#08. Opinion

Carbon-based units. This cliche was born with the science-fiction genre.

Somewhere at this point I realized that I've read a very short version of this story before in an old soviet Star Trek novelization/fanfiction book. Because at this point I've already realized what does V'Ger mean.

"I am to record only normal functions of the carbon-based units"
"Medical scan IS a normal function!"
"You may proceed"

That was the only funny dialogue in the whole book. Star Trek is a general epic space fiction, isn't it. Not that the epicness makes it worse, but still.

#08. Summary

The Enterprise is dragged inside the core via a tractor beam. Ilia look-a-like appears onboard, but introduces herself as another probe of the entity. She calls it "V'Ger", informs the crew that they infest the starship and that V'Ger is heading towards the Earth to reunite with its Creator.

Kirk uses the fact that Decker and Ilia had a relationship going on in the past and assigns the X.O. to the probe. The probe wishes to learn more about the "carbon-based units" and insists on Decker's assistance. Meanwhile, Spock decides to research the Intruder from the inside and leaves the ship in a spacesuit equipped with thrusters. He tries to establish another contact with V'Ger but his request was denied in such a threatening way that Kirk had to head out in another suit and drag the half-conscious Spock back to the ship.

#08. Words

01. fastidious - привередливый
02. repentance - покаяние
03. susceptible - восприимчивый
04. guttersnipe - в данном случае что-то вроде "охочая до пошлостей"
05. paunch - живот
06. inflect - сгибать
07. complacence - самодовольство
08. reeling - наматывание
09. viscid - вязкий
10. abundant - обильный
11. perspicuous - понятный, четкий
12. corollary - заключение
13. innocuous - безобидный
14. exultant - торжествующий
15. lofty - отдаленный
16. consent - согласие
17. hieratic - священный
18. ponderous - громоздкий
19. unstintingly - щедро?
20. perceptible - постижимый

#07. Opinion

Wow, everything is as good in the book as it is long and boring in the movie. I'm not surprised. I don't think you are, either...

Wow, power cloud. Wow, green beam. Wow, Spock saves the day again (it's kind of his job in the series as well as here).

Also, (random) guard in the book - guess what - is missing from the movie. Actually, they made quite a big deal of this event in the novel. I was disappointed that it wasn't mentioned in the movie, like, AT ALL. But then again, the movie crew forgot about KIRK'S WIFE. And her demise. And Admiral Nogura was hardly paid attention to. So, yeah, well... They replaced it all with BORING panoramas. Find me one person who thinks panoramas are better than characters. Meh.

#07. Summary

The Enterprise reaches its destination, slowly advancing from the starboard side towards the alien, trying to match its speed. Kirk tries to hail the Intruder in all ways possible, but a green beam emerges from the cloud and seriously damages the vessel. Spock is messaged telepathically that the Intruder did in fact hail the Enterprise and is waiting for an answer. Using his science console, Spock finds out that the entity's messages are sent at such a rapid frequency that the scanners are unable to catch them. He sends a reply at the same frequency and the Intruder accepts it.

The starship submerges into the powerfield, heading to its core. The core itself appears to be a miraculous construction which looks like an organism but yet is completely mechanical. A plasmoid probe is sent by the entity onto the bridge of the Enterprise. A surprised guard takes aim at it and is immediately desintegrated. The probe then heads towards Ilia and disappears with her.

#07. Words

01. squat - сидение на корточках
02. latrine - latrine
03. brevity - сжатость, краткость
04. implore - упрашивать
05. candid - справедливый
06. desolation - опустошение
07. bleak - гнетущий, безрадостный
08. wintry - зимний, неприветливый
09. mast - плодокорм
10. obdurate - черствый
11. maudlin - сентиментальный
12. trank - транквилизатор?
13. amendment - поправка
14. splinter - осколок, обломок
15. solemn - священный, святой
16. jab - толчок, пинок
17. almond - миндаль
18. smock - спецовка
19. lavish - непринужденный
20. abide - выносить, терпеть

#06. Opinion

Spock is so back in black. Literally, since he didn't have time to switch his Vulcan clothes with the uniform when he arrived.

