Serpents Among the Ruins (Spoiler)

S P O I L E R

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I enjoyed David R. George III`s previous Star Trek books very much. This
was the main reason why I was looking forward to "Serpents Among the
Ruins" and had very high expectations. Another reason is, I was looking
forward to meet Demora Sulu in book form again and I was very curious
how DRG III will portray Captain Harriman.

From early on I was captivated again by his interesting writing style.
It is very descriptive. Long descriptions usually bore me but DRG III
skilfully weaves storytelling and descriptions together into a tapestry
that makes his stories so colourful and helps to bring these characters
to life. I learned that his style is not everybody`s cup of tea, but I
love it.

I enjoyed what Peter David did with Harriman in the past. He changed a
character who seemed weak, if not to say incompetent, to a strong,
capable captain who is no less worthy of piloting a ship called
Enterprise than all the other captains who did it before and after him.
I quickly noticed that this second book of "The Lost Era" referred to
Peter David`s books. Unfortunately it had been a very long time since I
read "The Captain`s Daughter" but especially his short story featuring
Harriman in "Enterprise Logs" impressed me a lot. I consider "Serpents
Among the Ruins" to be on the same quality level as PAD`s short story
and I mean that as a big compliment!

What impresses me about Harriman is how well he learned his lessons
after the disastrous journey that seemingly cost Kirk his life. I think
he became such a good captain precisely because he also had to deal with
failure, with serious mistakes he made in the past. People who have
learned to face them and deal with them can be better officers than many
who never experienced a serious defeat.

I am sure, this is also reflected in Harriman`s command style. I noticed
that Harriman is the most human captain I ever met in Star Trek: He is
very open to input from everyone around him, he does not only discuss
his decisions openly with his officers but even his most private
feelings with some of them. Harriman is the complete opposite to
officers who think this is a weakness and that the higher you are on the
career ladder, the more alone and isolated you have to be. My opinion
has always been that it is people like THEM who are weak because they
don`t face and deal with their problems. Bottling them up is not the
answer. Harriman shows the right combination of sensitivity and
strength, something that makes him not only a capable leader but very
likeable. I liked this Harriman very much and enjoyed the strong bond
between him and his crew. These are not just his officers and
colleagues, many of them are his friends and it is obvious that they
care for each other. I was very pleasantly surprised that Demora Sulu is
his first officer. I liked her a lot.

The beginning of the book showing the brutal attack of the Romulans on a
defenceless pre-warp society reminded me so very much of the background
of New Frontier and Calhoun`s experiences. It showed again how
vulnerable such developing worlds are. I know, the Federation can`t be
everywhere (certainly not when Xenex became the victim of the Danteri
long ago), but it was mentioned that Koltaari and its dangerous location
was known. I had to wonder if there wasn`t more the Federation could
have done to protect these people. I agree that attacking the Romulans
now would have been a disaster for everyone but maybe all of this could
have been prevented if the Federation would have done more in the first
place. Prevention is always better than trying to find a cure. Also, of
course, a lot of the damage is irreparable: The Koltaari lost their
innocence and have to grow up very quickly in order to survive.

After the explosion of the prototype starship Universe, tensions grow.
As it is the case with many recent Star Trek books (as well as one of
Peter David`s two recent non-Trek books), a lot reminded me of
discussions and events surrounding the atrocities of Sept 11 and Bush`s
"War against terrorism". It is an understandable development and I
certainly don`t mind it, the contrary. I like thought provoking books.
The topic weapons of mass destruction (or metaweapons, as they are
called in this book) is very much a topic of immediate interest.

What happened immediately after the disaster was very predictable but
nevertheless, interesting to read, mainly because DRG III captured the
characters and the mentality of the peoples involved so well. The
reaction of the Romulans was very typical indeed. Frankly, I would have
preferred it to see some surprises here. The Klingons were more
interesting. I felt sorry for Azetbur, a sensible woman who seemed to be
surrounded by short tempered and short sighted males who are much more
looking forward to so-called glorious battles than to preserve peace.
There were exceptions here and there but I would have hoped that there
are some more sensible Klingons who understand that the survival of the
Empire is much more important.

