macpye

The novel’s blurb on the back cover promises us:

SPOCK: BEAMED DOWN TO A MURDEROUS PLANET IN A DANGEROUSLY SHIFTING UNIVERSE…

A universe where a series of freak ion storms has changed the boundaries of space… where Arachne IV [it’s always IV], inhabited by a strange race, may be lost to the Federation… where Spock is sent on a death-defying assignment into a war of ant-types along with a brilliant, beautiful, bigoted scientist who hates Vulcans!

Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and the crew of the Starship Enterprise daringly journey on another thrilling mission towards the perils of unknown worlds.

Without spoiling too much, I can tell you, that’s a pack of lies. If you want to know more, beware, there may be spoilers.

First off, let me tell you in how many ways that blurb’s been lying to me so far.

The implications of it are, that we’ll get plunged into an adventure with Spock as its focus almost instantly. Nothing could be more wrong. It takes almost the entire first half of the novel for the Enterprise to even get to Arachne IV. The majority of that time we have to spend with Dr Katalya Tremaine, the “brilliant, beautiful, bigoted scientist”. 

As a reader, I get told she’s brilliant, but, besides moments of deviousness, I haven’t seen much of that promised brilliance in her field, yet. We get told she’s beautiful, but to me, that’s rather overshadowed by her bigotry, the only thing about her we get shown directly. She made me want to throw the book across the room on multiple occassions (the reader version of the rage quit).

Let me tell you, I’ve read OC women characters in other Star Trek novels that I maybe didn’t like as people (plus there were certainly those that I did like!), but I understood where they’re coming from, they made sense as people. So far, this has certainly not been the case with this lady.

I’ll just jump straight into the notes, so you can see for yourself.

• what in blazes is that introduction, even??
  

Chapter 1.

• OK. How does the Neutral Zone shift??? Aren’t its borders dictated by “map lines”, if you will, artificially decided, and not some kind of natural boundaries like a river or something???
  
• Spock smiling and “trying hard not to grin”???
• Ugh. What a silly thing, to make a natural occurence a political boundary. Like aforementioned rivers, those tend to change shape/course unexpectedly, like it does now, in the case of the Neutral Zone.
• What. Why are Spock and Bones trying to outdo each other over a woman they haven’t even met, yet?? Gods, I hope she’s a lesbian or asexual, and not at all interested.
• Oh, good, She hates Spock already. A xenophobic exobiologist. Makes perfect sense. 

Chapter 2.

• Oh, good, Bones doesn’t like her xenophobia, either.
  
• Bless Bones for wanting to make things OK for Spock.
• Yass, Spock, call it bigotry when it is just that!
• Damn it, Stone, why would you even tolerate such xenophobia from anyone, even a close friend??

Chapter 3.

• I’m glad Bones doesn’t like her attitude RE: Spock, and that it’s put a damper on his enthusiasm.
  
• Don’t let her charm you away from the fact that she’s hateful, Bones!
• Bones, stop trying to woo her, she’s not worthy of your sappy heart.
• OK, so stay away from her, Bones, she’s clearly too hateful for you.
• She keeps coming back to hating being around Spock. You respect him too much to even try more than flirting, Bones, PLZ.

Chapter 4.

• Jim Kirk’s officially Not Having Any Of That Shit.
  
• Aw, Jim cares about Spock’s feels.
• Jim, don’t you think physical attractiveness will sour the moment it’s found out someone’s mentally ugly? I know it works that way for myself and plenty of intelligent people.
• Good on you, Christine. Be professional, but not necessarily polite to that woman.
• Goading Christine, eh? Not a good move. And you’re wrong, lady, Spock shows affection in his own way.
• To not want to talk to your MD about why you have an irrational hatred or fear of someone or something is beyond brainless.
• You sure as hell don’t sound sane, lady.
• Vulcans don’t force logic on anyone, you daft woman, they’re not proselytizing evangelical christians or something.
• Why the continual need for Bones’s internal monologue to underline that she’s “desirable”?
• Gods, I’m tired of this woman already.
• OF COURSE the dead husband’s Captain was a Vulcan. Because suddenly Spock is no longer the first Vulcan to enter Starfleet Academy, amirite.

Chapter 5.

