linwearcamenel's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
hemlockreads's review against another edition
3.0
I usually don't write reviews but I'm going to try now that I'm getting back into reading again.
First of all I've got to say that this book was published in 1993 and I found it kind of weirdly racist and uncomfortable at times, mostly because acceptable terms have changed. Uhura's eyes are described as "exotic" and Sulu as "Oriental" which is not cool in 2018. The Ransom Castle crew made me pretty uncomfortable as well since they fly the confederate flag in the future and their captain is described as not being certain the confederacy lost the Civil War. Oh boy. That sets warning klaxons blaring in my head. They don't act super racist but there is a comment about how they don't allow any aliens in their crew that kind of felt like a hint that maybe they're kinda racist (or at least xenophobic). That uncomfortable sidenote I rambled too long on aside...
I enjoyed reading this book overall.
The Great Starship Race is the story of the titular race held to celebrate the induction of the Rey people from planet Gullrey into the United Federation of Planets. Everything is good times until a Romulan warship shows up to crash the party and its commander demands to be allowed to enter the race so he can secretly confirm a theory based on an encounter he had years ago and destroy Gullrey. Of course it is up the the Enterprise to stop them so everyone can enjoy this momentous occasion, but first Kirk has to figure out what the Romulans even want with the mild-mannered humanaboo (like a weeaboo but about all human culture) Rey people while sharing many knowing glances with his Vulcan first officer for reassurance. There are thrills! Spills! And the mystery of what secret power the Rey have is so easy to figure out it's tense watching Kirk find out in time to save them. (Romulans really need to just chill. They would have been fine if they were less... them.)
All of the main bridge crew gets to do something. Scotty seriously deserves a raise though.
All of the original characters made up to flesh out the story beyond our beloved crew are varied and interesting. There are so many different ships and captains participating in the race even other Starfleet ships. I'm really glad that the Romulans got plenty of development in the story so we could see their motivations and how they are shaped by their culture but still individuals who interpret things differently. I'm a little confused about the Starfleet Vulcans characterizations because they don't seem very Vulcan, but hey, what do I know.
There is one other thing that bothered me besides the mild racism and weird confederate worship. Why the hell doesn't the Enterprise have safety belts or harnesses of any kind? I get that it's cinematic but part of the tension of this story was that there was some turbulence that threw everyone around and gave Kirk a mild concussion maybe. I feel like there should be some kind of safety standards in place to make sure nobody gets taken out falling on the floor. I mean, I tripped on uneven sidewalk once and got a mild concussion and I was nauseous and disoriented and didn't want to stand up afterwards for hours. I couldn't imagine running a ship like that in a high pressure situation. Seems like it would save everyone a lot of trouble (and the medical staff a lot of work) to implement some health and safety standards is all I'm saying.
Anyway now let's talk about the most important part of the story: how was McCoy characterized? I have to say if I were rating Star Trek books on how much I enjoy the McCoy in them alone I would give this one four stars out of five simply because he was missing for a big part of the middle of the novel because he was doing his job in medbay away from all the action. He starts the story as the readers' POV sort of character to help introduce the plot of the story as the only non-captain in a meeting of the captains who will be participating in the starship race. Why is he even there being sassy and adorable? Presumably just because he's Kirk's bestie, and I love it. Later in the story he gets to go on his own solo whodunit Sherlock Bones adventure on the Ransom Castle to solve a medical mystery and prove the Romulans kidnapped a Rey woman. I loved it A+ would read a whole series of McCoy solving crimes. He was funny. He was friendly. He was by turns prickly and apologetic when he realized he'd made a wrong judgement. He was a very good McCoy.
Overall I give The Great Starship Race 3 or 3 1/2 stars out of 5 because honestly the whole confederate thing really threw me off and made me feel weird.
First of all I've got to say that this book was published in 1993 and I found it kind of weirdly racist and uncomfortable at times, mostly because acceptable terms have changed. Uhura's eyes are described as "exotic" and Sulu as "Oriental" which is not cool in 2018. The Ransom Castle crew made me pretty uncomfortable as well since they fly the confederate flag in the future and their captain is described as not being certain the confederacy lost the Civil War. Oh boy. That sets warning klaxons blaring in my head. They don't act super racist but there is a comment about how they don't allow any aliens in their crew that kind of felt like a hint that maybe they're kinda racist (or at least xenophobic). That uncomfortable sidenote I rambled too long on aside...
