Constellations (part 2) SPOILER

Now that I have finished the book, I want to post the rest of my
Constellations reviews:


S P O I L E R

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AS OTHERS SEE US

This is definitely one of my favourite stories in the book. I found it
quite fascinating to discover the many layers in this story, mainly who
is watching who. It was interesting but on a certain level also amusing.

I noticed that the author turned human history on its head by writing
this pre-warp civilization at the time of the colonization era as a
female dominated society but at the same time I also noticed that it
made no difference in the story whatsoever: Deyin`s view of the world
was the same what I remember from history lessons. I have no problem
with that, I just found this choice unusual because the vast majority of
alien species are written as male dominated or at the very least
somewhat balanced.

What makes the story interesting to me is the contrast between the quite
predictable part at the beginning and the surprising revelation that
Kirk and his officers were watched as well. Its puts a twist I welcomed
a lot on the self righteous attitude I have seen so often when Star Trek
deals with the topic Prime Directive. I especially liked that part when
the Matriarch told Kirk that it is selfish to seek to take knowledge and
offer none in return.


SEE NO EVIL

I have never been a fan of these SF movies showing societies that are
oppressed and forced to live under extreme circumstances, much more
extreme than what is going on in the real world. I understand that
especially classic stories of that kind were written as a warning and a
worst case scenario. I never found them convincing because human history
is showing that people wouldn`t accept living under such conditions.
They would rebel at a much earlier stage before it could ever become
this extreme.

Although these are humanoids, it didn`t change anything. I found the
scenario presented in this story unconvincing and in places ridiculous.
I think it would have been much more realistic to show a less extreme
dictatorship and people rebelling against that.

Nevertheless, it is not a bad story because I liked the character
elements dealing with Uhura and Scotty.


THE LEADER

We get the pretty one-dimensional Klingon who shows the typical pattern
of Klingon honor going after Kirk but at the end we find out that Kor
didn`t condone his son`s actions. We get the pattern that the only
crewmember who doesn`t belong to the main characters is nearly killed by
the red-shirt-syndrome but at least he survives so that he didn`t share
that typical red-shirt fate after all. I welcomed that. But an over-
eager Kirk who is taking charge without any regard for the command
structure of these colonists and makes no effort at actually working
together with them, that is a different matter. I am not a Kirk fan but
even to me, this was worse than what I could observe when watching TOS.

For a while, I didn`t like the story at all until Kirk and his officers
were analyzing what actually happened and in hindsight, the story is
certainly not as bad as the first impression I was left with. Kirk
certainly should have asked before taking and especially tampering with
technical equipment of the settlers and he should have included their
leader and these people.

On the other hand, I had little sympathy with Captain Anders. He acted
like an immature child, someone who was pushed aside by a bully but
instead of standing up to Kirk he starts sulking, grumbling and hiding
away. Anders was no match for the young Klingon. That alone is no shame.
But shame on him for not going to Kirk right away and tell him what
happened. Instead Anders kept hiding in his cave, full of self-pity and
he is crying when they find him.

Anders is not a bad man but he is not made of leadership material. It is
probably even for the best that the settlers and Anders himself were
made aware of this because the coming big changes need a leader who is
able to be decisive and strong.



AMBITION

I enjoyed this story very much for two reasons. First, I liked the
character elements that show what I consider to be a good command crew:
People who are not afraid to criticize in an open and constructive
manner, like Uhura and, of course, McCoy and people who learn and grow,
like Sulu. It also shows well the qualities Scotty has. I liked it that
the story pointed out that he feels most at home at engineering but that
he is a good captain as well, if he has to be. On the other hand, being
the head of engineering if of course a job that also needs good
leadership abilities. It was nice to see that Sulu and Scotty could
learn from each other, also because they are so different.

What I also liked is the revelation of the nature of this threat. I
didn`t expect that and it was a pleasant surprise to me. I find the idea
of life forms living in space itself fascinating and I enjoyed it to
read about it how the Enterprise acted as ,kind of, a midwife.


DEVICES AND DESIRES

The Yard is an interesting idea, a place where alien artefacts are
collected and studied in secrecy. Being a big fan of the new British
series Torchwood, a series dealing with a very similar topic, this story
certainly stimulated my imagination and I couldn`t help making
comparisons.

I can imagine that stories dealing with the Yard could be as fascinating
as what I could see so far in Torchwood and there is another parallel:
We only meet the head of this organization but as in Torchwood,
questions of morality and human (in the broadest sense) weaknesses play
an important part in this story.

I like the idea to have another story featuring a Nasat and I found the
connection and the conflict between her and Spock very interesting.
Bishop is certainly a very complex character which already became
visible to me in this short story. As in Torchwood, the question of
power and how it may corrupt plays an important part and this
realization was probably the main reason why Spock decided not to join
the Yard.

Now I have another idea for a Trek book wish list: I would like to know
more about the Yard and maybe a longer story or two about this Torchwood
in the Star Trek universe. I also wonder if the Yard still exists in
present-day Trek.

Great story. As I said, more please!


WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME

An adventure with Scotty and McCoy together is a recipe for some fun
character moments and in that regard this story certainly didn`t
disappoint me. Some of the dialog was very amusing to read.

Unfortunately I was less fond of the background. Spaytak and his gang
didn`t interest me one bit. These were not people like Quark or Quinn
who have likeable qualities. I was often tempted to just skip the pages
dealing with them. Instead of being amused, their antics just put me
off.

But I liked the idea that Krong the Klingon was not such a bad guy after
all and became a kind of drinking buddy of Scotty and McCoy.



MAKE-BELIEVE

Now that I am sitting here writing down my thoughts about this last
story in "Constellations" I can`t help it to see the irony that I have
just watched the news and learned that Saddam Hussein has been sentenced
to death. This verdict is not surprising. I am not in favour of the
death penalty but I certainly won`t mourn his passing either.

I wouldn`t have expected to find a story like Make-Believe in this book
but I think it is partly this surprise that makes it so powerful and
moving. I like it very much that we also find a Star Trek story in this
book that is connected with the real world. That a book celebrating 40
years of Star Trek also invites people to think about it what Star Trek
means in the world we live on now is something I welcomed a lot.

I am and have always been very much against the war in Iraq and I better
don`t start ranting about Bush. Therefore this story very much reflects
what I think and feel, my sadness and frustration each time I watch the
news.

I remember watching the celebrations "Mission accomplished" after the
fall of Saddam. Now, after so much has gone wrong, I doubt it that
anyone sees a clean way out of this mess. All I hear now is mainly about
saving face and an exit strategy that is about finding a way out of
there, a way that at least allows some show of having gained a victory.
But nobody is talking about it any more that Iraq will be a shining
example of western style democracy in action.

I don`t know if Kevin really believed in Bush as much as he looked up to
Kirk. This is not clear to me when I read this story. But I think that
Kevin believed he went to Iraq for the right reasons, that he believed
his actions helped these people, that he trusted Bush. I could be wrong
but why else would he tell his son that Captain Kirk was sending him on
a mission?

Kevin`s make-believe story is very touching. I wish I could believe Bush
himself would be willing to look for soldiers missing in action, risking
his own neck if necessary. But, I know, that is indeed make believe.


Baerbel Haddrell