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An awesome force of protostars known as Corona has taken control of a stranded team of Vulcan scientists. The Starship Enterprise* has come on a rescue mission, with a female reporter and a new computer that can override Kirk's command. Suddenly, the rescuers must save themselves and the entire universe before Corona unleashes a Big Bang.
192 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1984
About the author
Greg Bear
219 books1,984 followersGreg Bear was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict (Forge of God books), parallel universes (The Way series), consciousness and cultural practices (Queen of Angels), and accelerated evolution (Blood Music, Darwin’s Radio, and Darwin’s Children). His last work was the 2021 novel The Unfinished Land. Greg Bear wrote over 50 books in total.
(For a more complete biography, see Wikipedia.)
(For a more complete biography, see Wikipedia.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
May 4, 2023
I have read Star Trek books for a very long time and I mostly enjoy them for the bit of fan-fiction they appear to be. I mean, come on, how cool is it to write about familiar characters and develop your own little pocket universe ala Vonda McIntyre (God rest her soul.) Here, in Corona, you have a star science fiction writer like Greg Bear trying his hand at writing Captain Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy. I can say without hyperbole that of the 5 or 6 ST novels I’ve read this year, it’s the best. I probably will read a few more before the end of the year, so I don’t know if it will hold up, but four and a half stars is great for me. Corona is a sentient cluster of protostars that has possessed several Vulcan scientists to enlist their assistance in initiating another Big Bang Event to renew the universe as a response to Entropy. The crew of the Enterprise is sent along with monitors (a computer system that can second guess command decisions and countermand them) and a reporter to rescue the scientists and halt Corona’s plan. The scope of the story is huge although it’s crammed into 192 pages. The characters are deftly employed in a plot that is rooted in real, plausible science. The technobabble is dead-on balls accurate. My only minor gripe is that Captain Kirk accepts the monitors on his ship. The Kirk I know would have $#!t a brick about having some computer system (metaphorically speaking) hovering over his shoulder reviewing every single order. Not perfect, but I deduct a half star.
October 8, 2017
This novel ignores too many Star Trek facts (Pon Farr, routine medical exams on Federation science outposts, that Vulcans do not touch easily, ... ) to be counted as a well researched novel. And even the storyline has been used for episodes and novels way too often to be of much interest.
But my main problem with the book are the sexist and racist tendencies in storytelling. Sexist because for Bear every woman in Starfleet has to be called Mister as well. Which might have been meant as a was to make men and women equal seems more like a patriarchalic action.
And while nobody else's clothes are described, Uhura has to wear an african looking dress in her free time. Again we could assume that Bear wanted to give Uhura the freedom to still live her culture even on board of a spaceship. But in reality this sets her apart from the other characters and seems therefore rather racist than actually helping against racism.
Therefore in total this novel does not only ignore Star Trek, but also denies and damages the ideal of equality and peace between cultures and species that Star Trek stands for.
2 stars just because apart from ignoring canon compliance and setting a very bad example for how to write diversity in your novel, the story is told in a non-boring fashion.
But my main problem with the book are the sexist and racist tendencies in storytelling. Sexist because for Bear every woman in Starfleet has to be called Mister as well. Which might have been meant as a was to make men and women equal seems more like a patriarchalic action.
And while nobody else's clothes are described, Uhura has to wear an african looking dress in her free time. Again we could assume that Bear wanted to give Uhura the freedom to still live her culture even on board of a spaceship. But in reality this sets her apart from the other characters and seems therefore rather racist than actually helping against racism.
Therefore in total this novel does not only ignore Star Trek, but also denies and damages the ideal of equality and peace between cultures and species that Star Trek stands for.
2 stars just because apart from ignoring canon compliance and setting a very bad example for how to write diversity in your novel, the story is told in a non-boring fashion.
December 11, 2023
Corona by Greg Bear
Adventurous, challenging, informative,
inspiring, reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5 🌟
Like most Star Trek novels, the characters are put to the test from without/within. In this story, it was from without...and in the form of a AI, called Corona...that saw our universe as dead and in need of being destroy and rebuilt.
The power that we give to these types of machines...can ultimately be the doomsday machine for all life in the universe.
In this story, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy were actually on the same side of the discussion (which for all of us fans, is rare indeed).
I wanted a LITTLE bit more. I think the conclusion was too rushed, and feel there was a little more foom to test the limits just a little more.
But, I'm grateful for this story, and those like it, that makes us realize that computers are important in our lives, but their oversite and power over organic lifeforms needs to be limited...allowing the organic lifeforms the final determination (an ability to overide the machine).
Adventurous, challenging, informative,
inspiring, reflective, sad, and tense.
Medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5 🌟
Like most Star Trek novels, the characters are put to the test from without/within. In this story, it was from without...and in the form of a AI, called Corona...that saw our universe as dead and in need of being destroy and rebuilt.
The power that we give to these types of machines...can ultimately be the doomsday machine for all life in the universe.
In this story, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy were actually on the same side of the discussion (which for all of us fans, is rare indeed).
I wanted a LITTLE bit more. I think the conclusion was too rushed, and feel there was a little more foom to test the limits just a little more.
But, I'm grateful for this story, and those like it, that makes us realize that computers are important in our lives, but their oversite and power over organic lifeforms needs to be limited...allowing the organic lifeforms the final determination (an ability to overide the machine).
