Jeremy A Perron's multiple year mission to complete an interesting and witty review for every Star Trek series, every movie, and maybe branch out into my novel collection. Spoilers! Spoilers! Spoilers beware!
Starships and/or Starbases: USS Enterprise NCC-1701, Galileo
III NCC-1701/3, Starbase 11, USS Horizon (registry unknown), IKS Flyer's Pride,
ChR Gauntlet, IKS Irik, and IKS Kalash
Planets: Earth and Vulcan
My Spoiler filled summary and review: The story opens
with a kidnapping.The kidnaped are a
human named Cleante al-Faisal, a Vulcan named T'Shael, an Andorian and some
Deltans.These individuals are the Warrantors
of the Peace an idea the Vulcans came up with in the time of Surak.The Warrantors are voluntary hostages of
sorts.They are family members of
government officials of various Federation member worlds.They would first to die if their worlds
attacked one of its neighbors.Realizing
that kidnapping them could be used to destabilize the Federation the Romulans
and the Klingons plan to do just that. The
Romulans do the kidnapping while the Klingons hold them.
Klingons and Romulans looking to kidnap
The bulk of the story is told
between the two main warrantors Cleante and T’Shael.The book often flows back and forth between
the present and the past.The audience sees
Cleante and T’Shael’s backstory.They
met at the Warrantors headquarters on Vulcan and formed an unlikely friendship.
T’Shael leads a lonely life with a distant mother and a father who is caring
but dying.Her father is a famous
musician known as the gifted one.Her
mother leaves them to serve on the Intrepid and she dies when it is
destroyed by that large single-celled organism from “The Immunity Syndrome.”Her dying father has to break the news to her
that she will soon have no parents at all.Having no family leads her to volunteer for warrantor status.
The story shifts to our normal set
of heroes, who have the entire situation explained to them while being told not
to do anything about it.This becomes a
recurring thing whenever the audience comes back to the Enterprise.
Two Klingons in charge of the
prisoners.They are Lord Krazz and Commander
Kalor.Trusted with such important
prisoners who may be able to allow the Klingons and Romulans to bring the
Federation to its knees, the two Klingons decide their physical passions are
more important and try to rape the prisoners.They are stopped however because of the mental powers of the Deltans
overwhelm the Klingons, so they abandon the rape attempt.
Klingons being evil
Despite the Deltan save, the
Andorian warrantor dies.This causes
protest from Andor and the Romulans themselves are upset.On the Enterprise the crew is briefed
and does nothing.Shortly after, the
Deltans all die by suicide leaving only two hostages left, the main stars of
the book.
Subcommander Tal shows up for an inspection
and is appalled by the conditions the prisoners are kept in. He reports this to
his Commander—the same Romulan Fleet Commander from “The Enterprise
Incident”—she agrees to check on the prisoners herself.
Tal
An unexpected earthquake leads to
the death of Lord Krazz, leading Kalor in charge.The Romulan Commander ordered Kalor to treat
the prisoners better under threat of death and Kalor agrees to her demands.While this is going on it turns out T’Shael
is going through the pon farr. She instructs Cleante to bind her, so she
won’t hurt her friend.This reminds me
of a werewolf.Spock was bad but he
didn’t have to be tied up.Tal suggests
they get a younger Romulan male to sleep with T’Shael, but the Commander just
helps her mentally get over it.
Fleet Commander
After the Romulans leave Kalor
decides to start torturing the prisoners again. He forces T’Shael to spend the night outside
in the freezing temperatures to test the Vulcans resistance to the cold.As T’Shael is suffering Cleante decides to
seduce Kalor.He resists at first and
then agrees to take her offer.Cleante
at this point starts to exhibit major Stockholm Syndrome as she finds herself
starting to fall for Kalor.
This doesn’t last however because
the Romulan Commander arrives and shoots Kalor with a disruptor after catching
the two in bed.Kirk and Spock show up
and find the two remaining warrantors exactly where the Commander wanted them
to be found.It appears her strategy was
to kill them with kindness.She wanted
Kirk and Spock to see how nice she was to the warrantors so they would feel bad
about stealing her cloaking device.In
the end Cleante doesn’t have to be a warrantor anymore, she is just happy it
turns out Kalor didn’t leave her pregnant.She decides to go to Vulcan and hangout with T’Shael who has warrantor
for life status.
Additional thoughts: I had a hard time taking this
story seriously as I found the premise to be absurd.The very idea that United Federation of
Planets is held together by an exchanging of hostages amongst the member worlds
is beyond weird.Apparently, the author
was inspired by the exchanging of hostages in the medieval world and some Cold
War theory.It doesn’t even work in
story; the warrantors themselves are supposed to be the relatives of the
high-ranking officials on the various planets.If the leader of Earth decided to invade Andora that leader would have
to face the reality that their loved one would be the first to die.However, in story the warrantors are allowed
to have substitutes take their place similar to a US Civil War draftee.This defeats the entire purpose because now
it’s no longer the leader’s loved one on the firing line but a stranger. It’s
explained that T’Shael is a substitute for Spock himself, who would normally
have to serve because of the position of his father.Again, this doesn’t make sense as Spock’s
father is not a leader of Vulcan government but rather a diplomatic
representative.Sarek represents Vulcan
but he doesn’t decide what actions it takes. Also, all the warrantors live on
Vulcan even the Vulcan ones, so how is this stopping Vulcan from doing
anything?
