I'm an autistic sci-fi nerd. I don't read books often, but when I do, I read them way too fast.
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What fuels and sustains activism and organizing when it feels like our worlds are collapsing? Let This Radicalize You is …
The Autobiography of Mr. Spock tells the story of one of Starfleet's finest officers, and …
I'm not dropping this book because I don't enjoy it, rather because I haven't found myself pulling it out that often. I think I just need a break from Star Trek novels. My next read will be a nonfiction.
Starfleet was everything for Cristóbal Rios – until one horrible, inexplicable day when it all …
Up to page 241. Wish I could have enjoyed this more, it just felt like the plot wasn't going anywhere.
Starfleet was everything for Cristóbal Rios – until one horrible, inexplicable day when it all …
I'd like to amend the previous comment: there are actually two saving graces to this book. Rios's character, and the in-universe scientific papers that occasionally appear at the end of relevant chapters. They're pretty well written, and are excellent worldbuilding that shows that JJM understands the Star Trek universe on a deep level. (If only he used that understanding to tell a more compelling story!)
I'd read a whole book of just in-universe sociology and philosophy texts, especially of Star Trek, but for any fictional universe really. Does that book exist? I probably won't get an answer here if so.
Starfleet was everything for Cristóbal Rios – until one horrible, inexplicable day when it all …
I'm probably going to stop reading this soon, unless it picks up in a huge way, because it's really not interesting to me.
It's the opposite of "Revenant" - that was everything I wanted from a tie-in novel and this everything I cynically expect to happen in a tie-in novel. The refusal to invent anything new, instead referencing other shows whenever it can. A gritty action focus that feels more Star Wars than Star Trek. Maybe I just haven't gotten to "the good part" but the story feels very meandering. I will say that JJM does a great job of writing the character of Rios, but that's all I can praise about this book.
An all-new novel based on the landmark TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from …
Content warning Minor spoilers just to describe the premise
Revenant is everything I could want from a Star Trek tie-in novel: the deep character studies, masterful management of tension, and social commentary that Star Trek does best, without any unnecessary or forced attempts to fix plot holes in canon, wish fulfillment, or appearances of legacy characters. It's epic, suspenseful, emotional, and it understands Star Trek. It's focused on the centuries-old joined Trill ops officer, Jadzia Dax, and even though this takes place right between two episodes of Deep Space Nine, it feels like it develops her character in ways that make the rest of the series better in retrospect.
An old friend of Dax asks her to talk to his daughter while she's on vacation to Trill, and doing so leads Dax to discover a massive criminal conspiracy going back a full century, and involving two of her previous hosts, Curzon and Joran. As Dax uncovers the plot, we see Kira acting as her best friend (something the show proper didn't have enough of), and Bashir and Worf acting as much-needed allies with a hint of romantic tension. We also learn a lot about Dax's history, including two full chapters on the life of the homicidal Joran. The villain, Vess, is of the mustache-twirling variety, grooming Trill into undergoing a surgery that kills them and leaves their body in control of the symbiont - a clone of Vess. Yet, such an evil exists only because of the failures of Trill society - motivated by and preying upon the Symbiosis Commission's lies, coverups, and mismanagement of the Trill initiate program, all of which were exposed in episodes of DS9 proper, in addition to its bureaucratic inefficiency.
You might expect this novel to amplify the trans interpretation of Dax, being a novel focused on the character and written by a nonbinary author, but the gendered aspect isn't focused on here. Rather, the story is about how Dax gains strength from having lived all of the lives she has, both as good, bad, and morally complex people. We learn what it really means to be a joined Trill, to be both Jadzia, Curzon, Joran, Torias... and Dax, in a way that also says something about how humans should look upon their own past. I think it's a beautiful interpretation of the character, that is both in line with the show and with its interpretations by many queer fans.
The USS Voyager finds itself in a system where a planet might have existed, but doesn't. Where the planet should …
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the first of six books in the Hitchhiker's …
One of the most quotable books of all time, and the beginning of one of the few series that can out-do Discworld in terms of lunacy. It's no surprise that Douglas Adams was a writer for Doctor Who and Monty Python's Flying Circus, as parts of this novel feel like either a Monty Python sketch in space, or one of Doctor Who's most openly silly episodes.
Strangely enough, the only parts of this book that haven't become an inescapable part of popular culture are its plot and characters. Sure, everyone knows about 42, and Marvin the Paranoid Android, but that's just a flashback and a side character - Arthur Dent, and the Magratheans who built Earth for hyperintelligent mice, are not as well remembered, even though they're somewhat bigger parts of the plot. The plot is very interesting - enough to make me want to read The Restaurant at …
One of the most quotable books of all time, and the beginning of one of the few series that can out-do Discworld in terms of lunacy. It's no surprise that Douglas Adams was a writer for Doctor Who and Monty Python's Flying Circus, as parts of this novel feel like either a Monty Python sketch in space, or one of Doctor Who's most openly silly episodes.