May 16, 2019
I wanted to read this because it is a Star Trek novel by a real Sci-fi author. It delivered with crazy good science mixed with Trek. Full review coming.
April 11, 2017
I really liked this one. This felt more like a real sci-fi novel and less like a "Star Trek book". I haven't read any Greg Bear before this, I may have to check out some of his other work.
March 26, 2015
The Enterprise is on a mission to rescue a Vulcan science team on an asteroid where they are observing some protostars as they evolve to full status as a star. The Enterprise contains the regular crew and some significant additions. Mason is a female reporter who grew up on a small planet where prejudice against non-humans was prevalent. She is along to chronicle the performance of the monitors, which is a set of computer program created using the knowledge and experience of experts in several fields. There are separate sets of Star Fleet commanders and medical doctors encoded in the program. However, the programs are not there in an advisory role only, but are capable of taking control of the Enterprise’s function in their area if the situation is judged serious enough. This can occur even if the captain or chief medical officer is still in full control of the situation.
This premise was one that was very difficult to accept. Space exploration is full of unknowns where you don’t know what you don’t know. To apply reasoning that has been effective in the past and to override the command judgement of the human in control and on the spot seems too far beyond what would be acceptable in Star Fleet. You would have thought that the lesson of the “The Ultimate Computer” would have lasted longer than it did. Of course, the monitors override Kirk at a critical point; in fact much of the storyline was based on whether altering or bypassing the monitors was accepted command procedure. Veblen is a crew member who is obsessed with maintaining the functioning of the monitors, even when it is evident that it is not in the best interests of the Enterprise or the Vulcans they are trying to help.
When the Enterprise arrives at the asteroid, the Vulcan science team has been taken over by Corona, a sentient force in the protostars. It is the goal of Corona to unleash another Big Bang, returning the universe back to an earlier time. The new Big Bang would wipe out the previously existing universe, destroying all life in the process. After some initial setbacks, the Enterprise crew learns the truth and manages to convince Corona not to move forward with its plans. This is due in large part to the information Corona receives when it enters the personality of Mason, taking partial control of her actions.
I found this episode to be good, but there were spots when I grew tired of the debates over the monitors. A large part of my fatigue was due to the fact that I could not suspend my disbelief over their very existence. I simply could never reach the point where I could believe that such a system would be installed on a Star ship. Install it and have it act in an advisory role would be acceptable, but to have it capable of taking total control with no manual override was far too much for my tastes.
This review also appears on Amazon
This premise was one that was very difficult to accept. Space exploration is full of unknowns where you don’t know what you don’t know. To apply reasoning that has been effective in the past and to override the command judgement of the human in control and on the spot seems too far beyond what would be acceptable in Star Fleet. You would have thought that the lesson of the “The Ultimate Computer” would have lasted longer than it did. Of course, the monitors override Kirk at a critical point; in fact much of the storyline was based on whether altering or bypassing the monitors was accepted command procedure. Veblen is a crew member who is obsessed with maintaining the functioning of the monitors, even when it is evident that it is not in the best interests of the Enterprise or the Vulcans they are trying to help.
When the Enterprise arrives at the asteroid, the Vulcan science team has been taken over by Corona, a sentient force in the protostars. It is the goal of Corona to unleash another Big Bang, returning the universe back to an earlier time. The new Big Bang would wipe out the previously existing universe, destroying all life in the process. After some initial setbacks, the Enterprise crew learns the truth and manages to convince Corona not to move forward with its plans. This is due in large part to the information Corona receives when it enters the personality of Mason, taking partial control of her actions.
I found this episode to be good, but there were spots when I grew tired of the debates over the monitors. A large part of my fatigue was due to the fact that I could not suspend my disbelief over their very existence. I simply could never reach the point where I could believe that such a system would be installed on a Star ship. Install it and have it act in an advisory role would be acceptable, but to have it capable of taking total control with no manual override was far too much for my tastes.
This review also appears on Amazon
February 14, 2021
It took them nine years, three months, and three days to defeat Corona. Eventually, they did it by encouraging empathy. ::stares in one year of quarantine:: Interesting...
I enjoyed this one. The writing does go off the tracks a few times when attempting somewhat clumsily to explore esoteric topics, but doesn't go on for long enough that one can't push through it.
The main original character, Mason, is mildly interesting, if not fully fleshed out. The bits of her personality we are allowed to explore are worth the look, however, especially her admitted and rather outdated flaws. Honestly, it's just nice to have a woman join the ship and not be falling all over herself to seduce someone, for a change.
The secondary human original character, Veblen, was also mildly interesting, as he's put in an untenable position, disliked by the crew while disliking his own role, but is honour-bound to do his duty nonetheless.
Unfortunately, the original Vulcans in the story are not fully realized individuals, most especially the father and the daughter, who both might as well have not been there. I got a strange sense that the author was uncomfortable trying to write Vulcan personalities, so they were being side-stepped, and kind of came across as blank slates.
The main plot was fun and interesting and even a little mysterious at times, and the Big Bad was fascinating and sympathetic when you get right down to it.
