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exlibris007's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
octavia_cade's review
3.0
Quick-paced, surprisingly grim story. It does have the reset button that appears so often in Trek, but this was compensated for by the really enjoyable spotlight on Sulu, as well as that on the individual members of the security crew.
bdplume's review
1.0
Possibly the worst Star Trek novel I've read. I got through it, but it just didn't hold up to the standards of the franchise, in my opinion. Spock didn't feel right, nor did Kirk really. The time travel aspect didn't seem to fit with the well-established time travel plots. Sulu didn't seem like Sulu. I do not recommend this one.
daringpeg's review
5.0
I loved how the effects of time travel were dealt with and the way that the book had you exclaiming that you had remembered a scene that was occurring for the second time though for the first time for the character traveling.
infosifter's review
4.0
I like the way this author handles the characters. The time travel plot got a little bit chaotic and convoluted, but that didn't really get in the way of enjoying the adventure.
reeshadovahsil's review
4.0
This one was quite fun, definitely one of the better early Star Trek novels. Lots of new and interesting characters that I truly would like to see again, plus a Sulu side-story that had me worried for a while!
The time travel was just convoluted enough to be fun, and even the main original character that comes across clearly as the author's avatar was likable rather than insufferable, as is often the case.
It always startles me how much free love is written into the Star Trek universe in these early novels, far more than we ever get hint of in any series or film. I'd like to see more of these human love enclaves casually referenced in the canon, rather than only ever hearing of "unconventional" romantic arrangements as "normal" within other species, while humans look on in horror, as if nothing but monogamy had ever occurred to them.
But I digress. My point is, this novel is one of the good ones for early Trek stories. I'd read it again for sure.
The time travel was just convoluted enough to be fun, and even the main original character that comes across clearly as the author's avatar was likable rather than insufferable, as is often the case.
It always startles me how much free love is written into the Star Trek universe in these early novels, far more than we ever get hint of in any series or film. I'd like to see more of these human love enclaves casually referenced in the canon, rather than only ever hearing of "unconventional" romantic arrangements as "normal" within other species, while humans look on in horror, as if nothing but monogamy had ever occurred to them.
But I digress. My point is, this novel is one of the good ones for early Trek stories. I'd read it again for sure.
alis3e6e8's review
5.0
Man, Vonda McIntyre really didn't win four Nebulas for nothing.
This has got to be my favorite Star trek novel I've read; it was engaging from beginnig to end and I couldn't wait to have some free time to finish it. I was determined to get through it in one day (took me two) which hasn't happened in a really long time!
The characters were exactly as I remember from the TOS series, the plot was gripping and I can't recall any other time travel book that didn't feel at least a bit of a cop out, but The Entropy effect didn't.
Overall, loved it a lot.
This has got to be my favorite Star trek novel I've read; it was engaging from beginnig to end and I couldn't wait to have some free time to finish it. I was determined to get through it in one day (took me two) which hasn't happened in a really long time!
The characters were exactly as I remember from the TOS series, the plot was gripping and I can't recall any other time travel book that didn't feel at least a bit of a cop out, but The Entropy effect didn't.
Overall, loved it a lot.
strikingthirteen's review
4.0
For a tiny little book it sure packs a heck of wallop! It's a little slow to get going but once it hits its stride (by that I mean the events described in the summary come into play) it is ridiculous and very close to being nail biting.
Everything is weird from the word go. Spock and Kirk are weird with each other - I don't know where in the chronology this novel fits but I'm betting early days since both of them aren't quite as Best Friends Forever-y as they end up being yet - but it's not just them. We have Sulu hunting for a transfer (and growing a moustache and longer hair), Scott being incredibly irritable and feeling like he's being shut out. It's all just a mess and everything and everyone just feels weird. If this was a conscious decision it was very well played.
Things get a little bit Benny Hill once the main, wonderfully written and heartwrenching, tragedy takes place. Spock is leaping through time like crazy and meanwhile McCoy (McCoy! Scott meanwhile is extremely confused and hurt and justifiably so) has to command everything and cover Spock ('he's not prostrate with grief, he's sleeping') Holy cats!
It's a whirlwind I tell you. In that whirlwind we get the treats that are Security Chief Mandela Flynn (and her romance with Sulu, but on her own she is awesome and I love her), several non human security team members (all awesome and I love the thought that went into them. Neon especially, brief as she appeared. Not to say Snarl and Jenniver are also not badass because they are). And Captain Hunter of the boarder patrol, once again she's presented as an ex-fling of Kirk's but she also comes from a different background (culture and family and I'm not spoiling her family arrangements for you but she's aboriginal which is cool and there's a lovely bit where she flashes back to defending her right to wear a feather in her hair and it is awesome). There are lot of fierce ladies in this book. Original characters mostly (poor Uhura and Chapel get a bit of the shaft but when we do see them they are lovely).
