What did you all think?
My thoughts (relatively spoiler-free, though I imagine later ones might not be):
This is a really cute story, a really fantastic authorial job at finding a hole in the TOS tale and filling it beautifully. Sure, it’s a little bit small-universe-syndrome-y to have Leila and Carol end up working together, but I’ll grant it, because it really makes a neat little twist of intersecting stories to play with.
Oddly, seeing Kirk and Spock as young people dealing with balancing personal affairs and work sort of makes me relate to them more, or at least in a different way, than I have before; the story resonated unexpectedly as a result. On top of that, the book plays with issues of environmentalism vs. progress that are incredibly important topics right now, but without at all being preachy; the discussion here is a genuine discussion from both sides, and while I know which side I fall on by and large, I feel as though many of Star Trek’s strongest moments have been in presenting conflicts like this fairly, rather than doing the all too common preaching at the audience that Something Is Wrong.
The romantic tension and social awkwardness in the Leila / Spock relationship is really hilariously constructed, too. A tiny little romantic comedy, but without the silliness. It doesn’t read anything like Abrams’s version of Spock at roughly the same age, but it’s certainly believable as Nimoy’s portrayal.
In all, it’s clear that this story was a story the authors wanted to tell and loved to write; it’s full of charm and emotion and surprisingly deep explorations. The plot’s a little thin, and the book’s a little short, but neither of those is actually a problem. It’s not an ambitious book, and it’s not an ambitious story, but it accomplishes everything it sets out to do beautifully. I definitely enjoyed and recommend it highly.
My thoughts (relatively spoiler-free, though I imagine later ones might not be):
This is a really cute story, a really fantastic authorial job at finding a hole in the TOS tale and filling it beautifully. Sure, it’s a little bit small-universe-syndrome-y to have Leila and Carol end up working together, but I’ll grant it, because it really makes a neat little twist of intersecting stories to play with.
Oddly, seeing Kirk and Spock as young people dealing with balancing personal affairs and work sort of makes me relate to them more, or at least in a different way, than I have before; the story resonated unexpectedly as a result. On top of that, the book plays with issues of environmentalism vs. progress that are incredibly important topics right now, but without at all being preachy; the discussion here is a genuine discussion from both sides, and while I know which side I fall on by and large, I feel as though many of Star Trek’s strongest moments have been in presenting conflicts like this fairly, rather than doing the all too common preaching at the audience that Something Is Wrong.
The romantic tension and social awkwardness in the Leila / Spock relationship is really hilariously constructed, too. A tiny little romantic comedy, but without the silliness. It doesn’t read anything like Abrams’s version of Spock at roughly the same age, but it’s certainly believable as Nimoy’s portrayal.
In all, it’s clear that this story was a story the authors wanted to tell and loved to write; it’s full of charm and emotion and surprisingly deep explorations. The plot’s a little thin, and the book’s a little short, but neither of those is actually a problem. It’s not an ambitious book, and it’s not an ambitious story, but it accomplishes everything it sets out to do beautifully. I definitely enjoyed and recommend it highly.
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