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Star Trek: The Original Series #83
Heart of the Sun
When an abandoned space habitat is found within a distant asteroid belt, the Starship Enterprise is sent to investigate. Captain Kirk and his crew discover an artificial world full of technological marvels – and unexpected dangers. But wonder and curiosity soon give way to fear when the habitat suddenly sends itself on a collision course with the system's sun, with Spock inside! Now Kirk and crew must find a way to save a planet, and a friend, without destroying the treasure trove of alien science, and time is running out...
245 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1997
7 people are currently reading
328 people want to read
About the author
Pamela Sargent
161 books207 followersPamela Sargent has won the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and has been a finalist for the Hugo Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. In 2012, she was honored with the Pilgrim Award by the Science Fiction Research Association for lifetime achievement in science fiction scholarship. She is the author of the novels Cloned Lives, The Sudden Star, Watchstar, The Golden Space, The Alien Upstairs, Eye of the Comet, Homesmind, Alien Child, The Shore of Women, Venus of Dreams, Venus of Shadows, Child of Venus, Climb the Wind, and Ruler of the Sky. Her most recent short story collection is Thumbprints, published by Golden Gryphon Press, with an introduction by James Morrow. The Washington Post Book World has called her “one of the genre's best writers.”
In the 1970s, she edited the Women of Wonder series, the first collections of science fiction by women; her other anthologies include Bio-Futures and, with British writer Ian Watson as co-editor, Afterlives. Two anthologies, Women of Wonder, The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s and Women of Wonder, The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s, were published by Harcourt Brace in 1995; Publishers Weekly called these two books “essential reading for any serious sf fan.” Her most recent anthology is Conqueror Fantastic, out from DAW Books in 2004. Tor Books reissued her 1983 young adult novel Earthseed, selected as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and a sequel, Farseed, in early 2007. A third volume, Seed Seeker, was published in November of 2010 by Tor. Earthseed has been optioned by Paramount Pictures, with Melissa Rosenberg, scriptwriter for all of the Twilight films, writing the script and producing through her Tall Girls Productions.
A collection, Puss in D.C. and Other Stories, is out; her novel Season of the Cats is out in hardcover and will be available in paperback from Wildside Press. The Shore of Women has been optioned for development as a TV series by Super Deluxe Films, part of Turner Broadcasting.
Pamela Sargent lives in Albany, New York.
In the 1970s, she edited the Women of Wonder series, the first collections of science fiction by women; her other anthologies include Bio-Futures and, with British writer Ian Watson as co-editor, Afterlives. Two anthologies, Women of Wonder, The Classic Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1940s to the 1970s and Women of Wonder, The Contemporary Years: Science Fiction by Women from the 1970s to the 1990s, were published by Harcourt Brace in 1995; Publishers Weekly called these two books “essential reading for any serious sf fan.” Her most recent anthology is Conqueror Fantastic, out from DAW Books in 2004. Tor Books reissued her 1983 young adult novel Earthseed, selected as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, and a sequel, Farseed, in early 2007. A third volume, Seed Seeker, was published in November of 2010 by Tor. Earthseed has been optioned by Paramount Pictures, with Melissa Rosenberg, scriptwriter for all of the Twilight films, writing the script and producing through her Tall Girls Productions.
A collection, Puss in D.C. and Other Stories, is out; her novel Season of the Cats is out in hardcover and will be available in paperback from Wildside Press. The Shore of Women has been optioned for development as a TV series by Super Deluxe Films, part of Turner Broadcasting.
Pamela Sargent lives in Albany, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 8, 2018
Mediocre at best.
December 17, 2017
While I thoroughly enjoy the Sargent/Zebrowski writing style (it flows like crystal clear spring water), I think this novel doesn't quite have the balance of pace achieved with their other book, "Across the Universe". The first half in particular feels very languid, and I didn't find the self-reliant-population story thread as fascinating as the sun-core-station-aliens. That said, the second half of the book feels like archetypal original series "Star Trek" at its best, and rewards the slow build up of the first half of the novel.
February 20, 2023
The Enterprise is sent to help the Federation colony on Tyrtaeus II repair their planetary database after a computer virus attacks their computers. The Tyrtaeans are a very insular people--their ancestors left Earth in search of a planet where they could keep themselves to themselves and not have the influence of other cultures. They reluctantly joined the Federation when it became clear that their location near the Romulan Neutral Zone put them in greater danger than cultural influence. But they still aren't happy about their limited contact with others.
