Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek- Crucible: Spock The Fire And The Rose" By David R. George III

A couple of months ago, I spotlighted the first book in the "Crucible" trilogy- McCoy- Provenance Of Shadows. I stated in that spotlight that if the other 2 titles in the trilogy were as good as the McCoy novel, then I may have found my new favorite Trek author. Well, I just finished the second one the other day. How did it turn out? Well...



"Spock- The Fire And The Rose" follows the same basic formula as the McCoy novel; The author takes us on a journey through Spock's life, tying events and decisions to the trip through time he shared with Kirk and McCoy in "The City On The Edge Of Forever". David R. George III again does a fantastic job of giving new life and underlying meaning to scenes from the original series and movies that we've all seen countless times over the years. Along the way, he forces you to question certain decisions that we witnessed Spock make throughout the years, causing the reader to reexamine a character that we all probably felt we had a pretty good handle on by now. Multiple times throughout the book I found myself thinking "oh yeah... why did Spock do that when he didn't do that before?". What's great about the book though is that George then answers those questions quite adeptly, almost to the point that you feel it was planned his way all along. He fills in gaps in logic that I hadn't even realized had gaps to fill.

Now that's not to say that this book is flawless. I felt a large portion of the book was handled very well, in particular the moments expanded from "The City On the Edge Of Forever". There were, however, a few aspects that I found myself questioning. For instance (and be warned that these next few lines are somewhat spoilery), Spock deciding to attempt the Kolinahr for a second time after learning of Kirk's death on the Enterprise-B seemed wrong to me. The films did a fantastic job of bringing balance to Spock's character. He was finally able to find balance between his vulcan and human halves. For Spock to then attempt the Kolinahr again to erase his human half out of grief just seems to negate all of that. Even worse, Spock later decides that the Kolinahr was the wrong choice and then has to go through ritual of reestablishing his emotions... which once again leaves us to question if Spock actually did achieve his balance in the films, or if he was simply going through a period of indecisiveness.

Overall though, I was quite pleased with the book. Is it as good as "Crucible: McCoy"? Not in my opinion, but man... that is one tough act to follow. That's the problem with starting off SO strong in a trilogy- Everyone expects your sequel to be as good or better than your first outing. Had I read this Spock novel first, I'm sure that I would have been blown away by the story and how George handled the character's history... It's just in comparison to the McCoy novel that this one shows its slight shortcomings. "Crucible: Spock" is still an incredible read and worthy of a spot on your Trek bookshelf. Now I just hope the author finishes strong with the Kirk-centric finale...

Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek- Perry's Planet" By Jack C. Haldeman II

After reading the first two novels in the "Crucible" trilogy back-to-back, I decided that I needed a little breather before tackling book three. The epic scope of both the McCoy and Spock novels, while very compelling, might have been a tad overwhelming. I needed to reign myself back in with something a little more grounded and with a smidge less "oomph" to it... something more akin to watching an episode of the animated series. This way I could also distance myself from the McCoy novel a bit more before tackling Kirk's segment, since I would probably face the same comparison issues I tackled while reading "Crucible: Spock". So I headed over to the book shelves and grabbed this guy-



"Perry's Planet" by Jack C. Haldeman II is the perfect definition of light Star Trek reading. The plot revolves around a planet colonized by a group of settlers 300 years ago. Kirk and crew are ordered on a first contact mission to the planet after receiving a signal that the colonists wish to discuss joining the Federation. When the Enterprise arrives, they find a planet full of blissfully peaceful people, lead by the mysterious Wayne Perry. Records show Perry as the colony's original leader... from 300 years ago. Just as the crew begins to question Perry's existence, they find themselves infected by a mysterious "peace" virus which won't allow them to make any aggressive actions, no matter the circumstances. The infection is unknowingly spread to the crew aboard the Enterprise... just as a Klingon ship captained by an enemy from Kirk's past enters orbit. Stranded down on the planet, Kirk and company must find a cure to the disease and solve the mystery of Perry's planet, which may be tied to a brutish group of the colonists known as the "Immunes"...

