Reviews

Surak's Soul by J.M. Dillard

fretsandflour's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

alexbe2ab4's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

angrybooklady's review

3.0

While this novel started out rather promising, it was ultimately not the story I wanted. It started out as a simple yet compelling moral conflict: when is it ethical to sacrifice one life form to save another? The fact that this conflict centered around T'Pol made it all the more interesting to me. While she is drawn to somewhat rebellious behavior, T'Pol is very traditional at heart. And for someone as traditional as her, who has been violated by a rogue but trusted member of her own species, forced to relive one of the most traumatic moments of her long life, killed the last of a species in self-defense, and lived among strangers hostile to her culture for a year, it makes sense that she would find solace in the extreme pacifistic code followed by some of her most respected elders.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see her moral dilemma after about the first third of the book. It quickly turned into a book about Archer and his feelings of inadequacy. While I certainly don't have a problem with that story, it wasn't the one that pulled me into this book. Sure, T'Pol took center stage near the end. But by then it was too late to convince me that her narrative hadn't been dropped in favor of a less complex one.

rachael_amber's review

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

taaya's review against another edition

4.0

Einiges am Anfang wurde über den Rest der Serie Lügen gestraft (weshalb ich finde, dass Serienautor*innen und Romanautor*innen zusammen arbeiten sollten und die Werke der jeweils anderen nutzen und nicht obsolet machen sollten). Und die Übersetzung ist teilweise wirklich holprig. Aber insgesamt eine schöne Geschichte mit interessanter Moral - und Gedankenanstößen, die die Menschheit mal als Ganzes beschäftigen sollten.

bahuerka's review

adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

waden34's review

2.0

This felt like it belonged in the Star Trek universe, but unfortunately that doesn't mean it was a good book.
T'Pol's struggles with violence on others bugged me. I understand the idea of non-violence but the extreme it was taken to here was absurd. A race of people that wouldn't hurt a microbe? Come on...
The writing here was sub par also. There were a number of metaphors that either made no sense or were completely out of context.

frakalot's review

4.0

This was a great story. The writing was brilliant and the concept thoroughly enjoyable. The crew presented perfectly in my opinion.

T'Pol struggling with her own beliefs and history was much more interesting than I would have expected.

The scenario feels like a perfect ENT episode.

birdmanseven's review

3.0

This is the only Enterprise book I've read, so I don't have much to compare it to. It gets the characters right, but the story never really takes off.

Tune in here for my discussion on some favorite Trek books and comics: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-48-all-the-books-beyond

evilcallie's review

4.0

I was kind of hoping this would take place after T'Pol's pa'nar started, as it seemed like an interesting concept, but overall, an enjoyable read. Not the best star trek book/story I've read, but not excruciating, either. characterizations were pretty much spot on.