Customer Reviews

Star Trek Movie Tie-In

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I've been a "Star Trek" fan since the debut of the original series. Still have fond memories of turning the elementary school jungle gym into "The Enterprise" and playing ST at recess.

When I heard there was going to be a prequel, my husband and I were in line for the first showing. I loved the movie and plan on buying the DVD.

The novelization follows the script fairly well as I recall it with a few exceptions. The story begins with Spock's birth on Vulcan. Next, we go to the "U.S.S. Kelvin", which is under attack. Field promoted Captain George Kirk loses his life to save the crew from an attack by a Romulan ship from the future crewed by Captain Nero, who's seeking vengeance on the Ambassador Spock and the Federation for destroying his world in the future.

Next, we follow the lives of Spock and Jim Kirk as they move through their early years prior to Starfleet, then the Academy, and finally their assignments to "Enterprise." Of course, we see the famed Kobayashi Maru incident.

The cadets are called from training early when a surprise attack at a Klingon prison camp causes the Fleet to go on red alert. The ship's crew must face Captain Nero again, because now it's time for him to destroy both Vulcan and Earth.

Alan Dean Foster is one of my favorite writers. He's got a strong flair for describing details and making characters come to life. As I said earlier, the book fairly follows the film with some stronger explanation and deepening of the story. You see a bit more of Spock and Sarek, plus more at Kirk and Scotty's meeting.

Two questions you're probably going to ask:

Is the book better than the movie? No. Unquestionably not. You've got to see this film to really capture the story as it should be told.

Should I see the film first or read the book? I watched the film first and while I think you could take this in either order, I preferred seeing the film first and then getting a deeper explanation.

Rebecca Kyle, May 2009

I am an extremly devoted Trekker going on 30+ years now, I have seen every Trek series and all the movies so I have my opinion on what the best of the franchise is. And I have grown weary of the prequel theory (If it don't work right, go to the far beginning and start over and everything will be all better) believing that starting a series over will 'fix' or make a series more exciting does not work as proven time and time again. With everything in the Star Trek universe, all we've seen and all that has been done, how do you start over the greatest sci fi series ever and still stay true to the reason geeks like me fell in love with it oh so long ago? Easy - Star Trek - thats how. First off, it establishes that this story is set in an alternate time line (So this is just ONE of many many ways the classic series COULD have wound up and is going on in another reality) (I just gave myself a headache) All of which is explained in great detail by OUR Spock. Yes, time travel is the main plot in this as many of the other movies, and if you are a stickler for details, yes things are shaken up in the universe of Trek, but in a good way. Rodenberry wanted someone to come along one day and make his creation bigger and better. I think someone has. A page turner from start to finish, you get to whitness the birth of Kirk and Spock and they grow with you the same way you grew with them. Hats off to Mr Foster for making a book that I could not put down, literally, i read the entire thing in about 2 hours, it draws you in and makes you want to get to know your 'old friends' all over again. The pages spout off classic lines from the show used in an updated way that makes us 'Nerds' cool again, and gives new life to characters that are old and constantly done the same way over and over again. But at the same time it does not take itself seriously, joking all through out and helping answer some long wondered questions about the show. The same old Kirk, Bones and Spock - but new suprises that has even the most devoted of Trekker wanting more. With this 'new timline' the possibilities are endless, the bar has been risen, lets see whats new in the Final Frontier.... FINALLY - Being a nerd is cool.

Having seen the movie, I listened to the book and was very pleased. Some movie tie-ins merely recount the movie in the most basic manner and give us little extra information and background. Alan Dean Foster has managed to be faithful to the movie while adding to it. (Or, perhaps the extra dialog and scenes will show up as deleted scenes when the DVD is released. One can only hope.)

I imagine few who read this will be unfamiliar with Star Trek and the characters. For someone new to the world of Star Trek, the book gives enough for the book to be understandable, but there is no in depth explanations about Vulcans, their history, the Federation, etc. While it does explain a few plot holes, it is more about the characters than the action, as well it should be.

After listening to it, I saw the movie again and found my new insights made the movie even more enjoyable. I agree with an above reviewer that you should see the movie first.

Zachary Quinto, the actor who capably played Spock, does a terrific job of reading the book. His pronunciation is clear and unhurried with appropriate emphasis and feeling. He differentiates the characters well with slight modifications of his voice, but not in a cartoonish or exaggerated manner. He does struggle a bit with Scotty's brogue, however. Also, there are no distracting sounds such as noisy breaths or nose hairs whistling. (No joke- I've come across that before in an audiobook!)

