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Star Trek: The Original Series #29
Dreadnought!
Captain Kirk and the crew of the "Enterprise" match wits with fanatics within the Federation itself as they attempt to stop the commander of a new super-weapon, a dreadnought, from provoking a war with the Klingons
251 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1986
67 people are currently reading
821 people want to read
About the author
Diane Carey
80 books122 followersDiane Carey also wrote the Distress Call 911 young adult series under the name D.L. Carey.
Diane Carey is primarily a science fiction author best known for her work in the Star Trek franchise. She has been the lead-off writer for two Star Trek spin-off book series: Star Trek The Next Generation with Star Trek: Ghost Ship, and the novelization of the Star Trek: Enterprise pilot, Broken Bow.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Carey
Diane Carey is primarily a science fiction author best known for her work in the Star Trek franchise. She has been the lead-off writer for two Star Trek spin-off book series: Star Trek The Next Generation with Star Trek: Ghost Ship, and the novelization of the Star Trek: Enterprise pilot, Broken Bow.
For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Carey
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
April 4, 2016
Because women aren't allowed to just be human beings, they are also not allowed to just be characters, so various dismissive terms for them have been invented throughout the years: Damsel in Distress. Femme Fatale. Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Mary Sue. I found this book, which I first read as a kid, and I wanted to reread it partly because Lt. Piper was, back in the olden days at least, held up as the ultimate example of that latter category.
Does she fit it? Well, it's a completely meaningless designation these days, simply a way to say "I don't like it" and pretend it's not just your opinion, but let's assume that it means what it supposedly means, a self-insert who is overly perfect and beloved by the real characters of the franchise. Piper is certainly a self-insert, but I certainly didn't think she was supposed to be perfect. Kirk and company are mostly condescending to her; she fucks up constantly. It's hard to say, of course, how much of her annoyingness is intended, but certainly some of it has to be. I almost think that Carey was intentionally trying to avoid the Mary Sue accusation (if it existed in 1986?) and ended up with someone so overly flawed you can't understand how she manages to eat breakfast without having an anxiety attack over what buttons to press on the food replicator, pratfalling on her way to the cafeteria table, and delivering constant racist microaggressions against her tablemates while her inner monologue wonders why she is doing that and how could she??
It's impossible to tell, because Diane Carey's writing is consistently baffling, from the plot to each individual sentence. Nothing really makes any sense and the whole thing seems to exist in a strange vacuum, where Piper and her few friends seem to be the only people in Starfleet besides our standard crew. (I really appreciated the Next Generation episode "Lower Decks" even more than I did before after reading this; those characters feel like like an organic part of a whole, and they only have 45 minutes, not a whole book.) Time seems to have no meaning. Piper seems to go straight from her boyfriend's bed to the Enterprise, and before she even gets to her cabin they are warping off to a situation which seems to require months having taken place in between, because her boyfriend is now on board the titular hijacked starship as part of a terrorist resistance cell. Several times I get the vague impression that I'm supposed to be amused by something, but I can't tell what that might be. (The one joke I can confidently identify is a loooong and completely pointless digression turning on Starfleet officers still saying "Jesus!" as an exclamation of dismay, which they certainly never have before.)
Notoriously, Carey has somehow failed to notice that the Federation is a socialist utopia, and there is a mini Objectivist dialogue in one scene, that made me uncomfortable even as a little kid. This part is where the actual laughs come from, as when Sarda the Vulcan declares cooperation illogical: "There is no such thing as the 'common good.' The only good is in what the individual finds best for himself." As Piper recounts the horrors of World War III, he declares it a waste. "I nodded. 'That's what happens when society makes decisions instead of individuals.'" Luckily our heroes somehow foil the dastardly collectivists, though I can't say I'm all that clear on how. Well, Captain Kirk blows up the bad guy's ship, killing all aboard, so there's that.
But it's clear that spreading the Randian gospel is not really Carey's agenda. For her real motivations, Piper says it best: "Vulcans. I had some opinions about them." Carey is a fan, and she wants to get into some fan stuff. She wants to write a blog post about the pros and cons of Vulcan philosophy and what makes Captain Kirk so dreamy, but there were no blogs, so she's written a book. And that's fine as far as it goes. Piper is not a great character, and she is totally Diane Carey's carefully-crafted RPG avatar, but when I was a kid I was in her skin too, and it was exciting to go on the Enterprise and have some fun; I never felt she was crowding me out, the way Mary Sue is supposed to. So Piper's OK in my book. The real Mary Sue is that horrible space fairy who's a better doctor than McCoy and constantly gets the better of Mr. Spock in Uhura's Song.
Does she fit it? Well, it's a completely meaningless designation these days, simply a way to say "I don't like it" and pretend it's not just your opinion, but let's assume that it means what it supposedly means, a self-insert who is overly perfect and beloved by the real characters of the franchise. Piper is certainly a self-insert, but I certainly didn't think she was supposed to be perfect. Kirk and company are mostly condescending to her; she fucks up constantly. It's hard to say, of course, how much of her annoyingness is intended, but certainly some of it has to be. I almost think that Carey was intentionally trying to avoid the Mary Sue accusation (if it existed in 1986?) and ended up with someone so overly flawed you can't understand how she manages to eat breakfast without having an anxiety attack over what buttons to press on the food replicator, pratfalling on her way to the cafeteria table, and delivering constant racist microaggressions against her tablemates while her inner monologue wonders why she is doing that and how could she??
It's impossible to tell, because Diane Carey's writing is consistently baffling, from the plot to each individual sentence. Nothing really makes any sense and the whole thing seems to exist in a strange vacuum, where Piper and her few friends seem to be the only people in Starfleet besides our standard crew. (I really appreciated the Next Generation episode "Lower Decks" even more than I did before after reading this; those characters feel like like an organic part of a whole, and they only have 45 minutes, not a whole book.) Time seems to have no meaning. Piper seems to go straight from her boyfriend's bed to the Enterprise, and before she even gets to her cabin they are warping off to a situation which seems to require months having taken place in between, because her boyfriend is now on board the titular hijacked starship as part of a terrorist resistance cell. Several times I get the vague impression that I'm supposed to be amused by something, but I can't tell what that might be. (The one joke I can confidently identify is a loooong and completely pointless digression turning on Starfleet officers still saying "Jesus!" as an exclamation of dismay, which they certainly never have before.)
Notoriously, Carey has somehow failed to notice that the Federation is a socialist utopia, and there is a mini Objectivist dialogue in one scene, that made me uncomfortable even as a little kid. This part is where the actual laughs come from, as when Sarda the Vulcan declares cooperation illogical: "There is no such thing as the 'common good.' The only good is in what the individual finds best for himself." As Piper recounts the horrors of World War III, he declares it a waste. "I nodded. 'That's what happens when society makes decisions instead of individuals.'" Luckily our heroes somehow foil the dastardly collectivists, though I can't say I'm all that clear on how. Well, Captain Kirk blows up the bad guy's ship, killing all aboard, so there's that.
But it's clear that spreading the Randian gospel is not really Carey's agenda. For her real motivations, Piper says it best: "Vulcans. I had some opinions about them." Carey is a fan, and she wants to get into some fan stuff. She wants to write a blog post about the pros and cons of Vulcan philosophy and what makes Captain Kirk so dreamy, but there were no blogs, so she's written a book. And that's fine as far as it goes. Piper is not a great character, and she is totally Diane Carey's carefully-crafted RPG avatar, but when I was a kid I was in her skin too, and it was exciting to go on the Enterprise and have some fun; I never felt she was crowding me out, the way Mary Sue is supposed to. So Piper's OK in my book. The real Mary Sue is that horrible space fairy who's a better doctor than McCoy and constantly gets the better of Mr. Spock in Uhura's Song.
February 3, 2017
A different sort of Star Trek novel--told from the first person--but, an enjoyable one.
April 26, 2015
3.5 stars
This book and its sequel are in many ways unlike any other ST novels -- including the others by Diane Carey.
They are in first person; the focus is on characters who are not among the regular cast members -- so much so that Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are relegated to support-character status; they are frequently, irrepressibly ridiculous (the BUNNY HOP?!? as a diversionary tactic?); and Piper clearly lacks a last name because if she had one it would have to be "Sue".
