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Star Trek: The Next Generation #13
The Eyes of the Beholders
The U.S.S. Enterprise is sent on a mission to find missing Klingon ships, but what they find threatens the lives of all those aboard the ship. After several Federation and Klingon ships disappear while traveling a newly opened trade route, the U.S.S. Enterprise is sent to investigate. Their quest leads Captain Picard and his crew to an eerie space graveyard full of ships of every size and description, all of them, dead in space. At the center of the graveyard lies a huge, incredibly powerful artifact, constructed by an ancient alien race. And as the crew struggles to solve the mystery of the artifact, they unwittingly trigger its awesome power, a power that threatens insanity and death to all aboard the Starship Enterprise.
243 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 1990
35 people are currently reading
650 people want to read
About the author
A.C. Crispin
70 books316 followersAnn Carol Crispin (1950-2013) was an American science fiction writer, the author of over twenty published novels. She wrote professionally since 1983. She wrote several Star Trek and Star Wars novels, and created her own original science fiction series called Starbridge.
Crispin also served as Eastern Regional Director, and then Vice President, of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. With Victoria Strauss, she founded Writer Beware, a "watchdog" group that is part of SFWA that warns aspiring writers about the dangers of scam agents, editors, and publishers. Writer Beware was founded in 1998, and has assisted law enforcement and civil authorities in tracking and shutting down writing scams.
Crispin, who also wrote a prequel providing the back story for the popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, died on September 6th, 2013 at the Hospice of Charles County in Waldorf, aged 63.
She was married to science fiction author Michael Capobianco.
Crispin also served as Eastern Regional Director, and then Vice President, of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. With Victoria Strauss, she founded Writer Beware, a "watchdog" group that is part of SFWA that warns aspiring writers about the dangers of scam agents, editors, and publishers. Writer Beware was founded in 1998, and has assisted law enforcement and civil authorities in tracking and shutting down writing scams.
Crispin, who also wrote a prequel providing the back story for the popular Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, died on September 6th, 2013 at the Hospice of Charles County in Waldorf, aged 63.
She was married to science fiction author Michael Capobianco.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
February 8, 2023
Like most people who from time to time like to read a non-episode book based on a television show they enjoyed, I’ve been disappointed on more than one occasion. Books in the Star Trek universe are notorious for the sometimes poor quality of writing and/or story, and failing to be true to the characters as portrayed on the show. Eyes of the Beholders has none of these shortcomings, and is in fact, one of the best books I’ve ever read in the Star Trek: The Next Generation group of stories.
The basic story of an alien artifact and the graveyard of ships it has lured to their demise, while hardly original, is wonderfully conceived and written by A.C. Crispin. He manages to make a somewhat familiar scenario seem fresh, even mysterious. The members of the crew seem themselves, and the reader feels like they are reading a well-written episode they missed somehow. The various crew members each have enough “screen” time that the reader’s desire to spend time with them again is satisfied. The answer to the mystery of whether the artifact is a weapon, or simply technology so alien that it drives humans to near madness is intriguing, and the solution rewarding.
Because the characters were themselves, it was very enjoyable spending time with them. But there is much more here. In addition to the main story, we also have Data attempting to write a romance novel. This adds humor to the narrative as he passes it to one friend on the ship after another to get their opinion on it. Crispin perhaps does his best job, however, in painting the relationship of the Vulcan doctor, Selar, and a young Andorian orphan girl who is blind, and because of her condition, is unwanted by her own people. The final solution to their story may be predictable, but it’s also warm and tender, and adds a great deal to the specialness of this entry in the Next Generation universe.
I loved this. Anyone who reads these for enjoyment, especially for the nostalgia of spending a bit more time with characters they came to know and love over the years, and looked forward to seeing each week, can’t go wrong with this one. Very highly recommended.
The basic story of an alien artifact and the graveyard of ships it has lured to their demise, while hardly original, is wonderfully conceived and written by A.C. Crispin. He manages to make a somewhat familiar scenario seem fresh, even mysterious. The members of the crew seem themselves, and the reader feels like they are reading a well-written episode they missed somehow. The various crew members each have enough “screen” time that the reader’s desire to spend time with them again is satisfied. The answer to the mystery of whether the artifact is a weapon, or simply technology so alien that it drives humans to near madness is intriguing, and the solution rewarding.
Because the characters were themselves, it was very enjoyable spending time with them. But there is much more here. In addition to the main story, we also have Data attempting to write a romance novel. This adds humor to the narrative as he passes it to one friend on the ship after another to get their opinion on it. Crispin perhaps does his best job, however, in painting the relationship of the Vulcan doctor, Selar, and a young Andorian orphan girl who is blind, and because of her condition, is unwanted by her own people. The final solution to their story may be predictable, but it’s also warm and tender, and adds a great deal to the specialness of this entry in the Next Generation universe.
I loved this. Anyone who reads these for enjoyment, especially for the nostalgia of spending a bit more time with characters they came to know and love over the years, and looked forward to seeing each week, can’t go wrong with this one. Very highly recommended.
August 12, 2021
Good, if fairly lackluster ST TNG story. Notable however are the psychologically harrowing encounters described with an unknown alien race, who seemingly defy perception while also causing horrific effects on the crew, that left a deeply chilling impression. Quite a bit more horrifying in fact than I can recall from many a ST novel.
"Birth agony, death agony, orgasm, pain—raw physical and emotional experiences, all jumbled together as his mind was wrenched and wrung, attempting vainly all the while to function, to comprehend images, events, feelings that were totally, irrevocably, alien to it. Emotions assaulted him, each alien, each intense, each fundamentally wrong—skewed, distorted, twisted. The commander felt those emotions ripping at his sanity, shredding it, sending his psyche gibbering away, back into the deepest recesses of his consciousness, as his essence, his anima, his sense of self—his soul—tried and failed to take refuge from this ultimate violation."
"Birth agony, death agony, orgasm, pain—raw physical and emotional experiences, all jumbled together as his mind was wrenched and wrung, attempting vainly all the while to function, to comprehend images, events, feelings that were totally, irrevocably, alien to it. Emotions assaulted him, each alien, each intense, each fundamentally wrong—skewed, distorted, twisted. The commander felt those emotions ripping at his sanity, shredding it, sending his psyche gibbering away, back into the deepest recesses of his consciousness, as his essence, his anima, his sense of self—his soul—tried and failed to take refuge from this ultimate violation."
August 8, 2020
This book was amazing. Star Trek: The Next Generation has been off the air for some twenty years now, but after reading Crispin's novel I feel like I just discovered some lost new episode. Her characterizations are so flawless and consistent with the show characters that it could easily have been made into an actual script.