The secondary plot was an obvious disaster from the beginning. One's eyes begin to roll back into one's head at the pure stupidity coming out of Starfleet Command sometimes. It's very difficult to believe such a hairbrained idea would make it all the way to a starship before someone realized, Hey, you know, this is actually incredibly stupid! (But I guess these are the same idiots who thought it was a good idea to channel the phasers through the warp core, because why would one ever need phasers if the warp core is imbalanced, certainly that could never happen in a battle...[ST:TMP])
One thing that was driving me batty throughout the story was the author's regular references to "Andorrans." I'm assuming he meant Andorians, since he was referencing them as aliens, so he can't have literally meant the people of Andorra (a tiny speck of a country being smooshed on either side by France and Spain), who are human. I don't know if this was a case of an author not bothering to look into the correct spellings for what he's writing or an editor not bothering to look into what they're editing, but it sure bothered me!
All told, I enjoyed this one and might even read it again someday. I'd probably nestle it in around 3.75 stars if you could get that exact on this site.
I enjoyed this one. The writing does go off the tracks a few times when attempting somewhat clumsily to explore esoteric topics, but doesn't go on for long enough that one can't push through it.
The main original character, Mason, is mildly interesting, if not fully fleshed out. The bits of her personality we are allowed to explore are worth the look, however, especially her admitted and rather outdated flaws. Honestly, it's just nice to have a woman join the ship and not be falling all over herself to seduce someone, for a change.
The secondary human original character, Veblen, was also mildly interesting, as he's put in an untenable position, disliked by the crew while disliking his own role, but is honour-bound to do his duty nonetheless.
Unfortunately, the original Vulcans in the story are not fully realized individuals, most especially the father and the daughter, who both might as well have not been there. I got a strange sense that the author was uncomfortable trying to write Vulcan personalities, so they were being side-stepped, and kind of came across as blank slates.
The main plot was fun and interesting and even a little mysterious at times, and the Big Bad was fascinating and sympathetic when you get right down to it.
The secondary plot was an obvious disaster from the beginning. One's eyes begin to roll back into one's head at the pure stupidity coming out of Starfleet Command sometimes. It's very difficult to believe such a hairbrained idea would make it all the way to a starship before someone realized, Hey, you know, this is actually incredibly stupid! (But I guess these are the same idiots who thought it was a good idea to channel the phasers through the warp core, because why would one ever need phasers if the warp core is imbalanced, certainly that could never happen in a battle...[ST:TMP])
One thing that was driving me batty throughout the story was the author's regular references to "Andorrans." I'm assuming he meant Andorians, since he was referencing them as aliens, so he can't have literally meant the people of Andorra (a tiny speck of a country being smooshed on either side by France and Spain), who are human. I don't know if this was a case of an author not bothering to look into the correct spellings for what he's writing or an editor not bothering to look into what they're editing, but it sure bothered me!
All told, I enjoyed this one and might even read it again someday. I'd probably nestle it in around 3.75 stars if you could get that exact on this site.
April 6, 2016
Summoned by a 10-year-old distress signal, the Enterprise rushes to the Black Box Nebula Station One to rescue a team of scientists lead by Spock's cousin, T'Prylla, and her family. Hampered by the presence of an inexperienced young reporter and a new computer system that has the power to over-ride Kirk's command, they arrive at Station One only to find that all seems well - on the surface. But T-Prylla, her family, and the team are being controlled by a sentient force - a force that threatens the entire Universe as we know it.
Corona is not, alas, an illusion to alcohol, but the name of the sentient being that controls the hapless Vulcan scientists that Kirk and crew have come to save. A fast-paced novel with an intriguing sci-fi basis, this episode rushed along too quickly for me to really get into the story. This is really too bad, as there are several elements to the story which could have been drawn out and delved into. At 192 pages, it's not the shortest Star Trek book I've read, but it felt like it.
The characters come off pretty well, with Bear's Kirk being more thoughtful and less gut-instinct than Shatner's. While entertaining and fun, Corona will not rock your world and adds nothing to the Star Trek universe. Rating: Meh
Corona is not, alas, an illusion to alcohol, but the name of the sentient being that controls the hapless Vulcan scientists that Kirk and crew have come to save. A fast-paced novel with an intriguing sci-fi basis, this episode rushed along too quickly for me to really get into the story. This is really too bad, as there are several elements to the story which could have been drawn out and delved into. At 192 pages, it's not the shortest Star Trek book I've read, but it felt like it.
The characters come off pretty well, with Bear's Kirk being more thoughtful and less gut-instinct than Shatner's. While entertaining and fun, Corona will not rock your world and adds nothing to the Star Trek universe. Rating: Meh
October 7, 2017
What to say about this book. This is a story of a lonely entity that wants to recreate it time in the universe. Unfortunately that time was the first several minutes of the creation of this universe. For an intelligence of that magnitude we are just germs in the dying body of its existence. A secondary character is the one that finally convinces the intelligence that this universe is worth saving and gives it an idea on how to continue to exist.
We have all the regular characters in this story. Chekov gets a bigger part to play which is nice. The Vulcans that the entity first takes over are going to have problems for a while with all that they have been made to do by the alien. The secondary character's perception of the galaxy is expanded and she loses most of her prejudices. Overall it is a Star Trek story and all that entails. It isn't the greatest story I have read in this series but it is enjoyable and it is a quick read.
We have all the regular characters in this story. Chekov gets a bigger part to play which is nice. The Vulcans that the entity first takes over are going to have problems for a while with all that they have been made to do by the alien. The secondary character's perception of the galaxy is expanded and she loses most of her prejudices. Overall it is a Star Trek story and all that entails. It isn't the greatest story I have read in this series but it is enjoyable and it is a quick read.
