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Star Trek Adventures #3
Spock, Messiah!
The victim of a cruel experiment, Commander Spock renounces the U.S.S. Enterprise, becomes the messiah of the planet Kyros, and launches a holy war on the rest of the world.
182 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1976
About the author
Theodore R. Cogswell
69 books8 followersTheodore Rose Cogswell was an American science fiction author.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
November 2, 2011
Hello... my name is Stephen, and I have a “problem” with...with...oh this is difficult...with reading Star Trek books. I thought I was overcoming my trekolism after hitting bottom in the infamous “George Takei Incident” recounted in my confession review of The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition.
After recovering a modicum of self-respect following that tragedy, I started to get my life together and was doing fine for almost 7 months. Then, I had a brief relapse when I picked up a copy of Spock Must Die! and devoured the entire book in a single sitting. Of course, I convinced myself that I was strong enough to "Trek" in moderation. I mean, Spock Must Die! WAS written by James Blish who is a SF legend, so I figured it was okay.
This was different...this wasn't like last time...I was in control..sigh I know, I know, same old story!!
Anyway, I went through the next couple of weeks reading some excellent quality books including: The American Crisis, Dead Souls and American Psycho. However, throughout this period I struggled with temptation as thoughts of the USS Enterprise and her gallant crew invaded my consciousness. Phasers and Klingons and Vulcan mind-melds and that final frontier known as space.
Then, almost before I knew what had happened, I picked up this book and started off just glancing at a single page. Just a glance nothing more. sign Well one page became two and then an entire chapter. Before I realized what was going on, I was lying on the floor of my bedroom dressed as a Romulan and had “consumed” the entire story. That was when my youngest daughter walked in a saw me in all my Trekness, glassy-eyed and still holding this book to my chest in a mockery of the Romulan salute.
I finally had to admit the truth...I was a trekaholic and I needed to do something.
That was 3 months ago and I am happy to say that I have been "off the trek" during that time. I have been reading mysteries and crime novels and non-trek science fiction along with some of the classics of English Literature. Not necessarily Pulitzer Prize winning literature, but some darn fine books.
I am hoping that the worst is behind me but I know I still have a lot of work to do. You see... if I am being totally honest I have to confess...I didn’t think this book was that terrible. I mean, a new star fleet “first contact” technology turns Spock into a religious fanatic bent on converting the entire population of a planet and setting himself up as a god. Sounds like it might have made a decent episode of the original series and the original series episodes were “usually” very entertaining in an Ed Wood, low budget way, right? Right? RIGHT?
Lately I've even found myself thinking that it's possible that the next book in the series could be even better than this one and I should maybe read just one more to find out. Seriously, what would be the harm? I mean, I ask you, what is the harm in occasionally reading a Star Trek book? Is it any worse than Twilight? Can’t Star Trek be my Twilight? I mean, at least SPOCK DOESN’T “SPARKLE” and Kirk doesn’t turn into a lame, lovesick douche-wolf. Plus, Dr. “Bones” McCoy can be pretty funny sometimes, can’t he, and you gotta admit that Uhura was kinda cute (NOTE: I am referring ONLY to Uhura in the original TV series and DO NOT want to discuss what happened to her in the movies).
So again, what is the big deal?…I just want to…
Uh…sorry about that. I know I have some things to sort out and I am not sure what the future holds so I will just take it one day at a time. For right now, all I can say is that I will not trek today.
Thank you everyone for your support in this most difficult time.
After recovering a modicum of self-respect following that tragedy, I started to get my life together and was doing fine for almost 7 months. Then, I had a brief relapse when I picked up a copy of Spock Must Die! and devoured the entire book in a single sitting. Of course, I convinced myself that I was strong enough to "Trek" in moderation. I mean, Spock Must Die! WAS written by James Blish who is a SF legend, so I figured it was okay.
This was different...this wasn't like last time...I was in control..sigh I know, I know, same old story!!
Anyway, I went through the next couple of weeks reading some excellent quality books including: The American Crisis, Dead Souls and American Psycho. However, throughout this period I struggled with temptation as thoughts of the USS Enterprise and her gallant crew invaded my consciousness. Phasers and Klingons and Vulcan mind-melds and that final frontier known as space.
Then, almost before I knew what had happened, I picked up this book and started off just glancing at a single page. Just a glance nothing more. sign Well one page became two and then an entire chapter. Before I realized what was going on, I was lying on the floor of my bedroom dressed as a Romulan and had “consumed” the entire story. That was when my youngest daughter walked in a saw me in all my Trekness, glassy-eyed and still holding this book to my chest in a mockery of the Romulan salute.
I finally had to admit the truth...I was a trekaholic and I needed to do something.
That was 3 months ago and I am happy to say that I have been "off the trek" during that time. I have been reading mysteries and crime novels and non-trek science fiction along with some of the classics of English Literature. Not necessarily Pulitzer Prize winning literature, but some darn fine books.
I am hoping that the worst is behind me but I know I still have a lot of work to do. You see... if I am being totally honest I have to confess...I didn’t think this book was that terrible. I mean, a new star fleet “first contact” technology turns Spock into a religious fanatic bent on converting the entire population of a planet and setting himself up as a god. Sounds like it might have made a decent episode of the original series and the original series episodes were “usually” very entertaining in an Ed Wood, low budget way, right? Right? RIGHT?
Lately I've even found myself thinking that it's possible that the next book in the series could be even better than this one and I should maybe read just one more to find out. Seriously, what would be the harm? I mean, I ask you, what is the harm in occasionally reading a Star Trek book? Is it any worse than Twilight? Can’t Star Trek be my Twilight? I mean, at least SPOCK DOESN’T “SPARKLE” and Kirk doesn’t turn into a lame, lovesick douche-wolf. Plus, Dr. “Bones” McCoy can be pretty funny sometimes, can’t he, and you gotta admit that Uhura was kinda cute (NOTE: I am referring ONLY to Uhura in the original TV series and DO NOT want to discuss what happened to her in the movies).
So again, what is the big deal?…I just want to…
Uh…sorry about that. I know I have some things to sort out and I am not sure what the future holds so I will just take it one day at a time. For right now, all I can say is that I will not trek today.
Thank you everyone for your support in this most difficult time.
January 11, 2023
Before reading this book, I would probably have said I could read ANYTHING Star Trek related and enjoy it. I loved the show as a kid, and I frequently revisit the episodes including all the spin offs. However, this was difficult to finish. I recognize that this book was written late in the 70’s, before political correctness was a thing, but even tonally this feels wrong. It's overtly misogynistic: Dr. McCoy communicates to Kirk that he wants to pinch an ensign's ass? As if that would EVER be okay?Spock is having sex with another ensign (he's an ensign here), "the way that humans do it." Ugh, no! Cogswell what the hell have you done to my characters? These are not the characters I know and love. It was a short book! Quick read! Piece of $#!+, waste of time. Someone should have edited this book and recognized that Roddenberry would have never accepted such neanderthal behavior. I am disgusted that this book exists and is part of the pantheon of Star Trek books. In this case, a one-star is not only warranted, but absolutely required.
February 13, 2023
For a book that is supposed to be about Spock...he isn't in it much!
Through technological shenanigans, the crew of the Enterprise are able to take on the minds and personalities of various indigenous individuals in order to help facilitate anthropological research. However, when a religious fanatic and Spock "merge" in this fashion, we get the plot of the book.
Even with all of this, Spock only appears in about maybe 5 pages of this nearly 200-page story, leaving us to learn all about the Spock-Messiah through other characters. I'm not sure if the writer had a hard-time portraying a fanatic or what, but we definitely shy away from the idea. Later, we learn that the Spock-Messiah isn't actually Spock, thus absolving him of all crimes. In a topsy-turvy, switcharoo, it seems that the fanatic actually took on all the best bits of Spock and became an even crazier fanatic than he already was...sort of a cop out, if you ask me.
