TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoilers!)

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

Really enjoyed this one.Fast paced and with a real palpable threat,an enjoyable addition to the recent TOS revival.
Poor old Enterprise though takes a bit of a pounding,I notice that nobody ever really inflicts that level of damage to Picards ship...
My only quibble is a small one but it struck me that during the crisis with Spock missing and Scott injured there seemed a distinct lack of experienced second-in-line people to take over from them.
Otherwise a great read.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

I think people are experienced but for Kirk no one is as good as Spock and for Scotty he's the only one he wants overseeing things. :-)

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

Had the great opportunity to have Dave on Literary Treks to talk about the book! Enjoy.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

It was a fun chat! Thanks for having me!

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

My niece has paranoid schizophrenia, and she says her mental condition is similar to Zhatan's.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

There was certainly some inspiration there in how I could find a way to articulate all the voices in her head in the prose. My sympathy to your niece, and I hope she is managing to find some peace.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

Thank you. Her medication is working for the most part, but in the experimental process of finding which one was best for her, the therapist accidentally upgraded her from the average, garden-variety schizophrenia to the paranoid type.

But I don't wish to detract from the topic.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

You're not in the least.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

I found this one to be a very fun read. This is definitely the most I've enjoyed a TOS novel in a while. I found the Vulcanoids to be fascinating (er...ahem), and thought that the inner-debate was well portrayed as well as her gradual fall toward disfunction.

I was (very slightly) putt off that the Enterprise was more on the sidelines in this one, but understand why that was done as it did put the focus on Spock, which I did enjoy. I loved how Spock was comparing himself to Kirk and how Kirk would have handled things.

I was a bit uncomfortable with how Spock was using the mind-meld as a weapon and all that implies. I'm not sure how to reconcile that with how forced mind-melds have been portrayed both on-screen and in other TrekLit as something abhorrent.

But, overall, this was quite fun!

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

But that was the whole idea, wasn't it? That Spock was forced to do this morally abhorrent thing by circumstance, and he was troubled by it afterward, which led him to begin his investigations into Kolinahr.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

I finished it. I found it slow and tedious in places. Only the very end was satisfying.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

OverlordSpock: "I was a bit uncomfortable with how Spock was using the mind-meld as a weapon and all that implies."

Yes. Imagine how Spock felt. Which, as Christopher says, was the point. Especially that his FEELING was a proper one--his own revulsion at his choices.

But I'm glad you thought it was fun. And I didn't think the Enterprise was sidelined, per se. Just that Kirk was playing a bit of a Spock role as Spock played a Kirk one.

To Christopher: As usual, correct on all counts.

To Ronald: I'm sorry the book on the whole wasn't your cup of tea, but glad if the ending made it worth your while. Hopefully I'll tick more boxes for you next time! :-)

--Dave

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

This book may well be the perfect Star Trek novel. The characters are spot on, the plot is interesting, the writing is crisp, and we're left with ideas to think about.

Kirk and Spock both get major screen time in this book, Scotty gets a fun sub-plot, and Uhura gets to do a bit more than the original episodes gave her a chance to do. (McCoy is in the novel, but he's not a focus, so if he's your favorite character, this probably isn't the book for you.) For me, my favorite character is Spock, and this book gives him a LOT to do, while not short-changing Kirk. Spock gets to use his special Vulcan powers to such a large extent that I was worried the poor guy would be collapsing from exhaustion by the end. :-)

The aliens in this book are interesting; they're similar to a major Federation race in some respects while being wildly different in other respects. That difference is both a source of strength and a source of weakness for them, and the author spends some time showing us what the aliens' minds are like while still keeping the focus firmly on Kirk and Spock. I've always been interested in both telepathy and in Dissociative Identity Disorder (what used to be called Multiple Personality Disorder and may still be best known under that name), and the new aliens have aspects of both of those elements in their makeup.

Carolyn Palamas -- the Archeology, Anthropology, and Ancient Civilizations officer introduced in "Who Mourns for Adonis" -- is in this book, and while she's not a huge focus, the book does flesh out her character a bit and gives some backstory that makes Scotty's crush on her (in that episode) seem more plausible. She turns out to be a consummate Starfleet officer and not just a pretty girl, a touch this female reader found most welcome.

We probably all have our own "wish list" for Star Trek novels, but to me, a great Star Trek novel should have the following elements:
1. A major role for Spock. He should either be thinking his way out of whatever problems the novel throws at them or using mind melds or neck pinches or other Vulcan superpowers to save the day; ideally, he'd be doing both. Bonus points for his inspiring or training or otherwise leading the scientists under his command and for the author's remembering that his role isn't just FIRST officer, it's also SCIENCE officer. More bonus points for allowing him a chance to show what a wonderfully ethical, dutiful, and self-sacrificing person Spock can be.
2. A major role for Kirk. He should either be swaying people through the power of his oratory or getting the Enterprise and/or the landing party out of whatever problems the novel throws at them through tactical genius. Ideally, he'd be doing both. Bonus points for inspiring or nurturing or otherwise leading the crew under his command and/or for solving problems through non-violent means.
3. A chance for some of the minor characters (McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, or Chapel) to shine while still not taking the focus off of the main two.
4. A positive view of Starfleet and the Federation, not a plot where the Federation is actually evil or Starfleet is evil or incompetent.
5. Interesting new problems or situations, not just a tired retread of things that have happened in the episodes. But a brief nod to an episode or a slight tie-in to an episode is nice and helps to anchor the novel in what we know.
6. A lessened focus on the Spock-McCoy bickering (compared to the episodes), since while the things McCoy said seemed funny to people in 1966, they seem racist to modern eyes.
7. While the focus is mostly on the plot, there should be some nods to the relationships among the characters, with the Kirk-Spock friendship foremost here.

