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Star Trek: The Original Series #16
The Final Reflection
Krenn, a Klingon captain, is changed by contact with human civilization, and faces a test of conscience, when he learns of a Klingon plan to destroy the Federation.
253 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1984
About the author
John M. Ford
106 books198 followersJohn Milo "Mike" Ford was a science fiction and fantasy writer, game designer and poet.
Ford was regarded (and obituaries, tributes and memories describe him) as an extraordinarily intelligent, erudite and witty man. He was a popular contributor to several online discussions. He composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated forms and blank verse, notably Shakespearean pastiche; he also wrote pastiches and parodies of many other authors and styles.At Minicon and other science fiction conventions he would perform "Ask Dr. Mike", giving humorous answers to scientific and other questions in a lab coat before a whiteboard.
Ford passed away from natural causes in 2006 at his home in Minneapolis.
Biography source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._...
Ford was regarded (and obituaries, tributes and memories describe him) as an extraordinarily intelligent, erudite and witty man. He was a popular contributor to several online discussions. He composed poems, often improvised, in both complicated forms and blank verse, notably Shakespearean pastiche; he also wrote pastiches and parodies of many other authors and styles.At Minicon and other science fiction conventions he would perform "Ask Dr. Mike", giving humorous answers to scientific and other questions in a lab coat before a whiteboard.
Ford passed away from natural causes in 2006 at his home in Minneapolis.
Biography source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
January 7, 2019
A book inside of a book!
WAR IS WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS!
This is quite an unusual book of Star Trek not only since you get it from the perspective of the Klingons (several years before that such angle would become more often), but also because this is "novel" inside of this very novel.
The USS Enterprise crew during a shore leave met a novel recounting how the Klingons saved the Federation from insidious action by high officials of Starfleet, and the reading of such became soon enough a trendy topic on the vessel.
Even a relative of Dr. McCoy and a young Spock can be found in the pages of the said novel.
Due that the real book was written several years ago, some stuff about Klingon culture and its historic development have changed in the various TV series, but since the tale is a "piece of fiction with creative license", you can argue that those "incongruities" can be intentional for purposes of storytelling.
A daring "chess" game with "living pieces" is played in the space scenario, lasting decades with the clear target to find a most-needed balance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire to avoid an open out war.
This novel is quite relevant since it was the first stone to build the modern image of the Klingon culture and its sense of honor.
Kapla' !!!
WAR IS WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS!
This is quite an unusual book of Star Trek not only since you get it from the perspective of the Klingons (several years before that such angle would become more often), but also because this is "novel" inside of this very novel.
The USS Enterprise crew during a shore leave met a novel recounting how the Klingons saved the Federation from insidious action by high officials of Starfleet, and the reading of such became soon enough a trendy topic on the vessel.
Even a relative of Dr. McCoy and a young Spock can be found in the pages of the said novel.
Due that the real book was written several years ago, some stuff about Klingon culture and its historic development have changed in the various TV series, but since the tale is a "piece of fiction with creative license", you can argue that those "incongruities" can be intentional for purposes of storytelling.
A daring "chess" game with "living pieces" is played in the space scenario, lasting decades with the clear target to find a most-needed balance between the Federation and the Klingon Empire to avoid an open out war.
This novel is quite relevant since it was the first stone to build the modern image of the Klingon culture and its sense of honor.
Kapla' !!!
April 9, 2021
This is an odd one, the story an attempt to humanize the TOS-era Klingons, who were somewhat poorly defined and bore little resemblance to their current form. I liked the narrative style and Ford's prose, however the story lacks cohesion and could have been structured much better. There are large gaps in time between events, giving them the feel of somewhat confusing one-offs never tied together properly. By the end Ford makes an effort to hastily construct a climax more or less out of thin air. There are interesting bits to be gleaned here and there, particularly the role of a 3D chess like strategic game in Klingon culture and its underpinnings on their strategic outlook. However, if you go in expecting anything like a traditional Trek novel you will be sorely disappointed, and perhaps aggrieved at many of the divergences from Trek canon.
August 14, 2016
"I do not acknowledge the existence of the Perpetual Game," Margon said without turning. "Society is Society, war war. If they are games at all, surely they are not all the same game. I deny it."
"That is a favored tactic," Akten said.
The Final Reflection is a strange animal for a book: a TV series tie-in novel that enjoys an excellent reputation, thanks partially to the fact that it's the book John M. Ford wrote immediately after The Dragon Waiting which won the World Fantasy Award, and that Ford only wrote ten novels in his career, two of which are Star Trek novels. The Final Reflection is also unique in that it is told entirely from the point of view of someone other than an existing Star Trek character. This might not actually be unique anymore, but the first time I heard of this book was in a parenthetical note by Howard Waldrop where he claims that Ford is the only person to write a Star Trek novel that isn't from the point of view of anybody on the Enterprise.
Instead, The Final Reflection is a novel within a novel, an unauthorized book called The Final Reflection that is making its way through the Federation sometime after the events of the original TV series, purporting to show the truth about a shadowy event in Federation/Klingon history from the Klingon point of view. In addition to taking us away from the Federation point of view, this is also clever because the theme of the novel is cultures trying to understand each other and the role of stories (particularly political rumours, superstitions and mythology, and above all the narratives of culturally specific games) in that process.
The Final Reflection is about a Klingon orphan named Vrenn, and we see him rise through the ranks until he's trusted with a diplomatic mission and his own sense of ethics embroils him in politics. I won't spoil the ending, but it's not inaccurate to think about this story as following the standard Star Trek interests (diplomacy, space battles, sci-fi inventions) in a culture that values warfare.
That description downplays the most interesting thing about the book, namely Ford's rich and detailed portrayal of an alien society. Klingons, it turns out, are inveterate gamers who, as my quote above suggests, consider more or less everything in terms of gameplay. They're not "less than" humans, more different, and Ford pulls off the trick of making Klingons entirely consistent with the paper-thin antagonists of the original series while granting them another dimension. Because we're following Klingons, we get to see them being thoughtful, and coming to realizations about humans and the Federation that mirror what we come to understand about Ford's Klingons. Wait a minute... mirrors, reflections... say, that was clever.