And let's not forget the warmed-over-Rand political screed oddly inserted in the middle.
And yet I re-read them regularly. Because they are incredible FUN! :D
This book and its sequel are in many ways unlike any other ST novels -- including the others by Diane Carey.
They are in first person; the focus is on characters who are not among the regular cast members -- so much so that Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are relegated to support-character status; they are frequently, irrepressibly ridiculous (the BUNNY HOP?!? as a diversionary tactic?); and Piper clearly lacks a last name because if she had one it would have to be "Sue".
And let's not forget the warmed-over-Rand political screed oddly inserted in the middle.
And yet I re-read them regularly. Because they are incredible FUN! :D
April 8, 2017
I've read a bunch of these Star Trek novels over the years and though they vary in quality they tend at least to be based in the Star Trek universe. Not so with this absolute horror of a book, which is based on such an upside down misrepresentation of the very heart of the Star Trek universe I just don't understand how it was ever perpetrated. If you think Star Trek would be better if filtered through the baseless rantings of, say, Rand Paul, then this is the Fake Trek book for you. The rest of us will be left to wonder what the precise fuck just happened.
June 2, 2021
I mean...it's not awful...
First things first, this novel is written in first-person perspective, which is a personal pet peeve of mine...but it also seems antithetical to Star Trek. Star Trek is about ensembles, casts of characters, diversity in perspectives, and here, we are limited to a singular point of view from a stranger.
Second, there is a huge tonal shift in this character in the last 20 pages or so. She goes from a bumbling, stumbling, no confidence, non-entity, to a tactical genius with all the answers who resolves the problem by just sitting in the captain's chair...all those previous issues with the super ship - dissolved - all her previous inability to do anything - vanished. I was doubting the "Mary Sue" descriptor other reviewers pegged her with, but those last 20 pages illustrate the severe fanfic-ness of this work.
The protagonist is Human - a colonist with no last name on a planet on the edges of Federation space named Proxima. According to her, their colony is so small that they haven't developed the need for last names yet...um...um...but, you're Human...um...would not the original colonists have already had their last names? And...if the colony were that small...would it not have made MORE sense to keep those last name to avoid the chance of inbreeding? Also...Proxima. Proxima Centauri is named as such because it's the closest star to us, you know, proximate. A distant star far from anything else by such a name makes no sense.
And then there's the Ayn Rand-ness of this piece. The antagonist is apparently a communist, or so says the Mary Sue - in so many words. He has a desire to conquer the galaxy to solve all of it's ills - which is, of course, what all communists, liberals, left-leaning, progressive type people want. ALL OF THEM. Every single leftist in the entire universe is an idiot, says she, because we ALL want to conquer everything in the name of equality. And, of course, by extension, we ALL want to kill everyone who disagrees with us, because it's the only way.
Per the Mary Sue, the Federation of Planetary Systems (whichever government that is) and the Federation Congress (whomever they represent) exist only to protect private property rights. That's it. There is nothing else more important to the Federation than that. I have never heard that garbage before or since, and I have no idea why this novel was greenlit to be added to the Star Trek universe. This novel came out shortly before Star Trek IV and The Next Generation - like, a year before - and both of those seemed to pretty much solidify the Federation as the Socialist/Communist Space Utopia that we all know and love...not this libertarian wet-dream fantasy of this book. Kirk with his "there's no money in the 23rd century" and Picard with his "the accumulation of wealth is no longer the driving force of society" - both sentiments bandied about roughly contemporaneously with his novel and it's "Private Property is the be all and end all of the Federation"....
Also, the eponymous Dreadnought is stated again and again to be this unstoppable juggernaut capable of laying waste to entire fleets all by itself...and it's nearly defeated by three other starships in the climactic battle, so...(well, until Mary Sue tells the computer to do everything and it just does - her superpower is "can't someone else do it")...
And she never wears her uniform, because serving Starfleet Officers should just be allowed to walk around in sexy black skintight jumpsuits all day every day, right?
Did I mention that she almost beat the Kobyashi Maru test without cheating? Because she's just that good.
First things first, this novel is written in first-person perspective, which is a personal pet peeve of mine...but it also seems antithetical to Star Trek. Star Trek is about ensembles, casts of characters, diversity in perspectives, and here, we are limited to a singular point of view from a stranger.
Second, there is a huge tonal shift in this character in the last 20 pages or so. She goes from a bumbling, stumbling, no confidence, non-entity, to a tactical genius with all the answers who resolves the problem by just sitting in the captain's chair...all those previous issues with the super ship - dissolved - all her previous inability to do anything - vanished. I was doubting the "Mary Sue" descriptor other reviewers pegged her with, but those last 20 pages illustrate the severe fanfic-ness of this work.
The protagonist is Human - a colonist with no last name on a planet on the edges of Federation space named Proxima. According to her, their colony is so small that they haven't developed the need for last names yet...um...um...but, you're Human...um...would not the original colonists have already had their last names? And...if the colony were that small...would it not have made MORE sense to keep those last name to avoid the chance of inbreeding? Also...Proxima. Proxima Centauri is named as such because it's the closest star to us, you know, proximate. A distant star far from anything else by such a name makes no sense.
And then there's the Ayn Rand-ness of this piece. The antagonist is apparently a communist, or so says the Mary Sue - in so many words. He has a desire to conquer the galaxy to solve all of it's ills - which is, of course, what all communists, liberals, left-leaning, progressive type people want. ALL OF THEM. Every single leftist in the entire universe is an idiot, says she, because we ALL want to conquer everything in the name of equality. And, of course, by extension, we ALL want to kill everyone who disagrees with us, because it's the only way.
Per the Mary Sue, the Federation of Planetary Systems (whichever government that is) and the Federation Congress (whomever they represent) exist only to protect private property rights. That's it. There is nothing else more important to the Federation than that. I have never heard that garbage before or since, and I have no idea why this novel was greenlit to be added to the Star Trek universe. This novel came out shortly before Star Trek IV and The Next Generation - like, a year before - and both of those seemed to pretty much solidify the Federation as the Socialist/Communist Space Utopia that we all know and love...not this libertarian wet-dream fantasy of this book. Kirk with his "there's no money in the 23rd century" and Picard with his "the accumulation of wealth is no longer the driving force of society" - both sentiments bandied about roughly contemporaneously with his novel and it's "Private Property is the be all and end all of the Federation"....
Also, the eponymous Dreadnought is stated again and again to be this unstoppable juggernaut capable of laying waste to entire fleets all by itself...and it's nearly defeated by three other starships in the climactic battle, so...(well, until Mary Sue tells the computer to do everything and it just does - her superpower is "can't someone else do it")...
And she never wears her uniform, because serving Starfleet Officers should just be allowed to walk around in sexy black skintight jumpsuits all day every day, right?
Did I mention that she almost beat the Kobyashi Maru test without cheating? Because she's just that good.
August 16, 2019
I first read this book in high school, and remembered it as one of my favorite Star Trek novels. I think it appealed to me at that time because I could identify with its young protagonist, who is right out of Starfleet Academy and serving on a starship for the first time. It's interesting to see the main Star Trek characters from the perspective of an outsider. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the others are really the supporting characters in this novel as we follow the adventures of a group of junior officers from the Enterprise. There is also an impressive new Starfleet ship, and a big space battle. All those things would have appealed to me when I first read it, and those are the book's strengths.
However, in re-reading it all these years later, I notice the book's weaknesses much more. The writing is adequate, but not great. It reads like a competent piece of fan fiction. Piper spends a lot of time mooning over the male characters (especially Kirk) telling us how handsome and striking and wonderful they are. The plot is predictable and largely recycled from several TOS episodes, and the new characters are mostly paper-thin stereotypes. Sarda, her Vulcan friend has a slightly more interesting backstory, but seems to mostly be in the book to provide a Spock analog.
Diane Carey also uses a long passage in the middle of the book to editorialize Heinlein-style about how bad communism/socialism is and how great libertarianism is. Having warned us about the evils of collective socialism, she then has her villain make use of the term "collective" multiple times in the space of a few pages, to make sure we know how nasty he is. However, this is the only indication we ever get that he's a communist. For the rest of the story, he acts like a bog-standard authoritarian psychopath. Also, after a sneering dismissal of the notion of "common good," Carey has her characters spend the rest of the book working together in the service of Starfleet, an organization created for the common good, for the benefit of the United Federation of Planets, which is a decidedly socialist collective government. I'm no fan of Robert Heinlein's politics, either, but at least he was capable of making a coherent political argument. Carey's arguments don't come anywhere near coherency, and they're an irritating distraction from the story.
