What do you think?
Rate this book
Star Trek TOS: Movie Novelizations #1
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
The historic five-year mission is over. But Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and the crew join forces again on the Enterprise to thwart an incredibly destructive power—a threat to earth and the human race. This novel is written by the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry.
252 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1979
About the author
Gene Roddenberry
58 books122 followersEugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry, was an American screenwriter and producer. He became best known as the creator of what would become the science fiction universe of Star Trek. He would also become one of the first people to be "buried" in space. Roddenberry was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions in the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. Roddenberry was sometimes referred to as the "Great Bird of the Galaxy" in reference to his role in Star Trek.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 305 reviews
March 28, 2016
The Final Frontier goes to the Big Screen!
THE FORCE FACTOR
This is the novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, written by Gene Roddenberry, but I think that Alan Dean Foster must be the "ghost writer" of the novelization.
I think that all was due the "competition" between Star Trek and Star Wars, and since around that time, was published too the novelization of Star Wars (known nowadays as Episode IV: A New Hope written by George Lucas, and while that was already exposed that it was indeed Alan Dean Foster, at that time.
So, I supposed that it sounded good that both creators of the two sci-fi franchises would be the writers of the novelizations of the movies.
Of course, here I am talking about the actual process of passing months typing and adapting the script to a novel prose format.
Since George Lucas indeed wrote the original script but for obvious reasons wasn't able to invest the proper time to write the novelization of Star Wars, I found quite odd that Gene Roddenberry would actually write a novelization from a script made by other people.
And I am a Trekker, but I am using just a logic way of thinking here.
THE GOOD
The novelization gives a deeper understanding of what happened and why, once the historical 5-year mission of the USS Enterprise ended.
It implies that Captain James T. Kirk was the first commanding officer able to return to Earth having completed a 5-year mission of deep space exploration with his starship in operational status and with a reasonably full crew.
It seems that at that time, there were a lot of cases of missing vessels, desertions and even mutiny.
So, Starfleet Command used the Enterprise and Captain Kirk as propaganda symbols to impulse the public image of Starfleet and the encouragement of new recruits.
For that reason, the "patch" of the Enterprise became the emblem of the entire Starfleet and James T. Kirk is promoted to Admiral.
THE BAD
Once the cool introduction is over, the development of the story in the novelization isn't so distinct from the actual events shown on the film, and it's well known that the story on the movie wasn't that good, actually too similar to a plot already used in an episode from the TV series, but also with a slow rhythm that it complicates to make it as a strong presentation.
THE ODD
The novelization commented about some element known as "new humans" that they are supposed some kind of more advanced humans (don't confuse them with "augments" as Khan Noonien Singh) that they aren't so eager to explore space but since that angle wasn't used in any series of the franchise, and only mentioned here, it's something hard to assimiliate (pun intended).
I never understood, when I watched the movie and reading the novelization, why Admiral Kirk has to use the temporary rank of captain, in order to command the Enterprise, and even odder why Captain Willard Decker has to be temporarily demoted to commander, in order to be Executive Officer of the vessel.
I don't see why not Kirk can't be commanding officer keeping the rank of admiral and being called as that, and in the same way, why not Captain Decker can't be the first officer keeping his rank of captain. That angle was never used again in any other movie or TV episode of the franchise. So, it remains as something quite odd here.
THE FORCE FACTOR
This is the novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, written by Gene Roddenberry, but I think that Alan Dean Foster must be the "ghost writer" of the novelization.
I think that all was due the "competition" between Star Trek and Star Wars, and since around that time, was published too the novelization of Star Wars (known nowadays as Episode IV: A New Hope written by George Lucas, and while that was already exposed that it was indeed Alan Dean Foster, at that time.
So, I supposed that it sounded good that both creators of the two sci-fi franchises would be the writers of the novelizations of the movies.
Of course, here I am talking about the actual process of passing months typing and adapting the script to a novel prose format.
Since George Lucas indeed wrote the original script but for obvious reasons wasn't able to invest the proper time to write the novelization of Star Wars, I found quite odd that Gene Roddenberry would actually write a novelization from a script made by other people.
And I am a Trekker, but I am using just a logic way of thinking here.
THE GOOD
The novelization gives a deeper understanding of what happened and why, once the historical 5-year mission of the USS Enterprise ended.
It implies that Captain James T. Kirk was the first commanding officer able to return to Earth having completed a 5-year mission of deep space exploration with his starship in operational status and with a reasonably full crew.
It seems that at that time, there were a lot of cases of missing vessels, desertions and even mutiny.
So, Starfleet Command used the Enterprise and Captain Kirk as propaganda symbols to impulse the public image of Starfleet and the encouragement of new recruits.
For that reason, the "patch" of the Enterprise became the emblem of the entire Starfleet and James T. Kirk is promoted to Admiral.
THE BAD
Once the cool introduction is over, the development of the story in the novelization isn't so distinct from the actual events shown on the film, and it's well known that the story on the movie wasn't that good, actually too similar to a plot already used in an episode from the TV series, but also with a slow rhythm that it complicates to make it as a strong presentation.
THE ODD
The novelization commented about some element known as "new humans" that they are supposed some kind of more advanced humans (don't confuse them with "augments" as Khan Noonien Singh) that they aren't so eager to explore space but since that angle wasn't used in any series of the franchise, and only mentioned here, it's something hard to assimiliate (pun intended).
I never understood, when I watched the movie and reading the novelization, why Admiral Kirk has to use the temporary rank of captain, in order to command the Enterprise, and even odder why Captain Willard Decker has to be temporarily demoted to commander, in order to be Executive Officer of the vessel.
I don't see why not Kirk can't be commanding officer keeping the rank of admiral and being called as that, and in the same way, why not Captain Decker can't be the first officer keeping his rank of captain. That angle was never used again in any other movie or TV episode of the franchise. So, it remains as something quite odd here.
September 4, 2014
All right, I'm going to come right out and say it: because of this book, The Motion Picture is my actual favorite Star Trek movie. Really. Not kidding at all. And yes, the book's quality is MUCH better than the movie, though I like to think of it as a supplement (or, perhaps, the movie is a supplement to the book).
The book's main and most invaluable service is showing what a gosh darned good plot TMP actually has, underneath all the... uh, quirks. It is, at its core, an absolutely classic sci-fi plot with all that makes sci-fi wonderful. It's enormous yet intimate, about something strange and utterly alien and at the same time, really, about the human experience; I find it kind of breathtaking and even a little sublime, if you'll pardon the dramatics. WHAT A GOOD PLOT, DANG, SCIENCE FICTION!! is what I'm saying, and it can be easy to lose sight of that when first watching a movie admittedly full of shortcomings.
