Spoilers PRM: Der Ursprung allen Zorns / The Root of All Rage by Perplies & Humberg Review Thread

Maybe one day Big Finish will get it and we'll finally get the Daleks invade the Federation story.

 

That part at the end might by a ray of hope that they're seriously considering giving Star Trek the audio play treatment.

 

A Star Trek audio play would be the greatest thing ever. They have a branch in LA so it shouldn't be that hard to get some of the crew together.
I would even take an original story from them. Chances are it will be 1000 times better than whatever they put on that CBS All Access thing.

 

if anyone can trust anyone to take their property, treat it right and do a good job it's Big Finish.

Stargate and other licences have only stopped because of lack of sales or because the owners have decided to discontinue for whatever reason - apparantly they had a hard time trying to sell in America to the Stargate fans, having to explain what listening to audio drama is.

The Doctor Who lot over there love what they do and they've been doing Dark Shadows for over a decade now.

 

This is so. I wrote for all three series of BF's Stargate audios and worked as story editor on the final six-part series, and I recall it was an uphill struggle trying to get the fanbase on board, some were even actively hostile to the concept - but those who did "get" audio dramas enjoyed them. Looking back on it, I'm very proud of the work we did, there were some great stories.

 

James, if they do Trek dramas and you are involved I guarantee you at least one sale right here.

 

Yes. How is "Iad" pronounced? Like "Ian," only prodounced wid a stupped up doze?

Spoiler: I'm nearing the end, andI'm surprised that . . .

I'm surprised that, especially after Ensign Green's log entry (any relation to the Green who got eaten by the Salt Vampire?), Spock, seeing archaic weaponry, hasn't made the connection with the aggressivore who's been dubbed "(*)"

 

I just finished the US version of The Root of All Rage and rated it above average. Because it had been a few months since I read the first novel in the series I sort of had to re-familiarize myself with where we were at when that book ended, but I was pretty quickly able to get into the story. It takes place time wise before Prey but you can see some of the precursors here to what happens in Prey, and they also reference the events of Greg Cox' Q Continuum series. They also reference the events from the novel "The Battle of Betazed" as Lwaxana Troi makes an appearance here. Captain Picard also makes a cameo appearance.

They mystery of the Valiant's fate is revealed also. I have to admit I had forgotten the Valiant which had a brief appearance at the very beginning of the first book. Here the Prometheus and the Bortas finally come to the root of the rage . But how do they solve it? Well, we'll have to wait for the next book for that.

A good book about yet another crisis Starfleet must deal with and at the same time they have to prevent the Klingons from going on the offense. The Klingons are becoming impatient with Starfleet's investigation and just want to attack indiscriminately. You can see the relationship showing strain, again building up to what will occur the next year in Prey.

I guess if I have one complaint with the overall timeline since the Dominion War is that Starfleet has had to deal with one crisis after another without any let up. They want to focus on peaceful exploration but keep getting pulled into another situation. After the Dominion War there was the Borg crisis, the Typhon Pact, now the Renao and later the Unsung incidents with the Klingon Empire. and of course Section 31 among others. They are all great stories of course. But it'd be nice to have a period of time without an existential crisis. We'll probably have to wait a time for that because they are approaching the destruction of Romulus, which I imagine will have dramatic repercussions for the Typhon Pact. The Romulans seemed most inclined to live in peace with the Khitomer powers. With Romulus gone and the Empire I imagine crippled, will that lead to more conflict with the Breen and Tholians. I guess we'll find out (if the novels ever get back off the ground that is ).

 

The only reason this didn't get an "outstanding" from me is that, to me, it started too slow. (And given that I'm an Alan Dean Foster fan, it means something when I say something has a slow start.)

Also, for some strange reason, the Renao (at least as inflamed by the aggressivore in their space) remind me just a bit of Douglas Adams' Krikkiters, and Alan Dean Foster's Pitar, two sentient species who simply could not tolerate the existence of other life.

Now, mind you, I'm not accusing anybody of anything here, particularly since the Pitar and the Krikkiters are closer in concept to each other than the Renao are to either.

 

Its a complaint I heard / read expressed more than once, but IMO it makes little sense, or at least does not look at the "bigger picture".

First of all, between the Dominion War and the Borg Invasion there are *5 years*.. hardly "one after another".

Second, the incidents of Prey and Prometheus (and most of the incidents depicted in Trek) are basically localized events. Sure, they can be important event, with potential wider impact , but the stories themselves usually depict the actions of 1-3 ships in a very localized setting.