Mostly, this story is more "What if Kirk and friends masquerade as members of a Roma caravan?" I think the author also has quite the crush on Kirk, as we read about his muscular frame and his taut, muscular frame a few times. We also get the rather graphic depictions of a female crewmember who becomes a stereotypical "gypsy dancing girl"...complete with Kirk calling her a "sexpot" at some point...
Yah, you should totally pass this one up.
Through technological shenanigans, the crew of the Enterprise are able to take on the minds and personalities of various indigenous individuals in order to help facilitate anthropological research. However, when a religious fanatic and Spock "merge" in this fashion, we get the plot of the book.
Even with all of this, Spock only appears in about maybe 5 pages of this nearly 200-page story, leaving us to learn all about the Spock-Messiah through other characters. I'm not sure if the writer had a hard-time portraying a fanatic or what, but we definitely shy away from the idea. Later, we learn that the Spock-Messiah isn't actually Spock, thus absolving him of all crimes. In a topsy-turvy, switcharoo, it seems that the fanatic actually took on all the best bits of Spock and became an even crazier fanatic than he already was...sort of a cop out, if you ask me.
Mostly, this story is more "What if Kirk and friends masquerade as members of a Roma caravan?" I think the author also has quite the crush on Kirk, as we read about his muscular frame and his taut, muscular frame a few times. We also get the rather graphic depictions of a female crewmember who becomes a stereotypical "gypsy dancing girl"...complete with Kirk calling her a "sexpot" at some point...
Yah, you should totally pass this one up.
May 9, 2015
Spock, Messiah! by Theodore R. Cogswell and Charles A. Spano, Jr. is the all-time worst Star Trek novel that I've read. Previously that "honor" was held by The Prometheus Design (torture theme and Spock being extraordinarily un-Spock-like). This is another "let's make Spock [and all the other crew members of the Enterprise while we're at it] as unlike himself as we possibly can" story. It is also a very early Star Trek novel (the second original novel published) and, unfortunately, the authors seem to have a very tiny (Spock could give you the exact percentage--like maybe .0000000000000001%) understanding of the Star Trek world and characters. According to the blurb in the back of the first edition (which I just happen to have right here) Charles Spano, Jr. was "a devoted Star Trek follower and an authority on all the characters, events, and background of the series." If that was true (which I quite frankly doubt), then apparently Spock came back in time and did that whole Vulcan memory-wipe thing (like he did for Kirk when Rayna died) because he doesn't seem to use any of his Star Trek knowledge beyond the fact that he (and Cogswell) get character names right and they know they're aboard the Enterprise. For the record....Sulu was born in San Francisco not on "Alpha Mensa Five" (whatever the heck that is) and Scotty does NOT have red hair nor does Chekov have bushy black hair.
Of course, little matters like getting the Trek world right isn't going to bother these guys. They've got more important things to take care of....like turning one of the female crew members into a "sexpot" stripper and having Kirk, McCoy and the rest of the men make lewd jokes about her. As far as I can tell the whole point of the plot was to make it possible for straight-laced Ensign George to implant herself with a hook-up to every straight man's fantasy--a beautiful woman who wants to dance naked and get it on with anybody who's willing (and they're all willing). Oh, sure, they say that the plot is all about how Spock gets implanted with a hook-up to a crazy guy with a Messiah complex--but that's just a cover for their teen-age boy fantasy fulfillment.
Maybe if I had read this when I first got it (back in the 80s) I might have appreciated just having a new Trek story to read and could have overlooked the incredibly bad characterizations and the sexism. Maybe. But I certainly can't now--there are too many good Trek stories out there. Take my advice and go read them (any of them--they're all better than this). If I could give less than a star on Goodreads and have it register I would.
First posted on my blog My Readers' Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Of course, little matters like getting the Trek world right isn't going to bother these guys. They've got more important things to take care of....like turning one of the female crew members into a "sexpot" stripper and having Kirk, McCoy and the rest of the men make lewd jokes about her. As far as I can tell the whole point of the plot was to make it possible for straight-laced Ensign George to implant herself with a hook-up to every straight man's fantasy--a beautiful woman who wants to dance naked and get it on with anybody who's willing (and they're all willing). Oh, sure, they say that the plot is all about how Spock gets implanted with a hook-up to a crazy guy with a Messiah complex--but that's just a cover for their teen-age boy fantasy fulfillment.
Maybe if I had read this when I first got it (back in the 80s) I might have appreciated just having a new Trek story to read and could have overlooked the incredibly bad characterizations and the sexism. Maybe. But I certainly can't now--there are too many good Trek stories out there. Take my advice and go read them (any of them--they're all better than this). If I could give less than a star on Goodreads and have it register I would.
First posted on my blog My Readers' Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
June 9, 2016
I read the reviews written for this book and generally they are not very positive but I can't bring myself to give this book less than 5 stars.Why? Because I enjoyed! I devoured it! This is my first StarTrek novel and I read it at a very young age. Maybe that's why I didn't see many flaws, sexism or racism and now I am afraid to read it again at my current age.(Something tells me I will find those mentioned flaws!)
I have always loved Star Trek and for quite some time, I couldn't find anything related to it and I can't even begin to describe how happy I felt when I went to an old bookstore, opened this book and realized that I hold a StarTrek novel in my hand. Now, I can easily access every single Star Trek novel ever written but back then...it was a wonderful memory and I enjoyed reading every single page. I think my mind has spent all these years twisting and changing this book into something really amazing so I can not tell you with certainty how good this book really is, but for me...it was amazing. I will always love it and treasure it.
I have always loved Star Trek and for quite some time, I couldn't find anything related to it and I can't even begin to describe how happy I felt when I went to an old bookstore, opened this book and realized that I hold a StarTrek novel in my hand. Now, I can easily access every single Star Trek novel ever written but back then...it was a wonderful memory and I enjoyed reading every single page. I think my mind has spent all these years twisting and changing this book into something really amazing so I can not tell you with certainty how good this book really is, but for me...it was amazing. I will always love it and treasure it.
May 28, 2021
Where to begin with this mess? Okay I've had this on my shelves since the 80s and never read it for some reason (maybe I instinctively knew...) I finished it for a TBR reading challenge and wow, this was bad. Even that second star feels generous. To be fair this was written in the 70s about 10 years after the show aired but before the first movie. Spano was billed as 'an authority on all things Star Trek.' As a fan fic author, I can tell you it's not that hard to hold only 3 years of canon in your head (harder then without the internet of course) but also you'd be better served if you DID go read fanfic on AO3 than this thing. Our authority gives us black bushy haired Chekov
It's hard sometimes to separate today's ideals and moral thought from what it was 40 years ago. I can look past the causal racism of constantly referring to Uhura and Doctor Mbenga as Black and Sulu as Oriental (that's just how it was done then) but my lord the misogyny in this is overbearing even for 40 years ago. It reads like male fantasy and well it is.
The basic plot isn't even a good one. the crew are studying a non-tech planet by using dops short for doppleganger. What they've done is somehow scanned brain patterns for the locals and are hooking themselves to them to instantly learn the language and how to act (what about the universal translater?) and naturally something goes wrong with Spock's so now he's gone nuts and thinks he's a Messiah leading his people to greater glory.
And here comes the misogyny. How we get into this is thanks Ensign Sara George a staid, conservative emotionally controlled young woman who decided to ignore her perfect dop match and hooks herself to a stripper/sexually free woman just to see what it feels like and it's so much fun she decides to hook her crush, Spock, up to someone emotional just like she did for herself. She looks at nothing else, just that and hooks him into someone in the reject pile, someone unintelligent and insane but hey he likes sex. OMG.
Rather than discipline her, Kirk keeps her on the team because her sexiness is going to be helpful now that some radiation wave is heading their way and Spock has crippled the ship. And yes that's literally the plot, let her have sex with Spock again if she can and break his connection to his dop. She is constantly referred to by her sexiness, nearly raped more than once, Kirk calls her a sex machine and McCoy calls her a bitch in heat. Wow.
