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TNG Novel ENGINES OF DESTINY Doesn't Quite Hit the Mark

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By BWilliams / 07:35, 29 March 2005 / Reviews - Books

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STAR TREK: ENGINES OF DESTINY
Contributor(s): Gene DeWeese

Pocket Books MMPB
344 pages

Price: $7.99
Pub Date: March 2005

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3 stars


Synopsis: After the apparent death of James T. Kirk on the U.S.S. Enterprise-B, Montgomery Scott decides to leave Starfleet. A chance encounter with a mysterious woman named Guinan leads him to hitch his ill-fated ride on the U.S.S. Jenolen, but 75 years later fate has not finished with either Scotty or Guinan…

Review: Imagine the worst horror you could imagine occurring to you. Imagine watching your commanding officer and friend inexplicably die, then imagine being thrust into a time where you're seen as an outdated relic in everyone's way. That's exactly what happened with Montgomery Scott, as he continues to deal with the loss of James T. Kirk toward the end of the 23rd century and his own reappearance nearly a century later in the events of the NEXT GENERATION episode "Relics". But in the new novel ENGINES OF DESTINY, writer Gene DeWeese, author of CHAIN OF ATTACK and THE FINAL NEXUS, puts Scotty at the front and center of a most ambitious mission, one fans have wanted to see for the past decade: the rescue of Captain Kirk from the jaws of death.

DeWeese has a great premise in hand, as Scotty, Jean-Luc Picard, and the Enterprise-D crew are thrust back 75 years in time prior to Kirk's death aboard the Enterprise-B, as Scotty makes a daring rescue attempt in saving Kirk's life. But what they find is a galaxy in turmoil and under attack from its most fearsome enemy ever: the Borg, who have assimilated all of the worlds of the Federation. Nothing is recognizable in this alternate universe, and only a handful of races are united together in an alliance against the Borg's assault on the Alpha Quadrant. There is no Federation, no Enterprise-B, no Earth to return home to, only the unstoppable threat of the Borg. DeWeese has fun here in this alternate universe, giving us glimpses into alternate versions of some of our favorite characters, especially Sarek, who in this universe is the Supreme Arbiter of the Alliance. His flashes of what could be another life affects his judgment and his leadership of the Alliance. Even the alternate univere's version of Guinan is, well, Guinan. And in this universe, everyone is certain that this is the one, true universe that exists.

DeWeese also portrays Scotty as a driven, tortured man obsessed with a singular goal, the rescue of his long-time captain and friend, at the cost of the entire universe. But as STAR TREK has been wont to portray over the years, is the life of one man worth risking the entire universe for? DeWeese shows us that it's not, and with horrific results. Much like the Original Series episode "The City on the Edge of Forever", DeWeese reveals that the opposite must be true in order for everything to be as it should be. It's a heavy price to pay, to be sure, but it's a redemptive decision only Scotty can make, and in this aspect ENGINES OF DESTINY succeeds.

However, as has been the case with his past novels, DeWeese's reliance upon description over dialogue to drive the action forward is heavily evident. We want to know what the characters think, say, and feel, but at times the lack of dialogue robs ENGINES OF DESTINY of that little something extra to push it forward. There has to be a balance between description and dialogue in any novel, to be sure, but it's not as evident in DeWeese's works as it is in other novels, both STAR TREK and in general. And when the last line of dialogue appears ten pages before the end of the novel, you know it's a sure sign that it needs to be punched up a bit.

Another problem I had with ENGINES OF DESTINY is the case of dangling plot threads. DeWeese never fully expands upon the thought of when the problem with the Borg's infiltration of the Alpha Quadrant actually began. While he manages to get close to the subject, he never seems to address it in the overall context. However, he does manage to tie the novel in to future hints of what we saw occur in FIRST CONTACT, so perhaps his thread is a precursor to what eventually happens in the feature film. Still, though, it would have been nice if he had brought the thread to closure.

When I first read CHAIN OF ATTACK and THE FINAL NEXUS, I found them to be extremely dry and devoid of much dialog, making them often boring and static. Of course, my own reading tastes have changed over the past 18 years, and while I enjoyed ENGINES OF DESTINY, I found myself wishing once again that Gene DeWeese had given the dialog that little added punch to have made this book a complete winner hands-down. It's a fairly good story, otherwise, with an entertaining premise, one that could have benefited with a little more clarification and dialogue overall.

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Weak | Report this post to moderator
By: Sxottlan (Odo's file, contact) @ 14:21:41 on Mar 30, 2005

This was a weak effort. It was interesting at first, but increasingly felt like a sappy valentine to Kirk. Ironic considering this was about the worst portrayal of Kirk I've read in a book. It just didn't sound like him at all. On top of that was his condescending attitude towards Scotty in the book.

Just about all the characters felt off, with many doing things "uncharacteristically", allowing the author to do whatever he pleased with them. The alternate reality established never was fleshed out much. We never even find out where Alliance Prime is.

The book was full of questions and plot holes as well. Namely, as mentioned before, the Borg would have had no reason to travel back in time if Picard wasn't at the battle. The book also establishes the Borg sphere specifically as a "time sphere" despite us seeing its use as a long-range scout and "light" cruiser for the Collective on many other occasions.