If I can digress for a moment, the book I read right before this was Brian Daley's novelization of the movie Tron. That book basically fell apart because while it was trying to describe the Electronic World, the only effective way it found to do that was to have an omniscient narrator telling us what "normal" things everything resembles. The narrator would say "instead of ordinary treads, the tank had strips of light" which is a good way to deal with the basic problem of trying to describe Tron with prose, but also takes the reader deep out of the point of view of the characters in that world.
Ford, on the other hand, leaves plenty of things untranslated from Klingonaase, and deftly uses characters thoughts and dialogue to give us what we need. For example, at one point a character explains that the "human" translation for Klingonaase is "Klingonese" because it happens to sound like the name of a language in English, but the "aase" suffix means something rather different to Klingons, something more like "a tool to alter reality." There are plenty of examples, but it all adds up to a book that does an excellent job portraying an alien society looking at "ours."
It's been said (apparently by Jo Walton) that this book would be better if it wasn't a Star Trek book at all. I find that somewhat hard to believe, because so much seems to come from the fact that it's written from the point of view of someone who would show up in Star Trek as a pantomime bad guy, and that the culture that's being described isn't actually our own but rather the familiar one from Star Trek. For example, at one point the Klingons go to Earth and encounter human isolationists, people we've never really seen in Star Trek (I know, I know, Enterprise but it hadn't happened yet when this was written). Interesting as it is to see humans who want the Federation to be disbanded, it's particularly interesting that Dr. McCoy's grandfather is associated with them—it's quite clear that T.J. McCoy doesn't really buy the isolationists, but it puts a slightly different spin on Bones' crankiness about Vulcans. I think the references to other texts actually add a lot of depth to this text that would certainly be very different if it was a standalone novel.
So, is there anything not that great about this text? Well yes. It's one of those stories where the characters become embroiled in state secrets and spying, but it's also one of those stories where the novel doesn't tell you what characters know and when they know it. I found the final third of The Final Reflection difficult to follow for this reason: our viewpoint character Captain Krenn starts doing things for reasons that are unclear to me, because he knows something he's not going to inform me about until forty pages later. If you stick with it, things become clear, but it's a tricky line that novels about secret events walk, and this book does not totally satisfy on that count.
The most minor complaint I had was that there's an Orion character named Rogaine, which I found distracting although it looks like the hair-treatment drug might not have existed at the time.
It's very very clumsy how we find out that T.J. McCoy is Dr. McCoy's grandfather; he makes a weird out of nowhere reference to his grandson's full name, and I would rather that this have been left for us to figure out. Puzzlingly, an substantial encounter with Sarek, Amanda Grayson, and a young Spock is handled exactly this way and it's much better for it.
Many characters are quite intriguing (as part of Ford's agenda to create a densely-populated and complex universe) but we don't spend a lot of time with them. That's a good problem to have, since it basically just makes me really interested to know what is the deal with, say, Kelly; Krenn's half-human old friend who is in the Intelligence service, and who seems like she's had a fascinating life.
The bottom line is that this is a justly high-regarded Star Trek novel, one so good that it's good by the standards of novels that aren't TV tie-ins. It gains a lot if you are familiar with Star Trek (particularly the original series) but I suspect Ford is a good enough writer that it would be good even if a reader who didn't know Trek decided, for some baffling reason, to read a novel that proclaims itself to be the sixteenth in a series and comes adorned with a tasteful oil painting of a Klingon playing chess with young Spock.
"That is a favored tactic," Akten said.
The Final Reflection is a strange animal for a book: a TV series tie-in novel that enjoys an excellent reputation, thanks partially to the fact that it's the book John M. Ford wrote immediately after The Dragon Waiting which won the World Fantasy Award, and that Ford only wrote ten novels in his career, two of which are Star Trek novels. The Final Reflection is also unique in that it is told entirely from the point of view of someone other than an existing Star Trek character. This might not actually be unique anymore, but the first time I heard of this book was in a parenthetical note by Howard Waldrop where he claims that Ford is the only person to write a Star Trek novel that isn't from the point of view of anybody on the Enterprise.
Instead, The Final Reflection is a novel within a novel, an unauthorized book called The Final Reflection that is making its way through the Federation sometime after the events of the original TV series, purporting to show the truth about a shadowy event in Federation/Klingon history from the Klingon point of view. In addition to taking us away from the Federation point of view, this is also clever because the theme of the novel is cultures trying to understand each other and the role of stories (particularly political rumours, superstitions and mythology, and above all the narratives of culturally specific games) in that process.
The Final Reflection is about a Klingon orphan named Vrenn, and we see him rise through the ranks until he's trusted with a diplomatic mission and his own sense of ethics embroils him in politics. I won't spoil the ending, but it's not inaccurate to think about this story as following the standard Star Trek interests (diplomacy, space battles, sci-fi inventions) in a culture that values warfare.
That description downplays the most interesting thing about the book, namely Ford's rich and detailed portrayal of an alien society. Klingons, it turns out, are inveterate gamers who, as my quote above suggests, consider more or less everything in terms of gameplay. They're not "less than" humans, more different, and Ford pulls off the trick of making Klingons entirely consistent with the paper-thin antagonists of the original series while granting them another dimension. Because we're following Klingons, we get to see them being thoughtful, and coming to realizations about humans and the Federation that mirror what we come to understand about Ford's Klingons. Wait a minute... mirrors, reflections... say, that was clever.
If I can digress for a moment, the book I read right before this was Brian Daley's novelization of the movie Tron. That book basically fell apart because while it was trying to describe the Electronic World, the only effective way it found to do that was to have an omniscient narrator telling us what "normal" things everything resembles. The narrator would say "instead of ordinary treads, the tank had strips of light" which is a good way to deal with the basic problem of trying to describe Tron with prose, but also takes the reader deep out of the point of view of the characters in that world.
