Spoilers TOS: Devil's Bargain by Tony Daniel Review Thread

[Relayer1]

Just about to start this.

I'm not really looking forward to it though. I haven't really enjoyed TOS novels much over the last few years, even the occasional good one - Ive just finished Allegiance in Exile and it was pretty well written.

I think its just that I find TOS books uninteresting...

 

[Therin of Andor]

I wondered about Nahrat too. I sort of imagined he was in there somewhere, and this was how some of the Horta (including him) ended up in Starfleet.

At first I was expecting Slider Dan to be revealed as Naraht at the end, but Naraht's introduction in "My Enemy, My Ally" doesn't suggest such a well-established rapport between Spock, Kirk and Naraht, simply that they "knew" his Mother. So leaving Naraht as the unnamed fifth member of Star Clan provides a bit of distance. A name drop at the end would have been fun, but I'm content that it was left open to fan interpretation.

 

[FatherRob]

My thoughts on the novel:
http://trekbook.blogspot.com/2013/03/march-2013-devils-bargain.html

 

[Sxottlan]

Decent with a lot of hit and miss. But mostly hit.

The characterization of the Horta was fantastic. It was so good that I hope this novel is used as the basis for any new Horta characters going forward. I had this vision of a post-script where Slider Dan arrives at Starfleet Academy and admissions mixes up his application and he's then called Cadet Dan Slider.

Liked the development of Vesbius as well.

The rest was a bit cookie-cutter, especially the relationship between Kirk and the love interest "of the week." Same for the villains.

 

[Stoek]

Decent with a lot of hit and miss. But mostly hit.

The characterization of the Horta was fantastic. It was so good that I hope this novel is used as the basis for any new Horta characters going forward. I had this vision of a post-script where Slider Dan arrives at Starfleet Academy and admissions mixes up his application and he's then called Cadet Dan Slider.

Liked the development of Vesbius as well.

The rest was a bit cookie-cutter, especially the relationship between Kirk and the love interest "of the week." Same for the villains.

The only nice thing about the love interest of the week is that Kirk now adays seems to be off the abstinence train that he seemed to be on via Arnoldian fiat back in the 90's.

 

[Relayer1]

As I am not a huge fan of TOS novels I have to say that I enjoyed this novel rather more than I expected to. The characterisation was good, the plot moved along nicely and it really captured that TOS feel.

I have some reservations about the orbital mechanics of an asteroid being weeks away and approaching as slowly as it did whilst still being too close to be diverted. Even a relatively small force acting over a long period has a measurable effect and the Enterprise could apply a lot more than a small force. Also, its weapons have been described as being able to lay waste to a planets surface - it could certainly have carved off chunks small enough to be handled by the tractor beams.

Putting that aside though, an enjoyable read. On to Weight of Worlds next...

 

[Christopher]

I have some reservations about the orbital mechanics of an asteroid being weeks away and approaching as slowly as it did whilst still being too close to be diverted. Even a relatively small force acting over a long period has a measurable effect and the Enterprise could apply a lot more than a small force. Also, its weapons have been described as being able to lay waste to a planets surface - it could certainly have carved off chunks small enough to be handled by the tractor beams.

Tell that to the folks who wrote "The Paradise Syndrome." There they had two months and weren't able to change the asteroid's course even a little. The best available fudge is that both asteroids were simply too massive. After all, a planet's surface is only a thin veneer, a fraction of its total mass.

 

[Paris]

Also, its weapons have been described as being able to lay waste to a planets surface - it could certainly have carved off chunks small enough to be handled by the tractor beams.

Tell that to the folks who wrote "The Paradise Syndrome." There they had two months and weren't able to change the asteroid's course even a little. The best available fudge is that both asteroids were simply too massive. After all, a planet's surface is only a thin veneer, a fraction of its total mass.

Exactly! I can burn the hair off an arm with a bic lighter easy enough, but i don't think i could cremate someone with it. In my mind, it's an issue of scale..

 

[MrPjax]

This book really pissed me off! It suppose to be a TOS series book yet all the characters are written to sound and act like the "Abramverse" Star Trek characters. The author must have done his research off the 2009 movie! I got to chapter 2 and thought I was going to vomit!!

 

[Therin of Andor]

This book really pissed me off! It suppose to be a TOS series book yet all the characters are written to sound and act like the "Abramverse" Star Trek characters. The author must have done his research off the 2009 movie! I got to chapter 2 and thought I was going to vomit!!

We definitely read different books.

 

[Kertrats47]

This book really pissed me off! It suppose to be a TOS series book yet all the characters are written to sound and act like the "Abramverse" Star Trek characters. The author must have done his research off the 2009 movie! I got to chapter 2 and thought I was going to vomit!!

We definitely read different books.

Agreed... I don't know where you got that impression, I didn't pick up on any "Abramverse" vibe whatsoever... what kinds of things led to that feeling, if I may ask? Like, what are some examples that led you to this conclusion?

 

[Relayer1]

This book really pissed me off! It suppose to be a TOS series book yet all the characters are written to sound and act like the "Abramverse" Star Trek characters. The author must have done his research off the 2009 movie! I got to chapter 2 and thought I was going to vomit!!

We definitely read different books.

