Spoilers PRM: Feuer gegen Feuer / Fire with Fire by Bernd Perplies & Christian Humberg Review Thread

[F. King Daniel]

I wonder why Beyond was the only Kelvinverse film to have the UT work that way. Didn't happen with the Romulans in ST09...unless they were actually speaking English which I kind of doubt.

Actually, part of the deleted Rura Penthe scene had Nero and his Klingon interrogator speak in English, as it was the only language both understood.

They also planned to have the Romulans speak subtitled Romulan for most of the movie (and Marc Okrand created a Romulan language especially for it, which only appears in background radio chatter in the finished movie), but plans were changed.

 

[tomswift2002]

I just finished “Fire With Fire”. I voted Outstanding and it is going to be tough waiting to May for “The Root Of All Rage”

 

[Enterprise1701]

^Yeah, of course, but in a case where a version with the characters speaking their own language is actually available (which it obviously can't be with an alien language, except maybe Klingon), it just feels more natural than a version where their speech is translated into a different language. That's why Steamboy is the exception to the rule for me. If the characters are meant to be speaking Japanese, I want to watch it in Japanese. (I recently rewatched My Neighbor Totoro with my cousin, and I was disappointed that she wanted to watch it in the English dub, because I could tell where some things were altered from their original sense and it felt less authentic.) But if the characters are meant to be speaking English, it would feel just as incongruous to watch it in Japanese as it felt to watch Totoro in English. It's not confusing fiction with reality, it's just wanting the fiction to feel as authentic as possible.

Of course, it's a moot point in this case, since I can't read German anyway.

Out of curiosity, Christopher, by your standards, would you prefer to watch Othello (in play, movie, or whatever format) in Italian? Cause I'm pretty sure Shakespeare, due respect to him, was not an expert on realistic Venetian culture.

That's something that's always gotten to me on the shows, why doesn't the UT ever translate "Qa'pla!"? Or even worse, Worf says something in Klingon and immediately afterwards he or someone else provides the English translation. Like when he mentioned the Yanis'leth, and Dax immediately translated "Brotherhood of the Sword." Why didn't the UT provide that rightaway when Worf first said it.

You know I find to be a completely bullshit scene in Trek? That part in TNG - "A Matter of Honor" when Kargan and Klag are speaking in Klingon, Riker can't understand what they're saying, and we the audience see subtitles. What the hell? Riker is wearing his combadge the whole time; why the hell wouldn't it work for a major language known to the Federation?

 

[Christopher]

You know I find to be a completely bullshit scene in Trek? That part in TNG - "A Matter of Honor" when Kargan and Klag are speaking in Klingon, Riker can't understand what they're saying, and we the audience see subtitles. What the hell? Riker is wearing his combadge the whole time; why the hell wouldn't it work for a major language known to the Federation?

Because the idea that translators were built into combadges hadn't been established yet, I think. And translators only exist when it's convenient to the story for them to exist.

 

[Bernd Perplies]

I voted Outstanding and it is going to be tough waiting to May for “The Root Of All Rage”

Thanks you! Perhaps you could drop a line on Amazon, because we really get some weird reviews there. I mean someone deducted three stars, because there are names with hyphens in the book (1), it is part of a series (2) and he was not warned, that it is part of a series (3) - which is not even true. I don't mind if someone doesn't like our style or the translation or the concept of a 50th anniversary book with some deliberate cameos. But this is ... odd to say the least.

 

[tomswift2002]

Thanks you! Perhaps you could drop a line on Amazon, because we really get some weird reviews there. I mean someone deducted three stars, because there are names with hyphens in the book (1), it is part of a series (2) and he was not warned, that it is part of a series (3) - which is not even true. I don't mind if someone doesn't like our style or the translation or the concept of a 50th anniversary book with some deliberate cameos. But this is ... odd to say the least.

I wonder if they were thinking that with Titan publishing that it would be in no way connected to the Pocket line (although now that Cross Cult/Titan are publishing books in the line, I guess it can’t be called the Pocket line).