June 4, 2012
I have now read pages and pages with the words 'Ykbara radiation' on them and I'm not one step closer to knowing what that means. I guess it was a sort of Star Trek Vs. Solaris (a movie which, by implication, I hope you'll understand, did nothing for me).
Enterprise crew hamstrung by new and ill-advised advisor computers. McCoy's Magic Machines won't reconstruct the frozen dead from a Vulcan research station until he can convince the Monitors that they're only MOSTLY dead. Hick Reporter Girl and Evil Cloud from the Dawn of Time make good and go away.
Mercifully short, it still took me weeks to finish because nothing induced me to care about any of it.
Oh, Uhura literally sprays her uniform on. Nonsense, but it got my attention for a second.
Enterprise crew hamstrung by new and ill-advised advisor computers. McCoy's Magic Machines won't reconstruct the frozen dead from a Vulcan research station until he can convince the Monitors that they're only MOSTLY dead. Hick Reporter Girl and Evil Cloud from the Dawn of Time make good and go away.
Mercifully short, it still took me weeks to finish because nothing induced me to care about any of it.
Oh, Uhura literally sprays her uniform on. Nonsense, but it got my attention for a second.
May 21, 2024
The beginning
So once again I have read this one eleven years ago and I still enjoyed it. It is a telling story about our beginnings and possible endings. As usual the Enterprise and her crew are on a life or death mission. A new group of Vulcans are at front and center, with the a to Spock. Its amazing to me how big his family really is based on the books I have read. Can they all be saved from the most unlikely of places. This was a moving tale with a good storyline.
So once again I have read this one eleven years ago and I still enjoyed it. It is a telling story about our beginnings and possible endings. As usual the Enterprise and her crew are on a life or death mission. A new group of Vulcans are at front and center, with the a to Spock. Its amazing to me how big his family really is based on the books I have read. Can they all be saved from the most unlikely of places. This was a moving tale with a good storyline.
November 30, 2023
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve only ever dabbled in the Star Trek novel series, but after recently reading John M. Ford’s excellent How Much for Just the Planet?, I’ve become a little more open to further dabbling. This one (#15 in the ST:OS canon) caught my attention, mainly because I had no idea Greg Bear wrote a Star Trek novel when his career was just starting to take off. My intro to Bear was Blood Music in 1986, which I enjoyed. I’ve read a number of his books since with varied results, but I was curious to see how he would write a franchise book, and so here we are.
The premise: The Federation receives a 10-year-old distress signal from a Vulcan research team (one of whom, T'Prylla, is a distant relation of Mr. Spock’s) on a planetoid studying a trio of protostars called Corona. The Enterprise is sent to rescue them after previous investigations have failed. Naturally there are complications, starting with the fact that the Federation has just installed a new computer system that monitors command and medical decisions to prevent bad or reckless decisions from being carried out. There’s also a reporter on board, Rowena Mason, who is doing a story on the monitor system and happens to be prejudiced against non-humans. Oh, and it turns out Corona is sentient and can control people and wants to reboot the universe.
On the whole, it’s alright for what it is – Bear’s writing style has always been a bit flat to me, but he has a good grasp of the characters and the “science” of Star Trek, and has a good sense of pace. The main weakness for me is the character Mason, whose xenophobia isn’t really fleshed out enough to make the point Bear wants to make about bigotry, or to make the climax (in which Mason plays a key role) really work. I also think he could have had more fun with the monitors idea. Some Star Trek fans have some canon-based complaints about the novel (especially in relation to Vulcan culture), but these don’t matter to me. Even if you stripped out the Star Trek context, it would still make a decent and readable SF adventure.
The premise: The Federation receives a 10-year-old distress signal from a Vulcan research team (one of whom, T'Prylla, is a distant relation of Mr. Spock’s) on a planetoid studying a trio of protostars called Corona. The Enterprise is sent to rescue them after previous investigations have failed. Naturally there are complications, starting with the fact that the Federation has just installed a new computer system that monitors command and medical decisions to prevent bad or reckless decisions from being carried out. There’s also a reporter on board, Rowena Mason, who is doing a story on the monitor system and happens to be prejudiced against non-humans. Oh, and it turns out Corona is sentient and can control people and wants to reboot the universe.
On the whole, it’s alright for what it is – Bear’s writing style has always been a bit flat to me, but he has a good grasp of the characters and the “science” of Star Trek, and has a good sense of pace. The main weakness for me is the character Mason, whose xenophobia isn’t really fleshed out enough to make the point Bear wants to make about bigotry, or to make the climax (in which Mason plays a key role) really work. I also think he could have had more fun with the monitors idea. Some Star Trek fans have some canon-based complaints about the novel (especially in relation to Vulcan culture), but these don’t matter to me. Even if you stripped out the Star Trek context, it would still make a decent and readable SF adventure.
Read
July 27, 2022Overall I found this to be an entertaining entry to the novelized universe. The story presents some interesting concepts, albeit some that I feel like Star Trek has explored before. The series certainly has already dealt with the possibility of computers replacing the judgment of humans in episodes like The Ultimate Computer. The notion doesn’t necessarily go in many directions unexplored in this book but one situation that I found the most intriguing was in McCoy having to work around computers that refuse to allow treatment due to a patient being registered as dead. Seeing efforts made to circumvent the judgement of the computer was cool and created some nice tension in the story.
