Review: Child of Two Worlds

Child of Two Worlds by Greg Cox
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved it entirely.

I found so much joy in returning to the Pike era post-Talos IV through this story and I enjoyed the many little details that the author included from across the various parts of the franchise.

For example, TOS and ENT era Klingons were both honoured in a simple and non-convoluted way.

"Ridges on his forehead indicated that he’d escaped the genetic disorder that had given many of his contemporaries more human features."

While we're talking about the Klingons... I'm NOT the best at lore by any stretch, but I was surprised to read that Klingons have 3 lungs in this story. I don't remember that detail being mentioned anywhere else, before I read it here. That one is probably on me (and my poor memory) though.

I enjoyed the many cultural references and snippets that we got in this story. Merata mentions at one point a Klingon folk-story about a warrior who was tricked into eating shadows and I just love these beautiful details. Although I didn't quote any other examples in my notes, I recall something of Una's culture being mentioned early on in the story. There were of course also references to Spock's culture and upbringing, the kinds of things we may remember from TAS (I-Chaya) and ST:V-The Final Frontier (Sybok).

"He wondered momentarily what Klingon children played with. Toy weapons, he imagined, or miniature soldiers. Nothing cute or soft or comforting. Or was he guilty of stereotyping Klingons too broadly? Despite their well-deserved reputation for ruthlessness and aggression, surely they were not entirely about war and conquest, just as Vulcans were not entirely without emotion or sentiment, save for those rare few who had attained the ultimate ideal of Kolinahr. Spock thought of his own childhood pet, lost to him so many years ago. I-Chaya had been a true companion to him as a boy. Spock missed him still."

On the whole this book seemed so full of richly imagined cultures, it's an example of sci-fi at its best for me.

There are a few things to remember in this book, lest it be a little bit of a jarring experience for the reader. The main thing is that this is set after 'The Cage' and written before 'Strange New Worlds' was a TV show. (I actually like to think of these books as test cases for how well-received continuation of the Pike-era stories would be - that's a big thumbs up from this reader!)

Una is referred to as simply "Number One" throughout the story, by absolutely everyone who addressses her. This seems so strange now, but was probably appropriate before her name was comfortably established.

The other thing is that Pike is a rather somber character in this story. It's much harder to tell if he is in character, based on the single pilot episode. We already have much more content for the 'SNW' Pike which is going to alter the image in our heads. I think the author did a great job of capturing that original Pike who was to a certain extent at the end of his tether.

Now, the actual plot here is verrrry familiar and that may also annoy some readers. Maybe it depends on the mood at the time of reading but the samey-ness gave me a much wider context to explore in my mind. And I really did spend some energy thinking about the ethics of this one. Let me explain...

The basic premise of Merata's situation, she was taken as a child then raised into adulthood by her captors, when rescue becomes an option she wants no part in it, opting instead to remain in her new life. This should be ringing bells for most Star Trek fans.

The most obvious example I kept thinking of was Seven of Nine (annika Hansen), who was also kidnapped as a child and then extremely reluctant to be rescued. The situation is I suppose rather different because there seems to be an element of brainwashing involved in "joining" (or being assimilated by) the collective. I'm not sure if that is true or implied though and I'm also not sure whether it's ultimately very different in the end. Is assimilation just a more efficient way of achieving Stockholm Syndrome, or is the assimilated person struggling there inside somewhere, at least to begin with?

Another excellent example is when Worf sets off to rescue some Klingons being held by romulans in the TNG double episode, 'Birthright'... only to find that the prisoners and their captors are one big happy family now.

There are other examples, which stories were you reminded of?

I guess these are such ethically ambiguous situations which is probably why they are important stories to tell, but I struggle to accept much past the initial wrong doing. I think it's a tough one, what do you think?

The Original Series took great progressive strides but occasionally made very unfortunate slips, sometimes to placate the production execs, sometimes through cultural obliviousness. Greg Cox is already one of my very favourite authors and he demonstrates his greatness here by having an excellent Chief engineer, Caitlyn Barry and a Yeoman Colt who is able to take the controls when required. This is so similar to a scene in a TOS episode where Yeoman Rand does the same and takes over for a fallen officer without a second thought that it felt like a strong and intentional rejection of that eternally regrettable line from the original pilot, when Pike says he is still adjusting to having women on the bridge.

I highly recommend this book.

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