The Crestfallen Bomber

Zine
Title:	The Crestfallen Bomber
Publisher:	TUCOP Publications
Editor:
Author(s):	Daniel Wolpe
Cover Artist(s):
Illustrator(s):
Date(s):	1982
Medium:	print
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Star Trek: TOS
Language:	English
External Links:
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The Crestfallen Bomber is a 61-page gen Mudd-centric Star Trek: TOS novel by Daniel Wolpe.

Summary: "Not only does Kirk have to face losing his first officer to a promotion and not only must he face a man who has the power to destroy the galaxy, but Kirk and crew must also deal with the villainous return of Harcourt Fenton Mudd! In addition, a secret is revealed about McCoy and Spock's ambiguous relationship!"

From an ad by the publisher: "Don't miss out on the final confrontation with Harry Mudd! A battle of wits with a man who's out to destroy the universe! And meet, Sulu's girlfriend. Captain Leslie Forrest!"

Reactions and Reviews

POSITIVE:

1. I like the idea of following up on the experience which Spoch had with V'ger.

2. Bringing Harry Mudd on for another encore was a good idea, and I thought that the background stuff on his upbringing was a nice touch.

3. [The] attempt to resolve the Spock-McCoy relationship brings up some interesting issues.

4. Some of the humorous scenes are very effective, especially the one with Harry's brother and the Andorian. I also liked the Spock-McCoy routines.

NEGATIVE:

1. I find the major plot premise shaky. How did Glaser steal the Wargothon? Would someone really be driven to murder simply because his wife died? [Ed. note: Mrs. Glaser, in the story, died of natural causes] And if he were, is it likely that a talk with Harry Mudd would change his mind?

2. A major problem is in exposition. The background information comes across awkwardly a lot of the time. (Page 13, paragraph 10; Page 1, paragraph 2) The tangents which [the author] go off on are distracting, e.g. the one about Kirk's warm feelings towards the crew, or the passage about Spock's parents. Most important, [the author] tends to TELL rather than SHOW. There has got to be a more effective way of getting across, say, Chekov's closeness with Sulu than simply stating that they are close friends, of having them say it clumsily to one another.