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

 

THE WRATH OF KHAN, THE BOOK

 

Name: The Wrath of Khan  

Author: Vonda N. McIntyre

Publication Date: 7/1981

Publisher: Pocket Books (Star Trek #7)

Page Number: 223

Historian’s Note:  NA

Cast of Characters:  Rear Admiral James T. Kirk       Captain Spock              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 Janice Rand                Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Saavik            Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Croy        Captain Clark Terrell                    Commander Ralston "Stoney" Beach                            Captain Mandala Flynn                  Khan Noonien Singh           Joachim            Dr. Carol Marcus                     Dr. David Marcus              Dr. Jedda Adzhin-Dall                    Dr. Vance Madison               Dr. Delwin March 

Starships and/or Starbases: USS Enterprise NCC-1701, USS Reliant NCC-1864, Space Station Regula I, unnamed shuttlecraft, SS Botany Bay 

Planets:  Earth, Ceti Alpha V, and Regulas I

My Spoiler filled summary and review: Since this is a review of the book version to the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, 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.       In the Kobayashi Maru test the other cadets have a larger role.  They are the ones manning the helm and stations with the regular crew overseeing them.  This takes away a bit of the misdirection of the opening.  There is also more detail to the debriefing.  Kirk challenges the cadets with other possible scenarios.  Saavik takes it all a little too seriously.  

2.       More information is given about the crew of the Reliant.   The book mentions that they all hate this assignment for the sheer boredom it creates.  There is a good explanation why finding an ideal planet is hard. “Lifeless planet in the goldilocks zone” is a lot harder than just lifeless planet.  Chekov and Terrell’s idea about removing the potential life makes more sense here than in the film.  In the book they argue that the life signs they find may be the end of an evolutionary line not the beginning of one. If this were true, they would be rescuing it anyway.  This is what gets Carol to agree.

3.       Dialogue throughout the book is different.  Not too different but enough that it sometimes annoys me.  Throughout the entire book the Ceti Alpha system and planets get referred to as “Alpha Ceti.”  My head, however, always goes for the former.  Some things are good additions like when Terrell proclaims that he doesn’t know Kirk it’s in response to Khan asking if he ever had a conversation with him. 

4.       According to the book Chekov was working the night shift during in “Space Seed.” We also find out he had a crush on Lt. McGivers and it adds to the reason he doesn’t like Khan. 

5.       Sulu has just been promoted to captain and has this rank for the entire book. Also, Sulu is never at the helm, instead Saavik is.  Where in the movie Saavik manned the navigator station.  

6.       Peter Preston is a much larger character in this book than he was in the movie.  He is Scotty’s nephew and lot of pages are devoted to him and his past before he is killed off.  He is said to be only fourteen years old.

7.       In the book, Carol Marcus’s Genesis presentation includes the possibility of using large amounts of matter that is not a planet to make a world and solar system that we actually see after the battle of the Mutara Nebula.  This closes my largest plot hole.

8.       Saavik is established as both Vulcan and Romulan.  She has no contact with either family and was raised and orphaned.  She tries her best to be Vulcan but fails at times.  She is not even a vegetarian.

9.        We see Khan invade Regula I where he tortures and kills the scientists there.  There were no real surprises or interesting things to learn as I didn’t care about any of these one-shot characters.

10.   There is still no indication of what regulation Kirk was ignoring.  I assume it was the process that later began such as raising the additional force fields around the bridge. 

11.   McCoy tries to shield Kirk and Saavik from seeing what has been done to the scientists of Regula 1.  It doesn’t make any sense considering everything Kirk has seen and Saavik is a professional Starfleet officer.

12.   McCoy apparently served with Captain Terrell and considers him a friend.  When he did this is not clear, but he is upset by his death.

13.   David is a much better fighter than he is in the movie.  Also, in the book Kirk doesn’t know that David is his son.  Both Kirk and David find out at the exact same moment.

14.   Both Dr. Christine Chapel and Lieutenant Janice Rand are in the book but not in the movie.                

15.   The Genesis cave is bigger in the book.  While in the cave David and Saavik make a connection that is not seen in the movie.   

16.   In that battle of the Mutara Nebula Sulu is seriously injured and it is David who performs CPR to save his life long enough for Dr. Chapel to put him back together.  Sulu is the person who Chekov replaces at the weapons station.