Does the Federation need to exchange hostages?
Maybe
The time period was also hard to
place.I had originally thought it would
take place between the second five-year mission between The Motion Picture and
The Wrath of Khan.However, it seemed
might have been during the second film. Saavik is here and McCoy mentions that
they have a crew of all cadets.The crew
is wearing “the monster maroons.”Kirk
is referred to as “Admiral” rather than the temporary commission of “Captain”
he received in The Motion Picture.Yet,
he is in command of the Enterprise and the only time he held that
command and called “Admiral” was during TWOK.That makes the story more improbable to me that on the ship’s way to
Regula 1 they stopped by and picked up the warrantors.
The story also is one in which you
are introduced to a situation or character and then the reader is treated to a
long flashback explaining who they are, what they are about, and what their
relationships with each other are.This
is not an illegitimate form of storytelling, but it does make moving the plot
forward difficult.Without the filler
the story might be only a quarter as long.
We see the Romulan Fleet Commander
from “The Enterprise Incident.”She was
in the last book I read too.Star Trek
novelists seem to find her fascinating.I tend to judge her appearance based on how they explain the aftermath
of her capture and loss of cloaking device.In the last book it was explained that she was able to escape
consequence because the Praetor was her father.In this version she did have claw her back to prominence, but it was
aided by her being the Praetor's mistress. This is clear contradiction, I hope.
She has also seemed to have learned
from her boss, the Praetor, as we see her happily bed her own subordinates that
she finds attractive This includes
Subcommander Tal, who it is said in the book has refused promotions so he can
stay with her.I didn’t like that as I
felt the relationship between her and Tal was based on professionalism and
respect. I don’t have any issue with her bedding other subordinates though it’s
clearly an improvement on her from the last book where she was dealing in love
slaves.This book at least has the
Commander moving in the right direction.
Speaking of love slaves, that was
some serious Stockholm Syndrome we saw from Cleante.When she started to have feelings for Kalor
and even started to sympathize with him.She is also very insistent to McCoy and everyone else that what went on
between them was consensual despite the fact that they both his prisoners and
he was torturing her friend.
Although I highlight in each of my
reviews the most important character and second most important character from
the crew during the story this one is a bit off.In this book the two most important members
of the crew are Kirk and Spock, but they do nothing in the story.The regular cast of characters are completely
useless.They could have been written
out of the story, and nothing would have changed except the name of the ship
that Cleante and T’Shael leave in.
On the last note I found it funny
that the author tried to present the Klingons as opposite of the Vulcans in
that they age faster than humans. Neat idea that Star Trek didn’t stick
with.
Should it be canon: I am going to say no.There is just too much weird stuff in this
book to try and have it be canonical.
Cover Art:. The cover has two young women on the
bottom of the image is Cleante on the viewer’s right and T’Shael on the viewers
left.Above T’Shael is the face of Kirk
and above Cleante is the face of Spock.
Cast of Characters: Captain/Ensign James T. KirkCommander/Captain SpockDr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA
“Bones”Lieutenant Commander
Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”Lieutenant Hikaru SuluLieutenant Nyota UhuraLieutenant
Kevin Riley Lieutenant/Ensign
Jeremy RichardsonLieutenant AndersonNurse Christine Chapel Ensign/Commander Pavel Chekov Ensign Dane ChristensenEnsign Carl ReichertEnsign Paul DonnerYeoman Third Class S'ParvaCrewman Devoran Crewman
Dave DonnellyAdmiral S't'kalCaptain Christopher PikeDr. PalmerThe Romulan Fleet Commander/Preator General TavorCommander Tazol Subcommander SarelaSubcommander SekorLieutenant RolashCenturion SelonCenturion Tasme
Starships and/or Starbases: USS Enterprise NCC-1701/VSS
ShiKahr, VSS S'Tasmeen, VSS T'Ruda, IRV Ravon and IRV T'Favaron
Planets: Canus IV, Earth, Romulus, and Remus
My Spoiler filled summary and review: The adventure
begins with Captain Kirk telling Spock of a strange dream he had.He was on the Enterprise but it wasn’t
the Enterprise. In addition to that he wasn’t the captain, Spock
was.Kirk in his dream never made it
past ensign, and the whole time he wants to tell Spock that he is supposed to
be the captain.Strangely enough Spock
had a similar dream.McCoy dismisses
these events as typical psychology.
We have a new crew member, Yeoman
S’Parva, who is from a species that looks like anthropomorphic dogs.We also meet Lt. Jeremy Richarson, a human
officer who seems to find the dog person attractive. (Thanks author!)
As Kirk goes to sleep reality
changes.He is no longer Captain Kirk of
the Enterprise but he is Ensign Kirk of the ShiKahr.Kirk’s life took a hard turn when he was
falsely accused of murder of his instructor.The Vulcans found him guilty and subjected him to something called the
Talos device that messed him up mentally and is now dependent on drugs.In this reality Spock is the captain of the
ship.He takes pity on Ensign Kirk, for
he studied the Talos device and recommended its decommissioning.Spock is also haunted by strange dreams.The former Ensign Chekov is now a commander
and first officer in this new reality.
