THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK, THE BOOK

 

Name: The Search for Spock   

Author: Vonda N. McIntyre

Publication Date: 6/1984

Publisher: Pocket Books (Star Trek #17)

Page Number: 297

Historian’s Note:  NA

Cast of Characters:  Rear Admiral James T. Kirk       Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”       Commander Hikaru Sulu              Commander Nyota Uhura              Commander Pavel Chekov         Commander Max Arrunja           Lieutenant Commander Kyle                Dr. Christine Chapel          Lieutenant Commander Janice Rand                Lieutenant  Saavik            Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Foster        Fleet Admiral Harrison Morrow                    Captain J.T. Esteban                    Commander Miguel Darby                            Captain Lawrence H. Styles                  Lieutenant (junior grade) Heisenberg                    Dr. David Marcus              Commander Kruge          Torg            Maltz               Ambassador Sarek                    Valkris             T’Mei        T’Lar  

Starships and/or Starbases: USS Enterprise NCC-1701, USS Grissom NCC-638, USS Excelsior NX-2000, Earth Spacedock, IKS B'rel

Planets: Earth, Genesis Planet, and Vulcan

My Spoiler filled summary and review: Since this is a review of the book version of the movie Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, there is no need to provide a summary of the story as I already did that in my last review.  So, I am just going to focus on the differences between the book and the movie.

1.       The opening scene is during a wake for Spock and the rest of the dead.  This scene is not in the movie, in fact I would say 2/3 of this book is material not in the movie.  The wake is a disaster, bad alcohol is served, and everyone is messed up.  Kirk tries to revive his old relationship with Carol and gets shot down.  Carol becomes angry and revels that she had a boyfriend recently who was one of the scientists killed by Khan. Their son David is luckier in his love life as he ends up sleeping with Saavik.  We learn the reason Spock’s coffin survived is because Saavik altered its course. Instead of Spock’s body burning up in the atmosphere she placed it to be absorbed by the genesis wave.   

2.       Sulu is a captain in the book and referred to such throughout even though in the movie he is just a commander.  

3.       In the book Kirk and David’s relationship still is not reconciled with Kirk reaching out but David continuing to slap him away.  David’s personality often comes up in the book as just a spoiled brat where in the movies he is just helpful. 

4.       The Grissom shows up and its Captain Esteban, not Admiral Marrow, who tells them Genesis has become a hot topic and Starfleet has classified everything.  It turns out Kirk and Esteban go far back, and Esteban has a long list of accomplishments that proceed Starfleet trusting him with this assignment. 

5.       Carol Marcus refuses to help the Grissom investigate Genesis as she has to contact the relatives of her team who were killed by Khan.  She has lots of services to go to that are her priority.

6.       David fights to get himself invited to go with the Grissom.  This makes Kirk sad because David didn’t want to spend time with him.

7.       McCoy’s break into Spock’s quarters is not the first sign something is wrong with McCoy; it is rather the final cumulation of what was a growing problem.  McCoy muttering stuff in Spock’s voice to both Kirk and Saavik on a number of occasions.   

8.       Kruge and Valkris are not together like the movie implies.  The book versions never meet.

9.       Scotty had further objections to going to the Excelsior.  One being his nephew’s funeral.

10.   There is an interesting scene where Scotty’s niece says she wouldn’t trust Kirk because both times he went back to the Enterprise the Captain died.  

11.   Kirk informs Sarek on stronger terms about why he didn’t bring Spock’s body back to Genesis.  In the movie Kirk is unaware of this even being an issue.  Where in the book the reason he acted as he did is that the Vulcan people had often mistreated Spock and therefore, he felt no obligation to follow their wishes over Starfleet customs. 

12.   Kruge killing of subordinate is less of a random scene.  In the movie, after the destruction of the Grissom, Kruge killing his gunner is something done in sudden anger.  Where in the book the gunner is ordered to undergo a ritual suicide.  He refuses and is then vaporized via Klingon disruptor. 

13.   Explains that Uhura locked the young Lieutenant in the closet so that he wouldn’t get in trouble for their actions.  It also shows that Sarek helped Uhura get off Earth and to Vulcan.

14.   When Kruge orders the death of one of the prisoners the Klingon on the ground tries to get Saavik to take her own life she attempts to escape, and David is killed in the struggle.  

15.   Klingon landing party start hearing the countdown as soon as they get onboard.  Which makes them seem stupider.  Maybe they should have called about the counting beforehand?   

