Outstanding and Exceedingly Entertaining

Picking up where the events of the "A Time to..." novels, "Star Trek: Nemesis", and "Titan: Taking Wing" leave off the Bacco Administration has inherited a whole host of problems, the ramifications of the now fractured Romulan Star Empire being just the most obvious. As the year unfolds the reader is taken inside the day to day workings of the administration staff where we get to experience their struggles with the Federation Council, their mistakes, and their successes. Who knew that politics could be so spellbinding?

In actuality "Articles of the Federation" is more than a novel about the politics of the Federation. Rather it is a recounting of a series of crisis and potential crisis as viewed from the perspective of Federation politicians, bureaucrats and at times average citizens. "Articles of the Federation" tells the story of how this particular administration chooses to deal with the various calamities they face.

Nan Bacco and her staff spring from DeCandido's extremely fertile mind and were first introduced in his novel "A Time for War, a Time for Peace" which was published last October. They are a very appealing group of characters who you very quickly feel sympathy for and want to see succeed and they elucidate the notion that a leader is only as good as those they choose to surround themselves with. Bacco herself is the most noteworthy; witty, intelligent and at the beginning of her term a bit naive. When it comes to interstellar politics however she proves to be a quick study and more than up to the task.

The way DeCandido has chosen to structure the plot of "Articles of the Federation" is one of the reasons the novel works so well. It would be very easy to become overwhelmed by the numerous plot threads and large cast of characters but by breaking the overall story down into six distinct parts the reader is never inundated with too much at once. The action and events flow along quickly but the narrative is never rushed and the transitions are seamless.

I could go on at length about the numerous reasons that "Articles of the Federation" is an outstanding novel, the many ways it is both original and exceedingly entertaining. Based on the authors previous writings by the time I had finished reading "Articles of the Federation" I became firmly convinced that DeCandido is incapable of writing an archetypal Star Trek novel. He has demonstrated time and again that he has too much talent and imagination to be predictable. With "Articles of the Federation" he has cemented that reputation.

Another home run

This book is outstanding. It was a real page turner. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

"Articles" good, but ...

I finished the "Articles of the Federation" in about a week's time. It's a good book. It's different from any Trek book out there. There are no big space battles, the usual suspects such as Picard and others don't appear, and there's no real threat to Earth or one big planet. "Articles" focuses on the least explored frontier in Star Trek; the political sphere.

While DeCandido lists Bill Clinton's "My Life" and the show "The West Wing" as bits of inspiration, this isn't a book that's trying to speak out against one political party today or one person's actiosn and such. Instead, it takes on the broad subject of the Federation's President and the issues they face. There are also members of the president's cabinet that are focused on greatly. So really, this is Star Trek's take on "The West Wing." It's also a continuation of the plot-threads of the "A Time to..." series, among many other books that are pulled in here.

It's a good book. I liked that it managed to work in cameos and plot threads mentioned in past books, along with unanswered questions from the different Trek series and movies. Yet, the biggest problem I had with the book is that it takes on a lot of stuff, a lot of characters, a lot of plot threads and situations, and tries to handle them all accordingly in 391 pages. I found it hard at times to move through some chapters, knowing that it referenced a character that appeared in a book that was printed last year, or in a comic book a decade ago, or in an obscure, one-line mention in a television show.

As I guess would be expected, there are a number of issues that President Nan Bacco deals with in this "first year" of her administration. There's the fractured Romulan Star Empire (a plot carried on from the book "Taking Wing" and the movie "Nemesis"), there's fall-out from the actions of Min Zife (from "A Time to Heal," amd "A Time for War, a Time for Peace"), there's also some on B-4's future (from the movie "Nemesis,") Bajor's position in the Federation (carried on from the book "Unity") and the conflict between the Remans and the Romulans, just to mention a FEW. It gets rather overwhelming at some point, trying to seperate out all the plot threads, while trying to remember where some of these plot threads have come from.

Another slight complaint is that the book takes place over the course of a year, and it sort of spoils other plots and books. If you haven't read, or plan to at some point, the Deep Space Nine relaunch, I wouldn't read this right away. You'll know what happens to Bajor and a few characters in it. If you read this, you'll also get a vague spoiler for the upcoming post-Nemesis book "Death in Winter." It also spoils most of the final books in the "A Time to ..." series. As well as what's become of the characters in Voyager, if you haven't read that Re-Launch series. You get the idea. I personally would have delayed this novel, for this reason. It's rather frustrating to know that while you're getting a great story, you're also losing out on a dozen others without much warning.

With those perhaps minor and personal flaws, "The Articles of the Federation" is an interesting book. Nan Bacco doesn't just inherit the presidency, but she also inherits the problems of the former president. She has to keep the alliance with the Klingons together while dealing with the aftermath of "Star Trek Nemesis." Bacco, and those she surrounds herself with, learn what it means to be the president of a entity like the Federation. She's a very different, amusing, intriguing character that takes the spotlight. It does, perhaps naturally, make you think of politics and leaders in our own day and time.

I'd say pick up this book for the plot and story but be aware; it spoils many other books and deals with characters and plots that will or have been the subject of their own books and novels int the past.(...)

It's helpful to look at this guide as you read, for it'll explain where this or that characters comes from and a little on thier background, if there is one. I wish it had been made available at the back of the book instead of the guide to the Federation's past presidents, but, I guess it couldn't be completed in time. It will definately help with the understanding and making necessary connections. Definately worth your time and money, when you're ready for a book of this magnitude and have caught up on your reading.