When the Enterprise crew detects an artificial world hidden among the cometary ring of the Tyrtaean solar system and that world suddenly shifts out of orbit, sending it in a collision course with the system's sun, it becomes clear that the Tyrtaeans are going to need more help from the Federation crew. The craft won't respond to any attempts at communication and Captain Kirk and his crew must find a way to keep the craft from destroying itself and possibly causing damage to the system's sun--which could result in the destruction of the colony as well.
A fairly standard classic Trek plot. Sargent and Zebrowski do a pretty good job bringing Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Lt. Kevin Riley to life--though there are places in the narrative and dialog where things didn't ring quite true. I also have to wonder...where the heck is Chekov? Does he have a case of Denebian flu? It's nice to see Riley get some page time (I always wished he'd shown up more in the episodes), but not a mention of our favorite Russian? The story is okay--but it sure drags for a little over half the book. Lots of talk and very little action. Once they start investigating the artificial world, things pick up nicely. The aliens aboard the world (craft?) are very interesting and I think the book would have been better served by more time spent with them. Still, it was nice to visit with the Enterprise crew again.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
When the Enterprise crew detects an artificial world hidden among the cometary ring of the Tyrtaean solar system and that world suddenly shifts out of orbit, sending it in a collision course with the system's sun, it becomes clear that the Tyrtaeans are going to need more help from the Federation crew. The craft won't respond to any attempts at communication and Captain Kirk and his crew must find a way to keep the craft from destroying itself and possibly causing damage to the system's sun--which could result in the destruction of the colony as well.
A fairly standard classic Trek plot. Sargent and Zebrowski do a pretty good job bringing Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Lt. Kevin Riley to life--though there are places in the narrative and dialog where things didn't ring quite true. I also have to wonder...where the heck is Chekov? Does he have a case of Denebian flu? It's nice to see Riley get some page time (I always wished he'd shown up more in the episodes), but not a mention of our favorite Russian? The story is okay--but it sure drags for a little over half the book. Lots of talk and very little action. Once they start investigating the artificial world, things pick up nicely. The aliens aboard the world (craft?) are very interesting and I think the book would have been better served by more time spent with them. Still, it was nice to visit with the Enterprise crew again.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
July 30, 2024
3.5 ⭐
November 30, 2024
What is seemingly an abandoned space habitat within an asteroid belt starts to move toward the system's sun. The Enterprise investigates after they finish their mission on the nearby planet Tyrtaeus II.
An entertainingnre-read
An entertainingnre-read
October 13, 2014
“Heart of the Sun” by Pamela Sargent is an Original Series Star Trek Novel that takes place early on in the 5 Year Mission. My first comment about it is that it displayed the issue I have noticed recently with cover blurbs not matching what actually happens in the novel. Whilst the blurb details that the story is about the Enterprise trying to stop an asteroid hitting a planet it is actually about the Enterprise trying to stop an asteroid which contains some mysterious technology hitting the planet’s sun which in turn may affect the planet itself. It isn’t the biggest of differences to be honest but I still hate the way that this type of thing can make Star Trek books appear rather amateurish.
Anyway, the story we do get here is pretty standard Star Trek fare and isn’t anything special although it is solid enough. It is a reasonably smart and thoughtful novel that tries to put forward some interesting points on the issues of becoming an overly insular society. Sargent also does a reasonable job with the characters as on the whole they acted in the manner I would have expected them to.
However there are some issues with the plot itself, for example the reason for the Enterprise being at the planet Tyrtaeus II did feel rather derived and unlikely. I just don’t believe that in the future an entire planet’s computer database wouldn’t have a proper back up system in place to protect it against viruses etc.
The real problem with the novel though is that it could at times get rather dull, there was a lot of contemplation and investigations going on with very little action or adventure. Now, this on its own wouldn’t have been much of an issue to me as but unfortunately towards the middle of the book the author manages to repeat the same things over and over again. I don’t know how many times I had to read about the crew trying to move the asteroid or discuss the risks of Spock heading over there but it was too many. This continuous repetition of points just slowed the plot down and left me feeling rather bored.
Overall, this is a pretty standard Star Trek story with an interesting enough premise but told in a rather inefficient and at times rather dull manner. I did enjoy some aspects of the story but now that I have finished it I suspect it will quickly fade from my memory as it just hasn’t left any lasting impression.