This book was exactly what I needed it to be: A fun romp through the Trek universe. At less than 150 pages, the book doesn't spend a lot of time with drawn out explanations or character biographies. The author seemingly wrote this with the knowledge that his reader already knows their Star Trek- he just gets right to the adventure without bogging it down in expository fluff... and sometimes that is exactly what I want from a Trek novel. It's not the best story I've ever read, but I'd say it's definitely worthy of a boring Sunday afternoon. If you see this one on the cheapy shelves at Half-Price books, you just might want to lay down the 2 bucks for it....

Reading Room Spotlight- "Star Trek- Crucible: McCoy Provenance Of Shadows" By David R. George III

Remember awhile back when I said I needed to get caught up on my book reviews? Well, I apparently stink at keeping to my plans. I still have a couple that I have finished reading but haven't posted reviews for yet. But they are just going to have to wait a bit longer, because I just finished a book that I want to talk about IMMEDIATELY-



The "Star Trek- Crucible" trilogy of novels was released back in 2006 to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary. Each of the books focuses on one of the TOS "holy trinity" members- Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. The novels chronicle their individual lives, following their histories with a basis around an event that all three played a major part in. What event you ask? Well, it's only one of the most important happenings in all of Trek-dom: The trip through time from "The City On The Edge Of Forever".

McCoy's novel looks at his life in a very interesting way; He actually has 2 different lifetimes. First, there's the McCoy we know and love. The one who came back through time with Kirk & Spock after Edith Keeler died. The one who almost died from xenopolycythemia. The one who made a bearded return to the Enterprise in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". The one who carried Spock's katra. The one who was accused of assassinating Chancellor Gorkon. The one who made a tour of the Enterprise D with Lt. Commander Data...

All these events (and MANY more) are explored in the portions of the book focusing on McCoy's life in the "fixed" timeline. Though it's mostly stuff we've all seen hundreds of times while watching reruns of the old shows and movies, author David R. George III does an INCREDIBLE job of making them seem fresh and new, like we are seeing them all for the very first time. He writes the scenes so well and with such clarity and insight that I found myself going back to re-watch some of the episodes that he references here. Since he is able to describe in words what the characters might be thinking or doing internally, I wanted to see the shows again with his perspective applied... and boy does it work! I don't think I'll ever watch some of these shows again without thinking about this book. That's the mark of a good author- One that makes you question what you thought you knew already.

Of course, events in the book pertaining to this McCoy's life aren't simply relegated to things we've already seen. George also interweaves a complex story into the existing events, one that deals with McCoy's personal struggles. The end of the original 5 year mission and where it leaves him, his inability to commit to relationships, and a series of recurring nightmares about death are just a few of the trials that we watch McCoy go through... and they are every bit as interesting as having the crew face a ship full of Romulans. I say that because the book lacks the usual "bad guy" or predicament that the crew must escape from... and you don't even miss it. It doesn't need one. It's that damn good.

All that being said- The most interesting aspect of the book for me wasn't McCoy's life in the fixed timeline; It was the life of the "other" McCoy that grabbed me by the face and wouldn't let me put this book down. Who is the "other" McCoy? Well, remember when McCoy first made that jump through the Guardian and the whole universe changed? That's the other McCoy. The McCoy that saved Edith Keeler, inadvertently allowing the Nazis to conquer the world and erasing the universe from which he came. McCoy actually lived the rest of his life in that newly created parallel timeline.

It's that McCoy's life that is truly a marvel to behold. You are there with him as he saves Edith and changes everything. You witness his despair in trying to reach his friends, and his horror at the realization that he has caused a change that will have ramifications across the world. You are also there as he finally resigns himself to the life he is stuck in... and that's when things get really interesting. Though you know things can't possibly end well for this McCoy, the author does such an amazing job of making you care for him that you begin to find yourself hoping against all hope that he will somehow fix things...

I'm not afraid to admit that I got a little misty-eyed watching this McCoy's life unfold... and that's why I just had to tackle this one now. I've never had this kind of an emotional experience with a Star Trek novel before. This book isn't just a great Trek novel; It's a great novel period.

