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A review by reeshadovahsil
Mutiny on the Enterprise by Robert E. Vardeman
3.0
2.5 stars if I had the option.
The best thing about this novel is the fascinating planet that the crew ends up trying to mine. The entire book should have been about that planet; it would have been a much better book!
The original character started off a bit wrong (we're never informed as to why she suddenly picked the name she picked, after stating that her people do not have personal names), got vaguely interesting, then went way off the rails. Though the plot could have been much better handled, I still enjoyed the general idea of Kirk and Spock running around trying to save their ship while their crew turned against them one by one.
It's odd that the idea of "peace at all costs" was not more fully explored, because this, strictly speaking, was not actually pacifism. Our "pacifist" was willing to kill to avoid violence. There was no good explanation as to why she believed so strongly that the mission the Enterprise was on was going to lead to war when its purpose was to mediate a peace.
And the ending. Oh, goodness me, the ending is a problem! There is nothing right or sensible about letting this psychotic faux-pacifist loose with free rein and total leverage over the situation she was dropped into. It made no sense at all that Kirk would agree to this extreme form of manipulation. If nothing else, she deserved to be tried for her crimes against the Enterprise that lead to multiple crew deaths.
That said, the story was very easy to read and zoomed by in a few hours. While I can't recommend it, I've definitely read worse Star Trek novels.
The best thing about this novel is the fascinating planet that the crew ends up trying to mine. The entire book should have been about that planet; it would have been a much better book!
The original character started off a bit wrong (we're never informed as to why she suddenly picked the name she picked, after stating that her people do not have personal names), got vaguely interesting, then went way off the rails. Though the plot could have been much better handled, I still enjoyed the general idea of Kirk and Spock running around trying to save their ship while their crew turned against them one by one.
It's odd that the idea of "peace at all costs" was not more fully explored, because this, strictly speaking, was not actually pacifism. Our "pacifist" was willing to kill to avoid violence. There was no good explanation as to why she believed so strongly that the mission the Enterprise was on was going to lead to war when its purpose was to mediate a peace.
And the ending. Oh, goodness me, the ending is a problem! There is nothing right or sensible about letting this psychotic faux-pacifist loose with free rein and total leverage over the situation she was dropped into. It made no sense at all that Kirk would agree to this extreme form of manipulation. If nothing else, she deserved to be tried for her crimes against the Enterprise that lead to multiple crew deaths.
That said, the story was very easy to read and zoomed by in a few hours. While I can't recommend it, I've definitely read worse Star Trek novels.