Anyway, the story we do get here is pretty standard Star Trek fare and isn’t anything special although it is solid enough. It is a reasonably smart and thoughtful novel that tries to put forward some interesting points on the issues of becoming an overly insular society. Sargent also does a reasonable job with the characters as on the whole they acted in the manner I would have expected them to.
However there are some issues with the plot itself, for example the reason for the Enterprise being at the planet Tyrtaeus II did feel rather derived and unlikely. I just don’t believe that in the future an entire planet’s computer database wouldn’t have a proper back up system in place to protect it against viruses etc.
The real problem with the novel though is that it could at times get rather dull, there was a lot of contemplation and investigations going on with very little action or adventure. Now, this on its own wouldn’t have been much of an issue to me as but unfortunately towards the middle of the book the author manages to repeat the same things over and over again. I don’t know how many times I had to read about the crew trying to move the asteroid or discuss the risks of Spock heading over there but it was too many. This continuous repetition of points just slowed the plot down and left me feeling rather bored.
Overall, this is a pretty standard Star Trek story with an interesting enough premise but told in a rather inefficient and at times rather dull manner. I did enjoy some aspects of the story but now that I have finished it I suspect it will quickly fade from my memory as it just hasn’t left any lasting impression.
October 31, 2010
The plot had some potential, but IMHO the author fumbled the ball. An isolationist colony + an unknown alien technology = Instant conflict! The Enterprise just happens to be there on a separate (but very derived) reason when the alien is discovered and investigates.
Unfortunately that's where the implausible alien technology is introduced, and things begin to break down. Either the author forgot a few things, or he wanted the readers to conveniently forget certain elements. At one point sensors can't scan within an alien craft, then they can; communications don't work, then they do... Still a decent overall book, but could have been much better.
Unfortunately that's where the implausible alien technology is introduced, and things begin to break down. Either the author forgot a few things, or he wanted the readers to conveniently forget certain elements. At one point sensors can't scan within an alien craft, then they can; communications don't work, then they do... Still a decent overall book, but could have been much better.
September 21, 2013
Stilted dialogue. No characterization. None. At all. If you deleted the names you'd never be able to tell who's talking. The single most boring Star Trek novel I've ever read.
Avoid this!
Avoid this!
August 24, 2019
The plot wasn’t bad, but the book could have been shortened and enhanced if they just had left out Miss Coles, as she was nothing but annoying.
Also they left a lot of side plots unfinished. Spock’s out of character-ness that had Kirk wondering? No closure on that. And all those hints that Kirk might feel something for that annoying woman? Why hint at something like that if it’s not only never being mentioned again, but also irrelevant to the story?
And then there’s this typical capitalistic (in my part of the world we also call it American, sorry about that to my American friends) arrogance that was inherent in the early Trek (to be seen in episodes like ‚The Apple‘ as well), that the best way of life is the one where one has to overcome obstacles, where one has to fight and to always achieve new things. That the value of a society is based on how much it achieves, even to the point where it’s seen as better to strive for something that can never be attained, instead of building yourself a stable system that makes everyone happy even if it’s stagnant.
Thinking like that has led to our current system with extreme poverty and extreme riches, with turbo capitalism destroying our planet instead of working on a more sustainable and socially just system.
And while it’s not really the authors‘ fault that at that time in history (and - looking at the health care system today) everything remotely social was seen as communism and therefore evil in the US because people didn’t seem to understand the political theories behind it, it’s really annoying to see Trek reproduce toxic thinking again and again instead of at least just not going into that kind of detail when the story just doesn’t call for it.
Especially given that from TNG on Star Trek is what Political Science scholars call communism thought through and fulfilled to the end, this to me is always a reason to dislike a novel or episode.
Also they left a lot of side plots unfinished. Spock’s out of character-ness that had Kirk wondering? No closure on that. And all those hints that Kirk might feel something for that annoying woman? Why hint at something like that if it’s not only never being mentioned again, but also irrelevant to the story?
And then there’s this typical capitalistic (in my part of the world we also call it American, sorry about that to my American friends) arrogance that was inherent in the early Trek (to be seen in episodes like ‚The Apple‘ as well), that the best way of life is the one where one has to overcome obstacles, where one has to fight and to always achieve new things. That the value of a society is based on how much it achieves, even to the point where it’s seen as better to strive for something that can never be attained, instead of building yourself a stable system that makes everyone happy even if it’s stagnant.
Thinking like that has led to our current system with extreme poverty and extreme riches, with turbo capitalism destroying our planet instead of working on a more sustainable and socially just system.
