Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Pocket Books, 1983
Pages
255
Description
An alien scientist invents the Intergalactic Inversion Drive, an engine system that transcends warp drive -- and the "U.S.S Enterprise " will be the first to test it! The Klingons attempt to thwart the test, but a greater danger looms when strange symptoms surface among the crew -- and time becomes meaningless. Now Captain Kirk and his friends face their greatest challenge -- to repair the fabric of the Universe before time is lost forever!
Language
Original publication date
1983-12 (eng.)
1987 (deu.)
Physical description
255 p.; 6.5 inches
ISBN
0671667351 / 9780671667351
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User reviews
LibraryThing member lbowman
Those of us who occasionally feel compelled to read Trek fiction can do a lot worse than Diane Duane. Believe me.
LibraryThing member barbgarcia1987
This book is one of my favorite Star Trek books. When it came out back in 1983 or so I had stopped reading Star Trek books. Luckily I picked this one up because it was great and got me back into reading Star Trek as well as introduced me to Diane Duane's other books.
LibraryThing member jmourgos
Diane Duane, author of fantasy novels and even a Star Trek Next Gen episode or two, wrote what was her first novel in the Original Series universe called The Wounded Sky.
The Wounded Sky tends to be a bit tedious reading at first. We meet the alien scientist, who is a glass spider-like alien (why
From the way I understand it, an inversion drive reduces the occupant to nonexistence, then you reappear at another location instantaneously.
Despite much techno-babble and characters endlessly chattering (100 pages could have easily been edited out) about the physics of the project, there are two major things wrong with this drive:
1. You relive experiences usually in your own mind or even do a bit of mind-sharing during the process. This is actually another reality and you could be hurt.
2. Stars tend to explode in your vicinity (thus the title)!
The best parts of the book are when the Klingons attempt to ambush the Enterprise and Sulu has to do some pretty fancy flying to avoid them before the inversion drive is turned on. The descriptions of the ships and Sulu's actions is riveting.
Another good scene is near the end, when they reach beyond the Milky Way galaxy and observe it from 100 thousand light years out in the blink of an eye.
Their meeting with a new being with tremendous power but no real knowledge is the crux of the novel which makes for some philosophical reading.
Bottom Line: Overall, not the best Star Trek novel I've read, a bit chatty, but a decent read and entertaining.
The Wounded Sky tends to be a bit tedious reading at first. We meet the alien scientist, who is a glass spider-like alien (why
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the book blurb says "pretty scientist" is beyond me!) meets up with the Enterprise crew, which crew has won the lottery on which starship will be heading off to parts of the Galaxy Mankind has never been to before by using an inversion drive.From the way I understand it, an inversion drive reduces the occupant to nonexistence, then you reappear at another location instantaneously.
Despite much techno-babble and characters endlessly chattering (100 pages could have easily been edited out) about the physics of the project, there are two major things wrong with this drive:
1. You relive experiences usually in your own mind or even do a bit of mind-sharing during the process. This is actually another reality and you could be hurt.
2. Stars tend to explode in your vicinity (thus the title)!
The best parts of the book are when the Klingons attempt to ambush the Enterprise and Sulu has to do some pretty fancy flying to avoid them before the inversion drive is turned on. The descriptions of the ships and Sulu's actions is riveting.
Another good scene is near the end, when they reach beyond the Milky Way galaxy and observe it from 100 thousand light years out in the blink of an eye.
Their meeting with a new being with tremendous power but no real knowledge is the crux of the novel which makes for some philosophical reading.
Bottom Line: Overall, not the best Star Trek novel I've read, a bit chatty, but a decent read and entertaining.
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LibraryThing member VincentDarlage
I don't remember much about this book, except that as a teenager I LOVED it. This, along with "Black Fire," was one of my favorite Star Trek books. I re-read it many times between 1983 and 1988 (at least once per year), more than any other Star Trek book (aside from Black Fire, which I re-read just
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as frequently). I need to re-read this as an adult to see if it really was that good - but then again, maybe I ought to just leave it be and remember it as one of those books I loved as a kid. Show Less
LibraryThing member p.d.r.lindsay
Having now found my Star Trek books I am enjoying picking out the old favourites. 'The Wounded Sky' is definitely one of the best. Diane Duane is obviously a fan, knows the Trek world well and has an imagination worthy of the best SF writers. K't'lk, a spider like being, is a lovely creation. The
Only in SF, with a good writer, could you get ideas to make the reader ponder on religion, creation, gods and proto-gods, and the meaning of life, all wrapped up in an exciting story. K't'lk has invented the mathematics to make an intergalatic inversion drive to take the Federation beyond the galaxy. Enterprise is the spaceship chosen to first test the drive, but there are problems. First the Klingons have a go at seizing the ship, then the drive itself is causing problems. and what a problem. Not just threatening to blow up the ship, but much more serious and thought provoking, threatening the universe.
Diane Duane knows her characters too and there is some great dialogue, particularly between Bones and Spock, K't'lk and Scotty, and Captain Kirk gets to think some fascinating thoughts. His crew have nice cameo roles and they reflect the multi-cultural ideals of Star Trek well. It's a good read.
Duane writes well and gives the reader a lot of pleasure and much to think over. For fans this is a must read. For those who like SF to reflect the human condition and have things to think about then this is the novel to try. For readers who like a great story, fascinating characters, and ideas this novel is worth a read. Above all the book is fun! And that is something hard to find in many novels these days.
