The Original Series is my least favourite of the Trek shows, so books
built around it are always a tougher sell for me than those set in other eras.
An exception to my lesser interest is non-Kirk centric novels like the
Vanguard books, which flesh out the backdrop and make the 23rd century
hold together with greater consistancy (in my mind, anyway). But I’ve mentioned
before that I love Christopher Bennett's books, and his take on TOS is one I
enjoy, probably because his novels are always above and beyond when it comes to
consistancy - how the plot holds together, in terms of character motivation and
development, and how they effortlessly tie continuity details and aspects of the
established universe into a tapestry that makes a great deal of sense. The
general silliness of some of TOS and TAS often puts me off, but somehow it all
seems reasonable when Bennett re-examines it. Forgotten History
is really convincing as an explanation for how Kirk's various time travel
experiences fit into something other than a string of episode ideas and it
further links that string of incidents into Federation legal, political and
scientific history with great success. The result is just very, very satisfying,
even before we get into the details of the writing or characterization, or even
the plot.
I suppose I’ll just mention a few things I particularly
liked.
I liked the Vedala; I don't recall them being used before (other
than in the original TAS episode and, presumably, its novelization). I
particularly appreciated the Vedala representative's satisfied response to
"peace and long life" - "that is most likely". Oh, to be a contented space-kitty. I get the feeling they appreciate
the gesture, but only in terms of what it shows about T’Nuri, the Vulcans and
the Federation, not for its intended purpose as a bridge between two individuals
(or societies). After all, the Federation is not the equal of the Vedala, it’s a
“child civilization”; it seems to be developing nicely but it’s not anything
they’d want to associate with. So I liked the slight sense of miscommunication,
as though something didn’t quite connect there, but we can see why given the
Vedalas’ general attitude. A give and take that ended up being a give and a "we
acknowledge your give", but not a take. Never mind. It’s good that Kirk, Spock,
T’Nuri, et al are too secure in themselves and/or humble to take offense.
I get the impression that the Vedala would respond with scorn if they tried the
“I can haz respect?” angle.
As ever, the Betelgeusians were fun, for
what little we see of them. T’Viss’ scandalized reaction to “nice juicy secrets”
made me chuckle. ‘Geusians are a memorable creation, for all that they’re rather
simple in concept. They remind me of possibly my favourite alien race in sci-fi,
which oddly enough is the Drazi from Babylon Five. They have a similar
ultra-competitive view of life that’s refreshing in its cheerful capacity for
causing trouble while remaining unconcerned with, indeed relishing, the outcome.
Of course, ‘Geusians are posturing predators obsessed with status and pack
hierarchy, not brawlers who fight from the belief that they’re affirming
themselves in a directly spiritual sense, but the comparison floats around in my
head nonetheless.
I suppose this is as good a time as any to note that I
always enjoy the humour of Bennett's books, particularly when it
relates to alien races and their quirks. It’s not played for broad comedy (the
aliens are portrayed too seriously - shall I say respectfully? - at least "good
heartedly" - for that), but instead develops naturally from what’s established
about their perspectives and racial psychology. There were other comical moments
interspersed through the novel, which again were nicely understated. The offhand
mention of T'Viss' alternate identity is a good example.
If I'm talking
about aliens and T’Visses (T’Vissii?) I should mention that the Vulcan
characters’ POV were highlights, which is another common response I have to Bennett's Trek works. I mentioned in my BBS review thread for
Storming Heaven that I imagine Vulcans must be challenging to write;
they’re so frequently used that there’s even more need than usual to explore
Vulcan individuals rather than have their race define the characters; despite
that, they have to work within the rich framework of culture that’s been
developed for Vulcans. The Vulcan POV and Vulcan discussions always seem fresh
and engaging in Bennett's novels, this being no exception.
As
a final point regarding aliens and cultural identity, I liked how Mars had a
Tellarite councillor, not a human one. And that he’s apparently personally
invested in exploring the historical role of his planet’s Tellarite population.
That’s a nice detail to reinforce the complexity of the Federation. It’s not
just an alliance of multiple worlds and species, but of all the little cultural
microclimates that result when they interact with each other in any one of a
million ways. They should all intersect, albeit some more than others. So it was
nice to see Martian Tellarite added to the Federation’s complement.
On
the character angle, I like how Delgado and Grey’s relationship and shifting
motivations occurred “off camera”. I know that’s to maintain the surprises
inherent in their final characterizations (I’ll get to that in a bit), but it
came across as something more. It contributed to the sense that this is a fully
realized universe we just happen to be intersecting for a particular story; it
gives the impression that people have lives outside of the main plot or the
purview of the reader. I suppose that reinforces too that I’m a fan of the
universe itself and not just the stories, and that the best novels give the
impression of worlds largely than those we see.
As for the conclusion, I
liked how Kirk’s status as the bogeyman of the DTI is now almost official. That
it's close to being the acknowledged, deliberately constructed role his memory
plays in their mythology. I thought it quite fitting that Lucsly faced the
revelation that things weren’t as he insisted, while also finding new
justification for retaining his original attitude, which he now expresses as a
knowing fiction (semi-fiction?). We were given a little character development
for Lucsly, but of a sort that results in his reaffirming his routine behaviour.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. And I suppose that nicely
sums up Lucsly’s aims in life, doesn’t it, in more ways than one? Adapting where
needed, but towards a goal of keeping everything as it is and avoiding
disruptive change. Holding chaos at bay – or, if that doesn’t work, being
selective in your own perceptions so you can ignore chaos until it goes away and
you’ve only got order to work with. It’s self-delusional and almost
distastefully stubborn, but that’s not unwise for a DTI agent, as we’ve been
reminded several times.