And while it’s not really the authors‘ fault that at that time in history (and - looking at the health care system today) everything remotely social was seen as communism and therefore evil in the US because people didn’t seem to understand the political theories behind it, it’s really annoying to see Trek reproduce toxic thinking again and again instead of at least just not going into that kind of detail when the story just doesn’t call for it.
Especially given that from TNG on Star Trek is what Political Science scholars call communism thought through and fulfilled to the end, this to me is always a reason to dislike a novel or episode.
July 18, 2024
There is an intelligent book here that gets drowned out by the telling and by one irritating character in particular.
Questions of trust, societal influence from within and without, the idea of coming across an intelligence and society and how to interact with it, the struggle of sacrificing your best friend, crew and shop to save a civilization that doesn't even like you. These are all ideas and conflicts that are touched on here and drowned out by how the story is told and by a debate that keeps going on and on and on and on until near the end of the book of whether they should have even interacted with the "Mobile" in the first place.
Myra Coles is a very irritating character and keeps reiterating the same points over and over again. She plays a big part in the story but I don't think she contributes anything but the possibility that, if she screws this all up, she's basically dead...oh no...
I think there's some great ideas here but I don't think it was executed well and I don't even think the main characters were even quite right...
Questions of trust, societal influence from within and without, the idea of coming across an intelligence and society and how to interact with it, the struggle of sacrificing your best friend, crew and shop to save a civilization that doesn't even like you. These are all ideas and conflicts that are touched on here and drowned out by how the story is told and by a debate that keeps going on and on and on and on until near the end of the book of whether they should have even interacted with the "Mobile" in the first place.
Myra Coles is a very irritating character and keeps reiterating the same points over and over again. She plays a big part in the story but I don't think she contributes anything but the possibility that, if she screws this all up, she's basically dead...oh no...
I think there's some great ideas here but I don't think it was executed well and I don't even think the main characters were even quite right...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2021
As perhaps the only Gen-Z to favour Star Trek over Star Wars, and maybe the only one who reads books nowadays, it made sense to fuse the niche interests at some point or another, and the result was my reading of this book. TOS is my favourite series, so I went knee-deep into this one.
It follows Kirk and co as they venture to a planet with a society that sticks to a Spock-resemblant mantra, with prioritisation of logic and necessity rather than stuff like fun. They're also having some database troubles, that I can't be bothered to explain in greater detail because personal motivation is but a distant dream for I.
The planet is also having some sun issues; more specifically, there's an alien vessel/meteor headed right for it!
AAAAAHHHHHHH
So stuff happens, then it doesn't. Story over, I think. Roll the end credits!
𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶, 𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶
It follows Kirk and co as they venture to a planet with a society that sticks to a Spock-resemblant mantra, with prioritisation of logic and necessity rather than stuff like fun. They're also having some database troubles, that I can't be bothered to explain in greater detail because personal motivation is but a distant dream for I.
The planet is also having some sun issues; more specifically, there's an alien vessel/meteor headed right for it!
AAAAAHHHHHHH
So stuff happens, then it doesn't. Story over, I think. Roll the end credits!
𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶, 𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶-𝘥𝘶
June 25, 2020
The Enterprise is giving assistance to an isolationist planet population when they investigate and alien ship that goes into the planet's sun. The Enterprise has to find out the who and the why they did this to make sure the people on the planet are safe.
The people on the alien ship have withdrawn into a private, virtual world and want no contact with anyone. Obviously the people on the planet are supposed to learn from this and not be so isolationist.
The book was good when the authors wrote the exploration of the alien ship scenes, but dragged on the talkie, lessons-to-learn stuff.
The people on the alien ship have withdrawn into a private, virtual world and want no contact with anyone. Obviously the people on the planet are supposed to learn from this and not be so isolationist.
The book was good when the authors wrote the exploration of the alien ship scenes, but dragged on the talkie, lessons-to-learn stuff.
September 13, 2021
Pros: As Trek novels go, this one was pretty interesting. There were moments where the atmosphere of the setting was so powerfully imagined that I began to feel the effects myself. There were some interesting parallels between the A and B plots. And, what would an episode of Star Trek be without a brief delve into classic philosophy?
Cons: The Tyrtaeans were basically space Karens that were more of a nuisance than anything. OK, Starfleet was obligated to help them as members of the Federation, but sheesh. The other side of the plot was basically a replay of "Contact" where Spock is Jodie Fisher.
All in all, I'm glad I read it.
