Rough Trails: New Earth #3

Star Trek: New Earth #3

by L.A. Graf

Join the crew of the Starship Enterprise in this exciting Star Trek adventure as they are busy with a crucial mission—assisting a determined band of pioneers colonize a harsh and unforgiving world and protect the planet’s precious resources for the sake of the entire Federation.Months after their departure from Earth, the struggling colonists have barely established a precarious hold on their new planet Belle Terre. Fierce cyclones, storms, landslides, and flash floods make survival a never-ending challenge. While Captain James T. Kirk and the Starship Enterprise patrol the sector, on guard against predatory aliens and greedy space pirates, Chekov, Uhura, and Sulu stay behind to assist the hapless settlers in their desperate battle to put down roots in the turbulent soil of an angry planet. But the struggling colonists are intensely proud and not inclined to take orders from their Starfleet guardians. Chekov and the others find their ingenuity and diplomatic skills tested to their limits to save a people who don’t seem to want their help.

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Ebooks, Fiction, Space, Adventure, Star Trek Original Series

267 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2000

About the author

L.A. Graf reportedly stands for Let's All Get Rich and Famous. Its a pseudonym used by authors Karen Rose Cercone and Julia Ecklar.

They have co-written some eleven Star Trek novels. Their first Star Trek novel came out in 1990.

Reviews

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

At this point, it would be less hassle just to settle on Qo'noS.

[Sarah B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow... I read this entire book very quickly! It's been ages since I have read a classic Star Trek book so I really enjoyed this fast paced adventure story. And since this book is part of a six book series, I have just ordered the next one from my library. I have not read the first two books but that doesn't seem to matter. This one had mentioned enough stuff that I had sort of figured out what had happened more or less.

So the main characters in here are Chekov, Sulu and Uhura. Scotty has a small role too. But the famous trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy are absent for the majority of the story.

This story is set on a colony world and the planet is suffering an ecological disaster. Tons of a special type of dust in the atmosphere is creating huge communication issues and transporters won't function at all. Plus the dust is radioactive! And you can't see anything through the clouds of swirling dust. Reading this with Chekov trying to walk through these awful landscapes was giving me Wrath of Khan vibes! Isn't it ironic right after this he is transferring to the Reliant? But the crazy thing is that there are towns of people living under these horrid conditions! And they have no way of communicating with each other plus they need supplies so they won't starve. Chekov was on a shuttle delivering these supplies when it crashes.. And the dust clouds are so horrid no one knows where the shuttle went down.

And then they find out about an even worse disaster waiting to happen! But that is just the start.

So I had fun reading this. And I enjoyed the short scenes in here with the various animals too, including a very brief mention of someone breeding Arabians but there are dogs and camels too. The camels and dogs definitely have larger roles. Its rare to see animals in Star Trek. I thought Chekov worked well with Gwen once he meets her and her animals.

The story contains lots of action and danger. Plus some unexpected twists too. In fact one twist in here caught me off guard. it added the human element to the problem.

I was a little annoyed that one person kept calling Chekov "C.C." instead of by his name. I just never saw that in Star Trek before so I thought it was weird even though I had quickly figured out it stood for Commander Chekov. I also found it hard to believe that anyone could actually live in all that radioactive dirt blowing around! I mean regular sand blowing around can be deadly and then its radioactive yet? Ok.... It does add an interesting twist, I have to admit that. And I do enjoy survival stories and a good chunk of this one is a survival story. It has great descriptions too with the characters suffering ill affects from being out in that awful blowing dirt so it's not glossed over at all. One scene even mentions hair falling out. And skin tight and red from burns.

And there are two types of villains in here: the kind that are just indifferent and the greedy kind who will do anything for great wealth. Both are bad.

Oh and the town names!! I think the author must have a sense of humor as the town names in here are hilarious! I cannot imagine Captain Kirk keeping a straight face while putting these ridiculous names into his Captain's Log, can you? Some of the towns are What's the Point, No Escape, Desperation, So Unfair (the bureaucrats live there) and a river is called The Big Muddy.

But this is really a serious story. Its actually about how people in power can abuse that power. They make things better for themselves while the regular everyday people suffer and their words fall on deaf ears. Promises are made but they are empty: just hot air and nothing changes. Or it gets worse. So what Chekov, Sulu and Uhura are actually doing in here while dealing with a natural disaster is sniffing out corruption and stopping it. And illegal things are going on in the background too. Like all great classic Star Trek it says things about society. And how people have to stand up against corruption.

[James Wingerter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing to write home about. 90% of the time I was bored while reading this book. The other 10% I felt I had to force myself to care because of the characters we know and love. This is not your typical Star Trek story. Save for the last 5 pages, the entire story takes place on Bell Terre, not in space or on the Enterprise.