17.   Kirk and David get in disagreement on the bridge in the middle of the battle.  

18.   We get Spock’s thought process when making the decision to sacrifice himself on behalf of the ship. There is no “remember” moment with Dr. McCoy.  Also, the description is more vivid as Spock describes his hands bleeding as he repairs the ship.  In the movie Spock was burnt but he didn’t bleed at all.

 

Additional thoughts: Reading this book made me curious to how the whole thing was put together to begin with.  It is just that there are many contradictions between the book version and the film that naturally makes one wonder about the cause.  The book came out a month after the movie premiered, given I have rough idea of what it takes to get books published it is safe to say that the novelization was probably written around the same time the movie was being made.  So, was the author just handed the script?  Was there any active collaboration?  Is the book closer to the original script than the movie? The author takes time to update us on her original character Mandala Flynn from The Entropy Effect.  We can safely say that part is completely original.

So, let’s look at the changes to Sulu.  McIntyre, the author, clearly cares for Sulu as she was the one who gave him the name “Hikaru” that the rest of the franchise.  Now I know George Takei has stated that they filmed a scene that was at end of film where Sulu was promoted to captain, but they scratched it.  However, this scene doesn’t see Sulu promoted, he is in fact already a captain.  He is referred to as “Captain Sulu” throughout the story.  Sulu even remarks that the new rank insignia is strange because of the “extra braid.”  This indicates that Sulu is wearing a captain’s uniform, and the author is still under the belief that the costumes would still be the Starfleet uniforms from The Motion Picture that still had the braid rank.  In the movie, Sulu wears a commander’s uniform, and the Enterprise crew all dressed in the best monster maroons.  The author has Sulu state to his fellow officers that his command is slated to be the USS Excelsior.  At the time the only USS Excelsior in the franchise’s existence was the constitution-class NCC-1718 from the Technical Manual.  The later one would not be invented until the next film.  Sulu is never at the helm in this one, Saavik is.  Sulu operates the weapons station and has to leave the bridge part way through the battle. 

At no point is what the Reliant looks like explained to the viewer.  If you have never seen the movie, you would have no idea what it meant to be a Miranda-class starship.  Indeed, that term isn’t even used in the book.  Khan mentions that the ship is like the Enterprise.

Not described in book

Peter Preston is a far more important character in the book than he is in the film.  Where in the movie he is a two-scene character, the book gives large parts of early chapters to his point of view and even establishes that Saavik is tutoring him in math where he develops a schoolboy crush on her.  This is all to make his death more tragic.  Some things they establish about him are ridiculous, such as him being only fourteen years old.  This makes him the age of an older 8^th grader or high school freshmen, yet he is a first-class cadet, so he is supposed to be a senior in college.  The actor in the movie was twenty at the time.  He is Scotty’s nephew which is fine, but they also say he has an older sister who for some reason is so awesome that she is already a commander—the same rank as Scotty—and yet always one step away from being kicked out of Starfleet.

Peter Preston, not 14

Joachim is also given more attention but at least he was still important in the film.  The book draws out his dilemma between his loyalty to Khan yet clearly realizing that Khan is insane and will lead them to destruction.  He is a weak and failed character because he never overcomes this challenge, instead, he just follows Khan to oblivion.

Joachim

The author also tries to explain why they didn’t notice Ceti Alpha V was V and not VI.  As I explained in my last review this never bothered me.  In here the book explained that Ceti Alpha V had a large moon that turns out was unstable.  When Ceti Alpha VI exploded and altered their orbit, it caused the moon to break up altering the climate. 

The book also dives into Saavik’s past as a Vulcan/Romulan hybrid who is claimed by neither.  Saavik heavily implies that she is most likely the product of rape.  That Romulan on Vulcan sexual assaults are common.  Her Romulan family threw her away and her Vulcan family doesn’t know she exists. This is why her name doesn’t start with a “T” like most Vulcan women.  She also has problems with conforming to Vulcan culture as she is not a vegetarian.  She is enraged when David mistakes her for Spock’s daughter as she sees such a statement as insulting to Mr. Spock.