Cons: The Tyrtaeans were basically space Karens that were more of a nuisance than anything. OK, Starfleet was obligated to help them as members of the Federation, but sheesh. The other side of the plot was basically a replay of "Contact" where Spock is Jodie Fisher.
All in all, I'm glad I read it.
July 29, 2024
TOS #83: Heart of the Sun by Pamela Sargent and George Zebrowski
This was a lowkey book and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t the best or the worst but for some reason I still enjoyed it a lot. The aliens in this book were really cool, living in a virtual reality and the philosophy in the book such as stoicism and what is the nature of our material universe was engaging but didn’t give me a headache which was nice. I particularly like the last part with Spock on the end and we got to see a different angle of him. We got to see Spock’s view on the universe from a non-Vulcan and human perspective which was cool. Overall this was a nice lowkey read and a perfect book to read before bed.
6/10
This was a lowkey book and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t the best or the worst but for some reason I still enjoyed it a lot. The aliens in this book were really cool, living in a virtual reality and the philosophy in the book such as stoicism and what is the nature of our material universe was engaging but didn’t give me a headache which was nice. I particularly like the last part with Spock on the end and we got to see a different angle of him. We got to see Spock’s view on the universe from a non-Vulcan and human perspective which was cool. Overall this was a nice lowkey read and a perfect book to read before bed.
6/10
May 29, 2022
The story seemed a bit flat and predictable. The interaction of the crew seemed a bit off. The Enterprise is tasked with repairing and replacing the database of a colony planet that isn't too keen on being members of the Federation. To complicate matters, a strange asteroid ship is detected in system and starts moving toward the planet's sun. When the Enterprise is unable to divert it and it displays technology above what they've encountered before the crew must investigate and determine if its a danger to the colony.
August 7, 2017
This is a great book to start off with, if you have never read a star trek book before. although it has minor annoyances with the same arguments over and over, and kirk does seem to have a little too much pride he does however learn the errors of his ways to justify what happens. all in all it's a great story and I would read it again.
December 14, 2020
When the 'Enterprise encounters a seemingly abandoned spacecraft hurtling headlong towards a star, Kirk and Spock try to diver it into a safe orbit. When Spock is trapped aboard, Kirk must risk everything to save his friend.
The science fiction plot is solid and interesting, but Sargent and Zebrowski seem to have trouble capturing the characters convincingly.
The science fiction plot is solid and interesting, but Sargent and Zebrowski seem to have trouble capturing the characters convincingly.
August 14, 2022
This story is heavily padded on the front end to expand it into a novel. It would have been so much better if the second half had been offered up as a short story. Overall, it served its purpose as my bedside reading to help me fall asleep.
January 25, 2025
A decent SF novel but one with glacial pacing and far too many influences - mostly from Arthur C. Clarke - to be considered truly original (I know, and in a Trek novel too!). A decent read that embraces the ethos of the show properly.
September 17, 2025
When an unknown ship seemingly is headed for collision with the sun of a planet they are aiding, the Enterprise crew must try to make contact.
This is a decent mediocre Star Trek novel. I skimmed some of it but there were also scenes that I read and enjoyed.
This is a decent mediocre Star Trek novel. I skimmed some of it but there were also scenes that I read and enjoyed.
October 3, 2023
Too much arguing! Back and forth between Myra Coles and Kirk. Over and over. Interesting aliens. The planet members were so stoic. Not my favorite
August 5, 2024
A short book with a thin plot but there are some interesting ideas about how and why cultures deal with different ideas and ways of life. It's a Star Trek novel so keep your expectations in check. Characters act as they should act and talk like they should talk. Not a big fan of Myra Coles, who starts to grate from early on.
November 14, 2015
Heart of the Sun takes place during the original 5-year mission. No Stardate is listed.
This story in Heart of the Sun was fairly interesting. I sometimes feel that Star Trek stories revolve too much around the extra characters that are added for benefit of the plot. In this case, there was some interaction with Myra Coles, Aristocles Marcelli, and Wellesley Warren, which were the glum humans from Tyrtaeus II, but the main part of the story involved Spock. That is all and good.
There are also new characters on the Enterprise that were introduced, but again, their part wasn't very big. I did like that some of the minor players from Star Trek's past were brought to life again. It was nice to read about Janice Rand and Kevin Riley.
The storyline is interesting but there wasn't a lot of action. Sure, Spock is trapped on the mobile as it heads toward the sun, but we all know that he is not going to die. It is Spock, after all. The character portrayal is very good and I quite enjoyed the dialog between the main characters.
