Star Wars on Trial: Science Fiction And Fantasy Writers Debate the Most Popular Science Fiction Films of All Time (Smart Pop series) Review

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(More customer reviews)Back in 1999, physics professor, NASA consultant, and science fiction writer David Brin contributed an essay to Salon.com highlighting the logical inconsistencies in the (up until then) four Star Wars films and pointing out what he saw as the darker philosophical and ethical underpinnings of the series - a feudal universe in which elite, super-powered beings control the fate of civilization, a galaxy where might is right, in which the life of the commoner is to be ruled by The Jedi or The Sith.
"'Star Wars' Despots vs. 'Star Trek' Populists" generated a tremendous amount of interest and feedback from Star Wars and science fiction fans and over the years on his own website Brin came back to the topic now and then, (often, he laments as an aside in "Star Wars on Trial," taking time away from his other writing projects). With the release last year of the final chapter in the Star Wars film series, Brin is back to update his arguments and lead the prosecution in "Star Wars on Trial," a book-length collection of critical essays on the six-film cycle and its relationship to film-making and science-fiction. The book is organized conceptually around a trial, with a prosecutor leveling charges and a defense counsel attempting to poke holes in the state's case.
The six charges brought to court are, in order: 1) The Politics of Star Wars Are Anti-Democratic and Elitist; 2) While Claiming Mythic Significance, Star Wars Portrays No Admirable Religious or Ethical Beliefs; 3) Star Wars Novels Are Poor Substitutes for Real Science Fiction and Are Driving Real SF off the Shelves; 4) Science Fiction Filmmaking Has Been Reduced by Star Wars to Poorly Written Special Effects Extravaganzas.; 5) Star Wars Has Dumbed Down the Perception of Science Fiction in the Popular Imagination; 6) Star Wars Pretends to Be Science Fiction, but Is Really Fantasy; 7) Women in Star Wars Are Portrayed as Fundamentally Weak; 8) The Plot Holes and Logical Gaps in Star Wars Make It Ill-Suited for an Intelligent Viewer.
Each charge is argued in separate essays, both for the prosecution and the defense. In between the essays are short chapters in which the prosecutor and the defense cross exam the essayists and address the bench on procedure issues.
Leading the defense and providing opening and closing arguments in this literary trial is three-time Star Wars novelist Matthew Woodring Stover (Traitor, Shatterpoint, Revenge of the Sith), a writer whose books I have enjoyed but for whom I have lost some not small measure of respect after reading his smarmy ripostes to Brin's more reasoned arguments. It's not necessarily that Brin's ideas are better (sometimes they are, sometimes not); it's just that Brin is more erudite. Stover comes off like one of those annoying people you read in usenet forums who, when he can't make a cogent argument, resorts to humor to deflect attention from his lack of a reasoned counter argument, or to avoid having to admit he is wrong.
One the whole, the prosecution makes its best case on textual matters, picking at the obvious inconsistencies within the films and demonstrating what everyone who has seen them has known all along, that George Lucas is a poor writer who suffered moreover from having to force the plot when he found he had to make sequels and later prequels. There's also a devastating argument from real-life attorney John C. Wright demonstrating the lack of religious content in the Star Wars universe, in addition to a well-argued essay from astrophysicist Jeanne Cavelos outlining the evisceration of the two major females in the series, Leia and Padme, who go from being strong, independent characters to stereotypical damsels-in-distress.
For its part, the defense makes its best case on the wider issue of cultural matters, on the effect of Star Wars on science fiction and filmmaking. Novelist Karen Traviss, one of the most popular of the current crop of Star Wars authors, argues convincingly that Star Wars literature can be more than turgid prose hastily churned out for cash by revealing some of the positive changes she was forced to make in her own writing when commissioned to write her first Star Wars novel. And addressing the complaint that Star Wars fiction is driving "real" science fiction off bookstore shelves, novelist Laura Resnick points out that the success of Star Wars fiction has in fact provided publisher Del Rey the financial clout to expand its original science fiction publishing.
There are several other well-written and thought provoking essays in this collection addressing issues wider than Star Wars - such as the nature science fiction, the push and pull between art and entertainment, the economics of publishing and film making - that make this an interesting read for those that might like to delve into some of the issues debated among aficionados of science fiction and Star Wars.
For those interested in pursuing some of the issues raised in Star Wars on Trial, publisher PopSmart has a dedicated online forum (http://www.starwarsontrial.com) where you can participate in discussion with other readers and some of the essayists.

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A Star Trek: The Next Generation: Time #9: A Time for War, A Time for Peace (Star Trek (Unnumbered Paperback)) Review

