Ishtar Rising, Part 1

Star Trek SCE (ebooks) Novellas #30

by Michael A. Martin, Andy Mangels

Project Ishtar -- a bold endeavor to terraform Venus, the most volatile planet in the solar system, and the grandest achievement in the spectacular career of famed terraformer Dr. Pascal Saadya. But when Saadya hits a snag in the project, he calls upon his old friend, Captain David Gold of the U.S.S. da Vinci. Part of Saadya's team is a Bynar pair, 1011 and 1110, who are using their species' natural affinity for computers to increase efficiency. Saadya's hope is that they can join forces with the da Vinci's Bynar pair. But half of the Bynar pair assigned to the S.C.E. team on the da Vinci was killed months ago, leaving only Soloman -- a non-bonded Bynar who is now a pariah in their culture. Saadya finds himself confronted not only with a failing project, but with Bynar prejudice, as 1011 and 1110 treat Soloman with nothing but contempt....

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Ebooks, Fiction

69 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Michael A. Martin's solo short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. He has also coauthored (with Andy Mangels) several Star Trek comics for Marvel and Wildstorm and numerous Star Trek novels and eBooks, including the USA Today bestseller Titan: Book One: Taking Wing; Titan: Book Two: The Red King; the Sy Fy Genre Award-winning Star Trek: Worlds of Deep Space 9 Book Two: Trill -- Unjoined; Star Trek: The Lost Era 2298 -- The Sundered; Star Trek: Deep Space 9 Mission: Gamma: Vol. Three: Cathedral; Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31 -- Rogue; Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers #30 and #31 ("Ishtar Rising" Books 1 and 2); stories in the Prophecy and Change, Tales of the Dominion War, and Tales from the Captain's Table anthologies; and three novels based on the Roswell television series. His most recent novels include Enterprise: The Romulan War and Star Trek Online: The Needs of the Many.

His work has also been published by Atlas Editions (in their Star Trek Universe subscription card series), Star Trek Monthly, Dreamwatch, Grolier Books, Visible Ink Press, The Oregonian, and Gareth Stevens, Inc., for whom he has penned several World Almanac Library of the States nonfiction books for young readers. He lives with his wife, Jenny, and their two sons in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Michel Albert]

Soloman didn't get very much to do in the "Breakdowns" arc, but they were keeping him for this. His chosen status as a lone Bynar makes him a pariah in his culture and we're right there with Gomez (who's finally being portrayed as other than sad) and her outrage at the pair's overt discrimination. We're inside Soloman's head for parts of this, understanding what it means to be connected (it's a little Borg-like, honestly) and not, and we're reminded of why he chose this. There's also a duty to his homeworld, the future of which also hangs in the balance at a more abstract level here. As for Project Ishtar, I agree with Corsi that this is entirely unnecessary, and motivated more by hubris that anything else. However, the science is well researched and how it's to be done, what consequences arise, etc. are anchored in reality without feeling like turgid Hard SF. Oh, and Carl Sagan cameo. Of course, like Ishtar itself, which could only be realized over years, it's just a Part 1. And at these page counts, I'm always a little dubious of the value. Ishtar Rising could have been a lone 80-pager.

[John Barclay]

A much more minor book from this series. Too much plot about Venus and not a lot of anything interesting. I think the authors read Carl Sagan and thought up a storyline to show it off.