Overall, the audiobook is worth buying and adding to your summer listening lineup.

Star Trek Movie Tie-In

Alan Dean Foster seemingly does not know how to properly pace a story, keep his characters in-character, and keep his facts straight. Apparently, he wrote this book after having screened the movie, so there is no excuse for all the things he changes--major scene changes and minor ones. I would accept the minor ones (Sulu's sword, for instance; that's an author's perrogative--changing it doesn't mess with the flow of the plot), but not the major ones (Kirk telling the entire command crew that he was sent back to the Enterprise by a future Spock--that just causes the action to completely STOP while they all babble about timeline and alternate dimention theories. Meanwhile, Nero's about to destroy Earth.)

Indeed, even the opening paragraph, a senseless description of a star going supernova on the day of Spock's birth, is rife with passive verbs and unimaginative descriptors. Has Forest never heard of action verbs or vibrant, descriptive adjectives and nouns?

Also, in several places, Foster seems to forget what he has just written and has the characters go back to do the same action again. (Kirk rises from his chair twice in the space of one scene, since Foster apparently forgot that Kirk had already risen and walked away from the chair only a few sentences prior.)

One major annoyance to me is that Foster doesn't keep his characters' voices intact and consistent throughout the book. One example: Chekov switches back and forth between calling the captains "Captain" and "Keptin." Which is it, Foster? Pick one and stick with it! Seriously, this is an amature writer's mistake.

Honestly, the movie was way better than the book, and there are few books about which you can say that. This manuscript would have ended up in the slush pile if sent to a publisher and not commisioned.

Recommendation: If you're anxious for more Star Trek after seeing the movie, check out other books or even look for fanfiction on Fanfiction.net or LiveJournal. No kidding: I've read fanfiction that was better than this in terms of pacing, transitions, dialogue, and writing style.

After watching the movie several times, I was REALLY looking forward to reading this book that is a tie-in with the movie! Boy, was I REALLY DISAPPOINTED!!!!!

The more I read this book, the more I questioned if Alan Dean Foster EVEN READ THE SAME SCRIPT that was written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman! It also became obvious that Foster DOES NOT KNOW HIS STAR TREK!!!!!!! He has Sarek, Spock's father, behaving like a HUMAN instead of someone born and raised on Vulcan! He has Younger Spock behaving like Kirk, punching out a Romulan, during interrogation, INSTEAD OF USING THE VULCAN MIND MELD THAT IS SO PROMINENTLY PORTRAYED IN THE MOVIE!!!!! Plus there were several inconsistencies; for example Foster cites two different Regulation numbers referring to the SAME regulation of being emotionally compromised while in command! He mentions that Spock Prime called Kirk "Captain" at the first meeting at the cave entrance. (Which didn't happen! Spock Prime asks, LATER, "You are not the captain?") He also IGNORED the fact that Dr. McCoy IS FROM GEORGIA, NOT KENTUCKY!!!! And that line he wrote in the book: "Left with nothing but my skeleton"?!?!?!? HELLOOOOO, the line in the movie SPECIFICALLY SAID THE WORD "B-O-N-E-S", which is WHERE HE GETS HIS NICKNAME FROM!!!!!!! And tossing the dog in, at the end, making a strange reference to the dog's ears???? WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?!?!?!?!?!? In my opinion, Foster should have had a Trekker proof-read the galley proofs BEFORE it hit the publisher's desk!

Either Foster needs to go back to TREK School or the TREK fans can write BETTER than he did!!!!!!

Alan Dean Foster is the go-to author for movie tie-in novels. He was tapped for the novelization of the new Star Trek movie.

If you were looking for a book that would fill you in on all the details that might have been missed in the film, Star Trek is not the story for you.

For whatever reason, Foster took the script and did not deviate one iota. What you saw in the movie, you get in the book.

There isn't any additional back story for any of the characters, you don't learn more about the older Spock or the Red stuff they use to destroy Vulcan.

I think this book was published for hungry Star Trek fans who couldn't wait for the DVD.

It reads just like watching the movie without the actual images.

Star Trek Movie Tie-In

First, let me be clear on one thing - I am a die-hard original series Trekkie. I don't tire of watching the old episodes, and I religiously studied the new FX in the "remastered" versions. I'm not going to rehash the plot lines; if the other reviews haven't done that, or you haven't seen the movie, then I can offer this simplistic advice: see the movie, and skip this book!

