Deep Domain - OG Voyage Home?

Premise

    In Weinstein's novel we have new planets, new species, and of course, a never ending supply of alien politics. The crew of the Enterprise is on the way to Akkalla, a planet that's 90% water, to survey a Federation science team. When Chevok and Spock crash land on the planet, Kirk must negotiate through duplicitous royal advisors and treaty-breaking neighbors. Something interesting to note about this book is that the author claims that this was his pitch to Leonard Nimoy for Star Trek IV - which eventually became The Voyage Home. There are some similarities between the two, but all I have to say is that thank God Leonard didn't take this as the script for the movie.

Cast of Characters

    This novel introduced a TON of new characters. I welcome that in a Trek novel, especially when said character is an alien with an appearance that would be impractical in a TV setting. Introduced early on in the novel is Maybri, a biologist that's friends with Sulu. I liked Maybri, we follow her a little through the book, as her expertise is proved useful when studying the unique creatures of the Akkallan sea. I'd love is she was more prominent though. The planet is ruled by the Principator, with a crooked advisor named Vvox. There's also an island dedicated to knowledge known as the Collegium. The leader of the Collegium is also an important character (can you tell I don't remember her name?). The characters that we're already familiar with who feature heavily in this story is of course Spock and Chekov, but also Kirk and McCoy. Sulu and Uhura are there a little, but not as much as I would have liked.

How's the Plot? (Spoilers)

    I found the plot to be a tad bit bizarre, in that it did not go the "typical" way that I expected. Spock and Chevok going missing was something I thought would factor in more to the overall plot. They're kidnapped by a group of rebels in like the first chapter, and while the rebels are pretty relevant to the plot, the kidnapping only lasts a couple pages, until they are "rescued" and then recaptured by the actual government offscreen. Eventually the pair helps to fill in some of the gaps on the political going on's of Akkalla. I'm not mad that they didn't linger on this side plot as I found it kind of dull, but I think the author missed a possibility for dramatic tension. They get threatened with torture and all of this crazy stuff and nothing happens, not that I want them to be tortured, but at least there would have been some drama. There is of course the politics of the planet. Vvox uses sex to manipulate both the Principator and the leader of the guards into doing her bidding. She basically wants complete control over the planet, and while Akkalla is a Federation member, she makes it as hard as possible to help Kirk find Spock and Chevok. Kirk then tries visiting with the science team, who express frustration at the unhelpfulness of the Collegium in identifying a new species. This leads them to speculate that there is something specifically about this new species (really a species known from myth) that the government is trying to hide.  

Anything Weird in This One?

    As I've said before, one of the reasons I enjoy reading these old Trek novels is because of how unregulated they can be, allowing for some weirdness to sneak in. I didn't see a ton of that in this novel, I think because it was Weinstein's pitch for a motion picture. In this vein, I think the author took liberties with the ending of the novel, because in his mind this was a continuation of the story. Spoilers: At the end of this novel the author sets up Kirk leaving the Enterprise to teach at Starfleet. Chekov leaves to be first officer on another ship, and Uhura and Sulu agree to keep the ship a teaching vessel. I was surprised by this honestly. None of the other Pocket Books I've read have taken such a liberty with the characters - why do they even number them at all? Obviously this was not the direction that Nimoy eventually takes with the fourth movie, especially because there are movies after this one. Oh, and there was also this one-off sentence where Spock says that on Earth they've discovered a species of plesiosaur in Loch Ness - weird flex but okay.

Similarities To Voyage Home

    I think the most obvious similarity can be drawn just from the front cover. There are whales - or whale like beings, in both. While the whales in Deep Domain go by a different name and have 3 tail flukes (something that someone on GoodReads claims is impossible for swimming) they are aquatic mammals none the less. They don't have as strong a bearing on the plot as in Voyage Home. I'm also now realizing that if as the author claims, this was originally his rendition of the fourth Trek movie, it doesn't pick up any of the loose threads left by the Search for Spock like Spock's katra and overall newness to the world. Maybe he cut it out once it turned into just another novel, but he kept the same place in the time line, and he ties up the loose ends of the characters in the conclusion of the story. It's all very odd. Apparently he was credited in the end of the movie so Nimoy maybe had some inspiration from him? It's hard to say. 

Final Thoughts

    Would I recommend this book? Yes and no. I think it's an engaging novel for the most part. If you're not into space politics I wouldn't recommend it. There isn't nearly enough ocean exploration for my taste. I also think the plot could be more coherent but for the most part it works, at least it doesn't make you bored. It always has something new to explore, although now I'm realizing they never explain why the government cares about this new species? I guess something, something, total control?