The Final Frontier 1

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ The Final Frontier 1 / Final Frontier 1 (Disk 1 of 2).adf / BOOK-REVIEWS / BOOK-REVIEWS

Wrap

Text File | 1991-09-09 | 15KB | 280 lines

THE FINAL FRONTIER - BOOK REVIEWS ----------------------------------- THE WORLDS OF THE FEDERATION by Shane Johnson Reviewed by Alex Kerr An A4 sized book with 159 pages, Star Trek: The Worlds Of The Federation gives an official up-to-date look at all Federation planets in great detail, most of which is in graphic form. The book is split into three main sections, detailing Member Worlds, Neutral and/or Independant Worlds and Hostile Worlds. Following these there is also a list of planetary ambassadors. Two pages are given over to each world, laid out as Databank Extract hardcopy drawn from two main sources, the Memory Alpha Historical Archive and the U.S.S. Enterprise's own Library Computer. The first of the two pages lists the Federation catalogue name, Planetary Classification, Order of UFP Admission, the planet's indigenous name, it's primary (star), and galactic coordinates. Following this are several paragraphs of text relating to main events in the planet's and native species' history and (occasionally) any encounters that the Enterprise has had with the species or planetary system. Detailed diagrams showing the complete planetary system and a world map (in outline form) complete the first page. The second of the two pages contains two large diagrams showing front and side views of one of the world's native species or failing that, some other subject relating to the world in question. Although the majority of the book is in black and white (and rightly so), the eight centre pages contain some amazing full colour art by Don Ivan Punchatz, depicting roughly thirty of the many varied and colourful lifeforms which inhabit the worlds of the Federation (including those ever elusive Tribbles!). I can think of no real criticisms of this book and all in all it represents a complete and very impressive guided tour around the known worlds of the Federation, the illustrations and colour art complementing the text-based information given on each world. This book will not only be read from cover to cover once, it will also be used as an invaluable reference to places and races mentioned in the television series and films, covering not only Classic Trek but also The Next Generation, thus adding substantial depth to the Star Trek universe. An excellent addition to any casual or avid Star Trek follower's collection and well worth the price. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - ENCOUNTER AT FARPOINT by David Gerrold Reviewed by Jonathan Stewart So what if this book is a couple of years old! It's never been reviewed by THE FINAL FRONTIER, has it? As you can probably guess from the title, this is a novelisation of the 90-minute pilot episode of The Next Generation written by Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana and novelised by David Gerrold (writer of The Trouble With Tribbles, The Cloud Minders, More Tribbles More Troubles and Bem). I won't go into describing the plot as if you don't already know it you shouldn't be reading this disk-mag. As far as novelisations are concerned, Farpoint is relatively short at only 192 pages. There isn't a great deal of expansion over the televised story, apart from a couple of extended scenes, most notably the scene with The Admiral (I won't call him McCoy as he was never referred to as such - Paramount have never confirmed that it WAS McCoy) and Data, and a few extra scenes to strengthen the somewhat weak plot. The book opens with a 7 page prologue featuring Picard as he takes over command of the Enterprise - a nice touch and a pity we didn't actually see this on screen. The novel contains every scene from the episode (or episodes if you've seen the two part version), although one or two are slightly different, as far as dialogue is concerned, in comparison with the transmitted episode. However, this can be explained by the fact that, as far as I know, this novel was written based on an early version of the script and not the final version. For example, Picard refers to the emergency Saucer Separation as "Emergency battle configuration maneuver". Personally, I'm glad thay changed it! Overall, it is a weak TREK novel, and a poor novelisation, espeically when compared to some of the film's novelisations. STAR TREK V, novelised by J.M. Dillard, is only 15 minutes longer on screen, but the novel is over 300 pages in length. Not a bad book, but it's only for fans of the episode or for completists. With saying that, it's the only Next Generation episode to be novelised so far (although there are rumours that other episodes, including DATALORE, are going to be novelised). Reviewed by Alex Kerr The famous episode that introduced most Trek fans to the Next Generation is presented here in novelised form by David Gerrold. The book sticks closely to the television version and this might lead some people to ask "What is the point of reading the novel?". I can think of two good reasons straight away; firstly, it serves as a useful refresher of the occasion that introduced the crew of the new NCC-1701-D to each other, highlighting their initial reactions to one another. More importantly though is the depth that it lends to the original storyline. On screen, you don't get to know exactly what each character is thinking all the time and events are described more subtly than can be shown on television. This is, as far as I know, the only episode of ST-TNG to be released in book form, and because of that, it does not develop much in its own right in relation to the TV series, unlike the other novels which have since appeared based on the ST-TNG theme. This is hardly suprising and should not be critiscised; you buy a book of a screenplay - you expect to get more or less what you would otherwise have watched. On the whole, this is a good and worthwhile read although with not as much value (in terms of giving depth to the Startrek universe) as later novels which did not follow a TV episode. STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION 1 - GHOST SHIP by Diane Carey Reviewed by Alex Kerr Ghost Ship is the first of the `independant' Next Generation novels, in other words they do not recount episodes of the television series, but are whole adventures in their own right. Luckily though, they do tow the line of the TV series in a general form (i.e. crew changes and reassignments, major events in the adventures of the Starship Enterprise are all referred to and kept in correct chronological order) and as such I've found that they complement the series very well. In this novel, Diane Carey describes the events that took place when the Enterprise and her crew encountered a creature in space that destroyed a Russian aircraft carrier in 1995, absorbing the life essences of it's crew. The creature turns up three hundred years later and attempts to do the same to the Enterprise. While Picard and the ship's complement try desperately to avoid the creature, Deanna Troi is tormented by the feelings of the aircraft carrier crew's life essences who are experiencing a living hell having being trapped inside the creature for three centuries. The