The premise is wonderful. Ships, federation and otherwise, are disappearing into some kind of Bermuda Triangle phenomenon into space at an alarming rate. Solution: dispatch the Enterprise to investigate. I'm not going to spoil any element of the plot by providing any indication as to what they found there. I'll only say I found the surprises intriguing and well-presented, the danger as horrifying as any Borg menace and as difficult to overcome as anything Q could have tossed their way.
I was perplexed by the introduction of two new characters who actually had nothing to do whatsoever with advancing the plot of the book: Selar, a female Vulcan doctor, and Thala, an Andorran girl recently orphaned. It felt like Thala was going to be an important character because she was blind and therefore could be effective against what the Enterprise encountered. However, that didn't happen. I wondered why these two irrelevant characters hadn't been edited out of the book entirely on subsequent drafts.
By the end I got my answer though. Although alien, they added the human interest element to the novel. Their subplot was so heartwarming, something the novel desperately needed because the menace the crew faced was so overwhelmingly horrifying and difficult. Without these characters the novel would have left the reader with as negative and depressing a feeling as Star Trek II, Wrath of Kahn. Catharsis was not Crispin's object and rightly not.
Brilliant book! I've got to read more by A. C. Crispin.
The premise is wonderful. Ships, federation and otherwise, are disappearing into some kind of Bermuda Triangle phenomenon into space at an alarming rate. Solution: dispatch the Enterprise to investigate. I'm not going to spoil any element of the plot by providing any indication as to what they found there. I'll only say I found the surprises intriguing and well-presented, the danger as horrifying as any Borg menace and as difficult to overcome as anything Q could have tossed their way.
I was perplexed by the introduction of two new characters who actually had nothing to do whatsoever with advancing the plot of the book: Selar, a female Vulcan doctor, and Thala, an Andorran girl recently orphaned. It felt like Thala was going to be an important character because she was blind and therefore could be effective against what the Enterprise encountered. However, that didn't happen. I wondered why these two irrelevant characters hadn't been edited out of the book entirely on subsequent drafts.
By the end I got my answer though. Although alien, they added the human interest element to the novel. Their subplot was so heartwarming, something the novel desperately needed because the menace the crew faced was so overwhelmingly horrifying and difficult. Without these characters the novel would have left the reader with as negative and depressing a feeling as Star Trek II, Wrath of Kahn. Catharsis was not Crispin's object and rightly not.
Brilliant book! I've got to read more by A. C. Crispin.
January 21, 2018
I'm a longtime Star Trek fan who finally read my first novel. I'm looking forward to reading others and seeing if Eyes of the Beholders is indicative of the overall quality because it was SO BAD IT WAS GOOD! Seriously, this is bad writing with several tired plots weaving awkwardly together, though you can't help but love bringing our TNG crew to life in a 2-day read of harmless fun.
The subplot with Data writing a bad novel was a predictably poor rehashing of any Data subplot on the show, made spectacularly ironic given the low quality of Crispin's writing here. Troi laughing at and complimenting Data's work, assuming it to be parody, summed up my exact feelings for this delightful book, which uses distilled caricatures of our crew, is peppered with highly awkward physical descriptions, and anchored with laughable literary devices, all while essentially borrowing a story from existing episodes.
Upside: getting further acquainted with Dr. Selar was very welcome, and the mystery of the artifact's origin (and exploration of alien sensory perception) was quite cool. In the end, more TNG is better than less, so take a day or two and enjoy this bit of simple fun. As I said, it's so bad it's good, and now I'm seeking out more Star Trek novels to gobble up on rainy days.
Editing mistakes in the edition I have include spelling Tellarite as "Tellerite" on at least two occasions, and once referring to "Ten Forward" as "Ten Four." Treat these like Easter Eggs and enjoy!
The subplot with Data writing a bad novel was a predictably poor rehashing of any Data subplot on the show, made spectacularly ironic given the low quality of Crispin's writing here. Troi laughing at and complimenting Data's work, assuming it to be parody, summed up my exact feelings for this delightful book, which uses distilled caricatures of our crew, is peppered with highly awkward physical descriptions, and anchored with laughable literary devices, all while essentially borrowing a story from existing episodes.
Upside: getting further acquainted with Dr. Selar was very welcome, and the mystery of the artifact's origin (and exploration of alien sensory perception) was quite cool. In the end, more TNG is better than less, so take a day or two and enjoy this bit of simple fun. As I said, it's so bad it's good, and now I'm seeking out more Star Trek novels to gobble up on rainy days.
Editing mistakes in the edition I have include spelling Tellarite as "Tellerite" on at least two occasions, and once referring to "Ten Forward" as "Ten Four." Treat these like Easter Eggs and enjoy!
October 5, 2021
Cool ideas. But, my least favorite story lines are dream sequences and Data trying to "find himself". This story is filled with both.
February 4, 2026
A cut above most of the other early TNG books, which should come as no surprise given its author. An intriguing mystery, neatly solved, and some really good character work too.
December 29, 2021
So...okay...let's just state this right up front: As a story, this was relatively okay, and somewhat fitting in the TNG era, what with the ultimate resolution, etc. However, oh my science, I have so many issues with this. So, let me get the good things out of the way first - after the content warning, of course.
So, big, big content warning: Riker, who apparently attended Starfleet Academy between the ages of 15 and 19, in his first year, meets a woman, who he then sleeps with right away, and later falls in love with (whilst still being 15, mind you). We are never told this woman's age, but when she chooses to end their relationship, when Riker is 19, she tells him that she has her own son who is four years old than Riker. So, when he was 15, she had a 19-year old son. So, at best, she is in her 30s, at worst, she's older. Why do we need a pederast in a Star Trek novel? Why can't Riker just have attended the Academy at a normal age, like 18 to 22 or so, like everyone else seems to. Sure, Wesley seems to test at 16...but, he's already got a leg-up, being an "Acting Ensign," serving on a ship-of-the-line, and is a "genius." Riker can barely tie his shoes together on a good day...I also don't think bang-every-female-alien Riker spent his whole time at the Academy in an serious, long-term, "I'm gonna marry this woman," relationship. I'm not saying a middle-aged woman preying on an 18-year old farm boy from Alaska is much better, but at least it's legal...in most places.