The only thing I could have wished for was more tension in the story. I was never worried about Spock and his ability to get out of the situation he finds himself in. The writes did do a wonderful job of making me dislike Myra Coles. I really wanted Kirk to pop her in the nose, or throw her in the brig, but he is too much of a gentleman for that.
Overall, Heart of the Sun is a good story that I enjoyed reading. Having been disappointed with the previous Star Trek book I had read by George Zebrowski, I was pleasantly surprised by this one.
I rated this book a 7½ out of 10.
This story in Heart of the Sun was fairly interesting. I sometimes feel that Star Trek stories revolve too much around the extra characters that are added for benefit of the plot. In this case, there was some interaction with Myra Coles, Aristocles Marcelli, and Wellesley Warren, which were the glum humans from Tyrtaeus II, but the main part of the story involved Spock. That is all and good.
There are also new characters on the Enterprise that were introduced, but again, their part wasn't very big. I did like that some of the minor players from Star Trek's past were brought to life again. It was nice to read about Janice Rand and Kevin Riley.
The storyline is interesting but there wasn't a lot of action. Sure, Spock is trapped on the mobile as it heads toward the sun, but we all know that he is not going to die. It is Spock, after all. The character portrayal is very good and I quite enjoyed the dialog between the main characters.
The only thing I could have wished for was more tension in the story. I was never worried about Spock and his ability to get out of the situation he finds himself in. The writes did do a wonderful job of making me dislike Myra Coles. I really wanted Kirk to pop her in the nose, or throw her in the brig, but he is too much of a gentleman for that.
Overall, Heart of the Sun is a good story that I enjoyed reading. Having been disappointed with the previous Star Trek book I had read by George Zebrowski, I was pleasantly surprised by this one.
I rated this book a 7½ out of 10.
February 14, 2017
Heart of the Sun was fun, but ultimately quite slow. The characters seemed accurate to the show and the diversity was great. I loved having a ensign Tekakwitha, who was Mohawk ensign, and Lieutenant Massoud because in most books, they don't even bother to throw in extra side characters of color when they don't have to.
Still, the pace of the plot was incredibly slow. Had the show lasted to the point that this might have had an option of being made a TV episode, I find myself sure that it would not have been interesting enough for an entire episode for show runners. Thankfully, it didn't lose the philosophical nature of the show. It kind of examines degrees of independence from others and how it can become problematic for a society or how it can be good for one. Still, it wasn't a particularly engaging discussion.
I think three stars is fair for Heart of the Sun.
Still, the pace of the plot was incredibly slow. Had the show lasted to the point that this might have had an option of being made a TV episode, I find myself sure that it would not have been interesting enough for an entire episode for show runners. Thankfully, it didn't lose the philosophical nature of the show. It kind of examines degrees of independence from others and how it can become problematic for a society or how it can be good for one. Still, it wasn't a particularly engaging discussion.
I think three stars is fair for Heart of the Sun.
November 24, 2012
A nice "encounter with the truly unknown" -story that bows to the direction of many undying sci-fi classics as well as many of the best Star Trek episodes. Sometimes these two are the same thing of course. The narrative flows with ease and energy, and the characters feel right and operate in plausible ways.
There aren't any obvious flaws in "Heart of the Sun," but it settles with being a solid if not in any way special Trek adventure. Very pleasant to read and reasonably smart, it doesn't quite reach the potential any Star Trek story has within it as the plot remains straightforward and the characters aren't really faced with any truly dramatic situations.
There aren't any obvious flaws in "Heart of the Sun," but it settles with being a solid if not in any way special Trek adventure. Very pleasant to read and reasonably smart, it doesn't quite reach the potential any Star Trek story has within it as the plot remains straightforward and the characters aren't really faced with any truly dramatic situations.
October 1, 2013
Not what the back cover gave to understand! Nevertheless not a bad book. I found it more engaging than some others I've read. Even to the point where "Quantum motion" is proposed as against warp motion!Or "Underspace" in juxtaposition to "Subspace"! I also liked McCoy's exclamation to Kirk "You took the words right out of Spock's mouth"!
January 2, 2012
Here's another one where the back blurb didn't match the story at all - which is extra confusing because the story is just fine. (Though I'm kind of biased, since it was basically "Deep Thoughts: by Commander Spock".)
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January 18, 2013Another good one, definitely one of my favorites.
December 16, 2015
I liked it.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews