Unspoken Truth (Star Trek: The Original Series) [Mass Market Paperback]

Introduced in early Star Trek films, Saavik is a half-Vulcan, half-Romulan protégé of Spock. This is her story. As a child, Saavik was rescued from Hellguard along with other children that the Romlulans had abandoned after a failed biological engineering experiment. Spock brought Saavik home to Vulcan to be raised by his parents, Sarek and Amanda. Saavik is now an officer in Starfleet with a bright future. But her world is turned upside down when childhood friend Tolek, tells her that the now-grown survivors of Hellguard are being hunted down and killed. Then, a Romulan confronts Saavik with news that he is her biological father and that she must help him destroy her adoptive father Sarek's career as an ambassador. If Saavik doesn't agree, not only will she be killed, but Sarek as well.

This ambitious novel tracks the life of a minor character (though certainly an interesting one) in the Star Trek universe. Despite Saavik having been portrayed by two different actresses (Kirstie Alley, Star Trek II and Robin Curtis Star Trek III & IV), we are only given a glimpse of her relationship with Spock, and nothing about her origins. Author Margaret Wander Bonanno wrote of one of my favorite Trek novels - Strangers from the Sky. And here, she fills in the blanks about where Saavik came from and her connection to Spock and his family. Bonanno fleshes out this complex character and gives her incredible depth and motivation.

It is not a requirement, but definitely helpful to have a good knowledge of Star Trek films II-IV as the novel references all of her scenes and the circumstances with Spock's death and regeneration. But then, what original series fan doesn't know the movies well?

Drama, mystery, intrigue, and first contact - this story will appeal to any true Star Trek fan. The plot is as complex as Saavik herself. It's thought-provoking and moving, yet full of wonder and excitement - this is why I love science fiction and Star Trek novels in particular. I will now be tracking down Bonanno's novels that I haven't yet read. First the classic Strangers from the Sky, now this inspiring Unspoken Truth - I am dually impressed.

... most before I was in 10th or 11th grade (I'm in my mid-30s now). But nowadays, I often check out what's new on the ST shelf at the bookstore, though I rarely actually read them. This is mostly because they're poorly written or delve into characters and situations that came after "my" time in ST (namely anything after TNG, Classic, or the original cast movies). I remember Bonanno's novels from the old days - Dwellers in the Crucible, Strangers from the Sky. And having read so many dozens of ST novels, that's saying a lot that I remember hers specifically. The reason is the good writing. She has a gift for capturing the 'voice' and vibe of Vulcans and their culture and traditions, making them seem very real. For instance, the details of the Vulcan monastery-like place where part of the book is set made me think she has spent some time in real monasteries. She seemed very intimate with the kind of ordered daily existence and emphasis on silence and meditation that characterizes such places. That's just one example. I think she also did an excellent job rendering the young Saavik and the traumas she experienced as a cast-out on an abandoned planet, and how that would affect her if she were adopted. Again, I suspect familiarity with similar instances from real life, maybe a friend who adopted a child from a war-torn country. Those who call this novel "dull" have no appreciation for subtlety. The reason I read ST novels is for the insight into the characters, and I think Bonanno does an excellent job here exploring a really underutilized character and providing her with a plausible backstory, and the secondary characters she invents for this book were quite compelling, including a race of annelids that were very "alien" but still relatable. Anyway, Saavik was always a favorite minor character for me, so it was time she got some coverage.

I've come across more than a few reviews of this book online, and the one gleaming review posted on Amazon at the time of this posting. The reviews have really lauded this book as great, a must-read, wonderful ... but the book I read is anything but. It is horribly dull, contrived and just a step above fan-fiction that you could Google and get online. I've read both Catalyst of Sorrows (Star Trek: The Lost Era, 2360) and Burning Dreams (Star Trek), both by Margaret Wander Bonanno, and both dealing with unanswered questions from the 'Original Series' era. In brief, 'Unspoken Truth' is supposed to do for the character of Saavik what 'Burning Dreams' did for Captain Pike: give a underused character in Trek lore his/her moment in the spotlight and reveal new and interesting things about them that the tv series and movies left untouched. I was disappointed to say that 'Unspoken Truth' really is a bust and dropped the ball when it comes to doing justice for the character of Saavik. Perhaps it missteps in trying to insert the character into one of the most unoriginal plots one could think of: the heroine is pushed to her limits and is lost emotionally after traumatizing events and extreme circumstances (Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock and The Voyage Home). As a result, she reflects on her past and is recruited by the 'enemy' to ruin her mentor, Sarek's, career. Now, 'Burning Dreams' and 'Catalyst of Sorrows' both worked well because their plots didn't involve an outcome we were too sure about. We all know from other Trek movies, shows and books that Sarek lived a long life and his career never suffered a setback as this book tries to hint at. Thus, the reader is treated to a long, drawn out novel that at the end feels very predictable, contrived and horribly executed.

