- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Pocket Books; First Edition edition (Jun 1984)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0671473883
- ISBN-13: 978-0671473884
- Product Dimensions: 16.8 x 10.2 x 2.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,804,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
The Final Reflection (Star Trek (Numbered Paperback))
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Product Description
Product Description
Klingon Captain Krenn is a ruthless war strategist. But on a mission to Earth, Krenn learns a lesson in peace. Suddenly he must fight a secret battle of his own. His empire has a covert plan to shatter the Federation. Only Krenn can prevent a war -- at the risk of his own life!
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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The children of the Empire were arming for the Game. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
The children of the Empire were arming for the Game. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Kindle Edition
If you only read one Star Trek novel make it this one. Crafted with wit and a love of the show. We didn't get enough from John M Ford and we should cherish what we have.
Format:Paperback
Titan Books continue their series of novels based on Classic Star Trek with #10: The Final Reflection by John M. Ford.
This book is a rather curious one. It starts with Kirk being given a copy of said book and the author writes a fake preface as if he'd written it in the future. Although the stardate suggests this takes place sometime after the events of Star Trek IV it is referenced in Strangers From The Sky which actually places it between Star Trek I and II.
The novel is an examination of the Klingons and much like Diane Duane's Rihannsu Series (see novels 4, 21, 95 and 96) it creates a very different version of the Empire that we have come to embrace through the stories created since Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Set in 2227, the story centres around the life of Vrenn, a Klingon boy who has lived on the homeworld - an orphan whose entire bloodline is now extinct. As a child he was trained and used in the game of `klin zha'. This is like the Klingon version of chess. There are many variations but a popular entertainment is to train children in combat and use them as the pieces in a live action game while the Thought Master controls them from a board elsewhere. When pieces are captured or removed from the board, the player actually dies.
Vrenn is adopted by the Master Thought Admiral of another house who tutors him, tells him of his true lineage and sets him on the path of command in the Imperial Navy. Life lessons are hard fought and hard won for Vrenn but he soon discovers the fine line of command.
He is tasked with escorting the first Federation Ambassador to the Klingon homeworld from Earth. The Klingon's presence is a disruptive influence on the latest Babel conference and the Klingons soon find themselves embroiled in a mesh of intrigue and conspiracy at the heart of Starfleet, the Imperial Council and the various delegates of the Federation.
Unlike his first novel (for UK readers), this one has none of the humour or spectacle of `How Much For Just The Planet', although his passion for songs is still present with snippets taken from the theme songs of Klingon television shows like `Battlecruiser Vengeance'.
The book is a very slow read, despite a couple of battles, and relies too much on politics and deception. The first chapter is quite a slog but once you get past that it gets a little better. The conspiracy is a little too clear cut and easy to spot early on. While characters like Vrenn and Emanuel Tagore are fleshed out, a lot of the `supporting cast' are a little two-dimensional and this adds to the dull pace.
Not a bad Star Trek book, not a patch on his previous work, but definitely one for completists only.
This book is a rather curious one. It starts with Kirk being given a copy of said book and the author writes a fake preface as if he'd written it in the future. Although the stardate suggests this takes place sometime after the events of Star Trek IV it is referenced in Strangers From The Sky which actually places it between Star Trek I and II.
The novel is an examination of the Klingons and much like Diane Duane's Rihannsu Series (see novels 4, 21, 95 and 96) it creates a very different version of the Empire that we have come to embrace through the stories created since Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Set in 2227, the story centres around the life of Vrenn, a Klingon boy who has lived on the homeworld - an orphan whose entire bloodline is now extinct. As a child he was trained and used in the game of `klin zha'. This is like the Klingon version of chess. There are many variations but a popular entertainment is to train children in combat and use them as the pieces in a live action game while the Thought Master controls them from a board elsewhere. When pieces are captured or removed from the board, the player actually dies.
Vrenn is adopted by the Master Thought Admiral of another house who tutors him, tells him of his true lineage and sets him on the path of command in the Imperial Navy. Life lessons are hard fought and hard won for Vrenn but he soon discovers the fine line of command.
He is tasked with escorting the first Federation Ambassador to the Klingon homeworld from Earth. The Klingon's presence is a disruptive influence on the latest Babel conference and the Klingons soon find themselves embroiled in a mesh of intrigue and conspiracy at the heart of Starfleet, the Imperial Council and the various delegates of the Federation.
Unlike his first novel (for UK readers), this one has none of the humour or spectacle of `How Much For Just The Planet', although his passion for songs is still present with snippets taken from the theme songs of Klingon television shows like `Battlecruiser Vengeance'.
The book is a very slow read, despite a couple of battles, and relies too much on politics and deception. The first chapter is quite a slog but once you get past that it gets a little better. The conspiracy is a little too clear cut and easy to spot early on. While characters like Vrenn and Emanuel Tagore are fleshed out, a lot of the `supporting cast' are a little two-dimensional and this adds to the dull pace.
