From Sawdust to Stardust, by Terry Lee Rioux
Book Review by Phillip A. Ellis
Have you read this book?
The main problem I had with From Sawdust to Stardust was not that its subject, DeForest Kelley, was hardly anything more than a working actor, and, certainly, no real star compared to his more famous contemporaries, but in the execution of this biography.
The problem lies in the style, which is gelatinous, and inadequate to the task of biography in general. It relies too much on ill-digested quotations, and there is no real sense of lightness or flow to the writing itself. This helps make more obvious other flaws in the conception and execution.
What we read are not really insights into Kelley's world or work, but, rather, anecdotes, which have been scarcely worked into a coherent vision. His various films and television appearances remain essentially colourless: there are no real insights into the film-making process, nor the acting profession, and this lack mars what should have been a finer book. The exceptions to these tendencies are the Star Trek seasons and films, but even here there is too little, and too much anecdote to really leaven the whole.
As a result, I found it a struggle to finish this book; being a fan of the original series, or the films, would have helped, but my interest in Kelley was enough for me to finish From Sawdust to Stardust, even if over almost a month of reading.
From Sawdust to Stardustis really only for fans of DeForest Kelley, or of the original series. There is no real insight into the Star Trek universe to make it neccesary to fans as a whole, which is a failing, and this is not anything more than a pedestrian effort. It could have been better; a pity it was not.
The problem lies in the style, which is gelatinous, and inadequate to the task of biography in general. It relies too much on ill-digested quotations, and there is no real sense of lightness or flow to the writing itself. This helps make more obvious other flaws in the conception and execution.
What we read are not really insights into Kelley's world or work, but, rather, anecdotes, which have been scarcely worked into a coherent vision. His various films and television appearances remain essentially colourless: there are no real insights into the film-making process, nor the acting profession, and this lack mars what should have been a finer book. The exceptions to these tendencies are the Star Trek seasons and films, but even here there is too little, and too much anecdote to really leaven the whole.
As a result, I found it a struggle to finish this book; being a fan of the original series, or the films, would have helped, but my interest in Kelley was enough for me to finish From Sawdust to Stardust, even if over almost a month of reading.
From Sawdust to Stardustis really only for fans of DeForest Kelley, or of the original series. There is no real insight into the Star Trek universe to make it neccesary to fans as a whole, which is a failing, and this is not anything more than a pedestrian effort. It could have been better; a pity it was not.
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