The book also illuminates our much-loved characters motivations and backgrounds, adding breadth and emotion and making this a must-read for TOS fans. (If you, like me, have a tendency to think of TOS - or at least the movies - as the love story of Kirk and Spock, then wow, your life will be improved tenfold by reading this.) (What's up, "not helpful" ratings.)
The book's main and most invaluable service is showing what a gosh darned good plot TMP actually has, underneath all the... uh, quirks. It is, at its core, an absolutely classic sci-fi plot with all that makes sci-fi wonderful. It's enormous yet intimate, about something strange and utterly alien and at the same time, really, about the human experience; I find it kind of breathtaking and even a little sublime, if you'll pardon the dramatics. WHAT A GOOD PLOT, DANG, SCIENCE FICTION!! is what I'm saying, and it can be easy to lose sight of that when first watching a movie admittedly full of shortcomings.
The book also illuminates our much-loved characters motivations and backgrounds, adding breadth and emotion and making this a must-read for TOS fans. (If you, like me, have a tendency to think of TOS - or at least the movies - as the love story of Kirk and Spock, then wow, your life will be improved tenfold by reading this.) (What's up, "not helpful" ratings.)
April 9, 2023
The Star Trek: The Motion Picture novelization initiates a whole new set of novels distributed by Pocket Books, beginning with this novel as #1 for the ST: TOS (The Original Series). When Admiral James T. Kirk finds out that there is an imminent threat approaching the Earth, he returns to Captain the Enterprise. What a great idea to get Kirk back in the captain’s chair. I have no doubt that Gene Roddenberry had this idea and thought, let’s go ahead and transfer what we showed on the small screen to what we now show on the big screen. Although Roddenberry's name is the only name on the cover, this is an Alan Dean Foster ghosting job. Still, you have a really good premise that is complicated by terms and thoughts that seem to foreshadow a revamping of old concepts that never go anywhere and have never been explained by the books or the subsequent TV series. I enjoyed the book, as I enjoy most Star Trek books, but there are ideas that are meant to tease deeper storylines which never receive follow-up.
January 6, 2018
I remember going to see this movie when it first came out in 1979. My mom was a huge Star Trek fan, and she was so excited that there was a movie after years of watching re-runs of the television show. I liked the show too....but I wasn't sure what to expect from a movie version. I remember being impressed with the special effects. Not quite as flashy as Star Wars.....but really good. And it was nice to see all the familiar cast members again. Especially McCoy...he was always my favorite, probably because he was a bit snarky and not "a damned miracle worker.''
Yeah, yeah, yeah....I know this isn't a movie review.....but a book review. I will get to it! Honest!
My husband is a gamer nerd. And after 15 years of marriage, my nerdiness has increased exponentially under his tutelage. I love to read, and I enjoy Star Trek. As a surprise, he bought me 40 used Star Trek paperbacks at a gaming convention. He was away for the weekend and missed me, so he brought he home books. It was a perfect gift for a bibliophile such as myself. Sadly, though I love books, I have lots of adulting to do, so I have way more books than time to read them. I hadn't' really thought about my large collection of Star Trek books until I discovered several more at a local thriftshop this week for 25 cents each. I stood in front of the shelves checking to see which ones I already had (thanks to my taking the time to list all of my books on Goodreads) and filling my cart with more nerdery. As I added books to my cart, I realized that the Star Trek series would be a great start to my quest to pare down my TBR in 2018! I decided to jump right into book #1.....the novelization of the first Star Trek movie....Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
I always thought the name of the movie was a bit silly. But I guess they wanted to make it obvious that the former television series was moving to the big screen. But stating the obvious as a movie title is a bit lackluster. They could have called it Star Trek: Return to the Enterprise. Almost anything but just The Motion Picture. Bleck.
The basics: James T. Kirk returns to captain the Enterprise because a massive energy cloud is heading straight for Earth. It has destroyed several Klingon ships and a Space Station with an energy weapon of some unknown type. The Enterprise has had an 18-month long refit,and is totally updated, but her repairs aren't all completed. Because it is the only Starfleet ship within interception distance of the strange cloud bearing down on Earth, the crew has to take the ship out anyway. The ship intercepts the cloud and encounters an alien presence, Veger. When the truth about the origins and purpose of Veger are revealed, the crew will be challenged as never before to save themselves, and Earth.
The novelization is exactly what you would think --- a novelization of the movie script. I actually watched the movie as I read the book (realizing that the version I was watching (On Demand from television) had been clipped here and there for time. They removed scenes with dialogue rather than taking out some of the longer special effects scenes of the interior of the cloud, the Enterprise, etc.....what's up with that?? Why not remove scenes that are just eye candy (outdated eye candy too) and leave the dialogue between characters?) I enjoyed reading the extra description about the emotions of the characters, their inner thoughts and extra information on things going on around them. It is a good novelization, but I did notice one thing that was a bit weird. Gene Roddenberry's
introduction to the book, and in several places in the story, they refer to "new humans.'' This confused me a bit....something about "new humans" being more adaptable to space travel and other differences with non-improved humans. This must have been some early plot point that got dropped from Roddenberry's vision at some point....I don't recall this concept coming up in any other incarnation of the series. There are also a few cringe worthy comments about Kirk's sexuality and relationships in the book as well, especially a footnote about how his friendship with Spock was misunderstood by some as a homosexual relationship. My husband said it was a comment about some early fan fiction that depicted the two men as homosexual lovers. Ummm.....LOL. I very much doubt the horny Captain Kirk who loved women (even green alien ones) would choose his emotionless, overly logical half vulcan science officer to get intimate with. And it would only have been once every 7 years anyway.....as Spock isn't interested except when in Pon Farr. Fan fiction must have been gruesome even back in the 1970s. OK.....back on subject now! I got pulled out of the story several times by weird commentary added to the novelization that seemed out of place, or just bizarre. Why was it necessary to speculate on whether Kirk and Spock ever had sex with each other even if there was fan fiction? And just all the unnecessary footnotes in general. Were those written by Alan Dean Foster, or were those things added by Roddenberry? I found the footnotes to be a distraction, rather than interesting asides.
A lot of Star Trek fans today agree that the first movie was not very good. At the time, the special effects were amazing, the refit of Enterprise was sweet, and the return of the familiar crew was exciting. But re-watching it today, the story line is pretty ridiculous and the special effects dated. It just plods along.....there are long sequences where very little happens. For me, the novelization is pretty much the same......lackluster plot with some strange commentary added. But, it's still worth a read....and it starts the series of books. I had fun reading the book and watching the film at the same time, while trying not to chuckle at the idea of Kirk and Spock having secret rendezvous in the briefing room. :)
Enjoyable start to my goal of reading books off my own shelf! One Star Trek book down......only hundreds to go. ha ha
Yeah, yeah, yeah....I know this isn't a movie review.....but a book review. I will get to it! Honest!