Kirk is no longer himself
All of Captain Spock’s attempts to
reach out to Ensign Kirk almost end in failure.Kirk wants off the ship, but he wants prison less and that is his only
alternative.Spock decides to separate
Kirk from his abusive roommate.Kirk
might not be a murderer, but he is still a huge pain in this time.Spock still feels he deserves a fair chance.
Things start to get strange from
low to high.Ensign Reichert almost
destroys the ship with sabotage and Spock gets an insane order from fleet
command to start a war with the Romulans.McCoy finds two sets of brainwaves in the deranged Ensign.This may be a galaxy wide event.
It turns out the Romulans were
behind everything, the author doesn’t try to make this a surprise.The Romulans decided that they needed to
prevent the Federation from forming so they went on a mission do that.Commander Tazol is excited about this plan
because he feels the Federation has been strangling the Romulan Star Empire by
denying its chance of expansion.His
first officer and wife, Subcommander Sarela, does not share his enthusiasm, as
she pointed out other times their time travel plans did not give them the
desired results. The two of them are not a good couple.
Commander Tazol is not a happy camper.
It seems the Romulans plans have
all turned sour.As the Federation no
longer exists but it has been replaced by a Federation-like Alliance of Planets
that is centered on Vulcan and not on Earth.The Empire is only moderately bigger.It seems as if the whole thing wasn’t worth the trip.
Back on the ShiKahr Dr.
McCoy makes a startling discovery.Remembering the time they went to the mirror universe, McCoy thinks that
might have something to do with what they are now facing. He concludes that
there are two universes, and one was created by a time alteration.The big news is their universe that they have
lived their whole lives in is the wrong one.McCoy concludes that these shared dreams are of the other and real
universe.McCoy hypothesis that the
people who are acting out are the ones who are the most affected by the
change.McCoy points out that he is probably
a doctor and chief medical officer in both realities, so he is unchanged. People whose lives have been turned upside
down are having a rough time. Ensign Kirk is also a good example. He might have
been something very different in another life.
Spock trying to help Kirk
Their mission brings them to Canus IV,
where they investigate possible Romulan activity by sending down a landing
party. This causes Spock to question his
decisions, and Kirk is re-traumatized.Spock is also dealing with the fact that his pon farr, is kicking
in.In this reality T’Pring had more
courage to just outright dump him, instead of cowardly trying to get him to
murder his own friend.
Subcommander Sarela is summoned to
meet with the Praetor and shocked to discover that the Praetor is actually a
woman.Her name is Thea, and she is the
same Romulan Fleet Commander that Kirk and Spock stole a clocking device from
in the unaltered reality.She explains
her father was Praetor until his recent death and since he was sonless, she
took over. There is going to be a power struggle in the Empire and Sarela’s
husband is on the other side.The
Praetor realizes her father’s plan hasn’t worked she now wants to abduct Kirk
to force Spock to impersonate the Praetor (as most people don’t know what the
Praetor looks like) and present the Vulcan Tenets of Discipline to the Romulan
people. After she wants Spock to use his extraordinary power as a starship
commander to negotiate a peace treaty.
Big plans for Spock
The ShiKahr rendezvous with T'Ruda,
a ship commanded by Spock’s former first officer, Captain Christopher Pike, the
first human to command his own starship.Captains Spock and Pike agree that the orders coming from the fleet a
clearly insane.Spock learns that Kirk
has not been seen since returning from Canus IV. He finds Kirk in the ship's green
and forcibly initiates a mind-meld, during which the two of them become more
fully aware of who they were in the unaltered timeline. During the meld Kirk drops his Academy ring in
the loose sand of the garden. Richardson and S'Parva also discover their true
selves using the same method.
Suddenly a small Romulan scout ship
appears claiming to have drifted of course.They are intercepted and the crew brought aboard.Thea and Sarela come aboard and are confined
to quarters. Later, two Romulan agents disguised as Vulcan security guards, kidnap
Kirk and Richardson from their cabin and transport them to the scout ship and
escape to Romulan space. Thea announces
her plans to Spock, and he agrees but only to turn the tables on her.
Spock lets Thea know that the timeline
is now unstable and when the get to Romulus rebellions all throughout the
Empire convince her that this is true. Kirk and Richardson are brought in after
an escape attempt and are recruited on the mission.Thea reveals that the assassins who went back
to alter the past and were androids that her father had purchased.Little does Thea know that Jim Kirk is the
Bane of all Artificial Intelligence, and these androids don’t stand a chance.The Romulan ship loops around the sun in
order to go back to the past.
Now in the late 21st
century they locate the figures they need to save.When the androids arrive, they attack.In the battle Richardson is killed and Spock
is fatally injured.Before he passes, he
gives Kirk a Romulan disruptor because, as the one who lost the most due to the
time change, he should be the one to restore it.As Spock lies dying the three of them
disappear.
Kirk doesn't feat andriods or any other type of AI
Back in the restored universe Kirk
awakens to find he is once again Captain of the Enterprise. Still
haunted by the dreams, he agrees to a mind meld with Spock.They are now aware of their other selves, and
it explains a ring Kirk found in the garden that belonged to his counterpart.The ring was located exactly where he dropped
it.Later Kirk puts it back and allows
it to disappear.
