Just Be A-Ware with Bennett's Live by the Code

Tiff takes us into the expanded Enterprise story with the next in Christopher L Bennett's series....

Following on from Uncertain Logic, Christopher Bennett’s Live by the Code is the fourth book in the Rise of the Federation series. 

Again, I must warn you that this review does contain spoilers.

A big fan of Bennett’s, I was avidly looking forward to reading his new release. The story begins solidly with Captain Archer settling into the position as Chief of Staff, before quickly events spiral.

With the continuing search for the creators of the Ware technology bringing its own problems, an attack from the Klingons also seems on the cards. As in the previous novels, it is very easy to jump into this without knowledge of his previous outings as the situation is neatly summed up in the first few pages.

We start off on board the Andorian Cruiser, the Vol’Rala. Sharing the name Enterprise this ship is where we jump into several story threads. Initially the mission to shutdown the Ware technology seems to be pretty straightforward, however gradually; it becomes apparent that it will be a difficult undertaking.

From this intriguing perspective, Federation ships are seen as an invading force, Bennett enables us to visualize events from the ‘other side’ so to speak. The situation is further complicated by the interference of the Klingon QuchHa’ (those Klingons afflicted by the Qu’Vat Virus), which literally means ‘Unhappy’ or ‘Deprived of Forehead’. They are seeking to use the Ware to take control of Qo’nos owing to the death of the previous Chancellery has left the current Empire in disarray.

Bennett’s characterisation is, as ever extremely good and he has an excellent grasp of people within their surroundings.  

“Shran could keep up a good sulk for months.” (Archer’s observation of the Andorian Commander)

And during the wedding of Dr Phlox’s daughter, his explanation of the Denobulan family tree is quite frankly baffling as you realise that every single Denobulan on the planet is related to each other by marriage!

And his knowledge of Star Trek is equally far-reaching as he draws on various sources for the story, such as Requiem for Methuselah when reintroducing us to Willem Abramson, known here as Akharin and in the future, Flint the Immortal. There is also a wonderful First Contact reference!

His illustrations of the issues surrounding the newly formed Federation are just as good. He elaborates on discussions and decisions to be made regarding the new ships to be constructed and this is a delightful read for the ardent fan of all things starship

Ultimately this is a story about division, Klingon partisan in-fighting, personal doubt and disillusionment, and above all the upheaval and damage done to those worlds that have tried to utilize the Ware.

Just as the diversity in cultures were overcome and embraced when forming the Federation, so must the divisions within our own lives be conquered? 

Historically this makes us stronger, better people for it, but the process is ever painful. There are obvious allegorical nods to our current society, maybe this a flaw in Bennett’s writing, and perhaps we are looking for escapism in Star Trek rather than a moderately preachy manifesto

He is an excellent author with many good novels under his belt, but to any real Trekkie, this is a message that doesn’t need to be spelt out.  We understand diversity and revel in it. ‘Infinite Diversity - Infinite Combinations.’ But Bennett appears to have lost the real message of what it means to love Star Trek. Let’s hope that he regains that form for his next outing.

Have you been following the Rise of the Federation? Where do you think we're heading?

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What Would You Choose With Uncertain Logic?

Following on from, Tower of Babel, Christopher Bennett's Uncertain Logic is the third book in the Rise of the Federation series and once more we're welcoming Tiffany Groves back to give her opinion on the most recent Enterprise expansion.

Again I must warn you that this review contains spoilers!

The Kir’Shara, the long lost writings of Surak were unearthed by Jonathan Archer and T’Pol years ago and heralded planetary reform of Vulcan to a more peaceful era. But when the artefact’s authenticity is called into question by loyalists of the old High Command, Archer and T’Pol’s involvement threatens to undermine the efforts of the Federation and the Vulcans to affirm change.

Bennett’s portrayal of the main players seems more evolved than in his previous outings and there is a better sense of their personalities and motivation.This aids the author in weaving several plotlines around the main event. 

We are re-introduced to Enterprise regulars Malcolm, Trip and Mayweather as they contend with the re-emergence of The Ware (An automated starship repair station as previously encountered by Enterprise in the second season episode Dead Stop) These stations are in fact found to be utilising sentient beings as ‘components’ to power their computer core.

Bennett utilizes themes and parallels within the book, allowing us a sense of familiarity and 

recognition of the nature of the events. This is a pleasing device when reading Star Trek novels because you want to feel immersed inside the universe you feel comfortable with.

The Ware has, over time, infiltrated many worlds and this technology had become integrated into their very existence. On a planet called Vanot, Ware technology has being heralded as indigenous to its own evolution (unfortunately these advances were routinely horded by the top echelons of society) Essentially Vanot is allegorical for 20th Century capitalist Earth; the technology is beyond their capability to manage, having not been developed and integrated at a natural pace. There is frustration at the retention of the highest technology by the elite of society (echoes here of Earth’s very own frustration at the Vulcan ‘drip down’ of knowledge and the impatience therein).