I love, love, love the expansion of Dr./Lt. Selar's character. I always wanted to know more about her ever since her appearance in "The Schizoid Man." She just seemed like this calm, cool, and collected Vulcan with a bit of a snarky side - probably one of the most relatable Vulcans portrayed - maybe it was the actress channeling her inner K'ehleyr. The idea of the "make you go crazy, kill everyone" art museum touring the galaxy is also fun. And Data was just his best self in this novel - when Data is Data, my heart melts a little. :)
Now...on to the bad. Okay, let's talk about this cover. On the right, we have a little Andorian girl. Her name is Thala, she's a child who was residing on the Enterprise with her father, who was killed when the Borg attacked them in the J7 System. Since then, she's been sort of living on the Enterprise, under the care of Dr. Selar, who's been trying to find a new home for her. Now, Thala is blind, like Geordi, so ignore the fact that she clearly has eyes on the cover. So, when the crew encounters the "make you go crazy by looking at it museum" you would think that this blind, little girl (with a child-like mind more open to wonder and possibilities) would be the key to overcoming this dilemma...but nope! She's matters fuck all to the overall story, except for giving Dr. Selar something else to do. I spent the whole novel thinking she was a sort of Chekov's Gun...and she was literally nothing. She was a do-nothing, go-nowhere B-plot. Maybe cute, maybe fun, maybe feel good...but overall, meh. The A-plot was resolved 20 pages before the end, and we spent those last 20 pages on "The Adventures of Selar and Thala"...
Secondly, the Kill-Museum was described as absolutely indescribable, made up of shapes and colors, angles and lights, designs and forms, completely incapable of being processed by the humanoid brain (think the Medusas from TOS - almost). Just to look at it unaided can drive one insane - which is a Trope that I will never understand. I will never understand how there can be a shape that I can't process, or a color previously unknown - that's not how light works, nor how my retinas process it. But, if you were the artist who was told to depict that would you go with a shiny, crystal rock? Because that's what we got.
Also, Data is sorely lacking here. This is a Data story. He resolves the main plot. He's undertaken writing a novel (historical romance - "historical" as in it takes place in the early 22nd-century...probably) and shares it with a few people, we even get to read the same excerpt from it a few times as he accepts feedback and rewrites it. I guess I really shouldn't be upset about cover art...but Star Trek covers are deliberate advertisements, showcasing characters and ships or locations.
Minor nitpicks: There's a Tellarite doctor, who is alternatively referred to as a doctor and a nurse in different scenes - by the same character. She becomes a hero, of course, but still, get the damn title straight. Also, Tellarites have hooves? And, again....and, again...and, again...there's so much talk about money. Dr. Selar talks about needing to save up to pay for Thala's passage on a freighter. LaForge talks about spending two years worth of his pay on something. Things are talked about as lacking because of the need for funding here and funding there...it's so aggravating. How can I have my glorious, gay, space-communism, if I have to keep reading about their money issues. It really takes me right out of the universe...as well as being wrong in context. Oh, and of course, boy-genius Wesley's "passing thoughts and ramblings" provides the necessary epiphany Data needs to resolve the main plot.
Oh, and Andorians have women who are pretty much forced to live lives in breeding harems where they pretty much lose all their agency? And Andorians are one of the founding races of the Federation? Am I missing something here? Did Andoria get to exempt themselves from signing the Federation Charter?
Should you read it....sure, why not...
So, big, big content warning: Riker, who apparently attended Starfleet Academy between the ages of 15 and 19, in his first year, meets a woman, who he then sleeps with right away, and later falls in love with (whilst still being 15, mind you). We are never told this woman's age, but when she chooses to end their relationship, when Riker is 19, she tells him that she has her own son who is four years old than Riker. So, when he was 15, she had a 19-year old son. So, at best, she is in her 30s, at worst, she's older. Why do we need a pederast in a Star Trek novel? Why can't Riker just have attended the Academy at a normal age, like 18 to 22 or so, like everyone else seems to. Sure, Wesley seems to test at 16...but, he's already got a leg-up, being an "Acting Ensign," serving on a ship-of-the-line, and is a "genius." Riker can barely tie his shoes together on a good day...I also don't think bang-every-female-alien Riker spent his whole time at the Academy in an serious, long-term, "I'm gonna marry this woman," relationship. I'm not saying a middle-aged woman preying on an 18-year old farm boy from Alaska is much better, but at least it's legal...in most places.
I love, love, love the expansion of Dr./Lt. Selar's character. I always wanted to know more about her ever since her appearance in "The Schizoid Man." She just seemed like this calm, cool, and collected Vulcan with a bit of a snarky side - probably one of the most relatable Vulcans portrayed - maybe it was the actress channeling her inner K'ehleyr. The idea of the "make you go crazy, kill everyone" art museum touring the galaxy is also fun. And Data was just his best self in this novel - when Data is Data, my heart melts a little. :)
Now...on to the bad. Okay, let's talk about this cover. On the right, we have a little Andorian girl. Her name is Thala, she's a child who was residing on the Enterprise with her father, who was killed when the Borg attacked them in the J7 System. Since then, she's been sort of living on the Enterprise, under the care of Dr. Selar, who's been trying to find a new home for her. Now, Thala is blind, like Geordi, so ignore the fact that she clearly has eyes on the cover. So, when the crew encounters the "make you go crazy by looking at it museum" you would think that this blind, little girl (with a child-like mind more open to wonder and possibilities) would be the key to overcoming this dilemma...but nope! She's matters fuck all to the overall story, except for giving Dr. Selar something else to do. I spent the whole novel thinking she was a sort of Chekov's Gun...and she was literally nothing. She was a do-nothing, go-nowhere B-plot. Maybe cute, maybe fun, maybe feel good...but overall, meh. The A-plot was resolved 20 pages before the end, and we spent those last 20 pages on "The Adventures of Selar and Thala"...
Secondly, the Kill-Museum was described as absolutely indescribable, made up of shapes and colors, angles and lights, designs and forms, completely incapable of being processed by the humanoid brain (think the Medusas from TOS - almost). Just to look at it unaided can drive one insane - which is a Trope that I will never understand. I will never understand how there can be a shape that I can't process, or a color previously unknown - that's not how light works, nor how my retinas process it. But, if you were the artist who was told to depict that would you go with a shiny, crystal rock? Because that's what we got.
Also, Data is sorely lacking here. This is a Data story. He resolves the main plot. He's undertaken writing a novel (historical romance - "historical" as in it takes place in the early 22nd-century...probably) and shares it with a few people, we even get to read the same excerpt from it a few times as he accepts feedback and rewrites it. I guess I really shouldn't be upset about cover art...but Star Trek covers are deliberate advertisements, showcasing characters and ships or locations.
Minor nitpicks: There's a Tellarite doctor, who is alternatively referred to as a doctor and a nurse in different scenes - by the same character. She becomes a hero, of course, but still, get the damn title straight. Also, Tellarites have hooves? And, again....and, again...and, again...there's so much talk about money. Dr. Selar talks about needing to save up to pay for Thala's passage on a freighter. LaForge talks about spending two years worth of his pay on something. Things are talked about as lacking because of the need for funding here and funding there...it's so aggravating. How can I have my glorious, gay, space-communism, if I have to keep reading about their money issues. It really takes me right out of the universe...as well as being wrong in context. Oh, and of course, boy-genius Wesley's "passing thoughts and ramblings" provides the necessary epiphany Data needs to resolve the main plot.
