#094: Chains of Command (TNG #21)

This week, Riker feels the cold, clammy hand of anxiety grabbing his shoulder. But there’s no time for that, because a survey of desolate worlds turns up unexpected humans. Once the dust settles from the latest revolt, they discover a cockfighting ring—but it’s the birds pitting the humans against each other. Meanwhile, a young rebel leader learns that overthrowing the oppressor is merely the first victory. Why is Star Trek so bad at dealing with trauma? What’s the minimum threshold for getting to have an opinion on the bridge? And how much would a top-of-the-line thought-blocking helmet set Deanna back? All this and more in “Chains of Command”—no, not the one with the four lights.

#093(a): Music of the Spheres (TOS)

This week, we’re taking Probe from the top, once more, with feeling. The same peace conferences, the same song decoding, the same stories about alien whales, but now we march to the beat of a different drummer—a beat that adds a boatload of useless secondary characters and gives everyone dumber names. Is Sulu the worst spy of all time? Is there anything a single pill can’t cure in the future? And why won’t everyone just leave Scotty alone about his weight? All this and more in Music of the Spheres, the book where nothing matters but the music.

Music of the Spheres delayed

The review for Music of the Spheres, the original vision of the book that eventually became Probe, will come out next week. Because I am not reading it in my usual milieu—i.e., at my job, in book form, with no electronic distractions at hand—it’s moving a lot slower than usual. Other contributing factors: Music of the Spheres is a 238-page Word document, and it’s much tougher to stare at screens than at paper for extended periods; I haven’t had many days off lately where I didn’t flip my overnight schedule; and I rarely have opportunities to be on my home computer, especially during summer. I have downloaded a cleaned-up PDF version of the manuscript in hopes of reading faster by catching snatches of it here and there on my phone; just from the little bit I’ve used it, I’d say it’s likely going to be my recommended means for reading it.

Fortunately, with the bad comes a little good: I’m doing another Patreon rejigger soon. I won’t spill all the beans yet, but I will say that giving one dollar will actually get you something extra outside of just funding the books. Something to look forward to!

#093: Probe (TOS event novel)

This week, it’s clear the Romulans have been to the movies lately. Suddenly they’re planning their own peace initiative, with blackjack, and hookers. While they and the Federation put together dinner and a show, the probe from The Voyage Home drives through space with a trunk full of unanswered questions. And when it makes a U-turn to get the truth, Kirk and Spock realize it’s going to take a lot more than showing it a couple of whales to satisfy its curiosity this time. Which Romulans are serious about peace and which ones aren’t? What does the probe have to look forward to when it goes home? Is this yet another flippin’ “Enterprise Incident” sequel? All this and more in Probe, the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! of Star Trek novels.

#092: Faces of Fire (TOS #58)

This week, the Enterprise picks up yet another blowhard ambassador to mediate a religious dispute involving a sacred animal, but Spock opts out to tinker with a cool laser on a terraforming colony. But the Klingons, up to their usual cloak-and-dagger shenanigans, descend on the colony to steal the beam in hopes of weaponizing it. Will Kirk and the ambassador figure out how to relocate the animals? Can Spock successfully collaborate with a bunch of tweens? And how much does it suck when annoying people are right? All this and more in Faces of Fire, the book that will make you openly yearn for the death of a child.

Page 40 of 65

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén