Beyond the Stars: Quest for Tomorrow #4 (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The latest entry in Shatner's Quest for Tomorrow series opens with an explanation that this installment is set in an alternate universe, one in which hero Jim Endicott did not murder his father. To save his son from his enemies this time, Carl Endicott sends teenage Jim off on a multi-generational ship, the Outward Bound, en route to colonize a distant galaxy. Once aboard, Jim loses his cache of gold, and falls in with the "Stone Cowboys," a gang of space street thugs vying for control of the colony ship. Soon, the shrewd Jim is bedding Sam, the sexiest of the Stone Cowgirls, and reluctantly dealing the psychoactive sex drug Heat. Suspicious of Heat's side effects, which cause users to turn homicidal, Jim and the Cowboys learn that Ur-Barrba, their alien drug connection,has supplied the drug to stop the Outward Bound in its mission. Jim and his buddies storm Ur-Barrba's starship, and trick its occupants into eating food laced with Heat. Afterwards, the former gang members depart the colony ship aboard Ur-Barrba's rig, which they've commandeered and renamed the Endeavour, while turning their attention toward selecting a captain and setting off on, presumably, a series of new adventures. While the first three installments of Shatner's saga centered on the evolution of humanity into a "superbrain," his current offering of a more pedestrian tale with its "just say no" theme and gratuitous swinging space sex never quite reaches warp speed. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The fourth of Shatner's efforts to ape Heinlein's classic sf juveniles is set in the alternate universe of Step into Chaos. Instead of killing his putative father, Carl Endicott, Jim Endicott has killed the SWAT team sent to capture him. He still carries the genome vital to linking the human race together in an organic computer, and the stakes of success are high, because humanity is no third-class power but an aggressively expanding empire. Fortunately, such imperial expansion offers Jim a safe way off Wolfsbane, and beyond reach of the authorities, aboard the intergalactic colony ship Outward Bound. On it, he falls in with a Prole-born gang of drug dealers, wrestles with his conscience, falls in love, survives gang wars and the suspicion that he is a police spy, and finally discovers that the drugs are being supplied by aliens to sabotage the ship's voyage. When that discovery is revealed, a shipboard revolt results in Prole control, and Jim is one of the new leaders. The action is speedy, and the ship is a well-drawn setting, though one wonders at what point the new universe is going to be linked to the old one. One also suspects that the series' new setting and situation are a Shatner device for scaling back Jim's powers and accomplishments, thereby putting some suspense back into the fights he gets into. If it is, it is successful. Moreover, Jim is more sympathetic, approachable, and real than before, though he faces no less danger and difficulty. Roland Green

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Eos; First Edition edition (January 26, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061051187
• ISBN-13: 978-0061051180
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,037,888 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Starting Anew, January 14, 2003

By	Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Beyond the Stars (2000) is the fourth SF novel in the Quest for Tomorrow series. In the previous volume, Jim Endicott has used the power of the Omega Point to change the past. In this branch of the multiverse, his mother does not alter his DNA and, while still pursued by Delta and attacked by Commander Steele, his misaimed shot does not kill Carl as in the other timeline.

Jim, Carl and Tabitha all survive the attack, but Carl is badly wounded and Tabitha is in shock. They flee from the cabin to Hannaport on the other side of the mountain. There Jim is put aboard a freighter headed for the Outward Bound, a colony ship. Carl and Tabitha go elsewhere to lure away Delta's forces. On the Outward Bound, Jim becomes friends with the leader of the Stone Cowboys gang and more than friends with Samantha, a Stone Cowgirl.

Jim is alone, in a strange place and surrounded by strangers, with different ways and customs. For the first time, he must fend for himself, make his own path in the world. He has help from the Stone Cowboys, yet he must learn to meet their expectations or they will turn on him. At the same time, he wants to be true to the behavior and beliefs instilled by Carl and Tabitha.

This novel presents a new story of another Jim Endicott. It explores other facets of the ConFed society and other avenues for a young adult. Recommended for Shatner fans and anyone who enjoys young adult SF stories.

-Arthur W. Jordin

4.0 out of 5 stars A surprisingly good book for its length!, January 11, 2002

By	Jim Carter (Middletown, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond the Stars: Quest for Tomorrow #4 (Quest for Tomorrow, 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

I just finished Beyond The Stars I was pleasantly surprised by the story. I have always like William Shatner books and this was an excellent addition to his collection. The ending did leave something to be desired but I can't wait for the next so I can see what happens to Jim Endicott.

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking for excitement? Snap into a book about slim Jim, September 13, 2000

By	Gary Eastin (Fayetteville, Ga. USA) - See all my reviews

Though there may be a few moans and groans about yet another Shatner novel I must say this one was somewhat riveting though his last book made my head hurt. Perhaps someday Shatner will seal Endicott's fate and give him a good end (within the next two, hopefully.)