On top of that, Harriman also has to deal with personal problems, like
his separation from his lover. His date with Sasine was beautifully
written and made me smile. I enjoyed that part of the book very much and
was hoping for some happy end from early on. On the other hand, there is
the conflict between Harriman and his father, who is now dying after the
Universe disaster.

I learned from the back cover description (and from earlier comments on
the net) that this book is dealing with the so-called Tomed incident. I
was pretty sure that it refers to something in TOS, a series I am not
very familiar with. But after an interesting discussion with a friend
who finished the book before me, I remembered the first episode in TNG
dealing with the Romulans after their long absence. I just didn`t
remember that THIS was due to the Tomed incident. It is definitely an
important part of Star Trek history and therefore I got curious when the
Romulan ship Tomed and its captain, Admiral Vokar, appeared - the same
who was responsible for the attack on the Koltaari, as I learned later
when the name of his ship was revealed. My initial reaction was
disappointment. I liked the story so far but this Romulan was simply
uninteresting to me, just the typical arrogant, violent type that I have
seen so often when there was a story about this species. I agreed with
what Harriman thought of Vokar - a thug. If that is the main adversary,
I would have preferred someone who has more to offer.

Anyway, soon it became more interesting. It was no surprise to me that
Romulans and Klingons would combine their forces against the Federation,
should there be a confirmation that this was indeed a weapon of mass
destruction, a metaweapon enabling a first strike. But it certainly hit
me when Vaughn asked Harriman if the development of a new propulsion
system would also provide Starfleet with a first strike capability. And
when Harriman revealed that he intends to give the specifications to the
Romulans and Klingons, I thought, now it is really getting interesting!
At this time I was sitting at the edge of my seat, looking forward to
read about the conference on the Romulan space station Algeron. That
Vaughn was part of this mix of characters made everything even more
appealing. I have been a fan of that character from the very beginning,
his first appearance in DS9 Relaunch. It also helped a lot that we do
not only meet Klingons with different attitudes but now also Romulans
who are definitely not all like Vokar. I welcomed that very much.

As much as I enjoyed reading the book, following what is going on was
also a frustrating experience for me sometimes. I often wondered, what
is this actually about? Did I miss something or am I simply not bright
enough to get it? Should I have re-read "The Captain`s Daughter" first
because something important is mentioned there what I need to know? I
didn`t enjoy it being left in the dark like that and started to wonder
that maybe DRG III is simply expecting that his readers remember
everything that happened in the Star Trek universe concerning the
Romulan/Federation history - on and off screen. But my friend assured me
that the author could not have told his readers more here or the
surprise would be gone. And, no, he is not revealing that surprise to
me. I had to laugh then and thought, ok, let`s wait and see where this
actually goes.

My friend wasn`t kidding - I didn`t expect that and at the end,
everything made sense. It was a clever and daring plan that saved
countless lives, but it was also a plan that wasn`t executed without
sacrifices and without leaving scars on the few people who know the
truth. I could also see that the plan worked precisely because of who
and what Vokar was but also because of who and what Klingons in general
are, meaning their mentality. They can be literally backstabbers (as
seen in this book) but they despise cowardice and sneak attacks,
especially on such a scale. On the other hand, I also have to add, for
people who haven`t met Klingons before, they were not portrayed as
likeable at all in this book. I also welcomed it that the Federation got
something important in return for the promise not to develop cloaking
technology: the freedom of the Koltaari and it is also good to know that
they get help.

Now Demora Sulu is the captain of the Enterprise, which is great news!
But I also welcome it that Harriman decided to leave without leaving
Starfleet. I could see it was the right decision for him, to marry his
lover and have his own family, especially now after the death of his
father. No question about it: I would love it to read more of Captain
Demora Sulu and also about Harriman. Maybe father and daughter Sulu
could even share an adventure on her ship!

"Serpents Among the Ruins" is a fascinating book, not only because it
shows us in detail one of the most important historic events in the Star
Trek universe but also because of the style it is written. That this
book appeared on the New York Times bestseller list is definitely
deserved.

Baerbel Haddrell