I need to speed this up a bit; then again, I have a lot to say. Chapter five:
"Meanwhile, on Sauria..."
Trip has a subplot in this novel, naturally, and it ties in with the established arc on Sauria, where he's now undercover as both his brother and his dead clone. I like this slow-burning Sauria arc, which presumably will come to a climax in later books. Having subplots threading slowly through the series is appropriate to what in many ways is unavoidably an historical world-building exercise - the major lure of this series is, of course, the "rise of the Federation", and that's by definition a process. RoTF is primarily focused on a particular section of the timeline rather than a part of the setting or a character, though naturally it zooms in selectively there as well. So it's good to see things unfolding in steady development across multiple books. These shouldn't be disconnected adventures, as much as telling a self-contained story is important; there has to be a backbone to it. Sauria seems a good choice, since we can see how this will blossom into a major dilemma for the UFP on multiple fronts - politically, militarily, philosophically, morally.
A Date to the Prom(ellia):
A surprising piece of world-building now when we're outlined the history and origin of Babel. Besides nods to established snippets like the Ramatis Choral Debates (mentioned in A Less Perfect Union), Menthar and Promellia are brought up as integral to the history/mythology of the place -something I really wasn't expecting. I like novels like these for fleshing out a universe I love in even greater detail (among other reasons, naturally), but sometimes my love of the continuity details can be a bit methodical, obsessing over the trivia and minutiae as I do. Compared to, say, the emotional impact or the enjoyment of the prose, that part of my response to a Trek story is a little one-note. So it's nice to have a continuity link that truly takes me by surprise.
I also note the implicit confirmation that the various reused Promellian makeups (Algolians, "Pardshay's race") are indeed Promellian descendants (I guess that explains how Algol, too, supports complex life?). I suppose Menthar and Promellia, with their epic, doomed struggle waging across the stars, are suitably mythic in concept to be the creators of Babel. And, really, for the name to really work there had to be a colossal failure tied into its creation, a massive undertaking that just didn't succeed. The Menthar and Promellians, consumed by their great holy war, presumably ran afoul of the trap Thoris was telling us about. We all know it wasn't the gods that caused them to fail. Still, they left a legacy for the rest of the galaxy, so there's that.
The scene at Babel gives us another look at the ideological divide within the young Federation; I suppose it's only realistic that they'd form unofficial camps, even if not (thank the gods) official parties. Internal Federation politics is an area that could always use more exploration, no matter which era we're in. In many ways, it's even more interesting than the international politics. If you offend the Tholians, they'll go behind their borders and sulk for a few decades, shoot you a few evils, refuse to trade with you or, if they're feeling particularly testy, blow up an outpost or two and then just ignore you when you shout at them. You haven't got it so easy when you're disagreeing with your committed friends and allies. When you're entangled with someone, when you all want to remain engaged and committed and unified, but you find one another's positions suspect, distasteful, foolish or just plain wrong, the consequences are both so much less severe and yet so much more unpalatable.
Where's my wife and family? What if I die here? Who'll be my role model, now that my role model is gone?
T'Rama makes a good impression (did she ever do much in the Romulan War books other than exist as a continuity easter egg? Not that I, of all people, am complaining about continuity easter eggs, but I think this is really the first real exploration of her character we've had. I'll count it as her introduction). Not a bodyguard any more, she's here on Babel to give us some Vulcan goodness.
Also, this is Sarek's chronologically earliest appearance. He doesn't get much to do, but then he doesn't have limbs or distinct organs yet, so there we are.
Between Ericson earlier in the book and all this (interesting) talk of balancing family with other concerns, it seems that the novel is indeed having Archer examine the missing domestic aspect to his life, a rather fresh look at the character. Well, he's not directly commanding a ship anymore, he should be widening his priorities. I also liked the implicit comparison-contrast between Vulcan and Rigelian societies (you'll recall my enthusing about Orion-Tellarite comparisons last book).
Next time: Pink smiling hypnotic lizards! Someone's been in the Saurian Brandy, I fear.
Looking forward to the next installment.