Not a bad Star Trek book, not a patch on his previous work, but definitely one for completists only.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
54 reviews
27 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Long before NextGen, some Klingons had ridges
5 Feb 2001
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I muust admit that it took me a while to get into this novel, because it opens with a blow-by-blow Klingon game of strategy (klin zha) using live players. I'm not a fan of martial arts or action video games, so I found it hard to figure out exactly what was going on at first. However, because I am currently reading all the early Trek novels in search of possibly Jewish characters (for a research project), I made myself continue reading, even though I expected the book to be a slog. Boy, was I wrong! The game in Chapter 1 turned out to be the template for understanding the whole book, which is as tightly-plotted as a Grand Master chess game -- and then some.
Other reviewers have given excellent synopses of the story, so I won't reinvent the wheel. I'll just point out some interesting trivia, such as a brief appearance by Leonard McCoy's grandfather (the book is a prequel, with Leonard himself a mere babe in diapers at the time), and a meeting between young Spock and the Klingon Captain Krenn, who play a game of chess together. Also of interest is the fact that the "Imperial Race" of Klingons in this book have ridged or knobbed foreheads. Remember, the book was published in 1984, three years before we saw Worf's ridges in NextGen. Klingons in this book also do not cry, and apparently have no tear ducts, since Krenn takes special note of this in Humans. Although tearless Klingons did not become "canonical" until the Star Trek VI movie, the idea was obviously invented by Ford here. My point being, that this novel is an important source for a lot of things about the Klingon culture.
And oh yes -- there is a Jewish character, too: Colonel Jael Rabinowich, assigned to security for Captain Krenn's delegation to a Babel conference on earth. Oh sure, the word "Jewish" is never actually used, but with a name like Rabinowich, what else can she be? She's described as coming from a long line of warriors in what could be the Middle East. But the real clincher is that she bids Captain Krenn "Shalom aleichem" to which the Klingon replies, "Aleichem sholom"! (see page 143.)
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Kai kassai klingon!
20 July 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Years ago, in "Best of Trek", I read a fan's amateur reviews of pro Star Trek novels. Her critique of The Final Reflection: "I don't like any book that I have to read three times just to understand what's going on." I believe her comment says a LOT about the simplistic drivel which comprises most Star Dreck, compared with the richness of this novel. Author Ford, a respected science-fiction writer, gives us a fascinating vision of a very alien species, whose culture is based on a bushido-style code of honor and a chesslike Perpetual Game of personal advancement and power. This definitive novel about the Klingons is presented as a book within a book, and takes place some forty years before the famous five-year mission of Captain Kirk. The protagonist is an Imperial-race Klingon. An orphan raised in a militarily-structured Lineless House, six-year-old Vrenn makes his first sentient kill -- an adult Human male -- in the arena of the Years End Games. A skilled fighter in the klin zha kinta, the Game With Living Pieces, Vrenn is noticed by Thought-Admiral Kethas, who adopts him into his Line. He joins the Navy, and through battle-prowess and political maneuvering, rises quickly to the rank of Captain. He begins to make his Name in the service of Empire. Then Krenn is chosen for a mission of great secrecy and delicacy... This is a meticulously-developed novel of strategy, conspiracy, subtrafuge, diplomacy, betrayal, vengeance, and above all, honor. The plot is so intricate, the prose so precise, that the story can be read again and again, and can seem fresh each time. Even people who hate Trek will enjoy this one. By the way, this book also provides the reason why the Original Series Klingons look different from the ones in the modern series.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Calling it a good Star Trek novel....
19 May 2004
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Does this book an injustice. It is an excellent novel in it's own right, and would stand alone as a superior work without the extended Trek universe to support it. I stopped reading Trek novels years ago when it became apparent that they all pretty much followed the same formula. One in which the author used the story to insert themself into the Trek universe. This work is nothing like that.
Apparent from reading the book is that it was the source of much Next Generation Klingon lore (houses,lines, a quasi-feudal society, a "privateer" style military) and many plot lines. (Worf's dead or dishonored line, Worf being the son of a Klingon commander, killed by a Romulan massacre, he and his brother's adoptions, the character of General Martok.) John M. Ford's name should have been listed somewhere in the series' credits for creative contributions.
If Paramount ever decides to take another trip to the Well of Trek, this book should be the vehicle for that series.
Apparent from reading the book is that it was the source of much Next Generation Klingon lore (houses,lines, a quasi-feudal society, a "privateer" style military) and many plot lines. (Worf's dead or dishonored line, Worf being the son of a Klingon commander, killed by a Romulan massacre, he and his brother's adoptions, the character of General Martok.) John M. Ford's name should have been listed somewhere in the series' credits for creative contributions.
If Paramount ever decides to take another trip to the Well of Trek, this book should be the vehicle for that series.
Exciting, captivating, and just hard to put down. It is a rousing good tale true to the Horatio Hornblower, Jack Aubrey mold.
John M. Ford wrote this book in 1984 I think. What I find particulary interesting is that some of the Klingon ship's systems he describes, are now actually used in modern weapons systems like the AH-64 Apache Longbow and the M1A2 Abrams tank.
In the last 20 years I've kept only one Trek novel---The Final Reflection.
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