There is also a great level of intrigue and mystery established as the Enterprise receives a decade old distress signal and author Greg Bear does a nice job with developing this as things are clearly not what they seem at the research station. Once we arrive, the resulting investigation leads to pretty unexpected regions that I thought was really well done. We get to be introduced to a new species and a threat as far reaching as you could imagine.
If there was one aspect that fell a little flat for me it would have been the Vulcan character T’Prylla, who has been ostracized somewhat for her intuitive approach to logic. This was the one part of the book that felt the most unique from everything else I have seen from Trek and I kind of wish it had been explored further. Much has been explored on Spock’s ever-evolving perspective on logic and I think this character could have provided some interesting stepping stones for him along that path. As it stands, the character could have been pretty much any other species and I don’t know if it would have changed things that much.
In all, the characters and plot threads in this book all seem together to form a coherently satisfying story. Not too far into the realm of abstract but also not necessarily a dull, straight ahead villain, either. It made for a quick read and held my interest nicely.
There is also a great level of intrigue and mystery established as the Enterprise receives a decade old distress signal and author Greg Bear does a nice job with developing this as things are clearly not what they seem at the research station. Once we arrive, the resulting investigation leads to pretty unexpected regions that I thought was really well done. We get to be introduced to a new species and a threat as far reaching as you could imagine.
If there was one aspect that fell a little flat for me it would have been the Vulcan character T’Prylla, who has been ostracized somewhat for her intuitive approach to logic. This was the one part of the book that felt the most unique from everything else I have seen from Trek and I kind of wish it had been explored further. Much has been explored on Spock’s ever-evolving perspective on logic and I think this character could have provided some interesting stepping stones for him along that path. As it stands, the character could have been pretty much any other species and I don’t know if it would have changed things that much.
In all, the characters and plot threads in this book all seem together to form a coherently satisfying story. Not too far into the realm of abstract but also not necessarily a dull, straight ahead villain, either. It made for a quick read and held my interest nicely.
December 18, 2022
The Reading of this book was filmed in front of a live studio audience:
This book was something we've planned to read on the channel for over a year now - longer than I've been reading live on stream. We knew it would be a lot but boy did I have not idea what we were truly in for.
The pacing was a bit all over the place, as someone in our chat had mentioned in their own review it was hard to follow at times. Paragraphs tended to be overstuffed with sci fi jargon to the point of run on sentences that weren't always coherent.
Then there's the main character who is a Space Racist (a spacist if you will). In fairness she learns the error of her ways by the end but it's handled pretty badly. Instead of the character gradually going through an arc where they become a better person, it happens all at once at the end after you hate them for being the worst so it's just a bunch of racist remarks and then not a rewarding payoff.
Then there's the sexism. There is no lesson to be learned from the repeated sexism. Most of it comes from Kirk's inner dialogue which feels off for him as a character and never gets challenged by narration that I could pick up on.
I know this book is almost 40 years old however and the author (who tragically just passed) went on to be very successful in the sci fi genre. This is no hate to him as an author but my personal opinion is that this is an incredibly weak story not very true to Star Trek.
Notes from chat:
"There's weird form of "Misgendering as an Attempt to be Feminist" and also the lack of consistency in the language used to assign gender to the Corona itself/himself that feels more bug than feature."
The opener for the review should be “Space Racist”
it was a book that felt like it was written with the intent to have a sequel based on its pacing but clearly didn't get one for very valid reasons
Toonymations
This book was like getting drunk and after reading it was like trying to get over a bad hangover with no memory what so ever
it's fun to try and find context in this book when there is none to find.
This book was something we've planned to read on the channel for over a year now - longer than I've been reading live on stream. We knew it would be a lot but boy did I have not idea what we were truly in for.
The pacing was a bit all over the place, as someone in our chat had mentioned in their own review it was hard to follow at times. Paragraphs tended to be overstuffed with sci fi jargon to the point of run on sentences that weren't always coherent.
Then there's the main character who is a Space Racist (a spacist if you will). In fairness she learns the error of her ways by the end but it's handled pretty badly. Instead of the character gradually going through an arc where they become a better person, it happens all at once at the end after you hate them for being the worst so it's just a bunch of racist remarks and then not a rewarding payoff.
Then there's the sexism. There is no lesson to be learned from the repeated sexism. Most of it comes from Kirk's inner dialogue which feels off for him as a character and never gets challenged by narration that I could pick up on.
I know this book is almost 40 years old however and the author (who tragically just passed) went on to be very successful in the sci fi genre. This is no hate to him as an author but my personal opinion is that this is an incredibly weak story not very true to Star Trek.
Notes from chat:
"There's weird form of "Misgendering as an Attempt to be Feminist" and also the lack of consistency in the language used to assign gender to the Corona itself/himself that feels more bug than feature."
The opener for the review should be “Space Racist”
it was a book that felt like it was written with the intent to have a sequel based on its pacing but clearly didn't get one for very valid reasons
Toonymations
This book was like getting drunk and after reading it was like trying to get over a bad hangover with no memory what so ever
it's fun to try and find context in this book when there is none to find.