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I Just Wish There Were More Borg Books | Report this post to moderator
By: EntFan! (Odo's file, contact) @ 17:38:55 on Mar 29, 2005

There have been many many many Star Trek books over the years. And out of that little collection of books only three have had the Borg Collective as any type of villain.

"The Return", "Vendetta", "Engines of Destiny".

(I would mention the Voyager relaunches, but in all technicality, that wasn't a true Borg Collective, just a mock up)

That's it. Even though this book is cheesy (it's not bad, just goofy in storyline), it's entertaining.

I just wish in the long run that the Borg would be used more often in novels, they are such an underused BOOK character.

I have plenty of shows to keep me busy with the Borg, but man, I want books too...

--------

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...Quoted By Me While Passed Out Drunk



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"I didn't want to be drunk in pub-lic, these assholes through me out into pub-lic, I want to be drunk in a bar...arrest them!"

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Bring Back Kirk Trailer | Report this post to moderator
By: GustavoLeao (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 14:48:29 on Mar 29, 2005

Hmmm...this novel reminds me of the BRING BACK KIRK trailer storyline. Thanks for the review, Bill.

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Gustavo


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RE: Bring Back Kirk Trailer by BringBackKirk @ 17:56:30 on Mar 29

Pure bollocks | Report this post to moderator
By: JD (Odo's file, contact) @ 09:05:35 on Mar 29, 2005 | Edit History (1)

This book was CRAP. Utter crap. I posted my feelings on it a while ago, but would be more than interested in reposting a rant about this. I still mourn my $8+tax.

"DeWeese has fun here in this alternate universe, giving us glimpses into alternate versions of some of our favorite characters" meaning a slapped together episode filled with fanboyish references in an EXTREMELY contrived setting.

"DeWeese also portrays Scotty as a driven, tortured man obsessed with a singular goal, the rescue of his long-time captain and friend, at the cost of the entire universe."

No, Scotty was portrayed as the biggest moron in the universe. Seriously, there's no way Scotty would have risked the timeline like that, without any real information to go on, for just one man. No way.

"DeWeese never fully expands upon the thought of when the problem with the Borg's infiltration of the Alpha Quadrant actually began. While he manages to get close to the subject, he never seems to address it in the overall context. However, he does manage to tie the novel in to future hints of what we saw occur in FIRST CONTACT, so perhaps his thread is a precursor to what eventually happens in the feature film."

Actually he took a bad idea (Borg Queen, time travel to birth of federation) and made it 1000 times worse. I'd say how, but I'd be spoiling it for anyone who wants to lose money, though really, if you want to lose money you could donate it to me through my amazon account. I'd have no problem taking it, and you wouldn't lose the hours spent reading this.

No mention is made of the slap in the face to TNG fans of Picard, who towards the end of the novel, basically kisses Kirk's ass and says he was acting like a petty bitch through most of the novel because he was jealous of the loyalty Kirk's crew has for him. OMFG... yeah, it gets that bad.

Trust me, do not buy this book.


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I Briefly Discussed This Book | Report this post to moderator
By: Jean-Luc (Odo's file, contact) @ 08:56:56 on Mar 29, 2005

a while back with someone who was disappointed with it. I haven't read it. I understood that Scott rescues Kirk so he never goes into the Nexus. Therefore he's not there to assist Picard on Veridian and the Ent-D crew gets wiped out. I'm guessing Picard stays in the nexus? That means the Borg succeed at stopping first contact and Earth gets assimilated.

The review says the crew of the Ent-D goes back in time with Scotty, but no one knew Kirk still lived until GEN ended, so I assume they don't go back with any incarnation of an Enterprise. What I can't fathom is how Scotty could ever convince Picard to mess with the timeline so much. Even if no temporal prime directive exists, most starship captains wouldn't try to mess with a timeline that hadn't already been messed with. Is this addressed in the book?

--------

"I'm a doctor, not a doorstop." -- Enterprise-E Holodoc, First Contact


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RE: I Briefly Discussed This Book by StillKirok @ 12:34:03 on Mar 29
    RE: I Briefly Discussed This Book by Terry212 @ 12:51:25 on Mar 29
       RE: I Briefly Discussed This Book by BringBackKirk @ 17:58:08 on Mar 29
          RE: I Briefly Discussed This Book by Terry212 @ 05:43:49 on Mar 30
             RE: I Briefly Discussed This Book by BringBackKirk @ 16:32:03 on Mar 30
RE: I Briefly Discussed This Book by Maverick128 @ 12:12:18 on Mar 29
RE: I Briefly Discussed This Book by Terry212 @ 10:16:10 on Mar 29
    RE: I Briefly Discussed This Book by StillKirok @ 12:44:49 on Mar 29
       Thanks For All Your Input by Jean-Luc @ 16:21:20 on Mar 29
          RE: Thanks For All Your Input by BringBackKirk @ 17:59:30 on Mar 29
       RE: I Briefly Discussed This Book by Terry212 @ 12:53:51 on Mar 29
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