My husband is a gamer nerd. And after 15 years of marriage, my nerdiness has increased exponentially under his tutelage. I love to read, and I enjoy Star Trek. As a surprise, he bought me 40 used Star Trek paperbacks at a gaming convention. He was away for the weekend and missed me, so he brought he home books. It was a perfect gift for a bibliophile such as myself. Sadly, though I love books, I have lots of adulting to do, so I have way more books than time to read them. I hadn't' really thought about my large collection of Star Trek books until I discovered several more at a local thriftshop this week for 25 cents each. I stood in front of the shelves checking to see which ones I already had (thanks to my taking the time to list all of my books on Goodreads) and filling my cart with more nerdery. As I added books to my cart, I realized that the Star Trek series would be a great start to my quest to pare down my TBR in 2018! I decided to jump right into book #1.....the novelization of the first Star Trek movie....Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
I always thought the name of the movie was a bit silly. But I guess they wanted to make it obvious that the former television series was moving to the big screen. But stating the obvious as a movie title is a bit lackluster. They could have called it Star Trek: Return to the Enterprise. Almost anything but just The Motion Picture. Bleck.
The basics: James T. Kirk returns to captain the Enterprise because a massive energy cloud is heading straight for Earth. It has destroyed several Klingon ships and a Space Station with an energy weapon of some unknown type. The Enterprise has had an 18-month long refit,and is totally updated, but her repairs aren't all completed. Because it is the only Starfleet ship within interception distance of the strange cloud bearing down on Earth, the crew has to take the ship out anyway. The ship intercepts the cloud and encounters an alien presence, Veger. When the truth about the origins and purpose of Veger are revealed, the crew will be challenged as never before to save themselves, and Earth.
The novelization is exactly what you would think --- a novelization of the movie script. I actually watched the movie as I read the book (realizing that the version I was watching (On Demand from television) had been clipped here and there for time. They removed scenes with dialogue rather than taking out some of the longer special effects scenes of the interior of the cloud, the Enterprise, etc.....what's up with that?? Why not remove scenes that are just eye candy (outdated eye candy too) and leave the dialogue between characters?) I enjoyed reading the extra description about the emotions of the characters, their inner thoughts and extra information on things going on around them. It is a good novelization, but I did notice one thing that was a bit weird. Gene Roddenberry's
introduction to the book, and in several places in the story, they refer to "new humans.'' This confused me a bit....something about "new humans" being more adaptable to space travel and other differences with non-improved humans. This must have been some early plot point that got dropped from Roddenberry's vision at some point....I don't recall this concept coming up in any other incarnation of the series. There are also a few cringe worthy comments about Kirk's sexuality and relationships in the book as well, especially a footnote about how his friendship with Spock was misunderstood by some as a homosexual relationship. My husband said it was a comment about some early fan fiction that depicted the two men as homosexual lovers. Ummm.....LOL. I very much doubt the horny Captain Kirk who loved women (even green alien ones) would choose his emotionless, overly logical half vulcan science officer to get intimate with. And it would only have been once every 7 years anyway.....as Spock isn't interested except when in Pon Farr. Fan fiction must have been gruesome even back in the 1970s. OK.....back on subject now! I got pulled out of the story several times by weird commentary added to the novelization that seemed out of place, or just bizarre. Why was it necessary to speculate on whether Kirk and Spock ever had sex with each other even if there was fan fiction? And just all the unnecessary footnotes in general. Were those written by Alan Dean Foster, or were those things added by Roddenberry? I found the footnotes to be a distraction, rather than interesting asides.
A lot of Star Trek fans today agree that the first movie was not very good. At the time, the special effects were amazing, the refit of Enterprise was sweet, and the return of the familiar crew was exciting. But re-watching it today, the story line is pretty ridiculous and the special effects dated. It just plods along.....there are long sequences where very little happens. For me, the novelization is pretty much the same......lackluster plot with some strange commentary added. But, it's still worth a read....and it starts the series of books. I had fun reading the book and watching the film at the same time, while trying not to chuckle at the idea of Kirk and Spock having secret rendezvous in the briefing room. :)
Enjoyable start to my goal of reading books off my own shelf! One Star Trek book down......only hundreds to go. ha ha
April 28, 2018
This novelisation of Star Trek TMP is one part nostalgic heaven and one part Freudian hellscape.
From the very first to the very final page I was reminded over and over of that giddy feeling of excitement that only sci-fi gives me, and that I used to feel watching TOS as a child and young adolescent. The writer (who I suspect is probably not Roddenberry himself) clearly understood the specific strain of adventure with integrity and tolerance that made the old sixties show so great, and that the movie tried to renew.
However.
While I enjoyed the nostalgia-factor, the wholesomeness was somewhat marred by how often sex and sexual attraction were mentioned. I’m not at all trying to suggest that this book needed to be PG friendly, but Kirk’s inability to resist female advances was always a bit of a nudge-nudge, chortle-chortle, not a call of ‘someone restrain the captain before he cums over every female member of the crew!’
In fact, with the captain taking the main POV, the only information I gleaned about any of the women in the book were where they would fall on a scale of ‘most to least attractive’. The only woman who seems to escape this treatment is Uhura, who is apparently too respectable to be objectified.
Furthermore, within the first couple of pages Kirk literally gets a hard-on at the sight of the illustrious Lori Ciani (who is quickly killed off and then never mentioned again), and I can absolutely tell you more about the smell of Ilia’s pheromones than I can tell you about her personality, for which she apparently has none.
Finally lets touch upon a point that the author felt the need to stress at multiple times throughout the novel. Kirk and Spock are not gay for each other. Sure, they refer to one another as ‘T’hyla’ (���friend and / or lover’), hold hands, talk about each other with deep sentiment, and have a connection so close that it canonically baffles Vulcan philosophers. But it’s just platonic.
See?
It says it right here in print. Buddies.
Just two heterosexual dudes being heterosexual guys.
Despite ripping the piss out of it, I did fly through this novel and had a lot of fun reading (and laughing at) it.
From the very first to the very final page I was reminded over and over of that giddy feeling of excitement that only sci-fi gives me, and that I used to feel watching TOS as a child and young adolescent. The writer (who I suspect is probably not Roddenberry himself) clearly understood the specific strain of adventure with integrity and tolerance that made the old sixties show so great, and that the movie tried to renew.
However.
While I enjoyed the nostalgia-factor, the wholesomeness was somewhat marred by how often sex and sexual attraction were mentioned. I’m not at all trying to suggest that this book needed to be PG friendly, but Kirk’s inability to resist female advances was always a bit of a nudge-nudge, chortle-chortle, not a call of ‘someone restrain the captain before he cums over every female member of the crew!’
