TOS: Cast No Shadow by James Swallow Review Thread (Spoilers!)

[JoeZhang]

I'd give it a C/D - it's a solid if rather generic franchise book. The prose is good but it's let down by the predictability of the character and story arcs, and you can see some of the conversations between characters coming 50 pages off. I groaned when I saw the appearance of that most overused and hackneyed story device,

the childhood trauma

coming over the hills.

[JD]

Have you liked any of James Swallow's books in the past?

[JoeZhang]

Never read any of them (as far as I can remember - I might have read Synthesis but I'm drawing a blank on it at the moment).

Don't get me wrong, A C/D doesn't mean I think it's a bad book just that it's not anything special or particularly memorable.

[Thrawn]

^ I actually really like how harsh you are with your reviews. It's nice to read clear, well thought out opinions that aren't just positive. It bummed me out a little when Destiny seemed to chase you away for a while.

[MatthiasRussell]

Sorry, just not interested in this one. The time for this book was 10 years ago. I've moved beyond my interest in this part of the timeline. I don't mean to criticize this book or the author but this story seemed to come out of no where; I don't think the lost era has been visited in awhile. Is there much enthusiasm for this book?

[aaon80]

MatthiasRussell wrote:

---

I don't think the lost era has been visited in awhile. Is there much enthusiasm for this book?

Actually, this is exactly why I am so enthused about this book (just started it this morning). I like the occasional look at some part of the Trek universe that is often forgotten or unexplored. I guess that is why the "Lost Years," "Lost Era," and "Ex Machina" appeal to me as well, filling in gaps, and rounding out characters, even minor ones.

[JoeZhang]

Thrawn wrote:

---

^ I actually really like how harsh you are with your reviews. It's nice to read clear, well thought out opinions that aren't just positive. It bummed me out a little when Destiny seemed to chase you away for a while.

I actually tend to be less critical about tie-in fiction than original fiction because of the limitations of the form so when I say it's average, I mean it's average against other Star Trek books.

My biggest problem with the book, as mentioned above, is how clichéd Valeris's motivation is - it relies on not one but two over-used concepts within fiction - that of

the childhood trauma and father issues

. It's all makes perfect sense but it's been used so many times in the past, it's just retreading old ground. I can understand why those choices were made as it allows the character to move towards some form of redemption but truthfully it would have been fresher if the writer had moved the character in a different direction where she didn't give a shit about redemption.

[JWolf]

Thrawn wrote:

---

I'm reading that it's out in some stores, so here you go

Mark spoilers for at least the first month or so.

I have my 1st edition ePub.

[Christopher]

MatthiasRussell wrote:

---

Sorry, just not interested in this one. The time for this book was 10 years ago.

I don't know what that means. Plenty of Trek novels have revisited concepts or themes from episodes/films made decades earlier. Ex Machina came out a quarter-century after ST:TMP, but I never heard anyone say it wasn't "timely." And my next novel will be revisiting that era, seven and a third years after Ex Machina came out.

I don't mean to criticize this book or the author but this story seemed to come out of no where; I don't think the lost era has been visited in awhile.

It's only been a bit over three years since the last Lost Era novel.

[ToddCam]

Sweet! I hope we get to see Spring Rain on Still Water. I loved that character so much!

[MatthiasRussell]

Has it REALLY only been 3 years since the last Lost Era book? If so, why wasn't this printed under that banner?

I'll watch this thread, if it gets enough enthusiast comments, I'll buy the book.

[Idran]

MatthiasRussell wrote:

---

Has it REALLY only been 3 years since the last Lost Era book?

Star Trek: Terok Nor was a Lost Era three-part series, and it was published in April-June 2008.

[FatherRob]

JoeZhang wrote:

---

My biggest problem with the book, as mentioned above, is how clichéd Valeris's motivation is - it relies on not one but two over-used concepts within fiction - that of

the childhood trauma and father issues

. It's all makes perfect sense but it's been used so many times in the past, it's just retreading old ground. I can understand why those choices were made as it allows the character to move towards some form of redemption but truthfully it would have been fresher if the writer had moved the character in a different direction where she didn't give a shit about redemption.

I am not sure I would go so far as to say she cared super-deeply about redemption; IMO:

her final scene in the book kinda kills a part of that percieved justification away.

However, I have my own thoughts about how this matter, and I do plan to write about them, to an extent, in my review at TrekMovie.

I enjoyed the book, given the look into the long lost-era between the TOS era and the TNG era... but the more I think about it, the more critical my thinking gets, especially over the closing 100 or so pages.

Rob+

[Christopher]

MatthiasRussell wrote:

---

Has it REALLY only been 3 years since the last Lost Era book? If so, why wasn't this printed under that banner?

Probably because it's been two and a half years since Marco Palmieri was laid off. The Lost Era was his project. Whoever edited Cast No Shadow evidently didn't choose to continue using that banner title.

[JoeZhang]

FatherRob wrote:

---

I am not sure I would go so far as to say she cared super-deeply about redemption; IMO:

her final scene in the book kinda kills a part of that percieved justification away.

However, I have my own thoughts about how this matter, and I do plan to write about them, to an extent, in my review at TrekMovie.

I enjoyed the book, given the look into the long lost-era between the TOS era and the TNG era... but the more I think about it, the more critical my thinking gets, especially over the closing 100 or so pages.

Rob+

Look forward to reading the review. The more I think about it, another problem I have with the book (and this is my own bias not necessary a problem for other readers) is that in their current form, Klingons are pretty much played out and that adds to the rather generic feel of the book. It will be interesting to see if the movies takes them in a different cultural direction than we have seen over the last 25 years.