I enjoyed reading this book overall.
The Great Starship Race is the story of the titular race held to celebrate the induction of the Rey people from planet Gullrey into the United Federation of Planets. Everything is good times until a Romulan warship shows up to crash the party and its commander demands to be allowed to enter the race so he can secretly confirm a theory based on an encounter he had years ago and destroy Gullrey. Of course it is up the the Enterprise to stop them so everyone can enjoy this momentous occasion, but first Kirk has to figure out what the Romulans even want with the mild-mannered humanaboo (like a weeaboo but about all human culture) Rey people while sharing many knowing glances with his Vulcan first officer for reassurance. There are thrills! Spills! And the mystery of what secret power the Rey have is so easy to figure out it's tense watching Kirk find out in time to save them. (Romulans really need to just chill. They would have been fine if they were less... them.)
All of the main bridge crew gets to do something. Scotty seriously deserves a raise though.
All of the original characters made up to flesh out the story beyond our beloved crew are varied and interesting. There are so many different ships and captains participating in the race even other Starfleet ships. I'm really glad that the Romulans got plenty of development in the story so we could see their motivations and how they are shaped by their culture but still individuals who interpret things differently. I'm a little confused about the Starfleet Vulcans characterizations because they don't seem very Vulcan, but hey, what do I know.
There is one other thing that bothered me besides the mild racism and weird confederate worship. Why the hell doesn't the Enterprise have safety belts or harnesses of any kind? I get that it's cinematic but part of the tension of this story was that there was some turbulence that threw everyone around and gave Kirk a mild concussion maybe. I feel like there should be some kind of safety standards in place to make sure nobody gets taken out falling on the floor. I mean, I tripped on uneven sidewalk once and got a mild concussion and I was nauseous and disoriented and didn't want to stand up afterwards for hours. I couldn't imagine running a ship like that in a high pressure situation. Seems like it would save everyone a lot of trouble (and the medical staff a lot of work) to implement some health and safety standards is all I'm saying.
Anyway now let's talk about the most important part of the story: how was McCoy characterized? I have to say if I were rating Star Trek books on how much I enjoy the McCoy in them alone I would give this one four stars out of five simply because he was missing for a big part of the middle of the novel because he was doing his job in medbay away from all the action. He starts the story as the readers' POV sort of character to help introduce the plot of the story as the only non-captain in a meeting of the captains who will be participating in the starship race. Why is he even there being sassy and adorable? Presumably just because he's Kirk's bestie, and I love it. Later in the story he gets to go on his own solo whodunit Sherlock Bones adventure on the Ransom Castle to solve a medical mystery and prove the Romulans kidnapped a Rey woman. I loved it A+ would read a whole series of McCoy solving crimes. He was funny. He was friendly. He was by turns prickly and apologetic when he realized he'd made a wrong judgement. He was a very good McCoy.
Overall I give The Great Starship Race 3 or 3 1/2 stars out of 5 because honestly the whole confederate thing really threw me off and made me feel weird.
frakalot's review against another edition
4.0
I was pleasantly impressed with this one. I was concerned that the race aspect would be a boring setting, but it turned out the opposite for me. I found the unraveling of the story enjoyable and the racing content well placed and well used.
All of our familiars don't really develop much over the story but I did think they were good representations of the characters as we know them. I particularly liked the way Spock was written. A lot of books have him as stern and impassive as he was when he first rejoins Enterprise during TMP. But I think Spock was a bit more realistic in this, with his human side showing subtle reminders of his fondness for his experience with this crew.
And I really liked the way the Valdus/Romar relationship was portrayed.
I was mostly annoyed at the Rey throughout and especially when it was revealed that they knew about their affects all along and had not been upfront about it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was well written, the characters were mostly believable and the story was interesting.
All of our familiars don't really develop much over the story but I did think they were good representations of the characters as we know them. I particularly liked the way Spock was written. A lot of books have him as stern and impassive as he was when he first rejoins Enterprise during TMP. But I think Spock was a bit more realistic in this, with his human side showing subtle reminders of his fondness for his experience with this crew.
