Genres
Publication
New York : Pocket Books, c1988.
Description
It is the twenty-third century. On the planet Vulcan, a crisis of unprecedented proportion has caused the convocation of the planet's ruling council -- and summoned the U.S.S. Enterprise(tm) from halfway across the galaxy, to bring Vulcan's most famous son home in its hour of need. As Commander Spock, his father Sarek, and Captain James T. Kirk struggle to preserve Vulcan's future, the planet's innermost secrets are laid before us, from its beginnings millions of years ago to its savage prehistory, from merciless tribal warfare to medieval court intrigue, from the exploration of space to the the development of o'thia -- the ruling ethic of logic. And Spock -- torn between his duty to Starfleet and the unbreakable ties that bind him to Vulcan -- must find a way to reconcile both his own inner conflict and the external dilemma his planet faces...lest the Federation itself be ripped asunder. Diane Duane, author of three previous bestselling STAR TREK novels and an episode of the new STAR TREK NEXT GENERATION® television series, as well as countless other bestselling science fiction and fantasy novels, has crafted a tale of unprecedented scope and imagination, at once a generations-spanning historical novel and a thrilling science fiction adventure.… (more)
Media reviews
Ms. Duane's meld of ''history'' and ''Star Trek'' lore creates a narrative that readers unfamiliar with the legendary television show may find difficult to follow... Ultimately, ''Spock's World'' is an insular one; only a few million ''Star Trek'' fans will know or care what's going on.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Zathras86
Diane Duane is really good at alien races. She gets it that with the written word the sky's the limit for creating weird body shapes and bizarre worldviews. She gets it that even the ones who do look kind of like us would still be incredibly different from us. And she gets it that even though there
Spock's World explores the history and culture of the Vulcans in a sort of "What If James Michener Had Written a Star Trek Novel?" setup. Chapters dealing with the "present" storyline, in which the Enterprise crew must try to convince Vulcan not to secede from the Federation, are alternated with historical chapters which present different periods in the planet's history. As usual, Duane thinks everything through in minute details, and the result is wonderful. The Vulcans are a difficult race to write well - authors often try too hard to make them sound logical and emotionless and end up with walking computers. Duane's Vulcans are real, unique people with their own ideas, mannerisms, and goals.In addition to more insight into the Vulcan race in general, we also get more development of the character Sarek, who has always been one of my favorites.
If you could only read one Star Trek book, I would probably suggest this one. ([book: My Enemy, My Ally] by the same author is the only reason I said "probably.")
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are all of these beings with crazy bodies and crazier ideas, they're all people. She just plain gets it, and runs with it, better than any other Star Trek author I've ever read.Spock's World explores the history and culture of the Vulcans in a sort of "What If James Michener Had Written a Star Trek Novel?" setup. Chapters dealing with the "present" storyline, in which the Enterprise crew must try to convince Vulcan not to secede from the Federation, are alternated with historical chapters which present different periods in the planet's history. As usual, Duane thinks everything through in minute details, and the result is wonderful. The Vulcans are a difficult race to write well - authors often try too hard to make them sound logical and emotionless and end up with walking computers. Duane's Vulcans are real, unique people with their own ideas, mannerisms, and goals.In addition to more insight into the Vulcan race in general, we also get more development of the character Sarek, who has always been one of my favorites.
If you could only read one Star Trek book, I would probably suggest this one. ([book: My Enemy, My Ally] by the same author is the only reason I said "probably.")
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LibraryThing member Raven
Just utterly lovely, this one. Diane Duane's Star Trek novels are always good SF, as well as being good Star Trek, and they are very good examples of both. The plot of this one is rather leisurely and political, no phasers and no yelling, and beautifully subtle with it: Vulcan, or at least some
Highlights include Bones learning Vulcan (the really hard way), Amanda introducing Sarek to the concept of jokes, the revelation that there are short redhead Vulcans, Spock and McCoy arguing about popcorn, and the return of Duane's own characters: K'tl's'k, the enormous glass arachnoid physicist, Moira the sentient computer, and Ensign Naraht, who is a living breathing rock and very self-effacing with it. This isn't her best novel - I'd say The Wounded Sky edges out just a tiny bit - but it's excellent, nevertheless.
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elements of it, are considering secession from the Federation, and the usual suspects have to participate in the debates that will decide the matter. At the same time the author treats to an episodic history of Vulcan, key incidents in its history interspersed with the political main plot, and I think in other hands they would be self-indulgent and dull, whereas in hers, they are readable as are the chapters about the Enterprise crew.Highlights include Bones learning Vulcan (the really hard way), Amanda introducing Sarek to the concept of jokes, the revelation that there are short redhead Vulcans, Spock and McCoy arguing about popcorn, and the return of Duane's own characters: K'tl's'k, the enormous glass arachnoid physicist, Moira the sentient computer, and Ensign Naraht, who is a living breathing rock and very self-effacing with it. This isn't her best novel - I'd say The Wounded Sky edges out just a tiny bit - but it's excellent, nevertheless.
