Customer Reviews

Star Trek Log Ten

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When this book is good, it's very good. When it's bad, it isn't awful, so on the whole, I suppose it isn't too bad. But it definitely has some weak points.

The "Star Trek Log..." series is a series of adaptations of the animated "Star Trek" series. This is the last of the series. The episode this book recounts is "Slaver Weapon", a story written by Larry Niven. One of the plus sides to this story is that, being written by Niven, we get a kzinti crossover. It's interesting to see the kzinti interact with the crew of the Enterprise. (For those not in the know, the kzinti are an alien race from Niven's writing, who resemble large bipedal cats and who are a warrior culture not unlike the klingons; the only thing that has kept them from taking over the known galaxy and enslaving humanity is that, being self-styled mighty warriors, they ALWAYS attack before they're ready. Suitable caution would be cowardly and dishonorable.)

Another interesting subplot in this book occurs when Kirk, Spock, Sulu, and Uhura have their personalities switched due to a transporter accident. Kirk finds himself in Sulu's body, Sulu in Spock's, Spock in Uhura's, Uhura in Kirk's. This happens, of course, immediately prior to a major diplomatic session, so the victims can't simply hide out in their quarters until the problem is ironed out. This was a clever plot complication, and it was handled well.

The bad news is, we have a reappearance of Captain Kumara, the Klingon who, according to the episode adapted in "Log Seven", knew Kirk well from their days in a failed "Interspecies Academy", an attempt at detente between the Klingons and the Federation when the two captains were both younger, junior officers. As I said in my review of "Log Seven", this "Interspecies Academy" never happened; something that major would have HAD to have been mentioned in the original series episodes involving Klingons, and it wasn't. Therefore, it is impossible, as is Kumara and his almost-friendly rivalry with Kirk.

Not a bad book, certainly. It's well-written, and handles the known characters well. If you like Star Trek, read it. If you're new to Star Trek, it's not the best book to start with.