And I really liked the way the Valdus/Romar relationship was portrayed.
I was mostly annoyed at the Rey throughout and especially when it was revealed that they knew about their affects all along and had not been upfront about it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was well written, the characters were mostly believable and the story was interesting.
judenoseinabook's review against another edition
2.0
Once I got into it I liked it, but it seemed to take a while. The story got more interesting as it went on
Diane Carey is a keen sailor and peppers her stories with nautical and sailing terms, which can be tedious if you don't know what they are about!
Diane Carey is a keen sailor and peppers her stories with nautical and sailing terms, which can be tedious if you don't know what they are about!
amelianicholebooks's review against another edition
2.0
I was disappointed by this book mostly because I loved the idea of it, the aliens, the villains, and the starship race. But it just fell flat on the execution. The beginning scene was better than the rest of the book.
hemlocket's review
3.0
I usually don't write reviews but I'm going to try now that I'm getting back into reading again.
First of all I've got to say that this book was published in 1993 and I found it kind of weirdly racist and uncomfortable at times, mostly because acceptable terms have changed. Uhura's eyes are described as "exotic" and Sulu as "Oriental" which is not cool in 2018. The Ransom Castle crew made me pretty uncomfortable as well since they fly the confederate flag in the future and their captain is described as not being certain the confederacy lost the Civil War. Oh boy. That sets warning klaxons blaring in my head. They don't act super racist but there is a comment about how they don't allow any aliens in their crew that kind of felt like a hint that maybe they're kinda racist (or at least xenophobic). That uncomfortable sidenote I rambled too long on aside...
I enjoyed reading this book overall.
The Great Starship Race is the story of the titular race held to celebrate the induction of the Rey people from planet Gullrey into the United Federation of Planets. Everything is good times until a Romulan warship shows up to crash the party and its commander demands to be allowed to enter the race so he can secretly confirm a theory based on an encounter he had years ago and destroy Gullrey. Of course it is up the the Enterprise to stop them so everyone can enjoy this momentous occasion, but first Kirk has to figure out what the Romulans even want with the mild-mannered humanaboo (like a weeaboo but about all human culture) Rey people while sharing many knowing glances with his Vulcan first officer for reassurance. There are thrills! Spills! And the mystery of what secret power the Rey have is so easy to figure out it's tense watching Kirk find out in time to save them. (Romulans really need to just chill. They would have been fine if they were less... them.)
All of the main bridge crew gets to do something. Scotty seriously deserves a raise though.
All of the original characters made up to flesh out the story beyond our beloved crew are varied and interesting. There are so many different ships and captains participating in the race even other Starfleet ships. I'm really glad that the Romulans got plenty of development in the story so we could see their motivations and how they are shaped by their culture but still individuals who interpret things differently. I'm a little confused about the Starfleet Vulcans characterizations because they don't seem very Vulcan, but hey, what do I know.
There is one other thing that bothered me besides the mild racism and weird confederate worship. Why the hell doesn't the Enterprise have safety belts or harnesses of any kind? I get that it's cinematic but part of the tension of this story was that there was some turbulence that threw everyone around and gave Kirk a mild concussion maybe. I feel like there should be some kind of safety standards in place to make sure nobody gets taken out falling on the floor. I mean, I tripped on uneven sidewalk once and got a mild concussion and I was nauseous and disoriented and didn't want to stand up afterwards for hours. I couldn't imagine running a ship like that in a high pressure situation. Seems like it would save everyone a lot of trouble (and the medical staff a lot of work) to implement some health and safety standards is all I'm saying.
Anyway now let's talk about the most important part of the story: how was McCoy characterized? I have to say if I were rating Star Trek books on how much I enjoy the McCoy in them alone I would give this one four stars out of five simply because he was missing for a big part of the middle of the novel because he was doing his job in medbay away from all the action. He starts the story as the readers' POV sort of character to help introduce the plot of the story as the only non-captain in a meeting of the captains who will be participating in the starship race. Why is he even there being sassy and adorable? Presumably just because he's Kirk's bestie, and I love it. Later in the story he gets to go on his own solo whodunit Sherlock Bones adventure on the Ransom Castle to solve a medical mystery and prove the Romulans kidnapped a Rey woman. I loved it A+ would read a whole series of McCoy solving crimes. He was funny. He was friendly. He was by turns prickly and apologetic when he realized he'd made a wrong judgement. He was a very good McCoy.
