Star Trek: Death's Angel by Kathleen Sky (1981)

[Garrovick]

I enjoyed Death's Angel when I first discovered it around 1983 or so, but I'm darned if I can remember why now. I re-read it a couple of years ago and I agree with the criticisms of the way the characters were handled and also of the Elizabeth Schaefer character. But I will say that it has a truly awesome cover in my opinion!

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I've re-read it many times, over the years. Probably more times than the average Pocket ST novel. About as many times as I've read Trek to Madworld, by Sky's then-husband. Maybe close to as many times as I've read Spock's World, or The Vulcan Academy Murders (a much more satisfying murder whodunit, although murder whodunits are not my favorite detective subgenre), or How Much for Just the Planet.

Spoiler: I do take exception to the way it . . .

. . . makes M'Benga the culprit,

. . . but I don't take it too seriously (how can you take something seriously when nearly every non-Human, non-Vulcan character has his or her [or hir or its] name and anatomy contrived to produce a delightfully bad pun?)

If there's a novel that I "enjoyed . . . when I first discovered it" (i.e., when it first hit the bookstore shelves), but about which I now "agree with the criticisms," it would have to be Spock: Messiah. It had a few interesting concepts, but a lot of nasty notions.

 

[Therin of Andor]

That reminds me a bit of some of David Gerrold's comments in "The World of Star Trek" about ways he thought Star Trek could have been more realistic.

Gerrold himself demonstrated what he had written about in his "Whither Star Trek?" closing chapter of TWoST in his Bantam novel, "The Galactic Whirlpool". eg. He considered that regular transporters would be more believable if the crew often considered situations where they were too risky, so in TGW, a team went across to the destination and placed transporter pads there, to decrease the risk of a terrible accident.

TNG seemed to follow his transporter advice in "Power Play". Several of his other suggestions were in the Season One Writers' Guide, which Gerrold consulted on.

 

[E-DUB]

Now I don't know if it's just being older and more discerning or that the modern output of Trek Lit has refined our palates or what. But I remember enjoying that one when it debuted. The idea of being able to send forth a physical manifestation of oneself while dreaming and the fact that it happened to multiple characters was, I felt, an interesting concept.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I recall the aliens in this one being pure cheese.

But it was delicious cheese.

 

[Damian]

Gerrold himself demonstrated what he had written about in his "Whither Star Trek?" closing chapter of TWoST in his Bantam novel, "The Galactic Whirlpool". eg. He considered that regular transporters would be more believable if the crew often considered situations where they were too risky, so in TGW, a team went across to the destination and placed transporter pads there, to decrease the risk of a terrible accident.

TNG seemed to follow his transporter advice in "Power Play". Several of his other suggestions were in the Season One Writers' Guide, which Gerrold consulted on.

I plan on re-reading The Galactic Whirlpool to start my next summers camper reading. I read it years ago, I think the late 80's (probably not long after it saw a re-realease as that is the only Bantam novel I got brand new and it has the 80's release cover. But I don't remember any of it. Since I read all the other Bantam books now I figured I'd end with that one. I'm glad to hear it was a good book. I still have to read "Mission to Horatius"--I got my hands on a first edition at an antique store some time ago. I understand it's more a children's style--or young adults book--but it will be interesting to read a novel read contemporaneous to the series. Then I plan to re-read some of the 80's Pocketbooks novels. Desert Kris had and interesting thread about that: https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/tos-80s-novel-continuity-read-through.294008/. There were some interesting posts there about re-reading them in a certain order since authors like Diane Duane and Vonda McIntyre tended to carry over characters and/or storylines in their other books.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

The Galactic Whirlpool is essentially a rehash of Gerrold's very first ST spec outline, "Tomorrow Was Yesterday" (not to be confused with "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"; this was about a derelict Earth generation ship), with the addition of a dangerous spatial anomaly.

 

[Christopher]

The Galactic Whirlpool is essentially a rehash of Gerrold's very first ST spec outline, "Tomorrow Was Yesterday" (not to be confused with "Tomorrow Is Yesterday"; this was about a derelict Earth generation ship), with the addition of a dangerous spatial anomaly.

