Customer Reviews

Odyssey (Star Trek)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like so many original Trekkers, I found the attempt by the "new generations" to kill off the Kirk character thoroughly appalling. Shatner's resurrection of Kirk, while an amusing conflict of interest(!), is a wonderful "take that" that undoes all of the damage. The series is actually really good science fiction adventure which captures the epic spirit of the original TV and film series extremely well. Aspects of "Ashes of Eden" smack of romantic cheese, but once into "Return", we get down to business. There is only one Star Trek captain, and it is Kirk. Long live.

I found this story to be quite captivating, and all three books almost inpossible to put down. I read all three, in one sitting each. These books, I must admit are not masterfully written, but are so filled with adventure that the writting just melts away. I geatly recommend this book.

If you are a fan of science fiction or have any intrest in science fiction at all I recomend that you read this series. The story line follows both the movie and TV plots and combines all of the current TV shows into one explosive novel.

I've read all three books and found all of them most absorbing and well written. By all means get 'Odyssey' if you've only bought one of the books so far and want to read the other two at a cost effective price, otherwise it's a bit of a rip-off, and will alternately benefit the author and the publisher.

I would also greatly recommend 'Spectre', the fourth book in what apparently is an on-going series.

Ashes of Eden is my favorite of these 3, such an excellent story I felt that I was watching a Star Trek movie in my mind.... The Return was slow to start, but really picked up and merged Kirk into the Next Generation universe, ended with a bang! Avenger was very cool, and it had some awesome reunitings, the Virogen plague was very interesting. But of all of this, I was surprised at how good of a story-teller Shatner was, he gets into the plots right away without boring the reader with useless details, all that matters it seems with these books are that they are fun, fun, fun!! I am a huge Star Wars fan, but these books are making my Star Trek desire come to life, Shatner needs to get into having these books developed into a film that incorporates The original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and the mirror universe (I am currently reading Spectre-It is soooooo cool!)

Get this book, it will take you very little time to read all three stories, I read them all in 6 days, and I usually take a couple of weeks to a month to read just one novel. A+++++++

I have previously read The Return, which is the second novel included in this volume. The Return was predictably Kirk-centered, portraying him in gleaming masculinity, which I was expecting, given the author.

However, I have only just begun to read Ashes of Eden, the first novel in this volume, and I find it hard to read more than a few pages at a time (highly unusual for me, no matter the theme or the author) because the plot is so transparent and the representation of Kirk is simply atrocious. He is the "conquerer" of some ethereal, indescribably beautiful alien woman, and the book so far has basically comprised their romantic encounters and his complete idiocy about everything else. The action scenes are few and far between, and, worse, the writing has an arrogant tone that reminds me of someone who feels that he is a brilliant author, and that his continuous search for "unique" ways to describe things only engages the reader, and doesn't distract from the story or bore the reader to tears (which, at least for me, is not the case).

Overall, The Return is a good (not great) novel, and I cannot speak for the third novel in the volume. However, Ashes of Eden seems to be nothing but a collection of Shatner's amateur, sadly self-centered wishes. Truly a disappointment.

Having been a 'trekie' my entire life, I read these books with great interest. At first I was weary of starting to read the series. But when I began to read the first book of the series, I was totally captivate by Shatner's brilliance with a pen. From the start of each book, I had to force myself to put it down. Any true trekie should read the series. It answers a lot of questions that I've had and I look foreward to reading more from Shatner.

when it comes to writing star trek ,shatner know's what he's doing. i have never enjoyed book reading as much as i have his.when reading avenger it will grip you and hold you all the way to the last page.shatner has enspired me to read when reading was'nt any fun.he's kept me active and hopeful for a better future for mankind.i could'nt help but name my parrot jim.i wish someday i could meet him.if anybody know's about his next public appearance in the northwest please let me know. cthomason@peacehealth.org

I give it three stars not because it was not good, but simply because it is not great literature. However, it is a ripping great yarn. It's true to the Star Trek spirit. Anyone wanting to slip into a quick read where you already know everyone will have no difficulty reacquainting yourself with the cast of characters.

Like many Trek books there are many loose ends to tie together from TV shows and movies. Having tried my hand at plot development I can tell you how fun that is. Thus we find in book 3 (Avenger) why Sarek never melded with Spock as is traditional with Vulcan fathers and sons. There are other loose ends and the knot-tying is imaginative and believable.

But when it all gets down to it the stories are good. That, along with believable dialog and solid prose, are what make a book worth reading. This has all three. Shatner has done well by Star Trek fans.