Book Review: The Fifty-Year Mission: The First 25 Years

The publishers sent me an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I've read pretty much everything that's ever been published about the making of Star Trek and I've been to many conventions and heard all the stories a hundred times so I was skeptical that this book would reveal anything new. I'm so glad I read it!

I expected a straightforward, narrative history of the franchise because I missed the words "Oral History" in the subtitle. After some brief introductions by the authors and Seth MacFarlane, this book is laid out in brief statements by those involved in the history of Star Trek. Innumerable interviews with cast, crew and critics come together to form a unique and wonderful history of the franchise.

At first, the format threw me off but I quickly became engaged in the story. Each segment is thoughtfully chosen to add a new piece to the puzzle. After a few pages I found it nearly impossible to put down and I spent the entire day with the book until I had finished it.  It left me wanting more and gave me a keen desire to pop in some Trek movies on Blu-ray!

It's true that I didn't learn much of anything new about the original series -- but there were some tidbits! Interviews with Gene L. Coon's secretary were especially revealing.  For me, where the history became really interesting was in the 1970s. This book does a great job of uncovering the history of the early Star Trek conventions and fanzines. It also provides a cohesive and logical account of the confusing period leading to The Motion Picture.

The latter half of the 1970s and the road through Phase II to TMP have always been sort of muddled but Altman and Gross do a wonderful job of clearing up the timeline and making clear the motivations of Paramount in bring Star Trek back.

From there, the journey through the remaining TOS films is fairly quick but you get a very solid picture of the events and the major players involved.  We read quite a bit from Walter Koenig and a bit from James Doohan but very little from George Takei and Nichelle Nichols. Perhaps this is because Nichols and Takei have already told their own stories fairly comprehensively in their own memoirs.

The book doesn't really tell the whole story of the first 25 years of Trek. The Next Generation is barely mentioned in passing. Instead, the authors have devoted this first volume to the original series and its films. I expect the second volume will tackle TNG from the beginning.

I recommend this book highly and cannot wait to read the second volume!  I expect this will become the definitive account of Trek's history. It should be required reading for those who are interested in in the production history of the franchise.

This first volume is available for sale on Tuesday and the second will be released in the Fall.

Book Review: Leonard

The good folks at St. Martin's Press sent me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

William Shatner has written a whole series of memoirs, most of them with a focus on his Star Trek experiences.  I have to be honest and say that I didn't really enjoy most of them.  I often felt overwhelmed by the voice of the Shatner Persona and I frequently felt an attempt by Shatner to distance himself from Star Trek and the fans that have given him the lifestyle he has.  This book is different.

Here, I sense a maturity and honesty that was lacking in most of Shatner's other memoirs.  There was some of this in Up Till Now but in Leonard, I have the sense that William Shatner is becoming more comfortable with himself and his role in Star Trek fandom and I'm tempted to say that some of this was a result of the example set by Leonard Nimoy.  In the other books, I sensed an almost desperate need for the writer to be entertaining but here, he is actually just sharing from his heart.

The book begins with Shatner setting up the parallels between his own life and Leonard Nimoy's.  They were of an age, both from Jewish families that escaped Europe and both became fascinated with acting in childhood.  He goes on to discuss how they met and worked on Star Trek and how their friendship grew, not while the show was on the air, but in the 70s when they began to attend conventions together.  It seems logical to me that they would grow closer through this experience. No one but those few people who were involved in the show could possibly comprehend the Star Trek phenomenon and even those people sometimes took decades to really understand and come to terms with it.

This book is a love letter to Leonard Nimoy.  Shatner outlines Nimoy's career and describes the pleasure that Nimoy found in poetry and photography.  He discusses Nimoy's family life, struggles with alcoholism and the results of smoking and he talks about what he learned from Nimoy.  Shatner shares memories and quotations from other actors who worked with Nimoy (mostly Steve Guttenberg and John DeLancie) and also from Leonard's son, Adam Nimoy. Those who haven't read either of Leonard Nimoy's memoirs will discover new things about the man in this book.

It has been nearly a year since Leonard Nimoy left us and during that time I have been unable to watch any Star Trek with Nimoy in it.  His death continues to have a huge impact on me but I think I've now had enough time that I can go back and enjoy the work he left in the world.

William Shatner's Leonard is a portrait of the artist who had millions of friends across the globe.  It is the story of two men who lived through an unprecedented cultural phenomenon and who found friendship in the process.  Like most people who encountered him, William Shatner is a better person for having had Leonard Nimoy in his life and this book is well worth reading.  Trekkies will note a few small errors in Shatner's memory but they don't detract from the overall experience.  I felt a sense of closure about the loss of Leonard Nimoy when I came to the end of this book and I think other Trekkies will appreciate the truths Shatner reveals about himself in this memoir.