Acts like a douche. But it suits him well. It will probably suit him even more in the new movie, when he's going to be played by Sylar from Heroes.

Take that, Decker and Kirk, you're not badass enough to be compared with Spock.

Excuse me for the random blabber, there really is nothing I can talk about in this section besides Spock being awesome.

#06. Summary

Scotty, Enterprise chief engineer, is unable to fix the engines himself. Luckily for the mission, this is when a new science officer arrives on a shuttle, and that is, of course, Spock. Kirk and the crew are treated less than lukewarm, Spock was still angry at himself and his emotions, including friendship, for his failure at achieving Kolinahr. But, anyway, he helps Scotty fix the warp drives and the fully functional Enterprise continues its journey towards the mysterious cloud.

During the journey, Spock is once again contacted by the Intruder. He informs Kirk about these telepathic connections with this entity that is knowledge-hungry yet knows everything there is to know about this universe. That doesn't really help but seems important enough for Kirk.

#06. Words

01. grind - перемалывать
02. merit - заслуга
03. gentry - нетитулованное мелкопоместное дворянство
04. muster - осмотр
05. nonchalance - безразличие
06. ratty - жалкий
07. tinsely - показушно
08. benignly - доброжелательно
09. baleful - гибельный
10. incredulity - недоверчивость
11. banked - групповой
12. bereft - утративший
13. incisor - резец, передний зуб
14. intermittent - прерывистый
15. croon - низкий глухой звук
16. rowdy - хулиган
17. sleigh - салазки
18. maple - клен
19. feeble - хилый
20. lukewarm - тепловатый

#05. Opinion

This is official - Kirk is an egoistic douchebag. But at least he realizes that in time and fixes his attitude.

Star Trek physics are weird.

McCoy is great but gets too little screen-time. Or page-time, if talking about the novelization.

Once again the book is much more detailed than the boring movie.

#05. Summary

The U.S.S. Enterprise leaves the dock and sets the course to intercept the Intruder. While trying to gain Warp 1 speed (thus going into hyperspace), Enterprise loses its engines. The hyperspace wormhole, due to inaccurate warp drive tuning, becomes unstable and draws a large asteroid inside itself, sending it on a collision course with the space cruiser.

Kirk orders phaser weapons, the most destructive ones on the Enterprise, to be fired at the asteroid but Decker overrides his order by telling Chekov, the weaponry coordinator, to use missiles. After smashing the asteroid with missiles the ship succesfully leaves hyperspace. Decker, when asked about why he did not follow the captain's orders, explains to Kirk that the weapon systems have been rerouted through the engines to increase power output and thus went offline during the accident.

#05. Words

01. skittish - легкомысленный
02. indignation - негодование
03. trustee - доверительный собственник
04. virtue - целомудрие
05. belligerence - воинственность
06. complacently - самодовольно
07. flustering - суетиться, волноваться
08. reveille - подъем
09. smear - размытость
10. dab - прикосновение
11. slop - слякоть
12. unwavering - решительный
13. frisk - возня
14. ragged - зазубренный
15. mudflap - брызговик
16. spoor - отпечаток
17. lingering - медлительный
18. assent - одобрение
19. equanimity - невозмутимость
20. lubrication - смазка

#04. Opinion.

So, Enterprise is finally ready to launch, although it's hardly in a condition to travel at warp speeds (a warp is a speed measure in ST universe, warp 1.0 is already faster than speed of light and Enterprise's cruiser speed is around 7 to 8 warps. The problem is, while the vessel travels at warp speeds, space is somehow bent around them thus very accurate tuning is vital in using warp drives). Still, Kirk is confident everything's going to be fine until the interception. Spoiler ahead: he is wrong.

Honestly, I'd chicken out in the face of such a threat. Kirk didn't and most of the crew didn't either (a lot of them were sure that having Kirk as a captain was a guarantee that the mission will be a success). That earned them a deep expression of respect from me.