Additional thoughts: Well, this now makes two books
in row where the enemies of the Federation tried to wipe out using time
travel.In “Ishmael” the Klingons try to
use time travel to prevent the existence of the Federation and this time it’s
the Romulans.The Klingons never
succeed, in fact, their attempt to change things is itself what caused them to
fail.The Romulans manage to pull it off
only to realize that they did not get what they asked for and end up teaming up
with our heroes to get everything back.
I am really tired of people with my
name being weirdos or creeps.We got the
silly Ghostbusters guy, the not so nice individual in the new Beetlejuice film.
This one isn’t so bad. It’s just that he is sexually attracted to a big
dog-like alien.
I enjoyed how Sarela explains to
her foolish husband of the other failed time travel plots. They have tried to
use time travel in the past to make life easier for themselves and at one time
it led to them wiping out a planetary population.Yet the Romulans still continue to do
it.You would think they would run into
some heavy butterfly effects by now.
Should leave the time travel tricks to the Federation
There must be more to the Romulans
changing the timeline than just the simple sling shot effect. Everywhere else
in the franchise whenever the timeline has changed, hardly anyone is aware that
it occurred.When the Romulans start to
change it, multiple people start having bad dreams as a preview for the new
reality. When reality finally does
change people continue to have strange dreams about their old lives driving
some of them insane.Romulans should
leave the time travel adventures to the Federation.
I thought it was interesting that
both the Second History crew and the First History crew went on similar
missions.The Second History also had a
“Mirror, Mirror” adventure.Which made
me really interested in what the Mirror Universe looked like in this reality. Clearly its different or else Spock would have
identified Kirk as the Mirror Universe captain.
What's their Mirror Universe like?
So, the Romulan Star Empire has a
system of slavery with other Romulans as slaves.And sometimes sex slaves are given away as
gifts? Yes, these slaves are still trusted as with weapons and are sent on
secret missions to enemy territory.This
isn’t the only version of this we saw something similar of this in the book,
“The Fate of the Phoenix.”
Why was this Spock going through
the pon farr now?Wouldn’t it have
kicked in around the same time as the Prime Universe Spock?Are there more treatments in this reality
that can delay it?That might make sense
in a Vulcan-centered Alliance.
It is quite a shock to realize that
your very reality that you lived in your entire life, is not real. In most time
travel stories time gets mixed up and those characters who have not been
changed try to restore the true reality. Understanding that your world or
universe is wrong and you aren’t the “real you” requires a whole new level of
thought. Of course, it’s easier when your universe is trying to destroy itself.
A typical time travel adventure
It appears we have Romulan
terminators? At this point in history The Terminator had only been out
for about a year.Fortunately, the time
device that our heroes use doesn’t require that they travel naked, and the
Romulan disruptor serves well at ending the threat and restoring reality.
Lastly, the Praetor.As the old Hitchcock quote goes, “You can get
people to believe in the impossible but the improbable.”I am all right with human-looking space
aliens starships and time travel.I
can’t believe that someone can screw up as badly as the Romulan Fleet Commander
did in “The Enterprise Incident” can not only keep her job but be promoted. I don’t
care who her father is.The book “The Price of the Phoenix” also featured her in a continued leadership role.I prefer the “My Enemy, My Ally” view of it
where she lost everything and correctly blames Kirk and Spock.Now this could be saved.We never saw her act as Praetor in the main
universe.Yes, she was supposedly immune
to the change.However, no one knows
what the Praetor looks like maybe he didn’t board the ship because he didn’t
want to be stuck with the “wrong memories.” What if Thea was just a bureaucratic assistant
who was there to record the change and report back and she returned she was now
the Praetor.She might see it as an
extension of a career she should have naturally had.
This book was also infamous because
of the Kirk/Spock slash fiction that was contained in the original edition that
was recalled by Paramount Pictures.As
my copy is not original and doesn’t contain the delated passages, I can’t
really make a comment on it.
Should it be canon: Considering the whole adventure
is one that the main story never actually happened except in the minds of Kirk
and Spock, I don’t have an objection to it being cannon. Although I don't care for the part of the Romulan Fleet Commander being the Praetor's daughter/successor.
Cover Art: Spock is on the front of the cover wearing
his Vulcan Fleet uniform.Behind him is
Subcommander Sarela and the Romulan Fleet Commander turned Praetor. Behind them
is a city on Romulus and a Bird of Prey flies through the sky.
Cast of Characters: Rear Admiral James T. KirkDr.
Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”Commander Hikaru
SuluCommander Nyota
UhuraCommander Pavel ChekovCommander Max Arrunja Lieutenant Commander
Kyle Dr. Christine ChapelLieutenant Commander Janice RandLieutenantSaavikLieutenant (Junior Grade) FosterFleet Admiral Harrison Morrow Captain J.T. EstebanCommander Miguel DarbyCaptain Lawrence H. Styles Lieutenant (junior grade)
HeisenbergDr. David
MarcusCommander KrugeTorgMaltz Ambassador SarekValkrisT’MeiT’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.
