Random Thoughts, Star Trek Klingon Empire

This image was created by NASA. Michelle Nichols was a recruiter for NASA.
http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GPN-2004-00017.html . Thus it is a government
image in the public domain.



Random Thoughts

Someone recommended another site for business book reviews that looks decent, http://bizbooktalk.com/. It has a number of short reviews of business books.

I never did get a chance to go to the local bookstore today. Other things conspired against me, like ordinary life.

It has been very nice outside lately, not too hot and not too cold with a light breeze. I have been outside a lot just walking around.

This morning I was on Facebook again looking at profiles. There are a lot of author profiles if you look for them. I sent friend requests to Robert Sawyer, a Canadian science fiction writer, Christopher Moore who writes humorous urban fantasy, Vincent Bugliosi, and Gregory Frost who just wrote a book which I also finished recently, Shadowbridge.

I have been searching for author, publisher, press, librarian, and writer profiles and adding them to my Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Star Trek Klingon Empire

I really enjoyed reading Star Trek Klingon Empire, A Burning House by Keith R.A. DeCandido. This is not the kind of thing which reviewing the item in a traditional way will help. I enjoyed the book because it contained readily recognizable characters who I was familiar with Worf from Star Trek The Next Generation being the primary one.

Also, this book creates a series which is different than a lot of the other space opera. There are a lot of puns which you recognize if you look carefully. For example, Captain Klag, is memorialized in an opera for defeating the enemies of the empire. The crowd throws things at the actors to show how they are appreciated.

This is entertaining primarily because it is about Klingons. It delves into the character of being a Klingon, eating lots of meat, fighting, protecting your honor, listening to opera, and living under a brutal imperial regime. It explains the hatred of Romulans, and the constant search by the empire for fertile worlds to conquer so the Klingons can expand.

I enjoyed reading this because it is a story about honor and feuding. Klingons fight to preserve their house. The nobility is basically the senior officers in their military and their families. Farmers are also respected because they produce the food for the empire. Farmers are also recruited as line soldiers (bekkts) on the Klingon battleships.

The life of an average citizen is harsh, there are lots of police to maintain order. The main escape seems to be fighting, hunting, eating, watching television shows, drinking, or the opera.

There is also an artistic bent to their culture. They like building monumental buildings, statues honoring their warriors, and singing.

I did not follow the plot too closely. Most Star Trek novels follow a formula. Luckily, this is a new formula. I wonder what the outline is for writing a Klingon novel is in the Star Trek universe. I like the feuding between the Romulans and the Klingons.

I like watching the show, especially the older shows. The new Klingons are much better than the old Klingons from the original Star Trek Enterprise show. They seem to be better developed.
I am not going to go into too much detail because then the fans might start poking at me.

This is not literature, but the writing is clear and understandable. It is light entertainment.