Ford, on the other hand, leaves plenty of things untranslated from Klingonaase, and deftly uses characters thoughts and dialogue to give us what we need. For example, at one point a character explains that the "human" translation for Klingonaase is "Klingonese" because it happens to sound like the name of a language in English, but the "aase" suffix means something rather different to Klingons, something more like "a tool to alter reality." There are plenty of examples, but it all adds up to a book that does an excellent job portraying an alien society looking at "ours."
It's been said (apparently by Jo Walton) that this book would be better if it wasn't a Star Trek book at all. I find that somewhat hard to believe, because so much seems to come from the fact that it's written from the point of view of someone who would show up in Star Trek as a pantomime bad guy, and that the culture that's being described isn't actually our own but rather the familiar one from Star Trek. For example, at one point the Klingons go to Earth and encounter human isolationists, people we've never really seen in Star Trek (I know, I know, Enterprise but it hadn't happened yet when this was written). Interesting as it is to see humans who want the Federation to be disbanded, it's particularly interesting that Dr. McCoy's grandfather is associated with them—it's quite clear that T.J. McCoy doesn't really buy the isolationists, but it puts a slightly different spin on Bones' crankiness about Vulcans. I think the references to other texts actually add a lot of depth to this text that would certainly be very different if it was a standalone novel.
So, is there anything not that great about this text? Well yes. It's one of those stories where the characters become embroiled in state secrets and spying, but it's also one of those stories where the novel doesn't tell you what characters know and when they know it. I found the final third of The Final Reflection difficult to follow for this reason: our viewpoint character Captain Krenn starts doing things for reasons that are unclear to me, because he knows something he's not going to inform me about until forty pages later. If you stick with it, things become clear, but it's a tricky line that novels about secret events walk, and this book does not totally satisfy on that count.
The most minor complaint I had was that there's an Orion character named Rogaine, which I found distracting although it looks like the hair-treatment drug might not have existed at the time.
It's very very clumsy how we find out that T.J. McCoy is Dr. McCoy's grandfather; he makes a weird out of nowhere reference to his grandson's full name, and I would rather that this have been left for us to figure out. Puzzlingly, an substantial encounter with Sarek, Amanda Grayson, and a young Spock is handled exactly this way and it's much better for it.
Many characters are quite intriguing (as part of Ford's agenda to create a densely-populated and complex universe) but we don't spend a lot of time with them. That's a good problem to have, since it basically just makes me really interested to know what is the deal with, say, Kelly; Krenn's half-human old friend who is in the Intelligence service, and who seems like she's had a fascinating life.
The bottom line is that this is a justly high-regarded Star Trek novel, one so good that it's good by the standards of novels that aren't TV tie-ins. It gains a lot if you are familiar with Star Trek (particularly the original series) but I suspect Ford is a good enough writer that it would be good even if a reader who didn't know Trek decided, for some baffling reason, to read a novel that proclaims itself to be the sixteenth in a series and comes adorned with a tasteful oil painting of a Klingon playing chess with young Spock.
May 27, 2009
Man, I am a jerk for not listening to Mordicai earlier (he told me to read this, like, five years ago or something) because this was pretty damn good!
I think that it helped that the crew from the Enterprise wasn't in it (save a young Spock who makes a cameo appearance), which can sometimes take one out of the story. It was just a story about Klingons, well told. Also it's neat to note all the things that had changed in the Star Trek canon since the book was written (Q'onoS had yet to be established as the Klingon homeworld, for example.) Sometimes it was a bit confusing -- there was a little too much of the Klingon language, and the end was so under-explained I'm reading it again -- but I'd rather read something twice than be spoken down to.
So, yes! Recommended! Even for casual Trek fans who never necessarily thought they had an interest in reading Trek fiction.
I think that it helped that the crew from the Enterprise wasn't in it (save a young Spock who makes a cameo appearance), which can sometimes take one out of the story. It was just a story about Klingons, well told. Also it's neat to note all the things that had changed in the Star Trek canon since the book was written (Q'onoS had yet to be established as the Klingon homeworld, for example.) Sometimes it was a bit confusing -- there was a little too much of the Klingon language, and the end was so under-explained I'm reading it again -- but I'd rather read something twice than be spoken down to.
So, yes! Recommended! Even for casual Trek fans who never necessarily thought they had an interest in reading Trek fiction.
March 2, 2023
This was quite possibly the best Original Series book that I've read...so far.
It's a bit of an historical romp, perhaps a generation before Kirk and Co., in which we follow the career of a Klingon "commoner-turned-commander." It also fills in a whole lot of non-canonical stuff regarding Klingon culture, history, etc., as of 1984. So, I'm imagining, at the time, this was like, amazingly awesome stuff for a lore-starved fanbase. Of course, much of it has been undone by The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, etc., but novels are non-canon anyway, so you can take this as you will.
I really enjoyed the fact that the ships, at the time, were pretty much only going Warp 4, thus a trip from Klinzhai (a.k.a. Q'onos) to Earth took roughly one year to complete. Also, this was utilizing warp engines that apparently operated on something other than dilithium...as dilithium was "discovered" during the course of this novel, allowing ships to travel at speeds of Warp 6, or maybe even 8, or possibly 9 (as another character said). It's also interesting to see a Klingon Empire that is actually just a bit ahead of the Federation technologically speaking, as in the novel, both the Klingon transporters and warp drives are more advanced than those of Starfleet.
Meanwhile, the Federation, as portrayed by this novel, is a fractious, divided entity, where each planet is capable of conducting it's own foreign relations with other empires, star-nations, etc., and who are all seemingly somewhat distrustful of Starfleet and it's role as a peacekeper of the Federation - seeing them almost as an enforcer of "Federal Law" rather than a protector of the peace...almost like the Federation is more of a Confederacy of convenience. Even Earth itself is not immune, as there is a growing "Humans Should Stay On Earth and Never Go to Space" movement present.