Oh, and Andorians have women who are pretty much forced to live lives in breeding harems where they pretty much lose all their agency? And Andorians are one of the founding races of the Federation? Am I missing something here? Did Andoria get to exempt themselves from signing the Federation Charter?
Should you read it....sure, why not...
November 9, 2021
I know I read this at least twice as a young teen, who devoured everything Star Trek that I could get my hands on. It was... interesting to revisit as an adult.
It is very well paced and plotted, reading like a lost episode of the TV series. Each characters gets some screen time, and their bits all feel very in character. Nothing out of place except perhaps Riker's flashback/dream. I loved the expanded role of Dr. Selar. I also enjoyed her relationship with the young Andorian girl, and the social commentary on ableism. Data's romance novel subplot was on point for the character, but even more cringe now that I've read some highlights of book twitter and their takedowns of bad male-gaze "romance" passages. This is the worst of that, magnified.
The resolution to the A plot was pleasing, and I am glad that I revisited this one. Worth a read, but nothing to write home about except that I've read much, much worse tie in fiction, and this ticked all the boxes for a comfort read on a lazy Sunday afternoon/Monday night.
It is very well paced and plotted, reading like a lost episode of the TV series. Each characters gets some screen time, and their bits all feel very in character. Nothing out of place except perhaps Riker's flashback/dream. I loved the expanded role of Dr. Selar. I also enjoyed her relationship with the young Andorian girl, and the social commentary on ableism. Data's romance novel subplot was on point for the character, but even more cringe now that I've read some highlights of book twitter and their takedowns of bad male-gaze "romance" passages. This is the worst of that, magnified.
The resolution to the A plot was pleasing, and I am glad that I revisited this one. Worth a read, but nothing to write home about except that I've read much, much worse tie in fiction, and this ticked all the boxes for a comfort read on a lazy Sunday afternoon/Monday night.
January 21, 2015
Needed a break. Huzzah for easy-to-read sci-fi!
And no, despite my massive update last week, I haven't read this one before. It was new to me. Really.
Anyways, it was typical Trek. Oh no, horrible dilemma, how do we save ourselves? Seemed a bit too much like another episode, "Booby Trap," which actually came out a year earlier. Upon realizing that, I've revised my rating down from 3 to 2 stars.
Did like the focus on Geordi--his character had a ton of potential that's not realized on-screen very much. Good to see him get a turn in the limelight.
Overall, a fun book. I needed a break. Chicks have their trashy romance novels (not all, mind you, just some)... I have my trashy sci-fi. It works.
And no, despite my massive update last week, I haven't read this one before. It was new to me. Really.
Anyways, it was typical Trek. Oh no, horrible dilemma, how do we save ourselves? Seemed a bit too much like another episode, "Booby Trap," which actually came out a year earlier. Upon realizing that, I've revised my rating down from 3 to 2 stars.
Did like the focus on Geordi--his character had a ton of potential that's not realized on-screen very much. Good to see him get a turn in the limelight.
Overall, a fun book. I needed a break. Chicks have their trashy romance novels (not all, mind you, just some)... I have my trashy sci-fi. It works.
September 2, 2017
This one surprised me but not too much as I have enjoyed anything I have read by A.C. Crispin thusfar. The evolution of Data's novel was probably one of the funniest things I have read in a Star Trek novel as he continues to adopt different styles and methods to his book. More specifically, the plot, mystery really drew me in as Crispin again finds a way to utilize the main characters along with adopting other side characters into her story. I expected a small Andorian girl to be annoying but I actually enjoyed her parts of the book. Definitely recommended to those who enjoyed the third season of Star Trek the Next Generation.
July 30, 2021
I truly love when a book which seems to linger and be nothing but "yet another TNG book which could have been really good" .. it is indeed really good. Because after annoying me with damn long passages of what almost every crew member dreamed ( including ....Data! ) and with some subplots which were not necessarily the most interesting on the Milky Way, the author manages to come with such an incredible plot twist that my brain went "brrrrr" and suddenly the book became really interesting. And I loved that perspective which I did not encountered yet, as far as I remember on both the books (despite non being canon) and the TV series itself: the away mission ends almost in disaster and they barely manage to save their asses. It would have been even better if a certain acting ensign was not again almost saving the shipping by himself but it is what it is. Almost forgot about the funny subplot involving Data writing a novel which is so bad that ends up in a parody of Jane Austin. Or was it Bronte sisters? It doesn't matter too much anyway :)).
June 3, 2023
It's hard to imagine how the dialogue here can feel just right for the characters, but the thoughts in their heads are so wildly out of character. It's particularly noticeable in the Data writes a smut B-plot, where the dialogue represents his crewmates' kindness and thoughtfulness towards Data, but then when we see their thoughts it's all "what an inconvenience I hate it when he asks me to look at his garbage because I don't want to hUrT hIS fEeLInGs!"
(Side note: we are treated to several example pages of Data's book, and it's really fascinating to see what a bad author thinks bad writing looks like. It's certainly bad, but there are definite echoes of Data's exploration of humor, where he attempts a joke that ends up being mildly funny, but his crewmates present a counterexample of humor which is objectively less funny.)
This is the one Trek novel that I found when tidying the books in my house, the only one that has survived the various purges over the years, and I think one I particularly liked as a 10-year-old kid. Yet, as I reread the book in my 40s, it wasn't until I made it significantly into the second half of the book that any of it seemed familiar. I wonder if I just glossed over the B and C plots completely?
(Side note: it really felt like the author had a particular grudge against the currency-free 24th century and went out of her way to shoehorn references to money and income into the narrative.)
Once you get to the meat of the A-plot though, there's interesting stuff there. You still need to slog through plenty of tedious internal monologuing, but the alien artifact is genuinely alien and interesting. I can, in the end, see why I liked the book. With some brutal editing, you could cut this novel down to a good 40 page short story - or, because the dialogue is largely fine, maybe a couple issue arc comic book - and it would genuinely be very good, something right out of TNG season 3 (which, chronologically, is where this book falls). But, as a novel, it's a failure.
(Side note: we are treated to several example pages of Data's book, and it's really fascinating to see what a bad author thinks bad writing looks like. It's certainly bad, but there are definite echoes of Data's exploration of humor, where he attempts a joke that ends up being mildly funny, but his crewmates present a counterexample of humor which is objectively less funny.)
This is the one Trek novel that I found when tidying the books in my house, the only one that has survived the various purges over the years, and I think one I particularly liked as a 10-year-old kid. Yet, as I reread the book in my 40s, it wasn't until I made it significantly into the second half of the book that any of it seemed familiar. I wonder if I just glossed over the B and C plots completely?
(Side note: it really felt like the author had a particular grudge against the currency-free 24th century and went out of her way to shoehorn references to money and income into the narrative.)
Once you get to the meat of the A-plot though, there's interesting stuff there. You still need to slog through plenty of tedious internal monologuing, but the alien artifact is genuinely alien and interesting. I can, in the end, see why I liked the book. With some brutal editing, you could cut this novel down to a good 40 page short story - or, because the dialogue is largely fine, maybe a couple issue arc comic book - and it would genuinely be very good, something right out of TNG season 3 (which, chronologically, is where this book falls). But, as a novel, it's a failure.
February 13, 2016
This was a pleasant surprise. I thought this book would just be average but I really enjoyed it. I liked that it almost completely takes place on the Enterprise and focuses on the crew rather than aliens on a planet. I liked the side story about Thala and liked the development of the Dr. Selar character.
November 11, 2011
Ships are going missing and the Enterprise is sent to investigate. The fun parts of this novel are the B plots. A vulcan Doctor cares for a blind Andorian child, and Data is trying to write a novel. These are what makes this book worth reading, they have emotional impact.
May 30, 2014
This book is wonderful. It reminds me of the video game Dead Space. It has a haunting atmosphere with several side plots. The side plots focus on Data, Selar and the blind Andorian girl Thala, and Geordi.
May 14, 2020
I would give this one a 3.5. There's a fun subplot about Data trying to write a novel, and the story made me think about perspective. Also, as a person with a disability I enjoy the way this author handles disability related issues.
September 21, 2016
A good story...but a bit too much sexual content.
August 22, 2017
The best thing I can say about this book is Data looks at his own junk and writes a romance novel.
March 31, 2024
This was a pretty quick read. This definitely gave me the familiar vibe of watching TNG. And by that I mean being more invested in whatever's going on with Data than anything else in the main plot. There were a couple things I thought were uncomfortable (which I'll explain in a bit) and made me consider rating this a 3, but since the Data plot outweighs those things, I think I'll keep it at a 4.
So the elements that are uncomfortable: It is revealed that Riker had a romance with an older woman when he was 15, and this went on for three and a half years before she revealed she has a son who is five years older than him. This would definitely not fly today and is very strange to add to Riker's backstory. Later on, Beverly Crusher also recalls when she and her husband Jack thought about having fun while their son was napping. This is a very awkward thing to bring up, even if it is in a passage illustrating a day Beverly thought was perfect that she wished she had savored more.
But anyway, onto the stuff that actually interested me in this book. We have Data attempting to write a novel. With today's climate, having the hindsight of controversies of A.I. being used to write novels added a strange layer to the experience of reading this storyline from a novel published in 1990 (taking place sometime after "The Best of Both Worlds," it seems). It's also funny hearing Geordi ask if his novel is being sold to a publisher as if self-publishing does not exist in this future. But anyway, Data is a terrible romance writer, and his crewmates do not have the heart to tell him he's terrible. They worry about hurting his feelings despite him being an android. He incorporates styles of other writers, which again is pretty eerie when we have all the A.I. discussions going on these days. But ultimately, the message is he needs to create a writing voice of his own rather than try to derive from the voices of others. However, I do not completely agree with the idea that he should not attempt writing romance if he has not experienced it firsthand. Writers write about a lot of things they do not experience firsthand. I know.
I also quite like how Guinan, with her brief appearance, gets to kind of act as a counselor for Counselor Troi. There are moments in this book where the characters really feel like themselves. A lot of this really feels like a TNG episode. Right down to Picard proclaiming some sort of profound quote.
Data does get to have his moment contributing to the mission. And I do actually want to talk a little bit about the ending, so just a heads up for the spoiler. Data gets to utilize his gifts by agreeing to translate the entire history of an alien race. He says that it will take years, and I have to wonder whether he would have completed all of this by the time of Star Trek: Nemesis. Unfortunately, I feel very certain that there's probably never any update on the progress of all this in any later book, as these tend to be very self-contained. But I quite liked the positive note on which this ended. It was ultimately worth the read.
So the elements that are uncomfortable: It is revealed that Riker had a romance with an older woman when he was 15, and this went on for three and a half years before she revealed she has a son who is five years older than him. This would definitely not fly today and is very strange to add to Riker's backstory. Later on, Beverly Crusher also recalls when she and her husband Jack thought about having fun while their son was napping. This is a very awkward thing to bring up, even if it is in a passage illustrating a day Beverly thought was perfect that she wished she had savored more.
But anyway, onto the stuff that actually interested me in this book. We have Data attempting to write a novel. With today's climate, having the hindsight of controversies of A.I. being used to write novels added a strange layer to the experience of reading this storyline from a novel published in 1990 (taking place sometime after "The Best of Both Worlds," it seems). It's also funny hearing Geordi ask if his novel is being sold to a publisher as if self-publishing does not exist in this future. But anyway, Data is a terrible romance writer, and his crewmates do not have the heart to tell him he's terrible. They worry about hurting his feelings despite him being an android. He incorporates styles of other writers, which again is pretty eerie when we have all the A.I. discussions going on these days. But ultimately, the message is he needs to create a writing voice of his own rather than try to derive from the voices of others. However, I do not completely agree with the idea that he should not attempt writing romance if he has not experienced it firsthand. Writers write about a lot of things they do not experience firsthand. I know.
I also quite like how Guinan, with her brief appearance, gets to kind of act as a counselor for Counselor Troi. There are moments in this book where the characters really feel like themselves. A lot of this really feels like a TNG episode. Right down to Picard proclaiming some sort of profound quote.
Data does get to have his moment contributing to the mission. And I do actually want to talk a little bit about the ending, so just a heads up for the spoiler. Data gets to utilize his gifts by agreeing to translate the entire history of an alien race. He says that it will take years, and I have to wonder whether he would have completed all of this by the time of Star Trek: Nemesis. Unfortunately, I feel very certain that there's probably never any update on the progress of all this in any later book, as these tend to be very self-contained. But I quite liked the positive note on which this ended. It was ultimately worth the read.
May 27, 2021
As a fan of the show who isn’t afraid to read unaired episodes that have been conveniently typed up on paper and cleverly bound together to form what those in the know call “books,” I’m always on the lookout for one that isn’t mired in a complicated crossover event like something from 90s Marvel that requires a convoluted reading order and checklist.