Saavik and Spock

The big David issue: his relationship to Admiral Kirk.  In the movie David is horrible at fighting and his paternal history has been hidden from him.  It is presented as a crime that both his parents have committed against him.  They agreed to separate, and that David would be better with Carol.  Kirk is disappointed that Carol never told David, but he never bothered to reach out himself.  In the book its very different not only is David a much better fighter but neither man knew of Kirk’s paternity.  The two of them were equally shocked to learn.  In other words, Carol decided by herself that she didn’t want dad around and decided to deny both father and son the right to know each other.  Again, I wonder if that was part of the original script because someone had to change something.  Did the author not like the of Kirk being a deadbeat dad and since Carol Marcus didn’t exist before the author didn’t care about pushing her character under the bus?  Or when making the movie did Nicholas Meyer say “no, they’ll hate her if that’s the backstory” and he changed it?  David was also told someone else, who is dead, was his father.  The book seems to imply that David and Saavik have an attraction to one another.

David

I did like knowing Spock’s thought process.  The time to Genesis detonation, time to engine room decontamination, his abilities as a Vulcan, his pride and Saavik, and his thoughts about how Jim Kirk was the only true captain of the Enterprise, and that he held that position only in trust.  We also are told by the book that Spock’s space funeral was his own request, and all the other bodies were being taken home to their families.  

Last moments

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 art has Admiral Kirk and Captain Spock standing side by side in their monster maroons with Spock on the viewers left and Kirk on the right.  Khan’s face is centered between them with streaks shooting out at the viewer as if Khan head was itself a ship that was leaving at warp speed.   

Final Grade: Final Grade 4 of 5

 

TIME TRAVEL AND MURDER

 

Name: The Entropy Effect

Author: Vonda N. McIntyre

Publication Date: 6/1981

Publisher: Pocket Books (Star Trek #2)

Page Number: 224

Historian’s Note:  This book takes place prior to the events of The Infinite Vulcan

Cast of Characters:  Captain James T. Kirk       Commander Spock              Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”       Lieutenant Commander Mandala Flynn                   Lieutenant  Hikaru Sulu              Lieutenant Nyota Uhura              Lieutenant Bernardi al Auriga                Lieutenant Maximo Alisaunder Arrunja           Lieutenant Snnanagfashtalli                    Lieutenant Neon            Nurse Christine Chapel          Ensign Pavel Chekov      Ensign Jenniver Aristeides          Chief Petty Officer  Beatrice Smith      Yeoman First Class Janice Rand              Captain Hunter                 Lieutenant  Ilya Nikolaievich           Ian Braithwaite         Dr. Georges Mordreaux                Mree           Perim                      Defense Attorney Lee                     

Starships and/or Starbases: USS Enterprise NCC-1701, USS Aerfen registration unknown., Aerfen unnamed shuttlecraft

Planets: Aleph Prime (an asteroid) 

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The adventure begins with the Enterprise investigating a strange singularity that has appeared out of nowhere. This process is time-consuming and stressful for both the crew’s minds and the ship’s systems.  The shields must be on all the time, the Enterprise can’t stop for some shore leave at some planet they must continue.  Spock has been running at all hours, using a special Vulcan technique that prevents him from sleeping, personally handles the study.  Spock discovers something horrible: the universe only has a century of life left to it.  Such an extraordinary and troublesome find creates extra incentive for Spock to perform the necessary task of repeating the experiment to see if he can get the same results.  However, before that can occur a priority message is sent directly to Captain Kirk, and they must drop what they are doing to answer it.  

The universe maybe doomed

A less universe shattering event, the Enterprise has a new chief of security.  Lt. Cmdr. Mandala Flynn was a transferee from the border patrol and fit in with the crew right away.  She was a huge improvement to the security department, which frankly could always have used some improvement.  Under her leadership there was higher moral and list of accomplishments.  She earned Kirk’s respect when out right told him she was shooting for his job.  She is even more to Lt. Sulu.  The two of them share many interests and are learning from each other.  She teaches him Judo while he teaches her fencing.  Their friendship is on the verge of turning into a romance.  Sulu is also developing a new look, allowing his hair to grow long and growing a mustache.