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Review: I Am Not Spock

"The question is, without Spock, who am I?  Do I, or would I, exist without him?  And without me, who is he?"

In November of 1975 Celestial Arts published Leonard Nimoy's first autobiography; a slim volume, provocatively titled I Am Not Spock.  

The fan reaction was one of anger and betrayal.  Many who did not read beyond the title felt that Nimoy was turning his back on the role that made his career and the fans who had supported him.  In fact, just the opposite is true. Though the book does deal with the difficulties of an actor struggling with tyepcasting, I think Nimoy is actually quite positive about the role and what it did for his career.

In true 1970s pop psychology form, Nimoy tries to break himself apart from the character he played in order to examine himself.  In fact, in parts of the book he goes so far as to literally break himself into a Nimoy persona and a Spock persona and then has conversations with himself.  Though somewhat schizophrenic, these sections of the book do manage to convey Nimoy's intelligence and the respect he feels for Spock.

The first thing I noticed about this book is that it is written from a place of ego that is a departure from the more reserved persona Leonard Nimoy has presented to the world in the past twenty or so years.  My feelings about this just go to illustrate how inextricably linked Nimoy and Spock are.  It's difficult to think of an emotional and somewhat prideful Nimoy when he is so good at playing the exact opposite in Spock.  This may be the very reason that Nimoy chose to use this voice in his book.  It was important to him that he send the message to fans that he is an actor with his own personality.

The book more or less begins and ends with Spock but Nimoy also discusses his love of photography and its influence on his life from childhood onwards. There is also some discussion of Nimoy's post-Star Trek theatrical work, which I found interesting.  But of course, the most interesting parts of the book (to me) are the Star Trek bits.  Nimoy shares some of the infamous memos between him and members of the Trek production staff and studio and shares his in depth thoughts on the creation of the Spock role.

As I said above, I think the overall theme of the book is that Nimoy knows he will be forever connected with, and part of, Spock.  As much as it is important to him for people to realize that he and Spock are separate entities I get the impression that he is satisfied to be linked with Spock.

"It is easy to forget that Spock was created by humans.  And if he does in fact represent elevated concepts of life, its value and its meaning, then those elevated concepts must be credited to the human race.  Personally I find this an enormously exciting challenge--to try to live up to the broader vision and deeper perception that I helped build into this fictional character."

I'm reading this book with the foreknowledge of Nimoy's 1995 autobiography I Am Spock, which probably colours my impressions.  At the time this was published, Star Trek had been cancelled for five years and I can understand how fans might have reacted.

Out of print for many years, I Am Not Spock is difficult to find now.  A few copies can usually be found on eBay ranging in price from $60-$100.  There is also a mass market edition that can usually be found for about half the price. A marked increase from the original $4.95 cover price!

Review: Vulcan's Forge

Vulcan's Forge is the first Star Trek novel by collaborators Josepha Sherman and Susan Scwartz.  It was published in hardcover by Pocket Books in 1997 with a cover by Keith Birdsong and has subsequently appeared in mass market and audio book editions.

The story takes place in 2296 about a year after the loss of James T. Kirk in the Enterprise-B mission to rescue the El-Aurian refugees from the Nexus. Spock is captain of the USS Intrepid II (why it's called 'II' and not 'A' is unexplained) and among his crew are McCoy and Uhura.  The Intrepid is called to the planet Obsidian where a Starfleet officer named David Rabin is in charge of relief operations for the pre-industrial society who lives there (seemingly in contradiction to the Prime Directive).  When Rabin's efforts begin to be dangerously sabotaged he concludes that his opposition is made of more than just local malcontents.

When Spock arrives, he and McCoy beam down with an away team to try to assist Rabin.  It turns out that Spock and Rabin are childhood friends and from this point on the novel alternates between events of the 2296 present and Spock's childhood.  Rabin and his Starfleet captain mother were stationed on Vulcan and attended a coming of age ceremony held for Spock at Mt. Seleya. That event was disrupted by a Vulcan named Sered who believed that Vulcan should withdraw from the Federation.  Chaos ensues and several people are killed or taken hostage by Sered and his followers.  Young Spock and David find themselves alone in Vulcan's dangerous Forge where they must survive for several days.

In the present, signs point to possible Romulan interference on Obsidian and Spock and David seek out the native desert-dwelling nomads in hopes of discovering the truth.  Along the way, McCoy is kidnapped and the mission turns into a rescue operation.  It turns out that Romulans are involved but they are being led by none other than Sered!  Spock and Sered end up wrestling, bare-chested in the desert.  Of course Spock wins and he makes a friend among Sered's Romulan followers.

