Re: Some thoughts on Losing the Peace (spoilers for the book obviously
My thoughts, just one reader's opinions...
Kadohata: good riddance. She should have been busted back down to Lt. Cmdr. at least. And what happened to families on the ship? I know they unloaded the children before going to war, but now the parents should be able to have their families again, shouldn't they?
Choudhury: It's a good try, showing her dealing with her feelings all on her own, but she was badly in need of a guru at that time and there could easily be holograms of famous yogis to console her. And she should be singing this chant:
ya enam vetti hantaram
yas cainam manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijanito
nayam hanti na hanyate
rather than quoting the Buddha. I realize that to us westerners there seems to be a similarity between the schools of thought, but Indian people are either Buddhists or Vaisnavas, and the two are actually mutually exclusive. (Buddhists do not believe in God, and Vaisnavas do.)
This happened in the previous book, too, with Picard quoting Buddhist texts on the one hand and Choudhury referring to Krishna in her private space. That author said that the Indian peoples are open and inclusive, which is true to some extent, but only insomuch as the Vaisnavas acknowledge other monotheistic perspectives. On the subcontinent itself, the theists and atheists make it very clear where they stand and do not like peanut butter on their chocolate, or vice versa.
I like Choudhury more now than in the previous books. Somehow it seemed that her eastern inscrutibility was kind of a cliche. She wins poker hands because she lacks the desire to win? It was light-hearted and entertaining, but it didn't make me think she was real. Now that she has suffered this tragedy in her life, and chosen to live and act compassionately, she's got a lot more depth.
T'ryssa Chen: I'm glad she's got more lines in this book. She had, like, three total in all of Destiny, and those were mostly offhand remarks. Now she's back to contributing useful ideas in her colorful manner. And William Leisner makes it clear that she appers completely Vulcan to most people, so the sharp contrast between their assumptions and her behavior is accentuated.
Geordi: Wait... wasn't he supposed to get some non-holodeck intimacy? They beat the Borg. Was Ezri's chief engineer just teasing? Poor Geordi! Well, it was great to see that Worf at least has a renewed respect for him. That was a good exchange, and I put my own real world fantasy onto it, figuring that Avery Brooks was directing for Burton and Dorn, like a blast from the past, with a twist.
Worf: aka, the other male officer. He is really turning into an awesome Executive Officer. Back in 1st season TNG, all he really does is suggest using weapons. Then he grew up, had a kid, lost two Parmachis, made a career mistake that we all could understand, and went to be an embassador. But this is far better. He and Picard are like the two sides of the brain, and between them they seem to be able to arrive at good decisions. Is Choudhury right for Worf? Maybe... maybe... She mentioned the warrior caste from Indian tradition, and he seems to understand the surface meaning of the Bhagavad Gita, but I don't see Choudhury exploring his Klingon traditions with the same respect. Perhaps it is yet to be. I do think both sides of a couple have to have a deep respect for each others' traditions or it will never work. I think, if someone's going to love Worf, she's got to be willing to sit through some Klingon operas, and she's got to love it when he sings. All we've seen so far is that they work out together and once they made love, which they weren't sure was a smart thing, and now they are holding hands again. Ah well, there will never be another Jadzia.
The story: Wow. Today especially with all the sad destruction in Haiti, the mages of the refugee camp are compelling. William Leisner mentions the CBC study Anatomy of a Refugee Camp, but I also noticed an homage to a scene from Charlie Wilson's War. There's nothing quite like dropping a career politician into a refugee camp to shatter a few illusions! I also liked the phrase "Mack's Mess". I am sure we'll be reading about the restoration a bit longer.
Overall, it was a good book to read right after the Destiny trilogy because it clearly demonstrates that the story is not over by any stretch of the imagination, and there is so much more to come.
. I also enjoyed her story arc in "Losing the Peace".
.