The Enterprise arrives at the mining colony on Aleph Prime.  Kirk and Spock beam down to meet with the local prosecutor Ian Braithwaite.  Braithwaite is excited to see them, a little too excited to see Mr. Spock.  Braithwaite seems to recognize Spock, thinking he saw him earlier but that is impossible as Spock was on the Enterprise doing experiments.  Braithwaite explains that he needs the Enterprise to transport a prisoner.  This sends Kirk into a rage similar to when Under-Secretary Nilz Baris used the emergency service to get the Enterprise to station K-7 in order to guard some grain. The main difference between Baris and Braithwaite is while the former was proud of his violation the latter denies doing it.  He has no idea who sent the signal, but he would still like them to take the dangerous prisoner to the rehabilitation colony.  Braithwaite is very concerned at getting this criminal off world as he already murdered the judge and the defense attorney, and logically he is next. 

Spock explains to Braithwaite in no uncertain terms that Starfleet vessels do not transport civilian prisoners as a matter of policy.  However, Spock quickly changes his tune when he learns the identity of the prisoner, he convinces Kirk to accept the assignment.  When the prosecutor leaves Kirk then asks Spock what that was all about.  Spock explains that the prisoner, Dr. Georges Mordreaux, is a former teacher of his and one he had great respect for.  Spock had been following his work ever since. The First Officer finds it impossible that his former mentor is guilty of the crimes of which he has been convicted.  These crimes are promising his test subjects to send them back in time but murdering them instead and then the killing of the magistrates on Aleph Prime.

Spock explaining things

Since they are here Kirk takes the time to look up an old flame: Captain Hunter of the USS Aerfen.  The Aerfen is a ship in the boarder control division of Starfleet.  Her squadron of ships defends the Federation/Klingon boarder.  Like her ex-boyfriend Hunter is a legend in her own right.  Sulu greatly admires her for saving a colony he was living in from a Klingon attack. 

Flynn converts a VIP personal quarters into a holding cell.  To Kirk’s annoyance, Braithwaite decides to join.  Insisting that in his role as prosecutor requires that he sees this to the end.  Braithwaite acts like an exited kid to be aboard a starship.  As he has only been on solar flare ships.  Spock confronts Mordreaux.  The old scientist is confused, disoriented, and drugged up.  Spock lets him know he thinks he is innocent.

Kirk tells McCoy that Hunter has once asked him to join her polygamous family setup.  Kirk had refused but now he thinks he made a mistake.   Later, Hunter would come up in discussion as Kirk was performing a career assessment for Sulu, at the Lieutenant’s request.  The two men agree that Sulu’s career directory is headed for either no command or a small one.  Sulu needs some different sets of experiences in order to get himself to wear he wants to be.  Following his girlfriend Flynn’s advice, Sulu asks Kirk to recommend him for Hunter’s Aerfen.  Kirk sadly agrees and Sulu is quickly transferred. 

Sulu doubting his future with the Enterprise

Scotty runs into Spock in the transporter room, who makes some comments on the power.  When Scotty makes his way to the bridge, he sees Spock there talking with Kirk and Flynn.  Scotty demands to know how Spock got there.  Spock points out he has been here all along, which everyone else can confirm.  Kirk thinks Scotty is overworked and needs some rest.  This annoys the engineer as he feels people think he is crazy.  As if on cue, a real crazy person shows up.  Dr. Mordreaux, looking older and wearing a rehabilitation colony prisoner jumpsuit, appears on the bridge with a firearm.  He shoots Captain Kirk in the chest and gets Flynn in the arm.  Kirk is seriously wounded, and the bridge crew are attending to him. Flynn chases after the assailant. While Kirk is bleeding out on the floor, Spock helps him by performing a mind meld to make him emotionally calm.  It works but it allows Kirk to evaluate the situation and realizes he is going to die.  If he does die mind melded with Spock it will severally damage Spock’s mental state.  Kirk grabs Spock’s hand and pulls it off his face breaking the mind meld.  He tells Spock to take care of his ship.  McCoy comes to the bridge to stabilize Kirk and get him to sickbay. 

he's a crazy guy with a gun!