The Good: The only good I have to say about this novel is that I enjoyed the scenes that filled-in between the movies. We're treated to what could be considered 'cut' or bonus scenes from Star Trek: The Search for Spock and Star Trek: The Voyage Home. Kirk worrying about Spock returning to his old self after the events of Star Trek: The Search for Spock and Voyage Home was actually entertaining, as was McCoy's few appearances. Another character that seemed to get a lot of great scenes was Amanda, who is seen and portrayed more as a mother in this novel than as a wife as she usually is in most novels. Beyond these two areas, there's not much to praise.

The Bad: Where to begin. I feel 'Unspoken Truth' is guilty of really confusing and giving the character of Saavik a makeover when none was necessary. Compared to what was shown in the movies and what was written about Saavik in other novels, this one turns her into a rebellious teen with unchecked emotional problems, lacking common sense and devoid of logic. Basically, gone is the Saavik of the movies and in her place is a character from some 1980s brat pack movie. Every sentence that Saavik thinks or says seems to end with an exclamation point as if she is forever mad or on edge. This book (to my knowledge) rewrites her character's history a bit to make it so that she was found by Spock as a young child, brought home, raised by Sarek and Amanda, mentored by 'big brother' Spock ... and I'm sorry, but the author does nothing to make any of this, or Saavik's relationship with any of the characters, believable. Part of this problem is that there are two plots going on within this book that hardly go together and so both end up being short-changed. The plot described on the back of the book ... sorry to reveal that it doesn't even occur until page 209 at which point it's rushed and pushed through and never fully developed. The majority of the book deals with Saavik seeking a quiet, un-eventful mission following the events of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. That's exactly what she gets and what the reader must sit through and endure. The first 200 pages of this novel are for the most part a total bore. Then comes the Romulan plot to recruit Saavik to ruin Sarek's career. It's contrived, predictable and meanders without any true focus. A couple of pages in, you're able to guess the outcome at every twist and turn. Annoyingly, 'unspoken truth' appears in the dialogue various times but I must say by the end, I have no idea what the author was trying to refer to or get at with the title. The end of the novel ends with dialogue that made this feel like 'The Little Mermaid' made-over for Star Trek: Father-figure Sarek realizes he can't force Vulcan tradition on his daughter Saavik and that he and Amanda have raised her to the best of their ability and must let her go off into the vast universe on her own. Seriously.

Let me not forget to mention that Saavik also finds a new love in this novel and behaves like a promiscuous teenager in heat, at once jumping into bed and a complicated relationship with her new guy ... even after pages of her agonizing over how mating with Spock in Star Trek: The Search for Spock was unwise and complicated her life and brought her much grief and personal shame. So, again, what in the world? I don't understand why so many readers are jumping for joy over this book when it's nothing more than a harlequin romance novel set in the Star Trek universe. This book is pretty much character assassination for the character of Saavik. It doesn't do anything to make her any more clear, likable or smart/intelligent as she was portrayed in the films and in other books. It was as if someone gave Bonanno free range to do as she pleased with the character(s) (because not even Sarek or Spock feel totally in character). On an entirely different note, was this the absolute best cover Pocket Books could come up with because it seems like a pretty lame cop-out for doing something more representative of the events of the novel. I guess this is supposed to be Vulcan, perhaps Sarek's residence ... whatever the case, it's never explained or linked to the events of the novel. Could they not have, I don't know, put an image of Saavik on the cover since the novel is about her?

Avoid this book. I rarely give out 1 star reviews but this was by far the worst book I've read in a long time. It's dull, the first 200 pages have nothing at all to do with the book's description and even that plot is dull, lacking and poorly written. I expected a lot more from the author who has written some great novels but as said, this book certainly isn't one of them. The author managed to turn one of Trek's most interesting characters into nothing more than a cardboard cut-out from an adolescent novel. The plot does not feel original and is planted in the middle of a time period and dealing with characters whose outcomes we're aware of and thus can easily predict the outcome of the book, making reading this horrible mess of a novel pretty much wasted money and paper. The novel ends with Saavik pretty much where she was when the novel began and looking forward to getting back to duty and returning to the Enterprise if Kirk and crew will have her. Uh, we all saw Star Trek IV: The Final Frontier and the films that followed so yet again, we know the outcome of that event. This novel was, in my opinion, a missed opportunity. I'd rather have been treated to a novel that filled in a piece of Star Trek history that hasn't been covered to death and was unknown to the reader so that reading it would have created more history. Perhaps having focused on Saavik post Original Series movie era, or even before she came into the picture and really explored her alone, not attached to Spock or Sarek, would have improved the novel. Whatever the case, I can't in good conscience recommend this novel to anyone. SKIP IT.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 10 reviews  3.4 out of 5 stars