Surak's Soul (Star Trek Enterprise) [マスマーケット]

Five stars, A+, a "good-job" sticker, and high praise for J.M. Dillard.

So far, I like Dillard's book better than all of the others written for the Enterprise series (with the exception of "Broken Bow" which is the novelization of the pilot TV episode. I found "Broken Bow" useful to get a grip on the "new" Star Trek crews' characters).

I unreservedly say that Dillard wrote the best Enterprise story so far. Her book reads like a good TV episode. At first, I was exceedingly apprehensive about spending the money on a book with rather larger print and only 218 pages, but I took the chance. I am glad I did. I read the story slowly to savor it and found that I really enjoyed the book.

Other reviews may give synopses of the storyline, so I'll make mine very brief since the purpose of my review is really only to say whether or not I think a book is worth the money it costs. I will take it for granted the you already know who the main characters are and what their relationships to each other are.

T'Pol accidently kills an alien and creates a severe philosophical trauma for herself. While she's working to resolve her inner conflict, the Enterprise crew, and ultimately Earth, are threatened by an alien entity. T'Pol must decide whether or not to aid the crew by using violence or not. The story is filled with philosophy (which I never enjoy, but it was essential to the story), emotion (Dillard did a very good job in this department), and action (again, she did a great job with the action scenes).

To sum up, I am very well pleased overall with "Surak's Soul" as a new edition to the Enterprise series. I haven't been tremendously happy with the other books in the series, but Dillard revived my hope that Pocket Books found a great voice for telling Enterprise stories. I hope Dillard will write many more books for this new fun group of Star Trek stars.

Also, I would like to praise the cover-designer as well. Good job.

When the Enterprise responds to a distress signal they find a civilization on the brink of extinction, the entire population dead or dying from a mysterious illness. T'Pol, forced to kill the last remaining survivor in order to save Hoshi, undergoes an identity crisis. She cannot help fearing that her time on board the Enterprise is leading her to forsake the teachings of Surak and his philosophy of non-violence.

While the Enterprise remains to investigate the mysterious disease, they learn more about the planets inhabitants, the Oani, a society whose reverence for life has sadly led to their own demise. Offered assistance by a mysterious alien entity, an energy being they call the Wanderer, the Enterprise and its crew soon begin to exhibit the same symptoms as the Oanis. Did they bring the illness back on board despite their precautions, or is there a more sinister plan afoot?

Surak's Soul moves at a good pace and I really enjoyed Ms. Dillard's characterization and attention to the small details. Unfortunately that is not enough to overcome the periods of tedium the story generates. Despite the dire circumstances the crew finds themselves in the story fails to generate a sense of urgency or real danger.

T'Pol's philosophical soul searching, the issue of when violence is or is not justified, is the major theme of the novel. Unfortunately, in the case of Surak's Soul, ethical contemplation is not enough to sustain the story on its own.