Strangely enough, the only parts of this book that haven't become an inescapable part of popular culture are its plot and characters. Sure, everyone knows about 42, and Marvin the Paranoid Android, but that's just a flashback and a side character - Arthur Dent, and the Magratheans who built Earth for hyperintelligent mice, are not as well remembered, even though they're somewhat bigger parts of the plot. The plot is very interesting - enough to make me want to read The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - but it's not the first thing I'll remember about the book. I'll join everyone else who's read this book in quoting the passages about the Babel Fish, the description of Earth as "mostly harmless", the funny alien names, and Douglas Adams' mockery of digital watches. Such asides from the narrator are arguably what sets this book apart.
Captain Janeway of the USS Voyager tells the story of her life in Starfleet, for …
I picked up this book because I'd been told Una McCormack was one of the best authors in the Star Trek literary universe, and this was the only standalone novel of hers that I could find at the local bookstore. It turned out to be quite good. Though Memory Beta files the Autobiography series as "references", which would imply that a lot of this book is rote recitation of the events of the show, McCormack is clearly trying to tell an original story here, and succeeds well beyond what I could have hoped from a tie-in novel.
The first half of the book is dedicated to the Voyager main character's childhood and early career in Starfleet, and the latter provides the best moments in the novel. It focuses on the human side of Kathryn Janeway, her inner struggles and her mistakes, all presented in the humble and vulnerable way that …
I picked up this book because I'd been told Una McCormack was one of the best authors in the Star Trek literary universe, and this was the only standalone novel of hers that I could find at the local bookstore. It turned out to be quite good. Though Memory Beta files the Autobiography series as "references", which would imply that a lot of this book is rote recitation of the events of the show, McCormack is clearly trying to tell an original story here, and succeeds well beyond what I could have hoped from a tie-in novel.
The first half of the book is dedicated to the Voyager main character's childhood and early career in Starfleet, and the latter provides the best moments in the novel. It focuses on the human side of Kathryn Janeway, her inner struggles and her mistakes, all presented in the humble and vulnerable way that you would expect from a real best-selling autobiography. Even though 24th-century humanity has overcome misogyny, Janeway struggles in ways I imagine many women relate to - a manipulative boyfriend, pressure to over-achieve at the Academy, and a captain who gaslights her and goes out of his way to shoot down her suggestions. She rises above it all because of her true passion for science, ethics, and leadership. Along the way, she must overcome her hatred of Cardassians, her self-doubt, and her grief over her father's death during a flight test.
Then, we get to the actual events of the Voyager show, and that's easily the least interesting part of the novel. McCormack tries to keep the focus on Janeway's perspective, and the things we didn't see on screen, and succeeds for a while - showing her coping with a profound loneliness as her ship is lost in the Delta Quadrant, and all of her usual advisors are out of reach. Rather than summarizing every episode, we get broad details of story arcs and brief mentions of things that would've given Janeway pause. But the later we get into Voyager's journey in the Delta Quadrant, the more of the novel consists of episode summaries, and the less surprising Janeway's takes on those events become. The autobiography does become more of a reference book for fans.
The final chapter discusses events from after Voyager's return home, and switches back to telling an original story. The more mundane and emotionally focused tone of the first half returns - discussing the crew's struggles with her newfound fame and the ways Starfleet was changed by the Dominion War, while Janeway settles in to her new position as an admiral and reconciles with everyone at home who believed her dead. I do wish we saw more of Janeway's post-Voyager life, but I suspect McCormack avoided this on purpose, as that might require discussing the events of Star Trek: Prodigy or the various Voyager character cameos in other shows, and adding more boring chapters.
I can't say this is essential reading for all Star Trek fans or even all Voyager fans, but it does add depth to the show and its main character, and tells a wonderful story when it isn't just summarizing episodes to you. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected.
The USS Voyager finds itself in a system where a planet might have existed, but …
Content warning Spoilers for the (predictable) ending
This has exactly the sort of high-concept premise I like in Star Trek: infinitely many alternate universes, and a touch of time travel, that gives every character on the show a chance to display their problem-solving skills. There are, unfortunately, quite a few problems in its execution.
I liked the first three chapters of this book, where the premise is set up, and the last ten chapters, where it is resolved. Everything in between shows the Voyager crew solving the same problem in different universes. Not only is this boring, because we already know what's going on in chapter one (everyone's shifting between universes), but it's also repetitive, because we often see different versions of Voyager going through the same motions.
The blurb on the back of this book says Janeway is forced to work with Voyagers that have different agendas, but that never really comes up. There's a bit of frustration with the lack of communication, discomfort with meeting duplicate crewmembers, and the Voyager over the field of dead bodies is in a somewhat different situation than the Voyagers above an empty planet, or a planet full of people, but they're all on the same page about wanting to stop the shifts, and generally come up with the same solutions. On top of that, they reference the same Voyager episode ("Daedalus") over and over, and it does turn out to be relevant, as it turns out the events of that episode destroyed Voyager in every other universe, but it does get tiring and just makes me want to watch that episode.
