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Spoilers ENT: Rise of the Federation: Uncertain Logic by C. L. Bennett Review Thread

Rate Uncertain Logic.

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    Votes: 28 41.2%
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    Votes: 31 45.6%
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    Votes: 6 8.8%
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    Votes: 2 2.9%
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    Votes: 1 1.5%

  • Total voters
    68
I just finished it and really enjoyed it. I love how it doesn't just focus on one plot line but on multiple ones with different views. I also loved the politics in it.

Although I was kind of disapointed to not see how the multiple worlds first developed Federation standards. Like how the council functions, the Federation science council, the Federation News Service ... etc. Or how Starfleet is formed (it's been a while since I read the last books) into what it is in the future, is there a starfleet academy?.

I just thought there would be more worldbuilding. I still enjoyed the book. Good work!.
 
Had a fantastic time talking with Dan about this on Literary Treks.
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Although I was kind of disapointed to not see how the multiple worlds first developed Federation standards. Like how the council functions, the Federation science council, the Federation News Service ... etc. Or how Starfleet is formed (it's been a while since I read the last books) into what it is in the future, is there a starfleet academy?.

Book I, A Choice of Futures, spent a lot of time on how the Federation Starfleet was founded by uniting the space services of the founding Member States. It also goes into some detail about the 22nd Century Federation government -- with its Federation Council, Federation Council President, Federation Commission, and Federation Ministers' Conferences.

The Federation Science Council is just the committee of the Federation Council that deals with scientific matters--the equivalent of the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology or the Science and Technology Select Committee of the U.K. House of Commons.

I want to say that there was a passing reference in A Choice of Futures to the Federation News Service being established, but I am not sure.
 
So Solkar is confirmed to be the Vulcan who made first contact with Zefram Cochrane on Earth? That's too bad, I was never a fan of that idea. Too much "small universe" syndrome.
That was established in tie-in fiction some time ago.
Ah, was it? I'd heard the idea mentioned before but I didn't know it was "official." That's a shame. Off the top of your head, do you know in which book it was established?
 
Had a fantastic time talking with Dan about this on Literary Treks.
1427999499360
I just finished listening to your podcast insightful discussions about this book and it was a excellent look into the complicated storylines of the Vulcan political situation and about the ware.Your discussion about Trip and Travis story arcs were really interesting . I really enjoyed listening to your recent podcsts about the latest Star trek books.:bolian:
 
Had a fantastic time talking with Dan about this on Literary Treks.
I just finished listening to your podcast insightful discussions about this book and it was a excellent look into the complicated storylines of the Vulcan political situation and about the ware.Your discussion about Trip and Travis story arcs were really interesting . I really enjoyed listening to your recent podcsts about the latest Star trek books.:bolian:

Thanks! We really enjoy talking about the books, especially when they're of the extremely high quality we've been getting.
 
Christopher - just as a minor point from your annotations (not a spoiler so will not code it):

Humans raised in low gravity would probably tend to grow unusually tall, but that’s because our bone growth mechanisms are evolved for Earth’s gravity.

The BBC had a fantastic documentary about the impacts of gravity on development about ten years ago I think it was callled Anatomy of an alien that you may enjoy if you find it online.
 
Reanok: thank you so much, it's a fun thing to do, dissect these books as well as interview the authors when we can. Thank you for listening!
 
Christopher - just as a minor point from your annotations (not a spoiler so will not code it):

Humans raised in low gravity would probably tend to grow unusually tall, but that’s because our bone growth mechanisms are evolved for Earth’s gravity.

The BBC had a fantastic documentary about the impacts of gravity on development about ten years ago I think it was callled Anatomy of an alien that you may enjoy if you find it online.

And following up my previous post:

http://www.newsweek.com/aliens-are-enormous-science-suggests-319448

The linked paper may also be of interest.
 