And then, we have just a little bit of fan service, as our Klingon protagonist, by the name of Krenn, plays chess against a child Spock, and meets McCoy's father at one point. Oh, also, Klingons apparently reach full adulthood at the age of like 7 or 8.
Overall, if you are looking for a bit of fun in the early Star Trek universe, and want something other than the zany adventures of the "Big Three," you should definitely give this a read and let me know what you think!
It's a bit of an historical romp, perhaps a generation before Kirk and Co., in which we follow the career of a Klingon "commoner-turned-commander." It also fills in a whole lot of non-canonical stuff regarding Klingon culture, history, etc., as of 1984. So, I'm imagining, at the time, this was like, amazingly awesome stuff for a lore-starved fanbase. Of course, much of it has been undone by The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, etc., but novels are non-canon anyway, so you can take this as you will.
I really enjoyed the fact that the ships, at the time, were pretty much only going Warp 4, thus a trip from Klinzhai (a.k.a. Q'onos) to Earth took roughly one year to complete. Also, this was utilizing warp engines that apparently operated on something other than dilithium...as dilithium was "discovered" during the course of this novel, allowing ships to travel at speeds of Warp 6, or maybe even 8, or possibly 9 (as another character said). It's also interesting to see a Klingon Empire that is actually just a bit ahead of the Federation technologically speaking, as in the novel, both the Klingon transporters and warp drives are more advanced than those of Starfleet.
Meanwhile, the Federation, as portrayed by this novel, is a fractious, divided entity, where each planet is capable of conducting it's own foreign relations with other empires, star-nations, etc., and who are all seemingly somewhat distrustful of Starfleet and it's role as a peacekeper of the Federation - seeing them almost as an enforcer of "Federal Law" rather than a protector of the peace...almost like the Federation is more of a Confederacy of convenience. Even Earth itself is not immune, as there is a growing "Humans Should Stay On Earth and Never Go to Space" movement present.
And then, we have just a little bit of fan service, as our Klingon protagonist, by the name of Krenn, plays chess against a child Spock, and meets McCoy's father at one point. Oh, also, Klingons apparently reach full adulthood at the age of like 7 or 8.
Overall, if you are looking for a bit of fun in the early Star Trek universe, and want something other than the zany adventures of the "Big Three," you should definitely give this a read and let me know what you think!
May 20, 2012
Star Trek's major running theme was probably anti-racism and anti-oppression of all kinds. At times, its exploration of this theme seems naive and clumsy by our standards today, but at other times, it was masterful enough to stand up to today's viewers. This book is that kind of masterful.
At first, I was worried reading the review of it on Goodreads. It was mostly gamers who liked it citing the descriptions of the games played by the characters and their relationship to war and battle. But, what made me smile were the great characters and their interactions. The book is told from the point of view of a Klingon Captain. What fun to see a Federation diplomatic conference through the eyes of a Klingon. Let alone to enjoy a growing friendship between that same Klingon and the Federation Ambassador who is a man of peace.
Without a doubt, one of the best Star Trek novels I have read!
At first, I was worried reading the review of it on Goodreads. It was mostly gamers who liked it citing the descriptions of the games played by the characters and their relationship to war and battle. But, what made me smile were the great characters and their interactions. The book is told from the point of view of a Klingon Captain. What fun to see a Federation diplomatic conference through the eyes of a Klingon. Let alone to enjoy a growing friendship between that same Klingon and the Federation Ambassador who is a man of peace.
Without a doubt, one of the best Star Trek novels I have read!
July 16, 2008
Likely the ONLY franchised novelization you'll ever see me review here, this one has always struck me as memorable (in a sea of mediocrity) due to its sympathetic potrayal of the early show era's Klingons from their point of view. Written by THE DRAGON WAITING's John Ford. Quite good!
August 9, 2020
Hands down, the best Star Trek novel written so far. Now, granted, this is not a terribly high bar to vault but Ford is a genuinely good writer who loves his subject.
March 19, 2019
I did not enjoy the first third, but the rest of it captured my attention. An OK, even good, read.
January 9, 2012
If you have not read The Final Reflection, do so! I have long been told that it is nearly the finest example of Trek literature, and having now read it, I can't disagree. Since it was published nearly thirty years ago now, much of "canon" Star Trek contradicts the events and ideas presented in The Final Reflection, but I think that it is completely worth reading on its own merits, even merely as a "road not taken" sort of story.
Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2011/10/f...
Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2011/10/f...
July 25, 2022
It's surprising how much I enjoyed this novel and appreciated its inventiveness. Despite its shortcomings, it gives me compelling and thought-provoking ideas that transcend the hackneyed formula for the majority of Star Trek literature. The story revolves around an outsider, Krenn, who grows up in a Klingon culture but whose mysterious origin lends him a somewhat deviating view. Through his eyes, we get to know the alien world - its language, culture, and emphasis on games - and this is undoubtedly my favorite thing about the book. The novel avoids depicting the Klingon as a monolithic empire, and instead, introduces different social strata, including "kuve" (which is translated as "servitor" instead of "slave" in order to respect that the two words have disparate connotations in Klingon culture). It is little details like this that always light me up.
In terms of character, while I don't always empathize with Krenn, I do find his perspective unique and interesting. He defies the typical characterization of Klingons in TOS: Krenn is shrewd, cunning, with a strategic mind, but he is not belligerent or bloodthirsty. He possesses the courtesy of a diplomat and the dignified composure that manages to discombobulate the humans/Federation people who expect the worst from their enemies. Moreover, I like that the novel reflects on TOS's portrayal of the Federation as a flawed and not always peaceable government, and how this plays out in their conflict with the Klingon Empire.