Overall I give The Great Starship Race 3 or 3 1/2 stars out of 5 because honestly the whole confederate thing really threw me off and made me feel weird.
First of all I've got to say that this book was published in 1993 and I found it kind of weirdly racist and uncomfortable at times, mostly because acceptable terms have changed. Uhura's eyes are described as "exotic" and Sulu as "Oriental" which is not cool in 2018. The Ransom Castle crew made me pretty uncomfortable as well since they fly the confederate flag in the future and their captain is described as not being certain the confederacy lost the Civil War. Oh boy. That sets warning klaxons blaring in my head. They don't act super racist but there is a comment about how they don't allow any aliens in their crew that kind of felt like a hint that maybe they're kinda racist (or at least xenophobic). That uncomfortable sidenote I rambled too long on aside...
I enjoyed reading this book overall.
The Great Starship Race is the story of the titular race held to celebrate the induction of the Rey people from planet Gullrey into the United Federation of Planets. Everything is good times until a Romulan warship shows up to crash the party and its commander demands to be allowed to enter the race so he can secretly confirm a theory based on an encounter he had years ago and destroy Gullrey. Of course it is up the the Enterprise to stop them so everyone can enjoy this momentous occasion, but first Kirk has to figure out what the Romulans even want with the mild-mannered humanaboo (like a weeaboo but about all human culture) Rey people while sharing many knowing glances with his Vulcan first officer for reassurance. There are thrills! Spills! And the mystery of what secret power the Rey have is so easy to figure out it's tense watching Kirk find out in time to save them. (Romulans really need to just chill. They would have been fine if they were less... them.)
All of the main bridge crew gets to do something. Scotty seriously deserves a raise though.
All of the original characters made up to flesh out the story beyond our beloved crew are varied and interesting. There are so many different ships and captains participating in the race even other Starfleet ships. I'm really glad that the Romulans got plenty of development in the story so we could see their motivations and how they are shaped by their culture but still individuals who interpret things differently. I'm a little confused about the Starfleet Vulcans characterizations because they don't seem very Vulcan, but hey, what do I know.
There is one other thing that bothered me besides the mild racism and weird confederate worship. Why the hell doesn't the Enterprise have safety belts or harnesses of any kind? I get that it's cinematic but part of the tension of this story was that there was some turbulence that threw everyone around and gave Kirk a mild concussion maybe. I feel like there should be some kind of safety standards in place to make sure nobody gets taken out falling on the floor. I mean, I tripped on uneven sidewalk once and got a mild concussion and I was nauseous and disoriented and didn't want to stand up afterwards for hours. I couldn't imagine running a ship like that in a high pressure situation. Seems like it would save everyone a lot of trouble (and the medical staff a lot of work) to implement some health and safety standards is all I'm saying.
Anyway now let's talk about the most important part of the story: how was McCoy characterized? I have to say if I were rating Star Trek books on how much I enjoy the McCoy in them alone I would give this one four stars out of five simply because he was missing for a big part of the middle of the novel because he was doing his job in medbay away from all the action. He starts the story as the readers' POV sort of character to help introduce the plot of the story as the only non-captain in a meeting of the captains who will be participating in the starship race. Why is he even there being sassy and adorable? Presumably just because he's Kirk's bestie, and I love it. Later in the story he gets to go on his own solo whodunit Sherlock Bones adventure on the Ransom Castle to solve a medical mystery and prove the Romulans kidnapped a Rey woman. I loved it A+ would read a whole series of McCoy solving crimes. He was funny. He was friendly. He was by turns prickly and apologetic when he realized he'd made a wrong judgement. He was a very good McCoy.
Overall I give The Great Starship Race 3 or 3 1/2 stars out of 5 because honestly the whole confederate thing really threw me off and made me feel weird.
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