#04. Summary.

The former Enterprise doctor and Kirk's close friend, Bones McCoy, also arrives and is worried about Kirk's condition after all those earth-bound years and his addiction to Enterprise which might affect his performance as the captain.

James T. Kirk gathers everyone in the recreational deck and puts the Epsilon IX record on the big monitor for everyone to see with their own eyes what they were going to deal with.

In a few hours, Enterprise floats out of the space dock and prepares to head towards the Intruder.

#04. Words.

01. bask - наслаждаться
02. fringe - крайность
03. lachrymose - сентиментальный
04. lukewarm - тепловатый
05. snub - относиться с пренебрежением
06. middleman - посредник
07. dwindle - истощаться
08. revenue - выручка
09. roseate - оптимистичный
10. denunciation - порицание
11. stiff - окостеневший
12. ostentation - демонстрация
13. flush - прилив
14. vapor - испарения
15. sallow - болезненный
16. quip - колкость
17. scud - порыв
18. robin - дрозд
19. splendor - величие
20. sheer - полнейший, сущий

#03. Opinion.

The upgraded Enterprise isn't, to be honest, terribly better compared to the original specifications. And the problems already present and the ones to happen along the way really diminish the importance of those upgrades. But more on this later, since I've already finished the book, I'll wait till the story progresses to the point where it really plays out.

The scene of Kirk's arrival lasts almost half an hour without a single word, just shots of him in the shuttle and the Enterprise in the docks. I had to skip it, it was impossible to pay attention to such a boring sequence.

Decker might be as bold as brass while speaking with Kirk, but he's right, the truth is completely on his side. Kirk just wanted the captain's chair back and the Intruder was a nice opportunity to do so, and that's all there is to it.

#03. Summary.

All these years Enterprise was being remodeled and because of the sudden mission it had to accomplish it was being prepared for immediate launch, thus dropping a lot of the important repairs and the fine-tuning. Most of the old crew is happy to see James back, Kirk informs Decker that he's sorry things turned out this way, but Decker quips that Kirk was definitely not sorry, just wishing to command the Enterprise once again. Which was definitely not a misconception.

A transport beam failure happens, resulting in the death of several crew members on the way to Enterprise, one of them being the new science officer. Kirk assigns Decker to the science console in addition to his XO (executive officer, second-in-command) position. A female Deltan (Deltans are a race known to secrete strong pheromones so they had to maintain an oath of celibacy while on starships) navigator, Ilia, arrives on board. She had a relationship with Decker before, so he is glad to see her on board, yet Kirk makes sure that Ilia's oath is intact, which was quite insensitive, but Kirk tried to regain his authority as the captain, even though his position as a legendary person (because of the extraordinary succesful five-year mission) helped a lot to motivate the crew.

#03. Words.

01. falter - заикаться
02. verity - истина
03. legislature - законодательные учреждения
04. waylay - подстерегать
05. starch - церемонность
06. plodding - трудолюбивый
07. reticence - сдержанность
08. turntable - дека, вертушка, проигрыватель (речь о пластинках)
09. innocuous - безвредный
10. grinding - перемалывание
11. murk - мрак
12. drab - однообразный
13. trudge - устало тащиться
14. impinge - вторгаться
15. repercussion - последствия
16. conceivable - потенциальный
17. wangle - уловка
18. concession - признание
19. affluent - обильный
20. hoard - запас

#02. Summary.

I still can't exactly understand why the Intruder's mental waves were only distinguished by Spock (definitely not because of his internal emergency radio, the same as Kirk's) since there are a lot of Vulcans with better telepathy abilities. Maybe something about him being a hybrid was relevant to the Intruder, but it doesn't actually play in the following story. Technically he did receive the same message as Kirk did and thus was the only Vulcan aware of the entity, but then again - seconds later he telepathically shared that message with the Kolinahr masters.

Kirk definitely has an Enterprise addiction, like I have an Internet addiction...

#02. Summary.