• Starships don’t make flights, really, they make journeys, voyages, tours. “Flight” isn’t really the right word when also using “ship”.
  
• Calculating, manipulative, lying - not the most attractive attributes.
• Seriously, this characterisation of Bones really has him thinking with his glands too much. Being an emotional person =/= thinking with your glands.
• OF COURSE she’ll be more trouble. *sigh*

Chapter 6.

• There, Bones, she really is as petty and shallow as you didn’t want her to be.
  
• I don’t know, Bones, I think I agree with Spock on this; more psychoanalysis seems pointless.
• She’s like some teenagers I knew, who gloried in the fact that they were mentally ill to the point of self-destruction, boasting about the amounts of failed suicide attempts they’d made, and who flat out refused any kind of professional help to teach them to cope. It was like a childish race to be “the most mentally ill”, and, being someone who really wanted to improve my mental health, I really resented them. As I do her.
• LOL. The nice lady dislikes her, too. Really, Bones, stop trying to romance her.

Chapter 7.

• HOLY SHIT her behaviour is so damned childish and unprofessional.
  
• So, so unprofessional.
• Don’t fool yourself, Jim, “time to settle in” won’t help her.
• Jim, her causing a mess woud be equally a pity if she weren’t lovely in your eyes. It’s foolish to think beaty equals goodness.
• An “Oriental”??? Really, author??? REALLY????
• If you expected stupidity from these Vulcan haters, why do you not raw that to its obvious and logical conclusion and say your own hatred is stupid, too? Or do you have such little capacity for self-reflection?
• How can your opinion go up over THIS, Bones, just because she seems like the more intelligent bigot?
• Her coming to sickbay to see you probably has less to do with you, personally, Bones, you oblivious sap. Quit being like this.
• Tremain is a very unreliable narratot, imo.
• Bones, really, why is it only your “professional itch” holding you back? I’ve not seen any redeeming qualities for her bigotry, and beauty doesn’t count.
• You “don’t condone it”, Tremain??? How about death threats made towards the first officer, eh?? However much in jest or just to be provocative, they’re still godsdamned death threats.  

Chapter 8.

• Okay, so we’re almost halfway through the book, and the mission hasn’t even started, yet. That stinks.
  
• Suuuure, you’re not the one with the problem, Tremain. You just keep on telling yourself that.
• Bones, just let it go, she doesn’t seem worth the effort.
• If you think Jim lecturing you about your attitude and level of professionalism is a “deadly bore”, maybe improve these things and you wouldn’t get lectured.
• Not facing Spock won’t solve your issues.
• WHAT professionalism, Bones? She’s not SHOWN any, especially not when dealing with the Spock thing.

Chapter 9.

• FINALLY, it begins.
  
• OF COURSE you’re not pleased it’s necessary to tell her off for such unprofessional behaviour, Jim. You expect more from a Starfleet officer.
• Why would she be so different as a person when everything about her gets tainted by her obvious, vocal bigotry?
• Fuck this woman, seriously, I’m so tired of her attitude. If we as readers were made privy of her motivators by now, maybe we’d at least understand, perhaps even respect her. But because we know nothing apart from her bigotry, I’m in no mood for being generous with her.
• She’s so disrespectful of people, up to and including Jim. The only person she’s not been completely disrespectful of is Bones, and even there I’m suspicious of ulterior motives.
• UGH, don’t enable her, Jim.
• YOU’RE getting tired of it, Jim? What do you think I feel like?
• Fuck off with your unfounded paranoia, woman, Jim as been as polite as he could be, despite your vile, bigoted and disrespectful attitude.
• I’m not sure there’s all that much to understand about her, Jim.
• Why the hell both Bones and now Jim try to seduce her is beyond me.
• YES, JIM, YES, THANK YOU, YOU’RE ON MY SIDE NOW.
• She’s like a child having a temper tantrum.
• She’s nothing if not petty.

Chapter 10.

• Lady, you want to die by refusing help from Spock? Be my guest.
  
• Yes, we know she finds physical contact with Spock distasteful. Do we really need to be reminded of her bigotry every two pages, author, or did you think we were in any danger of starting to like her?

Okay, this is where I pause my notes, across the novel’s halfway point. If anyone wants to discuss any of this with me, feel free, just don’t spoil too much of the rest of the story for me XD