It's a quick read and, I say again, one whirlwind of a book. I think I may be more relieved than Spock now that it's over.
Everything is weird from the word go. Spock and Kirk are weird with each other - I don't know where in the chronology this novel fits but I'm betting early days since both of them aren't quite as Best Friends Forever-y as they end up being yet - but it's not just them. We have Sulu hunting for a transfer (and growing a moustache and longer hair), Scott being incredibly irritable and feeling like he's being shut out. It's all just a mess and everything and everyone just feels weird. If this was a conscious decision it was very well played.
Things get a little bit Benny Hill once the main, wonderfully written and heartwrenching, tragedy takes place. Spock is leaping through time like crazy and meanwhile McCoy (McCoy! Scott meanwhile is extremely confused and hurt and justifiably so) has to command everything and cover Spock ('he's not prostrate with grief, he's sleeping') Holy cats!
It's a whirlwind I tell you. In that whirlwind we get the treats that are Security Chief Mandela Flynn (and her romance with Sulu, but on her own she is awesome and I love her), several non human security team members (all awesome and I love the thought that went into them. Neon especially, brief as she appeared. Not to say Snarl and Jenniver are also not badass because they are). And Captain Hunter of the boarder patrol, once again she's presented as an ex-fling of Kirk's but she also comes from a different background (culture and family and I'm not spoiling her family arrangements for you but she's aboriginal which is cool and there's a lovely bit where she flashes back to defending her right to wear a feather in her hair and it is awesome). There are lot of fierce ladies in this book. Original characters mostly (poor Uhura and Chapel get a bit of the shaft but when we do see them they are lovely).
It's a quick read and, I say again, one whirlwind of a book. I think I may be more relieved than Spock now that it's over.
markk's review
4.0
When it was originally published in the summer of 1981 Vonda McIntyre's book represented something of a new frontier (if you'll forgive my use of the phrase) in the Star Trek franchise. Though the second entry in Pocket Books's series of Star Trek novels, it was the first original story they published (the first book was the novelization of [b:Star Trek: The Motion Picture|1697363|Star Trek I The Motion Picture (Star Trek TOS Movie Novelizations, #1)|Gene Roddenberry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1187060297s/1697363.jpg|1694340]). As such, it represented an effort to develop the franchise, rather than the more half-hearted adaptations of the Bantam Books series in the 1970s.
If the series's editors wanted to use the first original novel to set expectations, it is difficult to imagine choosing a better book than this one. McIntyre's novel opens by setting the stakes, as while studying a naked singularity that suddenly appeared in a warp lane, Spock discovers that the universe has only a century remaining before its demise. Before he can verify his data, the Enterprise is summoned to a nearby planet to transport a dangerous prisoner for rehabilitation. The prisoner turns out to be Spock's old physics instructor, Georges Mordreaux, who was convicted of murder after the disappearance of several people, all of whom Mordreaux claims had been sent back into the past. Though skeptical of Mordreaux's claims, Spock investigates Mordreauxs claim after the physicist suddenly appears on the bridge and kills Captain Kirk — all while supposedly detained in a guarded and shielded room on the ship.
As this description illustrates, McIntyre's novel is not short on plot. Yet it is her characterization that is the strongest part of the book, as she develops both the familiar figures from the show (most notably Hikaru Sulu, which started a welcome and long-overdue trend of giving the secondary characters background and depth — and even first names in a few cases) and her original creations into plausible and well-rounded people. The mystery itself adds to the book, as it helps keep the reader engaged until its last pages. And while some of the logic in the story may not hold up well, the book overall makes for a great read, one that set a high bar for the novels in the series that followed.
If the series's editors wanted to use the first original novel to set expectations, it is difficult to imagine choosing a better book than this one. McIntyre's novel opens by setting the stakes, as while studying a naked singularity that suddenly appeared in a warp lane, Spock discovers that the universe has only a century remaining before its demise. Before he can verify his data, the Enterprise is summoned to a nearby planet to transport a dangerous prisoner for rehabilitation. The prisoner turns out to be Spock's old physics instructor, Georges Mordreaux, who was convicted of murder after the disappearance of several people, all of whom Mordreaux claims had been sent back into the past. Though skeptical of Mordreaux's claims, Spock investigates Mordreauxs claim after the physicist suddenly appears on the bridge and kills Captain Kirk — all while supposedly detained in a guarded and shielded room on the ship.
As this description illustrates, McIntyre's novel is not short on plot. Yet it is her characterization that is the strongest part of the book, as she develops both the familiar figures from the show (most notably Hikaru Sulu, which started a welcome and long-overdue trend of giving the secondary characters background and depth — and even first names in a few cases) and her original creations into plausible and well-rounded people. The mystery itself adds to the book, as it helps keep the reader engaged until its last pages. And while some of the logic in the story may not hold up well, the book overall makes for a great read, one that set a high bar for the novels in the series that followed.