That being said, not everything about this story works for me. The writing is sloppy and hard to follow, and while I understand that keeping the readers in the dark can sometimes heighten the suspense, the writing style does not always click with me. I would also appreciate a glossary of Klingon words, because despite my respect and appreciation for Ford's attempt to engulf the readers in a foreign culture by intermixing language/cultural references, the confusion around the meaning of a word is unnerving, and it often distracts me from the juicier and more interesting stuff happening in the novel.
Still, though the latter Star Trek iterations like TNG and DS9 take a different approach to depicting the Klingon culture, and therefore nullifies Ford's unique representation, this novel is an intriguing take on the Klingons and a superlative demonstration of the amazing and ingenious things that can be born out of the world of Star Trek.
3.75/5
In terms of character, while I don't always empathize with Krenn, I do find his perspective unique and interesting. He defies the typical characterization of Klingons in TOS: Krenn is shrewd, cunning, with a strategic mind, but he is not belligerent or bloodthirsty. He possesses the courtesy of a diplomat and the dignified composure that manages to discombobulate the humans/Federation people who expect the worst from their enemies. Moreover, I like that the novel reflects on TOS's portrayal of the Federation as a flawed and not always peaceable government, and how this plays out in their conflict with the Klingon Empire.
That being said, not everything about this story works for me. The writing is sloppy and hard to follow, and while I understand that keeping the readers in the dark can sometimes heighten the suspense, the writing style does not always click with me. I would also appreciate a glossary of Klingon words, because despite my respect and appreciation for Ford's attempt to engulf the readers in a foreign culture by intermixing language/cultural references, the confusion around the meaning of a word is unnerving, and it often distracts me from the juicier and more interesting stuff happening in the novel.
Still, though the latter Star Trek iterations like TNG and DS9 take a different approach to depicting the Klingon culture, and therefore nullifies Ford's unique representation, this novel is an intriguing take on the Klingons and a superlative demonstration of the amazing and ingenious things that can be born out of the world of Star Trek.
3.75/5
July 26, 2013
You should read this book even if you don't read Star Trek books. You should just read this book. Right away.
Since saying "it's a John M. Ford book" is probably not enough to entice you, let me just say that it's brilliant. He was always a very intelligent writer, and this book is no exception. It's clever, and full of layers and more layers and hidden references -- a lot like the games and diplomacy that the characters engage in, actually. I always feel like there's so much of his work I'm not getting, and yet I adore it anyway, because what I do get is wonderful.
This is a Star Trek story starring Klingons, and none of the Enterprise crew. Okay, okay, there's a framing story where Kirk reads a book about diplomacy with the Klingons. This is the book. (There are cameos from a very young Spock, and McCoy's grandfather, but the whole thing is set a few decades before TOS.) The main character, Krenn, begins the novel as a houseless, worthless "live piece" in the game of klin zha, and the novel more or less tracks his career, including his friendship with the Terran ambassador to the Klingons. These are not the Klingons Star Trek eventually came up with in TNG -- and they are, to my mind, much more interesting. (I also feel the same, except much more strongly, about Diane Duane's Romulans.) You get the sense that they are definitely not human -- or at least, they regard as perfectly moral several things I would not do -- but they seem very alive at the same time. So I would have to say that's good characterization.
As for the actual plot? I have to say I still get the feeling I'm missing a lot of it, but it's good stuff. Hooray for diplomacy. And games. The gaming was really nice, actually, and I appreciate how it informs the structure of the rest of the book.
Read it. Even if you don't usually read Trek books. I don't even like the Klingons, usually. But this is awesome. Every time I read it it is awesome. I think I own it two or three times now.
Since saying "it's a John M. Ford book" is probably not enough to entice you, let me just say that it's brilliant. He was always a very intelligent writer, and this book is no exception. It's clever, and full of layers and more layers and hidden references -- a lot like the games and diplomacy that the characters engage in, actually. I always feel like there's so much of his work I'm not getting, and yet I adore it anyway, because what I do get is wonderful.
This is a Star Trek story starring Klingons, and none of the Enterprise crew. Okay, okay, there's a framing story where Kirk reads a book about diplomacy with the Klingons. This is the book. (There are cameos from a very young Spock, and McCoy's grandfather, but the whole thing is set a few decades before TOS.) The main character, Krenn, begins the novel as a houseless, worthless "live piece" in the game of klin zha, and the novel more or less tracks his career, including his friendship with the Terran ambassador to the Klingons. These are not the Klingons Star Trek eventually came up with in TNG -- and they are, to my mind, much more interesting. (I also feel the same, except much more strongly, about Diane Duane's Romulans.) You get the sense that they are definitely not human -- or at least, they regard as perfectly moral several things I would not do -- but they seem very alive at the same time. So I would have to say that's good characterization.
As for the actual plot? I have to say I still get the feeling I'm missing a lot of it, but it's good stuff. Hooray for diplomacy. And games. The gaming was really nice, actually, and I appreciate how it informs the structure of the rest of the book.
Read it. Even if you don't usually read Trek books. I don't even like the Klingons, usually. But this is awesome. Every time I read it it is awesome. I think I own it two or three times now.
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December 14, 2013I loved Ford's delicious farce, How Much for Just the Planet?. This is completely different, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, too. I rode the bus 30 blocks past my stop because I was so engrossed. The protagonist is from an entirely alien culture, and you're caught up in his world view. Jo Walton writes a much better review of it than I can* (note that she's in no way a Star Trek fan):
"For me, The Final Reflection would be a better book if it were set in an original universe. But it’s still an excellent book — it’s one of those rare tie-in books that’s good even if you’re not a fan of the show and it must be world-shatteringly marvelous if you are. The important thing here is a tightly paced and fascinating story about warrior aliens and the difference between tactics and strategy.
I have been told by fans that Ford invented Klingon culture in this book, and if this is so, he did a very good job. .... The novel is a story of a complex and subtle revenge, and re-reading it I was able to appreciate that properly. Ford’s plots are often sufficiently subtle to be surprising on a first reading and much more satisfying when revisited."