July 8, 2020
While this Original Series novel is a mixed bag of success, I enjoyed it overall as one of the better original Kirk-era novels that I've read so far. Certain aspects contradict later canon, but all of the major characters sound and behave consistently with their television and film versions. Like the newer tie-in books, this novel also tends toward the more serious tone, rather than injecting a lot of comedy or flat out silly plot elements or aliens - which even the original show did poorly. I don't know when Bear found SF success relative to the publication of this, but the novel also puts in a good bit of hard SF speculation without making it sound beyond the ST level of entertainment. The plot moves forward at a good pace, but this very short novel could have been longer to build up secondary characters more significantly. The reporter Mason seems extraneous for most of the novel, until the very end where she suddenly becomes essential to the resolution. The AI program built around the experience of former officers/doctors is an interesting idea, and I could see Starfleet designing it. However, the idea that they would allow it to take control of a ship over a living captain doesn't seem particularly credulous, particularly that Kirk and the crew would even consider allowing it without much more of a fight. Like Mason, this too is in here merely as a writer's tool to add to the denouement. While the story remained entertaining and had those interesting ideas, Bear could have constructed it better. Finally, I did really like the idea of an alien life evolved in the first moments of the Big Bang that then was out of place thereafter in the general universe.
May 26, 2022
Greg Bear, you only wrote one TOS? If so, it’s too bad. It was a very enjoyable story! Corona finds the Enterprise ordered to a remote science station at best possible speed after an emergency message sent 10 years in the past finally makes its way to Starfleet.
There’s an exchange in the story that that led me to reflect on undeserved prejudice. A reporter assigned to the ship had previously grown up on a colony comprised of humans only. There she was taught to be wary of aliens as untrustworthy and dangerous. At one point the clearly Vulcan, Spock, desperately needs her cooperation, but she’s internally recoiling.
Receiving unfounded and/or unfair attitudes can be tough. After all, “you haven’t even given me a proverbial chance”! I appreciated how Spock was able to sense the unfairness, yet didn’t reciprocate. It was a reminder that another person’s negative vibe doesn’t require me to mirror it back. I once heard a story about General Robert E. Lee where Lee was asked on one occasion for his opinion of a military colleague. Lee replied candidly but generously, after which the questioner said, in effect, “Well, he doesn’t speak so highly of you.” General Lee replied, “Sir, you have asked me for my opinion of him, not his opinion of me.” (The Pathway of Discipleship - Neal Maxwell).
Both Spock and Lee’s responses seemed indicative of persons trying to traverse life on fixed principles rather than by way of reaction. The former seems the better way.
There’s an exchange in the story that that led me to reflect on undeserved prejudice. A reporter assigned to the ship had previously grown up on a colony comprised of humans only. There she was taught to be wary of aliens as untrustworthy and dangerous. At one point the clearly Vulcan, Spock, desperately needs her cooperation, but she’s internally recoiling.
”I am aware of your prejudices. I am aware of your fear. You must overcome them. … We are not enemies. I need your courage!” He reached both hands out to her.
Receiving unfounded and/or unfair attitudes can be tough. After all, “you haven’t even given me a proverbial chance”! I appreciated how Spock was able to sense the unfairness, yet didn’t reciprocate. It was a reminder that another person’s negative vibe doesn’t require me to mirror it back. I once heard a story about General Robert E. Lee where Lee was asked on one occasion for his opinion of a military colleague. Lee replied candidly but generously, after which the questioner said, in effect, “Well, he doesn’t speak so highly of you.” General Lee replied, “Sir, you have asked me for my opinion of him, not his opinion of me.” (The Pathway of Discipleship - Neal Maxwell).
Both Spock and Lee’s responses seemed indicative of persons trying to traverse life on fixed principles rather than by way of reaction. The former seems the better way.
August 26, 2020
We get a glimpse of life among Vulcans on a remote science base, deserted from all social contact with others, Vulcans or other species. Of course Kirk, Spock, McCoy and an unknown human young woman play an important part, assisted by the rest of the regular Enterprise crew. The adventure plays in the Enterprise around the Corona science base and on the planet itself.
Greg Bear is a renowned sci-fi author and a Trekkie so the franchise is safe with him. The book is not too thick and is easy adventurous reading for the most part. Except with the big concepts on the type of life Corona is and its way of thinking: that is so colossal and alien that i found it hard to grasp.
Not so much the astronomy as the cosmic scale on which it all takes place.
The character of Mason is a good find since it allows Greg Bear to associate thoughs of love with a planet and alien species that are not earth like at all. Add to that the fact that Mason has to overcome a form of specicism (as expansion of racism) that cannot exist with federation personnel.
The potential destruction of the universe gives the book a unique view on the first seconds after the Big Bang, a period in time in which scientist are very interested today.
Greg Bear is a renowned sci-fi author and a Trekkie so the franchise is safe with him. The book is not too thick and is easy adventurous reading for the most part. Except with the big concepts on the type of life Corona is and its way of thinking: that is so colossal and alien that i found it hard to grasp.
Not so much the astronomy as the cosmic scale on which it all takes place.
The character of Mason is a good find since it allows Greg Bear to associate thoughs of love with a planet and alien species that are not earth like at all. Add to that the fact that Mason has to overcome a form of specicism (as expansion of racism) that cannot exist with federation personnel.