Galanter hits EVERY ONE of the wishes on this list and delivers exactly what I want from a Star Trek novel. Really, it feels as if this book was written with me in mind, for all that I've never met the author and know nothing about him. Maybe I'm just a typical Star Trek fan. :-)

I hate it when people write the Star Trek characters out of character, which far too many people do, in my opinion. But Galanter clearly knows his Star Trek, and Kirk and Spock feel exactly like they should. I also hate it when people write plots with holes you could drive the Galileo through, which also happens far too often in other books, and again, Galanter avoids this. The plot makes sense, and no one does something that makes me shout at the characters that X is a stupid thing to do or what about this other course of action that might work better? Another pet peeve for me in Star Trek novels is when the author is so interested in their original characters that they forget to give us much of the Enterprise's crew. Again, Galanter avoids this pitfalll; his aliens are truly interesting without taking the focus away from Kirk and Spock.

The only thing I didn't like was Spock's thinking about kolinahr at the end, because I hate the whole idea of kolinahr. I think it was wildly out of character for Spock to attempt kolinhar and wonder what drugs Roddenberry was on when he thought it up. So I just stick my fingers in my ears and say "La, la, la" when people talk about it. :-) But that shouldn't be counted against the author, since it IS canon.

In summary, this is a wonderfully in-character novel with an interesting plot, good writing, and some fresh ideas. Full marks!

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

Thanks again! :-D (I saw the Amazon review.)

I am humbled.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

Roddenberry didn't write TMP, he just produced it. He had a hand in revising the script, but the credited screenwriter was Harold Livingston. The script went through various hands, but naturally the idea of Kolinahr was not added until Leonard Nimoy agreed to appear in the film. Maybe the recent Return to Tomorrow book discusses how the idea came about and whose idea it was, but I haven't had an opportunity to read my copy yet.

Anyway, I don't see what's wrong with the idea. There are plenty of ascetic and monastic religious sects in real life who dedicate themselves entirely to their faith and lead lives cut off from society and devoted to self-abnegation. It makes sense that there would be Vulcans who would practice a similarly extreme, ascetic form of Surakian logic. My only problem is when some works portray it an almost routine part of Vulcan life, or show Kolinahr practitioners leading normal lives out in public. I think the intent was that they were more of an eremitic order, cutting themselves off from the temptations of society and interpersonal bonds.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

I totally understand the intention of how what Spock does in this book leads toward his pursuing Kolinahr. That's not what made me "uncomfortable". It's that he chose to do these things in the first place. It's not that Spock, as a pacifist, has never been shown to engage in violence before (indeed, that's occurred a lot).

Rather, the type of violence he engaged in here has been shown to be incredibly abhorrent, akin to rape or worse. I would think that Spock would have never considered going this direction in the first place. I understand the stakes and the threat to the galaxy. And maybe Spock weighed the greater good here. But, I never got a sense of any internal struggle here about it until after he began doing what he did. Maybe I missed it, but it wasn't until he started forcibly melding and after that I saw the struggle. That just didn't seem like Spock to me.

Again, all that said, it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the book. As I alluded to earlier, I think this book is the best TOS novel that's come out in a long time.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

^Except Spock did exactly the same thing in The Undiscovered Country, forcibly melding with Valeris, and the movie didn't treat it as a problematical thing at all, though it probably should have (and J.M. Dillard altered the scene in her novelization to make it consensual).

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

You'd be even happier if you knew how picky I usually am about TOS fiction.

I don't know if you follow any of the fan-made productions, but I recently suggested in the Star Trek Continues thread that you write a script for them. I don't know if you or they would be interested in that...

I don't want to derail the thread about Dave Galanter's wonderful book by talking about TMP here; let's take that elsewhere.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

^I don't see the derailment. The book is exploring why Spock would be willing to consider Kolinahr, so it's relevant to talk about Kolinahr and what it means.

 

Re: TOS: Crisis of Consciousness by D. Galanter Review Thread (Spoiler

Kirk told him "whatever means necessary" and he knew what that meant. The decision to do it was already made, and he hoped that it would be consented to by the base individual once he got in to the meld. Sometimes it was, sometimes it wasn't. He knew what he was doing was not a moral good, and then he felt righteous indignation against HIMSELF for his actions--and for his inability to find another way. This particular emotion--self-revulsion--he didn't know how to process.