For years, this was out of print, and you had to look for tattered paperbacks. Now you can get it as an ebook.
*What a surprise!
"For me, The Final Reflection would be a better book if it were set in an original universe. But it’s still an excellent book — it’s one of those rare tie-in books that’s good even if you’re not a fan of the show and it must be world-shatteringly marvelous if you are. The important thing here is a tightly paced and fascinating story about warrior aliens and the difference between tactics and strategy.
I have been told by fans that Ford invented Klingon culture in this book, and if this is so, he did a very good job. .... The novel is a story of a complex and subtle revenge, and re-reading it I was able to appreciate that properly. Ford’s plots are often sufficiently subtle to be surprising on a first reading and much more satisfying when revisited."
For years, this was out of print, and you had to look for tattered paperbacks. Now you can get it as an ebook.
*What a surprise!
February 28, 2018
Just completed this book, and safe to say I was blown away. Well written, and very different from other Star Trek books I've read before. Excellent read - 5 stars.
September 25, 2023
John M Ford by all rights should be better known. He was such a versatile writer. This is the best of his two Star Trek novels. It is arguably the greatest Star Trek novel ever written.
Why? Because it's a great novel that just happens to be set in the Star Trek universe. It also laid the foundations for the Klingons as a race that were more than just wore hats that made them warrior protagonists.
It's just a great story that deserves to be recognized for what it did.
BTW: They (the owners of the IP) should do a Battlecruiser Vengeance series. Just saying.
Why? Because it's a great novel that just happens to be set in the Star Trek universe. It also laid the foundations for the Klingons as a race that were more than just wore hats that made them warrior protagonists.
It's just a great story that deserves to be recognized for what it did.
BTW: They (the owners of the IP) should do a Battlecruiser Vengeance series. Just saying.
July 31, 2018
This is a book within a book. There is a new Klingon fictional book going around the Enterprise. Spock gives it to Kirk to read. It tells the story of a Klingon and his interactions with the Federation.
It really goes into detail about the Klingon culture, as it was portrayed in the original series. The novel adds depth to the character of the Klingons, that they are not all stupid war like people. A surprisingly good read.
It really goes into detail about the Klingon culture, as it was portrayed in the original series. The novel adds depth to the character of the Klingons, that they are not all stupid war like people. A surprisingly good read.
September 8, 2022
An interesting metafictional exploration of the Klingons. Good writing and some very moving portraits of war, grief, and komerex zha, the perpetual game. Only marred by an overreliance on technobabble and a confusing plotline - I never quite had a grasp on who was who or what was what. But I enjoyed my time with it.
February 17, 2021
An old favorite
I’ve had the paperback of this book for longer than I can recall; it’s spine is cracked and the cover is more than a little ragged. I’ve read many/most of the TOS novels and this is one of the best. Rich characters and many glimpses of areas in the ST universe we don’t often see. More than worth your time.
I’ve had the paperback of this book for longer than I can recall; it’s spine is cracked and the cover is more than a little ragged. I’ve read many/most of the TOS novels and this is one of the best. Rich characters and many glimpses of areas in the ST universe we don’t often see. More than worth your time.
January 21, 2021
An interesting look at a version of the Klingon empire that might have been, but which later stories have unfortunately written out of continuity.
July 27, 2022
This is the first bit of Star Trek narrative I've consumed as an adult, but I really liked Klingon Ender's Game.
July 4, 2023
Good insight into Klingons but not the plot is very rushed at the end. Worth it however!
July 5, 2019
I've long known of The Final Reflection as one of the better Star Trek novels, but I've only recently gotten a chance to find out for myself.
It lives up to the reputation.
These days, it needs to be remembered that this came out in 1984, when the known universe was all original series-related, plus 15 years of fan development. At that point the Klingons were still under-developed, and this novel does a great job with one of the first looks at them from the inside. Ideas like the "Black Fleet" still show up in number of places.
The book itself is multi-layered, with a frame showing that The Final Reflection is a novel that exists at the time of TOS, an in-universe "Researcher's Note" explaining that while fiction, it's based on as much info as the author could get about events (an amazing number of people were just not available for interviews...) of around forty years previous. And then there's the novel itself.
There's some interesting decisions made. The Klingons are generally more advanced than the Federation (they have transporters first, their ships are generally more powerful), and seemingly have been in space longer than Earth, though looking between the lines, the Federation is probably catching up.
The central plot of the book doesn't get going until late, and just what is going on in a couple places is obscure, with the main character apparently having been several steps ahead of everyone else... and that was largely off-screen. But the real purpose is to present the Klingon world-view. And this is 250 pages of that, and all of it is excellent. John M. Ford could definitely write, and one of his strengths was to take someone else's world and make it his own by fleshing out a part of it. This book is largely overwritten by later Trek lore, but is well worth a read on its own strengths.
It lives up to the reputation.
These days, it needs to be remembered that this came out in 1984, when the known universe was all original series-related, plus 15 years of fan development. At that point the Klingons were still under-developed, and this novel does a great job with one of the first looks at them from the inside. Ideas like the "Black Fleet" still show up in number of places.
The book itself is multi-layered, with a frame showing that The Final Reflection is a novel that exists at the time of TOS, an in-universe "Researcher's Note" explaining that while fiction, it's based on as much info as the author could get about events (an amazing number of people were just not available for interviews...) of around forty years previous. And then there's the novel itself.
There's some interesting decisions made. The Klingons are generally more advanced than the Federation (they have transporters first, their ships are generally more powerful), and seemingly have been in space longer than Earth, though looking between the lines, the Federation is probably catching up.
The central plot of the book doesn't get going until late, and just what is going on in a couple places is obscure, with the main character apparently having been several steps ahead of everyone else... and that was largely off-screen. But the real purpose is to present the Klingon world-view. And this is 250 pages of that, and all of it is excellent. John M. Ford could definitely write, and one of his strengths was to take someone else's world and make it his own by fleshing out a part of it. This book is largely overwritten by later Trek lore, but is well worth a read on its own strengths.