The story is purposely exaggerative portraying an immature race ill-prepared for advanced 

technology but sometimes allegory must be painted with a broad brush to lay a foundation for the moral objective of a story The disruption that follows Mayweather’s interaction with the Vanot is intended clearly to illustrate the necessity for rules (the soon to be introduced ‘Prime Directive’).

Unquestionably the novel has flaws; Bennett introduces us to numerous species and Star Trek lore (Deltans and the effect that they have on humans for instance) But he veers away before any in depth sub plot or element of the story that may include such species and so these sometimes feel like signposts and unnecessary nods to the side.
individuals that will be encountered in future

That being said this is a series that is set to continue, so perhaps these are early introductions to future characters?

This is a story about Choice, from misdirection and callous lies must come the truth and choosing one’s own path. There is a speech about choices, given by a Cardassian on the Endeavour; this is reflective of the choices faced in the story. Much is made of the nature of identity, something we can relate to in the current political spectrum. Earth itself now faces the burden of important choices and Bennett handles these elements superbly.

The book was Star Trek at its introspective best and I am genuinely looking forward to the next instalment.

Have you been following the Rise of the Federation? Enjoyed it or found it not to be "quite" the Enterprise you were hoping for?

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Returning to Enterprise - that isn't Enterprise: Tower of Babel

Now for a guest review from friend of SKoST Tiffany Groves. This time we're tackling Tower of Babel by Christopher L Bennett and while I wasn't thrilled with its predecessor, here's another take on the series...

This is the second book in the series of Rise of the Federation and before I go any further, I must warn you that this review does contain SPOILERS!!

The story continues on from A Choice of Futures and the focus of this novel is the struggle to bring the Rigel System into the fledgling Federation. This is no easy task as the diversity of its inhabitants and trading practices continue to be at odds with the newer Federation values. It’s obvious that Bennett has done his research here and drawn on various Star Trek television programmes, films, books, comics and the like to create his compelling cast. 

One particular example are the ‘Zami’, Rigellians that bear physical similarities to Vulcans (note - not a dissimilar thread to the recent The Original Series novel Crisis of Consciousness), their name derived from the ‘Zamiar’ (Rigel IV in the Decipher Code Role Playing Game) Despite this attention to research, I felt that the characters were still rather two dimensional. This isn't necessarily the author’s fault as source material for this rather unknown and unrepresented time zone is limited.

A much better portrayal is afforded the more familiar characters though and his depictions of Archer, Trip, T’Pol and Reed are very well rounded the author makes good observations of familial gestures and expressions which make you feel that you are reuniting with old friends. There are also references to the past which regular Star Trek viewers will find re-affirming such as the Xindi attack on Earth.

The novel’s focus however does seem to be mainly non-Federation, Reed and T’Pol given more of a back seat in favour of newer Starfleet officers (Sam Kirk and Valeria Williams) and whilst their development is intriguing, Archer seems almost to be an afterthought with very little to do!

Bennett’s easy writing style draws you in to the novel straight away and although there is a lot of socio-political content, he manages to interweave the subject rather nicely with the other elements of the plot so we are not subjected to eye watering pages of political blurb!! 

I do feel overall the central plot was somewhat lacking. There were several minor plot lines introduced throughout the novel, the affect of which, didn't occur until nearly halfway through the book. 

The author risks losing his readers at this point, unfortunately, once the main threat was identified, Bennett seems to lose pace and the structure of the story falls apart with loose ends tied up far too neatly for my liking. 

I do feel that writing within the confines of established lore has made the author perhaps too comfortable with this knowledge. It could be argued that this has made him slightly lazy with the plot? But flaws aside, I did enjoy reading this novel and it was very easy to immerse yourself within the familiar surroundings of Star Trek and it’s characters. Will I read the third book in the series (An Uncertain Logic)? Of course I will!!

Thanks to Tiffany for her time to review the novel. I suspect we'll be seeing her back with a review of the next Enterprise novel fairly soon...

Fan of the Enterprise continuation? Not fussed by the expanded prequel or cautious about it's angle?

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Star Trek: Enterprise: Rise of the Federation: A Choice of Futures

My last encounter with Enterprise as a series was the final episode back in 2005 and that was, as we will all remember, less than stellar.

So this latest Enterprise novel from the halls of Simon and Schuster is something of a voyage into the unknown. A lot seems to have happened since the final episode and in essence only the characters actually align this to the show in any manner. So be warned there might be SPOILERS as we open the pages and read on...

There is no Enterprise and for me the whole nature of the show was about those first exploratory steps and initial technological advances. It's a difficult concept to grasp but in some respects it is honouring the memory of the short-lived series by expanding the story into the evolution of the Federation.

