Customer Reviews

Spock Must Die! (Star Trek)

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Spock Must Die! was the first original Star Trek novel, and in fact is one of the best. When the Klingons unexpectedly invade Federation space, the Enterprise heads to Organia to see why the all-powerfufl Organians haven't intervened. A transporter experiment en route backfires horribly, creating a duplicate of Mr. Spock. Evidence surfaces that one of the Spocks is a Klingon agent--but which one?

Written by renowned sci-fi author James Blish, who adapted most of the original TV series into short stories, Spock Must Die! is a remarkably fast and easy read, despite the author's regrettable tendency to let his characters lapse into opaque techspeak at every opportunity. Blish understood the Star Trek characters thoroughly though, and this comes through in his prose, particularly his portrayals of Kirk and Spock. While Spock Must Die! certainly doesn't mesh with established Trek continuity since its original publication date, the novel remains a fun, thrilling tale, escpecially for those of us who still wax nostalgic about classic Trek.

Spock Must Die by James Blish (1970)

This was the first Star Trek novel ever published, written by the author of the books of adaptations of the TV episodes. At the time of publication, the original series had ended, three books of episode adaptations had been published, and Star Trek had just begun its trip into syndication into local markets. There was as yet no indication that there would ever be anything besides what had already occurred.

The spectacularly-titled story begins with the Enterprise on a deep-space mapping mission, when word comes of the outbreak of war with the Klingon Empire. This should be impossible according to the Organian Peace Treaty, but the ship and its crew are months away from Organia, Earth, the battle front, and separated from all of these by a large portion of the Empire. With options limited, Scott devises a plan. Recalling Dr. McCoys earlier objections to the transporter, positing that he had been killed the first time he had been transported, and a duplicate created. Scott proposes actually creating a duplicate, composed of tachyons, and sending such a duplicate over the many light years needed to reach Organia.

With transporter modifications in place, Mr. Spock is selected as the logical person to investigate on Organia. As Scott prepares to send a tachyon duplicate on its long journey, the chamber is shielded to allow for the operation, and the device activated. When the transport is finished, a surprise awaits. Instead of sending a duplicate to Organia, two Mr. Spocks are on the transporter platform, each claiming to be the original!

Now, Captain Kirk must devise the best plan to change the tide of the war, determine which Spock is the original, and keep his crew safe while rescuing the Federation. In the meantime, one of the Spocks is obviously trying to sabotage the ship, but which is really the imposter? All of these things must be determined in order to win the war.

The author uses a convenient device to key the plot, but presents it well enough that it can be covered by the willing suspension of disbelief. An award-winning science fiction writer and reviewer, Blish writes a plausible science angle, at least plausible by 1970 standards. The authors ending has been contradicted by subsequent movie and TV events, but at the time no one had any reason to suspect that there would ever be any more new Star Trek material. In fact, aside from fanzine publications, there was no new material for over six years, except for the animated show.

The novel is a good read, and quite short at 118 pages in the version I read. It is by no means a great book, but it is interesting and a page-turner. It is mostly of historical significance as the first of its kind, and as the only original material by the author of the TV adaptations. Blish died in 1975, shortly after completing the adaptations of all the TV episodes.

This was one of the first novels written by the man who adapted all the episodes to paperback. A product of its era. War breaks out between the Klingon Empire and the Federation and the Organians have disappeared. McCoy raises questions about the transporter (killed and recreated every trip)that prompt Scotty to make an equally unethical solution that 'solves' both problems. Create a tachyon duplicate, beam him to Organia to find out what happened(tachyons solve the distance limitations), get a report, then 'kill' the tachyon duplicate! Jeez. No ethical quandries there. Mightn't the tachyon replicate object to this? Actually creating a life w/ a soul that might protest his fate- and as it turns out, does? Actually raised briefly then chuckled over by Kirk. Gah.
They don't test any of this out beforehand (incredibly bad scientific method); they just stick Spock inside (with no way of communicating w/ him btw- sloppy work Scotty) and two Spocks materialize in solid form. Each automatically hating the other for no appreciable reason. Not wonder, not curiosity, hatred. Each a mirror of the other (but no-one notices the insignia (badge in the book) on the opposite side of his shirt? what about the part in his hair? Doesn't the ship have internal cameras?) One suggests killing the other (and this sounds reasonable to Kirk because one may impersonate the other etc. 'huh?' This is *before* we know one is an 'evil' twin and therefore no reason to question either ones' honor/integrity) Again, pretty comfortable with killing in this future.
Creepy aside? Women are attracted to Spock due to, excuse me, *white* women are attracted to Spock because he is safe 'jungle fever' material. Gawd.
Some factual errors in Kirk's Academy ring (?) and a Vulcan's perfect bilateral symmetry (??).
All this said, its still a fun read for all that because it *is* early trek and an insight into trek b4 the show became a cultural icon.