Lo and behold, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Eyes of the Beholders. The good? It’s a done-in-one type of tale. And my kind of tale, at that. I know these get criticized a lot but the “TNG crew investigates a space problem and weird shit happens” is my kind of Star Trek. I love seeing Picard and friends contend with freaky space stuff.
The bad? The story completely loses momentum when it either focuses on the guest star (in this case a sappy orphan alien/Helen Keller—point blank: I don’t like kids in Trek) or the boring dreams of the crew. Other people’s dreams just aren’t interesting. I have the craziest dreams and even I know that. (Last week I dreamed my childhood best friend’s family built a stolen denim jeans empire and lived in a very opulent yet unfurnished palace, and his sister had four kids: two of them normal, two half-horse. Random does not equal interesting.)
I wish instead of dreaming with the crew we could have been witnessing first-hand the freaky effects of the space anomaly (in this case, basically, one of those madness-inducing artifacts.) At one point the carnage of assaults, attacks, suicides, etc, are summarized rather than shown. (Requisite “show, don’t tell” gripe.) I don’t want to read Beverly’s friggin’ report to Starfleet! I want to experience what it’s like walking into a turbolift and running into a crew member who’s gone murderously insane. We are shown none of that.
It does pick up after the dream crap and levels out to be a decent read but it had a lot of potential. Although some of the voices seemed wrong (Data, mostly), extra points for including Selar and subtract same said points for saddling her with the orphan; and credit where it’s due, the writer does come up with some aliens that aren’t just humans with strange colorings or wonky noses. Physically and culturally, they’re very different. To boot, they are virtually unfilmable: a quality I appreciate more and more these days as Hollywood becomes increasingly creatively bankrupt.
(One very stupid part of the book: humans are unable to board an alien craft without going nuts. Even Data cannot. But then Data suggests they just re:program him. Good idea! They agree, but are very concerned he might not be able to be deprogrammed. What?! Why would you be able to reprogram a computer only once? Just reprogram him again when the mission is over. Red alert: false jeopardy!)
I’d love to re:read an abridged version of this. Can anyone recommend a good non-TOS/ENT/STD that a) wasn’t written as the show began and so filled with very off-book characterizations and b) isn’t part 7 in a line-wide event?
Lo and behold, Star Trek: The Next Generation - Eyes of the Beholders. The good? It’s a done-in-one type of tale. And my kind of tale, at that. I know these get criticized a lot but the “TNG crew investigates a space problem and weird shit happens” is my kind of Star Trek. I love seeing Picard and friends contend with freaky space stuff.
The bad? The story completely loses momentum when it either focuses on the guest star (in this case a sappy orphan alien/Helen Keller—point blank: I don’t like kids in Trek) or the boring dreams of the crew. Other people’s dreams just aren’t interesting. I have the craziest dreams and even I know that. (Last week I dreamed my childhood best friend’s family built a stolen denim jeans empire and lived in a very opulent yet unfurnished palace, and his sister had four kids: two of them normal, two half-horse. Random does not equal interesting.)
I wish instead of dreaming with the crew we could have been witnessing first-hand the freaky effects of the space anomaly (in this case, basically, one of those madness-inducing artifacts.) At one point the carnage of assaults, attacks, suicides, etc, are summarized rather than shown. (Requisite “show, don’t tell” gripe.) I don’t want to read Beverly’s friggin’ report to Starfleet! I want to experience what it’s like walking into a turbolift and running into a crew member who’s gone murderously insane. We are shown none of that.
It does pick up after the dream crap and levels out to be a decent read but it had a lot of potential. Although some of the voices seemed wrong (Data, mostly), extra points for including Selar and subtract same said points for saddling her with the orphan; and credit where it’s due, the writer does come up with some aliens that aren’t just humans with strange colorings or wonky noses. Physically and culturally, they’re very different. To boot, they are virtually unfilmable: a quality I appreciate more and more these days as Hollywood becomes increasingly creatively bankrupt.
(One very stupid part of the book: humans are unable to board an alien craft without going nuts. Even Data cannot. But then Data suggests they just re:program him. Good idea! They agree, but are very concerned he might not be able to be deprogrammed. What?! Why would you be able to reprogram a computer only once? Just reprogram him again when the mission is over. Red alert: false jeopardy!)
I’d love to re:read an abridged version of this. Can anyone recommend a good non-TOS/ENT/STD that a) wasn’t written as the show began and so filled with very off-book characterizations and b) isn’t part 7 in a line-wide event?
March 9, 2021
This has a godawful cover. What were they thinking?
The story is actually very good though. I'd give it a four star rating if it weren't for one element that bumped it down an entire star - more on that in a moment. I enjoyed the reveal of what the disturbingly weird space station was, and I liked how everyone worked together to make sure that what needed to be preserved got to be. I liked that there was no real bad guy, either, just something very alien that had been misunderstood. I very much liked the two visiting doctors who were the main guest stars of the book - the gentle pig-faced Tellarite who volunteered for dangerous missions to protect her patients and who kept her cool when the rest of the away team completely lost theirs. And the other doctor, a Vulcan, who developed a caretaker relationship with an orphaned Andorian child... those two were the high point of the book for me. Honestly, either of these two doctors could replace Crusher permanently and I'd be good with it. As I said, I was strongly tempted to give this one four stars, it's the most enjoyable TNG novel I've read in a while.
Apart from a section in the middle, where Riker succumbs to the same disturbing dreams that are plaguing the rest of the crew. His dream recalls an incident from his childhood, where his 15 year old self had an affair with a woman at least three times his age. Crispin presents the whole thing basically positively, and I'm distinctly unimpressed. He was a child. His lover was a predator. Reverse the genders and it screams taking-advantage by a mile. And you know what, I am not always a fan of Peter David's work, but a couple of TNG books before this one, in David's A Rock and a Hard Place, a 16 year old girl with a crush hits on Riker and he shuts that shit down hard, because she is a kid and he is too old for her, and that is what an adult is supposed to do. It is unfortunate that Crispin does not do the same here; I have zero interest in reading young teens get taken advantage of by adults. This is Star Trek. I expect it to do better.
Finally, on a milder note, I wish someone would forcefeed Data a dictionary of idiom and Brewer's Phrase and Fable, because his constant misunderstandings of informal speech have never been one hundredth as entertaining as every single TNG writer seems to think they are.
The story is actually very good though. I'd give it a four star rating if it weren't for one element that bumped it down an entire star - more on that in a moment. I enjoyed the reveal of what the disturbingly weird space station was, and I liked how everyone worked together to make sure that what needed to be preserved got to be. I liked that there was no real bad guy, either, just something very alien that had been misunderstood. I very much liked the two visiting doctors who were the main guest stars of the book - the gentle pig-faced Tellarite who volunteered for dangerous missions to protect her patients and who kept her cool when the rest of the away team completely lost theirs. And the other doctor, a Vulcan, who developed a caretaker relationship with an orphaned Andorian child... those two were the high point of the book for me. Honestly, either of these two doctors could replace Crusher permanently and I'd be good with it. As I said, I was strongly tempted to give this one four stars, it's the most enjoyable TNG novel I've read in a while.