This one got a big old visit from the Suck Fairy, I'm afraid. I have the sequel in my reading queue, but now I doubt I'll bother with that one.
However, in re-reading it all these years later, I notice the book's weaknesses much more. The writing is adequate, but not great. It reads like a competent piece of fan fiction. Piper spends a lot of time mooning over the male characters (especially Kirk) telling us how handsome and striking and wonderful they are. The plot is predictable and largely recycled from several TOS episodes, and the new characters are mostly paper-thin stereotypes. Sarda, her Vulcan friend has a slightly more interesting backstory, but seems to mostly be in the book to provide a Spock analog.
Diane Carey also uses a long passage in the middle of the book to editorialize Heinlein-style about how bad communism/socialism is and how great libertarianism is. Having warned us about the evils of collective socialism, she then has her villain make use of the term "collective" multiple times in the space of a few pages, to make sure we know how nasty he is. However, this is the only indication we ever get that he's a communist. For the rest of the story, he acts like a bog-standard authoritarian psychopath. Also, after a sneering dismissal of the notion of "common good," Carey has her characters spend the rest of the book working together in the service of Starfleet, an organization created for the common good, for the benefit of the United Federation of Planets, which is a decidedly socialist collective government. I'm no fan of Robert Heinlein's politics, either, but at least he was capable of making a coherent political argument. Carey's arguments don't come anywhere near coherency, and they're an irritating distraction from the story.
This one got a big old visit from the Suck Fairy, I'm afraid. I have the sequel in my reading queue, but now I doubt I'll bother with that one.
February 6, 2016
by Grabthar's Hammer...the history of totalitarianism...girl, have you ever seen Star Trek?
March 18, 2017
Dreadnought has an OK plot, marred by poor writing and Carey's departure into far-right/libertarian political screeds. Would Spock really complain about "leftist rebels"? I doubt it.
May 27, 2025
One of the better pocket books i’ve read in a while, #29. Aspects of this story made me think of the trek reboot movie, 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness, where a super-powerful militaristic starship is secretly created to homogenize the galaxy by a seemingly well-meaning admiral. If only he can bend everyone to his will all the ugliness will go away! It’s an evil despotic pipe dream that seems the natural destination of any quest for total security. Unfortunately, the logic expressed isn’t mere fiction.
The book is written in a first-person style through the eyes of a young newby-Lieutenant Piper. It took a few chapters, but I ended up enjoying that narrative style, especially when in came to her descriptions of, and interactions with, the Enterprise’s crew. Nice job, Diane Carey!
”well…freedom isn’t something people just give up one day. It trickles away, bit by bit, without anyone really noticing soon enough.”
The book is written in a first-person style through the eyes of a young newby-Lieutenant Piper. It took a few chapters, but I ended up enjoying that narrative style, especially when in came to her descriptions of, and interactions with, the Enterprise’s crew. Nice job, Diane Carey!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2019
This one was just dread (eh) fully dull. 1.5 stars.
May 25, 2019
The main plot was okay, bit like Insurrection, Undiscovered Country or Into Darkness (just without Khan). But the details were partly nonsensical (books mysteriously appearing, everyone taking an instant liking to the main character, her knowing everything currently necessary no matter if it’s communications, earth history, computer tech, ...), others were badly researched (misused terms like depression) and some where just ideological propaganda.
And while the latter only covered a small part of the book, it’s the main reason for me giving only two stars. Yeah, one has to cut the author some slack because she wrote the book long before the internet became a thing. And recently the world learned how some American private schools and universities still feed their students downright lies.
But if you write a book in which you want to make political theories a topic, you sit down and DO YOUR BLOODY RESEARCH!
It begins with Star Trek being just what Diane Carey seems to fear the most. Star Trek IS communism. Okay, that it is was only fully implemented in The Next Generation, so at the time she wrote that novel, she couldn’t fully know. But at least we already could see in TOS episodes that it was not a capitalistic system, but one deeply founded in humanism and altruism - both rather leftish traits. Also the system only works if people accept and live the principles - something Carey wrote down herself in the end. That is not possible with the free hand of market (that Carey makes propaganda for) and without basic laws (that Carey seems to hate).
Also she writes a villain that acts like Hitler and calls him a socialist? Yes, the word nationalsocialism includes the word socialism, but the two theories are on opposite ends of the political spectrum.
And then she goes on writing how labour unions are evil and lead to World War Three? Hell, lady, there’s a reason why we, the countries with strong unions and a strong social welfare state are more resilient to economic crisis by now.
Don’t get me wrong. Communism/socialism didn’t work in our history and probably won’t ever work because we humans are too rotten to fully accept the concept of having the same rights and chances as our neighbors. We’re too envious, too neurotic, too selfish.
But not only is Star Trek what political scholars call ‚communism thought through and carried through to the end‘, it also gave us one basic principle: IDIC.
So even at a time when it was not yet clear which political system Star Trek might include, it was clear, that it should NOT be used for propaganda on such a scale and with downright lies. Because that’s what the political parts in this book are. Carey seems to never have studied political theories and just went with the lies, some fundamental republicans still seem to tell. (You know, those who called Obama a socialist and a Nazi at the same time.)
So ... well, if it were not for the Mary Sue problem, a hell lot of extremely bad research and a really disgusting try at political propaganda, this book might have actually been good. I liked the idea of having the reader experience live on a space ship from a newcomer‘s perspective. (I hope that’s how the Lower Decks show will work.) But unfortunately the weaknesses of this novel are just too huge to recommend it to anyone.
And while the latter only covered a small part of the book, it’s the main reason for me giving only two stars. Yeah, one has to cut the author some slack because she wrote the book long before the internet became a thing. And recently the world learned how some American private schools and universities still feed their students downright lies.
But if you write a book in which you want to make political theories a topic, you sit down and DO YOUR BLOODY RESEARCH!
It begins with Star Trek being just what Diane Carey seems to fear the most. Star Trek IS communism. Okay, that it is was only fully implemented in The Next Generation, so at the time she wrote that novel, she couldn’t fully know. But at least we already could see in TOS episodes that it was not a capitalistic system, but one deeply founded in humanism and altruism - both rather leftish traits. Also the system only works if people accept and live the principles - something Carey wrote down herself in the end. That is not possible with the free hand of market (that Carey makes propaganda for) and without basic laws (that Carey seems to hate).
Also she writes a villain that acts like Hitler and calls him a socialist? Yes, the word nationalsocialism includes the word socialism, but the two theories are on opposite ends of the political spectrum.
And then she goes on writing how labour unions are evil and lead to World War Three? Hell, lady, there’s a reason why we, the countries with strong unions and a strong social welfare state are more resilient to economic crisis by now.
Don’t get me wrong. Communism/socialism didn’t work in our history and probably won’t ever work because we humans are too rotten to fully accept the concept of having the same rights and chances as our neighbors. We’re too envious, too neurotic, too selfish.
But not only is Star Trek what political scholars call ‚communism thought through and carried through to the end‘, it also gave us one basic principle: IDIC.
So even at a time when it was not yet clear which political system Star Trek might include, it was clear, that it should NOT be used for propaganda on such a scale and with downright lies. Because that’s what the political parts in this book are. Carey seems to never have studied political theories and just went with the lies, some fundamental republicans still seem to tell. (You know, those who called Obama a socialist and a Nazi at the same time.)
So ... well, if it were not for the Mary Sue problem, a hell lot of extremely bad research and a really disgusting try at political propaganda, this book might have actually been good. I liked the idea of having the reader experience live on a space ship from a newcomer‘s perspective. (I hope that’s how the Lower Decks show will work.) But unfortunately the weaknesses of this novel are just too huge to recommend it to anyone.
July 21, 2023
I picked this up as an ebook with some Kindle credit--there's no way I'll pay $8.99 for a decades-old Star Trek novel some intern sloppily formatted from the original text. It was one of my favorite Star Trek: TOS novels when I was in high school, and what I liked about it was seeing Kirk, Spock, and McCoy from someone else's perspective. The narrator is a newly-minted captaincy candidate who gets mixed up in espionage when a prototype Federation starship is stolen, and the story veers from action-packed to philosophical without ever going over the edge one way or the other. It's not going to give Diane Duane's Rihannsu books any competition, but it's engaging and fun.
