Text 23, 62 rader
Skriven 2004-07-24 22:37:00 av Kevin Karmann (1:278/230)
Ärende: Novel: "The Art of the Im
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I recently finished reading the Trek Lost Era novel, "The Art of the
Impossible."

Talking about books in forum like this oftem seems difficult, as unlike
television shows which have relatively specific airdate (VCR's, Tivos and
whatever else not withstanding), the time differential between when one
person reads a novel and when another does can be varied greatly.  ("The Art
of the Impossible" came out late last year, for example, but I just finished
it up a while back, while others might already consider it old and still
others may not have read it).   Still, I thought I'd put in my two cents in
about it and, perhaps, get some interest in it from the group who hasn't
read it yet.

"The Art of the Impossible" focuses on the Betreka Nebula "incident" -- a
cold war between the Klingon Empire and Cardassian Union that last 18 years.
This had been mentioned by Garak in the DS9 episode "The Way of the
Warrior."

As with all the other Lost Era novels, Trek characters (or relatives of Trek
characters) from various series into one story.   Here, we have Curzon Dax
(Dax host before Jadzia), Elias Vaughn (from the DS9 relaunch novel series),
Ian Troi (Deana's father), Worf (the grandfather of TNG's Worf who appeared
in ST6), Rachel Garrett (future captain of the Enterprise-C), Enebran Tain
(head of the Cardassian Obsidian Order and Garak's mentor/father), and a few
others.  In some ways, such encounters can sometimes seem to be a bit
contrived.   After all, it's a big universe with billions of people --
what's the chance of one character bumping into another?   Still, I think
with big tableau (an 18 year time period and lots of intergalactice
maneuvering), things fit together better here than they often do in a novel
like this.   The novel has a real sense of scope to it, but still manages to
squeeze in a lot of nice characterization.

Perhaps the best part of "The Art of the Impossible" is that it manages to
combine big, galactic developements with smaller changes on various worlds.
We see how attitudes between the Klingons and Cardassians develope over
time, whether it's a visit to a Klingon restaurant on Cardassia or a
Cardassian mount climber traveling on the Klingon homeworld.     We also get
some nice insight and glimpses into some pivotal incidents that will play
major roles in the future of the Trek universe, such as Ian Troi's death,
Curzon Dax's evolving relationship with the Klingons, and the events
surrounding the Khitomer massacre that killed Worf's (the one from TNG)
parents.   We even get a hint as to why Terok Nor was built over Bajor.
Simply put, "The Art of the Impossible" skillfully threads through a lot of
Trek continuity, making it fit into a nice whole and personalizing much of
it by showing it to us first hand.

So if you like intergalactic politics, Cardassian intrigue, or Klingon
bluster, "The Art of the Impossible" is the story for you.

Kevin





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