Spoilers KEL: The Unsettling Stars by Alan Dean Foster Review Thread

[thribs]

Just finished the book. It was pretty good. A very slow burn with the aliens. I liked their way of taking control. Reminded me of the Aschen from Stargate SG-1. Making their tech freely available so they become less resilient and easier to subdue over time. Obviously they had different motives but their methods were similar.
I also found it interesting with a few alterations, this could have easily been a TOS novel. The only differences were Kirk's uneasiness being in command as he just became captain and the Spock romance. Alter that and it could easily fit.
The only issue I had with the story was the line saying that some of the crew had to give up their quarters as the ship wasn't big enough. The JJPrise is massive. I'm sure there would be a few rooms available for them.

 

[Christopher]

Joke about whether or not Chekov is TOS Chekov, or was born a few years later and is a different person with the same name.

Four years earlier, actually. He's 17 in 2258, while Chekov Prime is 22 in 2267. I figure he's a transtemporal "older brother," born to the same parents a few years earlier. I once had a theory for how it happened -- let's see, IIRC, when Starfleet started a new wave of Earth-based ship construction in reaction to the Narada attack, one of Chekov's parents got transferred to Earth four years earlier and thus they were able to start a family earlier. Something like that.

 

[Desert Kris]

Four years earlier, actually. He's 17 in 2258, while Chekov Prime is 22 in 2267. I figure he's a transtemporal "older brother," born to the same parents a few years earlier. I once had a theory for how it happened -- let's see, IIRC, when Starfleet started a new wave of Earth-based ship construction in reaction to the Narada attack, one of Chekov's parents got transferred to Earth four years earlier and thus they were able to start a family earlier. Something like that.

Oh, that's right. I'm sooo bad with math. I like that, plus the zany idea that the actual TOS "Pavel" Chekov is also born (even though it's scientifically impossible) and is named "Piotr" in the Kelvin timeline. It's the kind of thing that unsettles me, a little; but when I put it in perspective I can laugh about how it unsettles me. I have a strange sense of humor. It would be a fun breaking-the-fourth-wall recurring joke, kept vague and only hinted at.

 

[JWolf]

Can you tell from reading it that it’s the JJ version of the characters than the Prime ones? Can you imagine the story with the TOS crew?

I finished this earlier today and while reading it, I imagined the voices of both the Kelvin and Prime characters.

 

[JWolf]

There are a couple of things that bugged me about this book.

There was too much mentioning that Spock is a refugee. Also, in two places Spock called Kirk Jim where he should have said Captain. Those are my two biggest gripes with the book.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I like that, plus the zany idea that the actual TOS "Pavel" Chekov is also born (even though it's scientifically impossible) and is named "Piotr" in the Kelvin timeline.

My head canon is the name derives from prime Chekov's childhood imaginary friend - just the kind of thing an only child wunderkind would have.

Just read this book, and the one thing I was expecting but didn't get was some well-placed commentary at the end of the story about the Prime Directive's importance - y'know, do we (Starfleet/Federation) come off to some races the same way the Perenoreans do? - "Let us help you. We know better. We only want to help."

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

There was too much mentioning that Spock is a refugee.

I gather that it's supposed to be a point of connection between him and other adrift/diminished species, something he can sympathize with, as much as Spock can understand other hybrids/outsiders, being a child of two worlds himself in both realities.

 

[Kertrats47]

Just posted my review over on Trek Lit Reviews. Definitely enjoyed this one, especially the unique nature of the threat posed by the Perenoreans.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I wonder if they'll ever show up again in the 24th century (hopefully not as Borg bait).