The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition - Ira Steven Behr

Title: The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
Author: Ira Steven Behr
Published: 1995

Available at: 
Amazon
The Book Depository
Amazon UK

Review:
"The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition" by Ira Steven Behr is a rather short book which basically lists the various Ferengi Rules of Acquisition that have so far been revealed via the various mediums of Star Trek. That is basically it; this is quite simply a list with zero commentary on the rules beyond an amusing little introduction from Quark.

Yes some of the rules did make me laugh and smile but to be honest I think you can find them all listed for free on various websites and get the same amusement without handing over any hard earned cash. We don’t even get to enjoy some new rules created to fill up the holes in the list never yet touched, these are all rules that you will probably have heard before if you are a Trek fan of some description.

The sad fact is that my favourite bit of the book was the introduction and I just wish that Behr had maybe tried to include some commentary from Quark for each of the rules. This would have added so much more to the book and helped to ensure I didn’t feel like I was being exploited in handing over my money for a list. I suppose it is ironic that this rather weak cash grab of a book is exactly the type of thing Quark would have loved!

There really isn’t much more for me to add to this review as there isn’t really that much for me to comment on. I can’t really recommend anyone buy it as there are plenty of resources online where you can find these rules for free. Personally, I just hope that “Legends of the Ferengi” another book by Behr adds a little bit more to the Ferengi mythos than this book did.

Quotable Star Trek - Jill Sherwin

Title: Quotable Star Trek
Author: Jill Sherwin
Published: 1999

Available at:
Amazon
The Book Depository
Amazon UK

Review:
“Quotable Star Trek” by Jill Sherwin is an interesting reference book that should appeal to many fans of Star Trek. It is basically a collection of quotes taken from various Trek TV shows and movies produced over the years.

The book quite simply details some of the wonderful words of wisdom, thought and hope that have been present within the Star Trek universe from the beginning. Reading over this collection of dialogue really did highlight some of the subtle and not so subtle ways in which the various writers tried to portray the message of having hope in our future and ourselves as a species. It was enjoyable seeing some of these truly memorable quotes contained and I also appreciated the way it helped me remember some that I had actually forgotten.

As this is a form of reference book I wouldn’t say this is something you just want to read from start to finish. It is a book that you should just pick out a section and immerse yourself in it for a while or read some interesting quotes out to anyone who may want to listen. Sherwin has assisted in trying to allow the reader to do this by splitting the quotes into various chapters dedicated to elements such as love, religion, war and freedom. Therefore you can pick and choose which chapters to read depending on how you feel.

Whilst some of these quotes do work wonderfully when read standalone a fair amount of them are enhanced by an understanding of the scenes in which they were set. Sherwin does try to assist the reader by including commentary with some of the quotes but I still think that it is only going to be fans that have seen the specific scenes who will really appreciate the quotes utilised.

In summary as someone who fondly remembers hearing some of the dialogue used throughout Star Trek I found reading this collection to be an enjoyable experience that helped to refresh my memory. It really something that only a Star Trek fan is going to appreciate although I do think I may enjoy reading some of the more profound quotes out to my wife to show her that Star Trek isn’t as geeky as she likes to pretend.

Finally, I just want to note that as this book was originally written in 1999 there is nothing from the Star Trek universes created since then such as the “Enterprise” TV series or the JJ Abrams movie.