Spoilers TOS: Allegiance in Exile by DRGIII Review Thread

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Enjoyed how the first part ended, with Kirk clearly wishing there had been an alternative to his act of vandalism, and McCoy wishing he hadn't pressed him on it, and Kirk and Wesley getting together for drinks.

Still, I see a lot of flaws.

 

[bfollowell]

OK, I guess I'm quibbling, and I certainly don't want to say anything that seems even remotely negative about Mr. George's wonderful writing as I've loved all of his ST novels to date. But...

...I just have one discontinuity/error. OK, when the research crews were down on Ağdam, one pilot or security officer stayed with each shuttlecraft and they were all killed during the missile attacks. At several points, the four are mentioned.

In chapter 4:
"at least four of our people are unaccounted for."
and
"and now four missing down on the planet."

In chapter 5:
"When the landing parties had returned to the ship, the captain had learned that four of the crew had been killed, each of them dying as the result of a missile strike on an Enterprise shuttlecraft."

Then, also in chapter 5 we see:
"But Kirk also wanted more than that. Seven of my crew were killed, he thought angrily. He did not wish to let that harsh fact stand without explanation."
and
"Kirk didn’t know, but he resolved to find out as much as he could about what had resulted in the loss of the city—and in the loss of seven of his crew."

OK, which is it; four or seven? I'm not too much further than chapter 5 and I keep wondering if we're going to find out who the other three dead crewmen are. Can I assume this is a mistake and let it go or will I find out later who the other three dead are?

Other than stressing over this silly little point, I'm thoroughly enjoying Mr. George's latest addition to TrekLit.

Thanks,
- Byron

 

[Ood Sigma]

^ IIRC, there were 3 killed on the ship, which, in addition to the 4 on the planet, made seven total dead.

 

[Defcon]

Yeah, the other three died on the ship

 

[bfollowell]

Yeah, the other three died on the ship

Thanks for the replies Ood Sigma & Defcon. That clears it up. Yes, I definitely forgot about the three crewmen on the ship. I just kept focusing on the crewmen that died planet-side, I guess because I think they were only mentioned that one time, but it seemed like they went out of the way to mention the four numerous times.

Thanks for helping me clear that up.

- Byron

 

[Scout101]

3 pilots, and presumably one from one of the other landing parties had gone back to the shuttle for lunch, as Sulu was in the process of doing. So 4 on the surface. 3 killed on the ship. 7 dead.

 

[Jarrod]

A note about this book that maybe someone can enlighten me on:

After a couple of weeks of not seeing this title arrive at my local bookstores, I asked the clerk at Barnes and Noble tonight if they were going to be getting any in stock. She told me that it was not going to be carried in the stores, and was only available for home delivery.

Any idea as to why this is?

 

[Kertrats47]

Weird! I was annoyed with Chapters because it didn't show up until four days after the release date. I would really be choked if they stopped carrying Star Trek altogether! Very strange.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Well, this could almost be titled, "Crucible: Sulu."

DRG certainly has a talent for putting characters well outside their comfort zones.

But my previous complaints about unnecessary information still stand, and in addition, I found it annoying that we never did find out why it was that Trinh seemed to take a positive delight in the notion of being destroyed and recreated when traveling by transporter, nor why, at first, she seemed to be running away from something.

 

[Ronald Held]

Still reading. So far this just seems foreshadowing of future events of Kirk.

 

[RonG]

Finished the book a couple of days ago..

At first I didn't get into it too much - the action sequences and the "archaeological" scenes dragged a bit IMO, and basically, it just couldn't compare with either of my favorite DRGIII works - the Crucible trilogy, or Serpents among the Ruins.

As the book progressed, though, I saw that this was actually a character piece, rather than an epic-scale TOS adventure. I have to say, that looked upon as such, the novel is quite good, and offers great characterizations for both Sulu and Kirk.

The addition of the (by now) much-discussed spoiler/s only added to my enjoyment.

In short - not an all-time favorite, but a great, deep TOS novel nonetheless.

 

[CaptainDonovin]

A note about this book that maybe someone can enlighten me on:

After a couple of weeks of not seeing this title arrive at my local bookstores, I asked the clerk at Barnes and Noble tonight if they were going to be getting any in stock. She told me that it was not going to be carried in the stores, and was only available for home delivery.

Any idea as to why this is?

This wtf moment you speak of is what finally drove me to Amazon, then kindle. I wasn't told our store (think it was Borders) didn't have it & it was the Friday after it was to come out. Think I had to go to a Borders across town, could have done B&N but had that rewards card thing. Frustrated me to no end.

 

[CaptainDonovin]

Great book, really enjoyed it. Was a little concerned about the Sulu/Kirk story because it reminded me a bit of the Maywether/Archer story. However, the revelation of the colonists identities & their foes was unexpected & the action was nicely paced. Also liked the bits about Kirk nearing the end of the 5-year. The whole thing gets a warm Bolian .

 

[toughlittleship]

I usually don't really like TOS novels, but the DS9 connection was enough for me to check it out. I enjoyed it, but I'd rather have the author writing DS9 novels.

 

[zarkon]

Really didn't like it

Barely any kirk-mccoy-spock interplay and what there was wasn't much good. There was one minute where kirk was super worried about spock being in trouble which was dealt with in a pretty weird manner that had me turning back to see if I had missed something.

Most of the book seemed to focus on kirks future leading into the lost years, which is boring as hell, or sulu, which I also didn't enjoy much. The big revelation at the end as to the identity of the aliens fell flat.

 

[Ronald Held]

I just got to the point where it was looking like the Mayweather/Archer relationship after the Kobayashi Maru was destroyed. Not very satisfying so far

 

[Scout101]

Felt like the Sulu part missed the payoff it was trying for. Bunch of things set up for the girlfriend, and then all just kinda dropped. Rest was ok, just didn't really feel like it 'worked' for me overall, the impact didn't really connect.

 

[DarKush]

A note about this book that maybe someone can enlighten me on:

After a couple of weeks of not seeing this title arrive at my local bookstores, I asked the clerk at Barnes and Noble tonight if they were going to be getting any in stock. She told me that it was not going to be carried in the stores, and was only available for home delivery.

Any idea as to why this is?

That is odd. I saw at least one copy on the shelf at my local Barnes and Noble.

 

[Markonian]

The big revelation at the end as to the identity of the aliens fell flat.

I thought the aliens would play a role throughout the book? So you have to guess which is Species B and which is Species A?

 

[zarkon]

The big revelation at the end as to the identity of the aliens fell flat.

I thought the aliens would play a role throughout the book? So you have to guess which is Species B and which is Species A?

They are used primarily as a catalyst for character change on the enterprise and secondarily as a bit of a mystery. The mystery part felt rather downplayed to me and the aliens aren't really given much insight into until the reveal.

Made me annoyed at the blurb - I'm used to useless blurbs, but this one was technically correct while totally missing the essence of the book