book seems to centre on three main characters: Deanna Troi, who struggles to block out the carrier crew's constant emotional bombardment; Data, unfortunately having been picked upon in the creature's attacks because he alone has some kind of compatibility with it, and Commander Riker, who links the aformentioned two by devoting his sympathies towards Troi while venting his anger and frustrations on Data, whom he regards as a machine rather than a living entity. To say more on the storyline would simply be to repeat in shortened form the contents of the novel, so I will not do that. Rather, I'd like to place a few well aimed criticisms towards it's author Diane Carey. Although the book is well written, and certainly exciting, it contains a bit too much of the Riker against Data idea. I found this slightly unsettling, for although the TV series touched on the Enterprise crew's initial suprise in serving with an android on the bridge, they soon came to like Lieutenant Commander Data immensely, and I certainly saw no evidence of outright hostility from Riker towards Data as is suggested in the novel. OK, so you would expect (even rely upon) a book to expand on the characters, but certainly not alter them significantly. Luckily, towards the end of the story, events take place that cause Riker to repent and admit Data as a true friend with great human qualities. Finally, I'd like to say that as the Star Trek novels (Classic as well as The Next Generation) are written by a number of different authors, perhaps the impressions and expansions they give of the Star Trek characters and universe should be taken at a compromise, as each author has his or her own individual style which should not be read as an absolute description of the Star Trek universe. For casual observers, fans and fanatics, the novels provide a valuable addition to the world of Star Trek, enhancing and expanding on the regular weekly dosage of The Next Generation that we all get. STAR WRECK: THE GENERATION GAP by Leah Rewolinski Reviewed by Simon Plumbe An unusual book for a Trek novel, in the sense that this is a spoof. It is set in the Next Generation era where the captain of the Endocrine, Captain Jean-Lucy Ricardo, is forced by Starfreak Command to team his crew up with the crew of the Endocrine from over 80 years ago! All of the crew, under the command of Captain James T Smirk have been rejuvenated to their youth by a wonder substance - yoghurt! The crews set off towards a planet populated by a race of overweight people know as the Cellulites and that's where the trouble begins. During the encounter, Smirk and his crew escape in the Cup section (which can separate from the saucer in times of emergency or when they have some spare cash left in the effects budget) and fly around the galaxy in search of endless parties. Sounds promising? Well, the characterisation is great with all the crew parodied quite well, especially the Security Officer Wart, a member of the Kringle race (who is afraid of the dark!) and the First Officer, Commander Wilson Piker who constantly uses his ability to strike dramatic poses! However, the story itself is very weak. As a spoof, it should at least be funny. It has it's moments, but overall the story falls flat and is about as funny as realising that you've just paid for a copy of "The Way To Eden"! The main problem is not the story, but instead the quantity - there are only 117 pages in the book and out of those, 20 are illustrations and the reverse sides of the illustrations are blank pages! So out of 117 pages, there are only 77 pages of text! On top of that, the actual text isn't exactly in small print! To be realistic, the book can be read in less than an hour. The final nail in the coffin is the price. The book is only available as an American import so it costs around £3.00. My advice is buy it if you have the money spare and absolutely nothing better to spend it on. You would be better off borrowing a copy from a friend or getting together with a few friends and buying it between you - this way you all get to read it and share the cost! MR. SCOTT'S GUIDE TO THE ENTERPRISE by Shane Johnson Reviewed by Alex Kerr The first thing that struck me when I first flicked through this A4 sized book was the sheer amount of detail present and indeed, the large list of acknowledgments and contributors suggested that this might be more than a quick graphic tour of the Enterprise. Again by Shane Johnson, this initially impressive tome relates to the original U.S.S. Enterprise, that of Classic Trek and was published around the time that The Next Generation first came into being. The cover states that it is based upon the engineering logs of Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott. Reading through the book, I got the impression that Mr. Scott (alias Shane Johnson and a whole host of contributors) certainly knows his stuff. Details of just about every physical aspect of the NCC-1701-A inhabit it's pages and provide a highly interesting insight into the physical and aesthetic structure of a starship. Don't worry if you're beginning to feel a bit put off by the suggested technical nature of the Guide; the title itself gives a clue to the approach that is taken with this book. The Guide to the Enterprise is not a technical reference manual that would intimidate all but a few hardened futurists with a passion for electronics. Instead it is a pleasant tour of the ship which is taken at the reader's leisure, highly detailed but cleverly balanced with a generous helping of blueprints, sketches and photographs to break up the text and actually SHOW you the rooms, vehicles, uniforms, technology and other components that make up the U.S.S. Enterprise. The initial pages cover the history of the Enterprise's major refit following her first 25 years in space. Twenty pages of general information follow that, detailing duty uniforms, department colours and insignias, rank pins and typefaces. The next 66 pages visit A through U decks in turn, explaining to the reader the positions and use of all significant departments, areas and objects contained on that deck. The Appendix which ends the book covers other general upgrades to the ship during her refit, touching on the discovery and development of transwarp technology, control console upgrades on the bridge and other cosmetic changes. Detailed photographs and diagrams of the bridge display graphics complete this fascinating insight into the world in which Jim, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov and Uhura work, rest and play. Finally, if I had one one complaint about this book it'd be that maybe I'd hoped for more detail on the technology BEHIND the Enterprise; how phasers work, how a transporter actually gets someone to a place ten thousand miles away and so on. Oh well, guess I'm just a hardened futurist with a passion for electronics. (NOTE - the information in this book is NOT accepted by Paramount as being the OFFICIAL information about the Enterprise. There are many areas in the book that contradict comments made by Paramount. For several examples of this, see the Richard Arnold article on Disk 2. However, this does not detract from the overall readability of the book in any way. - Simon Plumbe) More reviews in 3 months time.