This is one of the earliest Star Trek novels to be published after the original series was cancelled. First appearing in 1970, it still has some of the sexist tones of the original series that were quickly phased out in later Star Trek incarnations.
The premise is that the Klingons have attacked the Federation and they have somehow rendered the Organians powerless. At the time of the attack, the Enterprise finds the entire Klingon empire between them and the border between the Federation and Klingon space. Kirk quickly decides that their best option is to try to make contact with the Organians and determine why they have not intervened. Since it is too risky to cross so much Klingon space to reach the Organian planet, the plan is to beam Spock all the way to Organia on a long range transport. He is selected because he has met them, is the most capable to reason with them and Captain Kirk cannot leave the ship at a time of war.
The beaming strategy fails and suddenly there are two Spocks, both of which claims to be the original. Each retains the impeccable logic of the original and convincingly argues that they are the original and the other is the imposter. One is in fact a danger to the ship and Kirk and the remaining crew needs to be on guard. Eventually, the problem is solved and the Organians intervene to stop the war.
To me, the highlight of the book is McCoy's musings that the transporter commits murder each time it is used for the first time on a human. While there are holes in his arguments, the intelligent responses of Spock and Scotty make the book well worth reading. Such debates about the impact of technology on humans would have been widespread as the technology that was so much a part of Star Trek was developed. The debate also demonstrates that McCoy's abhorrence of technology is founded on intellect rather than base irrationality.

This is one of the earliest Star Trek novels to be published after the original series was cancelled. First appearing in 1970, it still has some of the sexist tones of the original series that were quickly phased out in later Star Trek incarnations.
The premise is that the Klingons have attacked the Federation and they have somehow rendered the Organians powerless. At the time of the attack, the Enterprise finds the entire Klingon empire between them and the border between the Federation and Klingon space. Kirk quickly decides that their best option is to try to make contact with the Organians and determine why they have not intervened. Since it is too risky to cross so much Klingon space to reach the Organian planet, the plan is to beam Spock all the way to Organia on a long range transport. He is selected because he has met them, is the most capable to reason with them and Captain Kirk cannot leave the ship at a time of war.
The beaming strategy fails and suddenly there are two Spocks, both of which claims to be the original. Each retains the impeccable logic of the original and convincingly argues that they are the original and the other is the imposter. One is in fact a danger to the ship and Kirk and the remaining crew needs to be on guard. Eventually, the problem is solved and the Organians intervene to stop the war.
To me, the highlight of the book is McCoy's musings that the transporter commits murder each time it is used for the first time on a human. While there are holes in his arguments, the intelligent responses of Spock and Scotty make the book well worth reading. Such debates about the impact of technology on humans would have been widespread as the technology that was so much a part of Star Trek was developed. The debate also demonstrates that McCoy's abhorrence of technology is founded on intellect rather than base irrationality.

I read this book years ago. It was the first StarTrek novel I'd ever seen. I bought it back in 1970 at the tender age of 16. I thought that the story was great. The plot was geared for the young Sci-Fi fan with just the right mix of techno-babble and human (vulcan?) interest. While it's not a piece of classic literature, it is a great story.

This is one of the earliest Star Trek novels to be published after the original series was cancelled. First appearing in 1970, it still has some of the sexist tones of the original series that were quickly phased out in later Star Trek incarnations.
The premise is that the Klingons have attacked the Federation and they have somehow rendered the Organians powerless. At the time of the attack, the Enterprise finds the entire Klingon empire between them and the border between the Federation and Klingon space. Kirk quickly decides that their best option is to try to make contact with the Organians and determine why they have not intervened. Since it is too risky to cross so much Klingon space to reach the Organian planet, the plan is to beam Spock all the way to Organia on a long range transport. He is selected because he has met them, is the most capable to reason with them and Captain Kirk cannot leave the ship at a time of war.
The beaming strategy fails and suddenly there are two Spocks, both of which claims to be the original. Each retains the impeccable logic of the original and convincingly argues that they are the original and the other is the imposter. One is in fact a danger to the ship and Kirk and the remaining crew needs to be on guard. Eventually, the problem is solved and the Organians intervene to stop the war.
To me, the highlight of the book is McCoy's musings that the transporter commits murder each time it is used for the first time on a human. While there are holes in his arguments, the intelligent responses of Spock and Scotty make the book well worth reading. Such debates about the impact of technology on humans would have been widespread as the technology that was so much a part of Star Trek was developed. The debate also demonstrates that McCoy's abhorrence of technology is founded on intellect rather than base irrationality.