Cast: William Shatner as Rear Admiral James T. KirkDeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA
“Bones”James Doohanas Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”George Takeias Commander Hikaru SuluNichelle Nichols as Commander Nyota UhuraWalter Koenig as Commander Pavel
ChekovRobin Curtis as Lieutenant SaavikLeonard Nimoy as the Excelsior’ computer
and as Captain Spock’s adult body Carl
Steven as Young zombie SpockVadia
Potenza as early teenage zombie SpockStephen Manley as older teenage
zombie SpockJoe W. Davis as Young
adult zombie SpockPhil Morris as Lieutenant
(junior grade) FosterGrace Lee
Whitney as Lieutenant Commander Janice RandMark Lenard as Ambassador
Sarek Phillip R. Allen as
Captain J.T. EstebanRobert Hooks as
Fleet Admiral Harrison MorrowJames
Sikking as Captain Lawrence H. Styles Miguel Ferrer as Commander Miguel
DarbyScott McGinnis as Lieutenant (junior grade) HeisenbergChristopher Lloyd as Commander KrugeStephen Liska as Torg John Larroquette as MaltzDavid Cadiente as unnamed Klingon
SergeantBob K. Cummings as unnamed Klingon Gunner #1Branscombe Richmond as unnamed Klingon
Gunner #2Cathie Shirriff as ValkrisPaul Sorensen as Captain Harry PriceDanny Rogers as Hans Markheim Jeanne Mori as unnamed Helm officerMario Marcelino as unnamed Communications
officerMario Marcelino asunnamed AlienSharon Thomas Cain as unnamed WaitressKatherine
Blum as unnamed Vulcan ChildJudith
Anderson as unnamed Vulcan High PriestessGary Faga as unnamed Prison Guard#1Doug Shanklin as unnamed Prison Guard#2Teresa E. Victor as Enterprise ComputerJudi
M. Durand as space dock controllerShirley Anthony as unnamed Vulcan PriestDavid
Armstrong as unnamed Vulcan PriestBenjie Bancroft as unnamed Vulcan PriestJessica
Biscardi as unnamed Vulcan Priest
Ships and Space
Stations: 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: The adventure
begins mere weeks after the previous one ended with the Enterprise
limping home from its victorious battle with the “Superior Intellect.”With Spock dead however, Admiral Kirk doesn’t
feel very victorious.With almost all
the training crew reassigned, the Enterprise only has a skeleton
crew.Suddenly there is a security
breach.Someone has broken into the late
Captain Spock’s quarters.Kirk gets down
there and finds McCoy during a rather impressive Spock imitation.McCoy in Spock’s voice wants to know why he
wasn’t returned to Vulcan then he passes out.At this point Kirk is probably thinking, “gee I thought I took Spock’s
death hard.”
Entering spacedock
They get to space dock which is far more impressive than the space dock
in the last two movies.As the Enterprise
moves in, everyone at the station is horrified to see battle scars.The bridge crew then sees Starfleet newest
idea: the starship Excelsior.She
is big and beautiful, and Sulu is already in love.(I wonder if that will lead to anything.) Fleet Admiral Marrow comes down to tell them
they have all down an amazing job.However, Genesis is a very controversial topic now, so they are not
going to be allowed to talk about it.In
better news, Scotty gets a new assignment aboard the Excelsior (doing
the same thing that he has been doing for the Enterprise) and a
promotion to the rank of Captain.Here
we have the Star Trek franchise’s very first on-screen promotion.Scotty is honored but would rather stay
aboard the Enterprise.That’s
when the Fleet Admiral gives some more bad news, the Enterprise is being
retired as she is too damn old.Kirk
goes to protest, but the Fleet Admiral insists with some reason explaining that
the Enterprise is now 20 years old. At this point Kirk wants to yell, “those who
can’t do simple math should be allowed to make any sort of decision, the Enterprise
is 40 years old you moron.”However,
Kirk doesn’t for two reasons. The first is that it would be insulting
insubordination and the second is if he hopes to change their mind, he is best
not remind the brass that the ship is twice as old as they already think it is.
The future of Starfleet
Around the Genesis planet, the USS Grissom
is in orbit.Aboard this science vessel
is Dr. David Marcus and Lt. Saavik (who has matured quite a bit, it’s almost as
if she was a completely different person) they are guiding this crew on this
special journey.Captain J.T. Esteban,
who is commanding, is a very stickler for rules and slow to make decisions but
Marcus and Saavik find a way to work around him.As strange lifeforms readings appear the two
of them talk the Captain into allowing two-person landing party to
investigate.
The two person landing party
Elsewhere a small merchant ship is
waiting for something and onboard is a two-person crew and a female Klingon.Suddenly a Klingon Bird-of-Prey decloaks
above the merchant ship in all of its awesomeness.The Klingon on board, named Valkris, sends the data her people have been waiting
for.Commander Kruge is happy to get it
but disappointed that Valkris reveals that she has seen it.For he is under orders to leave no one who
has seen it alive.He has ship destroy
the merchant ship killing everyone board even that lady Klingon who we learn
was his lover.Later he goes over the
Genesis data with those who are authorized.We see the same tape played from The Wrath of Khan but instead it is
Kirk not Carol Marcus giving the introduction.(Which okay I get the studio doesn’t want to pay Bibi Besch any more
residuals than are necessary and Dr. Carol Marcus isn’t supposed to be in this
movie, but shouldn’t it be David whose explaining what Genesis is?Granted considering David’s fate in this
story that may have been why they had Shatner do it, but it still feels cheap.)