And in the end, we don't even see Spock grappling with what he did or any of what happened to him. He just is 'embarrassed' and shrugs it off.
There is so much better Star Trek out there. Go read that.
View post on imgur.comand Red haired Scotty
View post on imgur.comand a detachable saucer section of the Enterprise (I'll give him that one. Maybe it was in the specs but took 20 years for tv special effects to catch up
It's hard sometimes to separate today's ideals and moral thought from what it was 40 years ago. I can look past the causal racism of constantly referring to Uhura and Doctor Mbenga as Black and Sulu as Oriental (that's just how it was done then) but my lord the misogyny in this is overbearing even for 40 years ago. It reads like male fantasy and well it is.
The basic plot isn't even a good one. the crew are studying a non-tech planet by using dops short for doppleganger. What they've done is somehow scanned brain patterns for the locals and are hooking themselves to them to instantly learn the language and how to act (what about the universal translater?) and naturally something goes wrong with Spock's so now he's gone nuts and thinks he's a Messiah leading his people to greater glory.
And here comes the misogyny. How we get into this is thanks Ensign Sara George a staid, conservative emotionally controlled young woman who decided to ignore her perfect dop match and hooks herself to a stripper/sexually free woman just to see what it feels like and it's so much fun she decides to hook her crush, Spock, up to someone emotional just like she did for herself. She looks at nothing else, just that and hooks him into someone in the reject pile, someone unintelligent and insane but hey he likes sex. OMG.
Rather than discipline her, Kirk keeps her on the team because her sexiness is going to be helpful now that some radiation wave is heading their way and Spock has crippled the ship. And yes that's literally the plot, let her have sex with Spock again if she can and break his connection to his dop. She is constantly referred to by her sexiness, nearly raped more than once, Kirk calls her a sex machine and McCoy calls her a bitch in heat. Wow.
And in the end, we don't even see Spock grappling with what he did or any of what happened to him. He just is 'embarrassed' and shrugs it off.
There is so much better Star Trek out there. Go read that.
April 28, 2013
To make a long story short, this is basically the worst thing I've ever read. Those stupid, bored housewives in middle America, squawking their heads off to get some classic or another far away from their childrens' impressionable minds, should read this and realize how good their kids have it that they don't ever have to encounter something on this level of failure. Spock, Messiah! is basically the worst thing to happen to Star Trek since Gengis Khan killed Abraham Lincoln. Whether referring to Uhura as "the black", creating a female character who's only role is to dance around and look sexy for the entire length of the story (I'm not exaggerating), not bothering to explore the ramifications of the technology the author creates, half-assing the dialogue, not including Spock for most of the story, or managing to mangle every single character beyond recognition, the novel fails on every single level aside from being written in a language I can read. Overall, a very strong argument for why book burning is not always bad.
November 28, 2014
An interesting plot premise squandered by lackadaisical, unambitious storytelling. Since I'm not a hardcore Trekkie, and nostalgia predisposes me to be generous toward these old Trek novels, I willingly overlooked the fact that nothing in the book feels grounded or makes much sense when carefully considered. I overlooked the fact that Kirk's solution to most problems was to make the female crew member get naked and seduce everybody. (This same female is also responsible for all the trouble that happens, in that it was she who tampered with Spock's telepathic implant in order to get him to sleep with her. Later, she goes skinny-dipping in front of the rest of the crew, leading me to wonder if this book was written by a horny fifteen-year-old boy.) I even overlooked the fact that the ENTERPRISE crew seems to think they are upholding the Prime Directive by constantly breaking it, and that nobody seems particularly incensed that a huge number of natives lost their lives over what started out as one woman's sexual escapade.
No, it was the SCOOBY DOO-style ending that REALLY annoyed me. Good writers put you in the middle of the action; this writer puts you in the head of a character who gets knocked unconscious and must be told of everything that happened after the fact.
No, it was the SCOOBY DOO-style ending that REALLY annoyed me. Good writers put you in the middle of the action; this writer puts you in the head of a character who gets knocked unconscious and must be told of everything that happened after the fact.
September 10, 2009
A rather ludicrous story seriously marred by painfully outdated attitudes toward gender (a long-running subplot is all about a prim new scientist on the Enterprise learning to stop being so old-fashioned and appreciate that men are just going to want to pat her butt sometimes while she's working--you think I'm kidding, but I'm not). Lots of long digressions about how Sara learns to loosen up and cavort naked in front of her appreciative male shipmates makes the rest of the plot hard to focus on, but it involves some very dubious science and politics (a section where Kirk describes Spock as having gone crazy and decided to be a murderous religious fanatic..."like Mohammed, you know" also will raise eyebrows one way or the other) and plot twists that strain credulity.
But really it was the "scientist lady learns to let down her hair and be promiscuous as all women should" subplot that got me. If you can get past that you might find the rest of the plot more digestible.
But really it was the "scientist lady learns to let down her hair and be promiscuous as all women should" subplot that got me. If you can get past that you might find the rest of the plot more digestible.
March 8, 2022
Unabashedly sexist and equally awful, I finished this in case there was a plot I could use in a Star Trek RPG. Worse than most fan fiction. Not recommended.
I had purchased a few of the Bantam line (which came out before the numbered Pocketbook series), but not this one, which for some reason was hard to find. Did not read it when I did find it - just couldn't spare two hours. Now that I have - I'll only keep it for completeness.
I had purchased a few of the Bantam line (which came out before the numbered Pocketbook series), but not this one, which for some reason was hard to find. Did not read it when I did find it - just couldn't spare two hours. Now that I have - I'll only keep it for completeness.
December 8, 2019
Qué horror. La historia podría estar bien si no fuese porque los personajes están mal escritos, como si los autores no conociesen a Spock, Kirk y compañía. No se parecen en nada a los personajes reales. Y, bueno, mejor no hablar del sexismo rampante: la alférez Sara solo sirve para, bueno, hacer bailes eróticos e ir poniendo cachondo al personal. En fin. Espero que el siguiente libro de esta colección sea mejor (y tengo ganas de leer los de Joe Haldeman). Y yo que buscaba una lectura entretenida y sencillita y he acabado aburrida e indignada...
Shelved as 'x-tbr-owned'
October 20, 2020Dave read long ago.
My turn now.
.....
David reread. He says Cogswell wrote a generic SF story, and Spano shoehorned in the Star Trek characters. I will pass.
My turn now.
.....
David reread. He says Cogswell wrote a generic SF story, and Spano shoehorned in the Star Trek characters. I will pass.
January 1, 2020
This is a 1976 Star Trek novel that only the most desperate fan could truly appreciate.
Pluses:
1) Characters named Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Chekov, Sulu, Uhura, Chapel, and Spock are included.
2) It is the second adult novel set in the Star Trek universe that tells a new story. There was a long dry spell of six years since the first original adult novel: Blish's Spock Must Die. The appearance of the second – finally! – was cause to rejoice.
3) The novel references (by footnote) novelizations of other episodes. I am a fan of what is called continuity in the comic book world, and intertextuality in academia, and truly appreciate it being included here.
4) The cover is pretty cool.
5) There is a story plot brought to a logical conclusion.
These pluses are why I award this excrescence of a novel two stars.
Minuses:
1) The characters either bear little resemblance to their series counterparts (Kirk, McCoy, Sulu, and Uhura), or they bear too much and become caricatures of themselves (Scott and Chekov).
2) Sexism. At least it's not misogynistic sexism, and sexism was still a widespread cultural phenomenon in the 1970s USA. I mean, the main writer of the book was a guy born in 1918. But it's still painful to any person who respects women as persons to read.
3) The plot is not exciting, original, or interesting. It is easy for any Star Trek fan to see a million ways the obstacle the plot centered around could have been more easily overcome.