September 6, 2013
“The Final Reflection” by John M. Ford is a Star Trek novel that I believe is rather unique for the genre. The reason for this is that the core story is quite simply one that could be enjoyed by any fan of Science Fiction, not just those who appreciate Star Trek.
Part of this is due to the fact that the only section of the novel which involves the regular Star Trek characters is a very minor framing story. This framing element basically details Kirk deciding to read a novel entitled “The Final Reflection” which is based on the experiences of Samuel Tagore, a Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire. The core of novel is basically this story which is set several decades prior to the events of the original series and follows the life of Krenn, a captain in the Klingon Navy. However, the real aim of the story in my opinion is to use Krenn’s experiences to portray Klingon culture in a deep a meaningful manner.
I honestly don’t believe I can overstate how much I enjoyed this novel. It has a complex and thoughtful plot that kept me fully engrossed in a way I haven’t felt with many other Trek novels. Politics, diplomacy, espionage and action are woven together into an entertaining story that really made me think. In addition the portrayal of Klingon society is quite simply superb and whilst much of it has been contradicted by later TV episodes it is still a well-constructed and believable portrayal. To be honest, I actually think Ford’s portrayal of the Klingons is much more varied and interesting that what we ended up seeing on the various TV series although I did enjoy that portrayal as well.
In regards to the characters, at times it is hard to fully identify with Krenn and his Klingon companions due to Ford’s ability to portray their culture and beliefs as being alien to our own. However, despite this there is still something there that readers can respect and appreciate to the point that the will quickly find themselves supporting them. It was fascinating getting to see the viewpoint from characters that are on the “opposite” side from the Federation etc.
The only comment I can make that could possibly be portrayed as being negative is that there were several points throughout the novel at which I felt I was missing something. Ford’s story is so deep that I had to re-read some sections a few times to catch the meaning and understand everything that was going on. Personally, I quite enjoyed this challenge that I don’t normally get in Trek novels but I am sure some people may not appreciate it.
Overall, this was an excellent novel that probably is one of the finest examples of Trek literature that I have read to date. The story itself is an excellent Science Fiction piece that explores an alien culture and would have been just as enjoyable to read without the Star Trek elements. Whilst much of it has been contradicted by what has come since, I still think it is well worth reading and really highlights the missed opportunities in the late 80’s when books such as this which looked at the wider Trek Universe would no longer be approved.
Part of this is due to the fact that the only section of the novel which involves the regular Star Trek characters is a very minor framing story. This framing element basically details Kirk deciding to read a novel entitled “The Final Reflection” which is based on the experiences of Samuel Tagore, a Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire. The core of novel is basically this story which is set several decades prior to the events of the original series and follows the life of Krenn, a captain in the Klingon Navy. However, the real aim of the story in my opinion is to use Krenn’s experiences to portray Klingon culture in a deep a meaningful manner.
I honestly don’t believe I can overstate how much I enjoyed this novel. It has a complex and thoughtful plot that kept me fully engrossed in a way I haven’t felt with many other Trek novels. Politics, diplomacy, espionage and action are woven together into an entertaining story that really made me think. In addition the portrayal of Klingon society is quite simply superb and whilst much of it has been contradicted by later TV episodes it is still a well-constructed and believable portrayal. To be honest, I actually think Ford’s portrayal of the Klingons is much more varied and interesting that what we ended up seeing on the various TV series although I did enjoy that portrayal as well.
In regards to the characters, at times it is hard to fully identify with Krenn and his Klingon companions due to Ford’s ability to portray their culture and beliefs as being alien to our own. However, despite this there is still something there that readers can respect and appreciate to the point that the will quickly find themselves supporting them. It was fascinating getting to see the viewpoint from characters that are on the “opposite” side from the Federation etc.
The only comment I can make that could possibly be portrayed as being negative is that there were several points throughout the novel at which I felt I was missing something. Ford’s story is so deep that I had to re-read some sections a few times to catch the meaning and understand everything that was going on. Personally, I quite enjoyed this challenge that I don’t normally get in Trek novels but I am sure some people may not appreciate it.
Overall, this was an excellent novel that probably is one of the finest examples of Trek literature that I have read to date. The story itself is an excellent Science Fiction piece that explores an alien culture and would have been just as enjoyable to read without the Star Trek elements. Whilst much of it has been contradicted by what has come since, I still think it is well worth reading and really highlights the missed opportunities in the late 80’s when books such as this which looked at the wider Trek Universe would no longer be approved.
May 2, 2011
WHAT??? I haven't reviewed this book yet?
That's crazy.
This is one of my absolute favorite books. I don't know how many times I have read it since it was printed in 1984. Well I just finished it AGAIN for the umpteenth time and I enjoyed it maybe just a little bit more than I enjoyed it the last time I read it --- which I think was last year. (TFR was printed twenty-seven years ago. Does that mean I have read it twenty-seven times? Or more???)
Well. It is that good. It is one of the best books I have read period and certainly one of the best Star Trek novels ever published. The kicker is that Kirk and company --- and the ENTERPRISE --- make only token appearances at the beginning and at the end to frame the story which is about a young Klingon growing up in the Empire some forty years before Kirk and Co. It is fantastic! Ford really grabs you and makes the reader see how a "villainous" society isn't villainous to those living in it. It is just different. Klingon values are different. Their thinking is different. How they relate to one another and the outside world is different. For example, the main character is taught to see life as a deadly serious game in which everyone else is his opponent in one way or another. Life is to be lived by a strategy. The Empire or "Komerex" is a game or "zha". Whether one acknowledges that idea or not, either is an "accepted strategy." I could go on but I will stop just to say that this book is like a glass sculpture. It works on many levels and in many ways. As you might guess, appearances, mirrors and reflections all have their part to play in the novel. I cannot recommend it enough!