June 29, 2019
When it comes to Star Trek novels, they should only be compared to other Star Trek novels (it's that apple and oranges thing). No, they're not Shakespeare or great modern literature. The Star Trek novels are the literary equivalent of calling up some old familiar friends and going on an adventure. No introductions are needed, no back story, no explanations --- just belly up to the bar, throw down a few drinks, and tell a gripping tale.
This one is one of the better ones. Diane Carey has written a number of really good Star Trek novels, and whenever I see her name on the cover, I know it's a worthy read.
This one is one of the better ones. Diane Carey has written a number of really good Star Trek novels, and whenever I see her name on the cover, I know it's a worthy read.
October 11, 2023
I've enjoyed many Star Trek novels written by Diane Carey. I decided to read this book because its notorious for being poorly written, and that charge confused me because all of the other Trek novels of hers which I've read, they were among the best Trek stories I've read. Having finally read
Dreadnought!
for myself, I can say that it's
NOT
as bad as some reviewers say. I've read much worse Trek novels compared to this one. Nor was this a story one of a "Mary Sue." Since the main female character was realistic. She makes mistakes and learns from them. Moreover the story reveals her inner struggles, fears, self-doubt and inner battles to bring out the best in herself. That's all the very opposite of a "
Mary Sue
." This is coming from someone [i.e. me] who absolutely
HATES
Mary Sue/Gary Stu stories with a passion [the
Star Wars character Rey
being the quintessential modern example].
I suspect part of the reason this book has such a bad reputation is because the book (especially from pages 129-135 in chapter 7) expresses political and social views contrary to modern woke propaganda and indoctrination. Though, many veil that as the real reason for their giving the book a bad review. One has to remember that this book was published in 1986. As a social and religious conservative, I have much (not perfect) agreement with the strange amalgam/mixture of classic Liberal and classic Conservative opinions expressed in the following excerpt. Views which are now anathema to much of modern political and social progressives.
Here's the excerpt.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!
QUOTE
//"That would be only part of it. A big part, but--well, Earth history has good examples."
"I am disturbingly ignorant of Earth history."
"You don't know the events that led up to the Third World War?"
"As I indicated, I do not."
"Well … freedom isn't something people just give up one day. It trickles away, bit by bit, without anyone really noticing soon enough." Seeing his quandary, I offered, "Let me give you an example. In the prosperity of the late twentieth century people kept handing over deciding powers to their governments, sometimes even demanding government intervention. Can you imagine actually asking bureaucracies to take over?" Disbelief crossed Sarda's face. As a Vulcan, he couldn't even conceive of such a thing, so I kept on explaining since interest lay behind his disbelief. "It started with the most basic of rights--property. The right of the individual to the fruits of his own labor went under in the face of the needs of his society."
"Were there not objections?"
"Sure, strong ones, but too late. Those who benefited from sacrificing the individual to society were too powerful. Some groups became so powerful that nobody could compete anymore. So more government help. The pile got bigger and bigger, but it was just a fat horse. The more it got fed, the less work it could do. You heard Rittenhouse talk about a common-good sort of ideal? This is the same thing. After a while the only way to survive in the "new" system was through joining a powerful group--a labor union, like I said, a religious organization, a political unit or business conglomerate that had gotten itself special insulation from competitors. Eventually individuals fired by self-interest just began to disappear, replaced by those groups, each fighting for a different way to promote the common good, which of course translated into whatever was best for themselves. The economic system fell like a house of cards. If society had problems, they blamed it on parts of society who were disruptive, the same people who just happened to have different viewpoints from theirs. So they pushed for control of those others."
"Like the Klingons," Sarda murmured.
"And everybody else who doesn't go along with his plan," I agreed, glad he could grasp so senseless an idea. "The harder the struggle, the tighter the control."
"The deeper the loss of freedoms," he finished for me. He dropped his gaze. "The Vulcans would be among the first to struggle. And we would never cease struggling against such foolish unity."
I answered only with a silent nod.
"Strange," he said, "that no one questioned the basic philosophy."
"What do you mean?"
His brow knitted. "There is no such thing as 'common good.' The only good is in what the individual finds best for himself. If he does no harm in his practice, why would others seek to control him?"
"On Earth, it was because the others wanted what the individual had earned. Somehow they made themselves believe he didn't deserve what he worked for, if it went too far over what someone else had, even if that second person hadn't put much effort out on his own behalf. It became easier to get the government to steal for you than to work your way up."
"Inconceivable."
"It is to me too." The bench creaked as I leaned back in thought. "To everybody on Earth. That's why we guard our personal freedoms so dearly. We came too close to handing them over, and losing them forever."
"Did this … change of structure occur swiftly? All over the planet at once?"
"Well, Earth's a big planet, but it did hustle right along once it started. It started on the Asian continent and spread to Europe, the Africas, over to South America, and eventually the North Americas. Wherever it went it squeezed the life out of the economy by enslaving successful people to placate those who didn't produce."
"A viral effect?"
"More like a plague. Or a drug, might be the better way to say it. The addict keeps asking for more. The worse things got, the more the government interfered. After a while, nobody bothered to be an entrepreneur anymore. Oh, they got their utopian one-class society, all right, but the one class was poverty. The black market went wild. Politics became more powerful than personal initiative. People lost the idea of individual action and started looking for great leaders."
"The eugenics experiments of the 1990s?"
I nodded heavily. "I'm glad I don't have to explain to you about those."
"A most … shameful time."
"Oh, the worst was yet to come."
"Dictatorships?"
"Like bees' nests. Democracies turned into little dictatorships. Some of them weren't so little, really … The worse the economies got, the more those dictators concentrated on taking care of themselves, never mind the people. They started looking for scapegoats, blaming each other, blaming various racial groups or ideological units--"
"Disgusting …" He actually shuddered.
"Have you heard of Li Quan?"
"Not in any detail. Only in references to excess."
"He popped out of the western United States and used the border skirmishes between the dictatorships to carry out a global coup. He wanted to be a benevolent dictator, he said. Unify all people under one flag, he said. The good of all, he said. Total sharing, food for all, planetary consolidation …"
"What occurred?"
"Sarda, that system doesn't work! It sounds generous and perfect, but no matter how often it's been tried, it never operates. Li Quan kept talking benevolence, but the only way government control works is to turn everything into a law or a regulation, which means you have to bring in a military order to keep people in line, which means anybody who disagrees is automatically a criminal. His benevolent dictatorship started as a police state and escalated into a global bloodbath. And all the while he talked about his perfect order, how great it would be for all the people. Of course, in the meantime the people were starving because the economy was shot." I leaned forward intently as Sarda's brow knitted in lack of perception. "Don't you see? Rittenhouse is gradually taking control, gradually putting his own people into key positions. Admiral Armstrong as Star Fleet Representative to the Federation Congress, one step below the Chief Magistrate, three of his people commanding starships, himself chairing the Military Staff Advisory Committee at Fleet Command … and Star Empire to light the fuse. The dreadnought isn't the beginning of a science--it's the end of a long fuse!"
"A galactic military incident with the Klingons …," Sarda murmured as he added it all up. "Li Quan's global skirmishes. The perfect excuse to launch a military upheaval at Star Fleet--"
"Establish martial law," I added, "and disband the civilian government."
"Remarkable. . . ."
"Sarda, he means to dissolve the Federation itself."
We stared at the wall, imagining the distant form of Star Empire, and I found that although I understood the processes I was so verbosely explaining to him, I was just as shocked as Sarda was by the idea of their actually happening to us. Rittenhouse drifted back into my mind, a gentle, grandfatherly kind of man who could make anyone trust him. I shook my head slowly. "He really thinks we'll be better off if the galaxy is directed by some central character. Himself."
Sarda turned when I said this. "He does not perceive the error?"