4) The concept of a dop, why it was desirable to subject oneself to it, or objections any crew member would logically raise to doing so were never adequately explained.
And 5, perhaps the worst thing about the book was that it did not feel like Star Trek. Within the first few pages I gained the impression I was reading a random non-science fiction novel that had already been written, but then rewritten with just the names changed to Star Trek crew character names. I looked up the book in Wikipedia to find (unsurprisingly) that this is exactly what occurred. Charles A Spano Jr. wrote some awful novel that basically retold prophet Mohammed's story in a modern setting. Cogswell then edited and rewrote that novel into this early Star Trek jewel we now know and loathe. Frederik Pohl, apparently, is in good part to blame, which is surprising given his authorial talent.
This novel is interesting only from a Star Trek novel history standpoint.
Pluses:
1) Characters named Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Chekov, Sulu, Uhura, Chapel, and Spock are included.
2) It is the second adult novel set in the Star Trek universe that tells a new story. There was a long dry spell of six years since the first original adult novel: Blish's Spock Must Die. The appearance of the second – finally! – was cause to rejoice.
3) The novel references (by footnote) novelizations of other episodes. I am a fan of what is called continuity in the comic book world, and intertextuality in academia, and truly appreciate it being included here.
4) The cover is pretty cool.
5) There is a story plot brought to a logical conclusion.
These pluses are why I award this excrescence of a novel two stars.
Minuses:
1) The characters either bear little resemblance to their series counterparts (Kirk, McCoy, Sulu, and Uhura), or they bear too much and become caricatures of themselves (Scott and Chekov).
2) Sexism. At least it's not misogynistic sexism, and sexism was still a widespread cultural phenomenon in the 1970s USA. I mean, the main writer of the book was a guy born in 1918. But it's still painful to any person who respects women as persons to read.
3) The plot is not exciting, original, or interesting. It is easy for any Star Trek fan to see a million ways the obstacle the plot centered around could have been more easily overcome.
4) The concept of a dop, why it was desirable to subject oneself to it, or objections any crew member would logically raise to doing so were never adequately explained.
And 5, perhaps the worst thing about the book was that it did not feel like Star Trek. Within the first few pages I gained the impression I was reading a random non-science fiction novel that had already been written, but then rewritten with just the names changed to Star Trek crew character names. I looked up the book in Wikipedia to find (unsurprisingly) that this is exactly what occurred. Charles A Spano Jr. wrote some awful novel that basically retold prophet Mohammed's story in a modern setting. Cogswell then edited and rewrote that novel into this early Star Trek jewel we now know and loathe. Frederik Pohl, apparently, is in good part to blame, which is surprising given his authorial talent.
This novel is interesting only from a Star Trek novel history standpoint.
July 2, 2024
Urgh. Part three of my quest to read through all of Trek, and Spock, Messiah! is certainly testing my resolve. A great big hurdle for all of those who endeavour to explore these older titles. Plagued by sexism, racism and sloppy character work, the book toys with interesting ideas, but never commits to them.
The novel ponders a rather strange, albeit interesting sci-fi idea - that of Starfleet implementing a technological implant into individuals that taps into the minds, memories and emotions of local inhabitants without their knowledge, which grants the Enterprise crew knowledge, experience and understanding of the planet they are surveying more easily, and with great ease. In theory at least. I was taken aback at the idea of such a device when it was first described. I did not anticipate such a wild, interesting and high concept science fiction idea to be explored in such an early Trek novel. And strange it was, but I should have trusted my instincts, because whilst the ‘telescan cephalic implant’ is utilised by Kirk and the crew frequently, the ramifications and ethics behind the existence of such a device is hardly discussed or examined, beyond a few sceptical (but far less sceptical than you would imagine) comments from McCoy, and the creation of the Messiah, when Spock’s implant malfunctions (of course).
Despite the existence and functions of such a device being more than enough for a story to draw from, the book falls back on a simple, disappointing good vs evil dichotomy that extinguishes any real exploration of the devices. On top of that, despite Spock’s implant malfunctioning, and creating a maniacal, evil overlord that’s radicalising the medieval-esque locals of the rather boring planet of Kyros, Kirk proceeds to double down on using the implants, and sends waves of Enterprise crewmembers down to the planet wearing them, himself and Bones included. Most illogical!
Despite being called Spock, Messiah! , there is very little Spock involved in the story. We hear whispers of his activity, see him from afar, and chase him from further throughout, but other than a handful of pages toward the end, he remains cloaked in mystery and darkness. This further exacerbates the issue of the book’s reluctance to explore these implants, and is generally underwhelming. He is, as Kirk and Bones bemoan, immensely popular. Although Spock is present during the ending of the book, narratively his character is undermined and undone by the resolution. It managed to render everything that came before pointless for Spock’s development - or lack thereof.
Now, onto the real awful stuff. That which one might charitably call dated, but could have only been labelled as sexist and racist even at the time of release. The racism is less prevalent, but is still difficult to overlook, as it is in anything. Uhura and Mbenga are referred to as ‘The Black Woman’ and ‘The Black Doctor’ respectively. There was never a time where their race was not mentioned when they were featured. There’s also what may be seen as blackface, when the crew beam down in local ‘gypsy’ attire and appearance, darkening their skin to effectively blend in. Of course, you may attempt to logic away the uncomfortable aspects by envisioning the scenes in the futuristic sci-fi setting. Kirk and the team are probably doing the old, surgically altered modifications, like when they ‘transform’ into a romulan or something… I’m sure all hints of racial prejudice and stigma have all been washed away by the tides of enlightened history or something. But personally, when I’m reading a TOS era novel, I’m envisioning the wobbling sets and the paper mache boulders in my mind. Which means, I’m also envisioning Kirk, Bones and some muscular red shirts donning blackface to create a fake gypsy caravan to stop Spock from founding an extremist religion… It's not pretty.
The true core of this book however, is misogyny. It even supersedes the plot! Of course, there’s plenty of sexism sprinkled throughout the text, unrelated to the narrative. Like the terrible portrayal of Kirk and McCoy as two creepy men lusting over a female ensign. Or McCoy lamenting she wasn’t receptive to ‘a friendly pat’. Things go a step further however, when it becomes clear that the true storyline of the book isn’t about Spock acting as a religious figure, but it's about a young female Ensign named Sara George, and her journey from frigid bitch, to ‘shapely sexpot’. Established as a cool, professional, but distant Ensign initially, the novel goes on to reveal her true, sexual self, the lusty young lady who’s happy to serve as the object of the men’s attention. This isn’t some sexual revolution story, it's about using this character as a vehicle for a male sexual fantasy.
Ensign George has no agency at all. It turns out it's her fault that Spock’s misbehaving, because she was so incredibly attracted to him, and she wanted him to be more emotional for her. Her repressed emotions were so intense that she disregarded her work life, her logic and reason and anything else in favour of maybe sleeping with Spock. Her character cannot be taken seriously from the beginning. Soon after, she’s the only way that Kirk could get close to the Messiah, she’s paraded around as a sexual object, as a tool to manipulate men, because she’s just soooo sexy - something Kirk and all the other men won’t stop commenting on. There’s not even a real conclusion to Ensign George’s ‘character arc’, because when she finished being useful to Kirk and McCoy, they simply write her off as a fanciful woman who might sleep with them. They never acknowledge what she had to sacrifice to play her part as the siren or the danger she placed herself in. Instead, her heightened sexuality and starkly different behaviour created by her implant is simply seen as her true self. Consequently she’s written off and never taken seriously.
For the first few chapters, I held a little hope that this book may just explore something interesting. But by its end, I wished I’d never read it at all. Unless you're a neurotic fool like me, someone who wants to read all these books, do not bother with Spock, Messiah!
Although I’m unsure if the satisfaction I received in exchange for reading one/eight hundred and something of the total number of Trek books was worth my investment in time.