Spock and David's trials in the Forge as youths prepared them to survive on the harsh desert world of Obsidian decades later.  The young men were eventually able to help rescue the hostages and defeat Sered.  Spending time with humans and Starfleet officers gives Spock the idea to join Starfleet Academy rather than the Vulcan Science Academy which begins the great feud between Spock and Sarek.  Spock's dealings with Sered and the Romulans in Obsidian's desert gives him an idea for a new direction in life and he resigns from Starfleet to begin training as a diplomat.

Overall, I find this novel too convenient.  Obviously the authors created a parallel story structure that they liked and it works pretty well but the fact that Sered is the villain in both stories doesn't make much sense.  Also, I find the relationship between Spock and David Rabin a bit too folksy.  We never even see Spock interact with Kirk as he does with Rabin so it just isn't especially believable.  Spock's time away from the Intrepid gives Uhura a chance at command which is a rare occurrence in Star Trek novels but the way she's written doesn't seem entirely consistent with her character on film.  Her voice just seems wrong.

What the novel does well is explore the idea of how Spock and McCoy deal with Kirk's death.  I think it makes sense that McCoy would try to stay near Spock and that they would grow closer.  I also like the links to the animated series episode "Yesteryear" in which Spock begins his road to adulthood.  The novel is clearly trying to set the stage for Spock's unification overtures with the Romulans.

This is the first Star Trek novel by Sherman and Schwartz and Star Trek is not easy to write well.  I think, structurally the novel works well.  The plot is strong enough to work but as with so many Star Trek novels, there are some inconsistencies in character and canon that bother me.  Sherman and Schwartz went on to write a series of books exploring the Vulcans and Romulans further so I look forward to reading on!

Review: Sarek by A.C. Crispin

This review may contain spoilers.


Sarek is A.C. Crispin’s fourth Star Trek novel.  It was originally published as a hardcover edition by Pocket Books in 1994 and featured beautiful cover art by Keith Birdsong.  It has since been re-printed in various mass market editions and also in the 2004 “Signature Edition” omnibus, Sand and Stars.

The story takes place in 2293 about a month after the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and is a nice coda to the original series of films.  It ties in characters from ST III, ST V and VI in a believable manner and brings a nice sense of unity to those stories.  As the title suggests, the novel focuses on Sarek who is one of my favourite Star Trek characters.  Mark Lenard did a brilliant job of bringing the character to life and of keeping him consistent.


Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson is dying and Crispin does a great job of giving us a sense of Sarek's emotional state without compromising his Vulcan control.  The plot forces Sarek to leave his wife's deathbed to meditate an important dispute light years away.  He is clearly tormented by this but his duty to save many lives must outweigh his need to be with Amanda.  Though Amanda understands this, Spock is incredibly angry at his father.  He is left to hear Amanda cry for Sarek as she slips away.  I like what Crispin does to develop and explain the rift between Sarek and his son.  


While away from Vulcan, Sarek begins to uncover a 70 year-old Romulan plot to destroy the Federation.  The conspiracy has links to General Chang and Valeris.  It is suggested that Ambassador Nanclus may have masterminded the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon.  Sarek discovers that a secretive race called the Freelans is actually made up of disguised Romulans who have infiltrated the Federation and are funding a group called KEHL (Keep Earth Human League) on Earth.

Meanwhile, also on Earth, Peter Kirk, nephew of James T. Kirk, prepares to take the Kobyashi Maru test and graduate from Starfleet Academy.  He is kidnapped by the KEHL but finds himself imprisoned by the Klingon Ambassador, thus revealing that the Romulan plot also has influence in the Klingon Empire.  While imprisoned, Peter falls in love with the ambassador's niece, Valdyr.  Their love suggests a beginning to positive Human-Klingon relations.


All of these events come to be intertwined and resolved successfully though a satisfying series of events that gives all the characters a chance to shine but is also believable.  The novel is peppered with journal entries by Amanda Grayson as Sarek reads them to learn more about his beloved wife.  They give us a great deal of insight into Amanda and into her complicated relationship with Sarek.  Crispin establishes a strong backstory for these important characters and also looks to the future, sowing the seeds of Spock's relationship with Pardek and his goal of Romulan reunification.  For whatever reason, Crispin seems to have more latitude than most Star Trek authors.  Where most Trek novels insist on making no lasting changes to the universe, Crispin is able to deal with the deaths of two important characters.  The gravity of the events lends a credibility to the story.


Though Crispin has written two short Star Trek stories since this novel was published she has not written another Star Trek novel.  I really wish she would because in Sarek, she has crafted one of the best Star Trek novels I've read.  I would love to see more!  I give this novel five Vulcan diplomats out of five.

Review: Spock's World by Diane Duane

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Review: Star Trek Magazine The Vulcan Chronicles

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