My right shoulder lifted in a tired half-shrug. "His belief that we should all invest ourselves in the common good will force him to violently subjugate the Klingons and Romulans; he knows that. What he doesn't realize is that vast parts of the Federation planetary systems won't hold to his view of the ideal society, and they'll fight too. We'll fight. He doesn't imagine himself at war with the Vulcans or other humans. He'll be forced to war beyond imagining, and finally to enslave everyone. He doesn't see it, but it will happen. It always has."
The impact sat on us like a grey numbness. I had to force my spine to relax again as we sat side by side and absorbed the terrible realization of my outlandish guesses actually turning out to be true. They must be true--Rittenhouse hadn't argued with me, and he certainly knew what I was implying.
Beside me Sarda battled to accept the full-scale foolishness my intense, emotional, too human race made itself vulnerable to, his face hardening, his eyes growing shallow and cold with empathy he would have denied. I saw anger grow as I watched him, his lips pressing tight, his stare filled with the hard floor beneath us, though he wouldn't have given in to it. There no longer existed any target for his anger from those awful times. Li Quan and his followers were generations dead. World War Three had shown mankind once and for all to let their society grow as a tree grows, free of pruning, free of artificial aids. Since then, since nearly making the biggest cultural blunder in the history of any known race, humans guarded their personal freedoms fiercely and had pushed out into space to guarantee those freedoms to others. Noble in the end, they had made gross mistakes which embarrassed me now in front of my Vulcan companion.
He shook his head the tiniest bit. "Such waste," he breathed.
I nodded. "That's what happens when society makes decisions instead of individuals."
"Society, of course, meaning whoever is in control at the time."
"Yes … the loudest lobbyists, political armtwisters, ideological cults, pro-protectionist powers … the father-protector syndrome. It's a human failing."
"I have never understood religions."
"Me neither."
"You seem to know a substantial amount about that period."
"Yeah … captaincy candidates have to concentrate on one section of history from a major Federation power and do a dissertation on it. Mine was 'Political Collectivism As Causal to Earth's Third World War.' So this is my subject. Sorry if I'm ranting. I don't mean to."
"I did request an explanation. Your apology is misplaced."
"In that case, I'm not sorry." Just embarrassed.//
END QUOTE
Anyway, I'm off to read the sequel. Hopefully it's as good, or better.
I suspect part of the reason this book has such a bad reputation is because the book (especially from pages 129-135 in chapter 7) expresses political and social views contrary to modern woke propaganda and indoctrination. Though, many veil that as the real reason for their giving the book a bad review. One has to remember that this book was published in 1986. As a social and religious conservative, I have much (not perfect) agreement with the strange amalgam/mixture of classic Liberal and classic Conservative opinions expressed in the following excerpt. Views which are now anathema to much of modern political and social progressives.
Here's the excerpt.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!
QUOTE
//"That would be only part of it. A big part, but--well, Earth history has good examples."
"I am disturbingly ignorant of Earth history."
"You don't know the events that led up to the Third World War?"
"As I indicated, I do not."
"Well … freedom isn't something people just give up one day. It trickles away, bit by bit, without anyone really noticing soon enough." Seeing his quandary, I offered, "Let me give you an example. In the prosperity of the late twentieth century people kept handing over deciding powers to their governments, sometimes even demanding government intervention. Can you imagine actually asking bureaucracies to take over?" Disbelief crossed Sarda's face. As a Vulcan, he couldn't even conceive of such a thing, so I kept on explaining since interest lay behind his disbelief. "It started with the most basic of rights--property. The right of the individual to the fruits of his own labor went under in the face of the needs of his society."
"Were there not objections?"
"Sure, strong ones, but too late. Those who benefited from sacrificing the individual to society were too powerful. Some groups became so powerful that nobody could compete anymore. So more government help. The pile got bigger and bigger, but it was just a fat horse. The more it got fed, the less work it could do. You heard Rittenhouse talk about a common-good sort of ideal? This is the same thing. After a while the only way to survive in the "new" system was through joining a powerful group--a labor union, like I said, a religious organization, a political unit or business conglomerate that had gotten itself special insulation from competitors. Eventually individuals fired by self-interest just began to disappear, replaced by those groups, each fighting for a different way to promote the common good, which of course translated into whatever was best for themselves. The economic system fell like a house of cards. If society had problems, they blamed it on parts of society who were disruptive, the same people who just happened to have different viewpoints from theirs. So they pushed for control of those others."
"Like the Klingons," Sarda murmured.
"And everybody else who doesn't go along with his plan," I agreed, glad he could grasp so senseless an idea. "The harder the struggle, the tighter the control."
"The deeper the loss of freedoms," he finished for me. He dropped his gaze. "The Vulcans would be among the first to struggle. And we would never cease struggling against such foolish unity."
I answered only with a silent nod.
"Strange," he said, "that no one questioned the basic philosophy."
"What do you mean?"
His brow knitted. "There is no such thing as 'common good.' The only good is in what the individual finds best for himself. If he does no harm in his practice, why would others seek to control him?"
"On Earth, it was because the others wanted what the individual had earned. Somehow they made themselves believe he didn't deserve what he worked for, if it went too far over what someone else had, even if that second person hadn't put much effort out on his own behalf. It became easier to get the government to steal for you than to work your way up."
"Inconceivable."
"It is to me too." The bench creaked as I leaned back in thought. "To everybody on Earth. That's why we guard our personal freedoms so dearly. We came too close to handing them over, and losing them forever."
"Did this … change of structure occur swiftly? All over the planet at once?"
"Well, Earth's a big planet, but it did hustle right along once it started. It started on the Asian continent and spread to Europe, the Africas, over to South America, and eventually the North Americas. Wherever it went it squeezed the life out of the economy by enslaving successful people to placate those who didn't produce."
"A viral effect?"
"More like a plague. Or a drug, might be the better way to say it. The addict keeps asking for more. The worse things got, the more the government interfered. After a while, nobody bothered to be an entrepreneur anymore. Oh, they got their utopian one-class society, all right, but the one class was poverty. The black market went wild. Politics became more powerful than personal initiative. People lost the idea of individual action and started looking for great leaders."
"The eugenics experiments of the 1990s?"
I nodded heavily. "I'm glad I don't have to explain to you about those."
"A most … shameful time."
"Oh, the worst was yet to come."
"Dictatorships?"
"Like bees' nests. Democracies turned into little dictatorships. Some of them weren't so little, really … The worse the economies got, the more those dictators concentrated on taking care of themselves, never mind the people. They started looking for scapegoats, blaming each other, blaming various racial groups or ideological units--"
"Disgusting …" He actually shuddered.
"Have you heard of Li Quan?"
"Not in any detail. Only in references to excess."
"He popped out of the western United States and used the border skirmishes between the dictatorships to carry out a global coup. He wanted to be a benevolent dictator, he said. Unify all people under one flag, he said. The good of all, he said. Total sharing, food for all, planetary consolidation …"
"What occurred?"
"Sarda, that system doesn't work! It sounds generous and perfect, but no matter how often it's been tried, it never operates. Li Quan kept talking benevolence, but the only way government control works is to turn everything into a law or a regulation, which means you have to bring in a military order to keep people in line, which means anybody who disagrees is automatically a criminal. His benevolent dictatorship started as a police state and escalated into a global bloodbath. And all the while he talked about his perfect order, how great it would be for all the people. Of course, in the meantime the people were starving because the economy was shot." I leaned forward intently as Sarda's brow knitted in lack of perception. "Don't you see? Rittenhouse is gradually taking control, gradually putting his own people into key positions. Admiral Armstrong as Star Fleet Representative to the Federation Congress, one step below the Chief Magistrate, three of his people commanding starships, himself chairing the Military Staff Advisory Committee at Fleet Command … and Star Empire to light the fuse. The dreadnought isn't the beginning of a science--it's the end of a long fuse!"
"A galactic military incident with the Klingons …," Sarda murmured as he added it all up. "Li Quan's global skirmishes. The perfect excuse to launch a military upheaval at Star Fleet--"
"Establish martial law," I added, "and disband the civilian government."
"Remarkable. . . ."
"Sarda, he means to dissolve the Federation itself."
We stared at the wall, imagining the distant form of Star Empire, and I found that although I understood the processes I was so verbosely explaining to him, I was just as shocked as Sarda was by the idea of their actually happening to us. Rittenhouse drifted back into my mind, a gentle, grandfatherly kind of man who could make anyone trust him. I shook my head slowly. "He really thinks we'll be better off if the galaxy is directed by some central character. Himself."
