Scan barcode
A review by toastlover1
Imbalance by V.E. Mitchell
2.0
These days when I see a Star Trek novel at a used book sale, I pick it up (if I don't remember having read it as a kid) for nostalgia sake. I have read a diverse enough selection of fiction at this point in my life that I do not anticipate that these novels be anything more than mildly entertaining and comfortingly familiar. A reminder of my geeky childhood before I knew the difference between fan fiction and "real books." Most of the time, I find exactly what I expect.
In the case of "Imbalance," I was disappointed even with my low expectations. Waht I can say for the book was that it is easy to read and although filled with tired expressions and lazy idioms that we read over and over again, it does not detract from the story. The problem mainly lies with the story itself. Although other reviewers have given specifics already, I will just say that the main story is thin. We get to read about the experiences of many of the main characters (even the often overlook Keiko), but they don't get to do much. The author took a lot of time developing the world of the aliens, but then used that elaborate setting for a lame and simple plot.
The worst area of the book was the subplot with Keiko and Miles. It was completely unbelievable that enlightened and intelligent people living in the 24th century, where humans have expanded throughout many worlds, solved most of their problems and successfully live in peace with countless aliens, would have culture clash and misogynistic issues that sounded like a throwback to the 1950's. I skipped many sections of the book that dealt with that part of the story.
I gave the book 2 stars (instead of one) because the author did make an interesting and detailed alien culture for the crew to interact with, and the book flowed well enough despite its shortcomings. However, unless you have read all the other hundreds of Trek books out there, this one is definitely one that is safe to skip.
In the case of "Imbalance," I was disappointed even with my low expectations. Waht I can say for the book was that it is easy to read and although filled with tired expressions and lazy idioms that we read over and over again, it does not detract from the story. The problem mainly lies with the story itself. Although other reviewers have given specifics already, I will just say that the main story is thin. We get to read about the experiences of many of the main characters (even the often overlook Keiko), but they don't get to do much. The author took a lot of time developing the world of the aliens, but then used that elaborate setting for a lame and simple plot.
The worst area of the book was the subplot with Keiko and Miles. It was completely unbelievable that enlightened and intelligent people living in the 24th century, where humans have expanded throughout many worlds, solved most of their problems and successfully live in peace with countless aliens, would have culture clash and misogynistic issues that sounded like a throwback to the 1950's. I skipped many sections of the book that dealt with that part of the story.
I gave the book 2 stars (instead of one) because the author did make an interesting and detailed alien culture for the crew to interact with, and the book flowed well enough despite its shortcomings. However, unless you have read all the other hundreds of Trek books out there, this one is definitely one that is safe to skip.