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Enterprise: Surak's Soul (Star Trek)
by J.M. Dillard
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Star Trek (2003-04-07)
ISBN: 0743462807
EAN: 9780743462808
Dewy Decimal #: 813
Mass Market Paperback: 218 pages
SKU: B450-1067
Condition: New
Comments: In stock - Immediate despatch from an efficient and professional leading British bookselling firm.
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Customer Reviews
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A bit misleading
Rating  (2)
Date: 2008-07-12
I feel this book is better than two stars, but judging by other books I gave three stars, it would be unfair that I rated them so harshly by comparison.
This is the first J.M. Dillard novel I have read that wasn't a novelisation of an episode or film, and so I was expecting some good characterisation, and some good insights into the characters' thoughts and feelings. The book starts off promising enough, with a dip into T'Pol's past, and Vulcan thoughts on the matter of violence and self defence.
Once again, the crew is there to witness the complete destruction of a planet's inhabitants (reminiscent of Shockwave), and this quickly turns into a mission to stop the crew being preyed upon by what is essentially a talking cloud (very TOS theme, and not unlike the episode The Crossing). This culminates in the crew being holed up in Engineering to protect themselves (not unlike The Catwalk).
The characters are fairly accurately portrayed, although, there isn't as much discussion regarding necessary violence and the implications as I would have liked, and as the title implies. Instead, it draws somewhat in T'Pol's experiences in The Seventh, and doesn't really go as deep as that episode did in to T'Pol's polar opposite feelings on self defence versus one being's right to live over another. One thing I'm always aware of is Mayweather's contribution, since he got such short shrift on the show. This book is no exception as he is relegated to a few "yes, sir" moments sat at the helm...
The book is quite short tho, and is a quick and fairly easy read. It'll definitely pass a night or two. Although the conclusion seems to me be a little rushed, and I feel Dillard didn't capitalise on a golden opportunity to explore the Vulcan and Human ideas of peace and necessary killing, or on the emotion resulting from Enterprise literally witnessing the last few moments of a once beautiful civilisation. Certainly not the worst Trek book out there, a pleasant enough read overall.
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Surak's Soul is Souless
Rating  (1)
Date: 2003-05-21
12 out of 13 customers found this reveiw helpful
From the beginning of Enterprise T'Pol has shown perhaps the most promise amongst the cast. Quick and fiesty - she is surely a winner amongst Trekkies. This book does not do her justice. The premise of the book is that a nasty alien goes around sucking energy outta the crew, and once again they feel the need to communicate and sympathise with it, instead of killing it and saving themselves. This is all despite the usual fact that it has already killed a member of the crew. On the T'Pol side of the matters, little insight is gained. A few pages dedicated to her past and a few discussions with Archer about passive resistance. The rest of the crew meanwhile is playing around with Mechano sets to help whip up some techno bable to beat the nasty alien. This book is a complete let down. Its content overall is very thin, oversides margins and what i think is size 13 font, its very sparse. It only took me so long to read because it was so boring and i needed to keep taking breaks from it. A complete failure to do T'Pol's character justice.
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Possibly the worst Star Trek book ever
Rating (1)
Date: 2003-04-29
8 out of 10 customers found this reveiw helpful
If it wasn't for all the familiar names, you could forget you were reading a Trek book at all.
If you're expecting a fascinating insight into Vulcan history and philosophy, or the character development we have all come to enjoy (and dare I say expect) from Trek's best writers, DON'T read this!
The book is short (218 pages in larger-than-usual font), poorly written with a totally unengaging story, and the writer shows absolutely no understanding or care for the "Enterprise" characters and style that have now been well established over 2 TV seasons.
Apart from the front cover, Surak barely gets a mention in the book - far more time is devoted to an extremely simplistic assessment of Mahatma Gandhi than to development of a decent story, or use of Trek-lore. The book is also shockingly low on the sci-fi/tech factor.
This is the first time I have ever said this about a Trek book, and I'm disappointed to be doing it now, but.....I feel very strongly that this book has let the side down, and I wish I hadn't wasted my money on it.
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