Flynn arrives at Mordreaux’s cell and discovers he is still in it.  More importantly her team insists he never left.  She orders a ship wide search for the double and his weapon.  She finds it hard to think and she realizes what is wrong.  It is not the loss of blood that is hurting her, it is the bullet she was hit with was a spiderweb.  A type of weapon that that choke the Human nervous system with organo-metallic fibers.  If your hit with one and not killed by your immediate injuries the spiderweb will eat up your brain.   Flynn calls to the bridge about her discovery and then dies.  McCoy tries to save Kirk and does save his body, but the spiderweb ate his brain.  Spock convinces McCoy to take his body off life support.  Braithwaite overhears this and completely misunderstands it.

McCoy, drunk and depressed, approaches Spock and demands they go back in time to save Jim.  McCoy argues that they have gone back in time before to save a universe of strangers then they should be willing to go back in time to save their friend.  Spock points out that what he is suggesting is not only dangerous but wrong.  Spock counters that they only go into the past to alter it if they are correcting an already tampered with timeline.  (Spock is very nice not remine McCoy how the timeline was tampered with in “The City on the Edge of Forever”) What has happened is what has supposed and there is nothing he can do about it.  Spock announces the deaths of Kirk and Flynn to the whole crew over the ship’s intercom system.  Later, Spock decides he is going to transfer to be a science officer somewhere else.  He doesn’t want command of this ship and he doesn’t want to serve under a third captain. 

Spock goes to interview Mordreaux, who is no longer drugged, he explained that he developed a method of time travel.  His supporters and financial backers, who had also become his dear friends, were looking for a way to travel to the past permanently.  His friends all had a burning desire to live in a different historical period, and he helped them do that.  He didn’t murder anyone, he sent them to live in the past. (Although technically that would mean that they are dead now.)  When Spock pointed out the dangers, his old mentor defended himself by saying he sent them so far into the past that the chances of them altering history is almost impossible.  (That doesn’t make any sense but more on that later.) Spock explained to Mordreaux what happened to Kirk and what the “other him” looked like and they agreed that the murder was an insane future version of Mordreaux.  Mordreaux points out that maybe they have already altered things by their conversation.  However, Spock notices his memory hasn’t changed and Captain Kirk hasn’t suddenly woken up.  Spock gets Mordreaux to help him build a time travel device like the one the future Mordreaux possesses, but Spock is forced to promise not to try and pull his mentor’s friends out of the past.

McCoy tries to apologize to Spock, but Spock then insists McCoy was right.  This 180-degree turn is a little hard for McCoy to accept but Spock explains that the timeline has already been messed with and it is their duty to correct it.  While they are planning this Braithwaite is conducting his own investigation, he explains what he saw to Mr. Scott.  Scotty has a hard time believing this however Braithwaite makes a case for his conspiracy and asks Scotty for his assistance.

working to fix this 

 Spock uses the device to go back in time.  In the present, McCoy covers for Spock.  He tells people that Spock, who was near exhaustion, was medically ordered to rest and that Spock had placed himself, meaning McCoy, as the new second-in-command.  This offended Mr. Scott who normally would be next in line, but McCoy tells him it’s because he is needed for the overworked engines that are long overdue for a Starbase tune up.  Braithwaite also comes calling with his insane assassination theories, even going so far as accusing the late Flynn of being in on it.   McCoy agrees to take him to see Mordreaux but when they get to his cell McCoy has the Flynn loyal security team arrest him and look him up.

In the past Spock’s rescue attempt did not go as planned.  First, Spock did not expect the ill physical feeling the time travel caused.  (His previous time travel experiences did not have such problems.)  He runs into Mr. Scott, which became the start of Scotty’s problems.  In addition, Mordreaux gets the jump on him, even shooting him with his weapon.  Fortunately for Spock, the bullet only grazed him, not penetrated inside, protecting him from the spiderweb.  This, however, delays Spock.  He fails to save Captain Kirk and has to watch him die again.  Spock returns to the present to report his failure.  After talking to present Mordreaux again.  Spock realizes he must go back even further in time to prevent the damage.

