Birthday Books

Well, it's the end of the month and all those Tin Hat shenanigans are over, so I thought I'd better post another update of the books I've read. I'll warn you now before you scroll down that this is a 'Trek-heavy post.
I'll also give you a preview of what to expect from upcoming book-related posts by showing you the books I received for my birthday a week or so ago.


I finished Four Past Midnight, by Stephen King not long after I last did a book post. The second and third stories in this collection are The Library Policeman and The Sun Dog, respectively.
After the somewhat disappointing first two stories, I was pleasantly surprised by these final two. 6.3. The Library Policeman is a good old fashioned horror story in a typical King style. 6.4. The Sun Dog has a slow but tense build up to its conclusion but the storylines of the two main characters, 'Pop' Merrill and Kevin, didn't swap back and forth enough for my liking. I thought Kevin's story was over with as Pop's went on for so long, so it was a surprise to be reintroduced to him near the end of the book.
All in all, I would recommend Four Past Midnight for the concept of The Langoliers and the tense build up of The Sun Dog.

7. The Lives of Dax, edited by Marco Palmieri

This is a lovely anthology based on the character Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. For those not in the know, Dax is a joined Trill, a humanoid host with a worm-like symbiont living inside it. The symbiont is implanted into the abdomen of a host and the two become 'joined' - become one being. At the end of the host's life, the long-lived symbiont is removed and implanted into a new host, taking with it the stored memories of all past hosts, thus ensuring a sort of immortality.
Each of the stories focuses on one of the hosts of the Dax symbiont. Beginning with the current host, Ezri Dax, all ten hosts are covered but the temporarily joined Verad doesn't have a story for himself as his few hours of being joined are told in the episode Invasive Procedures. He does play a major part in Jadzia Dax's story, though.
My favourite stories are those of the first host Lela, and her first contact with an alien race. Second host Tobin, and his thwarting of Romulan hijackers with new invention the transporter along with Spock's grandfather, Skon. Fourth host Audrid's letter to her estranged daughter, Neema Cyl. The long suppressed sixth host Joran's murderous nature, and the tenth and current host Ezri's story of an unprepared, almost forced joining.

8. Star Trek: Romulans - Pawns of War, by John Byrne

This collection of six comics was given to me by a still-not-topless-and-paint-flecked friend for my birthday. The story is told from a Romulan perspective and begins with the events from The Original Series episode Balance of Terror and goes on to cover the brief duplicitous alliance between the Romulans and the Klingons. It also features the character Number One (portrayed by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry as M. Leigh Hudec) from the pilot episode, now a commodore and commanding officer of the USS Yorktown NCC 1717.
I loved this collection (one might call it a graphic novel if one was particulary snobby) for its portrayal of the Romulans - A somewhat underused race in Star Trek on the small (and large) screen, in my opinion. The only problem with it is that universal one of not being able to follow the panels easily on those layouts that span the spine. I don't know why these comics/graphic novels are still produced in a portrait format? A landscape format is much more logical when the artists obviously seem to prefer a 'widescreen' look.

9. Star Trek: Mirror Universe - The Sorrows of Empire, by David Mack

This book was also a gift from the generous above-mentioned friend. It's by one of my very favourite Star Trek authors and is the story of the rise and fall of the Terran Empire from the Mirror Universe established in The Original Series episode Mirror Mirror.
I finished reading this book last night - Just in time to add it it to this post!


So, now those are out of the way, I'm free to show you an exclusive preview of upcoming books, all of which were birthday presents from The Parents (as instructed by my sister, Inexcuseable DeVice):