Christopher, any estimate when your annotations will be available?
Spoilers TOS: The Face of the Unknown by Christopher L. Bennett Review Thread
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Christopher, I normally love your work, but this one was tough to get through.
I know I'm one of the very few non-effusive voices about this book, but I literally had a terrible time trying to get through it. It just didn't hold my interest very much. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty to like: I really liked the world-building for the Web of Worlds and the races of the First Federation. There was so much we didn't know about the First Federation after "The Corbomite Maneuver" that this book fills in. I also liked so many of the various character moments for the Enterprise crew-members.
However, I struggled a great deal to be interested in the Dassik. I knew they were supposed to look like Balok's puppet in "The Corbomite Maneuver", but my imagination kept imagining them looking something like a Nauusican, for some reason. The captain of the main-focus Dassik ship just annoyed the crap out of me (probably intentional, but it really turned me off). I also couldn't stand the Lennik leader (I am missing his name at the moment). I kept waiting for some reference to him twirling his mustache. I will also echo some comments someone made earlier about how both Kirk and Spock being involved with their respective First Federation females at the same time just seemed like too much.
I probably sound very harsh about this book and I am obviously in the minority. It just didn't work for me. However, I suppose that only one book that I didn't like out of the so many Christopher has written is a pretty good record. As I said before, I love all his other books.
I know I'm one of the very few non-effusive voices about this book, but I literally had a terrible time trying to get through it. It just didn't hold my interest very much. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty to like: I really liked the world-building for the Web of Worlds and the races of the First Federation. There was so much we didn't know about the First Federation after "The Corbomite Maneuver" that this book fills in. I also liked so many of the various character moments for the Enterprise crew-members.
However, I struggled a great deal to be interested in the Dassik. I knew they were supposed to look like Balok's puppet in "The Corbomite Maneuver", but my imagination kept imagining them looking something like a Nauusican, for some reason. The captain of the main-focus Dassik ship just annoyed the crap out of me (probably intentional, but it really turned me off). I also couldn't stand the Lennik leader (I am missing his name at the moment). I kept waiting for some reference to him twirling his mustache. I will also echo some comments someone made earlier about how both Kirk and Spock being involved with their respective First Federation females at the same time just seemed like too much.
I probably sound very harsh about this book and I am obviously in the minority. It just didn't work for me. However, I suppose that only one book that I didn't like out of the so many Christopher has written is a pretty good record. As I said before, I love all his other books.
Well, no book works for everyone. Thanks for giving it a try, though.
Not every villain dies or has a change of heart. Some stay as they are. @Christopher, it almost seemed like you were suggesting his story isn't over yet...
Actually, in the original version, Grun was killed by his second-in-command. But I decided there was a better way to resolve his story. I prefer not to portray violence as a solution.
You were getting tired of him too?
Just finished this today. Overall I liked it quite a bit. It was another nice tie in to the original episode. It is stated that the desire was to create the definitive First Federation story and it certainly is that. I bought both the e-book and audible version just so I could switch back and forth which is usually what I do when an audible version is available.
Anyway, it was interesting story if not a tiny bit predictable ending. I would certainly recommend the book. I had heard/read other reviews that indicates it draws parallels to climate change etc. After having read the book I guess that could be said but it did not come to mind. But while reading it it is to remember that this is science fiction after all and many things in sci-fi can be extrapolated to current affairs if one tries.
Thanks
Anyway, it was interesting story if not a tiny bit predictable ending. I would certainly recommend the book. I had heard/read other reviews that indicates it draws parallels to climate change etc. After having read the book I guess that could be said but it did not come to mind. But while reading it it is to remember that this is science fiction after all and many things in sci-fi can be extrapolated to current affairs if one tries.
Thanks
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Good news, everybody! I finally got around to doing the annotations to The Face of the Unknown:
https://christopherlbennett.wordpre...-unknown/the-face-of-the-unknown-annotations/
I got kind of backed up with other work for a while, but I finally had an opening in my schedule this week, so there we go at last. Sorry for the delay.
https://christopherlbennett.wordpre...-unknown/the-face-of-the-unknown-annotations/
I got kind of backed up with other work for a while, but I finally had an opening in my schedule this week, so there we go at last. Sorry for the delay.
Good news, as I see your annotations as an integral part of your novels.
Yay!