Sarda turned when I said this. "He does not perceive the error?"
My right shoulder lifted in a tired half-shrug. "His belief that we should all invest ourselves in the common good will force him to violently subjugate the Klingons and Romulans; he knows that. What he doesn't realize is that vast parts of the Federation planetary systems won't hold to his view of the ideal society, and they'll fight too. We'll fight. He doesn't imagine himself at war with the Vulcans or other humans. He'll be forced to war beyond imagining, and finally to enslave everyone. He doesn't see it, but it will happen. It always has."
The impact sat on us like a grey numbness. I had to force my spine to relax again as we sat side by side and absorbed the terrible realization of my outlandish guesses actually turning out to be true. They must be true--Rittenhouse hadn't argued with me, and he certainly knew what I was implying.
Beside me Sarda battled to accept the full-scale foolishness my intense, emotional, too human race made itself vulnerable to, his face hardening, his eyes growing shallow and cold with empathy he would have denied. I saw anger grow as I watched him, his lips pressing tight, his stare filled with the hard floor beneath us, though he wouldn't have given in to it. There no longer existed any target for his anger from those awful times. Li Quan and his followers were generations dead. World War Three had shown mankind once and for all to let their society grow as a tree grows, free of pruning, free of artificial aids. Since then, since nearly making the biggest cultural blunder in the history of any known race, humans guarded their personal freedoms fiercely and had pushed out into space to guarantee those freedoms to others. Noble in the end, they had made gross mistakes which embarrassed me now in front of my Vulcan companion.
He shook his head the tiniest bit. "Such waste," he breathed.
I nodded. "That's what happens when society makes decisions instead of individuals."
"Society, of course, meaning whoever is in control at the time."
"Yes … the loudest lobbyists, political armtwisters, ideological cults, pro-protectionist powers … the father-protector syndrome. It's a human failing."
"I have never understood religions."
"Me neither."
"You seem to know a substantial amount about that period."
"Yeah … captaincy candidates have to concentrate on one section of history from a major Federation power and do a dissertation on it. Mine was 'Political Collectivism As Causal to Earth's Third World War.' So this is my subject. Sorry if I'm ranting. I don't mean to."
"I did request an explanation. Your apology is misplaced."
"In that case, I'm not sorry." Just embarrassed.//
END QUOTE
Anyway, I'm off to read the sequel. Hopefully it's as good, or better.
March 11, 2021
A huge, almost invincible starship from Terra takes center stage in this epos. Sadly enough not from its best side - it almost gets destroyed during the events because almost all its features are left unused. The story is a real thriller with a touch of mystery tough, until the last 20 pages. Then it changes from straight-through action into a sad heap of almost gibbering humanity that awaits divine-like intervention. For lovers of psychology maybe top, i call it a botched end. Very woke i guess.
I know that there will be another book with Piper (i have already read and liked it) but altogether i would have like more background on several of the main characters - maybe that poses a problem because it are so many. Which seems a contradiction because of the limited number of rebels and rescuers, but can be explained by the fact that a lot of them play an important part in the plot.
That plot is well thought through and very plausible - it actually reminded me of the march through the institutions of the far left of which we see the sad but very real results today in politics and everyday life.
I know that there will be another book with Piper (i have already read and liked it) but altogether i would have like more background on several of the main characters - maybe that poses a problem because it are so many. Which seems a contradiction because of the limited number of rebels and rescuers, but can be explained by the fact that a lot of them play an important part in the plot.
That plot is well thought through and very plausible - it actually reminded me of the march through the institutions of the far left of which we see the sad but very real results today in politics and everyday life.
March 21, 2025
Well this is the first novel that I've read by Diane Carey and I liked it I don't read many books where it's from a first person perspective but this I liked story was interesting and I liked the character of Piper
October 15, 2022
Diane Carey knows the Star Trek world and added a different spin by giving the view from a command trainee.
June 20, 2024
Excellent Star Trek adventure. Not so much about original crew though.
January 19, 2011
Fair Star Trek novel featuring the Original Series characters. The narrator is a hotshot lieutenant on the captaincy track, a humanoid from a planet called Proxima Beta. There's a fun bit where she remembers her reaction to Earth's climate during her academy days: "And I could never, never get used to that garish yellow sun." But seeing the familiar through an unfamiliar narrator's eyes quickly becomes tiresome as each Original Series crewmember is described by the narrator. It's a nice idea, but the author has a heavy hand. As with many Star Trek novels, the premise is promising but the execution is clumsy. There is yet another secret plot amongst top Star Fleet brass. Does Star Fleet do any pre-screening of employees, or what? A subplot about the relationship between the narrator and a Vulcan officer can't decide whether its a diversity lesson or a romance and, ultimately, isn't believable either way.
November 13, 2018
Well I was hoping that since this was her first book, and she has written so many since then, that this was going to be a great book that earned her a place at writing again and again for Star Trek... wow, super disappointed. This is a Mary Sue story, plain and simple, all told from a character that Carey created, Lt. Piper, personal perspective. What a joke. This is the kind of novel that I hate. It makes Kirk look like he has no idea what he is doing unless Piper gets the idea first. She's just brought on board the Enterprise and everyone likes her, except for the one character she has to win over. I could rant on and on but we all know how this goes. One final gripe and that it has a lot of Carey's trademarked onomatopoeia throughout which I always hate. Use words, not sounds, you're a writer! Well...almost one.
January 17, 2019
Following her graduation from Starfleet Academy and assignment to the U.S.S. 'Enterprise', Lt. Piper soon finds herself caught up in an investigation into the theft of the U.S.S. 'Star Empire'.
Carey's first 'Star Trek' novel has some interesting concepts, but ignores the main characters to it's detriment.
Carey's first 'Star Trek' novel has some interesting concepts, but ignores the main characters to it's detriment.
November 6, 2012
It has some neat ideas.
December 30, 2020
Highly enjoyable. Told through the experience of an interesting new character, this story had a Lower Decks meets Wesley Crusher vibe for me.
December 5, 2020
Lots of potential, some might love it, but disappointing to me.
I just finished reading Dreadnought! and its sequel Battleships! which were both written by Diane Carey. Dreadnought! opens with Lieutenant Piper coming closer to succeeding (without cheating) in the no-win Kobayashi Maru Star Fleet training exercise than anyone ever has before. Early on we find that Piper simultaneously almost worships Captain James Kirk and also want to be as much like him as possible. Along that line early in the book she acquires her own wise doctor friend, engineer friend, and Vulcan associate Of course she is assigned to the Enterprise which is ordered to deal with the theft of a prototype super-ship (the “Dreadnought in the tittle). Piper ends up becoming the key person to deal with the danger the Dreadnought represents.
Set only a few weeks later, Battleships! has Piper now a Lieutenant Commander, apparently only a few months at most after graduating Star Fleet Academy. She has become a mentee of Captain Kirk, who she still idolizes and constantly wants to please and become like. They are separated and Piper, along with her friends, ends up in the midst of an interstellar scramble to acquire stollen “trans warp” technology. Piper is again the linchpin in the story that allows this threat to be effectively dealt with.
I purchased these books because the story descriptions seemed exciting and at least a bit novel. The idea of having a couple of books written from a “lower decks” perspective was intriguing, and the need to deal with rogue use of technology in the Star Trek TOS context seemed like it had a lot of potential. However, I found these books frustrating and profoundly disappointing.
Both stories are told exclusively from a first-person point of view, something difficult, but not impossible to do well in these types of novels. However, rather than allow us to get the perspectives of other characters by their words or actions we are generally given then by way of Piper’s rambling inner monologues in which she seems to feel she knows all the innermost thoughts of those around her. Besides Piper imaging the thoughts of others she spends and enormous amount of time thinking about and commenting on her own emotions, fears, hopes, and relationship issues.
Piper constantly manages to save the day, but generally in ways that seem to rely on luck, or being the only one to think of doing something that other more experienced officers would have certainly thought of, such as asking a computer for help. As part of this the science of Star Trek, never something that bears close scrutiny, is bolstered by technobabble that manages to make even less sense than what was portrayed in the TV series.