Kirk and Spock aren’t really part of this story. It follows Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura, which is fine, but again, nothing to write home about. It was redeemable that you get to appreciate Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura more, but the overall plot just leaves a little bit to be desired.

[dragonkeeper22 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know how I feel about it, it wasnt good but wasnt bad either. It was nice to have a change in the way that most Star Trek novels are approached and seeing through the perpectives of Sulu, Chevkov, and Uhura. But I couldnt help but feel that it would have been best as a subplot, and my focus kept drifting to other things which is very rare with books related to the Original Series. I hope the next installment in the series will be more engaging.

[Samuel Tyler · Rating 2 out of 5]

‘New Earth’ is a series of Star Trek books based on the original series that I have felt had a flawed premise at its heart and this continues in book 3 ‘Rough Trails’. By now the pioneers who set out to populate Belle Terre are established, but this is not the lush land that they had hoped for. The planet is volatile after being nearly destroyed in the last book and rather than heading back to the relative safety of Federation Space, the settlers pull up their socks and get on with the harsh reality of living in the back of beyond. As with the first two books, ‘Rough’ sees more than its fair share of death as a flood looks like it is going to engulf many of the new settlements as well as a rogue settlement gong Wild West on the others.

Why anyone would willingly put up with this is a fundamental issue with the book. An adventurous spirit is one thing, but to try and make it on a near dead planet that is a magnet for pirates due to its rich resources, is another. At least this stubborn us-against-them attitude make the actions in ‘Rough’ make sense as the settlers will do anything to stop the Enterprise helping them, even if this means the untimely death of so many. The clash between the individual and the state is the most interesting element of the book, but as a reader you can’t help feeling as frustrated as the crew of the Enterprise and thinking you should probably just leave them.

With a sense of frustration permeating every page of the book it is sometimes hard to ignore it and look at the story. Here you have your typical Star Trek fair – action without consequences. We know that the main crew have to live for at least several hundred movies, therefore they won’t die. This means that the amount of trepidation is dulled. Local characters are introduced and their fates are not assured, but it would have been nice with the luxury of a six book arc to really have the crew invest in the planet. Only Chekov seems to have any sense of growth.

If ‘Rough’ had been a standalone Trek book that saw the crew descend on a planet and help the locals it would have been a reasonable space thriller, but the locals here are established and frankly don’t deserve being saved in many cases. By having the plot based around saving a bunch of people who only want to be saved when they realise they are useless, undermines the story as you find it hard to care for them.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 2 out of 5]

The third in the New Earth series, and it's one of those books where I say "There's nothing wrong with it, exactly..." And in all fairness, there were likable things here. I enjoyed that the focus was entirely on Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov. I really liked the idea of the Carsons, and wished that organisation had held a more central position in the narrative. But mostly this was like a sci-fi version of a western. There's illegal mining and dust storms, a fight between greed and survival, and it's just all so stretched out. There were a lot of scenes of flying shuttles in storms, or the three main characters just missing each other, or, interminably, Uhura's efforts to get a working communicator. I wonder if Graf was going for the effect of recreating Uhura's frustration in the reader, building empathy for her that way, but to me it only felt rather crushingly repetitive. And, crucially, all just a little bit dull.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't normally read a series out of cycle, but my daughter picked up this book for me from the library, not knowing that it's book 3 of 6. Not wanting to waste her good intention, I decided to read it nonetheless.

However, it was an unfortunate coincidence that when I started reading this book, the haze hit my country (again). There's just so much description of the environment in the storyline that it reads like a National Geographic documentary.

In Rough Trails, Sulu, Uhura and Chekov take centrestage in what seemed like an adventure of the BFF on Belle Terre, only to be interrupted by lots of dust, olivium and a third partThee. The book started off so slow that you might think you're watching "Seconds From Disaster".

The pacing picked up only when there's more conversation going on at the tail end of the book. In the end, it must surely come as a surprise that the irreverent colonists of Llano Verde didn't consider changing the name of the colony itself after the flood.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting ideas are explored in this novel, most notably focusing on characters other than the "big three," but it is not enough to make me recommend it. The overwhelming bleakness made it a very difficult book to get through, and the disconnect between this novel and the previous one was very confusing. The ending made up for it a bit, but many of the plot elements and the behavior of the colonists seemed very out of place when put in the context of the rest of the series.

Full review: https://www.treklit.com/2019/06/tos91...