The potential destruction of the universe gives the book a unique view on the first seconds after the Big Bang, a period in time in which scientist are very interested today.
March 15, 2021
First things first, this is a book about a Corona as in a star's corona, not as in the virus. There. It follows the crew of the Enterprise as they are tasked to go rescue a long lost science station, but the star's corona is actually a weird sentient being that the crew has to deal with. Add to this the addition of a new computer system that is taking away "human error" from possible actions and a reporter from the galactic backwood in for the ride and you have this novel.
Greg Bear would go on to have a long and storied career as a science fiction writer, with some pretty great works under is belt, most famously Blood Music, but this is really both an early effort and one done for a franchise, which he claims to love in his acknowledgements but which led to such egregious mistakes as calling Andorians "Andorreans" throughout the book. This might have been a auto-correction kind of issue as Andorreans are the inhabitants of the principality of Andorra in the Pyrenees between Spain and France, which, having been there, are not blue and have no antennas.
Still, it's an ok novel. Not very original as another case of god-like space entity and getting around computers were both firm staples of Star Trek by the time this came out, but it's perfectly readable
Greg Bear would go on to have a long and storied career as a science fiction writer, with some pretty great works under is belt, most famously Blood Music, but this is really both an early effort and one done for a franchise, which he claims to love in his acknowledgements but which led to such egregious mistakes as calling Andorians "Andorreans" throughout the book. This might have been a auto-correction kind of issue as Andorreans are the inhabitants of the principality of Andorra in the Pyrenees between Spain and France, which, having been there, are not blue and have no antennas.
Still, it's an ok novel. Not very original as another case of god-like space entity and getting around computers were both firm staples of Star Trek by the time this came out, but it's perfectly readable
May 27, 2024
This was a really good read.
The Enterprise has just been refitted and has a reporter on board to see how the crew is dealing with the changes in sickbay, specifically a computer that stores the knowledge of 5 of Starfleet's best physicians. This computer will correct McCoy if he makes a mistake. Fans of the franchise will know how the good doctor receives this technology. On the bridge there's an overseer for Kirk that does the same. He's a little more open to the technology. The reporter on board has never left her homeworld before and is xenophobic, bordering on racist to those that aren't human.
Just before their launch, the crew is ordered to investigate a Vulcan base that has been silent for 10 years. Once there, it's obvious something is wrong. In fact, they are so wrong that the fate of the known universe is at stake.
Yes, this sounds like a heavy handed premise, but Bear makes it work smoothly. I loved the interaction among the familiar characters and the new ones are also well written. I appreciated how the universe was on the verge of destruction from a cosmic being--it was really well done. My only nit was the use of children, which I feel is an overused trope in Trek.
That said, I still recommend this as a solid Trek adventure.
The Enterprise has just been refitted and has a reporter on board to see how the crew is dealing with the changes in sickbay, specifically a computer that stores the knowledge of 5 of Starfleet's best physicians. This computer will correct McCoy if he makes a mistake. Fans of the franchise will know how the good doctor receives this technology. On the bridge there's an overseer for Kirk that does the same. He's a little more open to the technology. The reporter on board has never left her homeworld before and is xenophobic, bordering on racist to those that aren't human.
Just before their launch, the crew is ordered to investigate a Vulcan base that has been silent for 10 years. Once there, it's obvious something is wrong. In fact, they are so wrong that the fate of the known universe is at stake.
Yes, this sounds like a heavy handed premise, but Bear makes it work smoothly. I loved the interaction among the familiar characters and the new ones are also well written. I appreciated how the universe was on the verge of destruction from a cosmic being--it was really well done. My only nit was the use of children, which I feel is an overused trope in Trek.
That said, I still recommend this as a solid Trek adventure.
June 10, 2018
Parts of this interested me. I'm never not going to like stories about possession; I'm too much of a horror fan for that, and having the possessed kids at the centre of the narrative be Vulcan is a nice twist. And I enjoyed that the young reporter was from a small colony, had only ever seen humans before, and was genuinely a bit bigoted about alien species - clearly she was always going to Learn A Lesson about that, but it's an interesting take that doesn't come up often in this franchise. Shame it was the only interesting thing about her - I don't buy for one second that she was able to get through to Corona when none of the others could. And I really don't buy the very silly subplot about installing computers that can take over the Enterprise if they think Kirk is commanding it wrongly. Starfleet would never be so foolish as to test that bit of kit for the first time on what's essentially the fleet's flagship. That bit of idiot plot induced so much eye-rolling even Vulcan-child-possession couldn't save it.
October 2, 2022
I have to admit, I found this novel somewhat disappointing. I remember really enjoying Greg Bear's straight SF works Blood Music, Eon and his fantasy novel The Serpent Mage, all read in my youth. It's a story of a group of Vulcan scientists who are possessed by an elusive alien entity over a period of years. The entity, Corona, is interesting, in that it seems to be comprised of sentient protostars. But its motives are also elusive until near the end of the book, and the underwritten Vulcan scientists blend into each other. The familiar triumvirate of Kirk, Spock and McCoy lead the tale, along with 'guest star' Mason, who is a journalist raised on a planet with a culture who believe that humans are superior to other species. Frequently I was wondering why is she actually present in the story; she makes little impact, again, until near the tale's end, and potential for fireworks are never explored.