Yep. After Trek rejected it, he started to write it as an original novel, Yesterday's Children, but that ended up going in a completely different direction that had nothing to do with the title he published it under. Later on, he did an expanded edition that continued it beyond the original downer ending and gave it a happier ending that, in my opinion, subverted the original intention and made for a weaker story (but fortunately you can just stop reading at the original ending and it still works); that version was eventually retitled Starhunt. Then he finally wrote the Trek version of the original premise as The Galactic Whirlpool. Then, after getting dumped from TNG, he took his YC/SH characters and concepts and developed a TV pitch based on them, which eventually generated the novel Voyage of the Star Wolf and its two sequels (the first based on several episode outlines for the unmade show, the other based on his rejected TNG "Blood and Fire" outline). So Gerrold has gotten six novels out of that one outline.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Not bad for a rejected spec outline. (I knew about some of what you mentioned, but not all of it.)

Having mentioned Spock: Messiah a few posts back, I found myself reflecting on how even the more interesting ideas therein (like stealth telepathy at a distance via a technological device, and neural implants being relatively unremarkable) were not exactly Star Trek material, and the "nasty notions" (like the sheer misogyny inherent in the events that set the plot in motion) certainly weren't.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Spock: Messiah: "... neural implants being relatively unremarkable) were not exactly Star Trek material...

Also used by Roddenberry himself for his novelization of "The Motion Picture".

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Also used by Roddenberry himself for his novelization of "The Motion Picture".

For flag officers. To contact them under extraordinary circumstances. Not for just anybody.

 

[tomswift2002]

Also used by Roddenberry himself for his novelization of "The Motion Picture".

In terms of the novel I always had the feeling that Roddenberry’s neural communicator was from McCoy’s “reserve activation clause” line and how Deforrest Kelley was kind of pointing to his head while saying it, and as well as Spock’s kolinahr ceremenoy, and the way Nimoy turns his head, as if he felt something in his brain.

 

[Christopher]

In terms of the novel I always had the feeling that Roddenberry’s neural communicator was from McCoy’s “reserve activation clause” line and how Deforrest Kelley was kind of pointing to his head while saying it, and as well as Spock’s kolinahr ceremenoy, and the way Nimoy turns his head, as if he felt something in his brain.

Huh? Both of those were overtly explained in onscreen dialogue. The "reserve activation clause" was "In simpler terms... he drafted me!" And Spock turned his head because he was sensing "this consciousness calling from space," i.e. V'Ger.

 

[Therin of Andor]

In terms of the novel....

It was so we could see the Klingon fleet's destruction through Kirk's eyes, since he was the narrator of the novelization.

 

[Christopher]

It was so we could see the Klingon fleet's destruction through Kirk's eyes, since he was the narrator of the novelization.

Sure, but that could just as easily have been done by having Kirk watch the Epsilon IX transmission on a viewscreen. It was just as much about Roddenberry trying to add more futurism to Star Trek, and taking advantage of the novel format to introduce technologies that would be harder to convey onscreen.

 

[tomswift2002]

Huh? Both of those were overtly explained in onscreen dialogue. The "reserve activation clause" was "In simpler terms... he drafted me!" And Spock turned his head because he was sensing "this consciousness calling from space," i.e. V'Ger.

He may’ve been drafted, but both Kelley and Nimoy’s actions indicate that there was something in Spock and McCoy’s heads. And in the future, a “reserve activation clause” could be an implanted chip that only the person can hear or feel.

 

[Christopher]

He may’ve been drafted, but both Kelley and Nimoy’s actions indicate that there was something in Spock and McCoy’s heads.

Yes, Spock was reacting to something in his mind, which was explicitly meant to be V'Ger. And you're misremembering the McCoy scene -- at no point does he gesture toward his head.

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And in the future, a “reserve activation clause” could be an implanted chip that only the person can hear or feel.

Words do not work that way. A clause is not a device, it's an article in a legal document such as a contract or code of regulations. And reserve activation is a real-life military term -- it refers to calling up reserve personnel (such as the National Guard) to active duty.

 

[Therin of Andor]

how Deforrest Kelley was kind of pointing to his head while saying it...

Are you remembering a later film, when McCoy told Spock he had all his marbles?

 

[tomswift2002]

Are you remembering a later film, when McCoy told Spock he had all his marbles?

No. It’s TMP. Kelley and Nimoy in those two scenes seem to sell that the have something in their heads for the “reserve activation clause”.

 

[Christopher]

No. It’s TMP. Kelley and Nimoy in those two scenes seem to sell that the have something in their heads for the “reserve activation clause”.

Oh, for pity's sake. I posted a clip of the actual scene above. Watch it. McCoy does not gesture toward his head at any point in it.