Aftermath (Spoiler)

I am very glad that Corps of Engineers (I prefer this new name of the
series) is being continued as paperback reprints. "Aftermath" is a big,
pretty heavy book that kept me entertained for quite a while. I like
this new format. I also like the cover. When I took the book out of the
Amazon packaging my husband said "What an ugly ship!" Maybe, but the
ship definitely has character, not unlike the Defiant. I like tough
little ships.

I read the introduction with much interest. I think what KRAD said is
true: "Aftermath" is a good point to start reading. When I got the book
I had to get a bit re-acquainted with these people because it had been
awhile since I read the previous paperback. I had no problems whatsoever
to find a new start and felt a bit like visiting old friends again.
After "Wildfire" I was also looking forward to read about the
introduction of new characters.

First of all, I was curious to get to know Tev, the Tellarite who became
the new second officer after Duffy died. When these stories appeared for
the first time in e-book form, I only read a few comments but I remember
very well that the introduction of Tev caused a bit of a stir and a wave
of dislike. In general, I often find the sometimes brutal honesty
Tellarites typically show very refreshing, especially if it is the
truth, something the other person himself might not have realized.

The collection "Aftermath" is, to me, first of all showing the
beginnings of the integration of Tev into the team, the "family" of the
da Vinci. When he first appeared he caused a lot of friction but the
book ends showing a Tev who makes a touching effort to make a friend. I
could see how both sides, Tev and his predominantly human colleagues,
learn to work and respect each other, to complement each other. In spite
of ups and downs, I found "Aftermath" to be an uplifting, positive and
relaxing read. It is a welcome contrast to DS9 Relaunch.

AFTERMATH

As I said, Tev`s introduction wasn`t easy but also not from his point of
view. I found it interesting that I could see both sides of the fence.
Yes, I very much agreed that Tev has to become more of a team player and
leave some of his arrogance behind. Diplomacy and tact might not be, in
general, a Tellarite strength but the lack of his abilities in these
departments Tev showed were a bit extreme. At first glance he reminded
me of the annoying Vulcan Starfleet officer, Captain Solok, in "Take Me
Out To The Holosuite" but fortunately I had hope from early on that,
contrary to Solok, he is able to learn and grow.

On the other hand, I think him giving Gomez a "kick in the butt", so to
speak, did her a lot of good. It helped her to focus and strengthen her
leadership abilities. Her difficulties were very understandable to me
and that she succeeded to find her footing again after what happened
shows me that she is a strong character. It wasn`t spelled out like that
but I can imagine that Tev`s opinion of Gomez also suffered because he
found her relationship with Duffy inappropriate. I very much disagree
but I can understand why others don`t approve of intimate relationships,
especially between high ranking officers, on the same ship.

Tev had an interesting start but not one I would classify as a likeable
character. Rennan Konya`s introduction provided both. I liked him
immediately and found his use of his Betazoid abilities fascinating. I
kept hoping to read more of him in future stories and was glad to meet
him again in the last one in this book. Hopefully he will stay around
and I will be able to learn more about him.

I welcomed the guest appearance of O`Brien. I always liked him.
Unfortunately Keiko`s first part in this story showed the typical
bickering again I hated so much in DS9. "Not again!" I thought and
really missed the new Keiko from "Worlds of DS9". Well, later I had to
laugh because this book proved to be the stepping stone to a Keiko I
find much more likeable and mature because this is the book in which
their mission on Cardassia is mentioned for the first time. Great, I
welcome this a lot! I also enjoyed the part with Boothby very much. It
is always a treat to me to meet him in a Trek novel.

The technical background, the science fiction in this story, was
fascinating. When reading this story, I was really curious how things
will develop and what I will discover in the process. It is a nice
bittersweet ending, at it was also said at the end of the story. I liked
it very much that Gomez obviously learned a lot from these remarkable
aliens and their sacrifice which is at the same time a new beginning
with new, unknown possibilities.

SCE or COE is the Star Trek series that points out best that there are
still different religions in human society. I welcome that. On the other
hand, I still think it is not advisable to step into the mine field of
discussing real life religious views and values in Star Trek novels. I
dislike the paragraphs in which the author talks about the nature of
Jihad. I don`t like being lectured about religion and preached to. If
this was added because the author wanted to challenge readers to see the
Muslim or Islamic view and religion more favourable, he didn`t succeed
in my case. All he did in my case is reminding me about the aspects I
very much dislike about this topic whenever I am confronted with it when
watching the news. It would have been better not to mention the Jihad
argument at all.