That's crazy.
This is one of my absolute favorite books. I don't know how many times I have read it since it was printed in 1984. Well I just finished it AGAIN for the umpteenth time and I enjoyed it maybe just a little bit more than I enjoyed it the last time I read it --- which I think was last year. (TFR was printed twenty-seven years ago. Does that mean I have read it twenty-seven times? Or more???)
Well. It is that good. It is one of the best books I have read period and certainly one of the best Star Trek novels ever published. The kicker is that Kirk and company --- and the ENTERPRISE --- make only token appearances at the beginning and at the end to frame the story which is about a young Klingon growing up in the Empire some forty years before Kirk and Co. It is fantastic! Ford really grabs you and makes the reader see how a "villainous" society isn't villainous to those living in it. It is just different. Klingon values are different. Their thinking is different. How they relate to one another and the outside world is different. For example, the main character is taught to see life as a deadly serious game in which everyone else is his opponent in one way or another. Life is to be lived by a strategy. The Empire or "Komerex" is a game or "zha". Whether one acknowledges that idea or not, either is an "accepted strategy." I could go on but I will stop just to say that this book is like a glass sculpture. It works on many levels and in many ways. As you might guess, appearances, mirrors and reflections all have their part to play in the novel. I cannot recommend it enough!
June 20, 2013
Most of the time, I felt a little disappointed by Star Trek novels I've read in the past. But this is the exception. As I read and became more and more engrossed in the storyline, a part of me wondered why I'd never picked this book up before. Written long before Worf and the Next Gen. developed the Klingons from typical Black hat villains to full fledged characters, John M. Ford created a culture for these intriguing aliens. Following the "novel within a novel" approach, "the Final Reflection" follows the life of Klingon Krenn from his start a a low caste orphan to eventually rise to become a Klingon captain faced with first contact with the Federation. It is a quick read that sucks you in to the culture of the Klingons. Though different that what eventually became canonical about this warrior race, it also proved to be highly influential to later writers, like Keith R.A. DeCandido, who has written several Klingon-centric novels. I recommend this book to star trek and klingon fans as well as fans of world and culture building.
January 16, 2017
What a book!
The Final Reflection is an interesting piece of fiction and whilst well written and a great look inside of the Klingon culture I think that modern readers need to come to this prepared. The novel was written before the Klingons were properly fleshed out on screen and Ford's depiction of them are very different.
For me this book didn't hit that Star Trek itch and it's not fault of the material, but I have to think, had I read this before I'd seen the Trek that came later it would have scratched the itch and then some. The main characters we've come to know and love in Star Trek barely appear and I will admit I missed them. Even though I loved the adventures of Krenn, I was eyeing my bookshelf off wanting to read something more traditional.
If you go into this looking for an adventure that pits Kirk with the Klingons, then you'll be disappointed, but if you go into this with an open mind you'll discover a very rich story about a race of Klingons that might have been if the TV shows didn't take a very different path.
The Final Reflection is an interesting piece of fiction and whilst well written and a great look inside of the Klingon culture I think that modern readers need to come to this prepared. The novel was written before the Klingons were properly fleshed out on screen and Ford's depiction of them are very different.
For me this book didn't hit that Star Trek itch and it's not fault of the material, but I have to think, had I read this before I'd seen the Trek that came later it would have scratched the itch and then some. The main characters we've come to know and love in Star Trek barely appear and I will admit I missed them. Even though I loved the adventures of Krenn, I was eyeing my bookshelf off wanting to read something more traditional.
If you go into this looking for an adventure that pits Kirk with the Klingons, then you'll be disappointed, but if you go into this with an open mind you'll discover a very rich story about a race of Klingons that might have been if the TV shows didn't take a very different path.
March 16, 2008
Easily the best of the 80+ Star Trek novels I read in my teens, and the only one I revisit on a regular basis. Told from the perspective of a Klingon, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are only minor characters in this tale. The story is set in the "past" of Star Trek's 23rd century, at a time when the Klingons and the Federation are trying to figure out how to occupy neighboring parts of space. The first part of the novel gives us insight into the Klingon homeworld and the fate of a common Klingon boy as he moves from an orphanage to the home of a rich patron to the decks of a starship. The second part of the novel tells the tale of the boy grown into the captain of his very own ship, and the adventures he encounters as he takes on a most unusual mission - the transport of the first Federation ambassador from Earth to the Klingon homeworld.
January 1, 2010
In my experience, the best Star Trek book ever! Hard to believe it's by the same guy who wrote How Much for Just the Planet. Set around the time of the Enterprise series, but written before it aired, I believe, so happily unencumbered. A great look into the depths of the Klingon world and psyche.
It's been a couple years since I read it, but I will definitely read it again.
It's been a couple years since I read it, but I will definitely read it again.
February 24, 2013
I love this book so, so much. Okay, so we have Shakespearian space vikings... who play games... and build up their culture around games...
There is so much to love here, from our glorious hero Krenn to his girlfriend. I'm not going to spoil this, but you have to read it. It's beautiful. Every single event genuinely means something. And there are genuinely funny moments, too, like at the transporter... but I'm not going to spoil it. Anyway, HIGHLY recommended to absolutely everyone.
There is so much to love here, from our glorious hero Krenn to his girlfriend. I'm not going to spoil this, but you have to read it. It's beautiful. Every single event genuinely means something. And there are genuinely funny moments, too, like at the transporter... but I'm not going to spoil it. Anyway, HIGHLY recommended to absolutely everyone.
September 28, 2017
Star Trek. Klingons. Board Games. You'd think I would like this book... I did not. Not only was it stupid to be reading a book that Kirk is reading I had a hard time following. Having the book from entirely the Klingon's perspective was tricky to follow and I was lost when they were describing the games he was playing. I kept getting lost in the story and not in a good way... I didn't know what was going on! I've never been so lost reading a book.
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