Apart from a section in the middle, where Riker succumbs to the same disturbing dreams that are plaguing the rest of the crew. His dream recalls an incident from his childhood, where his 15 year old self had an affair with a woman at least three times his age. Crispin presents the whole thing basically positively, and I'm distinctly unimpressed. He was a child. His lover was a predator. Reverse the genders and it screams taking-advantage by a mile. And you know what, I am not always a fan of Peter David's work, but a couple of TNG books before this one, in David's A Rock and a Hard Place, a 16 year old girl with a crush hits on Riker and he shuts that shit down hard, because she is a kid and he is too old for her, and that is what an adult is supposed to do. It is unfortunate that Crispin does not do the same here; I have zero interest in reading young teens get taken advantage of by adults. This is Star Trek. I expect it to do better.
Finally, on a milder note, I wish someone would forcefeed Data a dictionary of idiom and Brewer's Phrase and Fable, because his constant misunderstandings of informal speech have never been one hundredth as entertaining as every single TNG writer seems to think they are.
June 22, 2021
Without a doubt the best Next Generation tie-in novel that I have read. A.C. Crispin never disappoints and shows a deep understanding of what is at the heart of Star Trek. She perfectly recreates the pacing and structure of a TNG episode with the standard A plot and B plot, while still finding time for character development and the day-to-day lives of the crew holding it all together.
She does a remarkable job of capturing the feel of each of the main characters, but she adds her own touch by developing some of the secondary characters (and introducing a few new ones). The chapters featuring Dr. Selar (a background Vulcan doctor featured on screen only once) and a blind Andorian orphan (a new character) add a freshness to the novel that would be missing if it only focused on the main cast. She also does a better job of showcasing Wes Crusher than most of the TV writers ever did, and he feels more like what Roddenberry intended for him in the show's "writers bible."
I also liked that the main plot managed to be suspenseful and high-stakes without resorting to villains or conflict. Crispin shows off the best of Trek: facing the unknown with skill, ingenuity, and an open mind. This is one of the few Trek novels that I felt ADDED something to the genre, rather than re-hashing tired tropes or cashing in on mining old plot threads from the show (most of the other ones were also written by her).
She does a remarkable job of capturing the feel of each of the main characters, but she adds her own touch by developing some of the secondary characters (and introducing a few new ones). The chapters featuring Dr. Selar (a background Vulcan doctor featured on screen only once) and a blind Andorian orphan (a new character) add a freshness to the novel that would be missing if it only focused on the main cast. She also does a better job of showcasing Wes Crusher than most of the TV writers ever did, and he feels more like what Roddenberry intended for him in the show's "writers bible."
I also liked that the main plot managed to be suspenseful and high-stakes without resorting to villains or conflict. Crispin shows off the best of Trek: facing the unknown with skill, ingenuity, and an open mind. This is one of the few Trek novels that I felt ADDED something to the genre, rather than re-hashing tired tropes or cashing in on mining old plot threads from the show (most of the other ones were also written by her).
May 20, 2020
I liked this one a great deal. As a lifelong Trek fan, my collection of these books is extensive; some are hits and others are misses. This one hit much more than it missed.
I am very glad that there is a focus on Dr. Selar, giving her character actual character (it was a waste not to bring back Suzie Plakson for this role, though of course her higher-profile stint as Keylehr would have been a bit too obvious a conflict). The connection between her and Thala, the young Andorian girl is well-written. It's interesting to note that this story takes on added dimension in light of later televised Trek, specifically the animosity (giving way to grudging respect) between Andorians and Vulcans in Star Trek: Enterprise.
I'd say the only low point for me would be the depiction of the alien-ness of the artifact. It is hard to conceive how something in three-dimensional space would be stimulus enough, even with each individual sense (sight, sound, touch, smell) to cause the effects the author describes. Certainly Trek has included the Medusans (and they get a shout-out in this novel), but that's in relation to the physical appearance of the species itself, not every aspect of the output of their art. It stretches credulity, but not so far that I didn't enjoy a good yarn.
I am very glad that there is a focus on Dr. Selar, giving her character actual character (it was a waste not to bring back Suzie Plakson for this role, though of course her higher-profile stint as Keylehr would have been a bit too obvious a conflict). The connection between her and Thala, the young Andorian girl is well-written. It's interesting to note that this story takes on added dimension in light of later televised Trek, specifically the animosity (giving way to grudging respect) between Andorians and Vulcans in Star Trek: Enterprise.
I'd say the only low point for me would be the depiction of the alien-ness of the artifact. It is hard to conceive how something in three-dimensional space would be stimulus enough, even with each individual sense (sight, sound, touch, smell) to cause the effects the author describes. Certainly Trek has included the Medusans (and they get a shout-out in this novel), but that's in relation to the physical appearance of the species itself, not every aspect of the output of their art. It stretches credulity, but not so far that I didn't enjoy a good yarn.
September 1, 2024
3.75 stars. This is hardly great literature, but it is a fun and easy ready that made an afternoon just fly by.
The prose reads like a YA novelization of a S2 ST:TNG episode. I don't mean that as a slight, I liked it! It had just the same amount of ridiculous leaps of logic and utter nonsense that S2 TNG was still bumbling through at times, and wouldn't have looked at all out of place as an episode in that season.
Being such an easy read, there wasn't a lot of depth to the new characters. I was especially disappointed at how little we really got to know a heroic Tellarite, other than the actions taken in the novel. I would have liked some insight and background for that character. I also thought it was extremely odd that Captain Picard never tried even once to communicate with the mysterious artifact. I'm pretty sure that's basic protocol!
I'd recommend this to an intelligent young Star Trek fan who was looking to get into the novels and wasn't sure where to start. It's a good story - with 2 small side stories as the episodes often had - that captures the Trek spirit without getting too complex or philosophical. Just good fun!
The prose reads like a YA novelization of a S2 ST:TNG episode. I don't mean that as a slight, I liked it! It had just the same amount of ridiculous leaps of logic and utter nonsense that S2 TNG was still bumbling through at times, and wouldn't have looked at all out of place as an episode in that season.
Being such an easy read, there wasn't a lot of depth to the new characters. I was especially disappointed at how little we really got to know a heroic Tellarite, other than the actions taken in the novel. I would have liked some insight and background for that character. I also thought it was extremely odd that Captain Picard never tried even once to communicate with the mysterious artifact. I'm pretty sure that's basic protocol!