In fact, with the captain taking the main POV, the only information I gleaned about any of the women in the book were where they would fall on a scale of ‘most to least attractive’. The only woman who seems to escape this treatment is Uhura, who is apparently too respectable to be objectified.
Furthermore, within the first couple of pages Kirk literally gets a hard-on at the sight of the illustrious Lori Ciani (who is quickly killed off and then never mentioned again), and I can absolutely tell you more about the smell of Ilia’s pheromones than I can tell you about her personality, for which she apparently has none.
Finally lets touch upon a point that the author felt the need to stress at multiple times throughout the novel. Kirk and Spock are not gay for each other. Sure, they refer to one another as ‘T’hyla’ (���friend and / or lover’), hold hands, talk about each other with deep sentiment, and have a connection so close that it canonically baffles Vulcan philosophers. But it’s just platonic.
See?
It says it right here in print. Buddies.
Just two heterosexual dudes being heterosexual guys.
Despite ripping the piss out of it, I did fly through this novel and had a lot of fun reading (and laughing at) it.
September 14, 2016
Dreadfully written, horribly sexist, contains 80% less K/S than I want.
November 14, 2020
Gene Roddenberry's novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a really entertaining read. It's also completely bananas.
It's really interesting to read one of Roddenberry's unadulterated Star Trek stories - it shows that he was a skilled sci-fi writer, weaving together characterization with action and vivid, often beautiful imagery. He was also super thirsty and it's hilarious how women are described throughout the book, as well as how things are compared to sex with women, like Kirk's feeling of possessiveness over the Enterprise.
Roddenberry also had big deas for technology and how Starfleet would work - some of which were genius and some of which I think most fans would be glad never ended up in on-screen canon. It doesn't take away from how entertaining the book is but I do think it's an interesting case that shows the "Roddenberry vision" of Star Trek that fans like to cite from TOS was actually an evolving vision shaped not just by Roddenberry but also major writers and producers, and that the end product benefitted from incorporating others' edits.
It's really interesting to read one of Roddenberry's unadulterated Star Trek stories - it shows that he was a skilled sci-fi writer, weaving together characterization with action and vivid, often beautiful imagery. He was also super thirsty and it's hilarious how women are described throughout the book, as well as how things are compared to sex with women, like Kirk's feeling of possessiveness over the Enterprise.
Roddenberry also had big deas for technology and how Starfleet would work - some of which were genius and some of which I think most fans would be glad never ended up in on-screen canon. It doesn't take away from how entertaining the book is but I do think it's an interesting case that shows the "Roddenberry vision" of Star Trek that fans like to cite from TOS was actually an evolving vision shaped not just by Roddenberry but also major writers and producers, and that the end product benefitted from incorporating others' edits.
April 23, 2020
What a brilliant, magnificent book. It surpassed all my expectations. Which were pretty low, considering I've seen the movie so many time. To be honest, I didn't expect much else than seeing the same movie again, in my mind.
I was wrong. First of all, the quality of writting is top notch. Like, really excellent, classic SF writing you expect from other, dedicated SF writers. You know which ones I mean.
Second, the book is so much more than the movie. Yes, the motion picture is enjoyable to this day still, at least for me as an amateur trekkie. But the book gives you all the subtext, explanations, inner disturbances and doubts and angsts of characters.
Which will, maybe, make you appreciate the movie even more. Because, despite all the limits of the medium, it still managed to hint to a lot of subtle interactions between the characters, which may have gone unnoticed until you watched it several times. The other ones, though, are specialty of the book and motion picture could never have contained them all.
So, this book can be regarded as completely new, or complementary experience to watching the movie.
And, it aged so well. if I didn't know anything about it, you could convince me it was written this year. Not so with the film, right?
I was wrong. First of all, the quality of writting is top notch. Like, really excellent, classic SF writing you expect from other, dedicated SF writers. You know which ones I mean.
Second, the book is so much more than the movie. Yes, the motion picture is enjoyable to this day still, at least for me as an amateur trekkie. But the book gives you all the subtext, explanations, inner disturbances and doubts and angsts of characters.
Which will, maybe, make you appreciate the movie even more. Because, despite all the limits of the medium, it still managed to hint to a lot of subtle interactions between the characters, which may have gone unnoticed until you watched it several times. The other ones, though, are specialty of the book and motion picture could never have contained them all.
So, this book can be regarded as completely new, or complementary experience to watching the movie.
And, it aged so well. if I didn't know anything about it, you could convince me it was written this year. Not so with the film, right?
February 24, 2019
Does the quality of writing in this deserve a five star rating? Absolutely not! But this book is Star Trek at its best: how love and curiosity make all things possible, human and alien ingenuity, respect for all life, reflections on past scientific advancements/building on what has come before, Spock's identity crisis, why emotions are so important, genuinely weird aliens that take time and patience to understand (read: are not just humanoids), and, of course, the love between Spock and Jim. Also, a lovely nod to the 20th century Voyager probes.
September 24, 2020
loved the movie so, of course i love the book. i’m fascinated by some of the differences— mostly the book gets more of a chance to explain character feelings or motivations (although i think the actors interpretations in the film does this quite well enough), but i do love getting extra explanations for things, and a richer exploration of the overwhelming subtext the movie presents with such great lines like “kirk- the mere name made spock groan inwardly as he remembered what it had cost him to turn away from that welcome” and of course spock referring to kirk numerously as his t’hy’la (friend, brother, lover)
i find it funny that the novel basically starts out with a “no homo” as kirk talks about rumors of him and spock’s romantic relationship (although he never outright denies said claims) and then a couple pages later says shit like “theirs had been the touching of two minds which the old poets of spock’s home planet had proclaimed superior to even the wild physical love which affected vulcans during the pon far”
and the story is structured to compare spock/kirk to illia/decker up to an insane point... like ahaha telepathic alien that couldn’t have a romantic relationship with a starship captain due to their planetary customs... sounds familiar 🤔
as for negatives i Do Not enjoy the time roddenberry takes to describe certain things (mainly women and their.. features) but thankfully those instances are very small and short lived. and sometimes i take issue with kirk’s characterization but not all that much.
but in the end, as cheesy as it may sound i love that this is a story about ... love! as the novel itself says: “love is integral to truth” and i really believe that. love is so important, it’s an enigma and we’re so lucky we get to feel it. this.. simple.. feeling...
anyway this is the best love story ever of all time 😁
i find it funny that the novel basically starts out with a “no homo” as kirk talks about rumors of him and spock’s romantic relationship (although he never outright denies said claims) and then a couple pages later says shit like “theirs had been the touching of two minds which the old poets of spock’s home planet had proclaimed superior to even the wild physical love which affected vulcans during the pon far”
and the story is structured to compare spock/kirk to illia/decker up to an insane point... like ahaha telepathic alien that couldn’t have a romantic relationship with a starship captain due to their planetary customs... sounds familiar 🤔
as for negatives i Do Not enjoy the time roddenberry takes to describe certain things (mainly women and their.. features) but thankfully those instances are very small and short lived. and sometimes i take issue with kirk’s characterization but not all that much.
