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olegx's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
zmull's review against another edition
4.0
Articles of the Federation is an attempt at Star Trek does the West Wing. I like Star Trek. I like West Wing. But I've avoided reading this book for years because I tend to think the less a backstory is explored the better. In Star Trek we know what the Federation is in general terms, but we don't know the details of how it works. The Federation is interesting because it allows the viewer to fill in those details however they choose. Backstory is intended to engage our imaginations. Once you start filling things in you get shit like, "Now this is podracing!" Knowing that this book was heavily inspired by the West Wing suggested to me that an American-style Presidential system was going to grafted on to the Federation and I just couldn't find much enthusiasm for that until recently with the premier of Star Trek Picard. Picard is a show that uses the politics of the Federation as its starting point. I was curious about how the Trek books writers handled it 15 years ago.
Does DeCandido make the Federation an analogue of the American system as I feared? Not really. He does something else that I never really considered but is obvious in retrospect. He writes the Federation President like a Starfleet captain. President Bacco is weirdly rude, but otherwise a typical Star Trek captain. Yeah, there is some political maneuvering with the Federation Council and the book is generally much more talky than another Star Trek story might be but the vibe isn't wildly different than a diplomacy heavy TNG episode.
The book itself is good. It's got some interesting dilemmas for the characters to deal with and I'm glad to hear their stories carry on into other Star Trek books. For the continuity worriers, Articles isn't wildly out of step with the Picard continuity either making this a good choice for people interested in further reading from that show.
Does DeCandido make the Federation an analogue of the American system as I feared? Not really. He does something else that I never really considered but is obvious in retrospect. He writes the Federation President like a Starfleet captain. President Bacco is weirdly rude, but otherwise a typical Star Trek captain. Yeah, there is some political maneuvering with the Federation Council and the book is generally much more talky than another Star Trek story might be but the vibe isn't wildly different than a diplomacy heavy TNG episode.
The book itself is good. It's got some interesting dilemmas for the characters to deal with and I'm glad to hear their stories carry on into other Star Trek books. For the continuity worriers, Articles isn't wildly out of step with the Picard continuity either making this a good choice for people interested in further reading from that show.
cpritchett's review against another edition
I've read a lot of mediocre Star Trek novels, but I couldn't get through this one. Being a political junkie too didn't help me, either. This one has gotten some pretty decent reviews, so I seem to be in the minority. But I certainly expected more from DeCandido.
markmtz's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book by Keith R. A. DeCandido, but his characters are vividly drawn and the story is engrossing. I guess this is sort of a tribute to the television show The West Wing with a trek twist, giving us a view of Federation President Nan Bacco and several months of her administration. Different and entertaining.
Published in mass-market paperback by Pocket Books.
Published in mass-market paperback by Pocket Books.
oscuro_errante's review against another edition
4.0
What can I say? I really appreciated the reading of this book. I bought it a few months back and never read it until now, what I was thinking? ASAP you'll find my review on my personal blog!
wynwicket's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful. The first (and only) Star Trek book to focus entirely on the President of the Federation, Nan Bacco (a beautifully developed character and exactly the kind of woman I'd like to see running the show) and the politics that surround her: aides, ambassadors, and alien bigwigs. Most of the action happens off-screen (or -page) but it was great to see where the interstellar political decisions originate (and OH, the drama, as personalities and civilizations clash).
Star Trek meets The West Wing -- I LOVED it.
Star Trek meets The West Wing -- I LOVED it.
frakalot's review against another edition
5.0
Reread 2021 on my Post Nemesis read through in preparation for the upcoming Coda series... and looking back at my earlier review (below), I've decided that I was a jerk 3 years ago. It pretty much says that I love the book and that I could only fault it for not having created a character that I enjoyed in another book and yet I still docked a star off my rating...! Obviously I'm going to bump this up right now.
This is a superior novel. KRAD has achieved so much with this single book. The story intricately links a vast amount of threads from many sources and every character is well constructed, interesting and genuine (even those who are only shortly glimpsed).
This time through I've realised that I especially love the short peeks into just how politics touches the lives of ordinary folks. A young lady studying at home. A couple of roommates flicking channels. A bar tender and a patron discussing the game on telly. It's all so wonderfully ordinary and very relatable.
Articles of the Federation is a thoughtfully written and dramatic story with impactful characters. The style is atypical for star trek literature, but as I mentioned earlier (below) I think more like this would be fantastic. If you haven't yet, get this book and read it.
**********
2018 review:
I could definitely read more of this style of Star Trek book for sure. I loved the pace which moved quickly throughout the story and the massive scope was fantastic. The ending definitely felt more like a "To Be Continued" than a "The End" to me.
I thought Bacco was a consistently fine character and my personal favorite new character was Bacco's personal assistant, a Vulcan named Sivak, who was a class act!
The only thing that let me down, so to speak, was that Agent Wexler, who we met briefly in 'Mere Mortals,' was not introduced in this story.
This is a superior novel. KRAD has achieved so much with this single book. The story intricately links a vast amount of threads from many sources and every character is well constructed, interesting and genuine (even those who are only shortly glimpsed).
This time through I've realised that I especially love the short peeks into just how politics touches the lives of ordinary folks. A young lady studying at home. A couple of roommates flicking channels. A bar tender and a patron discussing the game on telly. It's all so wonderfully ordinary and very relatable.
Articles of the Federation is a thoughtfully written and dramatic story with impactful characters. The style is atypical for star trek literature, but as I mentioned earlier (below) I think more like this would be fantastic. If you haven't yet, get this book and read it.
**********
2018 review:
I could definitely read more of this style of Star Trek book for sure. I loved the pace which moved quickly throughout the story and the massive scope was fantastic. The ending definitely felt more like a "To Be Continued" than a "The End" to me.
I thought Bacco was a consistently fine character and my personal favorite new character was Bacco's personal assistant, a Vulcan named Sivak, who was a class act!
The only thing that let me down, so to speak, was that Agent Wexler, who we met briefly in 'Mere Mortals,' was not introduced in this story.
birdmanseven's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of my favorite Star Trek novels. It's so unique! They author was clearly going for a Star Trek meets West Wing vibe and succeeded for the most part. An occasional swing-and-a-miss with the banter, but really enjoyable overall.
Tune in here for my discussion on some favorite Trek books and comics: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-48-all-the-books-beyond
Tune in here for my discussion on some favorite Trek books and comics: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-48-all-the-books-beyond
james_annis's review
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
The vibe is Star Trek's version of West Wing. It's actually fun to read: for the points where the philosophy of the Federation are talked about (the Federation President gives talks, after all), for the relationship of the Federation with Star Fleet, for how one actually allies with the Klingons, and for the way successes and losses keep on coming to the office of the President.
It is a genuinely rare book, by paperback novel standards, which I find surprising.
The novel gives you events as if all are important, a way of showing what it would be like to be President of the Federation and the wall of events one would pass through each day. The novel itself tells you only that what is important is "holding the Federation together". I suggest that the most important thread in the book is the Federation/Klingon alliance, and that watching the events around that will bring you the most joy in the reading.
It is a genuinely rare book, by paperback novel standards, which I find surprising.
The novel gives you events as if all are important, a way of showing what it would be like to be President of the Federation and the wall of events one would pass through each day. The novel itself tells you only that what is important is "holding the Federation together". I suggest that the most important thread in the book is the Federation/Klingon alliance, and that watching the events around that will bring you the most joy in the reading.