Captain Hunter and Lt. Sulu return to the Enterprise via shuttlecraft to investigate Captain Kirk’s death.  Scotty frees Braithwaite and the four go to confront Spock and McCoy.  Now Spock has to go back father in time than before.  So, First Officer and CMO have to work quickly as Hunter is not taking “no” for an answer.  Spock, now dressed in civilian clothes, boards the transporter with the device as Hunter enters the room, she orders him to stop but Spock proceeds anyway.  Hunter didn’t stop him even though she could have.  While they are all questioning McCoy, Braithwaite has an allergic reaction and needs to go to sickbay.  McCoy tries to no avail to save him.

Spock now back on Aleph Prime, days before he arrived, he ends up running into Braithwaite.  The encounter is brief, but it explains why the man thought he knew Spock.  This makes Spock wonder if he has failed here too.  Spock finds Mordreaux and subdues him only to discover he has found the wrong one.  This version is the oldest one yet, who has now recovered from madness and had come back in time to stop himself from diverting the Enterprise.  Now they are both too late.

This Mordreaux explains to Spock that it was him sending his friends to live out their dream times that caused the anomalies that will cause the universe’s premature death.  In the original timeline it was Spock’s discovery of this that led to his original arrest.  He went back to divert the Enterprise so he could make contact with Spock and hope he would understand.  This led Captain Kirk to advocate for him to be rehabilitated instead of being sent to a penial colony, it was during this rehabilitation where he went mad.   In his madness, he sought revenge against everyone he blamed for his predicament including Captain Kirk.  Now that he has recovered, he wants to make right by preventing the incident by preventing the Enterprise from being diverted restoring the original timeline.  Spock points out that is only a small part of the problem.  The singularities that are being created by the temporal anomalies must be stopped.  In order to truly prevent this tragedy from occurring, they must go back and prevent the time travel experiment from ever occurring.  Mordreaux releases Spock from his earlier promise not to interfere with his friends’ trips to the past. 

Their actions are causing a lot of suspicion    

    The two go back to Mordreaux’s lab.  Mordreaux is surprised that his lab is such a mess and wonders if they are on a new track as he always went peacefully when arrested.  They decide Spock should be the one to go because his Vulcan physiology gives him the ability to better deal with the rigors of this form of time travel. 

Spock travels back to the time before Mordreaux’s friends were sent back.  They are a small group of people, who respond with Spock’s warning from the future with as much enthusiasm as the Science Council of Krypton took to Jor-El’s warning of the planet’s impending explosion.  They immediately demand this time traveler, who just appeared as they were about to do their own time traveling, to prove what he is saying is true.  Spock attempts a computer simulation, but they deny its authenticity.  That is when Mordreaux from a time period after Spock had left, also appeared.  He warns of the horror they are about to create.  They all decide to give up on the dream, the older Mordreaux disappears, and Spock returns to his own time.

Joe-El can understand predictiment

 Back on the Enterprise the madness has all disappeared and everyone remembers what has happened as just a bad dream, one they quickly find themselves forgetting.  Spock takes the longest, he also had a little trouble explaining his get up that he wore for his mission that now never happened. He reports that the singularity will soon dissipate and will be no threat.  Kirk holds a meeting with Sulu where he tells the helmsman how much he means to the ship.  He decides to increase his responsibilities and recommend him for a field promotion to lieutenant commander.  Sulu stops all thoughts of a transfer and just focuses on his new relationship with Flynn.  The Science community is shocked that Mordreaux didn’t publish his final paper.  

Additional thoughts: This book holds some special significance for me.  It is the last piece of Star Trek media to be produced prior to my existence.  The Motion Picture was the last live action that took place before my lifetime, this is just the last piece of pre-me Star Trek period. 

We have actually seen the death of Captain Kirk a number of times by now.  The first was in “Amok Time” where Spock is tricked by McCoy to believe that he killed him.  Both Spock and the audience are quite relieved at the end of the episode.  Spock falsely kills the Captain again in “The Enterprise Incident.”  This time Spock was in on the gag to fool the Romulan Commander.  Kirk dies again in “The Tholian Web.”  This time the crew outright has a funeral and Uhura is terrified when she sees Kirk’s ghost.  Fortunately, they pull him out of that alternate dimension.  In the book “The Price of the Phoenix” Kirk is killed at the very start and McCoy even does an autopsy to confirm it. The villain Omne then offers a clone of Kirk to replace him.  Later we learn the dead Kirk is also a clone and the real one is still alive.  It seems we really need to see the crew react to Kirk’s death.  It has never been done as well as this story, however.  It helps of course that Kirk in this story actually dies, as opposed to just appearing to.  The death will be undone by time travel, but it is real none the less.  Kirk’s death is emotional and impactful.  Kirk, physically breaking the mind meld with Spock to prevent his mental collapse and asking that they take care of his ship is beautifully written. 