Agreed... I don't know where you got that impression, I didn't pick up on any "Abramverse" vibe whatsoever... what kinds of things led to that feeling, if I may ask? Like, what are some examples that led you to this conclusion?

Utterly not JJverse. The TOSness of it was unmistakable...

 

[Enterprise is Great]

This book really pissed me off! It suppose to be a TOS series book yet all the characters are written to sound and act like the "Abramverse" Star Trek characters. The author must have done his research off the 2009 movie! I got to chapter 2 and thought I was going to vomit!!

Did the references to beer bother you that much?

 

[MrPjax]

This book really pissed me off! It suppose to be a TOS series book yet all the characters are written to sound and act like the "Abramverse" Star Trek characters. The author must have done his research off the 2009 movie! I got to chapter 2 and thought I was going to vomit!!

Did the references to beer bother you that much?

The first part that got me was when Spock was describing what is going to happen when the asteroid hits. He was going to throw a melon at the wall!! Nimoy's Spock would have never done that! Then there was the part where the daughter of the main guy overhears them talking in their room and she ask to come in and Kirk says, "Your welcome here anytime."

The Spock part was purely done is the style of the new movie. Plus, the TOS Kirk is a ladies man. The new Kirk is a womanizer and he only goes for a score record! Just see how he is banging Uhura's roommate in the movie and then moves quickly after her!! I have been a TOS fan for 40 years and have read tons of books. But this book is clearly written with the JJverse actors in mind!

 

[MrPjax]

We definitely read different books.

Agreed... I don't know where you got that impression, I didn't pick up on any "Abramverse" vibe whatsoever... what kinds of things led to that feeling, if I may ask? Like, what are some examples that led you to this conclusion?

Utterly not JJverse. The TOSness of it was unmistakable...

What??!! You need to reread you TOS Trek books from say 20 years ago and rewatch the show. This was clearly JJverse style characters!

 

[Christopher]

The first part that got me was when Spock was describing what is going to happen when the asteroid hits. He was going to throw a melon at the wall!! Nimoy's Spock would have never done that!

Why not? He wasn't above using dramatic visual aids in TOS, like the piece of cast rodinium he shattered in his hand in "Balance of Terror." And why would you think Quinto's Spock was any more likely to give such a demonstration? I don't remember any fruit-throwing in the movie.

Plus, the TOS Kirk is a ladies man. The new Kirk is a womanizer and he only goes for a score record! Just see how he is banging Uhura's roommate in the movie and then moves quickly after her!! I have been a TOS fan for 40 years and have read tons of books. But this book is clearly written with the JJverse actors in mind!

I have no idea what you're talking about. Kirk's romance here felt very much in the vein of his TOS romances to me. Yes, he was more openly sexually involved with the lady in question, but that's just because it's not 1960s TV and such things don't have to be hidden away anymore.

I think you just didn't like the movie and are afraid that it will change how the TOS characters are portrayed in other works, and so you're projecting that fear onto what you read. You're the only person I know of who's seen anything in this book that resembled the Abramsverse. I certainly didn't when I read it.

 

[MrPjax]

The first part that got me was when Spock was describing what is going to happen when the asteroid hits. He was going to throw a melon at the wall!! Nimoy's Spock would have never done that!

Why not? He wasn't above using dramatic visual aids in TOS, like the piece of cast rodinium he shattered in his hand in "Balance of Terror." And why would you think Quinto's Spock was any more likely to give such a demonstration? I don't remember any fruit-throwing in the movie.

Plus, the TOS Kirk is a ladies man. The new Kirk is a womanizer and he only goes for a score record! Just see how he is banging Uhura's roommate in the movie and then moves quickly after her!! I have been a TOS fan for 40 years and have read tons of books. But this book is clearly written with the JJverse actors in mind!

I have no idea what you're talking about. Kirk's romance here felt very much in the vein of his TOS romances to me. Yes, he was more openly sexually involved with the lady in question, but that's just because it's not 1960s TV and such things don't have to be hidden away anymore.

I think you just didn't like the movie and are afraid that it will change how the TOS characters are portrayed in other works, and so you're projecting that fear onto what you read. You're the only person I know of who's seen anything in this book that resembled the Abramsverse. I certainly didn't when I read it.

I guess only a true Trekkie like me would understand the difference. The Trekkers see all Star Trek as the same!

 

[Christopher]

^Okay, then. That clears up a lot. Goodbye.

 

[Relayer1]

^Okay, then. That clears up a lot. Goodbye.

And Pjax - I was reading TOS novels 20 years ago. And had been reading them for nearly 20 years by that point...

 

[DorkBoy [TM]]

I'm guessing Therin has been reading them close to 40 years by now as well. I've been reading them for 30 myself.

And I have to agree with Therin and Relayer1 - Devil's Bargain struck me as very (refreshingly!) old-school.

I guess only a true Trekkie like me would understand the difference. The Trekkers see all Star Trek as the same!

I had a friend in high school who used to make a similar distinction. Except in his mind a true star trek fan was a "Trekker" and a lesser fan was a "trekkie" or something. Used to crack me up.

Its like the people who insist they know the difference between a "geek" and a "nerd" and insist they're one but not the other.

Trekkie, trekker, nerd, geek - I happily answer to them all!