Star Trek: A Time to be Born by John Vornholt

Star Trek: A Time to be Born
John Vornholt
2004, Pocket Books, New York
0743467655
284p.

The Enterprise is sent to help with the retrieval mission at the Rashanar Battle site where derelict ships float around a gravity sink. They destroy a dangerous mimic vessel setting off a chain of events which threatens Captain Picard's future in Starfleet.

I read it but didn't enjoy it. The writing is poor and the storyline is mediocre. A few of the ideas are interesting but mostly it felt like covered territory. And what is with Trek authors doing terrible metaphors??!! There were some doozies in this one.

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The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

The Sirens of Titan
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
1959, 1979, Dell Publishing, New York
0440179483
319p.

A man and his dog are caught up in a chrono-synclastic-infudibula halfway between Earth and Mars and are scattered throughout the Solar System, appearing and disappearing on different planets at regular intervals. To explain any more would complicate things and this novel is a journey for the reader so I wont bother!

I really really really enjoyed this. Vonnegut has a seriously wicked sense of humour. And there was so much going on within the story. I wish they wrote science fiction like this again.

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Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne

Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Jules Verne
1864, , Wordsworth Classics,
1853262870
185p.

On discovering a parchment from an Icelandic explorer which claims that the explorer had travelled to the centre of the earth, an eccentric scientist and his nephew embark on their own journey.

As always, Verne is superb. He is my favourite author, yet I've never read this book in full before. It's such an adventure!

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The War Against the Rull by AE van Vogt

The War Against the Rull
AE van Vogt
1959, 1973, Panther, Aylesbury
0586028005
156p.

Humans have expanded throughout the galaxy and face one major foe - the Rull, an energy-based being. This story follows a man named Jamieson as he fights for humankind on strange planets and in space.

This was originally a bunch of short stories which have been condensed into a single novel. I've read one of these short stories before in an old anthology of classic science fiction shorts. Jamieson is a great character - heroic but in an intelligent way. And the different alien beings and cultures are so very imaginative as most of van Vogt's creations are.

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Away and Beyond by AE van Vogt

Away and Beyond
AE van Vogt
1963, 1968, Panther Books, London
no isbn
219p.

Eight short stories from one of the masters of the classic science fiction genre, AE van Vogt.

This is an interesting collection, consisting of mainly technology driven stories. It captures all the wonder and hope of the 1960s science and space dreams. My favourite story was The Great Engine about an engineer who discovers a fantastically advanced drive for a ship. I felt the last story in the collection, Asylum, really let it down as the story was vague and confusing.

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Masks by John Vorholt

Masks
John Vornholt
1989, Pocket Books, New York
067174139X
277p.

The Enterprise is sent to a planet called Lorca, which is inhabited by descendants of Earth who travelled there 200 years ago and subsequently forgot their technological advances. The people of Lorca all wear masks to signify their occupation and position in society. When Captain Picard's away team goes missing (when does it not?), Commander Riker heads his own team to retrieve them.

I found the Lorcan culture and history fascinating. This is more of an anthropological Trek story rather than a technological one - they seem to be the two main genres of the Trek books. The plot line was pretty basic with Prime Directive issues, technology issues, and losing all the command staff on a hostile planet issues. And Picard pulls a Kirk with the exotic alien female!

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Contamination by John Vornholt

Contamination
John Vornholt
1991, Pocket Books, New York
067170561X
273p.

A scientist working aboard the Enterprise - Lynn Costa - is murdered and Lt. Worf and Deanna Troi are appointed to investigate.

This was basically just a murder mystery set in the Star Trek universe. It was interesting to read about a section of the Enterprise and its characters not normally focussed on in the TV show or in the books - the science section and micro-contamination labs. However, as a mystery, it was a bit predictable.

And note to the author - there are no igloos in Antarctica ... the word you are looking for is 'Arctic'. There were a few typographical errors too, but that's Pocket Books' fault.

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The Form Guide: The Customs of the Contemporary World by James Valentine

The Form Guide: The Customs of the Contemporary World
James Valentine
2007, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sydney
9780733319587
319p.

James Valentine from ABC Radio in Sydney hosts a weekly segment called The Form Guide where people call in with questions about various social situations. Some of these discussions have been collected together in this book.

This is a very amusing book, but I think it's certainly written for the culture of Sydney city. A lot of it remains irrelevant for me personally, and yet it is still readable. I liked how it was also a cultural history guide - if a little skewed. But the tiny proofing errors irritated me! It needed just one final check through looking especially at bolding and colon use.

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