Mel Gilden

For the first time, we see computation dealt with in terms that seem close to today's: the Enterprise is still a "mainframe," but there is a depiction of a virus that actually illustrates some of the things that could happen if a virus affected the Enterprise. It's not exactly all coherent - there's a good bit of "and then it can do this because PLOT should happen" - but that's OK; it works nonetheless. That's pleasant, but even more pleasant is that the novel makes Wesley into a sympathetic character.… (mer)

I found this book to have an interestingly self-conscious Kirk—maybe it's just more interested in his internal mental state than some other books. The plot hinges on a politician and scientist who have rather simplistic ideas about how to end war in the galaxy and seem to blame the existence of war on Starfleet. Ultimately I found that part of the book pretty silly. More interesting is the superweapon the scientist creates, which randomly sends starships to other universes, many of which are inimical to life. (His idea is no starships, no wars...yeah, I didn't say it hung together.) Perhaps most interesting of all is the introduction of a character with a brain-enhancing implant that allows her to record her visual and auditory inputs. That's something Star Trek has never really fully explored (despite Geordi and, yes, the Borg) and which I wish there was more of. Still, all that said, I don't think this was the finest outing. Passable!

Oh, and amusingly: they spell "petaQ" or "p'takh" wrong: "p'tach." I wonder how Klingon spellings were circulated among the various strands of the franchise? I'm pretty sure that 1993 is after they were laid down, especially for common words like petaQ...… (mer)

Growing up, I never read books but I was a fan of 90210 so I was given this book, maybe in hopes that it would make me a reader or maybe just because I was a fan of the show. Regardless, as a teen I never read it but I still have it so I read it.

I super enjoyed it for the "historical aspect" -- like pay phones and VHS tapes(!). The whole time reading it I was wondering if it would still hold up today ... I'm sure the plot line of Steve searching for his birth mother and how he goes about doing that would be upsetting for people today but in 1992, when this book was published, that's how easy things were and that was the mindset regarding adoption.

I'm going to keep it.

Adrianne… (mer)