Kruge declares this to a doomsday weapon
to which they have a natural right to defend themselves against.For them the mission is now on.
Admiral Kirk is having a get-together at his place when Ambassador Sarek
arrives and demands a solo meeting the Admiral.Kirk agrees and Sarek begins criticizing Kirk in ways that Kirk really
doesn’t understand.Sarek and Kirk mind
meld so Sarek learns exactly what Kirk experienced at Spock’s death.It turns out Vulcans have been able to
transfer their essence—their soul as it were—to others upon death.This is something that Vulcans gain by being
touch telepaths.They call this their
katra, the transfer of all the know into another body who will host it long
enough to return to Vulcan where it is to be interred in the Hall of Ancient
Thought at Mount Seleya. Sarek had
thought Kirk had Spock’s katra and for reasons he didn’t understand was
neglecting his duty.He turns away
disappointed that Spock’s katra, everything that he knew and was, would be lost
forever.At this point Kirk should have
jumped and said “he is not fully gone for we still have Big Spock.Big Spock!”Rather than confuse the older Vulcan he just claimed that Spock “would
have found away.”
Sarek looking for his son's soul
Going over security footage Kirk notices the physical contact between
Spock and McCoy, and suddenly McCoy’s weird behavior makes a lot of sense.They are instructed by Sarek to get both
Spock’s body and McCoy to genesis to complete the procedure.This is going to be hard because McCoy was
already trying to get back to Genesis, he gets picked up by Federation security
and in his confused state tries to give the man a Vulcan nerve pinch.
Kirk generally tries to explain everything to the Fleet Admiral and get
permission to do what they need to do.However, his commanding officer orders him not to go and expressly stay
away from Genesis and not talk about it. Of course, Kirk is going anyway he just wanted
to give Starfleet the opportunity to do the right thing.
On the Genesis planet, David and Saavik find Spock’s photon-torpedo
coffin.It’s surrounded by creatures
that used to be microbes.On the inside
are Spock’s burial robes so his body has been separated from its coffin and is
naked. They hear a cry, and they find a Vulcan child.Spock’s body has regenerated and was reduced
to infancy and is now a toddler.They
report this to Captain Slow Decision, who while slowly deciding what to do, has
no idea what is coming next.The Klingon
Bird of Prey decloaks and the slow Captain can’t think to say “shields up” so
the Klingon torpedo destroys the Grissom.Understanding what has happened Saavik and
David take the young Spock and go into hiding.
To Kirk the best ride to Genesis would be his favorite ride, and the crew
pulls a Mission Impossible type of assignment where each actor has his own part
to play in the breakout.(Except McCoy
who just needs to be rescued.Kirk gets
McCoy out of his cell; Sulu beat the guard who called him ‘tiny’ and blew up
the security consul; Uhura running the transporter room sticks “Mr. Action” in
the closet (in one of best Uhura scenes of all time) and gets them back onto
their ship.Now that they are on the Enterprise
it is Scotty’s turn to contribute.Not
only does he have the ship running but he has hacked into the Starbase’s system
to open the space doors, but it’s that last one that almost takes a little too
long.Captain Styles powers up
his Excelsior to give chase.However, that is where Scotty comes through once again.As the Enterprise takes off the Excelsior
stalls in its pursuit.“Good morning,
Captain” is Scotty’s message to his now former CO.
On the planet Spock is aging rapidly.David confesses to Saavik that he had added proto mater to the Genesis
matrix.This substance is illegal and
highly unstable, but David said it solved certain problems.This is when Saavik explains the Pon’ Farr to
David. Vulcans normally have their mating cycle once every seven years but due
to his rapid again, Spock’s about to experience it every hour.Fortunately, he has a nice lady Vulcan on the
planet, and she is ready and willing to do the deed. After all it is only logical.And while Spock and Saavik are getting it on David
is trying to protect them from Klingons.He doesn’t do a good job as shortly after they are all captured.
A very brave but not always smart bunch
The Enterprise arrives in orbit around Genesis planet, and as she
does the Klingon ship goes into cloak mode.They summon their commander back to the ship.Kruge had been arguing with his prisoners
about the merits of Genesis, while they see it as a failure Kruge still sees
the potential of this Doomsday weapon.The two commanders try to figure out what the other is all about.Kirk guesses correctly about a cloaked ship,
that it is both out there but needs to decloak in order to fire.As Klingon ship goes into attack the Enterprise
fires first with torpedoes sending their enemy flying.If the Enterprise was in peak
condition that would have been all she wrote for the Klingons.But in her damaged state the Klingon ship was
able to recover and return fire. The
legendary ship couldn’t even get her shields up as the Klingons landed a
crippling blow. Kirk tries to bluff his
way out, but he is dealing with Kruge, the coolest Klingon to date, not Balok of the First Federation.Kruge correctly
guesses the Enterprise’s best days are behind her and demands Kirk’s
surrender.He points out he has hostages
and will even let the Admiral talk to them.