Though my lingering thoughts and critiques here certainly make up for a lot of that time and energy. There is a certain catharsis in picking apart a mess.
The novel ponders a rather strange, albeit interesting sci-fi idea - that of Starfleet implementing a technological implant into individuals that taps into the minds, memories and emotions of local inhabitants without their knowledge, which grants the Enterprise crew knowledge, experience and understanding of the planet they are surveying more easily, and with great ease. In theory at least. I was taken aback at the idea of such a device when it was first described. I did not anticipate such a wild, interesting and high concept science fiction idea to be explored in such an early Trek novel. And strange it was, but I should have trusted my instincts, because whilst the ‘telescan cephalic implant’ is utilised by Kirk and the crew frequently, the ramifications and ethics behind the existence of such a device is hardly discussed or examined, beyond a few sceptical (but far less sceptical than you would imagine) comments from McCoy, and the creation of the Messiah, when Spock’s implant malfunctions (of course).
Despite the existence and functions of such a device being more than enough for a story to draw from, the book falls back on a simple, disappointing good vs evil dichotomy that extinguishes any real exploration of the devices. On top of that, despite Spock’s implant malfunctioning, and creating a maniacal, evil overlord that’s radicalising the medieval-esque locals of the rather boring planet of Kyros, Kirk proceeds to double down on using the implants, and sends waves of Enterprise crewmembers down to the planet wearing them, himself and Bones included. Most illogical!
Despite being called Spock, Messiah! , there is very little Spock involved in the story. We hear whispers of his activity, see him from afar, and chase him from further throughout, but other than a handful of pages toward the end, he remains cloaked in mystery and darkness. This further exacerbates the issue of the book’s reluctance to explore these implants, and is generally underwhelming. He is, as Kirk and Bones bemoan, immensely popular. Although Spock is present during the ending of the book, narratively his character is undermined and undone by the resolution. It managed to render everything that came before pointless for Spock’s development - or lack thereof.
Now, onto the real awful stuff. That which one might charitably call dated, but could have only been labelled as sexist and racist even at the time of release. The racism is less prevalent, but is still difficult to overlook, as it is in anything. Uhura and Mbenga are referred to as ‘The Black Woman’ and ‘The Black Doctor’ respectively. There was never a time where their race was not mentioned when they were featured. There’s also what may be seen as blackface, when the crew beam down in local ‘gypsy’ attire and appearance, darkening their skin to effectively blend in. Of course, you may attempt to logic away the uncomfortable aspects by envisioning the scenes in the futuristic sci-fi setting. Kirk and the team are probably doing the old, surgically altered modifications, like when they ‘transform’ into a romulan or something… I’m sure all hints of racial prejudice and stigma have all been washed away by the tides of enlightened history or something. But personally, when I’m reading a TOS era novel, I’m envisioning the wobbling sets and the paper mache boulders in my mind. Which means, I’m also envisioning Kirk, Bones and some muscular red shirts donning blackface to create a fake gypsy caravan to stop Spock from founding an extremist religion… It's not pretty.
The true core of this book however, is misogyny. It even supersedes the plot! Of course, there’s plenty of sexism sprinkled throughout the text, unrelated to the narrative. Like the terrible portrayal of Kirk and McCoy as two creepy men lusting over a female ensign. Or McCoy lamenting she wasn’t receptive to ‘a friendly pat’. Things go a step further however, when it becomes clear that the true storyline of the book isn’t about Spock acting as a religious figure, but it's about a young female Ensign named Sara George, and her journey from frigid bitch, to ‘shapely sexpot’. Established as a cool, professional, but distant Ensign initially, the novel goes on to reveal her true, sexual self, the lusty young lady who’s happy to serve as the object of the men’s attention. This isn’t some sexual revolution story, it's about using this character as a vehicle for a male sexual fantasy.
Ensign George has no agency at all. It turns out it's her fault that Spock’s misbehaving, because she was so incredibly attracted to him, and she wanted him to be more emotional for her. Her repressed emotions were so intense that she disregarded her work life, her logic and reason and anything else in favour of maybe sleeping with Spock. Her character cannot be taken seriously from the beginning. Soon after, she’s the only way that Kirk could get close to the Messiah, she’s paraded around as a sexual object, as a tool to manipulate men, because she’s just soooo sexy - something Kirk and all the other men won’t stop commenting on. There’s not even a real conclusion to Ensign George’s ‘character arc’, because when she finished being useful to Kirk and McCoy, they simply write her off as a fanciful woman who might sleep with them. They never acknowledge what she had to sacrifice to play her part as the siren or the danger she placed herself in. Instead, her heightened sexuality and starkly different behaviour created by her implant is simply seen as her true self. Consequently she’s written off and never taken seriously.
For the first few chapters, I held a little hope that this book may just explore something interesting. But by its end, I wished I’d never read it at all. Unless you're a neurotic fool like me, someone who wants to read all these books, do not bother with Spock, Messiah!
Although I’m unsure if the satisfaction I received in exchange for reading one/eight hundred and something of the total number of Trek books was worth my investment in time.
Though my lingering thoughts and critiques here certainly make up for a lot of that time and energy. There is a certain catharsis in picking apart a mess.
May 29, 2010
[These notes were made in 1983:]. My reading today went from the sublime [Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd:] to the mildly ridiculous. The premise of this one is mind-links gone awry - mind-links with aliens who don't know about it, which seems to me to be a flagrant violation of the Prime Directive. But, that slip in "veri"similitude ("series"similitude?) apart, it's a well-enough told story, of the sophisticated-man-in-jungle-conditions genre. Spock himself makes almost no appearance from beginning to end, but his link, who appropriates many of his mental qualities, successfully impersonates Spock in the minds of both Enterprise crew and readers until the identity-switch is made known in the last few pages. There is the inevitable female officer who sheds her icy demeanour and gives her all for the good of the civilized universe (and what's more, enjoys it). An afternoon's fun; good for a quick gulp.
February 8, 2015
A guilty pleasure.
July 22, 2009
an early Trek novel when they were universally good.
January 5, 2022
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 3.25 of 5
Not too long back, I re-read and reviewed the first original Star Trek novel, Spock Must Die! by James Blish, who was a recognized name to us Star Trek fans for his book adaptations of the original episodes. For those of us who couldn't get enough Trek in our lives (remember, kids ... no streaming television to watch whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, and VCRs were cumbersome beasts owned only by a few schools) this was a joyous occasion. Suddenly, with the publication of Spock, Messiah! (was an exclamation mark going to be required in all Star Trek novels?), co-authored by two men whose names were not familiar to Star Trek or science fiction readers - Theodore R. Cogswell and Charles A. Spano, Jr. Suddenly the Trek world opened up. There could be any number of new stories featuring our intrepid Captain Kirk and his crew, and anyone could be writing them.
Spock, Messiah! focuses on Mister Spock, of course, who, after heading down to a planet (Kyros) as part of an away team, is the victim of an experiment which turns our rational, logical Mr. Spock into believing that he is the planet's messiah, wherein he begins a holy war against all non-believers throughout the planet. Can Kirk stop his first officer from killing millions by appealing to his logic? Or appealing to his humanity? Will Kirk be forced to kill the most valuable first officer in Starfleet - and his closest friend?
I enjoyed this re-read and as with many of these early Star Trek books, I was as much transported to memories of my youth as I was invested in this Trek story.
One of the first things I noticed was that Cogswell and Spano appeared to have a better grasp on the characters than Blish did. This is certainly not a surprise as Cogswell and Spano likely based their story on the actual episodes, while Blish was working from scripts (scripts that sometimes changed greatly before final episode editing).
The story is fairly direct without any subplots mucking it up, and while the characters felt much more like those we see on television, the very general idea of Spock going off on his own while on a mission, being nabbed and transformed into someone with a god complex, strikes me as a bit of a stretch, even for Star Trek. Maybe.