but in the end, as cheesy as it may sound i love that this is a story about ... love! as the novel itself says: “love is integral to truth” and i really believe that. love is so important, it’s an enigma and we’re so lucky we get to feel it. this.. simple.. feeling...
anyway this is the best love story ever of all time 😁
January 1, 2020
This is a rare instance of a novelization of a movie being far better as a book than as a movie. In fact, I can't think of another time when this was the case at all. The credit for writing the novel is attributed to Gene Roddenberry. Personally, I am deeply skeptical of this. I suspect it was as ghost written as any of Shatner's novels. The writing technique in the novel is too advanced for a first-time novelist. However, I am reasonably certain that Alan Dean Foster, sometimes believed to have written the novel, did not. I have read enough Foster that I believe I would recognize his writing style, and this isn't it. Who actually wrote this novel, however, I really can't guess at this point. There were some fingerprints I think I'd recognize if I ever come across another sample of this person's writing again.
The reason the book is better than the movie is because the movie had a large number of drawn out scenes where the audience was supposed to oooo and ahhh! But this can't be done as well in print, and so with one exception was not even attempted. Also, much of the story takes place in the cast's thoughts, and many of the occurrences require narrative explanation, all of which were impossible to convey in a visual medium such as a movie, but that work just fine in a novel. It's surprising to learn that there is really quite a good story here that the movie took ninety minutes too long to convey, but that the book tells just fine.
Still, the book is not a 5-star book. To get five stars from me, there has to be some Wow! factor conveyed in the book. Either it has incredibly good dialogue, a highly original and surprising twist I never saw coming, something. This book has no Wow! It's just a solidly good story that is well told, nothing more.
The reason the book is better than the movie is because the movie had a large number of drawn out scenes where the audience was supposed to oooo and ahhh! But this can't be done as well in print, and so with one exception was not even attempted. Also, much of the story takes place in the cast's thoughts, and many of the occurrences require narrative explanation, all of which were impossible to convey in a visual medium such as a movie, but that work just fine in a novel. It's surprising to learn that there is really quite a good story here that the movie took ninety minutes too long to convey, but that the book tells just fine.
Still, the book is not a 5-star book. To get five stars from me, there has to be some Wow! factor conveyed in the book. Either it has incredibly good dialogue, a highly original and surprising twist I never saw coming, something. This book has no Wow! It's just a solidly good story that is well told, nothing more.
December 8, 2012
Gene Roddenberry may have passed away quite a while ago, but he continues to live on through the Star Trek universe, which continues to be made into movies, books, video games, and comics decades after its inception. This novelization, which was actually penned by Roddenberry himself, is a bit short, but much better than the movie on which it was based. Any Star Trek fan should get his or her hands on this as soon as they get the chance, because how else will you see Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise as their creator intended them?
December 8, 2019
A unique novel in the Star Trek book library! A peek into the mind of Gene Roddenberry that is equal parts enlightening and terrifying. I think any Trek fan should pick up the book for the insights into the film that kicked off the Star Trek movie franchise.
Full review (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-0gg...
Full review (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-0gg...
December 3, 2011
This book explains so much that the movie doesn't, and as it is written by the show's creator, it's given even more weight.
March 11, 2016
Very good adaptation of the movie. Recommended
August 15, 2020
A love letter to science fiction and to humanity 😌🖖
February 7, 2023
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (also dubbed "The Slow-Motion Picture" by critics) is one of the most ambitious stories ever told. After the huge success of Star Wars, the team at Paramount decided to produce "The Motion Picture". Interestingly, they chose Alan Dean Foster to write the story treatment, who wrote several Trek short books in the 70s and also ghost-wrote the novelization of Star Wars. Here, he has swapped places with the creator of a franchise, and Gene Roddenberry himself pens this novelization.
This novelization is not particularly amazing. It doesn't add huge scenes and depth like "The Search for Spock" or "The Undiscovered Country". Rather, it simply retells the story of "The Motion Picture" in written format. A little internal information is added for Kirk, Decker, and suprisingly, Vejur. Other than that, the scenes are pretty much beat for beat from the movie (although there are some "footnotes" that are humorous).
One of Roddenberry's weaknesses is his odd need for sexual elements in his book. He "hints" at a sexual relationship between Kirk and Spock, then immeditately shuts it down (why even introduce it anyway then?) He also plays up the sexual characteristics of the Deltan species, particularly Ilia (who was already sexualized enough in the movie).
If this novelization does one thing right, it speeds up the absolutely boring parts of the movie where the ship is moving glacially slow, and instead focuses more on the dialogue scenes, which I quite enjoyed.
Also, I do enjoy the discussion of Spock's inner termoil over being a human or or a Vulcan. Roddenberry drops that thread towards the end, but it is an interesting idea that is explored.
The climax of the book is WAY too close to the ending though. Like, the climax happens with only 3 pages remaining. No time at all is present for a falling action.
The book is certainly more enjoyable than the movie, whose primary advantage is its AMAZING soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith. I made an unusual decision to listen to the tracks from the movie while reading (a rareity for me), and it was quite enjoyable. Since the book chapters are short and go by quickly, I think this is actually a good practice here, since the music will kind of guide you through the story.
Overall, this is an "ok" story. I think that all the other novelizations have better stories than this one, but the level of "adaptation" into novel format is about at the level of "Wrath of Khan" for me. 6 out of 10.
This novelization is not particularly amazing. It doesn't add huge scenes and depth like "The Search for Spock" or "The Undiscovered Country". Rather, it simply retells the story of "The Motion Picture" in written format. A little internal information is added for Kirk, Decker, and suprisingly, Vejur. Other than that, the scenes are pretty much beat for beat from the movie (although there are some "footnotes" that are humorous).
One of Roddenberry's weaknesses is his odd need for sexual elements in his book. He "hints" at a sexual relationship between Kirk and Spock, then immeditately shuts it down (why even introduce it anyway then?) He also plays up the sexual characteristics of the Deltan species, particularly Ilia (who was already sexualized enough in the movie).
If this novelization does one thing right, it speeds up the absolutely boring parts of the movie where the ship is moving glacially slow, and instead focuses more on the dialogue scenes, which I quite enjoyed.
Also, I do enjoy the discussion of Spock's inner termoil over being a human or or a Vulcan. Roddenberry drops that thread towards the end, but it is an interesting idea that is explored.
The climax of the book is WAY too close to the ending though. Like, the climax happens with only 3 pages remaining. No time at all is present for a falling action.