June 25, 2021
This was a surprising book... I think of Greg Bear as a hard sci-fi guy, but this book, plot wise, was very much in the vein of the original series... alot of hand waving science. using big made up terms.
While the main plot of a sentient star definitely fits in, the characters were a bit off. Unlike most of the other Trek books I've read, where the author focuses on his/her favorite, Bear tries to give time to everyone, and it fails. He really didn't have a great handle on anyone... Uhura maybe, but definitely not Kirk and Spock.
The subplots with his reporter PoV character (who was super boring) and the computer monitors just didn't work. I get what he was trying to do, but this was not the place for it...the characters had to be too out of character for his points to be made.
While the main plot of a sentient star definitely fits in, the characters were a bit off. Unlike most of the other Trek books I've read, where the author focuses on his/her favorite, Bear tries to give time to everyone, and it fails. He really didn't have a great handle on anyone... Uhura maybe, but definitely not Kirk and Spock.
The subplots with his reporter PoV character (who was super boring) and the computer monitors just didn't work. I get what he was trying to do, but this was not the place for it...the characters had to be too out of character for his points to be made.
June 16, 2021
You can definitely tell the age of this book, there are a lot of somewhat odd choices which don’t really work in the modern day. Quite a lot of racism (or rather speciesism) and sexism which is really glaring, and the plot is clumsy.
Rowena Mason is a reporter sent to do a story on the Enterprise being given some computers which can override the senior officers’ judgement. Will they overrule Kirk? Take a guess. There is a mysterious energy being at the centre of a mysterious energy cloud thingie which needs a conduit to speak to humanity. Will it choose the newcomer? Guess. There are some Vulcans nearby, and their kids are behaving oddly. Have they been possessed? Guess.
It all felt like a cross between The Motion Picture and The Children of the Corn, and not a very successful one.
Rowena Mason is a reporter sent to do a story on the Enterprise being given some computers which can override the senior officers’ judgement. Will they overrule Kirk? Take a guess. There is a mysterious energy being at the centre of a mysterious energy cloud thingie which needs a conduit to speak to humanity. Will it choose the newcomer? Guess. There are some Vulcans nearby, and their kids are behaving oddly. Have they been possessed? Guess.
It all felt like a cross between The Motion Picture and The Children of the Corn, and not a very successful one.
September 21, 2017
Dumb, just dumb. I really didn't like this book. Despite the author's claim in the Acknowledgements that "he is a Trekkie" he seems to really only understand the technical side of things and not the essence of what Star Trek is. His additions of technology which have never been seen before or heard from again do not fit into the universe and create unnecessary detriments to the plot. The story was weak and for the life of me I can't figure out why they even had some relatives of Spock's on the station when they rarely interacted with one another and did not play a single part to story or the characters. All right, enough ranting. This book sucks and obviously made me angry.
October 15, 2020
I bought this book in a lot sale on eBay. I didn’t even realize I had it until the other day. When I saw the title I knew I had to read it. In 2020, I can’t think of a better title for a Star Trek book. Even though it isn’t about a deadly virus seeking to end us all, it is about an energy creature who wishes to return the universe to the first moments after creation. This would mean the destruction of all matter and life. The storyline was fascinating and relatable in the way decisions were made to save the crew and universe. If you love Kirk and Spock this novel had them both. If you’re a Star Trek fan this book makes for a great read! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
May 19, 2018
Interesting idea. Unfortunatly, from a today's perspective, it has a lot of strange things in it. The author introduces some strange Vulcan stuff we never heard before - which was okay back in the day of non-fixed canon and no information, but now it makes reading rather bumpy. Also the conclusion is rather rushed and again a Vulcan ritual pops up as the Deus ex Machina. The "monitors" didn't do anything in the end, so what were they for in the story? Although a nice problem in themselves, they were kind of wasted. Maybe they should have had a story of their own.
September 22, 2021
An enjoyable TOS adventure that sends the crew to the aid of a space station whose inhabitants sent a distress call ten years earlier. It is a quicker read at only 192 pages and would have benefited from being longer to flesh out aspects of the story.
I'm not quite sure when this is set, the uniforms on the cover suggest around the time of the first movie but the Enterprise looks more like its original configuration from the series and the characters read more like their earlier versions.
I'm not quite sure when this is set, the uniforms on the cover suggest around the time of the first movie but the Enterprise looks more like its original configuration from the series and the characters read more like their earlier versions.
August 19, 2023
A group of scientists, mostly Vulcans, are on a station on the edge of the Black Box Nebula. Ten years previously they sent out a distress signal. Only now has it reeached the Federation and the Enterprise has been sent to investigate, with the aid of monitors. Monitors that will take over the running of the ship if necessary. There they face Corona, a force that has taken over the scientists.
An entertaining re-read.
An entertaining re-read.
May 12, 2017
There is only a word to define this book : useless…The story revolves around reviving a group of 30 dead vulcans.( May a quote Lost ? What is dead stays dead!)It’s a long boring discourse about ,ethical , legal and pratical problems.Also the original characters are conventional almost obvious.It left me so cold that i didn’t finish it ….
January 15, 2018
I thought this was a good Star Trek novel written by a science fiction author in his early years. It was one if those novel that reminds me of existentialism from the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus. It would be a good book for a high school student to read however because this is base on an old tv series I don't see many kids reading it due to the lack of familiarity with the series.
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