's adaptation to be ably written, with an eye to getting the story across without bogging the reader down in exposition that was already presented in the film. I have a hard time reviewing the plot of the story, as Foster didn't exactly have a hand in crafting it. Extra details or some elaboration on the part of the author would very much have been appreciated, but I understand if the guidelines for writing the novelization didn't allow for that sort of embellishment.

More about the Star Trek Into Darkness Novelization:

• TrekBBS Review and Discussion Thread

Also by Alan Dean Foster:

• Star Trek: The Unsettling Stars (2020)

My next read:

At the moment, I'm reading the latest release from Pocket Books, William Leisner's Original Series story, The Shocks of Adversity.

The Assassination Game

Starfleet Academy #4: The Assassination Game by Alan Gratz
Published July 2012
Read July 4^th, 2012

Previous book (Starfleet Academy): #3: The Gemini Agent

Click to purchase The Assassination Game from Amazon.com!

Spoilers ahead for The Assassination Game!

From the back cover:

The rules are simple: draw a target.  Track him down and "kill" him with a spork.  Take your victim's target for your own.  Oh, and make sure the player with your name doesn't get to you first.  No safe zones.  No time outs.  The game ends when only one player remains.

James T. Kirk is playing for fun.  Leonard "Bones" McCoy is playing to get closer to a girl.  But when a series of explosions rocks the usually placid Starfleet Academy campus, it becomes clear that somebody is playing the game for real.  Is it one of the visiting Varkolak, on Earth to attend an intergalactic medical conference?  Or could it be a member of a super-secret society at the Academy dedicated to taking care of threats to the Federation, no matter what rules they have to break to do it?  Find out in The Assassination Game.

My Thoughts:

Up to this point, I have been avoiding the new young adult series set in the J.J. Abram's universe.  I obviously enjoy the main line of Star Trek novels, but the idea of Trek young adult novels didn't really appeal to me.  However, new Star Trek is always enticing, so I decided to pick up The Assassination Game and give it a try.  For the most part, I wasn't disappointed.  Alan Gratz has managed to pen an good story that, while tailored to young adult sensibilities, was still interesting enough to hold my attention.

The story itself is somewhat predictable.  I was able to figure out "whodunit" well before the big reveal.  However, because it is young adult, it gets a bit of a pass for that.  The characters were very well-written, and the "voices" of the new movie versions of the characters come through quite well.  The Assassination Game definitely fits well with J.J. Abrams's movie characters.  Chris Pine's Kirk and Karl Urban's McCoy particularly come through well.

One aspect of the 2009 Star Trek film that I found a little hard to deal with was the relationship between Spock and Uhura.  The beginnings of that union are touched upon in The Assassination Game, and while I still have reservations about it, I thought the subject was handled quite believably.  While I still feel that the relationship as depicted in the film isn't entirely in-character, I accept the fact that this is a new take on Star Trek, and the changes made mean that some liberties can be taken.

Finally, a number of allusions and homages exist in this novel, some of them to great effect, while some others are a little jarring and intrusive.  Most of the references are small and caused this reader to smile knowingly.  However, one in particular was a little over-the-top and went a little too far.  At one point, Kirk and a group of cadets are discovered to have been fighting with a visiting delegation.  The cadets are hauled before their supervisor and questioned about the fight.  The ensuing dialogue is lifted almost completely from a similar scene in the classic episode "The Trouble With Tribbles."  While I have no problem with small references and homages, after about the sixth line taken almost verbatim, it was a little much.

Still, this minor quibble aside, The Assassination Game was an interesting read, and I would recommend it for anyone who is hungry for new Star Trek stories set in the new continuity to tide fans over until the new movie's release in 2013.

Final Thoughts:

It's clear that Alan Gratz is a die-hard Star Trek fan who certainly knows his stuff.  The Assassination Game is a fun tale, and while the story is fairly simple, it reads quite well for a young adult novel.  Also, I enjoyed the reference to this unique product from Thinkgeek.com.  A reference to the same item can be found in the Star Trek: TOS novel That Which Divides by Dayton Ward, released earlier this year.

More about The Assassination Game:

• TrekBBS Review and Discussion Thread

My next read:

Hopefully I'll be able to have a review for The Rings of Tautee up soon.  Away-from-keyboard life has been encroaching on my writing time!  Stay tuned!