First Frontier (Star Trek, Book 75) [Paperback]

Diane Carey (Author), James I. Kirkland (Author)

Book Description

Series: Star Trek | Publication Date: August 1, 1995

While testing a new shielding device, the "U.S.S. Enterprise" TM is caught in the middle of a Klingon/Romulan battle. The "Enterprise" crew rescues a lifepod, and they are confronted by a Klingon who claims to know nothing of human existence. Convinced the Klingon is telling the truth, Captain Kirk hurries to Starfleet Headquarters in search of answers. But upon arriving on Earth, the "Starship Enterprise" crew finds that Earth is a vast jungle-like paradise where large, reptillian animals rule, with no signs of human life anywhere. Kirk must travel to the past in search of the key to the mystery, or face the destruction of the human race.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

While testing a new shielding device, the U.S.S. Enterprise^TM is caught in the middle of a Klingon/Romulan battle. The Enterprise crew rescues a lifepod, and they are confronted by a Klingon who claims to know nothing of human existence. Convinced the Klingon is telling the truth, Captain Kirk hurries to Starfleet Headquarters in search of answers. But upon arriving on Earth, the Starship Enterprise crew finds that Earth is a vast jungle-like paradise where large, reptillian animals rule, with no signs of human life anywhere. Kirk must travel to the past in search of the key to the mystery, or face the destruction of the human race.

Product Details

• Paperback: 383 pages
• Publisher: Star Trek; First Edition edition (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671520458
• ISBN-13: 978-0671520458
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,009,693 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book Ever! Read it!, August 7, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: First Frontier (Star Trek, Book 75) (Paperback)

Ever since I checked out this book from my local library, it has become my favorite! I like to write science fiction, and I have a series of stories I am still developing. In my stories, one of my alien species evolved from dinosaurs. This species was showing signs of intelligence when an asteroid was detected heading toward Earth. To save them, an extremely advanced species relocated them to another planet. This species was developed before I read First Frontier. If you have read First Frontier, the description above should sound familiar: it is exactly the same as the Clan Ru! Wow! This book is the best of the best!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Typical Diane Carey., December 1, 2006

By 

James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Frontier (Star Trek, Book 75) (Paperback)

As usual, Diane Carey tells a fascinating story, with excellent plot, characterization, and pacing. Unfortunately, also as usual, Diane Carey tries overhard to be a "wordsmith", making continuous attempts to use words in clever and unusual ways, and failing miserably at it. Her word choice is distractingly odd and frequently just wrong. She has a near-pathological aversion to the phrase "he said", using such replacements as "he bolted" (while not moving), and "He appraised", as well as many more; I could fill a page and more with odd word choices that she makes in an attempt to avoid commonplace phrases. Mind you, I understand the desire to avoid repetitive use of common phrases, but Ms. Carey has a real tendancy to go so overboard in the attempt, and has so little talent for doing it fluently, that it is truly distracting and makes it hard to focus on the story, which is actually a very well-conceived and fascinating story that I would have liked to see better-told.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I've Ever Read--and I've read a lot, October 16, 2002

By 

Tavia (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: First Frontier (Star Trek, Book 75) (Paperback)

This is a great, great book. A little confusing the first time through, but only because it's a complex plot; which is often the best kind.
To summarize: The Clan Ru, alien reptiles, think the Federation has held their race back, and so go back to prevent humanity's evolution (note: they do NOT know they're from Earth, contrary to at least one other review). Due to Cosmic String which I do not pretend to understand, only the Enterprise remains in the chnaged timeline. So the Enterprise is stuck in an alternate version of their own universe, caught between the Klingons and the Romulans who have been battering each other for decades to no purpose. A lot of things happen, but eventually Kirk, Spock, McCoy and some red-shirts take the Guardian of Forever into the past (note: the Enterprise never leaves the present time; they're down on the ground with virtually nothing in the middle of the dinos) to try and make sure the dinosaurs are wiped out.
What happens? Well, I'm certainly not going to give it away! Go read it yourself, it's well worth it.
It's a great book, a really great book. Read it, and it's like being on the Enterprise for awhile. Thoroughly engrossing. (sitting in middle of my friends reading, and I was seriously getting into it.)
Have I convinced you yet?
Go! Read! Whatever Amazon is charging, it's worth the money!
THAT'S how good this is.