Meanwhile, part-vulcan, part-human Spock, former Enterprise (Star Trek: TOS is centered around this particular space vessel, though most primary vessels in ST series are called Enterprise) science officer and one of Kirk's best friends is preparing himself for the ritual of achieving Kolinahr, the state of complete logic and denial of emotions (it is vital to him since Spock, being a half-breed, despises his emotional human half). It is interrupted by some mysterious mental data-pattern calling out to him from space and messing up with his human emotions. The Kolinahr masters tell him that his place is elsewhere and tell him to travel where he needs to (obviously, discarding the entire Kolinahr rite).

Back on Earth, Kirk hurries to the Starfleet command, already being informed that Enterprise is the only ship capable of intercepting the Intruder before it reaches Earth. But since the end of the Enterprise's original mission to explore the universe the ship was handed over to William Decker, a young officer who was recommended at that position by Kirk himself. Still, Kirk manages to convince the Commanding Admiral, Nogura, that he's the right man for this job and thus took control of Enterprise once again, fulfilling his dream of returning to Enterprise as its captain.

#02. Words.

01. daisy - ромашка
02. hose - рейтузы
03. dismay - беспокойство
04. hamstring - подколенное сухожилие
05. calisthenics - пластика, ритмика
06. crinkle - морщина, складка
07. indenture - договор
08. crochet - вязать крючком
09. potholder - держалка для горшков? С текстом 08 и 09 вообще не совпадают, но Лингво на большее не способен...
10. knack - сноровка
11. pout - выпячивание
12. attic - чердак
13. margin - кромка
14. lucrative - рентабельный
15. clapboard - обшивочная доска
16. cinder - испепелять
17. hem - окаймлять
18. allegiance - лояльность
19. coerce - принуждать
20. pledge - клясться

#01. Opinion.

Kirk is back, Scotty is back, Spock is back, Bones is back - everyone is back for a new amazing Star Trek adventure. Even though the original series were sometimes cheesy and old-fashioned (from a modern point of view), the movie was a giant leap in terms of quality compared to generic ST episodes.

Even though the movie itself would better fit in a 40-minute episode rather than 2-hour motion picture (it was horribly stretched out with the help of extremely long, boring scenes and panoramas with ear-hurting soundtracks and strange graphics), the novel version (which I happened to read before I watched the movie and which I'm reviewing in this blog) is much more solid, there are more events and important details and they are nicely distributed along the pages. Honestly, I thought the movie would be better, but it did cut out some interesting characters and a lot, and I do say so, a lot of details.

#01. Summary.

It is the year 2271. An unknown huge cloud-like entity heads towards Earth at a humongous speed and attacks several Klingon (a warfare-centric furry race in the Star Trek universe) cruisers on its way. It's diameter is several times the distance between the Sun and our home planet, so it does look like an incredible threat.

Mostly retired (and promoted to Admiral after the events of the series, the Motion Picture in both novelized and movie format succeeds the long-running Star Trek: The Original Series) James T. Kirk suspends his Gibraltar holidays after being informed via an emergency communicator in his head of the situation at hand.

At the nearest communication center he is presented with live footage from a deep space station Epsilon IX. Epsilon's crew tries to scan the Intruder, as the space force identified this object, but seconds after that is destroyed by a green beam coming somewhere from the huge being.

#01. Words.

01. affront - унижение
02. weepy - плакса
03. stifled - приглушенный
04. flatware - столовые приборы
05. ingratiate - втираться в доверие
06. ponder - обдумывать
07. diminished - преуменьшенный
08. flue - дымоход
09. chimney - камин
10. sooty - закопченный
11. flutter - трепетание
12. switchboard - коммутатор
13. confer - даровать
14. formica - формайка (торговая марка огнеупорного пластика, используемого преимущественно для отделки поверхностей, напр., мебели) - никогда бы не подумал...
15. zest - пикантность
16. clink - бряцать
17. jangle - звенеть
18. stubble - жнивье
19. odometer - одометр - устройство для измерения пути
20. stature - телосложение