Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.reviews,rec.arts.startrek.current
Subject: TOS Audio Spoiler: "Transformations"
Date: 4 Mar 1994 19:32:50 GMT
Lines: 109

Star Trek Booktape Review: "Transformations"
Review by Mark Martinez
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=WARNING= There are a few spoilers ahead for the first audio
Star Trek novel, so cover your ears.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
   Series: TOS
     ISBN: 0-671-86438-6 (cassette), 0-671-88624-X (compact disc)
     Date: February 1994
    Title: Transformations (A Captain Sulu Adventure)
   Author: Dave Stern
  Readers: George Takei, with Dana Ivey and Daniel Gerroll
    Cover: Keith Birdsong
  Runtime: 73 minutes/1 cassette/1 CD
 Stardate: 11611.8 and flashback to 9612.0
    Grade: Story/B, Presentation/A

Synopsis

Travelling alone, on a diplomatic mission, Captain Hikaru
Sulu experiences frightening dreams of a tragic mission from
his tour of duty as commander of Excelsior. On this mission,
Sulu's friend and science officer, Commander Flynn Konner,
discovered traces of the Shalakai on Sigma Cameron Four. An
ancient culture known as the "soul-eaters", the Shalakai were
also rumored to be immortal. Konner's archeological excavations
resulted in being institutionalized with a "short-circuited"
mind and Sulu turns to Ambassador Sarek for advice. Together,
they buried the secret of the Shalakai, literally and in
Starfleet's data banks.

Twenty years later, archeologist Dr. Constance Allenwood
follows a sparse data trail to Sigma Cameron Four and begins
another excavation, threatening to uncover the Shalakai's
secrets. Driven by his nightmares, Sulu races to meet Allenwood
and prevent a disaster.

Review (of the compact disc)

_Transformations_ unfolds in the present and in flashbacks from
personal logs and communiques of the three principal characters,
Captain Sulu, Commander Konner, and Dr. Allenwood. The story
features a threadbare plot device familiar to all Trekkers, the
evil consciousness lusting after a suitable body. Fortunately,
Mr. Takei's presentation overpowers the shortcomings of the
story as easily as Sulu outfences the Shalakai leader. Ms. Ivey
and Mr. Gerroll, both with numerous film and television credits,
provide admirable support as Allenwood and Konner. The
production has a suitably eerie atmosphere and I felt that
reading personal logs was appropriate for a story where conflict
takes place primarily in dreams.

The musical score was understated. This tends to be the norm for
booktapes (and bookCDs too) but I often wonder what an audio
novel would sound like if they were scored like the television
series.

The back cover blurb advises the listener that you will
"experience the incredible sensation of ambisonic 3-D sound".
I'm not an audiophile so I don't have a clue what this means,
but I would recommend listening on a good quality stereo. Voice
levels range from a whisper to a shout. There is a sense of
depth to the recording when the speaker is inside an excavation
or in the middle of a jungle. I guess this is what they mean by
3-D sound, but if you listen on a poor quality sound system, you
are likely to miss a lot of dialogue. I wouldn't recommend this
novel for an automobile trip unless you are using a portable CD
player and headphones.

The CD package and liner notes share the same Keith Birdsong
portrait of Sulu and Excelsior, but the package illustration
is embossed, has foil lettering, and looks spectacular. 


Sulu fans will probably enjoy _Transformations_ more than your
average Star Trek fan, but I think everyone can appreciate Mr.
Takei's work in this production. Although I enjoyed the story
and recommend the CD version, it doesn't explore Sulu's
character to the extent that I would like it to. I hope this
isn't the last Sulu adventure.

Notes

_Transformations_ is advertised as the first original audio Star
Trek adventure and the the first simultaneous CD/Cassette
release. Apparently the blurb-writers feel that the children's
audio recordings of the late seventies are best forgotten.
Promotional announcements also say that this novel won't be
available in book form.

The CD has only minimal liner notes. Production credits are
spoken at the end of the story. The CD has seven tracks averaging
about ten minutes each. Retail price of the cassette is $16.50
while the CD is priced at $20. 


Mr. Takei's brief biography in the liner notes mentions that
Pocket Books plans to publish his autobiography in the fall of
1994. 


And now, back to our regularly scheduled Star Trek comics
reviews. By the way, DC will increase comic book prices soon, so
start putting away a few extra pennies every payday.

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