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(More customer reviews)Having read and made reviews of all the "A Time to..." novels, it's rather surprising to think of where this series has come from since Feb. till now. The "A Time to..." series chose to explain what led to all the rather shocking change of events seen in the last motion picture, Star Trek Nemesis. One of the problems with the last movie was that there was a lot left unsaid, unseen, and unexplained. The mission is rather big; try to provide a back story that adds to the movie and builds up that emotional drive that carries the Next Generation crew out and into their new lives.
"War/Peace" is the finale to this series. Just to be fair, I felt it did have a few flaws. First, the Klingons. The previous duology, "A Time to Kill/Heal" dealt with an emotional event that shook the Enterprise crew to their very core and took the reader on a mission that certainly stands out in your memory. This novel picks up where those left off; the political situation isn't all that good, there's a Federation presidential election taking place and the characters all have decisions about their lives to make. The Klingon plot, I felt, should have been addressed more so in the past two novels than here. It seemed a bit distracting and out of place to have to deal with the Klingon's reactions to Tezwa. If you didn't read the past two novels, you won't truly understand the half of the complex situation.
What I also felt was a flaw in the novel was that the synopsis hypes up an inspection which does play a role in the book but not one of monumental porpotions. It's there, it happens, it helps pull the plot along. I was expecting Riker to be questioned and pushed more while he really has little to do with the Enterprise's inspection. The true plot is left unsaid. The Klingon's deal with the after math of the Tezwa affair. People within the empire challenge Martok, leaving Worf unfortunately in the middle. In the meantime, the Presidential elections captures the attention of many as two candidates, both rather different, offer different futures for the Federation. Both though have the knowledge and power to break the Federation's alliance with Klingons. Both could, if elected, lead the Federation into a war with the Klingons. Through all this, Worf is left to truly play the role of ambassador, mediating and making sure both sides are kept from going to war.
For the good; this book delivers. I did not know how DeCandido was going to choose to end this series. I feared it may end a little weak since the entire premise introduced in "Born/Die" left me rolling my eyes at how unrealistic (even for Trek) and almost fan-fic it was. DeCandido does a terrific job of pulling the series together. It's a little odd because the past two books almost read as if the entire Rashanar event never occured. Even with the few mentionings of it, as a reader, I got the impression that the Federation and Starfleet had gotten over Picard's issues and forgave the Enterprise for their so called "crimes" and failures in judgment. This book showed that those events still haunted Picard and the crew was still on edge a year after the events introduced in "A Time to the Born."
This book was a profusion of Next Generation history. The references chosen were done so with great expertise. I enjoyed reading about all the faces and people who have passed through the Enterprise D and E and see how each fits into this matrix that culminates in this finale. I was also glad that some of the characters introduced or who played a big part in the past 8 books were mentioned or even appeared; Admiral Upton (A Time to Love/Hate), Admiral Ross (Born/Die), Nakamura (Born/Die), Del Cid (Kill/Heal), Admiral Janeway (Love, Kill, Heal). An event also leads to a Next Generation reunion of sorts where the extended crew comes together; Guinan, Pulaski, Lwaxana Troi, Wesley, Worf, Alexander. There are moments and crossovers when you can't help but to smile and gasp, excited to see that an author has taken the opportunity to truly make a powerful TNG novel that could be seen as a lead-in to Nemesis.
What also made this a great novel was that it gave us what we wanted from Nemesis; Next Generation at it's best. The situation with Federation politics, the Presidential debates, the commentary on leaders and wars all is relevant to today. The entire situation ends in a manner that mimicks the series, bringing on a strong sense of nostalgia. I felt that as a fan, I was able to take something away. The author found ways to bring in all the different Trek shows, mentionings of big figures like Kirk and such, allusions to the future. What makes this novel rather affective in carrying out the premise is that by the end, the story does feel complete. You understand why Worf is back on the Enterprise, why the crew is splitting up and you even get a glimpse of the after-shock of Nemesis. The only thing that truly irked me was how the author decided to end the Crusher/Picard arc. Perhaps it was the best ending for these two characters but I felt like more could have been there.
This is one of now many Next Generation books worth reading of the series. I was unsure of it from the "Born/Die." I thought "Harvest/Sow" were okay but the crew beating themselves up over "failing" for the first time in their long careers got annoying. "Love/Hate" definately delivered an emotional punch that grew intense during "Kill/Heal." If you're wondering if this novel does justice to the overall premise, I'd have to say it does. Perhaps there are too many cameos (for you get the inspection team which just happens to consist of familiar faces from various TNG episodes) but it adds a more theatrical, epic tone that the series sort of lacked at the start.
It's almost breathtaking to think that Born through War/Peace is just one year for the crew. All of them went through some trials. I'm glad Troi's character was challenged and she became darker; I was glad to see Beverly Crusher say she wasn't getting anything from her CMO position and look for something more. La Forge taking on more duties and being offered numerous opportunities was appreciated. What I also liked was that Picard and Data's roles were rather scaled back but they contributed a great deal. It proves that the series, or movies, do not always have to ride on their two characters. This book focuses on the ensemble. Being able to see all of the crew, from season one through seven, together in one place gave a rather warm feeling by the end of the book. When Picard is the only one really left on the Enterprise (besides a few other familiar faces) at the end during the post-Nemesis scene, left me wanting to see this on the big screen. With that feeling, I'd say DeCandido definately delivered and wrote a great novel that brings all the series together. Not only that but he was able to write scenes and explain events that for whatever reasons were left out of the movie. It's a must read for any Trek fan. There's something here for everyone and worth your time and money.

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On the cusp of their epic battle with Shinzon, many of Captain Jean-Luc Picard's long-time crew were heading for new assignments and new challenges. Among the changes were William Riker's promotion to captain and his new command, Riker's marriage to Counselor Deanna Troi, and Dr. Beverly Crusher's new career at Starfleet Medical. But the story of what set them on a path away from the Starship Enterprise™ has never been told. UNTIL NOW. Following the scandalous Tezwa affair, the Federation president's resignation forces an election, with the future of the United Federation of Planets to be determined by who emerges victorious from a hotly contested vote. But it is the fate of the entire galaxy that may actually be decided on Qo'noS, as the Federation embassy is seized by terrorists whose actions expose intrigue reaching the highest levels of Klingon government -- and it will take all of Ambassador Worf's skills to keep the fragile Federation-Klingon alliance from collapsing. And while this potential intergalactic chaos looms, Commander Riker finds his plans for command and marriage soured by a brutal, high-level inspection of the ship from which the crew may not escape unscathed.... The epic miniseries comes to a shocking conclusion -- one that will leave the Star Trek universe changed forever!

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