In A Choice of Futures things have moved on and the beginnings of the Federation are starting to evolve but as always there are some dark nasties looking to cause trouble from the wings and disrupt everything. Our familiars from the series have all moved on, whether into command of other starships or more senior positions at least. Even dead ones seem to have, as seems to be the trend with Star Trek, the ability to return from beyond the grave.

I have two differing opinions on this novel. One says to me that Enterprise novels should be confined to the arc of the series but in another heartbeat I know that moving events forward in time and defining the galaxy of the 23rd and 24th Centuries. What we get is kind of a mix up of lots of things and at the end of it not a lot to show. 

I spent a great deal of the first 200 pages not really getting where this was going. There were some nice chats about promotions, lots of talking about what they might do, some chats about relationships, a few words about an enemy called the "Mutes", a bit of eating and two thirds of the book seemed to have drifted by. I was not impressed and I got the sense that there was a lot of filler here. Most of the focus is on Archer, T'Pol and Reed with Sato and Mayweather filling out the background. For a lot of the time they are barely more than bit parts which is a shame but reflects exactly how they were in Enterprise.

Don't get me wrong, Christopher L Bennett tries to make this interesting but it's as though he's not got a lot to work with and fills out the novel with lots of nice little character bits but no serious, hard-hitting stuff until much later but the problem is that by that stage I really didn't care. I was looking forward to getting into this book BUT the problem is that it's all buildup with a group of characters that just don't seem to lift off the page and do anything vaguely interesting.

Archer for one seems totally neutered as an admiral, spending time hoping around between ships and the Federation Council playing mediator. Sitting on that very council is Enterprise guest-star favourite Shran and his initial introduction belays that the character has chilled out since we saw him in the series. That in itself is a real shame as I would have hoped that this individual would have managed to light some kind of fire within this book and make it engaging. Sadly that's not the case and Shran spends a lot of time doing a lot of time sitting around...chatting.

The villain here in the form of the Mutes just don't get that threatening and I never really believe their case because the bulk of the book does what it does best - talks about them, builds them up and then leaves them in a position which can only make them something of a disappointment. Their reveal could have been great and pivotal to the plot but after dragging out the "action" for a long time I didn't care that much. Sorry; I just wasn't fussed.

Aside from the fact that Enterprise is missing the Enterprise in all but a few off-hand "oh yeah, this is based on that series" references the crew are just bland, even more so than many fans may regrettably recall from the series. Bringing Trip "back" from the dead might have seemed like a great idea somewhere along the line but it just adds a further insult to the injury that was These Are the Voyages.... While that might not have been the author's fault you do get the sense that he's had to work with it. Trip should have stayed dead because it only makes that error of a final episode even more horrid and his return feels apologetic - did we even need him to be in Section 31?!

OK, OK, it's pretty apparent that I am not giving this book a good review but there are some great redeeming points within the pages that are worth finding through all the misjudgements and stilted pacing. Bennett works a treat in around the transporter systems and their potential dangers. It's a great notion and something that only a couple of characters (McCoy and Pulaski) ever really hint at. Here those concerns are met and covered; the only thing is it's thought another one of Those Chats that litter this publication. 

Nicely for those who like a good bit of continuity we also get to meet one of the former Dax hosts, Tobin who is working on a project for the Federation of, without doubt, the utmost importance. It's a nice nod to the franchise and Deep Space Nine in particular which I would never have expected to be referenced in an Enterprise novel. There are more nods to the Kir'Shara, the Xindi and even, oddly at a time when I've just discovered a show is being made about Garth of Izar, Axanar which played such a pivotal role in his life and career (here's the link to their Facebook page)

Perhaps though a highlight of the book and one that did stick with me throughout was a section dealt with starship design and why the Federation would be going along the lines of Earth's ships rather than those of the Vulcans or the Andorians. It's a decent answer and I'll give that one to Christopher L Bennett, it's a question that I'd never asked but when it was proposed here it did make me think. The reasoning is particularly nicely explained. I also did like the way in which one story strand brought back the USS Essex and Captain Bryce Shumar who were featured in The Next Generation's Power Play. I didn't expect their addition so it was a nice diversion in the plot. The challenge with these s well as the extra crew involved on the Endeavour and the Pioneer is that they aren't the main cast and as such their relationships and input into the story just don't excite. Sorry, but while it does feel like they are essential to the story their personalities are a little on the flat side.

In the last year I've read a lot of Star Trek novels for SKoST and this has to be bottom of the pile by some distance. It would even make me reconsider reviewing any more Enterprise novels in the future. The recent Eaglemoss release of the NX-01 relit my interest in this much maligned spawn of Star Trek and when I come to rewatching the series in some months time I hope that time has been kind and that A Choice of Futures isn't how it was back in the day.