Here we are: the conclusion to my countdown of my 15 all-time favorite Star Trek novels. The previous installments can be found here and here. These Final Five are, in my humble opinion, examples of Star Trek tie-in fiction at its best—stories that capture the experience of watching one of the episodes or movies, but delivering on a larger, more epic scale, unfettered by a tight special-effects budget, and yet also providing a greater sense of intimacy, as they delve deeper into the characters we know so well, helping us to see and understand them in new and intriguing ways.
So, without further ado...
I received this novel when I was around
14 years old, as a gift from my eighth-grade math teacher, Paul Rubin, who was
a fellow Star Trek fan. He handed it to me right before a class trip to the
Great Adventure amusement park in New Jersey. I started reading it the moment I
sat down on the bus, and was pulled in right away. As I recall, by the time the
bus returned us to Brooklyn that evening, I was at least halfway through the
book. David Gerrold, of course, is the writer responsible for one of the most
classic Star Trek episodes of all time, “The Trouble With Tribbles,” and he was
one of the original architects of Star
Trek: The Next Generation. His vast knowledge and understanding of the
franchise is very much on display in this story about the Enterprise’s encounter with a vast, aging spaceship—essentially a
city in space—that is on a direct heading for a galactic whirlpool that will
ensure the destruction of the vessel and everyone aboard it. Kirk and his crew
find themselves trying to save an entire civilization of people who have been
isolated for so long that they don’t believe in the existence of any worlds
other than their own. There’s plenty of drama, humor, vivid characterizations, intriguing
science-fiction concepts, and several story elements that would later be used
in the development of TNG. All in
all, a very enjoyable Star Trek novel. Thanks again, Mr. Rubin.
The one and only Star Trek novel ever written by
series creator Gene Roddenberry—no, it wasn’t
ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster, despite the insistence of persistent rumors
over the years. And while it’s not an all-original story, being an adaptation
of the screenplay credited to Harold Livingston, this is in no way just a prose
version of the movie. In this book, Roddenberry has the freedom to take the Enterprise’s encounter with V’Ger and
imbue it with his pure, unadulterated vision of Star Trek and its characters. We
are provided with intriguing details about the status quo of the universe at
the time of the movie. The stuff that Roddenberry establishes about the main
characters—their backstories and the personal dramas going on between them—is
exactly what the film version needed, and it’s a shame that these elements
never made it to the screen. We find out what led to McCoy’s departure from
Starfleet, and why he swore he would never return. We gain greater
understanding of Spock’s inner turmoil. We get a much better sense of what’s
been going on with Kirk since the end of the five-year mission—for one thing,
he had been romantically involved with a female colleague in the Admiralty.
(Remember the two people who died in the transporter accident early in the
film? According to the novel, she was one of them.) And we get to witness the
interaction between Kirk and his superior officer, the named but never seen Admiral
Nogura, and find out exactly what strings Kirk had to pull to get the Enterprise back. It’s clear that
Roddenberry had a ball writing this book, as he opens it with an introduction
written by Kirk himself, and sprinkles footnotes throughout the narrative, with
Kirk commenting on or clarifying particular points of interest—one of which is
aimed squarely at that infamous subset of Trek fandom who insist that Kirk and
Spock have been lovers all along. Even if you don’t like The Motion Picture, you may well enjoy this book.
It’s a shame that this wasn’t the story in William Shatner’s head when he was
developing Star Trek V: The Final
Frontier, because I think it would have been one hell of a movie. My
understanding is that after the disappointing box-office performance of The Final Frontier, an undaunted Shatner
lobbied for another chance, and pitched a story to Paramount about a quest to
find a mythical fountain of youth. Paramount declined, obviously, and Shatner
apparently was still holding on to the idea years later, when he was given the
opportunity to create a Star Trek novel. Despite a framing sequence that takes
place in the 24th century, following the events of Star Trek Generations, the novel is set
shortly after Star Trek VI: The
Undiscovered Country, with the Enterprise
in mothballs, most of the crew retired, and Kirk finding himself increasingly
restless and frustrated, with no clear direction for the rest of his life.