[Peter Rydén · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jag missade bok 2 men det gjorde ingen större skillnad. Man kom snabbt in i denna berättelse, trots att det är oerhört många trådar att hålla reda på. Enterprises besättning var mer i centrum denna gång, men flera andra karaktärer berörde och engagerade mig som läsare. Jag gillar dessutom att upplösningen av boken inte är uppenbar utan att man hålls på halster till sista kapitlet där det avslöjas vilka som var skurkar respektive välgörare och varför.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting change of pace from the first 2 books in the set. I always like these novels when the crew gets away from their starships and have to work with obstacles they are not used too. Some of the names of the towns were priceless very funny.
Still not much word on the blood and Kauld. With only a few minor references and a little from the kauld towards the end.
I love getting to see uhura, Sulu and Chekov shine.

All in all a good read ready for book 4z

[Jon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Probably one of the worst books I've ever read and the worst ST book I've ever read.

This is just cowboys in space, almost all American and indistinguishable from the old western movie cowboys. Apparently Americans haven't changed since those days and still want to shoot you with a rifle and wear big hats etc etc.

Simply awful book I felt and I could only finish it by only reading the conversations.

[Mateo Tomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Chekhov, Sulu and Uhura centric story is an appealing idea. But that’s the idea.
I found the reality of it a slug, repetitive , humorless and joyless. I’m going to do the rest of the series, but whew, what momentum killer of what had been built up in the prior 2 books in “New Earth “.

[Ian Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love a novel that focuses on Sulu, Uhura and Chekov but this felt overly similar to Traitor Winds where all three of them were on the run and searching to uncover a conspiracy. Aside from that, this was a lot of fun.

[William H. Haugland III · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea

Well written but not interesting. Not enough Kirk, Spock and McCoy. I guess I’m just too old school to enjoy a book like this.

[Bruce Corpening · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good God, I couldn't breathe through this whole book because of the olivium dust in my throat. Why would anyone live on this side of the planet.

[James Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

We get it, Belle Terre is a dusty windy place…

This book was so so, not a page turner but an interesting enough filler episode in the New Earth series.

[Mark Helliar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rough Trails was a rough book to read. The story follows Sulu, Chekov and Uhura on the planet. Sulu was basically a pilot 'about to die' throughout the book. Uhura, in her communications officer hat, was working on a way to communicate with the homesteads throughout the book (which of coarse never worked when it was needed) and was "about to die' a number of times. Chekov was simply 'about to die' all the time either by shuttle wreck, or drowning, or gun shot, or radiation sickness, or exposure, or gun shot again, or of coarse radiation again, then he really does get shot right before he wants to suicide dive bomb the shuttle, but gets out of it only to end up in a box inches away from drowning again. Chekov quite frankly should have died somewhere in there. Between the overkill on the communications problem and everybody ( including the colonist ) always being 'about to die' the main story was told. It got really old, really fast.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

In this book, some of the main crew of the Enterprise's bridge are sent to help the locals on Belle Terre, after the planet was ravaged by fallout from an unstable moon ("The Burn").

There is quite a big gap, idea-wise, between the second book and this one. Suddenly Belle Terre has become a living hell - colonists are living in fear and violence, the planet isn't being much kinder, and we still don't have any particularly good explanation for it other than "the Burn did it".

Personally I thought that the misadventures of the crew vs. the colonists should have been worked as a subplot into the other books, instead of suddenly thrown at us in full force in one novel. The transition is abrupt and does not fit with the pacing of the other books.

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly expected more from this installment. Once the intrigue really got going at the end, it turned out to be pretty good, but I was really hoping more would happen. Kind of a departure from any of the outside influences and all about the colony itself. Perhaps an important step in the whole picture, but I'd rather have had the internal problems as a B story in all the books than separated out into a single volume.

[Chris McCown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good lord this was a hard book to read. However, I rated it four stars because of the job it does painting a picture of the world the characters are in. The details seem boring, but it's not until you read the next book that you realize how real this one felt. And if you stick with it, the climax is pretty good.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting story placed in a very frightening world. As usual, not the decorum but the presence of other living beings (humans this time) present the biggest danger for survival. The story of a harsh struggle for survival (in three separate but still intertwined pots) against the background of an unforgiving nature and the force of natural catastrophe.

[Kreg · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this book was an independent story it would be decent, but as a 3rd book in the New Earth series, it was mediocre at best. The plot contradicts many elements established by book 2 (Belle Terre), which indicates the author was given only a rough outline of the previous book to use when writing.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, I did like the fact that the focus of this one is Chekov, Sulu & Uhura, and they get a ton to do. That's the reason it didn't drop below 3 stars. But, after the first few chapters, I almost zoed out, I felt like I was reading the same chapter over and over.

[Michael Schulz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first two but ok