I really wanted to like these books, but the incessant internal, often angst filled monologues constantly distracted me from the story line until half way through the second book I finally started skimming through them so that I could just finish the book. I have a smart and capable wife and several daughters I am proud of, and partly because of this am happy to read a book in which the central character is a smart and capable woman. However, Piper seems to succeed mostly by luck, the efforts of others she has no part in enabling, or by slavishly imitating what she thinks Captain Kirk would do in any given situation.
I looked up Diane Carey’s other writings and found that prior to writing these two books her only published novels were in the romance genre. One of my daughters pointed out that in the romance genre telling the story in the first person using a single POV character is common and that it is the internal monologues that often carry the plot. I suspect that is why these books were written as they were, and perhaps someone who loves reading romance novels might find they books easier and more pleasant to read than I did.
I just finished reading Dreadnought! and its sequel Battleships! which were both written by Diane Carey. Dreadnought! opens with Lieutenant Piper coming closer to succeeding (without cheating) in the no-win Kobayashi Maru Star Fleet training exercise than anyone ever has before. Early on we find that Piper simultaneously almost worships Captain James Kirk and also want to be as much like him as possible. Along that line early in the book she acquires her own wise doctor friend, engineer friend, and Vulcan associate Of course she is assigned to the Enterprise which is ordered to deal with the theft of a prototype super-ship (the “Dreadnought in the tittle). Piper ends up becoming the key person to deal with the danger the Dreadnought represents.
Set only a few weeks later, Battleships! has Piper now a Lieutenant Commander, apparently only a few months at most after graduating Star Fleet Academy. She has become a mentee of Captain Kirk, who she still idolizes and constantly wants to please and become like. They are separated and Piper, along with her friends, ends up in the midst of an interstellar scramble to acquire stollen “trans warp” technology. Piper is again the linchpin in the story that allows this threat to be effectively dealt with.
I purchased these books because the story descriptions seemed exciting and at least a bit novel. The idea of having a couple of books written from a “lower decks” perspective was intriguing, and the need to deal with rogue use of technology in the Star Trek TOS context seemed like it had a lot of potential. However, I found these books frustrating and profoundly disappointing.
Both stories are told exclusively from a first-person point of view, something difficult, but not impossible to do well in these types of novels. However, rather than allow us to get the perspectives of other characters by their words or actions we are generally given then by way of Piper’s rambling inner monologues in which she seems to feel she knows all the innermost thoughts of those around her. Besides Piper imaging the thoughts of others she spends and enormous amount of time thinking about and commenting on her own emotions, fears, hopes, and relationship issues.
Piper constantly manages to save the day, but generally in ways that seem to rely on luck, or being the only one to think of doing something that other more experienced officers would have certainly thought of, such as asking a computer for help. As part of this the science of Star Trek, never something that bears close scrutiny, is bolstered by technobabble that manages to make even less sense than what was portrayed in the TV series.
I really wanted to like these books, but the incessant internal, often angst filled monologues constantly distracted me from the story line until half way through the second book I finally started skimming through them so that I could just finish the book. I have a smart and capable wife and several daughters I am proud of, and partly because of this am happy to read a book in which the central character is a smart and capable woman. However, Piper seems to succeed mostly by luck, the efforts of others she has no part in enabling, or by slavishly imitating what she thinks Captain Kirk would do in any given situation.
I looked up Diane Carey’s other writings and found that prior to writing these two books her only published novels were in the romance genre. One of my daughters pointed out that in the romance genre telling the story in the first person using a single POV character is common and that it is the internal monologues that often carry the plot. I suspect that is why these books were written as they were, and perhaps someone who loves reading romance novels might find they books easier and more pleasant to read than I did.
April 1, 2019
At the start of this book, we learn that the Federation has been secretly working on a new “super-starship,” and it has been stolen by supposed terrorists. This new starship could outgun a dozen Klingon cruisers, and is a highly advanced military ship. Vice-Admiral Rittenhouse was very involved in the designing, and would kill to get his ship back. Another character, Lieutenant Piper, is a captaincy candidate, and she has been requested aboard the starship Enterprise, whose captain is the famous James T. Kirk. Not long after she arrives onboard, she is summoned to the bridge. There they inform her that the new, secret Star Empire has been stolen, and that they sent a message that can only be cleared with her biocode. Vice-Admiral Rittenhouse and his ship Pompeii are on their way. Piper is put under arrest, but escapes with a Vulcan named Sarda. They take a shuttlecraft to escape to Star Empire, but Pompeii catches them in a tractor beam, and they are again stuck. Piper uses her intuition to surmise what is actually going on with Rittenhouse, and as it turns out, her seemingly outlandish assumptions are correct. It turns out that Vice-Admiral Rittenhouse is trying to destroy The Federation so he can conquer all of space for “the common good,” which really means what he wants for himself and his followers.
I would rate this book a 7/10. It is well written, but not a difficult read. You wouldn’t necessarily need background information about Star Trek, but it would definitely help your understanding. As it is a science fiction novel, there is a lot of action and suspense.
I don’t know if there are any cons to this book… I suppose you might enjoy reading it and not be able to put it down. (:
The only ‘offensive content’ might be occasional swear words.
If you are a fan of the Star Trek Series or Movies, you will probably enjoy this book. It has the same main characters as the original series(TOS), and could probably be considered a continuation of TOS or an additional episode.
“Star Fleet uniforms had a special dignity even lying unused on a bunk. The rich golden fabric, out-lined in black, sparkled with the triangular insignia and the wrist slashes designating rank and assignment. Captaincy candidate, mine told anyone, everyone who knew the color code and slash designations.”
“The ship swayed into motion, pivoting on its primary hull. The movement was
Innately graceful, not like the crawl of the injured dinosaur we were. It was a
brilliant maneuver, putting Enterprise and us at each other’s oblique backs, presenting full shields to the attacking fleet.”
I would rate this book a 7/10. It is well written, but not a difficult read. You wouldn’t necessarily need background information about Star Trek, but it would definitely help your understanding. As it is a science fiction novel, there is a lot of action and suspense.
I don’t know if there are any cons to this book… I suppose you might enjoy reading it and not be able to put it down. (:
The only ‘offensive content’ might be occasional swear words.
If you are a fan of the Star Trek Series or Movies, you will probably enjoy this book. It has the same main characters as the original series(TOS), and could probably be considered a continuation of TOS or an additional episode.
“Star Fleet uniforms had a special dignity even lying unused on a bunk. The rich golden fabric, out-lined in black, sparkled with the triangular insignia and the wrist slashes designating rank and assignment. Captaincy candidate, mine told anyone, everyone who knew the color code and slash designations.”
“The ship swayed into motion, pivoting on its primary hull. The movement was
Innately graceful, not like the crawl of the injured dinosaur we were. It was a
brilliant maneuver, putting Enterprise and us at each other’s oblique backs, presenting full shields to the attacking fleet.”
January 28, 2024
Dreadnought! by Diane Carey
Challenging, emotional, funny, hopeful,
inspiring, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
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? Yes
4.5 Stars
I am SO glad that Diane Carey has written this story. I've always wondered about the Dreadnought Class ships, but hadn't thought it through enough to see them as something that could be used cross-purposed to what Starfleet believed in.
Also, the idea of a certain portion of the hierarchy going rogue and pushing thier agendas has been a popular storyline within the Star Trek universe of shows.
It was until reading THIS novel, did I see it in its reality. We are currently on the precipice of a similar event within our own political structure. So, this story had more weight (at least in my mind) as I was reading it.
I also loved that the protagonist was a newly minted Lietenant, Piper. I loved the opening sequence, which reminded me of what Savek endured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (and other timelines...I'm looking at you, Kelvin timeline).
Also, the differences of what a Vulcan would see as an insult and something to not be associated with Sarda. At first, I wasn't sure if this was a "vulcan" thing, or just a Sarda thing.
I really feel that they explored it really well. I also like the pairing of Piper with Sarda, as Kirk is paired with Spock. AND, that Kirk held Piper in great respect, especially what was going to happen shortly thereafter.
I also liked how the other two characters that were with this new class were used within the story. Dr. Merete and her arc was truly unexpected, so that was a bonus, but Scanner and his jovial atitude was also a plus (with all his colloquialisms).
Admiral Rittenhouse's actions and placement was really interesting to see play out. I actually think...that this was the best story of this character, that I think I've seen/read within the Star Trek lore. If you think I'm wrong, please contact me. I'd love to hear YOUR counterpoint.