But probably the reaction I felt the most back when I first read this book, and I remember it quite clearly on re-reading the book, was: are all books going to center around Spock? I understand his appeal on many levels, but, William Shatner's ego aside, the series was an ensemble work that told great stories and I hoped that was what we would find in the books as well. At the time, we could only wait and hope ... time would tell.
Looking for a good book? Spock, Messiah! by Theodore R. Cogswell and Charles A. Spano, Jr. was only the second Star Trek novel ever release and does a nice job of capturing the characters as we know them from the show.
Not too long back, I re-read and reviewed the first original Star Trek novel, Spock Must Die! by James Blish, who was a recognized name to us Star Trek fans for his book adaptations of the original episodes. For those of us who couldn't get enough Trek in our lives (remember, kids ... no streaming television to watch whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, and VCRs were cumbersome beasts owned only by a few schools) this was a joyous occasion. Suddenly, with the publication of Spock, Messiah! (was an exclamation mark going to be required in all Star Trek novels?), co-authored by two men whose names were not familiar to Star Trek or science fiction readers - Theodore R. Cogswell and Charles A. Spano, Jr. Suddenly the Trek world opened up. There could be any number of new stories featuring our intrepid Captain Kirk and his crew, and anyone could be writing them.
Spock, Messiah! focuses on Mister Spock, of course, who, after heading down to a planet (Kyros) as part of an away team, is the victim of an experiment which turns our rational, logical Mr. Spock into believing that he is the planet's messiah, wherein he begins a holy war against all non-believers throughout the planet. Can Kirk stop his first officer from killing millions by appealing to his logic? Or appealing to his humanity? Will Kirk be forced to kill the most valuable first officer in Starfleet - and his closest friend?
I enjoyed this re-read and as with many of these early Star Trek books, I was as much transported to memories of my youth as I was invested in this Trek story.
One of the first things I noticed was that Cogswell and Spano appeared to have a better grasp on the characters than Blish did. This is certainly not a surprise as Cogswell and Spano likely based their story on the actual episodes, while Blish was working from scripts (scripts that sometimes changed greatly before final episode editing).
The story is fairly direct without any subplots mucking it up, and while the characters felt much more like those we see on television, the very general idea of Spock going off on his own while on a mission, being nabbed and transformed into someone with a god complex, strikes me as a bit of a stretch, even for Star Trek. Maybe.
But probably the reaction I felt the most back when I first read this book, and I remember it quite clearly on re-reading the book, was: are all books going to center around Spock? I understand his appeal on many levels, but, William Shatner's ego aside, the series was an ensemble work that told great stories and I hoped that was what we would find in the books as well. At the time, we could only wait and hope ... time would tell.
Looking for a good book? Spock, Messiah! by Theodore R. Cogswell and Charles A. Spano, Jr. was only the second Star Trek novel ever release and does a nice job of capturing the characters as we know them from the show.
May 28, 2020
Theodore Cogswell? More like Theodore CogsSMELL.
I have read bad books, I have even read bad fanfiction, but jeezy petes this takes the cake. It was just bad. Not even endearingly bad just plain bad.
Every time Uhura is mentioned, “THE BLACK WOMAN” its like wow okay, and refering the M’Benga as “the black” like wow, the racism pops out like is there any need. And then the misogyny. Truly, this is why men are not allowed to write, i have never read anything more like “she breasted boobily to the stairs, and titted downwards”.
I would personally like to slap the authors of this book. One mans quoted to be an authority on star trek? Where? I see no sign of that. Mischaracterisation is RIFE. First of all James T. Kirk drinks respect women juice so jot that down. The descriptions of Ensign George are just so upsetting if I didn’t laugh in disbelief I might’ve just cried? Secondly, my beloved Spock , he is barely in this you cannot just call a book Spock Messiah and then not have Spock in. And also man has no idea how to write so maybe we should take that as a blessing. I truly believe the fanficition entitled Gutterflower written in 2001 and published on fanfiction.net is better than this absolute nonsense.
I have no words for how disgruntled this has made me, I understand that Star Trek fans were starved for content during the majority of the 70s (and also that this was written in the 70s) but the fact that this was even published? That this can even be considered Star Trek canon? It is honestly embarrassing.
I also read (I believe a review on here) that stated that this story was just the authors terrible work of islamophobic fiction that he couldn’t get published so he just changed the characters names and added in a few things which if it is true, is terribly embarrassing. And even if we look at this a piece of fiction in no way affiliated with Star Trek its just bad. An interesting premise which is instantly destroyed by a torrent of shit released from this mans mind. Literally this man must hate women so much. I cannot believe I read this I have a strong urge to burn it but I vibe with the cover art. I also wish I could give books minus star ratings but alas....
I have read bad books, I have even read bad fanfiction, but jeezy petes this takes the cake. It was just bad. Not even endearingly bad just plain bad.
Every time Uhura is mentioned, “THE BLACK WOMAN” its like wow okay, and refering the M’Benga as “the black” like wow, the racism pops out like is there any need. And then the misogyny. Truly, this is why men are not allowed to write, i have never read anything more like “she breasted boobily to the stairs, and titted downwards”.
I would personally like to slap the authors of this book. One mans quoted to be an authority on star trek? Where? I see no sign of that. Mischaracterisation is RIFE. First of all James T. Kirk drinks respect women juice so jot that down. The descriptions of Ensign George are just so upsetting if I didn’t laugh in disbelief I might’ve just cried? Secondly, my beloved Spock , he is barely in this you cannot just call a book Spock Messiah and then not have Spock in. And also man has no idea how to write so maybe we should take that as a blessing. I truly believe the fanficition entitled Gutterflower written in 2001 and published on fanfiction.net is better than this absolute nonsense.
I have no words for how disgruntled this has made me, I understand that Star Trek fans were starved for content during the majority of the 70s (and also that this was written in the 70s) but the fact that this was even published? That this can even be considered Star Trek canon? It is honestly embarrassing.
I also read (I believe a review on here) that stated that this story was just the authors terrible work of islamophobic fiction that he couldn’t get published so he just changed the characters names and added in a few things which if it is true, is terribly embarrassing. And even if we look at this a piece of fiction in no way affiliated with Star Trek its just bad. An interesting premise which is instantly destroyed by a torrent of shit released from this mans mind. Literally this man must hate women so much. I cannot believe I read this I have a strong urge to burn it but I vibe with the cover art. I also wish I could give books minus star ratings but alas....
April 28, 2024
1.5 stars only because I haven't the heart to do 1. This is really rough. Surely many have pointed out how unabashedly sexist it is. That's the worst, of course, but it also begins with the most ludicrous premise: our Prime Directive leaders are going to learn about a culture by secretly scanning personalities and implanting them directly into our heroes' brains, as if that is a normal activity. No problems putting another person's memories, personality, identity right into someone else. Honestly.
Plus the '70s-era obsession with everyone wanting to get cozy with Spock. Give it a rest, '70s fanfic. And in the midst of supposedly a time-crunch emergency, the away team forgets to check the time of day and beams down an hour before dawn only to sit still and wait for an hour. The book has so many brainless moments like that. In the midst of life and death, the gang has time for a comic relief blues band performance of musical numbers they would never know. These books are so ridiculous with the "surely the Enterprise crew in 300 years will be casually conversant with pop culture references and ancient world minutiae." "Ensign, do you remember the favorite boot style of the mountain Visigoth clans?" "I remember a little, sir. I was discussing it last week while thinking about Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too, as we often do." Give me a break.
And the ending is the ol' "whoops, can't have this actually happen, so it sort of didn't" nonsense you get from "really big fans" who just want to see the characters do things that make no objective sense. Believe me, I know - I'm one of them.