Re: Targus - I recognized the brand name, having once temp worked for two days at a warehouse unpacking bags by that company. 
I just finished this one. I've always been curious about the First Federation; it's nice to get an actual follow-up on "The Corbomite Maneuver."
I loved they way the Spock/Uhura relationship or lack thereof was addressed in the Prime timeline. I don't think it's ever been covered anywhere else in trek lit and it's interesting that it basically comes down to the circumstances of their first meeting.
I also really enjoyed was Spock's arc. His characterization in season 3 did seem a bit off. Tying his odd behavior to his 'break-up" with T'Pring makes a lot of sense and actually addresses how upsetting that experience really would be.
The climate change allegory with the Web of Worlds was quite good. When that plotline was introduced I was afraid the deniers would be portrayed as straw man type characters but I was quite really pleased that it presented both sides as a mix of reasonable and unreasonable people. It's always nice to read a book where people can be wrong without being evil or stupid.
The one thing that kept bothering me is that I kept on "hearing" and "seeing" Pine's Kirk rather than Shatner's. It's happened at some point while reading pretty much any TOS novel I've read since I've seen Star Trek Beyond. It did happen more frequently while reading this one but that might just be me.
I loved they way the Spock/Uhura relationship or lack thereof was addressed in the Prime timeline. I don't think it's ever been covered anywhere else in trek lit and it's interesting that it basically comes down to the circumstances of their first meeting.
I also really enjoyed was Spock's arc. His characterization in season 3 did seem a bit off. Tying his odd behavior to his 'break-up" with T'Pring makes a lot of sense and actually addresses how upsetting that experience really would be.
The climate change allegory with the Web of Worlds was quite good. When that plotline was introduced I was afraid the deniers would be portrayed as straw man type characters but I was quite really pleased that it presented both sides as a mix of reasonable and unreasonable people. It's always nice to read a book where people can be wrong without being evil or stupid.
The one thing that kept bothering me is that I kept on "hearing" and "seeing" Pine's Kirk rather than Shatner's. It's happened at some point while reading pretty much any TOS novel I've read since I've seen Star Trek Beyond. It did happen more frequently while reading this one but that might just be me.
Amen.
Well, Spock and Uhura were flirting heavily in "The Man Trap" and "Charlie X," before the network got jumpy about interracial romance and shut it down. (Although interspecies romance was fine, apparently...) So the difference is less than people think.
Honestly, climate change wasn't the main thing I was going for there, although that's certainly part of it. I was approaching it more in terms of the theme of coping with fear, of being so afraid of outside threats that it became self-destructive, and being too afraid to admit to being wrong or to face the need for change. The climate-denialism angle just sort of emerged out of that and out of the situation, though I certainly don't mind that it did.
Not a problem, as far as I'm concerned. These are just actors playing roles; you can mentally cast whoever you want, just as you can choose whether you want to imagine Kirstie Alley or Robin Curtis as Saavik, or whether you want to imagine Adam West's voice or Kevin Conroy's when reading a Batman comic. Remember, in the '09 movie, Spock Prime recognized Kirk and Scott on sight. So in-universe, they look the same. So I think it's fine to imagine either set of actors in either universe. Heck, these days I tend to default to imagining Bruce Greenwood as Pike even in Prime stories.
Do you have a place I could read more about this? I've never heard it before.
^It's just something I've heard somewhere, I don't recall where. It might just be conjecture.
It's not exactly what @Christopher is talking about I think, but apparently some executives actually wanted Spock to kiss Uhura in Plato's Stepchildren instead of Kirk:
http://www.cbr.com/tv-legends-revea...erracial-kiss-nearly-between-uhura-and-spock/
I appreciate that it wasn't sledgehammery (like say, "Let This Be Your Last Battlefield"). I guess allegory was a poor choice of word. "Having parallels" would be a much better descriptor. Anyways, it was fitting and timely the way Star Trek often is.
My wife saw the first Kelvinverse Star Trek before "The Man Trap" and "Charlie X" and was a little bit disappointed to learn that the flirtation didn't go anywhere in TOS. Also, the idea that Spock's professionalism and the fact they met aboard the Enterprise where he was her superior officer prevented a romantic relationship from forming dovetails nicely with the scene in the 2009 movie where Spock initially assigns Uhura to a ship other than the Enterprise due to their relationship.
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