Foundations (Spoiler)

S P O I L E R

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After two more "A Time to..." books I wanted to read something different
and following some SCE discussions I realized that I still hadn`t read
"Foundations" yet.

It has been a long time since I read that series but fortunately I had
no problem getting reacquainted with these characters. I enjoyed meeting
them again and quickly remembered why I am a SCE fan. I felt a bit like
meeting old friends, people with strengths and weaknesses but first of
all people who are very likeable. In that regard, no other Trek series
is closer at portraying the crew so close to the Trek ideals and it
feels a bit unrealistic but on the other hand, it is nice. It is one of
the things that makes SCE different from other Trek book series and I am
definitely in favour of variety.

I certainly prefer the style in "Foundations" to the style of the two "A
Time to..." books written by the same authors. I liked this book from
the beginning and when it finished, I realized that I would have enjoyed
to read more. First of all, it is because of the colourful
characterizations. Already when the book started showing the quirks of
the bridge crew, the relationships, the humour, it was a very relaxing
and entertaining read.

But the stories, meaning three flashbacks within a frame story in this
book, are also interesting. One aspect is certainly learning more about
the early history of the SCE and it was shown very well within the three
examples and the frame story how things progressed, how this
organization developed from a repair crew with limited access to
resources to the well equipped organization with a variety of skills
that also include other aspects than engineering. This books shows very
well why the SCE became a more and more important part of Starfleet and
also why working for the SCE is so attractive for especially technical
minded people.

There is not a lot more I can say about the stories. The first one
showed very well how dangerous this job can be and that there are always
lessons to be learned. I probably should have expected that but the
deaths of the two officers who died during the drilling operation
touched me a lot. I actually remember the Landru story in TOS a bit. It
was an interesting idea to revisit that story and I am pleased that I
had no trouble to follow it. From my perspective, the balance between
retelling the TOS story but not too much was just right here. Concerning
the third story, I especially found the Andorian Talev very refreshing.
I liked it a lot how she dealt with the situation and I would welcome it
to meet her again. And looking at the frame story: It was also good to
see that in spite of all efforts, also the SCE hasn`t the answers
sometimes and people can make mistakes.

All in all, this is a very good mix. I am looking forward to the next
SCE book in paperback!


Baerbel Haddrell