With all novelizations of the first six movies, I found the books contained better dialogue, introduced new and interesting plot elements, and took great care to follow the story line. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Foster is the first author to pen his manuscript after seeing the entire movie. So, I would have expected him to enhance, not contradict, the movie. I was disappointed for many reasons, but chief amongst them are as follows.

1. He cut out nearly all of the kitchy dialogue from the characters. Especially absenst is the McCoy/Spock banter.

2. He has some bizzare opening with a star going supernova, which (I believe) is supposed to occur on the date of Spock's birth. I'm not really sure, and it's pointless to the storyline.

3. He completely alters the climactic scene of Spock warping away from Earth before attacking Nero's ship. This would mean that Spock doesn't care overmuch for Earth and that we had a singularity in close orbit over the planet, for a time. There was no reason to change this scene at all.

4. The bit about Pike not being bound in a wheelchair from the Centaurian Slug (which he doesn't even name in the book) flies in the face of the movie. Mr. Foster seems to want to denounce the movie by having Pike make claims about how he feels as if he could run out of Nero's ship; again it makes no sense. If Pike is feeling just dandy, why give Kirk the Enterprise?

5. Why take away Sulu's sword? Again, change just because he could.

I have more, but I will stop. The key point is that I loved the movie, and hated the book. It joins one of a very select few Star Trek novels that I shall likely never read again. I give this two stars (versus one) because Mr. Foster included some nice back matter on George Kirk Jr., Jim Kirk's older brother, which was absent from the movie (although purportedly shot).

Usually I find myself giving these books glowing reviews for supplementing the movie for the massges, but this time I just cannot endorse this unpleasant experience. I was very greatful to finish it and pick up one of the truly good classic Trek novels.

I expected better from Mr. Foster, and recommend using your money on a movie ticket.

This book mangles some of the better movie dialogue for no apparent reason, and the author is plain wrong about certain details. Uhura's boots do not reflect her personal fashion sense, they're part of her uniform. McCoy is from Georgia, not Kentucky. Other reviewers have more examples. Do your homework, dude.

This audio book is the next best thing to seeing the movie!! Chomping at the bit for the DVD to come out? This will give you a more than satisfying "fix" meanwhile.

Quinto has an amazing ear for different voices and can read a scene with 4 speakers in a way that you know exactly who is speaking. I can almost see the movie as I listen to this. OK, admittedly I've seen the movie many times. Even so his voice makes it come alive. Some of Foster's sentences are so convoluted that they were obviously never meant to be heard out loud, yet Quinto delivers them masterfully.

And there are details that flesh out plot developments in interesting ways. I defy you to listen to the very end without laughing out loud!

Being a sci-fi fantastic, friends usually associate and expect me to be on top of the of the ST Game! Sadly that was a very very (sadly) late encounter.

My first introduction to Star trek cam in 1991 when i was visit the USA with my family and came across TNG (the next generation) Data stuck me as something amazing and out of this universe! I was hooked immediately. Of course there have been snippets of viewing or comics or something from some older geek friends of mine who would keep saying, that TOS (The original series) is the real deal.

I usually would excuse myself form such debates since i was not fully vested into the genre of either generations and series.

The present day: well as of this moment i have not seen the new Star Trek in theaters currently. Due to geographical constraints, the movie has yet to be released here. Thus just watching the Apple trailers, i am simply enthralled and can't wait to watch it in the UK where i will be traveling to in less than 48 hours!

Now talking of motivation in finishing the audiobook, i am a big fan of Zachary Quinto (aka young Spock here and of course Syler on Heroes and currently the reader of this amazing audiobook) and thus linking of the Old new and everything in between sort of came together. I finished this 8 hour audiobook i think in about 2 days! every hour i am not listening i am not in my reality.

Knowing what i know now, i hope the movie is as good if not better than the audiobook. But i can tell just watching the trailers that the audiobook would only complete the movie in some profound way! I think besides the spectacle this franchisee is i don't think i would have opted to get the ST TOS Bluray if it weren't for this new movie and audiobook.

A little spoiler: what intrigued me the most about the TOS was (like Data) was and still is SPOCK. In the audiobook anyone wanting to know more on this amazing Vulcan being must read and hear what made him special. Hint: it involves something we humans to this day still struggle with: RACE and Tolerance!

Enough metaphors and motifs, just get the following:

Star Trek Movie Tie-In
Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1 [Blu-ray]
The movie itself when its out on bluray
(http://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Blu-ray-Chris-Pine/dp/B001AVCFK6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1243686147&sr=8-4)

To all fans and new fans alike: Live long and prosper!