Saavik explains Spock’s condition as best she can.David explains that he messed up and Genesis
is a failure.If this movie wasn’t
called The Search for Spock, it could be called David Marcus, The
Never-ending Screw Up.David tells his father that Genesis is a
failure, that he messed up, and then brilliantly adds “I don’t believe they are
going to kill us for it.”Kruge, of
course, takes that as a challenge and orders one of their deaths.It looks like the Klingon is going to kill
resurrected Spock, but David won’t let him die again especially since it was
his fault.He goes to fight the Klingon,
something his father has done several times.However, he may be Admiral Kirk’s son, but his name isn’t Kirk, it’s
Marcus and that is fitting because he is so much more a Marcus than a
Kirk.Unlike his father David is not one
of the great fighters in the galaxy.He
has neither speed nor grace, his blows lack power.The Klingon warrior quickly overpowers him
and guts him like a fish.Saavik has the
horrid duty of announcing his death.Kirk collapses raging against the Klingon for killing his son. Kruge is unmoved and reminds him of the
hostages that he still holds.Kirk
agrees to surrender but the Enterprise still has one last trick up her
sleeve.
Kirk asks for time to prepare the crew he doesn’t actually have and Kruge
allows.He sends nearly his entire crew
as a boarding party; Klingon Bird of Preys are very small and only have a crew-complement
of slightly over a dozen.Kirk, with
Scotty and Chekov, activate the ship’s self-destruct device. They transport away just before the Klingons
are transported onboard. They search
going all the way to the bridge.The
lead Klingon checks back with his Commander and tells Kruge that the ship
appears abandoned.With
constitution-class starship normally having over 400 crew members Kruge can’t
believe it.The team leader states the
computer is talking, Kruge hears it and realizes what it is but it is too
late.The Enterprise lights up in
fire of its own creation destroying itself and anything aboard her which
includes most of Kruge crew.Kirk and
crew watch as the Enterprise turns to dust in the atmosphere over planet
Genesis.Kirk shoots with a phaser the
exact Klingon who killed his son.He
then manipulates Kruge to come down to the planet and to bring his crew up,
save him and Spock.At this point Kruge
only has one crew member, however since he thought a small landing party could
hold over 400 people, he clearly doesn’t doubt his warrior’s ability to guard
five.
The Death of the Enterprise
Kirk and Kruge face off.We know
Kruge is a warrior, but he is not facing David Marcus, Kirk’s late and soft
son, he is facing one of greatest fighters this side of galaxy.Kirk fights with speed and grace that will
often leave his opponents spellbound.And Kruge is more than spellbound, with some boot kicks to the face he
falls to his death and ends up in a poll of lava just before the planet
explodes.
Warrior to warrior
Kirk tricks the Klingon remaining to beam him and Spock’s reanimated body
up to the ship.They escape in the nick
of time and head to Vulcan.There they
bring Spock’s body and McCoy to the Hall of Ancient Thought at Mount Seleya.The Vulcan priests and priestesses manage to
take Spock’s katra out of McCoy and back into the body it belongs.Spock is out of it and clearly has a long way
to go but he recognized his friends who came back to save him.
A family reunited!
Additional thoughts: There are those who say the good Star
Trek movies are the even numbered ones and the bad ones are the odd number
films.Those people are really stupid,
and you shouldn’t listen to them about this subject or any other subject.The Search for Spock gives the viewer
everything you would want in a middle chapter story. We start right where we had left off, followed
by non-stop action, and finish ready for the next chapter.The title is a bit of spoiler to paraphrase
Leonard Nimoy, we called it “The Search for Spock” it would be rather odd if
Kirk turned to the audience at the end and said, “sorry folks, we didn’t find
him.”
Everyone seeing the damage
What ever happened to T’Pau? You remember her from the famous episode “Amok Time.”The last time Kirk defied
Starfleet to save Spock’s life.She, by
her own authority, was able to get the Enterprise’s orders retroactively
changed so Kirk could keep his command. Why don’t they go to her for help against
Starfleet this time?Heck, they could
save themselves half a trip and she could just order the Grissom to
bring Spock’s body back to Vulcan.Is
she dead or otherwise incapacitated.I
wonder more about her missing than I do about Big Spock.Why didn’t Kirk bring him up again?
Where was she this whole time?
In Lenord Nimoy’s follow up auto-biography I Am Spock, when
discussing the Spock and Savvik scene dealing with Spock’s Pon’ Farr, Nimoy had
a bet with one of writers.Nimoy did not
think anyone would laugh and then made a bet about it which Nimoy won.Well, that may have been true in 1984,
however ever since I first watched it, I always found it hilarious. First, why is Spock going through this now
where in his original life it didn’t hit him well into adulthood at which point
he was a commander in Starfleet and first officer of the Enterprise?Here since it started early it will now hit
often with rapid aging which means Saavik and Spock really got down to it a
lot.What a lucky Spock!Too bad remember any of it, or can he?That was never really clear.
Before I talk about the death of the Enterprise, I want to point
out in Star Trek Which Way book I reviewed a little while ago, I, as a
Starfleet ensign, lead a boarding party onto a Klingon ship.When fighting on the bridge some Klingons
were near the computer consul entered something in and retreated.Going up to the consul I saw images flashing,
now I don’t speak Klingonese but I can recognize symbols changing and could
easily guess these were numbers counting down.So, I took my phaser and blasted it preventing the self-destruct and
allowing the capture of the Klingon ship.For that I was promoted to lieutenant.Now if you are wondering if I feel superior to the Klingon officer who
didn’t understand what the talking computer was doing, I do feel superior.