Ah, the olden days.

James Blish was contracted to write this book because he had experience writing for Star Trek: he's already written most of the episode adaptations. The problem was that he was living in England at the time, where the show was not airing; he based his adaptations on scripts, many of them early draft scripts.

In short, Mr. Blish was contracted to write a novel based on a show he had never seen.

And that's where most of this book's many weaknesses arise. Blish's source material is a bizarre hodge-podge: the Star Trek scripts he'd read, his non-Trek novels (the explanation of transporter technology is borrowed from his own "Cities In Flight" series), and his imagination.

Unfortunately, his imaginings often flatly contradicted the series. When Kirk finds himself faced with two seemingly identical Spocks, he decides to tell them apart by trading Starfleet Academy class rings with one. Now, I've seen every one of those original seventy-nine episodes multiple times, and I don't recall EVER seeing a Starfleet Academy class ring.

Okay, I concede that's trivial. But the basic premise of the story is the presence of two apparently identical Spocks. In reality, one is a transporter-generated reflection of the other, right down to the curl of his DNA and the levoro-rotary sugars in his blood. (Right down to the moral structure of his brain, as well, which is why the mirror-Spock is "evil" and allies himself with the Klingons, but I digress.) The two Spocks can't be told apart until McCoy decides to bring in electron-microscope technology -- a casual exam can't distinguish between the two, because, we're told, Vulcan internal anatomy is bilaterally symmetrical. BUT, the series had already established that *this is not the case*: Vulcans' hearts are located in the lower right chest (remember McCoy's classic line, "His heart is where his liver should be"). The book is based on a notion that is in direct contradiction to the series.

The worst problem, however, comes early in the book: When these two Spocks materialize simultaneously in the transporter chamber, everyone stares at them in astonishment, trying to find a difference between them -- and *no one notices that one's shirt insignia is on the wrong side?* The entire story hinges on this item: that nobody, including Kirk, noticed this difference *at a time when they were specifically looking for differences.* This is what professionals call an "idiot plot".

Yes, people bought the book. Fans read it, discussed it, argued it at some length. But it's important to remember that at the time, unless you were actively involved in Star Trek fandom and thus had access to the privately-published fanzines, THIS WAS ALL THERE WAS.

As far as I can see, this book is primarily interesting as a museum piece -- a fossilized fragment of 1970s Star Trek fandom.

Since this 1972 edition was printed, Star Trek novels have undergone a total reformation in style, length, and subject matter. Spock Must Die! deals with a very specific theme (obviously) and is written to appeal to the fans of the late 1960's.

The novel is a must read for any Star Trek fan. It is what inspired so many authors to pursue their writing dreams. Many of whom wrote their own novels based on the Star Trek characters.

Look some folks get all upset with this novel because of "lack of continuity" or what not, here's the thing
this book was the first trek novel published, the "official" timelines and continuity that is here now,
was not even close to being what it is now,and the "canon" was made to expand,control and sell the franchise.
So if your a Star Trek stuffed shirt and all your trek is the "established" paramount stuff fine pass this by,
but if not then give this book a read. It's not that bad, yes I have lots of trek books and have read them,
I find that many authors capture the characters poorly or opposite the on-screen personas (in my opinion),
to advance their story again fine, look at it as another alterverse.
Just enjoy the ride, I hated the show Enterprise but when I watch it with an "alterverse" mentality
I like it. See my point, if not, well so be it, but just cause this story is not "canon" does not mean it's not
a good read. but since this book was out before "canon".....uh huh, see what I'm saying....yeah you do...
sides with all the time travel in Star Trek look and think about all the little "rivers,streams,and branches" off of the main timeline that it would/could have caused.
one last note Next Gen did a transporter duplicate as well with riker.