Kirk’s partial begrudged redemption/renewed
demonization in the eyes of the DTI also carries with it an important thematic
point about how people relate to one another across distance, which is one way
of describing what history in fact is. The impression Kirk ended up leaving on
the DTI, or the impression Lucsly and co winded up with, assists the DTI as an
invaluable part of their professional code of conduct. He shapes their actions
and the idea of him influences them for the better – their own “better” and that
of the galaxy. Kirk’s legacy helps to preserve the timeline, which I’m sure is
exactly what he would have wanted had he known his memory would become yoked to
the day-to-day realities of temporal investigations. The important point is that
this is the case whether they understand him or not; indeed, despite the fact
that Luclsy’s idea of him is distorted, and that he’s being used as a “Donny
Don’t”. He is what they make him, at least in terms of what actually matters to
them. That’s a big theme here, or at least I decided it was (I can
reinforce that decision by pointing to the writing that led me to that decision!
Round and round goes my reasoning, becoming stronger and more stubborn with each
cycle!). People want to be understood for who they are and what truly motivates
them, but others aren’t always going to give you that; they may well get a good
view of you, so to speak, but they’ll still go away with a sense of you that’s
filtered through their own perceptions, and those perceptions are clouded by
basic emotional and psychological needs. It doesn’t mean that in accepting this
you’re turning your back on truth, it’s just that part of that truth is the fact
that you are the centre of your own perceptions (I’m reminded now of Ilia’s
father in Ex Machina, who wrote something along those lines in the usual
gentle “humans are the noble savage” manner. And I think also of the Vulcans,
who often refuse to accept that logic demands they take into account their
emotional biases).
But more importantly, knowing that the picture
someone has of another person is always unavoidably tinted by their own
subjective perception means also that the “you” they perceive might inspire them
in ways you can’t imagine; might help them or guide them in their own lives in a
way you wouldn’t have thought. The disappointment of not being “seen” 100%
accurately must be measured against this knowledge. That’s what Kirk brings to
this. And the disappointment in later discovering that someone isn’t what you
thought they were - when new insight or knowledge, or new interaction, leads to
the invalidation of your previous subjective idea of them, is what Grey brings.
Because Grey and Kirk are the two figures that define Lucsly, at least for our
purposes. Lucsly wants Grey to be what he wanted her to be, and has to
face (with Dulmur’s encouragement) the fact that instead she was her own person
with her own collection of motives, needs, successes and mistakes, many of which
are out of his grasp, in terms of his knowledge. But the idea of her
still aided Lucsly. And that is the real her to some degree, but it’s
also an incomplete and distorted version of her. It’s always good to know – and
pursue - the truth, always good to truly understand people as they are, but we
have to remember that those are ideals and we’ll usually fall short of them. And
we should perhaps be wary of thinking that this is always a curse. On the
subject of history, we need to balance our desire to see truth with the idea
that we'll be seeing a distorted image twisted for our own purposes, often
without intention - but that while we must acknowledge that this is happening,
it doesn't necessarily invalidate our responses.
In fact, I might say
that throughout the book there are many examples of people failing to be what
other characters - or the reader - want or expect them to be, instead revealed
in new lights provoking a change in perception...but not necessarily
invalidating the importance of the first idea we or the characters had of
them:
Lucsly’s hero isn’t squeaky clean and his devil isn’t the menace he
thought, but those myths are valuable and valid in their own way. Grey the saint
and Kirk the demon did indeed shape and aid the DTI, and Lucsly's life, even if
actual Grey and Kirk don't fit those images.
Admiral Delgado looks like
the standard “antagonist admiral” figure who’ll be behind all the plotting, but
rather than become zealously consumed by the sense of destiny which he reflects
on several times in the book, he turns over a new leaf...but he is in
fact still the mastermind behind the problem, despite this. He was
initially every bit as manipulative and single-minded as he appeared...but that
was only one side of him, and a different side comes to the fore when he faces a
moment of crisis that forces a re-evaluation. Yet he still fulfils the expected
role of “rogue admiral behind the problem”, while not being what we expected
from someone playing that role.
Grey wasn’t manipulated into helping him
as we might have thought; she helped him due to her genuine care for him while
quite aware that in the past he’d tried to play on her. Yet she herself
acknowledges that she has an empty social life and responds to his charms, even
if she knew what he was up to back before V’Ger. And she indeed ended up
compromised because of her interactions with him just as we might have
expected...but not in the way we might have expected.
T’Pring is
known to us as an unpleasantly selfish and manipulative individual, but that
doesn't describe the alternate T’Pring at all. Spock’s initial misgivings about
her - a woman that he knows isn't the woman he knows, so to speak - are thus
unfair and illogical – but are they invalid, given that he’s been shaped
by his experiences with his timelines’ T’Pring, that those are inevitably a part
of him? No, those misgivings aren’t invalidated, even if Spock understands he
must overcome them and judge this T’Pring on her own merit – and she indeed is
worthy of his trust. That of course is Spock's character post-V'Ger anyway, as Bennett writes it - learning to accept the validity of emotions and
emotional responses while ensuring they don't overshadow his logic and
reason.
All in all, I clearly found the novel very rich in terms of the
ideas and potential themes it explores. So that's very good, of
course.
Also, I just realized: The first director of the DTI was named
Grey. This is also very good.
No comments:
Post a Comment