 

[Bernd Perplies]

although now that Cross Cult/Titan are publishing books in the line, I guess it can’t be called the Pocket line

Well, I think we can call it Pocket line nontheless. "Prometheus" was an exception of the rule and we tried to fit in the US storyline as good as possible. It's not that we changed the universe. Although we tried to give our story some sense of importance. Moreover I'm not sure there will be more stories beyond this trilogy. This project was very expensive for Cross Cult (it's much more expensive to create original Trek than translate it) and it was their 50th anniversary birthday present to German fans. That said I'm always ready to come back aboard the Prometheus.

 

[Bernd Perplies]

By the way: Thanks for weighing in on the book on Amazon!

 

[tomswift2002]

I wonder whether either of those Kindle readers actually read the book, or just figured that with it being a translation it wouldn’t be worth it, fearing that it might along the lines of a bad dub of a Japanese film.

 

[Bernd Perplies]

Perhaps you are right. Admittetly sometimes the style is not quite as elegant as it would be if the text was written by a native speaker. And since English-speaking readers are not that accustomed to translations it might stand out more than it would do in Germany. Wer read and watch translated books, tv-shows and movies all the time. So we have a lot of practise translating English media and ignoring the occasional flaw in a translation (even in Japanese monster movies).

 

[Enterprise1701]

Is Paul Winter's name meant to be pronounced in the German style, per his German upbringing?

(I haven't had the chance to get through my copy yet.)

 

[Bernd Perplies]

Yes. But I think most of his colleagues make a compromise. They say Paul like "Powl" in German but opt for Winter with an English pronunciaton. (At least if they are native English speakers. I don't know what the universal translator makes of the name if an Andorian or a Vulcan is calling Paul. )

 

[Enterprise1701]

When the novel says that the EMH's nickname is "Tric", short for "tricorder", should that be pronounced like the English word "trick", or the word "trike"?

 

[The Wormhole]

I assumed it was pronounced "trike."

 

[Bernd Perplies]

In German we pronounced it like "trick", because it's a "trickorder" (well, to be honest, it's a "tree-korder", but "tric" nevertheless sounds like "trick".) However in English "trike" might be correct. I would say it's totally up to the reader. There is no right or wrong, because different language versions of a book just change things. (Perhaps the most famous example: In German Dr. McCoy isn't called "Bones" (Knochen) but "Pille" (Pill) )

 

[Markonian]

(Perhaps the most famous example: In German Dr. McCoy isn't called "Bones" (Knochen) but "Pille" (Pill) )

Aye, that’s why Kelvin!McCoy tells Kirk losing everything to his wife was “a bitter pill” in the German translation.

 

[Christopher]

In German we pronounced it like "trick", because it's a "trickorder" (well, to be honest, it's a "tree-korder", but "tric" nevertheless sounds like "trick".) However in English "trike" might be correct. I would say it's totally up to the reader.

In English, I think it would have to be "trike." The word "tricorder" is always pronounced in English with a long I sound, as in "try" (or as in German drei). The etymology of the word is basically "tri-function recorder," since the creators of TOS were inspired by the portable audiocassette recorders that were cutting-edge technology at the time and thought it would be so futuristic if they had three whole functions at the same time (sensor/computer/data recorder). And TOS loved coining futuristic names by sticking numerical prefixes on existing words, like dilithium, tri(ti)tanium, tricobalt, etc.

Although I suppose if "Michael" can be shortened to "Mick," then "Tricorder" could be shortened to "Trick."

 

[Bernd Perplies]

Although I suppose if "Michael" can be shortened to "Mick," then "Tricorder" could be shortened to "Trick."

That's a very nice thought. I think I stick to that. (Especially since "trike" is a vehicle for small children with three wheels. That's not really what we meant with the name. )

 

[Bernd Perplies]

the creators of TOS were inspired by the portable audiocassette recorders that were cutting-edge technology at the time and thought it would be so futuristic if they had three whole functions at the same time (sensor/computer/data recorder).

We have to admit it is quite futuristic even today. I mean smartphones are really advanced in terms of computing power and data recording, but their sensor capabilities are very limited compared to those of a tricorder.

 

[thribs]

It was pretty good. Surprised Spock isn’t in hell- I mean the JJVerse yet. Must be later on.
With to who’s behind this, I’m going with the Star Trek Online answer by saying Iconians.
What was up with the Aventine? They have Slipstream as well do they could have helped. Just seemed odd that Alex went on that ship to be delivered to the Klingons when he could have just rode all the way and rendezvoused with the Prometheus while the Klingons caught up.