Another great story within the Star Trek TOS era. I'm working my way through these books. I cannot wait to get to the TNG/DS9/Voyager era...so that I can read cross-stories easier.
On to the next novel I have...Battlestations! by Diane Carey, again. Yes!
Challenging, emotional, funny, hopeful,
inspiring, mysterious, reflective, sad, and tense.
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? Yes
4.5 Stars
I am SO glad that Diane Carey has written this story. I've always wondered about the Dreadnought Class ships, but hadn't thought it through enough to see them as something that could be used cross-purposed to what Starfleet believed in.
Also, the idea of a certain portion of the hierarchy going rogue and pushing thier agendas has been a popular storyline within the Star Trek universe of shows.
It was until reading THIS novel, did I see it in its reality. We are currently on the precipice of a similar event within our own political structure. So, this story had more weight (at least in my mind) as I was reading it.
I also loved that the protagonist was a newly minted Lietenant, Piper. I loved the opening sequence, which reminded me of what Savek endured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (and other timelines...I'm looking at you, Kelvin timeline).
Also, the differences of what a Vulcan would see as an insult and something to not be associated with Sarda. At first, I wasn't sure if this was a "vulcan" thing, or just a Sarda thing.
I really feel that they explored it really well. I also like the pairing of Piper with Sarda, as Kirk is paired with Spock. AND, that Kirk held Piper in great respect, especially what was going to happen shortly thereafter.
I also liked how the other two characters that were with this new class were used within the story. Dr. Merete and her arc was truly unexpected, so that was a bonus, but Scanner and his jovial atitude was also a plus (with all his colloquialisms).
Admiral Rittenhouse's actions and placement was really interesting to see play out. I actually think...that this was the best story of this character, that I think I've seen/read within the Star Trek lore. If you think I'm wrong, please contact me. I'd love to hear YOUR counterpoint.
Another great story within the Star Trek TOS era. I'm working my way through these books. I cannot wait to get to the TNG/DS9/Voyager era...so that I can read cross-stories easier.
On to the next novel I have...Battlestations! by Diane Carey, again. Yes!
September 10, 2023
This is a great adventure, presaging a fairly long career of novels in this franchise. It’s an unusual novel in that it’s written in the first person, as well. The narrator, Piper by name, could also be a borderline Mary Sue, although our main cast really only recognise her brilliance rather than fall in love with her, which I can mostly forgive. But her sudden level-taking in the last couple of chapters, which is telegraphed by her heroics in moving from ship to ship on a hunch using tiny space craft as well as being the first person to beat the Kobayashi Maru since Kirk, is at odds with the dainty flower who swoons at taking risky orders from her captain when going into battle for the first time.
And I haven’t even mentioned the right-wing/libertarian bias she gives Star Fleet, and the fact that she blames Socialism for starting World War 3. It’s no real wonder that there’s a vocal crowd in fandom today berating modern Trek for being woke, when even the people writing books for the series so wilfully misunderstand the leanings of the show. In her defence, Carey is only the most-recent in a fairly small line of writers who have displayed this tendency, so it isn’t really that big a deal, but I’ll be interested in seeing how far it goes in her future books.
That said, I really did enjoy this one and I am looking forward to the sequel.
And I haven’t even mentioned the right-wing/libertarian bias she gives Star Fleet, and the fact that she blames Socialism for starting World War 3. It’s no real wonder that there’s a vocal crowd in fandom today berating modern Trek for being woke, when even the people writing books for the series so wilfully misunderstand the leanings of the show. In her defence, Carey is only the most-recent in a fairly small line of writers who have displayed this tendency, so it isn’t really that big a deal, but I’ll be interested in seeing how far it goes in her future books.
That said, I really did enjoy this one and I am looking forward to the sequel.
August 4, 2025
It was alright. Enjoyed only a little bit of it.
This book is definitely a self insert. Carey admitted as much herself, and even had her and her husband put in the cover art. But, I wouldn’t say the MC is a Mary Sue in any great way. She does make things work, she succeeds, but that’s nothing uncommon in novels as a whole. She actually fails spectacularly on the bridge of the Enterprise (which I rather enjoyed), and you see many moments of her self doubt through the book. Perhaps too much self doubt for a Starfleet Academy graduate in the command program.
The first person POV didn’t bother me, except for the little “I’m so quirky” mumblings to herself. Just unnecessary and wasn’t funny at all to me.
There’s a long winded moment about politics that was totally necessary. Star Trek’s always been political, but it’s better to do it in subtler ways. 3 pages (or so) of straight preaching is not fun to read.
You can tell Carey loves Kirk the character. She always writes with utmost respect and regard for Kirk and Enterprise, and it’s something I always like to see of her writing. I also enjoyed the big conspiracy plot, that was cool.
I likely won’t bother with the sequel “Battlestations!”
I much more enjoyed the other 2 books by Carey I read: “The Great Starship Race” and “Invasion! First Strike”
This book is definitely a self insert. Carey admitted as much herself, and even had her and her husband put in the cover art. But, I wouldn’t say the MC is a Mary Sue in any great way. She does make things work, she succeeds, but that’s nothing uncommon in novels as a whole. She actually fails spectacularly on the bridge of the Enterprise (which I rather enjoyed), and you see many moments of her self doubt through the book. Perhaps too much self doubt for a Starfleet Academy graduate in the command program.
The first person POV didn’t bother me, except for the little “I’m so quirky” mumblings to herself. Just unnecessary and wasn’t funny at all to me.
There’s a long winded moment about politics that was totally necessary. Star Trek’s always been political, but it’s better to do it in subtler ways. 3 pages (or so) of straight preaching is not fun to read.
You can tell Carey loves Kirk the character. She always writes with utmost respect and regard for Kirk and Enterprise, and it’s something I always like to see of her writing. I also enjoyed the big conspiracy plot, that was cool.
I likely won’t bother with the sequel “Battlestations!”
I much more enjoyed the other 2 books by Carey I read: “The Great Starship Race” and “Invasion! First Strike”
September 15, 2017
It isn't often I finish a book in one day but I did with this story. It pulled me in and held my attention, I just couldn't put it down. I guess the hook was the plot to take over the Federation by an Admiral and a supership. Does that sound like a plot any of the Trek fans have heard before. I was disappointed that there was more about the original crew but there was enough about the group that Lieutenant Piper drews around her. I did love the Vulcan Sarda. I felt for the young man and I hope that Mr. Spock can help him. I think it is sad that someone would be ostracized from his planet because he is talented in designing weapons.
I have to wonder at my reading this story at this time. So much of what this story is about is going on in this country as I write this. I am not sure we are ever going to get past the problems that keep coming up over and over. Trying to make history disappear is going to help either. If we can learn from out mistakes we are never going to make this planet and any we inhabit a better safer place.
I have to wonder at my reading this story at this time. So much of what this story is about is going on in this country as I write this. I am not sure we are ever going to get past the problems that keep coming up over and over. Trying to make history disappear is going to help either. If we can learn from out mistakes we are never going to make this planet and any we inhabit a better safer place.
April 9, 2020
Four new arrivals to the Enterprise crew find themselves caught up in a terrorist plot involving the stealing of the Star Empire, a new Star Fleet ship with triple shields, five phaser ports, and a spectacular device that fools sensors. Chief among these new arrivals is Lt. Piper, who became infamous for doing something unexpected during her Kobiyashi Maru test. She is a spectacular character, with the book told from her point of view.
I've laid into several earlier Trek novels for not focusing on the Enterprise crew and these new characters barely qualify as crew before being caught up in the adventure. Author Carey's story is so engrossing, Piper and the others instantly grew on me. I practically cheered at the book's climax. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy pop up periodically enough--in an remarkably unforced way--to remind me of their importance to the story.
I felt I was there with Piper with every action she makes. A wonderful read.
I've laid into several earlier Trek novels for not focusing on the Enterprise crew and these new characters barely qualify as crew before being caught up in the adventure. Author Carey's story is so engrossing, Piper and the others instantly grew on me. I practically cheered at the book's climax. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy pop up periodically enough--in an remarkably unforced way--to remind me of their importance to the story.
I felt I was there with Piper with every action she makes. A wonderful read.
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