Still reading "Bloodletter" by K. W. Jeter (DS9 #3, 1993) though perhaps finishing the first third very soon or even halfway. Also rapidly read "Star Trek: Politics" by Reinhard Kuck (2011). Is that a pen name? I did not include the umlaut over the "u". It appears to have been translated from German by a computer and every page has numerous errors and interesting interpretations to make. Like a malfunctioning universal translator. It even got the date for 9/11 incorrect and gave September 9 instead. This book may be by a person with a mental disorder and so I went a bit into clinical mode while reading the book (I suffer from schizophrenia myself so I am sensitive to people discussing this subject in the media). Schizophrenia in Star Trek is often treated correctly according to Kuck. This author for method to the book viewed all the 5 series and all the movies -- impressive. Schizophrenia is used as a gimmick a bit in Alvin Toffler's "Eco-spasm Report" where the economy suffers schizophrenia and I think Gregory Bateson uses schismogenesis as an anthropology term. Kuck also calls attention to disability issues in the Trekverse as portrayed in the shows. I learned a bit here and there which is good. His saving the topic of Nazism to the end of the book was interesting. There is some cut-and-pasted repetitious items in the book but most inconvenient was the marking on every page about copyright. It was published by Kindle/Amazon. References were to Episode titles and characters rather than stars were named. Mention of items which do not make it to the U.S. media and items which may not make it to the Western European media was interesting. I have heard of this happening in academic circles too. "Power of Nightmares" (BBC) apparently did not easily be accessible to American audiences. Apparently the TOS shows about Nazism were not accessible to German audiences till the 1990s. All in all it was a very entertaining read of about 189 pages. I also read "Life Signs: The Biology of Star Trek" by Jenkins & Jenkins which is more a book by therapists than by patients. Also very interesting reading. It assumes you have a fairly good knowledge of Biology 11 and 12 topics. I have top standing in 1st year Biology and still had a bit of trouble with some of the concepts. The book has a glossary that is helpful. Again, this book, too, has about 189 pages and Episodes are named and characters rather than stars are named. It was published by HarperCollins. Both books are unauthorized by the copyright holders. The book about politics often summarizes shows and movies. Big time spoilers but I was happy to see the scenes described. Perhaps I should do a proper review of the two books in a thread somewhere. It is not exactly fan fiction. Fan non-fiction?
I finished IDW's Doctor Who comic, Agent Provocateur earlier this evening. I also have just a few chapters left of Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth.
Finished "The Stuff of Dreams", which was great. Now onto a classic SciFi book, Issac Asimov's "Foundation".
I started reading the TOS novel Twilight's end by Jerry Olten I really like the way the Tos characters are involved in this story. I've only read a few chapters and I'm really enjoyed reading this book.It's nice to see McCoy Scotty and Sulu and other characters being important part of their Starfleet mission using their specialties in different sciences and engineering to help an alien planet .
Finished Titan: The Red King. It was pretty good, though there was a little bit of wonkiness. Plot elements and characters disappear and reappear when necessary. Mekirkuk's status throughout the book is very odd as he's seemingly ignored until 3/4 of the way through, gets one scene and a send off which doesn't do a lot to resolve a storyline. Some of the "regular cast" don't get a lot to do. Vale, while being highlit, doesn't add much and I'm left scratching my head as to why she's been included in the series. I really can't say I understand the fan love that surrounds her. However, Tuvok, Troi and Riker are really well handled and I was interested to see where they went. Donatra was a lot of fun to read, too. I found the setting of the book to be a little unnecessary too. Some of the points the book was trying to make about relationships/race/ethnicity ended up being a little confused and ultimately ended with something akin to "Shrug, we tried to be inclusive." [Specifically any time the Human/Betazoid command crew issue is raised. It's addressed at least twice and both times it's an issue that's brought up, argued and then dropped without any one suggesting anything else. Granted there is a pay-off to it but you could argue it's not quite as problem solving as it seems] I have to admit, I found Keru to be unlikeable over the course of much of the first book and he only felt somewhat likeable by the end. I'm not sure if the arrogance the character displays (which speaks well of character work) or if it was just that once Tuvok showed up Keru felt redundant and only around because he was a creation of the authors. I'm now three chapters into Articles of the Federation which is quite good so far. My only complaint is that it could have used a dramatis personae. Using so many "new" characters, even though their roles are mentioned pretty often, I still have to "flip" back and forth on my kindle to figure out who is who sometimes. (I would extend the same caveat to Titan as well. I kept mixing up Jaza and Lavena over the course of the first book.) I know there's reading lists out there, but is it suggested to read Resistance, Q&A and Before Dishonor together as a trilogy or can I slide Orion's Hounds in there?
Titan gets a lot smoother to read with Orion's Hounds. (Not to be too on the nose, but Christopher is simply a much better writer.) I think I would read Orion's Hounds next, then Resistance and Q&A and Before Dishonor, then Sword of Damocles, then Greater Than The Sum and Destiny, but aside from GTTS immediately before Destiny it doesn't really matter much.
Just read "The Children of Kings" by Dave Stern which of course lets people get a little insight into Pike's time as Captain of the Enterprise. Anyone interested in reading my review can find it here - http://killie-booktalk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/star-trek-children-of-kings-david-stern.html Currently reading a random thriller set in Africa called "The Helpers" but I am still not that sure baout it.
I finished Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth last night. I then read the Doctor Who comic, The Whispering Gallery. I'm now reading Star Trek: Devil's Bargain.
Finished Captain's Table: Where Sea Meets Sky by Jerry Oltian. Not a huge fan of the writing style, but the story got me through it. I really struggled at the start, but by about halfway through it had me. Though I did get a bit confused, and I wondered if it was my Kindle Omnibus copy being set up wrong. Spoiler: Where Sea Meets Sky Pike heads up stairs with the Klingon lady for some fun times, when it suddenly cuts to Kirk and Sulu, with the exact same pages as the start of theirs. Is it a misprint, or meant to be some sort of circular story telling? Being as I read it first, I get the impression that the denizens of the bar are there for all six books.
Circular, yes. Each volume ends with the beginning of the next volume, and the final (Pike) volume ends with the beginning of the first. Which is kind of disturbing, because it suggests that the denizens of the Captain's Table are trapped in a neverending time loop.
Ah, thanks. I got really confused and was flicking from the back to the start. Someone should pitch a new Captain's table where they have to break the cycle, of course this has drastically negative effects because it's part of the magic of the place that keeps it present everywhere.
Just finished Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. What a book! I can't believe it's taken me this long to get around to it. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the Maddaddam trilogy, The Year of the Flood. Atwood is an amazing writer. I thoroughly enjoyed every page.
I finished reading Startrek TOS novels Legacy by Micheal Jan Friedman and Twilights end by Jerry Oltin. I liked both books the stories had space exploration and science being an important part of both books. It's one of the main reason which I really enjoyed reading these books for the first time.I just started reading Starttrek Voyager Children of the storm by Kirsten Beyer.I really liked the other Voyager novels she's written.
^Interesting interpretation of the book. I don't think I've heard it stated before that HMFJTP was Ford "thumbing his nose" at Paramount's licensing restrictions. I thought it was just that he wanted to defy expectations like he'd done in The Final Reflection. I'm wondering where you got your information from.
Hmm, I was mostly reporting on my own impressions. For example, I say the story plays "as though" it is Ford's response to the restrictions. But you are right about some of the phrasing I used. I've re-written the "final thoughts" section to more accurately reflect that these are my impressions of what the novel represents, rather than fact. Thanks for the feedback!