The book is certainly more enjoyable than the movie, whose primary advantage is its AMAZING soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith. I made an unusual decision to listen to the tracks from the movie while reading (a rareity for me), and it was quite enjoyable. Since the book chapters are short and go by quickly, I think this is actually a good practice here, since the music will kind of guide you through the story.
Overall, this is an "ok" story. I think that all the other novelizations have better stories than this one, but the level of "adaptation" into novel format is about at the level of "Wrath of Khan" for me. 6 out of 10.
March 2, 2021
This is probably a better way to experience the original Star Trek movie than actually watching it. The Motion Picture is a notorious slog to get through, seemingly more concerned with presenting long (looong) special effects sequences than telling an interesting story.
The novelisation, written by creator Gene Roddenberry (there is some debate as to whether this was ghost written by Alan Dean Foster, but I'd say he didn't), removes the boring stuff and focuses on the characters. Instead of long silent stretches, we get to understand what Kirk and crew were thinking and experiencing... and it's often surprising.
You see, Gene Roddenberry was a notoriously horny man and here he appears to have been let loose to express that. He injects sex into far too many places here, especially when it's not appropriate. Spock wanders about the Enterprise and hears two people in the throes of lovemaking. The female characters are completely objectified, with numerous references to their "loveliness" and appearance. We also get to hear about how Admiral Kirk's genitals respond to a woman's presence, along with a few other crew members. The character Ilia is there for nothing but male fantasy, with no personality of her own. One scene presents her completely nude (in a completely non-sexual situation) and Kirk is almost unable to function due to her perfectly pointed breasts turning to face towards him.
This stuff is both horrible to read and also so bizarre that it makes it difficult to stop, just for the curiosity of what weirdness is going to come next. Roddenberry had some beautiful ideas about humanity but any behind-the-scenes book on Trek will let you know what kind of person he was in regards to women. And it's not good.
But it has resulted in an improved version of a notoriously poor film here, adding good pacing and some spark into something completely lifeless.
The novelisation, written by creator Gene Roddenberry (there is some debate as to whether this was ghost written by Alan Dean Foster, but I'd say he didn't), removes the boring stuff and focuses on the characters. Instead of long silent stretches, we get to understand what Kirk and crew were thinking and experiencing... and it's often surprising.
You see, Gene Roddenberry was a notoriously horny man and here he appears to have been let loose to express that. He injects sex into far too many places here, especially when it's not appropriate. Spock wanders about the Enterprise and hears two people in the throes of lovemaking. The female characters are completely objectified, with numerous references to their "loveliness" and appearance. We also get to hear about how Admiral Kirk's genitals respond to a woman's presence, along with a few other crew members. The character Ilia is there for nothing but male fantasy, with no personality of her own. One scene presents her completely nude (in a completely non-sexual situation) and Kirk is almost unable to function due to her perfectly pointed breasts turning to face towards him.
This stuff is both horrible to read and also so bizarre that it makes it difficult to stop, just for the curiosity of what weirdness is going to come next. Roddenberry had some beautiful ideas about humanity but any behind-the-scenes book on Trek will let you know what kind of person he was in regards to women. And it's not good.
But it has resulted in an improved version of a notoriously poor film here, adding good pacing and some spark into something completely lifeless.
December 10, 2023
Fun time.
February 26, 2021
The movie was better. None of the insight given to the story was desirable or enriched it in any way. I figure the fact that the movie was rated G was forgotten during the creation of this book. The descriptions given to the female characters were quite unnecessary. The repetitive mentions of suggestive content were also unnecessary, irrelevant, and repulsive.
April 19, 2019
TL:DR - if you're really into 'Star Trek', Kirk and Spock and McCoy, and/or the ST:TMP movie, this book is probably worth it. I had fun. And on the whole, it's not badly written.
As novelisations go it has the advantage of being actually written by someone who was instrumental in creating these characters, so it's not an outside professional author coming in with his own take. In fandom terms, it's basically canon. And it clarifies some things that the movie didn't really explain, such as:
- what on earth was actually going on with Spock's mental connection with Vejur
- Spock's motivations in general
- the identity of the people who died in the transporter accident at the start of the movie
- what Kirk has been up to lately and why he's suddenly Admiral
It also adds some emotional depth here and there, especially with regard to the whole "Spock's feelings" subplot. It was nice to get some elaboration on the scene where he first comes on board and ignores everyone, and their reactions to that (especially Kirk's, but it takes time to dwell on all the bridge crew, which I enjoyed).
The plot resolution is still abrupt af and doesn't actually make any more sense than it did in the movie, but my expectations weren't very high on that one.
In terms of Roddenberry's style as an author, this is where it gets pretty wild. He alternates between being a very decent??? prose writer, with a bit of a poetic touch (shouldn't surprise anyone, considering the dialogue in TOS)... and just being complete and utter 1970's pulp garbage lmao. He adds a lot of unnecessary sex talk (almost exclusively around Ilia, whose character was FOR SOME REASON written as some kind of A/B/O prototype who exudes ~alien pheromones~ that drive human men wild, again, I repeat, this has NO bearing on the plot whatsoever), but there's also some really weird stuff about how Kirk's obsessive love for the Enterprise is like the possessive sexual love of a man for a woman or some shit. Gene, my man, you had some issues. Oh, and every time the word "pheromones" is used, which is a lot, it's written in italics. Go figure.
There's actually a lot of unnecessary italics in this book. Sometimes it looks like Roddenberry is using italics to represent thought, but that isn't done consistently at all. And sometimes he just puts entire passages in italics for dramatic emphasis! Oh, and he also uses exclamation marks in narration. Yep. That's a thing. "It was Spock!" Dun-dun-dunnn.
Like 'Killing Time', there's a fair bit of exposition dump going on, but it's not too frequent, and it mostly revolves around Decker and Ilia, aka the subplot that's crucial to the main plot but which nobody, including Gene, really cared enough about to develop it properly onscreen.
Concluding words? Oh. It's also gay. Like. It's really, really gay. I don't know what Gene thought he was doing with this book, but going by the infamous Page 19 it seems he thought he was quelling the gay rumours and presenting Kirk and Spock as just straight buddies, which, oh man. You failed, my boy. You failed big time. Not only did he coin t'hy'la in this book, completely without anyone asking for it, but he also made it canon that Kirk, cut to the quick by Spock's cold refusal to acknowledge their deep bond when he first boarded the Enterprise, deliberately spoke to Spock with warmth and love in his voice and face because he knew that Spock would hear it, and he knew that it would pain Spock, and he wanted to hurt him back. That's canon now. Thanks, Gene! 🚀❤🧡💛💚💙💜🖖
As novelisations go it has the advantage of being actually written by someone who was instrumental in creating these characters, so it's not an outside professional author coming in with his own take. In fandom terms, it's basically canon. And it clarifies some things that the movie didn't really explain, such as:
- what on earth was actually going on with Spock's mental connection with Vejur
- Spock's motivations in general
- the identity of the people who died in the transporter accident at the start of the movie
- what Kirk has been up to lately and why he's suddenly Admiral
It also adds some emotional depth here and there, especially with regard to the whole "Spock's feelings" subplot. It was nice to get some elaboration on the scene where he first comes on board and ignores everyone, and their reactions to that (especially Kirk's, but it takes time to dwell on all the bridge crew, which I enjoyed).