Now let’s talk about the Death of
the Enterprise.When this movie
came out in 1984, Star Trek was eighteen years old.It is hard to overstate the trauma of
watching this beautiful ship die on the big screen to these Star Trek
fans.For those eighteen years the
starship Enterprise was the ship of their dreams.The amazing vehicle that traveled through
space faster than light and took them to all their adventures both on the small
screen, the big screen, live action, animated, and in literary form.The ship was where their characters returned
to at the end of all their adventures.Once they were back on board, they were safe again.Although there were times when the entire
ship was in danger, she would always escape whatever peril they faced just in
the nick of time with the chirping of the computer equipment on the
bridge.As Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov
enter in the death codes what fan didn’t to hear Admiral Kirk’s voice say, “Code1-2-3-continuity, abort destruct order."Just like he did the last time they considered scuttling the ship.Thus, saving and the ship and finding another
way to defeat their enemy that didn’t involve killing one of their
friends.However, it was not to be here
in orbit on the Genesis planet.The Enterprise
would go out on her own terms at the hands of a lover rather than a
stranger.She was consumed by fire of
her own creation destroying both herself and the Klingon crew that infiltrated
her.As what was left of her crew
watched her remains burn up in the atmosphere, they were reminded that she was a beautiful lady, and they loved her.
Saying good-bye to their ship!
Sadness aside, there was also
something else about the destruction.Although it may have been a stunning visual effect, it didn’t make a lot
of sense.You would think the ship
blowing itself up would have its main explosion be its primary engine.With the saucer burning up in the atmosphere
after that.What we see is the exact
opposite, the place with personal quarters and research laboratories explodes
and the engine star drive section is what falls into the atmosphere.
This has to be the damn coolest the landing party has ever looked!
The Genesis planet is unstable that I can buy but they think they were a
little too quick to come up with the reason and blame it on David?David explained he used proto-mater in the
Genesis formula to solve certain problems, and Saavik objects to this as it is
widely considered unstable. Yet the earlier Genesis in the undergrown cave was
fine.Some may say it’s the scope, but I
am bothered by something different.When
were explained Genesis, the plan was to test it out on some dead world or
moon.The mission of the Reliant in the previous film was to find such a planet for them to use.It was never meant explode inside a damaged
starship flouting around the middle of a nebula.Such a major change of variables should be
the first thing that is pointed out, yet no one ever does.Instead of labeling Genesis a failure they
should say it has never been properly tested.
In reading Nimoy’s I Am Spock we learn a great deal about what
went to his decisions on the movies where he was director.He stated that he was given a number of ship
design models.Of the bunch he chose the
one that became the Excelsior because it looked the most like the Enterprise.There was a clear evolution between the
designs, Nimoy felt as if the two were designed by the same people.
There was one small detail that I really liked.Scotty was promoted to captain, yet on the
Enterprise’s computer system he still identified as a commander.This makes since considering the vastness of
space there is no way for all the starships to be so interconnected.(They probably weren’t thinking of that in
1984 as the world was not yet online.)It was a nice little detail that they didn’t update the personal files
on a decommissioning starship.
The Klingons attack
We must talk about Christohpher Lloyd and how he as Commander Kruge came
to define the Klingons for the franchise going forward.Yes, there have been impressive Klingons in
the past such as Kor and Kang.Here, however,
is where the standard is set.When the
Klingons got the new/traditional/true look in The Motion Picture, the only
thing we saw from them was they were getting their butts kicked to V’ger.Here we get to see what these Klingons are
all about.A warrior species that thinks
about honor, glory, and duty.The first
thing we see Kruge do is kill his wife along with the human smugglers because
she saw something she wasn’t authorized; we also see that she has no problems
with this and gladly goes to her death.Kruge leads his own landing party and when he encounters a strange life
form, he puts aside his advanced weapons and meets it head on.It almost kills him before he kills it and
tells his ship that they have encountered nothing important.He dares to take on a starship that has ten
times his fire power and actually win.He chooses battle with his enemy and almost certain death because he
won’t give quarter.He was a great
leader of Klingons; he does not tolerate repeated failure and will punish it
with death.The guy probably would have
won if he didn’t have the misfortune of going against James T. Kirk.
Kruge leading his men
According to Nimoy the original antagonists in this film were going to be
the Romulans, but he changed it to the Klingons.That is why they have a ship called “Bird of Prey” and can cloak; this is something Klingons couldn’t do up until that
time.Although the Klingons were
mentioned as having the cloaking ability in the episode “The Time Trap.”
I still don’t understand why Kirk was tasked with retrieving Spock’s
body. Also, would it have continued to age and regrow the radiation burns that
killed him if he stayed on the planet too long?I wonder if his ever-growing changing body has some sort of consequence
for Saavik who had sex with him a lot.
Did Kirk actually sacrifice in the way Sarek says he did at the end?Did he give up his son and ship for
Spock?Because I think he would have
lost those things anyway.The Enterprise
was set to be decommissioned by Starfleet, and the Klingons were already
chasing after Genesis.He wasn’t getting
his ship back, and the Klingons might have killed David anyway considering he
could neither fight nor shut his mouth for too long.