Inevitably, he is called back into action—but this time, it’s an unauthorized
mission that puts him at odds with his closest friends and the top brass at
Starfleet Command. In The Final Frontier,
Shatner wanted to depict a major conflict between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy that
would have threatened to tear apart their friendship, but it got watered down
to almost nothing in the finished film. In this book, he gets to revisit that
concept, and is far more successful. The characterizations are spot-on and the
story successfully captures the feel of the original-crew movies, particularly
the later ones. Given that Shatner came up with the story, it should come as no
surprise that the focus is squarely on Kirk, but he and his co-writers Judith
and Garfield Reeves-Stevens actually come up with interesting things for the
supporting characters to do, without diminishing them or poking fun at them the
way Shatner did in The Final Frontier.
Just as interesting: Kirk’s sole ally throughout the story is Scotty, who loyally
embarks on the adventure with his former captain. The two men get to spend a
lot of time together, and we get a stronger sense of the friendship and
admiration between them. I can’t help thinking that had this become a movie,
knowing how James (Scotty) Doohan felt about Shatner in real life, it would
have been quite the experience watching them act opposite each other, just the
two of them, for an extended period of time. It could have earned Doohan an
Oscar nomination! (Incidentally, The Ashes of Eden was considered a momentous enough project that DC Comics published a graphic-novel adaptation in 1995, and it’s worth seeking out.)
This was the first novel to go beyond the events
of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which
made it special right from the get-go. Author Howard Weinstein, who had
previously written the Star Trek: The
Animated Series episode “The Pirates of Orion,” does a masterful job with
the characters and playing with the premise that time has passed since “the old
days.” There are fun little moments, such as McCoy grousing about his graying
hair, and Dr. Chapel reminding Chekov that he’s not 22 years old anymore and must now be careful about what he eats. But Weinstein is particularly masterful
in his handling of Spock. Picking up on the fact that Spock had made peace with
his human side by the end of The Motion
Picture, Weinstein presents a wiser, content, serene Spock, who is now
quite comfortable with himself, his place in the universe, and the people
around him. The author managed to anticipate, and capture perfectly, the way Leonard
Nimoy would portray Spock in The Wrath of
Khan, which would not hit theaters until nearly a full year after the publication
of this book. Talk about foresight! There’s a wonderful scene in which a young
princess, whom Spock is escorting on a dangerous journey, wonders when she’ll
finally grow up. Spock replies that it’s illogical to presume that the “growing
up” process is finite—why does a person have to stop growing and learning just
because he or she has reached physical adulthood? That outlook really hit me
when I first read this book at the age of 12, and it has stayed with me all
these years. Later in the book, the grateful princess asks Spock if she can give him a hug, and his response, and Weinstein’s description of the moment, is just lovely. I’m pleased to say that I still have my original first-edition copy, autographed
by the author with this quintessentially Star Trek-ian message: “Believe in the
future!”
1. Yesterday’s Son by A.C. Crispin (1983)
This was the first original Star Trek novel (as
opposed to a movie novelization) to hit the New
York Times Bestseller List, and deservedly so. It’s a direct sequel to one
of the better third-season episodes of the original TV series, “All Our Yesterdays.” In that episode, Spock and McCoy are stranded 5,000 years in the past
on an alien world during its ice age. While there, Spock loses control of his
emotions and becomes romantically involved with a woman named Zarabeth, whom he
ultimately must leave behind. In Yesterday’s
Son, Spock discovers that Zarabeth later bore his child. With Kirk and
McCoy tagging along, Spock uses the Guardian of Forever (from the episode “The City on the Edge of Forever”) to go back in time to that frozen world and retrieve
the boy. I saw this novel sitting on a shelf in the New Releases section of a bookstore in Middletown, New
York, during the summer of 1983. The gorgeous cover,
painted by Boris Vallejo, caught my eye immediately. But when I read the brief
synopsis on the back, and figured out that this was a sequel to an episode that I really
liked, I raced it right over to the cashier’s desk. My parents and I were upstate for a weekend, staying at a relative’s bungalow in the nearby town of Wurtsboro, and since I had no
friends up there, this was the perfect thing to occupy my time and attention. I
started reading the book the moment we got back to the bungalow, and did not put it
down until I finished it the next morning—probably the first time I ever stayed
up all night reading a book because I was enjoying it too much to stop. It remains
the most satisfying and most touching Star Trek novel I’ve ever read. Author Ann (“A.C.”)