Personally speaking, I found the Vulcan arc to be the strongest of the three in the book. There is an argument to be made as regards just how active a role the Vulcans should play in the naval defence of the Federation, particularly in an era when a unified Starfleet is still in its infancy. But it is unfortunate that much of the debate had been effectively hijacked by more extremist (and pro-Romulan, wittingly or otherwise) factions.

Of the others, the Ware arc was the more interesting of the two, not least in terms of unpicking the insidious nature of the Ware influence across their known operating area. In contrast, I'm not sure how comfortable I felt about the Delta IV arc - I can only imagine how badly Terran-Deltan first contact may have gone over in the Mirror Universe.

I can't quite place my finger on it, but there was something vaguely familiar about the path which V'Las took during his years of exile. Having his preconceptions and presumed loyalties to Romulus shattered, only for him to seek to re-shape Vulcan itself in a more warlike image without the Romulans playing a part - there must be some sort of historical (or fictional) character which may have gone through a similar transformation. I can't think of who it might have been, though.

Also,

I found it interesting to note that Kimura Takashi grew up on Hokkaido. I wonder - would his ethnic background be mainly "Wajin", or might he have at least partial Ainu ancestry?

And on a broader note, how have the various minority groups in Japan fared by this point in the Novelverse? Have groups like the Ainu and Ryukyuans, the Zainichi Chinse and Koreans, or the descendants of Burakumin become more prominent (and more broadly welcomed) by then, or have some of these groups faded into history?
 
Actually, it might also be interesting to see what, if any, presence there may be of such groups on various human-founded colonies - though one might hope they'd fare rather better than the indigenous American colonists who later found themselves on the wrong side of the Federation-Cardassian demilitarized zone.


Upon further reflection, the series I had in mind was Aldnoah.Zero - which has examples of such arcs being played out in both directions.

A/Z pits Earth against Mars, with the Martian side founded by human colonists who gain access to advanced alien technologies.

On the Martian side, Slaine Troyard was brought to Mars by his father, who had provided his research expertise in the deciphering of said alien technology. However, in a xenophobic neo-feudal society which treats Terrans as second-class subjects, Slaine gradually seeks to use the prospect of renewed war with Earth to subvert Martian society for his own ends... which by no means coincide with the wishes of his supposed Terran cousins. But the more he compromises his principles to seek his goal, the more warped and corrupted his results beome.

On the Terran side, Rayet Areash was raised on Earth by Martian emigrants in the wake of the first war between Earth and Mars. Her parents were part of a sleeper cell which was used to stage an assassination attempt, aimed at sparking renewed conflict between Earth and Mars. However, after her father's cell approaches a Martian noble in order to claim their promised reward, they learn the hard way that the first rule of assassination is to kill the assassins. Rayet manages to escape and later joins the Earth forces, seeing it as an opportunity to seek vengeance against all Martians. (While she manages to avoid revealing her own connection to Mars at first, this mental turmoil leads to serious trouble later in the series.)

Of course, said examples are quite removed from how things play out here. But the overall concept is an intriguing one, both in how the person involved buckles under the strain of their... evolving loyalties and how their actions shape events for both friend and foe alike.
 
I've checked the Beta Quadrant pages of my Star Charts copy but haven't found yet Tyrellia and Balduk. Could somebody give me a hint where to find them, please? Nearby major stars, sectors, anything?
(I can be pretty bad at finding stuff on those maps. Took me a week to find Maluria the first time around).
 
I've checked the Beta Quadrant pages of my Star Charts copy but haven't found yet Tyrellia and Balduk. Could somebody give me a hint where to find them, please? Nearby major stars, sectors, anything?
(I can be pretty bad at finding stuff on those maps. Took me a week to find Maluria the first time around).

Go to Federation foldout map four in Star Charts. Find Iconia and Zalda on the far side of the triborder between UFP, Klingon and Romulan territory. :)

Tyrellia is a G-type yellow star, I think, and Balduk an A-type.

EDIT: Here.

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I justy finished reading the annotations. Excellent job as always Christopher. Thanks a lot for those :techman:
 
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