The plot resolution is still abrupt af and doesn't actually make any more sense than it did in the movie, but my expectations weren't very high on that one.
In terms of Roddenberry's style as an author, this is where it gets pretty wild. He alternates between being a very decent??? prose writer, with a bit of a poetic touch (shouldn't surprise anyone, considering the dialogue in TOS)... and just being complete and utter 1970's pulp garbage lmao. He adds a lot of unnecessary sex talk (almost exclusively around Ilia, whose character was FOR SOME REASON written as some kind of A/B/O prototype who exudes ~alien pheromones~ that drive human men wild, again, I repeat, this has NO bearing on the plot whatsoever), but there's also some really weird stuff about how Kirk's obsessive love for the Enterprise is like the possessive sexual love of a man for a woman or some shit. Gene, my man, you had some issues. Oh, and every time the word "pheromones" is used, which is a lot, it's written in italics. Go figure.
There's actually a lot of unnecessary italics in this book. Sometimes it looks like Roddenberry is using italics to represent thought, but that isn't done consistently at all. And sometimes he just puts entire passages in italics for dramatic emphasis! Oh, and he also uses exclamation marks in narration. Yep. That's a thing. "It was Spock!" Dun-dun-dunnn.
Like 'Killing Time', there's a fair bit of exposition dump going on, but it's not too frequent, and it mostly revolves around Decker and Ilia, aka the subplot that's crucial to the main plot but which nobody, including Gene, really cared enough about to develop it properly onscreen.
Concluding words? Oh. It's also gay. Like. It's really, really gay. I don't know what Gene thought he was doing with this book, but going by the infamous Page 19 it seems he thought he was quelling the gay rumours and presenting Kirk and Spock as just straight buddies, which, oh man. You failed, my boy. You failed big time. Not only did he coin t'hy'la in this book, completely without anyone asking for it, but he also made it canon that Kirk, cut to the quick by Spock's cold refusal to acknowledge their deep bond when he first boarded the Enterprise, deliberately spoke to Spock with warmth and love in his voice and face because he knew that Spock would hear it, and he knew that it would pain Spock, and he wanted to hurt him back. That's canon now. Thanks, Gene! 🚀❤🧡💛💚💙💜🖖
September 8, 2021
"The Motion Picture" always stands out for me as the most "Star Trek" of the Star Trek movies. It maintains the wonder and grandeur of space and of the Enterprise itself - c'mon, we get like a 10-minute sequence where we're just flying around the ship - and thusly, to many, it is the most "boring" of the movies. Admittedly, six, two, four, five, and three (in that order - yes, I actually think five isn't that bad...it has some really good Kirk moments in it, he has a couple of good sayings and retorts - it actually made me rethink my opinion of Kirk as a character, because after watching "The Original Series" I did not like Kirk-the-Rapist, at all - not one iota...and everyone seems to forget that it's the first movie with the Enterprise-A - well, except for the very, very end of four, sure. I was watching someone talk about the majesty of the -A in the first three movies and I wanted to throw my shoes at the screen.
But, I digress. This novel is the movie. There isn't really anything missing from one that you don't see in the other. The movie has the advantage of actually depicting the magnificence of V-Ger that you don't get in the novel. The novel is actually somewhat vague in its descriptions. You also find out who the second person was on the transporter pad that got turned inside out (Kirk's most recent ex-girlfriend, and a Vice Admiral, no less). Well, and you find out that Decker and Robot Ilia actually started boning at one point in order to help her "understand" carbon units. Apparently, Kirk was thinking about boning her if Decker didn't - I'm NOT kidding! There's actually quite a bit of sex referenced here that is missing from the movies, well, and Star Trek, in general. Kirk references his genitals, at one point. Kirk, Sulu, and Chekov all think about how they should try to remain sitting when Ilia first steps onto the bridge because they've all sprung boners. We get at least two descriptions of Ilia's boobs pointing at Kirk.
At some point, I think Gene was very progressive sexually-speaking, but was also still either mired in the sci-fi tropes of the time, or still had the depth of a thirteen-year old when it comes to boobies! The introduction to the book has Kirk address "rumors" that he and Spock may be linked romantically, he brushes it off saying nah, he likes girls, but meh, people are people. In 1979, the lack of a "no homo" response was very impressive to me...however, Gene's writing is full of helpless damsels and girls who's primary personality trait is "girl." And they have boobs! As I said, he references Ilia's boobs quite a few times. I think Ilia's appearance as a completely hairless woman may have been a fantasy of his. Plus, Deltans seem to be the stereotypical sex kitten aliens, like the Asari, and the Orions, etc., etc., and we never see them again...
I also think that the V-Ger-Decker-Gestalt entity was woefully underused in later episodes/movies. It transcended to another plane of existence, which seems rather Q-esque. Speaking of Q, I think the whole "V-Ger Crisis" could have been a good example for Picard to use in "Encounter at Farpoint" to reveal Humanity's no-longer-savage nature. The only weapon fired by the Enterprise, hell the entire Federation, was the torpedo at the asteroid in the wormhole. To quote Babylon 5: "They understood their way out of the situation."
Whew...I was just intending to say that this and the movie were nearly identical and leave it at that, but I guess not.
If you like Star Trek read it! If you don't like Star Trek...um, what's wrong with you? :)
But, I digress. This novel is the movie. There isn't really anything missing from one that you don't see in the other. The movie has the advantage of actually depicting the magnificence of V-Ger that you don't get in the novel. The novel is actually somewhat vague in its descriptions. You also find out who the second person was on the transporter pad that got turned inside out (Kirk's most recent ex-girlfriend, and a Vice Admiral, no less). Well, and you find out that Decker and Robot Ilia actually started boning at one point in order to help her "understand" carbon units. Apparently, Kirk was thinking about boning her if Decker didn't - I'm NOT kidding! There's actually quite a bit of sex referenced here that is missing from the movies, well, and Star Trek, in general. Kirk references his genitals, at one point. Kirk, Sulu, and Chekov all think about how they should try to remain sitting when Ilia first steps onto the bridge because they've all sprung boners. We get at least two descriptions of Ilia's boobs pointing at Kirk.