I give this one my highest recommendation. It's so good that I'm even trying to get my wife to read it, and she doesn't even like Star Trek that much. If the other 2 novels in the trilogy are half as good as this McCoy one, then I may have just found one of my new favorite Trek authors...

Playmates Spotlight- Commander Spock ("Star Trek: The Motion Picture")

Figure Name: Commander Spock
Manufacturer: Playmates Toys



Commander Spock was released carded as part of Playmates' Classic Star Trek Movie Series.



The Rundown: After doing this for 2 years, I've started to find myself forgetting which figures in my collection I have spotlighted and which I haven't. Take this Spock we are looking at today for example. I've probably looked at this Spock at least a dozen times on my shelves, and every time I've left him sitting there thinking that I'd already spotlighted him. Well, I guess there's egg on my face, because it turns out that I hadn't. So, without further ado... here's Spock!



Captured in his starfleet uniform from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture", this Spock is basically your standard Playmates release. I don't know if I mentioned this before or not, but I really feel like the Classic Star Trek Movie Series to which this figure belongs features some of Playmates finest efforts with the license. Each figures featured strong, unique sculpting for the most part, and the character selection was like a classic movie fan's wishlist for figures.



Each of the TMP-era figures released in the wave feature newly-sculpted bodies that do a fantastic job of recreating the screen costumes. I hear a lot of folks often complain about the Playmates bodies, but I don't see how anybody could look at Spock here and call this a bad figure. I'll admit that there work could be a bit questionable at times... but the TMP figures ROCKED.



BUT...Spock isn't a completely flawless Playmates effort. First, I believe they got the background color on his delta shield wrong. Second, Playmates for some reason felt the need to sculpt one of Spock's feet slightly bent to give the appearance that he is stepping forward. I have no idea why they chose to give Spock an "action-oriented" stance. Kirk? Sure. Sulu? Yeah, I get that. But Spock? That's just not logical. It's not really a huge deal, but it does makes it difficult to give Spock a straight stance without the aid of a figure stand.



Now here comes my big gripe with this release. While all of the other figures released in the classic movie series featured head sculpts that were a bit more aged than their TOS counterparts, Spock simply gets a new paintjob on his TOS-era head. Check it out-



It's a little tough to tell due to the paint on the TMP head, but if you look closely enough you'll see that this is indeed the same head. While you could argue that Spock looks relatively the same in TMP as he did in the classic series, I still feel Playmates should have given us a new sculpt. Sulu gets a new head, Uhura gets a new head, but not Spock? Oh, and to add insult to injury- having the skin painted on instead of being molded in flesh-tone makes this figure very susceptible to the dreaded "nose rub". You'll often find this figure with the paint rubbed away from the tip of his nose, sometimes even when he's still in the package. Bummer.



Accessories: Spock includes some engineering tools, a display base (not pictured), and an awesome little Kolinahr necklace...



...which you can use to reenact scenes from the recently spotlighted novel Crucible: Spock by David R. George III! Reading is FUN-da-mental!



Also included with Spock is a piece of V-Ger. Collect all 5 TMP figures to complete your own mini-V'Ger!



And there's the bio from the back of the box... just in case you like reading such things.



A couple of minor quibbles aside, Spock is still a pretty fine figure. He's got a solid sculpt and looks great alongside the rest of the TMP-era figures. While Playmates never released a Scotty, Chekov, or Decker from "The Motion Picture", the Classic Star Trek Movie Series is still overall your best bet for an accurate display featuring these uniforms. Mego's 3.75" efforts were diverse, but lacked accuracy when it came to the uniforms. Their 12.5" figures on the other hand were quite accurate, but only covered a handful of characters. DST put out great figures of Spock and Kirk (in both his Captain and Admiral uniforms), but never managed to release any other crew members. So yeah... if you want a good TMP figure display, you gotta go with Playmates. The best part is that you can do it on the cheap, with most of these guys usually going in the $5-$10 range. At that price, it would be a crime not to jump into these if you're a fan of the first film. Just remember to watch out for that nose...