Plus the '70s-era obsession with everyone wanting to get cozy with Spock. Give it a rest, '70s fanfic. And in the midst of supposedly a time-crunch emergency, the away team forgets to check the time of day and beams down an hour before dawn only to sit still and wait for an hour. The book has so many brainless moments like that. In the midst of life and death, the gang has time for a comic relief blues band performance of musical numbers they would never know. These books are so ridiculous with the "surely the Enterprise crew in 300 years will be casually conversant with pop culture references and ancient world minutiae." "Ensign, do you remember the favorite boot style of the mountain Visigoth clans?" "I remember a little, sir. I was discussing it last week while thinking about Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too, as we often do." Give me a break.
And the ending is the ol' "whoops, can't have this actually happen, so it sort of didn't" nonsense you get from "really big fans" who just want to see the characters do things that make no objective sense. Believe me, I know - I'm one of them.
November 19, 2020
I admit to being a Star Trek fan since the original series, but this book, although written with the blessings of the studio, seems to have been designed to make everyone go "feh!" and forget the entire series.
The crew is beaming down with untested devices designed to immediately add information on culture, dress, speech and habits of certain groups to the individual victim, um, Starfleet user. These devices are embedded in the bodies (I envisioned directly behind the ear in the mastoid bone, or the equivalent for non-human persons). It would allow the user to blend in with impunity.
Unfortunately there were a couple of backfires, causing Spock to lose all perspective and a female lose her mind - well not completely.
The problem is that Spock is missing on the planet and threatening to make the Enterprise his own palace and control center, and the crew, including the captain, can't find him.
Aside from the bizarre plot, which actually was in line with some of the more outre episodes (City on the Edge of Forever, The Devil in the Dark), the story problems existed with the complete failure of the crew to follow their roles as laid out in the series. Dismissing the entire episode and allowing the person who caused all the problems to just be scolded seemed a little odd, especially since it nearly caused major planetary and ship destruction.
Not horrible, but not great either.
The crew is beaming down with untested devices designed to immediately add information on culture, dress, speech and habits of certain groups to the individual victim, um, Starfleet user. These devices are embedded in the bodies (I envisioned directly behind the ear in the mastoid bone, or the equivalent for non-human persons). It would allow the user to blend in with impunity.
Unfortunately there were a couple of backfires, causing Spock to lose all perspective and a female lose her mind - well not completely.
The problem is that Spock is missing on the planet and threatening to make the Enterprise his own palace and control center, and the crew, including the captain, can't find him.
Aside from the bizarre plot, which actually was in line with some of the more outre episodes (City on the Edge of Forever, The Devil in the Dark), the story problems existed with the complete failure of the crew to follow their roles as laid out in the series. Dismissing the entire episode and allowing the person who caused all the problems to just be scolded seemed a little odd, especially since it nearly caused major planetary and ship destruction.
Not horrible, but not great either.
July 19, 2024
This book was such a disappointment. I read it somewhere around 1976 when there was only two other Star Trel original novels out. I was so unimpressed with it that when I saw my brother had a copy of "Spock Must Die!" I just couldn't be bothered to read it. Read some Asimov or something instead. Thanks T.R.Cogsmell.
I remember even back then being put off by Sulu being referred to as "the Oriental" and Uhura being referred to as "the Black". Yuck! And I was not even over the top being a social conscious sort of guy but really? Was this book written by a couple of "The Whites" ?
Also, as my brother so rightly pointed out, Ensign George would have probably been court marshaled or at least busted down in rank or something for causing all the problems that she did with her insubordinate actions. She should not have been messing with Spock's mental connection but, hey! as the authors point out, that Spock, he is one sexy M***** F*****! I guess she was just being a "Silly Female" and they let her off the hook.
Also, it's hard to put my finger on exactly what was wrong with the characters or the methodology of their actions on the away mission, but something was just 'off' about everything. The writing, the atmosphere, even the point of their mission. It was not a fun reading experience.
Not a book I would recommend for the non-Trekkie. For the Trekkie, read it and weep long, sad tears of disappoint. And thank Shariel for Star Trek: The Motion Picture!
Also, the original cover was way cooler than the one pictured here.
I remember even back then being put off by Sulu being referred to as "the Oriental" and Uhura being referred to as "the Black". Yuck! And I was not even over the top being a social conscious sort of guy but really? Was this book written by a couple of "The Whites" ?
Also, as my brother so rightly pointed out, Ensign George would have probably been court marshaled or at least busted down in rank or something for causing all the problems that she did with her insubordinate actions. She should not have been messing with Spock's mental connection but, hey! as the authors point out, that Spock, he is one sexy M***** F*****! I guess she was just being a "Silly Female" and they let her off the hook.
Also, it's hard to put my finger on exactly what was wrong with the characters or the methodology of their actions on the away mission, but something was just 'off' about everything. The writing, the atmosphere, even the point of their mission. It was not a fun reading experience.
Not a book I would recommend for the non-Trekkie. For the Trekkie, read it and weep long, sad tears of disappoint. And thank Shariel for Star Trek: The Motion Picture!
Also, the original cover was way cooler than the one pictured here.
February 7, 2021
I'd heard lots of bad things so I was determined to enjoy this book, and yet I struggled to do so. The second half of the book picked up a little but maintained a shallow depth.
I'll agree with others that the characters were off, but if you read these old trek tomes without expecting problems you're beginning on the wrong foot. The crew relationships seemed less familiar than they should have. I also thought Kirk was a bit more like Janeway in this, having her interest in engineering details. But that sort of thing is particularly excusable.
I liked the idea, I didn't find it any more outrageous than some other ideas made into episodes (or even movies). I did think there were various assumptions made without explanation but the general theme of what happened and how it happened seemed like a reasonable plot to me.
However, I thought the delivery of the plot was rough. The attempted humour was largely distasteful. I didn't enjoy the sexual references and inuendo which were spread right throughout... not just because it was a very outdated approach... I didn't like how far it often went and I didn't like the way that it was used in the plot solution.
I can't necessarily fault a book from this era for being so shallow, especially since TOS had a few episodes that weren't far away from this level of gutter. Two stars for a good idea that was poorly executed.
I'll agree with others that the characters were off, but if you read these old trek tomes without expecting problems you're beginning on the wrong foot. The crew relationships seemed less familiar than they should have. I also thought Kirk was a bit more like Janeway in this, having her interest in engineering details. But that sort of thing is particularly excusable.
I liked the idea, I didn't find it any more outrageous than some other ideas made into episodes (or even movies). I did think there were various assumptions made without explanation but the general theme of what happened and how it happened seemed like a reasonable plot to me.
However, I thought the delivery of the plot was rough. The attempted humour was largely distasteful. I didn't enjoy the sexual references and inuendo which were spread right throughout... not just because it was a very outdated approach... I didn't like how far it often went and I didn't like the way that it was used in the plot solution.
I can't necessarily fault a book from this era for being so shallow, especially since TOS had a few episodes that weren't far away from this level of gutter. Two stars for a good idea that was poorly executed.
July 25, 2021
-MILD SPOILERS AHEAD-
It's 'better' than it is 'worse'.
This one was written at a time when (in addition to a prevailing awkwardness in tie-in fiction) viewing each episode of any series was much more difficult to accomplish than it would be today. As a result, it's obvious that the authors had limited experience with the characters and their relationships to one another. There are some pretty glaring instances of OOC dialogue & actions, but thankfully, these are merely annoying as opposed to show-stopping.
The worst sins are the travesty that is Ensign Sara George and everyone's super-skeevy attitudes about her, and the lame-ass attempt at a twist ending that nearly exsanguinated the otherwise brutal core of this book. There's a level of sex and violence in the narrative that can be jarring to the tone of the series as a whole.
Where the writing shines best is in the world-building. The world of Kyros is bursting with cultural, historical and sensory details. Definitely a prime example of how to stage a Trek-book. Also, the science part of the fiction is passively clever.