At some point, I think Gene was very progressive sexually-speaking, but was also still either mired in the sci-fi tropes of the time, or still had the depth of a thirteen-year old when it comes to boobies! The introduction to the book has Kirk address "rumors" that he and Spock may be linked romantically, he brushes it off saying nah, he likes girls, but meh, people are people. In 1979, the lack of a "no homo" response was very impressive to me...however, Gene's writing is full of helpless damsels and girls who's primary personality trait is "girl." And they have boobs! As I said, he references Ilia's boobs quite a few times. I think Ilia's appearance as a completely hairless woman may have been a fantasy of his. Plus, Deltans seem to be the stereotypical sex kitten aliens, like the Asari, and the Orions, etc., etc., and we never see them again...
I also think that the V-Ger-Decker-Gestalt entity was woefully underused in later episodes/movies. It transcended to another plane of existence, which seems rather Q-esque. Speaking of Q, I think the whole "V-Ger Crisis" could have been a good example for Picard to use in "Encounter at Farpoint" to reveal Humanity's no-longer-savage nature. The only weapon fired by the Enterprise, hell the entire Federation, was the torpedo at the asteroid in the wormhole. To quote Babylon 5: "They understood their way out of the situation."
Whew...I was just intending to say that this and the movie were nearly identical and leave it at that, but I guess not.
If you like Star Trek read it! If you don't like Star Trek...um, what's wrong with you? :)
December 18, 2020
I liked reading Trek by the creator. It was fun seeing a glimpse of Earth—the Earth that Roddenberry envisioned, with some humans evolving into group thinkers. It was a little strange reading how the rec center was partly designed so crew members could make love—which is considerate but some of the sexual references made me a little squeamish, especially Kirk’s love of the Enterprise. But I guess overall those elements tie into the story.
I don’t know how to review how Roddenberry writes women, many women characters are in authority roles—an admiral, a Doctor, top crew members, but I felt some of the descriptions were sexist or reduced some women characters to their appearance. I’d be interested what others thought.
I don’t know how to review how Roddenberry writes women, many women characters are in authority roles—an admiral, a Doctor, top crew members, but I felt some of the descriptions were sexist or reduced some women characters to their appearance. I’d be interested what others thought.
December 9, 2022
"I was never aware of this 'lovers' rumor, although I have been told that Spock encountered it several times. Apparently, he had always dismissed it with his characteristic lifting of his right eyebrow, which usually connoted some combination of surprise, disbelief, and/or annoyance. As for myself... I have always found my best gratification in that creature called woman. Also, I would not like to be thought of as being so foolish that I would select a love partner who came into sexual heat only once every seven years."
Sure, Gene. That's a totally normal clarification after coming up with your own special word for soulmate.
Sure, Gene. That's a totally normal clarification after coming up with your own special word for soulmate.
April 24, 2009
I'll echo what others have said, "it's better than the movie." And there's actually a few little snippets in there that didn't make it into (or were just slightly altered from) the movie's commercial release.
I read it at a time when I was a big TOS (The Original Series) trek fan. I remember hearing Gene Roddenberry speak at a Trek Con down in Detroit (1980?). He gave some small talk about his favorite episodes and introduced the fan favorite TV blooper real. It was my first sci-fi related con and a real eye-opener witnessing the wild fandom that followed Star Trek.
I read it at a time when I was a big TOS (The Original Series) trek fan. I remember hearing Gene Roddenberry speak at a Trek Con down in Detroit (1980?). He gave some small talk about his favorite episodes and introduced the fan favorite TV blooper real. It was my first sci-fi related con and a real eye-opener witnessing the wild fandom that followed Star Trek.
July 20, 2022
gene you were CRAZY for this one. dropping that t’hy’la definition in the first damn chapter?! that insane statement from kirk on the nature of his and spock’s relationship?! thank you gene for giving generations of fanfic writers the evidence needed to claim k/s canon. i love you.
i’ll be honest and admit i just skimmed the rest of it and read scenes that i liked from the movie.
i’ll be honest and admit i just skimmed the rest of it and read scenes that i liked from the movie.
August 3, 2021
I love this book! It was such a joy getting back into the world of Star Trek and the characters I love. Star Trek: The Original Series is like a warm cup of coffee on a rainy day for me. It's a cozy and relaxing read that continue to remind me why I love Star Trek and why I love sci-fi.
The downside to this, however, is the fact that we're introduced to Ilia (who is also in the movie this is based on) who is a Delta woman. The thing about the Deltas is that they release pheromones that result in a sexual reaction of the opposite sex (very heteronormative, I know), because of this every man on the Enterprise wanted to have sex with her and she was thus very sexualized. I don't know if this made me uncomfortable because I'm asexual or if this is something that bothers other people too. It didn't bother me enough to omit one star, it was just a bit uncomfortable at times.
The downside to this, however, is the fact that we're introduced to Ilia (who is also in the movie this is based on) who is a Delta woman. The thing about the Deltas is that they release pheromones that result in a sexual reaction of the opposite sex (very heteronormative, I know), because of this every man on the Enterprise wanted to have sex with her and she was thus very sexualized. I don't know if this made me uncomfortable because I'm asexual or if this is something that bothers other people too. It didn't bother me enough to omit one star, it was just a bit uncomfortable at times.
July 4, 2020
What is there to say about a 40 year old novelization of a Star Trek movie that is not often considered a favorite in the franchise except... it's great!
Overall the writing has aged really well, although there's some sexist phrasing once every chapter, usually attributed to the Captain Kirk character. The story moves along at a faster pace than the film itself, and I always loved the reveal of what Vejur (VGER) really is. (Looking back, it also feels like a forerunner to the Borg so it's ironic when the phrase "resistance is futile" randomly pops up in the narration.) For me, the Decker/Ilia storyline is the best part and takes center stage over the midlife crises of the two lead characters, Kirk and Spock.
I so enjoyed reading this, catching up with these characters, and revisiting a place where no one has gone before.
Overall the writing has aged really well, although there's some sexist phrasing once every chapter, usually attributed to the Captain Kirk character. The story moves along at a faster pace than the film itself, and I always loved the reveal of what Vejur (VGER) really is. (Looking back, it also feels like a forerunner to the Borg so it's ironic when the phrase "resistance is futile" randomly pops up in the narration.) For me, the Decker/Ilia storyline is the best part and takes center stage over the midlife crises of the two lead characters, Kirk and Spock.
I so enjoyed reading this, catching up with these characters, and revisiting a place where no one has gone before.
December 22, 2020
i'm rating this based on what how it supplements the movie, because it's a five star plot to me! I loved getting spock and vger's pov and was totally worth reading just for that... but didn't enjoy how all the descriptions of women came with a dash of objectification and it kind of made me like kirk less which was sad
Displaying 1 - 30 of 305 reviews