Strange New Worlds: Review
mecu...@alumni.princeton.edu
few days I will be posting a "deconstruction of the editors", with my
suggestions about what you might put in a submission for SNW II.
All of this is emphatically unofficial. I have no connection whatsoever
with Paramount, Viacom, Pocket Books, or John Ordover. Obviously, I have
bought the book and read it, and I urge anyone who's serious about SNW
II to do the same.
I am a professional book reviewer and editor, and these are my
professional opinions. If you (or a friend of yours) wrote one of the
stories I review here, bear in mind that (a) I am only saying, honestly
and occasionally bluntly, what *I* think; but (b) I do this sort of
thing as my job. Like most critics, I'm an egomaniac, but my opinions
are based on experience and on a volume of reading (all kinds) that
no-one on this newsgroup can better (how do I know? 'cause your brain
would melt -- mine almost does).
TOS
"A Private Anecdote," Landon Cary Dalton. Grand Prize Winner. The
paralysed Christopher Pike thinks back, wondering if any of what he has
experienced since Talos is real. Rather bitter in tone, first-person,
with very little about the regular cast. I don't actually think this is
the best story in the anthology, but it is very tight with a good
ending.
"The Last Tribble," Keith L. Davis. Cyrano Jones cleans up tribbles --
for 17 years, as Spock had predicted. Includes a much better explanation
of tribble biology than in the episode, but IMO too much of an infodump.
"The Lights in the Sky," Phaedra Weldon. Third Prize. Sequel to the
truly bad ep, "The Gamesters of Triskelion." Set immediately before ST:
Generations. Triskelion is about to join the Federation, after have
fought off a Romulan invasion, and Shahna (she was Kirk's Drill Thrall)
is the first Ambassador. A valiant attempt to make an actual character
out of a TOS bimbo-babe. The story itself suffers from numerous flaws of
execution, especially with regard to Spock: he is called "Mr. Spock" by
all & sundry (including Kirk!), and is given completely uncharacteristic
lines such as "He figured that . . ."
"Reflections," Dayton Ward. Could have been titled "It's a Wonderful
Life, Captain Kirk." The Organians show the dying Kirk the escalating
disasters that would have occurred if he'd resigned after Edith Keeler's
death. If this kind of thing is going to work for *me*, the
characterization has to be a lot more powerful and consistent than it is
here.
TNG
"What Went Through Data's Mind 0.68 Seconds Before the Satellite Hit,"
Dylan Otto Krider. I *really* like this story. Of course, what goes
through Data's mind is -- a lot of things: he writes bad poetry, he
ponders human psychology, he calculates stellar densities. Oh, and
incidentally -- he saves the Enterprise from destruction. Very nicely
done.
"The Naked Truth," Jerry M. Wolfe. Reg Barclay & Ro Laren. Mixes
adventure and characterization pretty successfully, but pushes the
length limits and failed to stir me deeply.
"The First," Peg Robinson. A Prime Directive Dilemma story, featuring
Picard. The best story in the collection IMO. Thoughtful, deeply felt,
with Peg's beautiful fluid prose.
"See Spot Run," Kathy Oltion. How and why does Data's cat keep getting
out of his room? A valiant attempt at funny, to which I am always
well-disposed. Some good lines, but it's not consistently zany, witty,
or ironic.
"Civil Disobedience," Alara Rogers. Q has to decide whether to prevent
the Borg from conquering Earth. Not Alara's best work, I think, but
(naturally) one of the best stories in the collection: to the point,
carefully thought-out. In many ways an archetypal Trek morality story.
"Of Cabbages and Kings," Franklin Thatcher. Second Prize. May be the
only story in the book that qualifies as realio-trulio science fiction,
not Trekoid sci-fi. The Enterprise, sans crew, finds itself (herself?)
in a "bubble" universe -- a concept currently popular among
cosmologists -- and has to consult with a Picard holocharacter to get
out.
DS9
"Life's Lessons," Christina F. York. An "interstitial" story, set within
the episode "Looking For
parMach in All The Wrong Places." Nog has a crush on Keiko. I might well
have given one of the prizes to this story, which is extremely
professional, falling in the upper part of the usual ST profic range in
both style and substance (which may make it seem rather conventional).
"Where I Fell Before My Enemy," Vince Bonasso. Sisko and the gang are on
the Defiant when they run into the Metrons and the Gorn (from the TOS
ep, "Arena"). This story would have made a good episode, and is another
with a characteristically ST moral. The only problem is that it is not
quite tight enough. But the title is great -- lyrical enough to be from
Babylon 5! (oops, did I say that?)
VOY
"Good Night, Voyager," Patrick Cumby. Why have those pesky gel-packs
stopped working this time? Yet another story that might have made a good
episode, i.e. somewhat predictable. Marred by small failures of editing,
characterization, and science.
"Ambassador at Large," J. A. Rosales. Voyager meets Bailey and Balok
from the TOS ep, "The Corbamite Maneuver." Probably the funniest story
in the collection, though most of the jokes are on Neelix, which is like
shooting fish in a barrel.
"Fiction," jaQ Andrews. It looks as though the Voyager crew has been
stuck on the planet Draanis IV for four years, and Chakotay is so
resigned to circumstances that he has married a native, Renaii. But are
things what they seem? Any similarities to this past season's ep "The
Killing Game" is purely coincidental, of course, but interesting. The
style is somewhat overwritten, and I'm not sure I believe Chakotay would
act like that, but it's definitely as good as many of the episodes.
"I, Voyager," Jackee C. The closest thing to mushy stuff in the
collection, might count as a PG-rated J/C on ASC. The POV is that of a
very unusual entity meeting the Voyager crew, whose alienness is
emphasized by the author's clever word choices. Good characterization as
well; one of the best stories of the bunch, IMO.
"Monthuglu," Craig D. B. Patton. Voyager goes through a very unusual
nebula. Any similarities to this past season's ep "One" are clearly
coincidental. Another story marred by small failures of editing, style,
etc. (e.g. "on route" for "en route).
In a few days, I'll post my Deconstruction, looking at what kind of
stories you might want to think of writing for SNW II.
Mary Ellen
Doctor Science, MA
- - - - - - - - -
Good Book of the Day:
"The Hand," by Frank R. Wilson
real addy: mecurtinATalumniDOTprincetonDOTedu
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