Reviews

Timetrap by David Dvorkin

taaya's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

2.0

Das Buch hat schon damit begonnen, dass der Autor Trek Geschichte so verbogen hat, dass sie mehr schlecht auf seine Geschichte passt - aber halt nicht mehr zum Kanon.

Und dann wurden die Seiten vor allem mit Hin und Her gefüllt. Kirk geht zu Person A für Information X, fragt da nach Information Y, wird dafür zu Person B geschickt, die ihn dann für Info Z wieder zu Person A schickt... Und das Spielchen wiederholt sich später noch mal. Mir ist klar, dass das reingebracht wurde, damit Kirk nicht nur zwei lange Infodumps kriegt. (Den dritten kriegt er dann am Stück.) Aber das täuscht halt nicht darüber hinweg, dass im Buch eigentlich nicht wirklich was passiert. Und das könnte auch funktionieren. Aber wenn man cozy mit wenig Handlung will, dann muss man dafür die Charaktere besser ausbauen und es darf nicht gleich um sowas Hohes wie galaktischen Frieden gehen.

(Und irgendwie riecht die Geschichte ein bisschen nach genretypischem Rassismus gegen eine Alienspezies.)

vesper1931's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

On board the Enterprise a freak accident has propelled Captain Kirk a hundred years into the future and on board a New Klingon ship. In this future there is peace between the Klingons and the Federation, originated by Kirk in his own time.
An entertaining re-read

thebeardedpoet's review against another edition

4.0

Star Trek novels are perfect bedtime reading for me, because I don't have to concentrate too hard on who is who and what the situation is as I get sleepy. They're also a fun dose of comfort-food nostalgia. Timetrap is a solidly fun and enjoyable one. Dvorkin insists on keeping readers in the dark about a number of things for the sake of advancing the plot and increasing curiosity about what the heck is going on. Kirk seems out of character for some of the book, but there are extenuating circumstances which seem to explain that, and then later the real reasons are revealed. All in all, this novel had the tone, pace, and situations of TOS TV show, and I felt right at home. As others have noted, this book was written before the Kinglon backstory was more fully developed in TNG and Discovery, so a number of details do not jive with canon.

grammatica's review against another edition

1.0

I love Star Trek and Star Trek books, but oh lord was this awful. Read it if you must, but don't expect good things. LOL

birdmanseven's review against another edition

4.0

I had the chance to interview David about this and his other work. Find it here: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-149-take-five-with-david-dvorkin

markk's review

2.0

David Dvorkin's novel is one that hinges heavily on its premise of James Kirk being suddenly transported into a future in which a friendlier group of "New Klingons" have achieved the Organian-prophesied peace with the Federation. Unfortunately the story's twist is easily predictable, and too much of the plot hinges on a James Kirk who is far more credulous than one would expect his character to be in his circumstances. It's unfortunate, too, as Dvorkin's novel contains elements that, in the hands of other authors, could have resulted in two or three nifty novels for the franchise (and which prefigure episodes of both The Next Generation and Deep Space 9). In this case, however, the plotting doesn't live up to the promise of the ideas devised for it.