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descriptions of the other worlds, the astronomy and creative physics are outstanding. There's a meaty story and a lot to think about.Only in SF, with a good writer, could you get ideas to make the reader ponder on religion, creation, gods and proto-gods, and the meaning of life, all wrapped up in an exciting story. K't'lk has invented the mathematics to make an intergalatic inversion drive to take the Federation beyond the galaxy. Enterprise is the spaceship chosen to first test the drive, but there are problems. First the Klingons have a go at seizing the ship, then the drive itself is causing problems. and what a problem. Not just threatening to blow up the ship, but much more serious and thought provoking, threatening the universe.
Diane Duane knows her characters too and there is some great dialogue, particularly between Bones and Spock, K't'lk and Scotty, and Captain Kirk gets to think some fascinating thoughts. His crew have nice cameo roles and they reflect the multi-cultural ideals of Star Trek well. It's a good read.
Duane writes well and gives the reader a lot of pleasure and much to think over. For fans this is a must read. For those who like SF to reflect the human condition and have things to think about then this is the novel to try. For readers who like a great story, fascinating characters, and ideas this novel is worth a read. Above all the book is fun! And that is something hard to find in many novels these days.
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LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Too weird for me to give high praise to. ?�Metaphysical, w/ references more to mythologies than to sciences, implying that they are actually two faces of the same studies. The bibliography in the back is clever, in this book from 1983; it references works published in 1970, 1982, 1996, and three
As a bit of btw, I gleaned advice from one of the first pages of this: ?á... the old cadet exercise of 'making-it-worse'; he stood there and considered all the reasons he had to be mad, and concentrated on getting madder and madder.... ?áHe got mad, and madder. ?áHe ground his teeth. ?áAnd, as usual, the mad abruptly vanished, replaced by a sense of silliness at the situation -- ... gritting over what couldn't be hurried, or helped, or fought."
I also like some of Duane's ideas of the inner natures of the r'ships between the characters. ?áFor example, at one point she believably manages to make Spock say "Leonard, please stop disagreeing just to have something to say."
I suspect if this weren't a STTNG novel I'd rate it even lower. ?áBut I am a sucker for them, and I never once considered putting this down, nor do I regret reading it (even though it's longer and more ambitious/ pretentious than most early entries in the franchise)."
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more in 'star-dates.' ?áAs a bit of btw, I gleaned advice from one of the first pages of this: ?á... the old cadet exercise of 'making-it-worse'; he stood there and considered all the reasons he had to be mad, and concentrated on getting madder and madder.... ?áHe got mad, and madder. ?áHe ground his teeth. ?áAnd, as usual, the mad abruptly vanished, replaced by a sense of silliness at the situation -- ... gritting over what couldn't be hurried, or helped, or fought."
I also like some of Duane's ideas of the inner natures of the r'ships between the characters. ?áFor example, at one point she believably manages to make Spock say "Leonard, please stop disagreeing just to have something to say."
I suspect if this weren't a STTNG novel I'd rate it even lower. ?áBut I am a sucker for them, and I never once considered putting this down, nor do I regret reading it (even though it's longer and more ambitious/ pretentious than most early entries in the franchise)."
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LibraryThing member JohnFair
This is an early Star Trek Trek original novelisation and follows the adventures of the starship and her crew as they test a new type of space drive developed by the Hamalki and their Vulcan co-developers. The senior hamalki scientist on the programme, K't'lk, represents one of the more interesting
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abilities of the book forms of the franchise as she's a sort of crystalline spider-like life-form. Also unusual is the fact that Scotty gets a fairly central role without having to worry about the ship being blown up if he doesn't repair it in time (well, except for the major plot point of course!). K't'lk's physics are so new that they are way over any edge that Federation science had thought of and when the crew of the Enterprise find their new drive has had a deleterious effect on the laws of Space-Time, they make their way to scene of the damage to repair it, and as a result, create a new universe. At this point, the story gets a bit too metaphysical for my tastes and I don't feel it pulls it off all that well. Otherwise it's an interesting take on the star trek universe Show Less
LibraryThing member MacDad
The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is overcome with excitement when their vessel is selected to test out an experimental new drive, one that will allow the ship to travel instantaneously to other galaxies. When the ship sets out to test it, though, it is quickly beset upon by a squadron of Klingon
Diane Duane's book is a notable addition to the Star Trek franchise for a number of reasons. A prolific genre writer, this was the first of her many novels in the series and enjoys the distinction of serving as the basis for a Next Generation episode, season one's "Where No One Has Gone Before." Yet for all of the novel's strengths of characterization and Duane's use of the freedom the novel format provided to her, I found the overall result disappointing. A major reason for this was the novel's progression in its later chapters into the metaphysical. While I'm not much of a fan of this approach in Star Trek novels, this one especially read like little more than a collective LSD trip by the crew, with much communing and willing an outcome. Perhaps if it hadn't led to a climax all too similar to many an episode of the show I might have been more accepting, but the beats were just too familiar for me to feel much suspense or surprise in the later chapters, making my first encounter with her novels a somewhat underwhelming experience.
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warships determined to acquire the new drive for their empire. No sooner does the Enterprise crew deal with that threat, though, than they encounter a new crisis that they themselves created — one that endangers the entire universe.Diane Duane's book is a notable addition to the Star Trek franchise for a number of reasons. A prolific genre writer, this was the first of her many novels in the series and enjoys the distinction of serving as the basis for a Next Generation episode, season one's "Where No One Has Gone Before." Yet for all of the novel's strengths of characterization and Duane's use of the freedom the novel format provided to her, I found the overall result disappointing. A major reason for this was the novel's progression in its later chapters into the metaphysical. While I'm not much of a fan of this approach in Star Trek novels, this one especially read like little more than a collective LSD trip by the crew, with much communing and willing an outcome. Perhaps if it hadn't led to a climax all too similar to many an episode of the show I might have been more accepting, but the beats were just too familiar for me to feel much suspense or surprise in the later chapters, making my first encounter with her novels a somewhat underwhelming experience.
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