Nevertheless, I refused to let this minor annoyance spoil an otherwise
great story. "Aftermath" is a good start of this collection.


ISHTAR RISING

The idea of terraforming Venus is very interesting indeed. I had trouble
sometimes to visualize the descriptions properly but they certainly left
a strong impression on me. I also think, descriptions can`t do the
enormous project justice anyway and maybe it is even good that a lot of
this is left to the reader`s imagination.

I expected it that Saadya`s ambitious plan was somewhat too ambitious
but that there would be at least a partial success. That Venus is
developing a new moon now was not what I would have guessed and it left
me with a sense of wonder. Nicely done!

First of all, it is an excellent Soloman character story. I was waiting
for the moment in which Soloman will meet other people of his kind again
and from what I learned before, I was sure that it won`t be pleasant for
him. He dealt with that personal challenge very well and I am glad that
he emerged stronger and more confident from it. I agree, that these
bigots can`t see past their prejudices is their loss, not Soloman`s.

"Home is where your heart is" is an old cliché but it fits. I am glad
that Soloman`s bond with his friends, crewmates - his family - on the da
Vinci even grew stronger.



BUYING TIME

I enjoyed this story very much. Most of the time I was torn between
feeling sorry for the three naked female officers accompanying Tev on
Ferenginar and being amused. It certainly wasn`t fun for the women and
again I am glad that Ferenginar`s society in general is treating women
MUCH better nowadays. When I watched DS9 I always thought that these
changes came too quickly to be realistic but also because I am a woman
myself, I am not complaining but welcome it.

It was fun to watch especially "core breach" Corsi dealing with the
demands of this mission. I think this mission is one of the many steps
that will eventually integrate Tev more into this crew because he
certainly gained some respect for his team mates.

Brunt`s appearances brought back memories. He is a great love to hate
character and adding him added to the entertaining mix this story
provides.


COLLECTIVE HINDSIGHT

This is definitely my favourite story of this collection. Stories in
which past and present are coming together can be very powerful indeed.
I was reminded of "Stone and Anvil", one of my favourite NF novels.

It was a fascinating experience for me to learn more, step by step,
about this mysterious ship and its dead crew. What I enjoyed is that
this story constantly surprised me, not only about the discoveries but
also what actions Gold and his people are taking whenever new situations
had to be dealt with.

I am not a treknology person but even I had to marvel at the alien
technology of the Dancing Star. Their sacrifice touched me a lot and the
comparison with Duffy`s fate as well as Gomez struggle to deal with
these memories made this aspect even more powerful.

I enjoyed reading the flashback. Salek must have been a remarkable man.
What this story first of all shows is how important it is for a team
like the da Vinci crew to have different approaches to problems so that
people can learn from each other and complement each other. Tev learns
this in each story so far, something I welcome. It also showed that
people gain more knowledge, more experience over the years which opens
new ways of thinking and different perspectives. Soloman`s discoveries
in this story shows this very well.


THE DEMON

This is another excellent story which means, that this collection
contains no story I don`t like or even find average. This is remarkable.

First of all, this story is an important milestone in developing Tev. I
think the biggest test for any Starfleet officer is how he (or she)
deals with a serious failure. This is a decisive test of character,
especially for someone who is a superior officer which includes being a
leader. I found it very interesting to read that Tev never had to face
this test because he never had to deal with it.

For someone like Tev, this was probably the biggest challenge of his
career so far. I am not sure he would have been able to face it if he
hadn`t been working with Gold and his crew already and started to at
least value their contributions, their way of working together. It
started a remarkable transformation. It surprised not only himself but
also me that he sees Gomez as an equal now and I had to smile when he
welcomed her back.

But what amused me even more is the last chapter in this story, when Tev
gave Faulwell a gift and not only because he liked his candy. This could
be the beginning of an interesting friendship. Speaking of friendships,
maybe a beginning of a friendship was also showing in the scene in which
Gomez and Konya looked at the black hole for the last time. I would
welcome that, too.

All in all, "The Demon" is the story in which the main characters,
including Gold, laid the demons left behind by the Wildfire disaster to
rest and a new beginning is being forged. This is the right story to
finish this collection. I found it very fitting.

The SF aspect was impressive. The descriptions of the wormhole, its
frightening, powerful nature was very well done. I found the Resaurians
very interesting and would like it to meet them again in a future story.

After having finished this book, I am very much looking forward to more.

Baerbel Haddrell