Not a bad read at all at 182 pages, with a nice, quick pace that never lets up on suspense without stressing the reader out. Just be prepared to do a heck of a lot of cringing at the near-constant attempts to titillate the intended audience--namely, adolescent males of the 1970's.
It's 'better' than it is 'worse'.
This one was written at a time when (in addition to a prevailing awkwardness in tie-in fiction) viewing each episode of any series was much more difficult to accomplish than it would be today. As a result, it's obvious that the authors had limited experience with the characters and their relationships to one another. There are some pretty glaring instances of OOC dialogue & actions, but thankfully, these are merely annoying as opposed to show-stopping.
The worst sins are the travesty that is Ensign Sara George and everyone's super-skeevy attitudes about her, and the lame-ass attempt at a twist ending that nearly exsanguinated the otherwise brutal core of this book. There's a level of sex and violence in the narrative that can be jarring to the tone of the series as a whole.
Where the writing shines best is in the world-building. The world of Kyros is bursting with cultural, historical and sensory details. Definitely a prime example of how to stage a Trek-book. Also, the science part of the fiction is passively clever.
Not a bad read at all at 182 pages, with a nice, quick pace that never lets up on suspense without stressing the reader out. Just be prepared to do a heck of a lot of cringing at the near-constant attempts to titillate the intended audience--namely, adolescent males of the 1970's.
August 15, 2021
Between two writers and an editor, you'd think a tie-in novel that manages to footnote reference actual episodes would know Scotty's hair color. It's the kind of silly mistake that drives me nuts. And the book hasn't aged particularly well. The sexism is one thing (Ensign George has two characterizations: nympho and regretful), but phrases like calling M'Benga "a black" stand out to modern sensibilities. A more subtle equating of Mohamed and Hitler also offends. Once the action moves to the planet, things gets a lot more interesting. Kyrosian cultures (yes, plural, like real places) are rich and alive, detailed and well-described. Kirk's plans and near misses provide plenty of suspense. And though the ending becomes an explainathon, it does redeem Spock. Without the final twist, I don't think his character could have been salvaged. So some interesting ideas, great background, and strong adventure writing, coming at a time when Spockomania was indeed hitting the world. Its problems are minor, since some sexism was part of the original Star Trek mindset (never this titillating though).
August 9, 2023
this sure was a book!
the whole time i was captivated by the story, not because it was good but because it was absolutely absurd and bonkers and insane. pretty much its just a wild goose chase the whole time with jim, bones, sara (random character introduced just for this story), sometimes scotty and sometimes chekov looking for spock (the messiah).
a lot of talk about sex and captivating femaleness and maleness and CRAZINESS
it was pretty mckirky with how jim and bones were interacting the whole time so that gets a thumbs up from me because i love their friendship
chekov was weird i dont have much to say about him. scotty was scottish ALSO CAN AUTHORS STOP TRYING TO PHONETICALLY SOUND OUT HIS ACCENT IT IS ALWAYS DONE AWFULLY but i love him.
the end of the book was weird because they all just acted like how yhey just messed up this whole planets culture WAS NO BIG DEAL AND WERE JUST HAVING FUNSIES AFTER IT ALL ?!?!?!?! AND ALSO THE RADIATION STORM ?? Okay i guess ...
the whole time i was captivated by the story, not because it was good but because it was absolutely absurd and bonkers and insane. pretty much its just a wild goose chase the whole time with jim, bones, sara (random character introduced just for this story), sometimes scotty and sometimes chekov looking for spock (the messiah).
a lot of talk about sex and captivating femaleness and maleness and CRAZINESS
it was pretty mckirky with how jim and bones were interacting the whole time so that gets a thumbs up from me because i love their friendship
chekov was weird i dont have much to say about him. scotty was scottish ALSO CAN AUTHORS STOP TRYING TO PHONETICALLY SOUND OUT HIS ACCENT IT IS ALWAYS DONE AWFULLY but i love him.
the end of the book was weird because they all just acted like how yhey just messed up this whole planets culture WAS NO BIG DEAL AND WERE JUST HAVING FUNSIES AFTER IT ALL ?!?!?!?! AND ALSO THE RADIATION STORM ?? Okay i guess ...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2024
This was absolutely terrible and anyone giving it more than two stars is suspect as the entire story reads like someone's R-rated fan fiction with all the R rated scenes removed. Don't believe me? This is an actual line from Kirk:
"When we locate him, and our little sex machine gets him turned on, our problems will be solved." (p. 50 Bantam edition)
It's so terrible right from the start that it's like watching a car crash. No, it's much more ridiculous. It's more like watching a car crash into a moving train that's so powerful the train sends the car careening through the air to crash through the deck of a massive yacht which sinks until moments later yacht and car rise from the water as they rest on the hull of submarine. In other words, I couldn't turn away.
And yet it truly is terrible right from the opening when we get an overly descriptive view of the bridge, the characters (Scotty has red hair?!?), the dialogue, the plot, all of it is just so bad... ugh!
"When we locate him, and our little sex machine gets him turned on, our problems will be solved." (p. 50 Bantam edition)
It's so terrible right from the start that it's like watching a car crash. No, it's much more ridiculous. It's more like watching a car crash into a moving train that's so powerful the train sends the car careening through the air to crash through the deck of a massive yacht which sinks until moments later yacht and car rise from the water as they rest on the hull of submarine. In other words, I couldn't turn away.
And yet it truly is terrible right from the opening when we get an overly descriptive view of the bridge, the characters (Scotty has red hair?!?), the dialogue, the plot, all of it is just so bad... ugh!
July 7, 2024
The title of the novel and the plot points detailed in the first few pages of the narrative foreshadowed great things to come within the novel, but, unfortunately, Cogswell and Spano failed to deliver a well-written piece of Star Trek fiction.
Unfortunately, Cogswell and Spano deliver 182 pages of narrative that seldom focus on the personage of Spock and the importance he is to the Star Trek community. There exists several ways that this exploration of Spock suffering from the madness of a Messiah-complex could have been developed and explored but this novel failed miserably to do so.
I would only recommend this novel to completists who wish to read the Star Trek Original Series collection in its entirety.
Unfortunately, Cogswell and Spano deliver 182 pages of narrative that seldom focus on the personage of Spock and the importance he is to the Star Trek community. There exists several ways that this exploration of Spock suffering from the madness of a Messiah-complex could have been developed and explored but this novel failed miserably to do so.
I would only recommend this novel to completists who wish to read the Star Trek Original Series collection in its entirety.
January 31, 2020
The story was basically okay, but it was no Trek story. It was jarring to read. The characters really didn't act like themselves, and poor Ensign George rarely made any contribution that wasn't somehow sexual (Kirk actually refers to Ensign George as "our little sex machine"! Unbelievable.). And the authors didn't have the good grace to leave things to our imagination, either. They spend time enough describing her appearance and actions that there's no question but we're meant to take some voyeuristic pleasure in it.
Altogether disappointing.
My full notes are on Barba Non DB.
Altogether disappointing.
My full notes are on Barba Non DB.
August 5, 2021
Upon reading this, I thought one of the co-authors wrote a generic SF story, and the other shoehorned in the Star Trek characters.
Turns out, it was basically that.
As Goodreads' reviewer "Dan" sums it up:
"I looked up the book in Wikipedia to find (unsurprisingly) that this is exactly what occurred. Charles A Spano Jr. wrote some awful novel that basically retold prophet Mohammed's story in a modern setting. Cogswell then edited and rewrote that novel into this early Star Trek jewel we now know and loathe."
Turns out, it was basically that.
As Goodreads' reviewer "Dan" sums it up:
"I looked up the book in Wikipedia to find (unsurprisingly) that this is exactly what occurred. Charles A Spano Jr. wrote some awful novel that basically retold prophet Mohammed's story in a modern setting. Cogswell then edited and rewrote that novel into this early Star Trek jewel we now know and loathe."
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