16.   After they escape Saavik clears the way on Starfleet channels their captured Klingon ship to make it to Vulcan.

17.   The risks of refusion are explained in greater detail. The biggest is that no one has tried this science antiquity, and they don’t know that the result was.  Most of the time the dead Vulcan body doesn’t suddenly come alive again, so no refusion attempt is even tried.

Requesting refusion

  

Additional thoughts: When I read the novelization of The Wrath of Khan, I found myself wondering if the differences between the book and movie were based on changes to the screen play that were made by making the film.  With this book I feel a little different.  The differences that the book version of TWK had compared to the film are still present in this book.  For example, in this book Kirk still didn’t know David was his son until Carol told him in the Genesis Cave, David and Saavik continuing their relationship, and Sulu is a captain.  It is if the author wanted to book continuity to line up regardless of what when on in the film.  I will acknowledge that the books line up well and if you are just the reader should be satisfied.  However, in order to continue the books’ themes, it causes larger diversions as we go forward.  As such, we get almost halfway through this book before we get to content that we saw on screen.

One of these continuity questions is the author’s “Captain Sulu” obsession.  She describes him as a Captain despite the fact that in both films Sulu was a commander and wore said uniform.  Also, in this book the author acts like Sulu was already in command of the Excelsior prior to TWOK.  This doesn’t add up with the films because in TWOK Sulu is clearly an instructor at Starfleet Academy, as he is seen on the bridge simulator during the Kobayashi Maru test.  It doesn’t make sense for him to leave his command to go on a training cruise as a favor to Kirk.  The book goes so far to suggest that Sulu even had a hand in designing the vessel.  Sulu’s background is in space aviation and botany.  Captain Styles is not Sulu’s predecessor but rather the man who stole his ship.  It comes off as so weird.

I like the addition of Saavik being responsible for Spock’s body’s survival.  That’s the type of addition that novelization can bring.  It would have taken too long in the movie for Saavik to explain her decision-making process, especially when all Spock’s body is survived. The quick gravity-well soft landing is fine for the movie, but the book allows for greater detail.  I also like the explanation of why David is on the mission and his mother is not.  One of them goes to Genesis and the other took care of making sure their friends and colleagues received proper burials and family notifications.

David and Saavik romantic couple in the books

   There are elements of the book I don’t care for such as David’s beef with his father.  Book David often comes off as jerk in a way movie David didn’t.  It makes less sense in the book for him to be this be this way, seeing as his father had no idea he existed until recently.  Unlike the movie version who did.  The book’s tragedy is that Kirk never resolved the issues with his son, where in the movie the tragedy is losing a son so soon after reestablishing contact.

A character about to be lost

Another element I didn’t particularly care for, although others may like it, is the author devoting so much time to characters who don’t matter.  I didn’t need Valkris’s entire backstory which included the struggles with the alcoholic brother and her difficulties leading her house.  Nor did I care at all for Carol’s lover Vince Mason’s family’s reaction to him being killed by Khan, and his personal contributions the Genesis project.  Also, Carol is bit of a cougar as her lover has David’s age.   We also go some clearly non canon reference to these Galaxy-class ships that can go literally to other galaxies, as the rest of the franchise note that is still quite impossible by Starfleet abilities.

One thing I really did like is David pointing out how this was not the ideal Genesis experiment.  That the device was not supposed to be activated inside a starship that itself was inside a nebula.  Genesis is still untested; I think it deserved a legitimate test. 

I really did enjoy Kirk’s internal monologue when setting the Enterprise to destroy itself. Kirk felt like the computer was sad.  He could hear the grief in its voice.  I really enjoy the description of the view from the surface of the planet Genesis.

“The Enterprise arced brilliantly from its orbit.  For an instant it was a comet, but the gravity of the new world caught it and held it and drew it in.  It would never again curve boldly close to the incandescent surface of a sun, never again depart the gentle harbor of Earth to sail into the unknown.  The Gravity of Genesis turned the dying ship from a comet to a falling star.  It spun downward, trailing sparks and cinders and glowing debris.  It touched the atmosphere and flared more brightly.” Pg. 254-5

In closing on the other good parts about the book is it did focus a little on what Sarek and Amanda had to go through.  From finding out their son had died, that they might have lost the katra, to maybe getting that back, to Spock might be coming back to life.  They experienced a parent’s worst nightmare only to have it reversed.   

Restored Spock

Should it be canon: I prefer to think of what we saw on screen as the canon version of events and the book is just a clever “what if?”.

Cover Art: The cover has Kirk flanked by McCoy and Sulu.  Kirk has a phaser drawn and all three look awesome.  Spock’s face hovers in the background.

Final Grade: Final Grade 3 of 5