The Federation and its neighbors are Interstellar political entities, with BILLIONS of sentient beings, and the appropriate resources to support them, including military/peacekeeping forces. Thinking of (for example) the events of the Prey trilogy as something "Federation/Starfleet-wide" is quite incorrect .

 

@hbquikcomjamesl We explain your question in chapter 33. Spock has up to this day difficulties remembering the smaller things from his life before his death. I think that's not even something we invented.

 

To be honest, the Renao (in their inflamed state of mind) are based on every crazy xenophobe and bigot from every kind of background. They have an agenda and it's ridiculus, but somehow the Federation has to deal with it, because they are kind of dangerous in their fanatism. I think that's something we all know from daily news.

 

But Damian is right in one thing: Star Trek novels nowadays are more about military conflicts and politics than whales and singing aliens (= planetary adventures and exploration) like in the 80s.

 

Indeed. Which is another reason why I wasn't accusing anybody of anything: fanatical xenophobia is, unfortunately, as common as cowpats (and let's face it, that's a very appropriate simile). For those unfamiliar with Douglas Adams (which seems unlikely), see this article on Krikkit, and this one on the reason for their fanatical xenophobia. And for those unfamiliar with ADF's Pitar, see this article on the novel that finally delved into their backstory.

And yes, we need more strange new worlds. More new life and new civilizations. More boldly going where none have gone before.

 

Yeah, I guess so. It's guess it's not a complaint so much as an observation. I guess part of it is that there is sometimes a gap of months between books so I'm probably reading less time then there really is between stories.

And some of the best books have taken place during these incidents, like the Destiny series and the Prometheus books. The Prey books were pretty good too, but I didn't enjoy them quite as much as Destiny, some of the Typhon Pact Books and the Fall Series (and it's true those are hard acts to follow_.

I thought it started off ok. I kind of needed some of the exposition to remind me of where we left off since it has been a few months since I read the first book.

But I rated it above average. For me to rate a book 'excellent' it really has to blow me away. The Destiny novels I would rate as excellent. It's a very high bar for me. Basically a book I can't put down.

The Prometheus novels kept me engaged thus far though. Esp. some of the answers they found. I actually went back to re-read the first chapter of the first book with the Valiant because I have to admit with everything going on I had forgotten about them and needed a refresher. It was interesting to re-read that section knowing what I know now about what the cause was. I'd actually recommend people who finished book 2 to just go back and re-read that chapter. It's very interesting in retrospect.

 

I don’t think that Valiant chapter in the first book was a good idea as it gave away the threat to the reader too soon before it finally took Spock to connect it all 600 pages later.
Maybe if they just had the occasional hint throughout it would have been a better mystery.
That or have the reveal at the end of the first book.

 

I had to look, in order to be sure which question you were referring to. At least in the English translation, there isn't a chapter 33; Spock's meditation scene is in chapter 30.

Left unanswered is the other question: how exactly is Iad pronounced?

 

Well that's new! My German copy of Der Ursprung allen Zorns has 33 chapters, a prologue and an epilogue. Chapter 33 should be the last chapter and it's "heading" is "November 25, 2385 I.K.S. Bortas" and it has Spock mediating, so I guess that means they shifted chapters? Why would they do that?

 

I have to admit that I'm having trouble finishing it.
My biggest complaint is that it is preachy in the extreme and unsubtle in its delivery. All the anti-Renao suspicion and hostility is presented through straw-man hotheads who aren't the least bit sympathetic and frankly come across as raving mad. While I agree with the intent, that blaming a whole race or peoples for the actions of a minority of militants is a Wrong Thing, I think the situation is more complicated than the picture given here. That sort of thinking abounds not because of unreasoning hatred. The fact is, it is NOT unreasonable to become suspicious of a specific identifiable group when all you've been shown is the extremists attacking you. If you run into three redheads in a hallway and every one of them takes a swing at you, you are not being bigoted or narrow minded if you become wary and on guard when a fourth redhead comes walking toward you. Even if you know, intellectually, that there is a whole room full of perfectly friendly and peaceable redheads just around the corner. We react to what we are shown. We are programmed, hardwired, to identify possible threats and be cautious about encountering more like them.
I'm not arguing FOR racial profiling or blaming a whole species/race/ethnicity, I'm just saying that it is harder to stay calm and non-judgmental than it is to react with fear and hostility. It is important that the peaceful majority be shown, as often as possible. People inflamed by fear don't need scolding, they need reassurance, they have to SEE that the minority IS a minority. After that, it's much easier to calm things down.
I wish the idea was presented with a bit more finesse than I've seen in this novel. It's...annoyingly simplistic.
I like the characters, which is the one thing keeping me going.

 

Keep reading. The hotheads are hotheaded for very good reason.................