Kirk's ghost!

Some minor things I didn’t like.  Sulu’s hairstyle and mustache, what was the point of it?  It doesn’t serve any point in the story and it’s annoying because I forget half the time and have to replay the Sulu scenes in my head to get it right.  I don’t like that Scotty was manipulated by Braithwaite; he has gone through too much with this crew to allow some stranger to put doubts in his head.  It also didn’t make any sense that Spock and McCoy couldn’t take the rest of the senior staff into confidence.  They have all dealt with time travel before they would be able to keep their wits about them.  Also, Kirk has three nephews, not just one.  We only saw Peter in "Operation: Annihilate" as he is the youngest and still lives at home. 

A minor good thing about the story is the new characters created.  Lt. Cmdr. Flynn is a great addition, and her security crew is awesome as well.  It makes me wish they were part of the original show.  Captain Hunter and the border patrol showed a new and interesting part of Starfleet. I also thought it was interesting that Kirk was once asked to join a poly family.

Mordreaux’s friends desire to go back in time?  Why?  They are already living in a great time.  What about being in the Federation is so bad that you need to go back in time to get over it?  These people seem to be overly spoiled rich kids who are looking for adventure without understanding anything about life’s natural difficulties.  I am reminded about the story of two people sitting on the bench and one is reading a book about knights in the Middle Ages when he says “Wow, to live back then what a time to be alive!”  And his friend points out that he is imagining being the knight not the poor sap who has to shovel the knight’s horse’s droppings.  Also, the damage to the timeline Mordreaux says he sent them so far back that the chance of them altering history is statistically insignificant.  That doesn’t make any sense, the farther back you go the greater impact you would have.  We each have two biological parents, four grandparents, eight great-grandparents.  You go back far enough you should have more ancestors than there were people living at the time and father than that more than were living ever.  Guess what, there is some overlap.  If your ancestors were from Western Europe, then everyone who was in the Roman-Gallic Wars who reproduced is somehow your ancestor. You change the outcome of one of these people and you alter the course of history in a completely unforeseen fashion.  Maybe they were inspired by the people of Sarpeidon?

A planet full of bad ideas

It is a wonder how dense these people can actually be, not only ignoring the dangers of the timeline, but when someone appears in your own time device before you attended to use to warn you against using it, your response is where is your proof?  He is the proof as he just came out of your time machine to tell you it all goes wrong! But you demand a computer simulation?  It isn’t until your friend’s future self comes back that you start to take this seriously. Weird people.

 This book has a lot of interesting twists and turns.  It is important to note that we didn’t see all the time tracks. We did get foreshadows with both Braithwaite and Scotty seeing Spock from the future before we realized that is who they were seeing/taking to.  We don’t see it all, however.   When Mordreaux and Spock go back to Mordreaux ‘s lab, the old man points out that was a mess and wondered if they were on the same track sense he always went peacefully when arrested.  Later, when Spock travels back to get him to call the whole thing off, one of the things the younger Mordreaux agreed to was not to let himself be arrested.  Then we get Mordreaux from that timeline emerge because Spock wasn’t convincing enough. 

It was cool to see Kirk bond with Sulu near the end.  It was also nice to see the origin of Sulu’s promotion to the rank that would see him wear in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Now how did Scotty, Uhura, and Chekov get theirs.

Kirk and Sulu

Should it be canon: Yes, I think this a great story to add to the Star Trek lore.  Nothing in this contradicts anything else in the series.

Cover Art: The cover art is a total lie.  It has Kirk, Spock, Sulu in the front and they all dressed like it is Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Right above them is the Enterprise after her post-five-year-mission refit. Yet this story clearly takes place during the five-year mission.  Heck, in a small way this story is the origin of Sulu’s lieutenant commander promotion. The only thing right about it is Sulu’s hair, as silly as that is.   

Final Grade: Final Grade 5 of 5