Crispin captures the characters and the feel of the original series like few
other novelists ever have, and despite the unlikelihood of the main premise,
she manages to make it all seem plausible and an organic part of the Star Trek
tapestry. I
can say without reservation that Yesterday’s
Son is one of the many things that made me want to become a writer. When I finished the book, I felt like my life had changed. “This is what I
want to do someday!” I said to myself. Crispin wrote an excellent sequel, Time For Yesterday, which was published in 1988, but it didn’t have
quite the impact on me that its predecessor did. I actually got to speak with her
back during my days as a Marvel editor—I’d hoped that we might be able to work
on something together. It didn’t happen, but we did correspond every now and
then during the last few years of her life, and while I got the impression that
she wanted to be known for a lot more than just her Star Trek work, I always felt
obligated to convey to her how much it had meant to me.
So those are my favorites. What are yours? I’d like to to know! Feel free
to list them below in the comments section.
Links to previous Star Trek entries:
© All text copyright Glenn Greenberg, 2016.
Interesting reviews. I would have added one of Diane Duane's books especially the Wounded Sky or My,Enemy,My Ally.Also Vulcan Academy Murders by Jean Lorrah is another really good one. Also D.C. Fontana's Vulcan's Glory was great.
ReplyDeleteAlso wanted to add Final Reflection and Vulcan's Forge. The former a pre-TNG look a Klingon culture and the other about Spock's early choice to enter Starfleet. Surprised to not find any of those on this list.
ReplyDeleteLet me finally add I enjoyed your work on both the short lived 90s Rampaging Hulk title and your Star Trek mini series. Both are very underrated comic books.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, Anonymous. With regard to Diane Duane's novels not being included on my list -- if you go back to part one of this series and reread my introduction, I think you'll be able to figure out why.
ReplyDeleteI thought both The Vulcan Academy Murders and Vulcan's Glory were very good, but not top-15 good.
The Final Reflection--Again, reread my introduction in part one.
Read the introduction again. I can see how that applies to Final Reflection but not entirely to some of Duane's books. Yes Romulan Way applies in not being really about the regular crew. Not sure about My Enemy,My Ally or Wounded Sky. Will admit Spock's world was a disappointment. And her Vulcan's especially Sarek were off the mark.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous -- You didn't reread it carefully enough.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, like what you like. I'll do the same. :-)
I suppose My Enemy,My Ally fits what you said about being more about the writer's character than it is about the main characters. Is that what I missed? Or did you think the regulars were out of character? One thing some writers such as Miss Duane do wrong is what I call making Spock the Doctor's whipping boy. MCcoy may insult him on the show but Spock always gave it back. Some writers do not understand that. Memory Prime has one of the worst instances of that. In fairness to Garth and Judy I have not read any of their other Trek Novels. Maybe do not suffer from that problem.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous -- You're focusing too much on just one element. This is the relevant section:
ReplyDeleteI have read Star Trek novels by authors who didn’t really seem to want to write Star Trek as it had been established—they wanted to write THEIR version of Star Trek, to reshape it to suit their sensibilities, rather than the other way around. So we would get things like Captain Kirk carrying on extended conversations with the Enterprise turbo-lift, or Mr. Sulu suddenly addressing Kirk as “Jim.” In one early-1980s novel, an author established Dr. McCoy’s middle name as “Edward.” But even after 1984, when Star Trek III: The Search for Spock—that’s official canon, remember—contradicted that novel and established definitively that McCoy’s middle initial was “H,” this author continued to use Edward, most glaringly in a story written a couple of years later, that spun directly out of the events of Star Trek III.
Dunae really liked MCcoy. She changed that? The one thing about her version of th Doctor is that he is more clever than anybody else. While he certainly is a bright fellow having be smarter than everyone comes of as false. There is no way he could beat someone like Spock at Chess that easily.
ReplyDeleteEspecially a new form of 4-dimensonal chess. Which he never played. Do not think it is hero my worship of Spock makes me biased on this.
ReplyDeleteLet me add that Yesterday's Son is a good choice. Did not like the sequel as much. It is surprising is as popular but the Conan the Barbarian setting and the romance with the son and the Red Sonja clone as just did not work for me. Also it was too and should have been edited. The whole Guardian of Forever malfunction problem was a just a Macguffin.
ReplyDeleteBy the way have you noticed in the Pocket Books original series book that he every major political or cosmic event of the last 200 plus years of future history involves someone who is related to either Kirk,Spock or MCcoy?
ReplyDeleteShould have read "it was too long".
ReplyDelete