The solution to the central crisis ends up involving every Voyager sacrificing itself by entering a subspace rift at the same time. It's shown that in every universe, B'Elanna discovers this solution and believes herself to be the only version of herself to have done so. The message being that all these alternate Voyagers have a shared scientific ingenuity, group cohesion, and value of the needs of the many over the one. It's a great finale, but it comes at the cost of the middle thirty or so chapters being a complete drag. In the process, it also resets the timeline so that the events of Echoes never really happened - this almost literal "reset button" being a classic trope in Voyager, if an unfortunate one.
Despite the problems, this was enough to get me hooked on the Star Trek literary universe, so expect more reviews of tie-in novels in the future.
I like this book, though I don't have much to say. It's a collection of poetic renderings of various passages from the Zhuangzi. Sometimes Thomas Merton's Christian leanings become a little too obvious, but his readings are otherwise beautiful, make the text more immediately accessible, and draw out deeper morals that are pertinent in the modern day. It's a great companion to both the full Zhuangzi text and to Laozi.
This volume compiles three Buddhist scriptures - the Heart, Diamond, and Platform Sutras - all translated by Bill Porter a.k.a. Red Pine. I don't have the authority to appraise the quality of the translations, but I found them surprisingly easy to understand, albeit with a few sections that I suspect were more beautiful in their original language. In any case, Porter's introduction to these texts is highly informative, placing them in the wider context of Buddhist thought.
The Heart Sutra is a short poem discussing the Buddhist teaching of emptiness and the Prajnaparamita (transcendent wisdom). The Diamond Sutra is a dialogue between the Buddha and his disciple Subhuti, which expands on these teachings. Both are rather abstract and repetitive, albeit in ways that get their points across and make sense for religious texts.
By far the longest and most interesting, though, is the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, which …
This volume compiles three Buddhist scriptures - the Heart, Diamond, and Platform Sutras - all translated by Bill Porter a.k.a. Red Pine. I don't have the authority to appraise the quality of the translations, but I found them surprisingly easy to understand, albeit with a few sections that I suspect were more beautiful in their original language. In any case, Porter's introduction to these texts is highly informative, placing them in the wider context of Buddhist thought.
The Heart Sutra is a short poem discussing the Buddhist teaching of emptiness and the Prajnaparamita (transcendent wisdom). The Diamond Sutra is a dialogue between the Buddha and his disciple Subhuti, which expands on these teachings. Both are rather abstract and repetitive, albeit in ways that get their points across and make sense for religious texts.
By far the longest and most interesting, though, is the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, which contains (or claims to contain) the sayings of Chinese Chan/Zen Patriarch Hui-neng, as recorded by his disciple Fahai. It begins with a transcript of a highly engaging public lecture given by Hui-neng, in which he tells the story of his life, and explains the Prajnaparamita teaching with poems, metaphors, and allusions to other sutras and religious schools which date it surprisingly little. The rest of the text consists of self-contained stories from the remainder of his life. It's a very enjoyable and enriching read today, enhanced by Red Pine's footnotes, as I'm sure it was back in the 8th century.
I would recommend this volume to anyone wanting to learn about Buddhist teaching from primary sources. If you find other religious texts dull and self-important, you will find the same problems here. But I think there's also a lot of wisdom and food for thought in these sutras as well.
Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, …
Content warning spoiler review of The Dispossessed
Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed tells the story of the physicist Shevek across two planets: Anarres, a desert moon inhabited by anarchists, and Urras, a verdant paradise inhabited by the capitalists, communists, and authoritarian states of Le Guin's day. After a long career on Anarres, Shevek goes to Urras, against the wishes of many on his home planet in order to complete a theory of time and publish it. Chapters alternate between Shevek's upbringing on Anarres and his residency in Urras, and tell a parallel story of how he came to be a revolutionary on both planets. On Anarres, he finds himself struggling against cultural norms, and the influence of respected members of its large trade syndicates, before founding the Syndicate of Initiative, subverting those things and providing a platform for misfits. On Urras, he finds himself first co-opted by the capitalist, or "propertarian", peoples who want his theories in order to build weapons, but manages to escape and join a revolutionary movement, share his theory to many planets, and return home.
Some would classify Anarres as a vision of a utopian anarchist society, but I think this is only half true. Le Guin describes both planets in her story equally in romantic and ugly terms, not favoring either planet. One thing Le Guin does wonderfully well - which I think will actually have an ideological impact on me - is depict both anarchist and capitalist societies with nuance and imagination. In the case of Anarres, she manages to get around the surface-level problems of anarchism and find deeper ones - the people respond to violence without granting a monopoly on it, manage their commons in an egalitarian way, and when a drought comes they all struggle together; yet those entrusted with responsibility misuse it as a form of power, social reform stagnates and social problems go unchallenged, and dissidents against social norms are threatened just as dissidents against the law. In the end, Le Guin seems to conclude that the utopian project does not end with the dissolution of government, but that a revolutionary element is perpetually needed to push societies to be better.
What keeps this book from a five-star rating is its lack of excitement; the first two thirds of the book serve more as worldbuilding than action. I'm glad I stuck it out til the end, where all the setup pays off with exciting ideas and tense conflicts. Don't go in expecting a thrill ride, but expect to be enriched nonetheless.