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LibraryThing member lunza
Diane Duane is my favorite Star Trek writer, more so than Peter David, at least when she's on her game. In this book, she weaves a tale of intrigue on modern-day Vulcan with mesmerizing vignettes from its history, from its creation to Spock's own birth. Of course, you run into the "canon" problem.
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For example, Stonn, the man T'Pring preferred to Spock in TOS, is dead in this novel; but in "Avenger," set some 100 years later, Stonn is alive. T'Pau dies in this book, but in "Vulcan's Heart," set about 75 years later, and in Peter David's xxxxx, about 100 years later, she's alive (and extremely old, I might add). Also, everything about the courtship of Spock's parents birth, practically, is contradicted by both A.C. Crispin's "Sarek" and the movie Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. ... Show Less
LibraryThing member lbowman
The best novel on Vulcans; Diane Duane's best, also.
LibraryThing member vicarofdibley
the usual star trek novel only a fan could read
LibraryThing member lycomayflower
Star Trek book which moves back and forth between a storyline following debates on Vulcan in the 23rd century regarding whether they should secede from the Federation (the triumvirate are involved, natch) and a storyline which traces the history of Vulcan. May not sound terribly gripping, but Duane
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pulls it off by including a lot of humor and lightness in the debates storyline and solid characterization in the history bits. The resolution of the debates storyline is a tad anti-climactic, but as the point of the thing is the history of the Vulcan people, it's a forgivable flaw. Show Less
LibraryThing member scholz
Interesting vignettes on Vulcan history. The "present-day" story is not nearly as compelling however. Duane is clearly a fan of McCoy, but his actions and conveniently-acquired skills were pretty unbelievable.
LibraryThing member Rubygarnet
My favorite aspect of this glorious book is the worldbuilding. Read this before you visit Vulcan.
LibraryThing member JohnFair
This is a rather interesting Star Trek novel and Diane Duane has a different take on the origial series Star Treks, with Kirk and the rest of the crew look quire different from later books or the TV series.
In this book, we are transported to Vulcan and its history from deep in its past to the
In this book, we are transported to Vulcan and its history from deep in its past to the
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present of the story in interwoven chapters. Although it is great as a stand alone book, the story has additional depths if you have read her novel 'The Romulan Way', which wraps the origins story of the Romulans up in another storyline in a similar fashion. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
A must read for any fan, because of the history and because, as others have commented, the insights to the inner lives of the characters, especially McCoy. Just don't expect to necessarily love it.
*To me* the history of Vulcan was mostly boring, and Surak's revelations read like platitudes. Some
I do advise you, before you read this, to refresh your memory of the episode of TOS in which Spock has to go home to get 'married' and in which we meet T'Pring and T'Pau.
Btw, I'm going to assume the author checked with Roddenbury, or at least his staff, and with scriptwriters and others knowledgeable of what had already been said about Vulcan history & language etc. I'm not nearly enough of a fan to be able to spot 'errors;' all I can say is that it seemed true to the established Trek-universe, to me.
*To me* the history of Vulcan was mostly boring, and Surak's revelations read like platitudes. Some
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bits were fascinating, though....I do advise you, before you read this, to refresh your memory of the episode of TOS in which Spock has to go home to get 'married' and in which we meet T'Pring and T'Pau.
Btw, I'm going to assume the author checked with Roddenbury, or at least his staff, and with scriptwriters and others knowledgeable of what had already been said about Vulcan history & language etc. I'm not nearly enough of a fan to be able to spot 'errors;' all I can say is that it seemed true to the established Trek-universe, to me.
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LibraryThing member DarthDeverell
In Spock's World, Diane Duane follows the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise as they travel to Vulcan to give testimony in a public referendum on Vulcan withdrawal from the United Federation of Planets. Duane takes advantage of the setting to explore Vulcan's history and culture, building on what
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screenwriter Theodore Sturgeon depicted in the episode Amok Time from the original series. Duane begins Vulcan's history with planetary formation, though the solar flare that catastrophically altered its climate from lush jungle to blasted desert, into the wars that plagued the Vulcan people, and Surak's teachings that saved them from themselves. While many parts of Duane's story would later be retconned, such as the details of human first contact with the Vulcans as depicted eight years later in Star Trek: First Contact, the overall novel captures the tone and characterization of The Original Series despite its setting shortly after The Motion Picture in 2275. Other inconsistencies include Duane referencing her other series about the Romulans, who she calls the Rihannsu, in this book as well as referring to the Klingon homeworld as Klinzhai and giving Dr. Leonard McCoy's middle initial as "E." instead of "H." The reader can overlook much of this as it was only with The Next Generation that the producers of Star Trek began to codify the canon. Even avid Trekkers will find plenty to enjoy in this story, both in its history of Vulcan and Duane's portrayal of the political intrigue occurring on modern Vulcan. Show Less
LibraryThing member sarahlh
Another excellent Star Trek novel from Diane Duane. A must read for fans of Spock and the Vulcan culture. Also for fans of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy triumvirate, which I totally am.
Language
Original publication date
1988-09 (eng.)
1991 (deu.)
Physical description
310 p.; 23 cm
ISBN
067166851X / 9780671668518