{"id":381,"date":"2010-08-01T00:00:53","date_gmt":"2010-08-01T00:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/the-eyes-of-the-beholders-tng"},"modified":"2019-09-07T03:59:04","modified_gmt":"2019-09-07T03:59:04","slug":"the-eyes-of-the-beholders-tng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2010\/08\/01\/the-eyes-of-the-beholders-tng\/","title":{"rendered":"The Eyes of the Beholders (TNG)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Eyes of the Beholders<\/em> is the number thirteen of the TNG<\/em> books, and is written by A.C. Crispin.<\/p>\n

\"Detail<\/p>\n

The plot begins quite traditionally with the Enterprise ordered to investigate an area of space from which a number of ships have gone missing. Some sort of field soon captures the Enterprise, and draws it towards its source, which is revealed to be an artificial object of unknown purpose. Once in sight of this object, the Enterprise discovers the missing ships whose crews have died as a result of intense\u00a0mental degradation, the cause of which is believed to be the object. The holding field is having a similarly negative effect on the crew of the Enterprise. These effects manifest themselves in depression and vivid nightmares. Attempts to take control of the object from inside it results in the boarding party collapsing after experiencing a Lovecraftian landscape of sorts. (Ending is spoiled <\/strong>further down).<\/p>\n

There are two B-plots that parallel the main story: One story involves an Andorian orphan, Thala, whose father died during the original<\/a> Borg encounter, and who will need to be transported to an Andorian orphanage. The other story involves Data’s attempt at writing fiction, including his failures to elicit honest criticism from his crewmates.<\/p>\n

Comments: <\/strong>Compared to what we’ve had already in the TNG<\/em> series, the plot’s quite different here; there’s no political turmoil to be dealt with (cf. novels #2<\/a>, 4<\/a>,\u00a0 5<\/a>, 6<\/a>, 7<\/a>, 9<\/a>, 10<\/a>, 11<\/a>, 12<\/a>), or even more\u00a0simply hostile aliens (cf. #1<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 8<\/a>). To be fair, the initial springboard in the form of “anomalous area of space”\u00a0 is similarly used to set up the story for #9<\/a> and #11<\/a>).<\/p>\n

I found this to be an extremely enjoyable novel. This is undoubtedly a character-story, and Crispin uses the crews’ dreams (which are caused by the artificial object) to explore elements of pathos, and where those dreams intersect with the past, develop a sense of nostalgia. And apropos those dreams: am not normally a fan of such things, but thought that the memory of Riker’s first love was well done.<\/p>\n

A number of the reviewers on Amazon were put off by the sections involving Data’s writing. I’d, first of all, disagree about their value in themselves – providing\u00a0character\u00a0portraiture – and also fitting in perfectly with the ending. With the final revelation that the station is an ancient, and\u00a0extraordinary\u00a0alien, a collection of arts, Data comes to terms with his authorial inadequacies by also coming to appreciate the role he could play in the translation of the works; an optimistic elegy to Data’s artificial nature. (Even if it is a little too romantically written).<\/p>\n

External links:<\/strong> Memory-alpha<\/a> has a list of people, with about the same at -beta<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Eyes of the Beholders is the number thirteen of the TNG books, and is written by A.C. Crispin. The plot begins quite traditionally with the Enterprise ordered to investigate an area of space from which a number of ships have gone missing. Some sort of field soon captures the Enterprise, and draws it towards […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[159,90,198,40,93,69,46],"tags":[70,41,44,71,45],"metadata":[],"class_list":["post-381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts","category-blog-posts","category-book-review","category-pastfarpoint","category-sci-fi","category-star-trek","category-tng-novel","tag-a-c-crispin","tag-book-review","tag-star-trek","tag-the-eyes-of-the-beholders","tag-the-next-generation"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":238,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2010\/06\/06\/gullivers-fugitives-tng\/","url_meta":{"origin":381,"position":0},"title":"Gulliver\u2019s Fugitives\u00a0(TNG)","author":"pastfarpoint","date":"June 6, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"This is number eleven of the TNG novels and Keith Sharee's only Star Trek novel. Troi has some dreams, the Enterprise follows a signal from a missing ship, some characters are taken prisoners on the planet, and then it's explained what the dreams had to do with everything, the end.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Posts"","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Detail from \"Gulliver's Fugitives\" cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/gullivers_fugitives_cover.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":97,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2010\/01\/24\/masks-tng\/","url_meta":{"origin":381,"position":1},"title":"Masks (TNG)","author":"pastfarpoint","date":"January 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Masks, by John Vornholt, is the seventh of the numbered TNG novels. The plot involves the Enterprise transporting ambassador Lewis to a planet called Lorca, on which reside descendants of a circus-troupe whose culture has formed around a caste system externalized through the wearing of masks. A number of plot-elements\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Posts"","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Detail from \"Masks\" cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/masks_cropped.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":141,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2010\/02\/07\/a-call-to-darkness-tng\/","url_meta":{"origin":381,"position":2},"title":"A Call to Darkness (TNG)","author":"pastfarpoint","date":"February 7, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The ninth numbered TNG novel, A Call to Darkness is one Michael J. Friedman's first works, and his first TNG foray.Detail from \"A Call to Darkness\" cover The plot involves the crew in search of a McGuffin (in this case a missing research vessel) when they discover a shielded planet.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Posts"","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Detail from \"A Call to Darkness\" cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/call_to_darkness_cover_cropped.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":72,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2010\/01\/17\/power-hungry-tng\/","url_meta":{"origin":381,"position":3},"title":"Power Hungry (TNG)","author":"pastfarpoint","date":"January 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Power Hungry by Howard Weinstein is the sixth numbered TNG novel. The plot involves the Enterprise being sent on a relief mission, bringing food and equipment, to a candidate Federation planet. The planet, Thiopia, has undergone until recently rapid development due to a trading agreement with Nuarans, which has resulted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Posts"","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Detail from \"Power Hungry\" cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/power_hungry_cropped.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":377,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2009\/12\/20\/the-peacekeepers-tng\/","url_meta":{"origin":381,"position":4},"title":"The Peacekeepers (TNG)","author":"pastfarpoint","date":"December 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Peacekeepers, by Gene DeWeese, is the second of the numbered TNG books. The plot begins with the Enterprise identifying a strange vessel which is completely self-enclosed and uniform in layout. Soon after Geordie and Data are lost (from the perspective of the rest of the crew) having been transported\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Posts"","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Detail from \"The Peacekeepers\" cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/12\/thepeacekeeper_cover_cropped.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1579,"url":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/2010\/01\/31\/the-captains-honor-tng\/","url_meta":{"origin":381,"position":5},"title":"The Captain’s Honor (TNG)","author":"pastfarpoint","date":"January 31, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The Captain's Honor, TNG book number eight, was co-written by father and son David and Daniel Dvorkin. The novel begins with the Enterprise joining the Centurion, another Starfleet ship, in the task of protecting the peace of a pacifist planet (Tenara). The people of Tenara have been violently raided by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "All Posts"","block_context":{"text":"All Posts","link":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/all-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Details from \"The Captain's Honor\" cover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/the_captains_honor_cover_detail.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/padotI-69","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381"},{"taxonomy":"metadata","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetravellerslastjourney.com\/shai\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/metadata?post=381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}