I'd recommend this to an intelligent young Star Trek fan who was looking to get into the novels and wasn't sure where to start. It's a good story - with 2 small side stories as the episodes often had - that captures the Trek spirit without getting too complex or philosophical. Just good fun!
April 29, 2020
My English is not great but, wow the errors in this one are something else.
I LOVED the premise of ships suddenly going missing, think Bermuda Triangle. The author mentions Earth history, which I also find myself enjoying in any episode or book. The author starts somewhat strong with tension building but then immediately goes to a scene where they are so casual and even mention they will probably be out of this area of space in a week, then back to the tension, Ummm it was weird and certainly did not flow.
I feel like too many phrases were borrowed straight from episodes and some that were used too often. My biggest problem was probably how the author made lite of a 15-year-old minor getting with someone that is probably 40-45, that just isn't ok, it was abuse but was framed as just any relationship.
Overall I would not recommend this book to anyone.
I LOVED the premise of ships suddenly going missing, think Bermuda Triangle. The author mentions Earth history, which I also find myself enjoying in any episode or book. The author starts somewhat strong with tension building but then immediately goes to a scene where they are so casual and even mention they will probably be out of this area of space in a week, then back to the tension, Ummm it was weird and certainly did not flow.
I feel like too many phrases were borrowed straight from episodes and some that were used too often. My biggest problem was probably how the author made lite of a 15-year-old minor getting with someone that is probably 40-45, that just isn't ok, it was abuse but was framed as just any relationship.
Overall I would not recommend this book to anyone.
September 27, 2021
Several ships disappear without a trace, and the Enterprise is ordered to investigate. The crew discovers a strange artefact that now keeps them in an invisible trap as well. And then the weird dreams start.
The Eyes of the Beholders combines several familiar ideas from other episodes. The dreams and their effects on the crew are very similar to the episode Night Terrors. Data has a new obsession: writing a novel. And there's a sub-plot about a young blind Andorian girl.
The main story about the artefact is very interesting and has a satisfying resolution. The sub plot about the little girl is interesting and touching, but has no relevance to the main plot, which is disappointing.
The book very much reads like a high budget season 2 episode, with characters that ring true to the show and a solid mystery.
Good, not great.
The Eyes of the Beholders combines several familiar ideas from other episodes. The dreams and their effects on the crew are very similar to the episode Night Terrors. Data has a new obsession: writing a novel. And there's a sub-plot about a young blind Andorian girl.
The main story about the artefact is very interesting and has a satisfying resolution. The sub plot about the little girl is interesting and touching, but has no relevance to the main plot, which is disappointing.
The book very much reads like a high budget season 2 episode, with characters that ring true to the show and a solid mystery.
Good, not great.
October 27, 2021
Bis zur Mitte ist der Roman ganz unterhaltsam: Die TNG-Figuren sind ganz gut getroffen, es werden einige neue Protagonisten eingeführt, die Handlung kommt allmählich voran und die Atmosphäre passt auch weitestgehend zur Serie. Leider verpasst es dann die Autorin in der zweiten Romanhälfte das Tempo anzuziehen und Spannung aufzubauen. Stattdessen dümpelt die Rahmenhandlung vor sich hin und als Leser tingelt man von einer Erinnerungsszene einer Figur zur nächsten. Das ist szenenweise ganz nett, aber nicht packend. Auch kommt hier kein richtiger roter Faden in den Nebenhandlungen zustande (z.B. das andorianische Mädchen betreffend). Die Auflösung zum Ende hin ist enttäuschend und das Finale ziemlich langweilig und vorhersehbar. Auf das Thema Logik möchte ich erst gar nicht zu sprechen kommen. Daher nur zwei Sterne für dieses Werk.
September 20, 2024
***1/2
The past few years I've been working my way slowly through the "Next Generation" novels, starting with the first. A. C. Crispin's "The Eyes of the Beholders" is one of the best yet, though not because of its main story--about the search for lost vessels seemingly bewitched by something known as The Artifact, which makes humans crazy and unable to function--but rather its subplots.
Data is attempting to add "novelist" to his resume, and no one wants to give him an honest opinion of his dreadful story. And Thala, a blind Andorian girl, becomes close to Selar, a Vulcan doctor who's taken her under her wing. Both of these subplots are good enough that when pages were focused on them, I was sad when the chapter ended and it was time to get back to the main feature. There are some genuinely funny, and moving, moments in this book.
The past few years I've been working my way slowly through the "Next Generation" novels, starting with the first. A. C. Crispin's "The Eyes of the Beholders" is one of the best yet, though not because of its main story--about the search for lost vessels seemingly bewitched by something known as The Artifact, which makes humans crazy and unable to function--but rather its subplots.
Data is attempting to add "novelist" to his resume, and no one wants to give him an honest opinion of his dreadful story. And Thala, a blind Andorian girl, becomes close to Selar, a Vulcan doctor who's taken her under her wing. Both of these subplots are good enough that when pages were focused on them, I was sad when the chapter ended and it was time to get back to the main feature. There are some genuinely funny, and moving, moments in this book.
May 27, 2021
En underbar inblick (om än kort) i andorianernas sociala strukturer.
Jag känner inte igen allt i senare beskrivningar av andorianerna, men det är väl naturligt att bokskrivandet kring denna art har utvecklats med tiden. Grundstoryn känns trovärdig och vi får här möta resterna av en art som miljontals år sedan dog ut, men vars fysiska och psykiska uppbyggnad är så olika humanoiderna i alfa- och betakvadranterna att deras kroppar och psyken kollapsar vid kontakt. Skönt att se att en art kan ha utvecklats på annat sätt än vad humanoiderna har gjort.
Lösningen på den svåra situationen kändes dock inte trovärdig och den kom alldeles för snabbt på. Jag blev lite besviken på de alltför många genvägarna som togs i boken, men kan ibland acceptera nödvändigheten i detta. Betyget blir 5 av 10.
Jag känner inte igen allt i senare beskrivningar av andorianerna, men det är väl naturligt att bokskrivandet kring denna art har utvecklats med tiden. Grundstoryn känns trovärdig och vi får här möta resterna av en art som miljontals år sedan dog ut, men vars fysiska och psykiska uppbyggnad är så olika humanoiderna i alfa- och betakvadranterna att deras kroppar och psyken kollapsar vid kontakt. Skönt att se att en art kan ha utvecklats på annat sätt än vad humanoiderna har gjort.
Lösningen på den svåra situationen kändes dock inte trovärdig och den kom alldeles för snabbt på. Jag blev lite besviken på de alltför många genvägarna som togs i boken, men kan ibland acceptera nödvändigheten i detta. Betyget blir 5 av 10.
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